After Ash snapped back at him, Paul went quiet.
He said nothing more in the livestream barrage.
It was like he'd suddenly realized something was a bit off about himself.
Sneering at someone he'd never even met in person—someone he only knew through a video—
that really wasn't his usual style.
Maybe…
He just couldn't stand watching Ash sit on so many talented Pokémon and still be this weak and unpolished.
Paul thought that to himself and decided he'd better dial it back.
No more pointless trash talk… for now.
The barrage also calmed down once Paul stopped arguing.
Reggie apologized on his brother's behalf and asked Ash not to take it to heart.
Ash wasn't the type to hold grudges anyway. He quickly let it go.
But…
"Let it go" didn't mean "never answer it."
If he got the chance someday, he was absolutely going to smack that guy in the face—with Charizard.
Ash was determined to prove to the entire world:
His Charizard was not trash.
Right now, over in Charicific Valley, that very Charizard was in the depths of self-loathing.
Liza was trying her best to comfort him.
Why?
Because the scenes from the livestream had hit him way too hard.
Back in his rebellious phase, he hadn't cared.
But now that he'd acknowledged Ash and looked back on his past behavior…
he realized he'd gone way too far.
That match that meant so much to his Trainer—
He'd basically said, "If we lose, we lose, whatever."
And because of that, his Trainer's run at the Indigo Plateau ended in the Top 16, and half a year of hard work was flushed down the drain.
Now, Charizard was cursing his old self in silence and swearing to himself:
This time… he was going to help Ash win a Championship.
The Championship he threw away back then—this time, he'd take it back.
With the end of the Quartz Conference on the white screen,
the footage there slowly faded out.
The black screen lit up again.
Everyone leaned forward in anticipation.
Would Black World Ash capture those two super-ancient Pokémon?
If so, how?
And how far would Black World Ash go at his own Quartz Conference?
Could he win the whole thing?
All the answers would be in the images to come.
In the Black World —
Ash and his friends said goodbye to Mewtwo and went right back to their training route.
The Mewtwo incident had been a huge detour…
But it wasn't going to shake their main goal: the Quartz Conference.
After everything that happened with Mewtwo, Ash pushed himself even harder.
For his Pokémon, his principle was "train hard but rest properly"—
push to the limit, then let them recover.
For himself… as long as he wasn't dead, he trained like he wanted to die.
Logically, normal physical training shouldn't affect Ash much anymore.
But daily practice clearly sharpened his Aura.
He had no idea what the exact principle was.
Maybe it was just talent.
Watching Ash grind like that, his Pokémon started grinding too.
His three Kanto starters—Charizard, Venusaur, and Blastoise—became openly competitive.
They'd all come to him around the same time, and as the three Kanto starter lines…
they were constantly measuring themselves against each other.
Venusaur, with the Miracle Seed on its back, focused on deepening its connection to Grass-type energy.
Every day, it soaked in the sunlight in Professor Oak's flower-filled backyard and strengthened itself bit by bit.
Back when it was still a Bulbasaur, it had believed it could get strong without evolving—and enjoyed staying lighter and faster.
But now that it had evolved…
It had to admit: evolution was incredible.
The energy stored in its body wasn't even on the same level as before.
As the saying goes: raw power breaks all tricks.
Venusaur's current internal energy was at least ten times what it had been as a Bulbasaur.
And while its flexibility wasn't quite the same, its straight-line speed far outstripped its pre-evolution.
Overall, the pros of evolving massively outweighed the cons.
As for Charizard…
It was training with Ash's Rainbow Wing.
The feather held a tiny amount of Ho-Oh's power—
Not much in quantity, but terrifying in quality.
Originally, the Rainbow Wing was meant to guide the Rainbow Hero to Ho-Oh.
Now Charizard was using it as a focus to comprehend fire.
In Charizard's own words:
"A legendary item from Ho-Oh beats any so-called 'thousand-year flame'."
How much of that power Charizard could actually grasp, Ash honestly didn't know.
That kind of training had already left his knowledge in the dust.
When it came to Ho-Oh, he actually knew very little.
That left Blastoise…
To be blunt, Blastoise had it rough.
