The video resumed—
Beside the fleeing Ash were three other figures sprinting with him.
One was a long-haired girl with dark skin.
The other two were green-haired young men—
one dressed like a waiter, the other wearing a white cap.
Striaton City, Unova — Striaton Gym
Cilan stared blankly at the screen.
That dusty, disheveled silhouette—
That was him.
"So… I actually end up traveling with Ash in the future, huh?"
He murmured with a faint, pleased smile.
"Not a bad vibe at all~."
Village of Dragons — Axew Homeland
(A note explains that Iris is still in her childhood Dragon Village phase. She leaves after studying at the Opelucid Dragon Academy.)
A dark-skinned girl with massive purple twin-tails,
a ribbon tied at her collar,
stared at the screen in total shock.
Iris.
Raised in the Village of Dragons, dreaming of the outside world,
but was told by her grandmother that only after finishing her academic studies
Could she leave on her first journey?
Now—
There she was.
On the screen.
Her older self.
Running alongside Ash.
"Does that mean… in the future, I get to go on an adventure with Ash?!"
Her eyes sparkled like stars.
To travel with that boy—
the boy who radiated the scent of adventure—
That was the dream of dreams.
Somewhere in Unova
N stared at the vision of his future self running beside Ash.
"…I'm traveling with him?"
His voice trembled slightly.
Before the Heavenly Tally descended, N had no fondness for humans.
He avoided people and lived with Pokémon alone.
He could hear their voices, their feelings—
And so he believed battling was cruel, even hateful.
As a child, he'd been manipulated by Ghetsis.
Now free, he fought Plasma while searching for a way
for Pokémon to live free of human suffering.
He truly believed:
Captured Pokémon… were prisoners.
But the Heavenly Tally had shaken that belief to its core.
He saw Ash—
and the bond between Ash and his Pokémon.
A bond so genuine, so mutual—
It contradicted everything he thought he knew.
And now… he saw himself, in the original timeline,
running alongside Ash.
"…Ash.
Your mysterious power…
Let me witness it with my own eyes."
In the footage—
Ash's group was sprinting across a wasteland
while a horde of Pokémon with glowing red eyes
charged after them:
Liepard, Gurdurr, Timburr, Beartic… dozens more.
But why were these Pokémon attacking?!
And where was the "god" they were supposed to be fighting?
Wasn't this supposed to be another "Mortal Against God" tally?
"Pikachu—Thunderbolt!"
A familiar shout.
A familiar attack.
Pikachu launched himself from Ash's feet,
golden lightning exploding behind them—
blocking the controlled Pokémon.
Ash wasn't trying to fight.
His goal was to stop Colress from activating the mind-control wave.
These Pokémon were innocent victims.
He didn't want to hurt them.
Spectators' Reactions
"Isn't that the outfit Ash wore when he lost to that beginner Snivy…?"
"Oh yeah, it is!"
"…Don't tell me Pikachu's gonna do the 'weakened acting arc' again?"
"No way—Thunderbolt's clearly strong this time."
"Anyway… if Pikachu's going up against the Unova Dragons—
I'm betting on the dragons."
After the last battle, half the world swore:
"Next time, no matter what, I'm betting on Ash!"
But then they saw the preview of Zekrom and Reshiram…
and cracked instantly.
That level of power—
No normal Pokémon could fight that.
And Pikachu still wasn't even in peak condition.
People wavered.
Back to the footage
Pikachu finished blocking and ran on with the group when—
WHOOOOOOOM—
Massive wings blotted out the sky.
Their shadows swallowed the four as they turned.
A gigantic, white-furred dragon descended—
wolf-like face, massive wings, turbine tail glowing faintly.
The world audience immediately recognized it:
Reshiram — the Vast White Pokémon.
The Dragon of Truth.
The image froze.
A text window appeared:
[Heavenly Tally: Pokémon Who Stand Against Gods (Part 5)]
[Battlefield: Unova — Dragonspiral Tower / White Ruins]
[Combatants: Ash's Charizard vs. Ghetsis's Reshiram]
[Betting begins. Five minutes.]
Silence.
A suffocating silence blanketed the world.
