The universe was on the brink of collapse. Well, it wasn't really Ash's problem... except now it was.
Ash Ketchum stood at the edge of a jagged mountain cliff, staring up at the swirling vortex of chaos in the sky above. A portal opened, cracks of cosmic energy exploding in all directions, sending rumbles through the ground beneath his boots. He sighed heavily. The scene was enough to make even the most seasoned superhero break a sweat.
"I still don't get it," Ash muttered under his breath, tightening his grip on the tattered cloak that hung awkwardly from his shoulders. It was a cloak that didn't fit him at all—way too big and frayed at the ends—but Arceus had insisted, and who was Ash to argue with a literal god?
"Why… did Arceus want me to fix the DBZ universe?" he asked himself, looking down at his own reflection in a nearby puddle. For some reason, he was wearing a Dark Vader mask, which covered his entire face. He had no idea why, but it felt vaguely menacing, and perhaps that was the point.
"Maybe because you're the Monarch of all Pokemon," Ash said aloud, trying to sound confident. That didn't make sense either. He wasn't exactly royalty. Well, unless you counted his achievements in the Indigo League, Orange Islands, Johto, Hoenn, Unova, Kalos, Alola, and Galar regions. Okay, maybe he was a little royalty.
But the DBZ universe? That was a whole different level of weird.
He scratched his head beneath the mask and stared back at the swirling portal. He needed a nickname. Something cool. Something that would strike fear into the hearts of any villains he'd face in the DBZ universe. But before he could come up with anything truly menacing, Arceus decided to make things even more complicated.
A bright, blinding light emanated from the sky, and Arceus' voice boomed down, "Ash Ketchum, I have one final command for you."
"Uh... okay?" Ash said, half-expecting Arceus to show up with a ridiculously detailed prophecy about how he was supposed to save the world. Maybe Arceus wanted to explain this whole DBZ universe mess to him, but no—Arceus always liked to be vague and cryptic. It was their style.
"You will complete your mission alone. No Pikachu. No Pokémon. Only you and your newfound power."
"Wait… what?!" Ash nearly tripped over his cloak. "But—But where's Pikachu?" He turned around frantically, calling, "Pikachu! Pikachu?!" But there was no sign of his loyal companion. Not even a Pika in the distance.
The cloak billowed out behind him as he spun in circles, his heart racing. "Pikachu! Come on, man! This isn't funny!"
Arceus' voice echoed down again, much more solemn now. "Your Pokémon have no place in this realm, Ash. They cannot be with you during this trial. It is your destiny, and only you can save this universe."
Ash blinked in disbelief. The words hit him like a ton of bricks. No Pikachu? No Squirtle? No Charizard? No one?!
A single tear dripped down from under the edge of his mask. "No… no… not Pikachu. Not now."
The silence was deafening.
He stumbled backward, clutching at the empty air. "But… Pikachu's been with me since Pallet Town… how could you do this, Arceus? How could you take him away from me?" His voice wavered, cracking under the weight of the sudden loss.
Arceus, not one for sentimental moments, responded coldly, "It is the only way, Ash. You must learn to rely on yourself. The DBZ universe will test you in ways your Pokémon never could."
Ash's heart shattered. "But I don't know how to fight without my Pokémon! I'm a trainer! This is all too much!"
The world around him felt like it was spiraling. He wanted to yell at Arceus, but he couldn't. Not with the deity already having the last word.
Suddenly, he took a deep breath, wiped his eyes under the mask, and squared his shoulders. "No. No, I'm not going to break down here. Not like this."
"Alright," he muttered to himself, pacing back and forth on the mountaintop, "if I'm going to be alone… I need a nickname. Yeah. Something cool. Something like… 'The Unbeatable?' Or 'The Mighty Ashinator'?" He winced at the latter one. That sounded ridiculous. "Nah, that's dumb. Let's see… 'Ash the Conqueror?'"
He paused. "No, that's just too... eh. Maybe 'Lord of the Powers that Be'? Too formal…"
Ash's thoughts were interrupted by another booming voice from above. "Ash Ketchum, I must remind you—this mission is urgent! You must proceed to the DBZ universe immediately. The balance is at stake!"
"Arceus!" Ash groaned. "Can you at least let me pick a cool name?!"
The sky cracked open, and a flurry of cosmic energy came pouring down around him. The air itself began to crackle with raw power. "Your nickname will come when it is needed. Now go!"
Ash looked up at the portal, still feeling a little lost but determined. He sighed, brushing himself off. "Okay, okay. No Pikachu. No cool name. Just me… and a Dark Vader mask." He straightened his back, nodded to himself, and muttered, "Let's do this…"
And so, Ash Ketchum, Monarch of All Pokémon, walked into the DBZ universe.
Little did he know, as he leaped through the portal, that he'd soon find himself face to face with the most powerful beings in all of existence. And he had no clue how to handle it.
But hey, at least he'd look good in his mask.
Moments later...
Ash Ketchum's first mission in the DBZ universe was about to get underway, and he still had no idea what was going on. Seriously. He had no idea who Goku was. His script said something about a guy named Goku being related to a kid named Gohan, and some mysterious guy named Raditz was supposed to kidnap him. But none of that made sense to Ash. All he knew was that there was an island in front of him, and this was where the battle was supposed to take place.
Master Roshi's tiny island, apparently, according to the script clutched in his gloved hand. The island was tiny—really tiny. Like, if you sneezed wrong, you'd end up in the ocean tiny. But Ash wasn't here to sightsee. No, he had to defeat Raditz, the Saiyan who was going to kidnap Goku's son. Or, you know, whatever the script said. He didn't have time for details.