It was the only one of the three starters without a "cheat item."
Venusaur had its Miracle Seed, Charizard had the Rainbow Wing. Blastoise?
Nothing.
So Ash could only "open the cheat menu" himself.
Every day, he spent two hours with Blastoise by the pond behind Oak's lab,
using Aura Fusion to increase Blastoise's sensitivity to Water-type energy—
Breaking down water techniques from the inside out.
[Ash: I'm taking notes—turns out Aura can be used like this too!]
[Gary: Since when do you know Aura?]
[Ash: I don't… yet. But I will! I'm writing everything down now so I can help my Pokémon with it later!]
[Brock: I can vouch for him—Ash has filled who-knows-how-many pages of notes already. Everyone else is just watching and having fun, but he's actually studying.]
[Misty: I've traveled with him for a year, and I've never seen him this serious. So yeah, if Ash wants to focus, he really can.]
[Gary: Stop grinding so hard! Keep this up and you're going to raise the average battle power of the whole world!]
[Ash: Just you wait, Gary! At the Silver Conference I'll beat you into the ground!]
[Gary: Sure. If you can turn everything you see into real skill in a single year, I'll admit defeat.]
[Ash: Don't underestimate me! I will!]
In the Black World —
The intensive training continued.
About half a month before the Quartz Conference, Ash and his friends heard that Bruno had come to Mt. Hideaway, near Pallet Town, to train.
One of Kanto's Elite Four!
Ash was excited as soon as he heard Bruno's name.
He'd been in pure training mode for half a month with almost no actual battles.
Now a real top-tier powerhouse had appeared in front of him—
of course he wanted to test himself.
So they headed up Mt. Hideaway and eventually found Bruno.
"You want to challenge me?" Bruno asked. "Unfortunately, I didn't bring any Pokémon with me today… And besides, kid, you're still a bit young. You must've only started traveling recently, right?"
Ash had grown taller from all his training.
But his face still looked very much like a kid's.
To Bruno, he looked like a Trainer with maybe a year of travel under his belt at most,
so it was only natural Bruno didn't take him too seriously.
He was an Elite Four member for both Kanto and Johto, after all—
A man widely considered Champion-level in power.
And he genuinely hadn't brought his Pokémon with him this trip.
Hearing that, Ash reluctantly backed down.
If Bruno didn't have his Pokémon, there was no way to have a proper battle…
Well, he could always fight Bruno himself, but—
Even though the guy clearly looked strong, that probably wasn't the smartest idea.
[Bruno: EXCUSE ME?! Black World Ash, what kind of suicidal ideas are you having?!]
[Lance: Bruno—DANGER ALERT.]
[Cynthia: If Bruno doesn't have his Pokémon with him, is he going to get sent to the hospital by Black World Ash instead?]
[Lorelei: One thing's for sure—I'd watch it.]
[Bea: Same. I really want to see what happens when a top human martial artist meets Black World Ash in a real fight.]
[Bruno: Don't build your entertainment on my pain, you brats!]
In the end, Ash didn't actually ask to fight Bruno bare-handed.
Mainly because it wouldn't mean much.
He'd come looking for Bruno to test how ready he was for the Quartz Conference in two weeks.
But Trainers aren't allowed in the ring at the Conference.
So what would be the point of fighting Bruno as a person?
Instead, Ash and the others asked why Bruno was on Mt. Hideaway and learned:
He wasn't there to train. He was tracking a giant Onix.
"You're going to catch a giant Onix without any Pokémon?" Ash asked.
"Heh, of course," Bruno replied. "I have a body of steel and a heart that connects with Pokémon."
"If I can meet that Onix, I believe I can subdue it with those two things. You could say that's a kind of training too."
Hearing that, Ash suddenly understood.
Ah. He was one of those guys who wanted to "subdue the Pokémon with his fists."
A body of steel, a heart tied to Pokémon…
Why did that sound so much like himself?
Ash asked curiously:
"Just how big is that giant Onix?"
"About three times the size of a normal one," Bruno said, eyes shining. "If I can catch it, I'm sure I can raise it into one of my main battlers."
Brock chimed in:
"But Master Bruno, aren't you a martial arts specialist? Why catch an Onix?"
