Forty percent of the world supported Ash.
Sixty percent supported Ghetsis.
After all, many people only cared about who would win—
not who was good or evil.
And this time…
The power gap was larger than ever before.
A world-ending godlike dragon versus Charizard?
Anyone could see who should win.
Not to mention—Reshiram quadruple-resisted Fire.
Yet the odds were… even?
One-to-one payout on both sides.
Clearly, someone had shoved a mountain of points to force the odds flat.
(We won't say who…)
(Serena: "Just one more billion points on Ash…
Gotta save some later to buy him a gift when we meet…
Ooh, and maybe some cute outfits too~")
Lance all-in'd 300 points, Cynthia 50,000,
Leon and Alder each tossed in 100,000.
Ash, Misty, and Brock all bet 500,000 points each.
Team Rocket's trio scraped together 400,000—
their entire fortune.
The remaining 400,000 they had previously used on Pokémon food, supplies, and training gear.
Say what you want about them—
Team Rocket takes excellent care of their partners.
And most of their points always end up on Ash.
If Ash ever learned this…
What would he even think?
Probably something like:
"Figures… they're always obsessed with Pikachu…"
Gary remained in his usual seat, sipping tea.
Despite the overwhelming power imbalance,
He still chose Ash.
With 200,000 in savings, he placed 100,000 on Ash.
The Belief-in-Ash Gang.jpg
The footage resumed—
The sky-darkening white dragon roared,
wings spread wide,
mouth brimming with intense azure flames.
Reshiram's tail ignited,
exploding with blinding red heat—
while the blue flame in its jaws swelled into a spherical inferno…
Then unleashed as a tower of blue fire,
lined with flowing fire-streams,
so hot that space itself warped around it.
[Alder: If I'm not mistaken—that's Reshiram's signature move, Blue Flare!]
[Alder: Its power rivals—no, surpasses—Fusion Flare.
It may not appear as overwhelming as the preview… but…]
But it was still an attack from a First-Rank Legendary,
capable of annihilating everything on screen.
Aimed directly at Ash and the others.
How could they possibly withstand it?
People screamed.
Some covered their eyes outright.
If that hit Ash—
no matter how tough he was,
He'd be vaporized.
Pikachu was his only defender.
Could Thunderbolt really stop Blue Flare?
BOOM!
Just as the raging blue inferno was about to swallow them—
A powerful crimson flame surged from the sky,
colliding with Reshiram's attack and neutralizing it!
Smoke swallowed the battlefield.
When it cleared—
A blazing red dragon stood tall.
Ash's head snapped up, eyes blazing.
"Charizard! You're here!"
"RRRAAOOOHH!!"
Ash's Charizard had returned.
Stronger.
Broader.
Its fire is hotter than ever.
Even its build was larger than when it battled Articuno.
It had grown.
"Amazing! Then it's settled—Charizard, we'll stop Reshiram right here!"
"Wha—?! Ash, that's Reshiram!
Even if Charizard is strong, that's way too reckless!"
Iris tried to stop him.
"That's one of Unova's mightiest Legendary Dragons!
Charizard can't win!"
"Yeah, Ash—we should focus on destroying Colress's control machine!
If we shut it down, Reshiram will return to normal!"
Cilan pointed out something odd:
Reshiram's eyes were glowing red—
the same as the rampaging Pokémon earlier.
It wasn't captured.
It was controlled.
Colress's machine was operating,
and Ghetsis held the control staff.
That was why the tally listed Reshiram under Ghetsis's name.
[Lance: A device that can control Legendaries…
This evil team is just as advanced as Team Rocket.]
[Steven: They can control even a First-Rank Divine Pokémon?!
That scientist—Colress—is unbelievably dangerous.]
[Alder: Colress… Plasma's second-in-command.
A brilliant but evil researcher.
I never expected… he'd actually succeed in building such a machine…]
Team Rocket HQ
"Boss Giovanni! Should we steal that Plasma tech?!"
Apollo nearly vibrated with excitement.
Giovanni smacked the table.
"Idiot. If they'd already perfected such tech,
they would've openly challenged the League ages ago.
This footage is from the future."
He narrowed his eyes.
"But even so…
to think humans can evolve to control a god…"
His mind raced.
"If Plasma can do it,
Team Rocket certainly can."
Back in the footage—
Ash shook his head.
"With Reshiram here, none of you can get close to the machine!
Only Charizard and I can hold it off!"
"And you saw Charizard just now—
He blocked Reshiram's attack!"
"My Charizard is the strongest dragon of Charicific Valley—
He's number one!"