Ash squinted through the mask, trying to make sense of his surroundings. His psychic powers had brought him here, but he had no idea if he had really arrived at the right place. The island looked... oddly peaceful for a location about to be hit with a Saiyan abduction. The wind was light, the sea was calm, and a giant turtle was somehow swimming nearby.
"Alright, Ash," he said, talking to himself in the most heroic tone he could muster, "you've got this. Just defeat Raditz and move on to the next chapter. Easy, right?"
He stood there, contemplating his first official act as the 'Masked Monarch' of all Pokémon—something he still wasn't sure about, but whatever—when the sound of a large spaceship caught his attention. A roar split the sky. A massive, ridiculously over-the-top spaceship broke through the clouds and landed with a crash, stirring up a whirlwind of sand and debris.
"Here we go..." Ash muttered, his hand instinctively going for some invisible Poké Ball. Wait. No Pikachu. No Pokémon. It's just me. Just… my psychic powers. Great.
The dust settled, and a tall, muscular man with spiky black hair emerged from the wreckage. He was wearing a strange battle armor and looked entirely too serious for this little island. His eyes narrowed, looking around for his target.
"Raditz," Ash muttered, glancing at the script. The man in front of him had to be Raditz. No one else looked that imposing and had a name that sounded like a snack food.
Raditz looked down at Ash, who was standing in front of him in a ridiculous oversized cloak, wearing a Dark Vader mask.
"Who are you?" Raditz sneered. "Another Earthling trying to stop me?"
Ash stood tall, puffing out his chest. "I am... uh... The Masked Monarch of Power!" he said, feeling stupid immediately after. That was the best name he could come up with on the spot?
Raditz raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms. "That's a stupid name. Are you the one trying to stop me from kidnapping that pathetic child runt from my weakling brother of mine?" He looked over his shoulder, presumably looking for the kid. "I don't know who you are, but you look like you couldn't hurt a fly."
Ash blinked at him, the mask making his face feel even more... well, masked. "I'm going to stop you, that's for sure. It's in the script." He pointed at the piece of paper, which seemed a little too absurd to be taken seriously. But Raditz couldn't see it.
"Oh, how cute," Raditz laughed menacingly. "A wannabe hero with a script. You must really think you're tough." He cracked his knuckles and lowered into a fighting stance. "I'll make you regret standing in my way."
Ash shrugged. "Whatever, man. I'm not worried."
Without another word, Raditz charged. His movements were fast, way faster than anything Ash had ever seen. But he wasn't going to be caught off guard. Not with his new powers.
Ash's eyes glowed blue beneath the mask. With a thought, Raditz's forward momentum abruptly halted. His body was completely immobilized by an invisible force.
"W-What the—?!" Raditz gasped, struggling to move, but he couldn't. It was like someone had glued him to the spot.
Ash grinned beneath his mask. "Psychic powers. Pretty cool, right?"
He lifted his hand lazily, and Raditz, despite being several times stronger and more experienced, was effortlessly lifted into the air. He flailed his arms and legs like an angry fish out of water, his face contorted in pure disbelief.
"Put me down, you freak!" Raditz shouted.
"No," Ash replied, his voice completely flat, as he continued to hold Raditz in the air. "You're not getting away with kidnapping anyone today."
Suddenly, Ash felt something stir. A small aura of power surrounded him—tapping into his connection to Arceus, the legendary Pokémon who'd granted him these ridiculous abilities. His invulnerability and immortality were there, too, but that wasn't the point. The point was—this was easy.
"Alright, enough," Ash said, his eyes narrowing beneath the mask. He lowered his hand, and Raditz slammed into the ground with a thud that sent a shockwave through the island. The ground cracked beneath the force.
Raditz groaned, getting back to his feet with a snarl, glaring at the masked boy who had defeated him with nothing more than a thought.
"How—how are you so strong?" Raditz sputtered, shaking in disbelief. "You—You're just a kid!"
Ash folded his arms. "You were right about one thing, though. I am a kid. But I'm a kid who's got some serious power behind him." He flashed a grin, which was totally invisible under the mask, but you could feel it.
At this point, the rest of the crew finally arrived on the scene. Goku, a broad-shouldered man in orange and black, looked absolutely perplexed at the sight of Ash standing over Raditz, who was now groaning and clutching his head. He and his friends—Piccolo, the anti-hero with the permanently grumpy face; Master Roshi, who somehow still looked pervy despite the danger; and a few others—were all watching in stunned silence.
"Well, that's… not what I expected," Goku said, scratching his head. "Who is this kid? Why's he wearing that creepy mask?"
Piccolo narrowed his eyes. "And why did your brother get beat so easily? No one's ever taken him down that fast... except maybe…"
Ash grinned under his mask, cocking his head to the side. "Oh, I'm just passing through. You guys can thank me later, though. I've got to go now."
He turned and gave a quick bow, totally ignoring the silence around him. With a flick of his wrist, Ash teleported away, leaving everyone—especially Raditz—dumbfounded.
From that moment on, the DBZ crew was left speechless, with Goku and Piccolo exchanging glances.
"Do you think… he was really that strong?" Goku asked.
Piccolo didn't answer, too busy contemplating the weirdest first impression of a hero he'd ever seen.
"No. I truly think he was an idiot in a mask."
Ash Ketchum: Legendary hero, masked mystery, and apparently, the new guy in town who was way overpowered for his own good.
"What's next?" Ash thought, wherever he was. "This universe really needs fixing."