Pokemon: This Ash Is Too Versatile

Ash hung the Pokeball back on his waist and reached for the second Pokeball.

"For this next match, let me show you... what a true surprise is, Gym Leader Raihan."

"Go, Little Lugia!"

The Pokeball was thrown, and the light slowly gathered on the other end of the field. After the light dissipated, a figure entirely different from an ordinary Lugia appeared on the field.

Its body was much smaller than that of an adult Lugia, only about two meters in length from head to tail.

But the imposing aura it emitted was in no way weaker.

Its entire body was covered in a layer of dark black scales, as if it had been soaked in the night.

The usually gentle orange eyes were replaced by a deep blood-red hue. Despite this, there was not much bloodthirsty frenzy in its eyes but rather a calmness like an ordinary Pokemon.

Dark Lugia, this was the second Pokemon Ash decided to bring out!

Woo~

Little Lugia let out a low cry, the aura in that sound causing the air in the entire gym to stagnate.

In the spectator stands, Clair, who had been seated, instantly sprung up from her seat.

"This, this..."

Her hand pointed at the dark figure on the field, her lips trembling so much that she could hardly speak.

Next to her, Lance also stood up abruptly, his eyes widened round, and his face showed unprecedented shock.

"Lugia... Sea God Lugia?!"

"This is impossible!"

As trainers from the Johto Region, how could Lance and Clair not recognize Lugia!

That was one of the two guardian deities symbolizing the entire Johto Region, the legendary creature that governs the sea!

Throughout Johto, those who have seen the true form of Lugia are very few, let alone having Lugia appear before them for a battle.

But this... this is real?

Did Ash really have a Sea God in his hands?

And this Lugia looks completely different from the legendary one!

Only Cynthia present on the scene seemed relatively calm.

A hint of surprise also flashed in her golden eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a gentle smile.

This Lugia was personally handed over to Ash by her back then.

At that time, Little Lugia was in such a pitiful state, but now it’s so spirited, all thanks to Ash!

Yet Cynthia never imagined.

In less than half a year, this little fellow, whose life was once in jeopardy, had made it all the way to the Elite Peak.

In terms of ordinary Pokemon, such growth speed is already considered miraculous.

For a Legendary Beast, it goes without saying.

For such creatures, every leap in level means a drastic change in power.

Precisely because each step carries significant weight, the growth of Legendary Beasts seems particularly slow, often taking years to measure even a slight level increase.

Under normal circumstances, a Legendary Beast growing from Junior Elite Level to the Elite Peak would take three to five years at least.

Not to mention the two small grade gaps between.

Yet by Ash’s side, the speed of Little Lugia’s improvement is no different from that of regular Pokemon.

It should be noted that the regular Pokemon here refers to the regular Pokemon around Ash.

If compared to ordinary Pokemon outside, Little Lugia’s growth speed can be said to surpass them by hundreds of miles!

When Lugia handed Little Lugia to Ash, she was there.

It can be said that she shares quite a bit of connection with this Little Lugia.

’Little one, your father’s trust was not misplaced. Ash is indeed the most suitable trainer for you.’

’Besides him, there is no other trainer in the world qualified to handle you.’

As she thought silently, Cynthia’s gaze turned to Raihan on the other side of the field, preparing to see what reaction this mighty warrior from Galar would have.

But to her surprise, Raihan’s expression was neither the shock of Lance nor the excitement of Clair.

That guy was scratching his head with a bewildered look, staring at the dark figure on the field with a face of "What the hell is that?"

Cynthia: ...

She almost forgot that Raihan is from Galar.

Galar is located across most of the Pokemon Realm from Johto. Even if Raihan is knowledgeable, he doesn’t need to study every Legendary Beast from every region.

Furthermore, this Little Lugia has changed its appearance, entirely black, so much so that even someone like Cynthia who has seen the original had to take a closer look to recognize it. It’s normal for Raihan not to recognize it.

"What kind of Pokemon is this guy? It looks pretty unique!"

Clair almost had a brain hemorrhage upon hearing that. What kind of nonsense is this guy talking?!

Being in Johto and not recognizing the Sea God?!

"Raihan! Don’t tell me you don’t even recognize the Sea God?!"

Raihan looked utterly confused: "Sea God? What Sea God?"

"One of the guardian deities of Johto!" Clair stomped her foot in rage, "The Lugia from legends that guards the ocean!"

"Oh—" Raihan then nodded in sudden realization, "So it’s Lugia."

"But wait a minute, Clair, isn’t Lugia supposed to be all white? Why does this one look like a lump of coal?"

After coming to Johto, he indeed saw pictures of Lugia, but only vaguely and without studying every detail to embed it deeply into his memory.

However, he did remember Lugia’s color, pure white like snow, completely the opposite of this coal black, right!