Ash’s declaration of war toward the Spearow echoed across the vast wilderness.
However, Ash was very clear about one thing.
Even though he had just begun to draw out the power of Aura within his body, there was no way he could directly defeat such a massive flock of Spearow and Fearow head-on.
But that did not mean there was no solution at all.
Ash’s gaze shifted, landing on the leading Fearow.
As long as he could defeat that leader, or even capture it, the desperate situation they were in could be instantly reversed.
Although under such circumstances Ash had no mood to capture a Pokémon, he had no other choice now.
He could only attempt to turn the tide of battle using this method.
In the dim sky, a blinding flash of lightning suddenly tore through the darkness, briefly illuminating the land below.
Under that flash of light, the stunned expressions on the faces of the Spearow and Fearow circling in the sky were fully revealed.
The lightning also pierced through Ash’s jacket, lighting up Pikachu’s eyes beneath it.
No matter how it thought about it, it never expected that this trainer, who looked somewhat unreliable, would actually choose to stand in front of it at a moment of danger, using his own body to protect it.
With a rushing sound, a torrential downpour suddenly poured from the sky without any warning.
The icy rain instantly soaked Ash’s clothes and hair, shrouding the entire plain in an impenetrable curtain of rain.
The air across the wilderness fell into an unusual silence.
Then, with a thunderous boom, another deafening clap of thunder shattered the brief stillness.
“Spear?”
“Spearow!”
After recovering from their initial shock, the flock of Spearow looked at one another before letting out cheerful cries.
Their voices were filled with undisguised mockery, as if laughing at how overconfident this human boy was.
However, the Fearow behaved completely differently.
When they saw Ash step forward alone, when they heard his declaration, the dozen or so Fearow exchanged glances, and an inexplicable sense of déjà vu surged within their minds.
Soon after, an unexplainable fear quietly rose in their hearts.
At that very moment, Pikachu, who had been lying on the ground, had its pupils slightly widen.
Its injuries began to heal at a visible rate, as if by a miracle.
At the same time, a warm and powerful force began to surge up from deep within its body.
Pikachu stood up from beneath Ash’s jacket and shook its head, as if trying to clear its mind.
From the electric sacs on its cheeks, a golden light began to burst forth, far more dazzling than ever before.
Another rumble of thunder exploded through the sky.
The Spearow in the air seemed to have lost their patience.
Screeching loudly, they turned into streaks of black shadows and dove rapidly toward Ash.
They cried out in alarm and scattered, fleeing in all directions.
What was going on?
Before Ash could figure it out, a yellow figure flashed past his side.
It lightly leaped onto his shoulder, then used that momentum to spring fiercely into the air.
The flickering lightning in the sky clearly outlined Pikachu’s figure.
“Pikachu! Wai—”
Ash instinctively reached out his hand, trying to stop Pikachu.
But before he could finish speaking, an extremely familiar feeling arose within him.
Midair, Pikachu turned its head back, and on its face was the exact same confident smile that Ash had just shown moments ago.
This was not Pikachu’s desperate final attack at the cost of exhausting all its strength.
Instead, it felt more like the kind of effortless, perfectly coordinated attack that Ash had long grown accustomed to after countless battles, filled with trust and understanding.
In that instant, Ash understood everything.
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
He raised his hand and skillfully flipped the brim of his cap backward.
“I see. If that’s the case… then let’s go, Pikachu!”
Ash extended his finger, pointing straight at the overwhelming flock of Spearow, and shouted with all his strength, “Use Thunder!”
The moment the command was given, Pikachu no longer held back.
With Ash’s order, it could finally release the seemingly endless power that had just surged from within its body without restraint.
A powerful current drew in the thunderclouds above.
At the center of the dark clouds, a massive vortex formed, with countless golden bolts of electricity writhing wildly within it.
Seeing this, the Fearow that were still fleeing midair suddenly became even more terrified.
They flapped their wings faster, desperately trying to escape this horrifying storm.
But in such torrential rain, where could they possibly escape to?
“Pi…ka…CHUUU!!!”
As Pikachu’s resounding cry echoed across the heavens, a thick golden bolt of lightning suddenly crashed down from the center of the vortex in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, the lightning engulfed all the Spearow that were diving down.
Even the Fearow that had been fleeing in panic were unable to escape, caught within the vast range of the lightning strike.
“Spea—!”
“Fea—!”
Piercing screams rang out one after another.
Under the continuous onslaught of lightning, the Spearow and Fearow lost consciousness one by one, falling helplessly from the sky and hitting the ground, completely unable to continue fighting.
Gradually, the lightning subsided.
The dark clouds covering the sky dispersed, and warm sunlight once again broke through the clouds, shining down upon the vast plain that had been ravaged.
Ash rushed forward and steadily caught Pikachu in his arms.
Looking at the unharmed Pikachu in his embrace, Ash smiled with relief.
“So you came too,” Ash said softly.
“Could it be that you were also inside its body all this time, just like me?”
Hearing his words, Pikachu tilted its head and let out a “Pika pi, pika.”
Ash understood what it meant.
Its situation was not exactly the same as his.
It had not always existed within the past Pikachu.
Only just now, when it sensed Pikachu’s unyielding determination and its strong will to protect Ash, had it suddenly been awakened.
“I see… so that’s how it is,” Ash said, accepting the explanation.
But still…
“I wonder what’s really going on. This is such a strange experience.”
“Pika.” Pikachu nodded in agreement.
As the crisis passed, an indescribable wave of exhaustion washed over both Ash and Pikachu.
They seemed to realize something.
They glanced at each other, then simultaneously fell backward, lying side by side on the soft grass.
“Even though I don’t understand what’s happening, looking at my past self is actually kind of interesting,” Ash muttered as he gazed at the clear blue sky.
“Pika~” Pikachu swayed its tail and responded lazily.
As they spoke, both Ash and Pikachu began to feel their eyelids growing heavier and heavier.
It seemed their time was coming to an end.
Next, it would be up to the original protagonists to continue forward.
Before his consciousness completely faded, Ash turned his head one last time to look at the remains of the bicycle not far away.
The frame, which had miraculously survived the Fearow’s Hyper Beam earlier, had ultimately failed to escape Pikachu’s earth-shaking Thunder.
It had now been reduced to a pile of charred scrap metal, its original shape completely unrecognizable, even more miserable than before.
Ash let out a faint sigh and murmured in a barely audible voice, “There’s no helping it… I already tried my best to protect it… my past self… do your best… pay it off…”
“Pika~”
After letting out one final weak sound, both Ash and Pikachu fell into a deep sleep.
After the storm, the sky became crystal clear.
Sunlight broke through the clouds, gently bathing the land and bringing back a sense of peace and vitality to the devastated plain.
As the rain cleared, a rainbow stretched across the sky, faintly appearing above, quietly standing like a witness to this brand new journey.
(End of Chapter)