Charizard roared skyward,
spewing flames so hot the clouds vaporized.
This was no longer the weak, rebellious lizard from long ago.
This was a Dragon King.
[Leon: So this is Charizard after training at Charicific Valley…
It might actually rival mine now.]
[Lance: That Flamethrower is worlds stronger than before.
It even blocked Blue Flare. Charizard is top-tier now.]
[Cynthia: And this is without his damaged foundation restored…
When it is restored… his potential is terrifying.]
[Alder: This is the miracle created between Ash and his Pokémon.]
Once, it stood at the valley entrance like a grunt.
Now, it stood tall—capable of defying gods.
"Come on out, everyone!"
Ash released his entire team:
Charizard, Froakie, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Pidgeotto.
He wanted them to witness Charizard's power.
Win or lose—
Facing a Legendary Dragon was a moment for the ages.
Charizard grinned proudly.
Today was his moment again.
Froakie blinked in awe—
His first Heavenly Tally.
The group agreed with Ash's reasoning.
As long as Reshiram blocked the path,
destroying the machine was impossible.
Iris took a deep breath, looked at Charizard, and nodded.
"Everyone! Let's go!
Charizard can even push my Haxorus back—
trust them!"
N followed.
"I can feel Charizard's fighting spirit.
This battlefield belongs to them."
Cilan nodded firmly.
"Ash—take care!"
They ran off to locate the machine.
The battle began—
"REEEESHHHHRRRAAAMMM!!"
Reshiram roared, gathering purple energy in its jaws.
Dragon Pulse.
"Charizard! Flamethrower!"
Charizard could use Dragon Pulse—
But when facing a pure Dragon-type, that was suicide.
"RRRAH!!"
A torrent of fire erupted as Dragon Pulse fired simultaneously.
The collision detonated the battlefield.
The shockwave staggered Iris, N, and Cilan even from far away.
Two forces of near-Legendary and Legendary power—
A simple clash was enough to shake the ruins apart.
Buildings split.
Stone shattered.
Dust engulfed everything.
High above, a cloaked man with a trident-like hairstyle raised a staff.
Ghetsis.
Alder grit his teeth.
[Alder: That's Ghetsis!]
"Reshiram! Fusion Flare!"
The staff glowed ominously.
Reshiram's red eyes brightened—
Its body was traced with flowing lines of fire.
Tail blazing like a jet engine.
A sunlike sphere formed in its jaws—
Fusion Flare, the signature of truth.
"Ahead, Charizard—Blast Burn!"
Charizard roared as fiery energy wrapped around him—
The battlefield's temperature is skyrocketing.
Blast Burn—
the mightiest Fire-type move any starter could learn.
A move so strong it forced recoil fatigue afterward.
The two ultimate flames launched simultaneously.
Fusion Flare erupted into a pillar of burning annihilation.
Blast Burn surged like a world-ending explosion.
The collision—
ENGULFED EVERYTHING.
Buildings evaporated.
Ground split apart.
Clouds were ripped from the sky.
Ash and Pikachu, closest to the explosion, braced against it.
Ash didn't move an inch—
just pressed his cap down.
Pikachu clawed desperately at the ground, sliding back.
The audience almost burst into laughter despite the tension.
Who was the Pokémon again?!
Even Ghetsis in the distance struggled to stay upright.
The shockwave carved the land apart.
When the flames finally cleared—
Charizard stood tall, eyes sharpened.
But on Reshiram's pure white body—
Were scorch marks.
Small, but undeniable.
A Fire-type bruised a quad-resisting Legendary.
The world went silent.
Champion Reactions
[Alder: Reshiram is weakened.]
[Cynthia: Yes. It's barely showing a third of the power it had fighting Zekrom.]
[Lance: Right now, Reshiram's strength is equal to a top-tier Second-Rank Legendary at best.]
[Steven: Even so, Ash's Charizard is incredible.
To match Reshiram at all means it's nearly on par with the fully powered Alola Pikachu.]
The Reshiram shown was still far beyond normal Pokémon—
but clearly restrained.
The reason soon followed:
[Alder: Reshiram must be resisting the control machine.
It's fighting the device's influence, preventing its true power from being used.]
[Wallace: As expected of a Divine Pokémon.
Human technology can't truly dominate the gods.]
[Diantha: Or maybe… It's because of Lance?
Perhaps Ghetsis feels an unknown curse settling upon him~]
[Lance: ?????]
EXCUSE ME!?
Lance stared blankly.
Was his "curse" really that strong?
Could it affect a god-level dragon?!
No. Impossible.
He was a Dragon Master, not a walking jinx!
…Right?
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