Not only was Ash's Charizard facing another Legendary—
but this time…
A First-Rank Divine Pokémon.
One that could shatter mountains with a single attack.
One that just obliterated an entire desert in the preview.
And worst of all—
It was under someone's control.
Someone evil.
Ghetsis had captured Reshiram.
The world erupted into horror—
World Reactions
[Alder: Ghetsis… captured Reshiram?! Impossible!
Reshiram would NEVER acknowledge someone like him!]
[N: He didn't capture it normally.
He must have used some kind of machine!]
[Cynthia: N… what a unique name.
Do you know this Ghetsis?]
[N: …He is my adoptive father.
And the leader of Team Plasma.]
[Lance: Team Plasma?
Is that like the Rocket Gang of Kanto?!]
[N: I'm unfamiliar with the Rocket Gang,
but if you mean an evil organization—yes. The same.]
Alder fell into deep thought.
He remembered all too well the atrocities of that man.
Alder Explains Ghetsis
At Lance's shouting, Alder snapped out of it.
"Sorry—I'll explain immediately.
And about this N… please have the League investigate him too."
"No problem."
Lance, as an Interpol-class investigator, was already making calls.
**[Alder: Ghetsis is the leader of Team Plasma.
His identity as a criminal mastermind was exposed years ago.
Before that… he was known as a 'peace ambassador.']**
The world froze.
Peace ambassador?
The leader of an evil syndicate?
Adoptive father?
Philosopher?
World-domination conspirator?
What was this man?!
Alder continued:
**[Alder: Ghetsis preached that humans enslave Pokémon,
And for the world to know peace, Pokémon should be freed from humans.
But in truth—
His goal was to make every human release their Pokémon…
So he alone would be the ONLY one with Pokémon.
And thus, rule the world.]**
The world shuddered.
This was beyond evil—
It was insane.
Hoenn — Team Aqua / Team Magma Bases
"Pathetic plan. Only fools try weakening others."
"The true path is to seize Groudon! Or Kyogre!"
"Once the world is covered in land/ocean, domination is ours!"
For once, Archie and Maxie agreed.
Even in villainy, Ghetsis' method seemed absurd.
Back to Team Plasma HQ
SLAM—
Ghetsis smashed the table.
His eyes were bloodshot with rage.
Alder's exposure had humiliated him worldwide.
"Alder… you senile fool…
When I obtain Reshiram in the future, you'll be FIRST to perish!"
Then—
A wide smile crept onto his face.
"But it seems…
My machine to control Legendary Pokémon is complete in the future."
Colress's eyes glowed with manic excitement.
"A machine capable of overriding a god…
Magnificent… utterly magnificent!
It proves my genius is divine—divine!!"
(Ah, yes—Colress entering "KAMI-SAMA MODE.")
Ghetsis scoffed:
"Charizard? That pathetic lizard struggled against a mere Articuno!
It thinks it can face Reshiram?"
He laughed wildly.
"Fire/Dragon! Four times fire resistance!
Charizard is nothing but a joke."
Champion Betting Chat
[Lance: …I want to support Ash this time.]
[Diantha: Oh? You think Ash will win?]
[Lance: No. I think Reshiram will win.
But I refuse to bet on Ghetsis. He doesn't deserve it.]
[Diantha: With that, I feel reassured.
I'm betting everything on Ash!]
[Cynthia: Same. Betting on Ash!]
[Lance: ????]
Hey!
Did you people treat his words as a cursed prophecy again!?
[Wallace: Wait…
If Lance supports Ash… but predicts Reshiram wins…
Isn't he accidentally cursing Ghetsis instead?]
[Drake: Shame…
I really want to bet on Reshiram.
That dragon is every Dragon Master's dream…
But I will NOT support Ghetsis!]
Even Dragon Masters were struggling—
Their hearts wanted the white dragon…
Their conscience refused the owner.
Final Betting Results
After five minutes:
60% — Ghetsis
40% — Ash
Even with an overwhelming power gap,
40% still sided with Ash.
Because they refused to support evil.
And because—
They believed in Lance's curse.
Whoever Lance verbally supports…
loses.
[Steven: Lance… you gonna win this time?]
[Lance: ?????]
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