"What about it?" Bruno grinned. "You know Lance, right?"
Ash's eyes lit up. He answered immediately:
"You mean Lance the 'Dragon Master'? Champion of the Johto League, strongest member of the Kanto Elite Four. He's also an official G-Man, and his Dragon Corps have scared villain teams all over the world. He's one of the few who stand right at the top."
Ash rattled off Lance's profile like he was reciting a favorite passage.
These world-famous powerhouses were all on his list of future targets.
Bruno nodded, satisfied.
"Exactly. He's our strongest 'Dragon-type' master in Kanto. But about that Dragon Corps of his…"
"Heh. Gyarados, Charizard, Aerodactyl, three Dragonite, plus an Altaria—that's roughly his lineup. See the pattern?"
Ash thought about it, then his expression went a bit odd.
"Um… the first three aren't even Dragon-type. And why does he have three Dragonite? If there's a pattern, it's that every one of his Pokémon—including Dragonite and Altaria—has the Flying type."
Bruno burst out laughing.
"Hahaha, that's right! Every single one of Lance's Pokémon has the Flying type!"
"And half of them aren't Dragons at all. Add in the triple-Dragonite charge squad and… well, he's got another nickname: the Flying King, or the Flying Master."
"Now do you see my point? He's called the 'Dragon Master' and uses a bunch of flying Pokémon that happen to look dragon-ish. So what's wrong with me catching a fierce Onix?"
"Fierce, tough, head-on—that's Fighting-type in spirit. So raising an Onix fits me perfectly."
Bruno nodded firmly, clearly very pleased with his own logic.
Ash, Misty, and Brock just exchanged looks.
Somehow… this Elite Four guy seemed a little off.
[Giovanni: Hahaha, Lance, did you hear that? Even Bruno calls you the Flying King. Got anything to say for yourself?]
[Lance: ...]
It hurt. It really hurt.
Stabbed in the back by his own people.
Bruno, with his thick eyebrows and honest face…
And yet he was out here calling Lance a Flying-type specialist.
[Bruno: Eh… That's not me, that's that Bruno over there! How could I ever bad-mouth Lance behind his back? Impossible.]
[Lorelei: Don't bother. Everyone in the Black World has basically the same personality as here—aside from Ash, whose presence causes butterfly effects.]
[Lorelei: Like Misty. In our world she and Ash bicker all day. In that world, she's still fierce to everyone else, but she almost never loses her temper with Black World Ash—because he's reliable, smart, and has eight-pack abs.]
That last line, unfortunately, was true.
Ash glanced down at his own skinny stomach.
At best, he had a faint two-pack.
Nothing more.
Becoming a "reliable Ash" still felt very far away.
[Lorelei: So Bruno… be honest. Deep down, do you think of Lance as the Flying King?]
[Bruno: Uh…]
[Diantha: For the record, I think "Flying King" is a great nickname~]
[Lance: I am the Dragon King! A Dragon-type Champion! Not some glorified Flying specialist, you pests!]
Even Lance, usually cool and composed, couldn't help but rage.
Men really had it rough.
In the Black World —
After hearing there was a giant Onix nearby, Ash and his friends decided to search for it too.
Powerful Pokémon were always worth meeting—and catching.
Whoever found it first, got dibs.
Bruno hadn't expected that a casual comment about the Onix would spawn competition.
But to be honest, he still didn't take Ash seriously.
Just a kid. In his mind, Ash was at least twenty years too early to be fighting him over a giant Onix.
Suddenly, a deafening crash echoed in the distance, followed by heavy rumbling.
They looked at each other and sprinted toward the sound.
By coincidence, what they found was exactly their target—
the giant Onix.
Ash's jaw nearly hit the ground when he saw it.
Bruno hadn't exaggerated.
This Onix really was several times larger than normal.
Right now, it was rampaging around a clearing, its expression twisted with fury.
It barreled across the open area and smashed its head into the surrounding cliffs again and again—
That was the source of the noise from earlier.
"This Onix looks really hard to get along with… and it's got a big cross-shaped scar on its face," Brock said, frowning.
As a Rock-type Gym Leader, he knew Onix temperament well.
