"Pidgeot—!"
No—there was no hesitation at all.
Seizing this once-in-a-battle opening, Pidgeotto, which had been circling high above while waiting for the perfect moment, suddenly snapped its wings together. With a sharp diagonal sweep, four crescent-shaped wind blades ripped through the air, tearing apart the wind pressure and slamming straight downward.
Bang! Bang! Bang—!
"MOO—!!"
Tauros, half-kneeling and struggling to rise, was struck squarely by Pidgeotto's Air Cutter. After a miserable roar, its massive body crashed heavily back onto the ground.
"Tauros, get up—now!!"
Anon shouted anxiously.
"Spearow, harass from the rear!
Pidgeotto—full output, don't let it stand back up!"
Ash's command followed instantly.
"Pii-pidge!"
"Kee-kee!"
Answering their Trainer's call, both Pokémon cried out and moved at once.
Earlier, when Tauros was still in peak condition, Spearow had avoided reckless close combat, wary of being caught by a sudden double hind kick. But now, with Tauros knocked down—like a dragon stranded in shallow waters—everything had changed.
Ash decisively ordered Spearow to strike from behind, creating space for Pidgeotto, the true damage dealer in the sky.
Yes, the tactic was riskier than before.
But it was a risk Ash was willing—and able—to take.
Even if Spearow made a mistake and got taken out, a one-on-one between Pidgeotto and Tauros was still firmly in Ash's favor.
Besides, Spearow was far sharper and slipperier than Ash had even expected. Tauros bringing it down was far from easy.
"Pii—!"
"Kee—!"
In the sky, the two Flying-types moved like fighter jets at an airshow, weaving and spiraling through the air with dazzling aerial maneuvers that left spectators breathless.
Sometimes they flew wing to wing.
Sometimes they split apart, attacking from different angles.
Whenever Tauros focused its gaze and attention on the greater threat—Pidgeotto—the brothers' years of hunting and surviving together showed their worth.
Without any need for Ash's command, Spearow seized the opening, looping behind Tauros and driving a vicious Peck straight into its back.
"MOO—!!"
But the moment Tauros twisted its head, trying to retaliate—
Pidgeotto struck first.
Air Slash. Air Cutter.
A relentless barrage crashed down in one continuous flow.
Tauros howled in agony, battered again and again.
"Tauros, use Flamethrower!!"
"Tauros, get up!!"
"Tauros, watch your flank—!"
"Tauros, Pidgeotto is directly above you—dodge!!"
Anon's frantic commands poured out nonstop.
The battle never paused.
At the start, when Ash revealed the Pidgeotto + Spearow lineup, the crowd had been full of doubt. Many believed that expecting cooperation from two Pokémon whose species were natural enemies was absurd—that avoiding infighting alone would already be a miracle.
But once the battle began—
Pidgeotto and Spearow simultaneously used Mirror Move, copying Golbat's Supersonic and turning the tables in a brilliant counter that threw Golbat into confusion.
Then Pidgeotto pinned Tauros down while Spearow eliminated Golbat.
And after Golbat fell, the two birds joined forces, first with Spearow distracting and harassing, then with both attacking in seamless coordination.
Looking at the fight as a whole—
There were moments of basic synchronized movement,
clear mid-level role division,
and now, high-level coordination born of absolute trust.
Watching Spearow and Pidgeotto pincer Tauros from front and back, the audience could only gape in stunned silence.
As the "Light of Kanto" and a future Champion of the Indigo League, Ash had proven one thing beyond doubt—
He had never made a low-level, common-sense mistake.
Choosing the unheard-of pairing of Pidgeotto + Spearow, a combination whose default synergy should have been minus one hundred, meant only one thing:
Ash had his own trump card.
And he delivered.
What unfolded was a dazzling, unprecedented, and utterly thrilling Double Battle.
The tempo was so fast, the coordination so perfect, that Ash barely needed to give commands at all.
The two Pokémon organized their own offense flawlessly.
On the other side, Anon barked orders desperately—but against the relentless, seamless waves of attacks, neither he nor Tauros had any room to breathe.
Tauros's HP bar plummeted steadily.
Even with its legendary toughness, the Wild Bull Pokémon couldn't last more than five minutes against the combined assault of the two brothers.
BOOM!
"Tauros is unable to battle!
Both of Anon's Pokémon have lost combat capability—this match is won by Ash!!"
Tauros collapsed with a thunderous crash as the referee raised the red flag and announced the result.
"…!!"
"ASH—!!"
"Ash—AASH—!!"
The stadium erupted.
[Ding! Congratulations, host—defeated LV.25 Golbat, EXP +360]
[Ding! Congratulations, host—defeated LV.29 Tauros, EXP +410]
[Ding! Pidgeotto has met the requirements to level up—current level: LV.35]
[Ding! Spearow has met the requirements to level up—current level: LV.22]
As the cheers thundered around him, system notifications rang in Ash's ears one after another.
Defeating two solid mid-tier Pokémon yielded generous experience. After allocation—
Pidgeotto leveled up once.
Spearow leveled up twice.
Pidgeotto: LV.34 → LV.35
Spearow: LV.20 → LV.22
Pidgeotto's level once again matched Pikachu's, while Spearow—after all the focused training—showed no signs of unstable growth.
"Pidgeotto, Spearow—thank the audience who cheered for us today.
Then we're heading off."
Ash closed the system panel and spoke calmly.
"Pii-pidge!"
"Kee-kee~!"
Flying at his left and right, the two birds bowed politely toward the stands.
Under the audience's approving applause and cheers, one Trainer and two Pokémon exited the battlefield together.
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T/N:
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