Pokémon, Ash is going to become a perfect man from now on.

All living things must be forced into harmony; if any conflict arises, you will be immediately turned into a statue.

Isn't this a quintessential dystopia?

He continued walking forward, complaining about his discovery while also feeling a chill run down his spine... He hadn't seen a single human along the way!

Finally, Ash returned to the cave he had seen before, where Mewtwo, now a statue, stood.

"Even you can't escape it..." Ash shook his head helplessly, casually stroking Mewtwo's petrified body...

boom!

He seemed to have attracted attention, and the entire space where the stars had stopped began to tremble violently, and everything around him collapsed once again.

The darkness returned, and Ash found himself back in the vortex he had been in before.

This time, however, the center of the vortex no longer played Ash's life story; instead, it featured a strangely shaped full moon.

Beside the moon, a dragon beast covered in diamond exudes an astonishing aura, its reddened eyes fixed on Ash!

Dialga, the god of time!

"It's you... So, you can't tolerate me continuing to have access to secrets?"

"Roar!!" Ash's attitude clearly angered the Time Dragon God, which roared and condensed a dazzling beam of light that shot towards Ash!

Dialga's signature Roar of Time... In that instant, Ash truly felt that everything around him had frozen!

He couldn't sense the existence of space, didn't know how much time had passed, and couldn't even make any dodging movements, so he could only let the beam of light approach his body!

hum!

But at that moment, a huge vortex suddenly appeared in front of him. It was like a highly elastic shield, stubbornly enveloping the power of time within it, and then forcibly pulling Ash out of the vortex!

Ash knew that Celebi's Time Ripple was working, helping him escape Dialga's pursuit.

The surrounding scenery changed again, and through the haze, Ash saw the outline of the cave where he had been before.

boo~

Just then, a cracking sound suddenly came from the time ripples, as if a bubble had burst, allowing the power of time within to flow out.

Strangely, the power was no longer hostile; instead, it seemed to be confirming Ash's identity as it surrounded him.

"Hello, can you hear me?" A female voice suddenly rang in Xiaozhi's ear.

Xiao Zhi felt that the voice was familiar, seemingly carrying a unique liveliness amidst its expectation.

"It should be Ash listening right now... After all, it was set up by me. As long as Dialga encounters Ash and uses the power of time, you will hear this." The female voice continued, "However... if something really goes wrong, there's nothing I can do. It's already quite an achievement to have done this much."

"Anyway, I'll assume you're Ash. I..." The woman's voice suddenly faltered, and her emotions seemed to gradually decline. "Ash, I might not be able to go back... I can't tell you any details, nor can I explain where I am... I don't even know if you can guess who I am."

"I don't think you can guess it, since you're better at taking direct action... Unfortunately, this time, even if you wanted to save me, there's nothing you can do."

"But it's okay! It's really okay!" The woman's voice began to sound firm, as if she was trying to encourage herself. "Just remember this: from the moment you hear this voice, a few years from now, after you win the World Championship, something huge will happen! Ash, if you can, you must stop it!"

"Ash, you really have to stop all of that! I can't explain it any more clearly, so I'll seal these words inside Dialga and let it convey them to you."

"But soon, even it will abandon me..." the woman sighed softly, her voice returning to its initial melancholy. "You probably think this is too sudden... Actually, it doesn't matter if you don't understand or can't do it... I just feel a little regretful that if the future is like that, I'll never see you again..."

"Anyway... good luck, world's strongest champion~"

...

The sound gradually dissipated, and the abnormal time ripples were also drawn back into the body.

Ash's consciousness returned, and he finally sensed his body again...

"Ash, are you alright?!" The girl beside him immediately rushed into his arms, constantly checking Ash's condition.

Serena almost burst into tears of joy after confirming that Ash was safe and sound.

"That's great... You suddenly became like a statue, I had absolutely no idea what to do..."

"There was an anomaly in the time ripples just now, I'm sorry to have worried you..." Ash patted Serena on the back to comfort her, and briefly explained what he had seen about the Star Stop.

He didn't say the rest of his thoughts for the time being. The bizarre future alone was enough to worry Serena, and there was no need to add to her worries.

However, after setting off again, he did talk about this with the management sprite.

(What are your thoughts on that audio recording?)

(Don't you already have the answer?) The management sprite had already seen through Ash's thoughts. (The person who left the message isn't someone you know, and those words weren't meant for you.)

(Um…)

Just from those few distinctive "It's okay"s, Ash already knew who the other person was.

Those words weren't really meant for me, since I hadn't even played in the World Championships yet.

All I can say is that she truly loves Ash Ketchum…

Pity.

That warning reminded Ash of something else, something he'd heard from Memritsu... about a future hero.

