As the smoke thinned, Ash and Pikachu leaned forward with bated breath.
Ash had guessed that maybe five or six Spearow would be down, the rest injured, and that alone would've been a great result.
But reality blew past all his expectations.
Every single Spearow in the front line, all twelve, were lying flat on the ground, knocked out cold.
Ash's jaw went slack. He slowly raised his trembling hands and stared at them. That was only half of his strength? What would a full-power Aura Sphere look like…? Could this really be what Aura Ash meant by "power on par with a Legendary Pokémon"?
"I should've listened to Professor Oak's lectures more carefully," Ash muttered, half in awe, half in regret.
"Pika…pi…" 'Monster'… Pikachu gulped.
He suddenly realized: when Ash had used this skill on him earlier, that had been Ash holding back. If it had been this level, he wouldn't just have fainted, he'd have seen heaven's golden gates that very day.
"Alright, Pikachu! Let's split them up, half for you, half for me!" Ash grinned.
"Pika Pika!" 'You take eighty percent, I'll take twenty!'
Ash rolled his eyes but didn't argue. After all, right now… he was clearly the stronger one.
With that, boy and mouse launched their counteroffensive.
Ash flung Aura Spheres like a living artillery cannon, each one detonating in the flock and clearing space for Pikachu. Pikachu darted along the sidelines, zapping stragglers with precise Thunder Shocks, proud of every Spearow he clipped out of the air.
Ash stood tall at the center of the chaos, one hand firing Aura, the other holding a shimmering blue barrier.
In under five minutes, the skies were clear. The once-furious flock of Spearow now lay scattered across the grass, twitching but not seriously harmed.
"Huff… huff… I told you not to force me!" Ash panted, hands on his hips, face full of smug triumph.
"Pika!" Pikachu copied his pose with tiny paws on his hips, looking just as self-satisfied.
First day out as a starter Pokémon and he had already helped wipe out an entire flock. If other Pikachu heard about this, he'd be a legend among rodents! Even if… okay, Ash did ninety percent of the work.
When the dust settled, Ash pulled out his map and squinted at it. Thanks to the chase, they had been carried far off track, but in a good way.
"Huh. We're almost at Viridian City already. At this pace, we can make it by tomorrow morning."
Ash folded the map and stretched. "Guess we should thank those Spearow. If not for them, we'd still be miles back."
Pikachu nodded sagely at his side. Then, side by side, boy and mouse prepared to continue their journey, leaving behind a field of fainted Spearow who were probably reconsidering their life choices.
Although the Spearow had all fainted, Ash knew they'd be fine. Pokémon bodies were tough; unless there was a serious injury, they bounced back quickly on their own. Otherwise, the League would have banned wild battles ages ago.
Satisfied, Ash dusted his hands off. "Alright, Pikachu, let's...wait."
He suddenly turned his head toward a nearby tree, eyes narrowing.
"You over there. Yeah, you. Come out, I already found you."
The path they were on was like a countryside lane, surrounded by tall grass, flowers, and the occasional tree. Ash hadn't noticed anything earlier, but during the battle his Aura had picked up on a presence behind that tree.
It didn't feel like a Pokémon's Aura. Which meant… a person.
They had seen everything. Him, Pikachu, the Aura Spheres, the whole "Ash the War God" act.
And yet, instead of stepping out and clapping like a normal person witnessing greatness, they just kept hiding.
Ash frowned.
'Excuse me? I just pulled off the coolest scene of my life. Where's my audience applause?'
"Still not coming out? Don't blame me if I make a move!"
"No, no, no!" A flustered voice squeaked from behind the tree.
Ash blinked. 'Wait… that's a girl's voice?'
Sure enough, a figure timidly stepped out.
It was a girl with a ponytail, wearing a sleeveless yellow crop top that clung just a little tightly to her chest, paired with denim shorts.
Her face was round and cute, almost doll-like, with sparkling green eyes.
"A girl?" Ash tilted his head. "Why were you hiding back there?"
"C-cough! I was just passing by! I didn't see anything, nope, didn't see a thing!"
Ash folded his arms and squinted. "Liar. You've been by that tree this whole time."
The girl flinched like she'd just been crit hit.
"I… I didn't mean to see anything! Don't kill me to silence me!" the girl blurted, clutching her hands together and bowing her head like Ash was some kind of mob boss.
Ash froze, blinking in confusion. "Kill you? What the heck is wrong with your head?!"
"…"
After a few minutes of awkward conversation, Ash finally pieced together why this girl had refused to come out earlier and why she was acting so strangely now.
Her name was Misty. When she first saw Ash and Pikachu surrounded by a huge flock of Spearow, she had been ready to step in. After all, how could a rookie with just a single Pikachu possibly survive against that many Flying-types?
But then… she witnessed the truth.
The real star of the battle wasn't Pikachu, it was the human Trainer himself! Blue Spheres flying, barriers shimmering, Ash charging into the flock like a one-man army.
Watching the scene unfold, Misty's imagination went wild.
'Was this guy an android? A top-secret government weapon? A runaway experiment from some shady organization?'
And that was why she hadn't dared to step out until now.
Of course, Ash had to shut that nonsense down fast. "Listen, I'm just a normal human, okay? A perfectly normal, rookie Trainer. I just happen to have… you know… a little special ability. That's it!"
It took a lot of awkward reassurance and waving his arms around, but eventually Misty calmed down. Her shoulders relaxed, and she let out a long sigh of relief. At least now, she no longer looked like she was waiting to be "silenced."