Chapter 13: The First Dark Force Outside Pallet Town
Ash and Pikachu pressed onward toward Viridian City.
He recalled from the anime that he would soon encounter a large group of Spearow, leading to a hard-fought battle that forged an unbreakable bond with Pikachu.
This encounter would eventually introduce him to the first heroine, Misty, and the legendary Pokémon, Ho-Oh.
However, Ash felt a twinge of apprehension; he might miss Misty entirely.
If he inadvertently provoked a Spearow, it would set off a chain reaction, leading to a chase by a swarm of them.
As he pondered his circumstances, Ash reflected on his last encounter with Pikachu, realizing that the latter had yet to fully cooperate with him.
In the original story, Pikachu had ultimately defended Ash against the Spearow, but would that still hold true this time?
"Even if I miss Misty… there's still a chance to see Ho-Oh, right?"
Ash murmured, his uncertainty lingering.
Ho-Oh was a mythic figure in the Pokémon world, said to rule the skies, possessing the power to revive Pokémon, if not humans.
The idea of witnessing such grandeur thrilled him, even if he knew Pikachu wasn't Ho-Oh's rival—not yet, at least.
"Forget it, I'll let things unfold as they will," he decided, shaking his head.
He understood this world was different from the anime or the games; it was a tangible reality with unpredictable twists.
Suddenly, Pikachu perked up, his ears twitching as he turned to the sky behind them, letting out a nervous growl that jolted Ash from his thoughts.
"What's wrong?" Ash asked, sensing the tension in the air. The sounds of commotion grew louder, and he could tell they were coming from behind.
"Pikapi—!" Pikachu tugged anxiously at Ash's hat, urging him to look back.
Ash turned, and his heart dropped. A large 'dark cloud' approached from the sky, growing ever closer—a swarm of Spearow!
"Is that…?!" Ash's sharp eyesight quickly confirmed his fears; indeed, it was a vast flock of Spearow, the most formidable force outside of Pallet Town!
Known for their aggressive and reckless nature, Spearow were notorious among trainers.
While one might not pose much of a threat, their tendency to flock made them dangerous.
When threatened, a single Spearow could rally its companions, unleashing a furious counterattack against any intruder.
"Let's get out of here!" Ash shouted, sprinting away. He had no intention of provoking the group and realized they were hot on his trail.
He had no idea when he had enraged the Spearow. Perhaps it was when he and Pikachu attacked the nearby Pidgey, provoking a territorial response.
Pikachu felt a shiver run down his spine. Having lived in the wild for a while, he understood the behavior of Spearow all too well; he didn't want to tangle with them.
As Ash and Pikachu fled, the Spearow group followed relentlessly, their numbers closing the gap quickly.
With wings to propel them, the distance between them shrank rapidly, and Ash's heart raced as he realized they were gaining.
"What the heck happened?!" he wondered aloud, glancing back at the approaching storm of feathers and fury.
"Could it be…?!" A sudden realization hit him: Pikachu's earlier Thunder Shock must have alerted the Spearow, leading them to believe their territory was under attack.
"What a blunder!" Ash felt a wave of annoyance wash over him. He knew better than to engage in a reckless battle in Spearow territory; his immaturity was coming back to haunt him.
"The wild truly is dangerous…" he thought, remembering Professor Oak's warnings about avoiding unexplored areas. He was already facing peril near the main road; what horrors lay deeper in the wilderness?
A piercing cry cut through the air, snapping Ash back to reality. He turned just in time to see the lead Spearow, a fierce glint in its eye, closing in. In less than a minute, they would be upon him.
"I can't just sit here!" Ash declared, determination surging within him.
If he continued running, he'd be caught. He needed to find a place where the Spearow couldn't pursue him and buy himself time to think.
"Pikachu, use Thunder Shock!" Ash shouted.
"Pika——!" Pikachu leaped from Ash's shoulder, channeling electric energy into a powerful spark that shot toward a Spearow in the distance.
This wasn't the same Pikachu from before; with the inheritance from the Soaring in the Sky Dragon of Osiris, the attack surged forth with newfound strength.
"Lie———!" The targeted Spearow cried out in pain, plummeting from the sky, but rather than scattering, the remaining Spearow became even more furious.
Ash knew that attacking would only provoke the flock further, but he had no choice—if they caught him, it would be disastrous.
"This feels like… history repeating itself!" he thought as he scanned the area for a place to escape. His gaze fell upon a nearby cliff waterfall.
His current predicament mirrored Ash's earlier experiences in the anime, as if some unseen force was nudging the timeline back to its original path.
"There's no time to waste!" With determination, Ash hugged Pikachu close and raced toward the cliff edge. He took one last look at the swarm behind him, then leaped into the air, diving off the cliff and into the river below.
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Adios