He gradually figured out why future heroes appeared in the past.

As for the changes she mentioned, they are probably things that will happen in the future if the world continues to follow the anime's path.

What would that be?

We can't just leave behind a legend of 'Rainbow and Pokémon Masters' and then force everyone offline...

Chapter 897 Tie Xuan's 'Gift'

If we continue to pursue our goals and declare war on the alpaca system, we might end up with a stellar halt, plunging the entire world into a dystopian state.

If we pretend to be deaf and dumb and go along with Ash's storyline in the anime, a so-called huge change will still occur after the World Championships... and we won't even know what it is!

All paths ahead seem to be blocked, and no matter what choice is made, there will be no good outcome.

But the problem is... why does Ash have to choose between two awful endings?

Nothing in this world is unchangeable, not even the future or fate.

The fact that he sees no opportunity for change now only shows that his vision and abilities have not yet reached that level.

Thinking about it this way, Xiao Zhi felt that this might not be such a bad thing after all.

It was precisely because of these heavy responsibilities that he never dared to slack off, and even though he had already reached the level of fighting legends, he was still constantly seeking more.

Only in this way can Ash have the right to boast that the championship is just the beginning.

Beyond that lies an even wider world and unseen landscapes, waiting for true powerhouses to discover and appreciate!

...

After leaving Mist Mountain, they turned onto Route 118 and quickly arrived at Mauville City.

"What magnificent fortifications! No wonder they could completely block the tsunami." Looking at the towering, thick, giant dam in front of her, Serena couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

She felt as if she had not come to a city, but to a fortress under construction!

A high wall was built around the city, with dense steel bars installed on it. Combined with the city entrance that resembled a passageway, the whole structure looked like an ancient city gate guarding the border.

"Mr. Tie Xuan is indeed a man of great vision. He probably wants to transform Zijin City into an indoor streetscape where buildings surround open spaces. These embankments will later be converted into the foundations and main structures of buildings, and the entire city will then resemble a futuristic metropolis."

Ash knows a bit about Mauville City. When Tetsuya was renovating it, he referenced the structure of Luna City and carried out a large-scale expansion of a medium-sized city.

In the Pokémon Re-Burst games, Mauville City is already the fourth largest city in the Pokémon world.

The two entered through a passageway resembling a city gate, and soon the spacious central square and the network of roads came into view.

They also enjoyed the convenience of the conveyor belt service; as long as they selected their destination in advance—such as the Pokémon Center—they could be delivered to their door without any effort.

Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Center was very helpful; after learning who Ash and Nami were, she immediately helped them register.

"If you want to challenge the Mauville Gym, you can make an appointment in advance at the Pokémon Center. I have already taken care of it for you."

No need to personally go to the gym to try your luck, which is a major optimization of the challenge process. Ash thinks that the main and Alola regions could learn from this.

After a short rest, they rushed to the Violet Dojo... only to find that the dojo master was already waiting at the door.

"Haha, it must be Mr. Ash and Ms. Serena, welcome, welcome."

Cheol-hyun is an elderly man with white hair and beard, but he looks very energetic and his laughter is full of vitality.

"Mr. Tiexuan, you're not going to wait here forever, are you?" Xiaozhi quickly stepped forward to greet him.

"Of course, of course." Tie Xuan waved his hand dismissively. "You two are honored guests. As soon as I received the registration information from the Pokémon Center, I came out immediately to prepare to welcome you."

This formal welcome showed his attitude to some extent. Later, when he led the two into the gym, none of the mechanisms were activated, which seemed to be because he was worried that it would upset Ash.

Ash was actually quite disappointed, as the Electric-type gym's mechanisms were a major feature, especially the mechanical Raikou made by Tiexuan.

"Mr. Ash, I must thank you!" The three of them arrived at the gym's battle arena, and Tie Xuan suddenly bowed ninety degrees to Ash.

"Mr. Tiexuan, what are you doing?" Xiaozhi was startled and quickly frowned and dodged away.

“This is my expression of gratitude on behalf of all the residents of Zijin City!” Tie Xuan said with his head down. “Thanks to your early warning, I had enough time to rebuild the city… Otherwise, Zijin City would have suffered huge losses this time and would not be as safe and sound as it is now.”

“This is the result of your hard work; I only provided the information.” Xiao Zhi shook his head and helped Tie Xuan up. “Besides, if you want to thank someone, you should thank Teng Shu; he was the one who took the initiative to share the information.”

“But he did get your approval.” Cheol-hyun seemed a bit stubborn. “Anyway, I have to express my gratitude, otherwise I won’t feel at ease.”

As he spoke, he waved to his assistant, took the badge from the latter's hand, and handed it to Ash.