Ash carefully placed the Dragon Fang he had received into his backpack.
Before obtaining a Dragon-type Pokémon, the Dragon Fang was temporarily useless. However, once he caught one, training it with this item would be nothing short of adding wings to a tiger.
As for whether he could make it to Dragon Island, not to mention becoming Champion, if he could not even make the top three, he would chop off his own head on the spot and offer it to Mewtwo as a sacrifice.
This was not arrogance. It was confidence backed by strength.
Among Trainers who had traveled for two full years, how many could truly train a Pokémon to High level? Very few.
A Pokémon's level was not everything, of course, but Ash had something no one else possessed.
He was being taught daily by Champion-level Trainers.
Not just any Champions, but versions of himself from parallel worlds. They understood him perfectly. They knew how to explain things in ways he would actually listen to, which tactics suited his personality, and which training methods brought out his strengths fastest.
Even if a dozen Champions from this world tried to teach him at once, it would probably not be as effective as a single Champion-level Ash from the group.
On top of that, he trained relentlessly.
If he was not training, he was on his way to train. His Pokémon were improving every single day.
Talent, resources, guidance, and effort. He had all four.
With all of that, why could he not proudly say he was stronger than others?
Afterward, the remaining Elite Four members presented the gifts they had prepared for Ash, or more accurately, gifts exchanged for the information he had provided.
No one was naive enough to believe that knowledge like MEGA Evolution could be obtained for free. Yet Ash had done something completely unexpected.
He had explained the mechanism of MEGA Evolution, its requirements, and its limitations without asking for anything in return.
That left the Elite Four both astonished and slightly ashamed.
They realized they had judged a gentleman with a villain's heart.
As a result, even after giving the items they had prepared as compensation, they still felt vaguely indebted.
Giving gifts and still feeling guilty afterward was absurd, yet that was exactly how they felt.
Before leaving, the Elite Four even made an agreement with Ash.
If, in the future, they discovered any mega stones they did not need but Ash did, they would hand them over to him unconditionally.
Looking at the Elite Four, who had somehow agreed to a string of extremely generous conditions, Ash felt a little dazed.
Was this really happening?
Was this what people meant by good deeds being rewarded? The payoff felt a little too fast.
"If there's nothing else, we'll be leaving first," Lance said. "The League still has a lot waiting for us."
"Yes," another added. "The Indigo Plateau Conference preparations alone are overwhelming, not to mention Team Rocket, and now the search for mega stones and key stones."
"Ash," Bruno said seriously, "if you ever need our help, just say the word."
"Have Professor Oak contact us. As long as it's not something we're completely tied up with, we'll come immediately."
"Don't be shy with us," Lorelei added with a smile.
The Elite Four spoke warmly, clearly drawing closer to Ash.
They could all sense it. This young man carried something intangible.
Call it fate, destiny, or luck, but everything surrounding him felt extraordinary.
Discovering MEGA Evolution by chance. Growing at an absurd pace. Experiencing more in a few months than most Trainers did in years.
He was like a child of destiny.
Building a good relationship with someone like that could only bring benefits, perhaps even unimaginable ones.
Before leaving, Lorelei even winked at Ash, her beautiful eyes clearly telling him to stay in touch.
Among the Elite Four, her relationship with Ash was the closest.
If Ash encountered danger or opportunity, he would likely seek her out first.
That was what it meant to get a head start.
After waving goodbye to the Elite Four, Ash finally had time to carefully examine the items they had left behind.
Agatha's gift was a talisman.
A Spell Tag.
Standard Spell Tags on the market could increase Ghost-type damage by up to twenty percent. The one Agatha gave him was top-tier.
Because Ghost-type Pokémon and Ghost-type items were both rare, its market value was several times higher than ordinary held items.
Unfortunately for Ash, he already possessed a Spell Tag far stronger than this one.
Unless he raised multiple Ghost-type Pokémon, this item would not see much use.
Still, it had reached the maximum standard for its category, and its value alone made it worthwhile.
Priceless? No.
Worth a fortune? Absolutely.
One could only say that Elite Four members truly lived up to their status.
For them, any problem that could be solved with money was not a problem at all.
Lorelei's gift was an ice-blue orb resembling a block of crystallized frost.
Simply holding it made one feel as though they had stepped into the depths of winter.
This was an item made specifically for Ice-type Pokémon.
It enhanced Ice-type move proficiency, accelerated training speed, and increased move power.
However, it was not without flaws.
Rather than specializing, it enhanced everything a little.
Ice-type move power increased by about fifteen percent. Training speed increased by roughly thirty percent.
Move execution speed increased by around twenty percent.
All of these effects only applied to Pokémon below the Elite level.
It was an all-around enhancement item. Rare, valuable, and extremely useful during growth stages.
For Ice-type Pokémon, it was a treasure.
Unfortunately, Ash faced the same issue again.
He did not have any Ice-type Pokémon.
At most, this item was simply another highly valuable resource sitting in his backpack.
He did not even know where to find good Ice-type Pokémon, let alone train one.
With his current roster already demanding constant attention, catching new Pokémon right now felt premature.
After all, should he not first bring his existing Pokémon to full maturity before thinking about adding more?
Otherwise, if he caught every Pokémon he encountered, unless he could clone himself, how would he possibly take care of and train so many Pokémon?
Therefore, the Ice Orb Stone was temporarily useless.
Finally, there was Bruno's item, the Enhancement Ribbon.
The Enhancement Ribbon looked like a black band, somewhat similar in appearance to the Fighting-type boosting item known as the Black Belt, but its effect was entirely different.