Normally, unless someone really riled them up, Onix weren't this violently out of control.
With the scar and the rage, there was only one conclusion:
This Onix had a terrible temper and a rough history.
Bruno frowned too, as if remembering something.
Ash, however, moved first.
He suddenly leapt, covering tens of meters in a single bound, and landed right in front of the Onix.
He seemed to have realized something.
Bruno: ?!
Was he seeing things?
Had that kid just jumped tens of meters in one go?
Had gravity taken the day off?
Brock and Misty were long used to Ash's monster-level physical abilities.
Bruno, on the other hand, was seeing them for the first time.
As a member of the Elite Four, there wasn't much in the world he hadn't seen.
But a kid casually doing things even he couldn't do…
That shocked him more than an earthquake.
And the real shock was still to come.
The giant Onix roared and brought its massive head crashing down toward Ash.
Ash didn't dodge.
He raised both hands, fingers spread like claws, and caught the Onix's head head-on.
The huge rock skull slammed into his palms—
And stopped.
Ash didn't even take a single step back.
It all happened in a flash.
By the time Bruno's brain caught up, Ash had already pushed the Onix's head aside.
Bruno, veteran Elite Four that he was, had thought he'd seen everything.
But today, right here…
He was forced to admit:
He had never seen anything like this.
PS : Small Recap of the Characters
Paul (Shinji) – A strict, results-focused Trainer from Sinnoh. Cold to his Pokémon and harshly critical of Ash for "wasting" their potential.
Reggie– Paul's older brother, a former Trainer turned breeder. Gentle and apologetic; he smooths things over after Paul's outburst.
Bruno – Member of the Kanto and Johto Elite Four; Fighting and Rock specialist. In this chapter he's hunting a giant Onix on Mt. Hideaway and gets his worldview broken by Black World Ash.
Cynthia – Sinnoh Champion. Very interested in Ash and the mysteries of the world. Often offers sharp analysis and meta-commentary.
Diantha – Kalos Champion. Jokes about Lance's "Flying King" nickname.
Bea – Galar Fighting-type Gym Leader. Obsessed with seeing high-level hand-to-hand combat like Ash vs Bruno.
Giovanni – Boss of Team Rocket and Viridian City Gym Leader. Still salty about losing Mewtwo and constantly sniping at others in the barrage.
Liza (little Lisa) – Caretaker of Charicific Valley. Comforts Charizard as he regrets throwing Ash's Indigo Plateau match.
Venusaur – Ash's fully evolved Bulbasaur. Trains with a Miracle Seed to deepen its Grass-type power.
Blastoise – Ash's fully evolved Squirtle / Wartortle. Lacks a special item, so Ash personally trains it using Aura Fusion by the pond.
Onix (Giant Onix / giant rock snake) – The enormous, scarred Onix on Mt. Hideaway which Bruno and Ash both want to subdue. Several times larger than a normal Onix.
Gyarados – One of Lance's Pokémon in his "Dragon Corps," actually Water/Flying-type.
Charizard (Lance's) – Lance's Charizard; not Dragon-type but part of his "dragon-looking" team.
Aerodactyl (Fossil Pterodactyl) – Rock/Flying fossil Pokémon used by Lance.
Dragonite (Fast Dragon / giant fast dragon) – Lance's signature pseudo-legendary; he uses three Dragonite on his main team.
Altaria (Qixi Blue Bird) – Dragon/Flying Pokémon on Lance's team.
Mewtwo – Artificial Legendary Psychic Pokémon created from Mew's genes. In the Black World, he's been beaten senseless and spiritually turned around by Ash, and then voluntarily "contracts" with him.
Rainbow Wing ("rainbow feather") – A sacred feather from Ho-Oh (Phoenix King), originally used to guide the Rainbow Hero. In this fic, Charizard uses it as a medium to comprehend higher flames.
Miracle Seed – Grass-type boosting held item. Venusaur uses it as a focus for Grass-type energy training.
If you Enjoyed Reading
Visit my p@treon for more chapters
Advance 80+ Chapters Available
patreon.com/Sagamaster789
If you really Enjoyed Reading. Give Power Stones and Reviews !