Chapter 5: The First Battle (Part 2)

"Typhlosion!"

Elm rushed forward in a panic, dropping to his knees beside his fallen Pokémon. His face twisted in worry as he checked Typhlosion's condition.

"Relax," Ash Ketchum said with a calm tone, gently stroking Mew—who was still in the form of a small Pidgey—resting comfortably on his shoulder. "He's not dead. Just knocked out. Honestly, my Pidgey was more humane than you during that battle."

"Boom~!"

Mew let out a delighted cry, pleased with the compliment.

Elm's eyes, however, were still filled with disbelief. "Why?" he demanded, his voice trembling. "Why can your Pidgey use a move like Destruction Ray?"

He recalled Typhlosion into its Poké Ball with a flash of red light, then stood up and glared coldly at Ash. His thoughts spiraled. There was no way—no logical explanation—for a Pidgey to possess a move of that magnitude. It wasn't even fully evolved!

Ash only shrugged and replied with a smirk, "Take a guess."

"You—!"

Elm's fury flared. His clenched fists trembled with rage, but he stopped short of launching another attack.

"If you're done talking," Ash said, his voice turning sharp, "then transfer the prize money and get lost. Or do you plan to keep stalling like a coward?"

Elm grit his teeth and turned to his two companions. He clearly didn't want to admit defeat, but with only one Pokémon left—his Croconaw—it was impossible for him to win alone. Especially against a Pidgey that could wield a skill like Destruction Ray. His pride wounded, he gestured to his friends for help.

They understood immediately. Without a word, Steve and Mark recalled their Charizard and Venusaur from where they were intimidating the surrounding novice Trainers. With the two heavyweights withdrawn, most of the crowd broke free and scattered—yet a few daring onlookers stayed, curiosity outweighing fear. They wanted to see how this legendary Pidgey would stand up against Charizard and Venusaur, two of the Big Three final evolutions of the Kanto region.

The battlefield was set.

On one side stood three experienced beta testers: Elm, Steve, and Mark.

Elm's Croconaw snarled, teeth bared, ready to sink them into anything that dared challenge him.

Charizard took flight with a powerful beat of his wings, snorting embers from his flaring nostrils.

Venusaur stood its ground, vines swaying ominously in the air, ready to strike at its master's command.

On the other side stood Ash Ketchum.

Beside him—still in the form of an unassuming Pidgey—was Mew, calm and focused, undaunted by the intimidating display in front of it.

"Croconaw, Scary Face!" Elm barked, hoping to paralyze the Pidgey with fear and give his team the upper hand.

Croconaw lunged forward, baring its grotesque teeth in a menacing snarl.

But Pidgey wasn't phased. Not in the slightest. Instead, it let out a soft chirp, flapping its wings once before puffing out a sleepy Yawn in Croconaw's direction. The taunt was almost theatrical in its mockery.

The sheer sarcasm of the move sent Croconaw into a frenzy.

"Croconaw, wait!" Elm called, realizing too late what had happened. "Don't rush in!"

But it was no use. Croconaw had been Taunted. The skill had bypassed Elm's command, locking Croconaw into a blind rage. The only thing it saw was that smug little bird. And it was going to rip it apart.

Steve stepped up. "Charizard, assist Croconaw! As soon as that Pidgey powers up for Destruction Ray, hit it with Flamethrower! No hesitation!"

Charizard roared and took off, flames already building in its throat.

Mark, standing confidently beside them, gave his own command. "Venusaur, prepare Sunflame! Once that bird makes its move, unleash the beam with full force."

Venusaur's eyes glowed as it summoned sunlight, channeling the energy into the blooming petals on its back. The atmosphere grew hotter. A ball of light began to form above Venusaur's flower—a miniature sun.

Across from them, Ash watched calmly, his eyes scanning the opposition. He leaned down slightly and whispered a few words to Mew. Then he raised his voice.

"Pidgey, Double Team! Split and charge each of them!"

With a loud screech, Mew blurred, creating two identical copies of itself. Three Pidgeys now zipped across the battlefield—one toward Croconaw, one toward Charizard, and one toward Venusaur.

"Croconaw, Water Gun! Aim for the middle one!" Elm shouted.

"Charizard, Flamethrower, now!" Steve followed.

A high-pressure stream of water and a torrent of flames cut through the air. The two Pidgeys they struck disappeared instantly into a puff of smoke.

Illusions! They'd hit decoys.

All eyes turned to the third Pidgey, the one diving straight at Venusaur.

"That's the real one!" Elm shouted.

"Mark, hurry!" Steve added urgently. "Fire off the Sunflame now before it charges up!"

"I know!" Mark responded, wiping sweat from her brow. "Just give it one more second!"

The small sun above Venusaur's back suddenly condensed. Then, with a blinding flash, it launched the beam.

A scorching, radiant blast tore across the field and struck the incoming Pidgey dead-on.

The air shimmered with heat. The crowd gasped.

Ash remained silent.

A few of the remaining novice Trainers hung their heads. "Poor thing… Such a powerful Pidgey, gone just like that…"

"Yeah… if I had a Pidgey like that, I'd treat it like royalty. Man, that power…"

"It could learn Destruction Ray without even evolving. What would it be like as a Pidgeotto? Or Pidgeot?"

"Maybe it could take on a Legendary one day."

Across from them, Elm grinned wickedly. "Hah! It's over now. Your Pidgey's toast. A deal's a deal. Hand over the money."

He held out his hand smugly.

But Ash only raised an eyebrow. "You really think it's over?"

"Huh?" Elm's grin faded. "What are you talking about?"

Ash snapped his fingers with a crisp clack.

Suddenly, a boom echoed above.

Everyone looked up.

From the sky, a Pidgey was dive-bombing straight down toward the battlefield, its mouth aglow with black energy. It opened its beak—and fired a Destruction Ray directly at the unsuspecting Venusaur below.

Before anyone could react, the blast landed with a deafening explosion. When the smoke cleared, Venusaur lay sprawled on the ground, twitching, unconscious—or worse.

The battlefield went silent.

"What the—how is it still alive?!" Elm yelled, staggering backward.

Ash smirked. "Because what your Sunflame hit… wasn't the real one."

Steve's eyes widened. "A decoy? Then where—?"

Ash turned to him. "Before I ordered Double Team, I whispered a command. Mew—disguised as Pidgey—used Substitute first, creating a more durable clone to take the hit. Then it cloaked itself using Invisibility, waited in the sky until your guard was down… and struck."

"You're telling me it used Substitute and Invisibility?! At the same time?!" Mark choked out.

"Yup." Ash crossed his arms. "Not just any Pidgey, huh?"

Elm stared at the grounded Venusaur, then slowly turned toward Croconaw, who had just realized he was alone. Charizard was still in the air, but hesitation had begun to creep into its usually fearless expression.

"This... this thing isn't a Pidgey…" Elm muttered. "It's a monster."

No, he thought. It's worse. It's a mythical being hiding in the form of a weak bird.

Steve echoed the sentiment with awe. "It has Destruction Ray, Substitute, Taunt, Double Team, Invisibility… That's not even remotely normal. That's legendary tier."

Ash didn't deny it. He looked up at Mew, who gave a cheeky chirp, still in its humble disguise. "He may look like a Pidgey," Ash said, "but he's my partner. And that's all that matters."

The spectators stared in silence.

Then one by one, cheers started to break out.

"Unbelievable!"

"He beat all three of them!"

"What a Trainer!"

Ash turned away, his expression neutral, but inside, he was already thinking about the journey ahead. If this was just the beginning, he couldn't wait to see how far he and Mew would go.

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