When a Fighting-type Pokémon wore the Enhancement Ribbon, its entire body would feel suppressed, and its physique would be continuously tempered by the power contained within the ribbon.
It was an enhancement item specifically designed for strengthening the physical body.
Moreover, it could be used together with commercially available weighted training items, and its effectiveness could extend all the way to the Elite level.
Lucario was still wearing the forced training device. That item was extremely effective for tempering ability values, which was why Lucario had been able to raise its ability values to S-rank in such a short period of time.
The Enhancement Ribbon given by Bruno had a similar effect to the forced training device, but it did not require Lucario to bear additional weights.
Since the forced training device was still sufficient for now, Ash planned to give this item to Primeape instead.
Speaking of Primeape, according to Gengar, Primeape had recently begun to subtly develop Ghost-type power, and his physical condition had undergone noticeable changes.
His normally visible and tangible body would sometimes become visible yet intangible.
This was a characteristic exclusive to Ghost-type Pokémon.
In other words, Primeape was close to evolving, though it was unclear whether he would complete his evolution before the Indigo Plateau Conference.
If the Enhancement Ribbon were given to Primeape, it might slightly suppress his evolution speed, but it would also cause a qualitative mutation after his evolution was complete.
Overall, the advantages far outweighed the disadvantages.
All things considered, the item given by Bruno was actually the most useful one, as it could be immediately equipped by one of Ash's Pokémon.
The other items would have to wait until Ash caught new Pokémon. He could look at them, but he could not use them.
Misty, Brock, and Gary all expressed deep envy at the basket full of gifts Ash had received.
Why did such good fortune, like a pie falling from the sky, never happen to them?
Of course, on the surface they felt this way, but in reality they all understood that Ash had earned these rewards through his selfless contribution.
If Ash had not shared the information about the MEGA Evolution system with the Elite Four without reservation, he would never have received these items.
In truth, besides MEGA Evolution, the Elite Four had many other questions they wanted to ask Ash.
For example, what exactly was going on with Ash's Lucario, how Ash's own physical fitness had reached God Level, and how Ash had managed to capture Mewtwo.
Many questions lingered in their minds, but in the end, they chose not to ask.
After all, as Elite Four members, it was already embarrassing enough to seek guidance from a junior on something as important as MEGA Evolution.
If they continued prying into Ash's private matters after he had already been so forthcoming, it would not just be embarrassing. It would be shameless.
Therefore, regarding Ash's many secrets, the Elite Four ultimately chose restraint and simply left him a pile of valuable items before departing.
Ash's secrets could be explored slowly in the future. For now, the priority was to find mega stones and key stones.
After the Elite Four left, Ash was about to recall Mewtwo into its Poké Ball when a sudden sound of something falling echoed from the entrance of Oak's Laboratory.
Everyone instinctively turned toward the main entrance, only to see that the source of the noise was Blaine.
What had fallen to the floor was the Pokédex Blaine had prepared for Professor Oak to distribute to new Trainers.
Blaine stood there, staring blankly at a figure inside the laboratory.
Mewtwo turned its head, and upon seeing Blaine, its expression also became complicated.
It recognized Blaine.
Not only did it recognize him, he was perhaps the most familiar yet unfamiliar person to it, because its very existence had been created by Blaine.
Although other members of Team Rocket had contributed, Blaine had been the primary research lead.
One could say that without Blaine, Mewtwo would not exist.
Yet Blaine, the very person who created it, harbored deep fear toward it.
Because of that fear, he had extracted its spiritual essence and prevented its power from advancing further.
In the past, Mewtwo had felt nothing but hatred toward Blaine.
It hated him for creating it, hated him for extracting its spiritual essence, and hated him for abandoning Team Rocket.
But now, that hatred had largely faded.
Mewtwo even felt a trace of gratitude toward Blaine. If it were not for him, it would never have formed its current bond with Ash.
Meeting Ash was the greatest fortune of its life, at least as it felt now.
"Mewtwo… why are you here?" Blaine finally asked after a long silence, his voice trembling.
"I am Ash's Pokémon now."
With that single sentence, Mewtwo explained everything.
Blaine immediately understood the weight behind those words, and his emotions became indescribably complex.
Had the artificial Pokémon he once feared truly changed?
Perhaps Ash was right. Mewtwo had never been evil. It had simply been a blank slate that Team Rocket stained black.
And now, Ash's presence had allowed Mewtwo to wash away that darkness and take on new colors.
Ash truly was extraordinary, capable of changing even Mewtwo.
It was hard to believe that the once unruly Mewtwo could now stand before its former enemy and speak so calmly.
"Congratulations, Mewtwo, for breaking free of your shackles and finding your destined Trainer.
I apologize for what I did to you in the past, and for the malicious thoughts I once held toward you."
Blaine bowed deeply, his apology sincere beyond doubt.
He truly believed he had been wrong.
If he had guided Mewtwo properly from the start, or taken it with him when he left Team Rocket, would everything have turned out differently?
"It no longer matters. I did hate you in the past, but I have let it go.
If not for what you did, I might never have met such an exceptional Trainer."
Mewtwo's hatred toward Blaine had diminished to almost nothing.
All of this was because of Ash.
Blaine bent down, picked up the Pokédex from the floor, and looked at Ash with a complicated expression.
"Thank you, Ash. Thank you for pulling Mewtwo out of the abyss."
Ash grinned broadly, revealing his white teeth.
"Isn't that just natural? When you see a Pokémon in trouble, of course you help."
...
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