Ash tried to scare the Spearow away.
But Spearow, by nature, was aggressive and fearless—there was no way it would be intimidated by him.
"Kee-eh!"
With a sharp cry, the flock of Spearow in the sky seemed to receive an unspoken command and swooped down toward Ash.
"Pikachu!"
Pikachu, deeply moved by Ash's courage, leaped forward to stand in front of him, ready to fight with everything it had.
At that critical moment…
A voice echoed from above: "Metagross, use Psychic!"
Ash felt that voice was familiar.
Before he could figure out whose it was, the air above suddenly warped, an invisible force sweeping over the Spearow that were about to attack him and Pikachu.
The entire flock was instantly slammed as if struck by a heavy hammer, plummeting from the sky like raindrops, scattered across the ground.
"Amazing!"
Ash unconsciously opened his mouth in astonishment, staring at the scene before him.
"Pikachu!"
Pikachu mirrored his expression, equally shocked.
Then both trainer and Pokémon looked up at the colossal Pokémon hovering in the sky—and at the figure riding on its back… Nozomi?
Ash exclaimed.
Why was it Nozomi? And since when had he become this strong?
[Defeated Wild Pokémon (52/50), earned one standard lottery draw.]
Guiding Metagross to descend, Nozomi flipped off its back with Misty in tow.
"Are you okay?" Nozomi asked.
"Thanks to you, Nozomi!"
Ash was so moved he felt like he could cry.
For a trainer who had just left home only to be chased by a horde of Pokémon, Nozomi's appearance was nothing short of a savior.
"No problem. I just happened to run into your 'creditor' and came by when I heard you were in danger."
Nozomi gestured toward Misty, who was examining her bike nearby.
"Uh…"
Ash froze at that.
Speaking of her bike, he remembered it might have been damaged when they fell off the slope.
Sure enough, when Misty lifted the bike, its front wheel was severely bent.
"My bike!"
Misty froze, glaring angrily at Ash.
Ash felt extremely embarrassed—this was entirely his fault. Not only had he taken someone else's bike without permission, he'd also damaged it.
"Let's deal with the bike later," Nozomi intervened smoothly. "Pikachu looks in bad shape. Should we take it to the Viridian City Pokémon Center?"
Nozomi glanced at Pikachu.
Pikachu was covered in scratches from the Spearow attacks, and after rushing to Ash's side, it looked weak and battered.
"That's right, Pikachu!"
Ash quickly scooped up Pikachu. "Nozomi, please help me."
"My Metagross can't carry that many people… How about this: you give Pikachu to me first. I'll take Pikachu to the Pokémon Center, and you and Misty can meet me there later."
It was impossible for Metagross to carry three people plus a bike.
But leaving Misty alone seemed unwise, so Nozomi suggested this compromise.
Ash nodded eagerly, trusting Nozomi, and looked down at Pikachu in his arms.
"Pikachu, be good. Let Nozomi take you to the Pokémon Center first. I'll be there soon."
"Pika…"
Pikachu was weak but nodded.
It had already recognized Ash as a trainer when he had bravely faced the Spearow earlier.
"Don't shock me, Pikachu…"
After taking Pikachu from Ash and giving that warning, Nozomi leapt onto Metagross, flying toward the Viridian City Pokémon Center.
A rainbow appeared in the sky behind them.
By the time they arrived at the Pokémon Center, the weather had cleared.
Metagross landed from the sky, drawing countless gazes.
With its imposing figure, Metagross stood out no matter where it appeared.
"What Pokémon is that? It looks incredible!"
"Seems like a pseudo-legendary from the Hoenn region!"
"I want one!"
Amidst the murmurs of awe, Nozomi recalled Metagross and quickly entered the Pokémon Center.
He strode to the front desk. "Nurse Joy, there's a Pikachu here that needs treatment!"
"Is this your Pokémon? How did it get so badly hurt?"
Seeing Pikachu's condition, Joy frowned.
Pikachu was not in good shape.
Joy had seen the landing through the glass doors and found it hard to imagine a trainer with such a powerful Pokémon letting it get injured this badly.
"No, this Pikachu belongs to my friend. It was urgent, so I brought it here first. He'll come shortly."
Nozomi would not take the blame for this—not in his lifetime.
"I see. Then leave it to me!"
Joy nodded and called Chansey, who carried Pikachu into the treatment room.
"Pikachu should be okay, right?" Nozomi asked.
"Thanks to the timely delivery, there shouldn't be any serious danger."
Thanks to the advanced technology of the Pokémon world, combined with treatment techniques using Pokémon skills, even near-death Pokémon had a high chance of recovery.
"Thank you very much."
"No problem, it's my duty."
While Pikachu underwent emergency treatment, Joy continued to attend other trainers, and Nozomi, with nothing else to do, moved to a sofa in the corner.
"System, show my lottery draws."
[Remaining lottery draws: Standard *1, Silver *0, Gold *0, Platinum *0]
Seeing the zeros, Nozomi twitched at the corner of her mouth. "No need to show ones I don't have."
Why insist on showing them? It was uncomfortable.
[Display settings modified]
Nozomi was pleased with the system's responsiveness. He silently thought, "System, lottery!"
[Drawing… Congratulations, the host received…]