Chapter 19: This is a Pokémon Master's Promise

Ash slowly withdrew the incapacitated Armaldo, softly comforting it toward the Poké Ball

"Thank you, Armaldo. You've taken one step closer to evolving into the legendary Rayquaza."

He then raised his head, his gaze turning solemn as he looked toward Starmie.

This was a powerful opponent.

With Pikachu currently sitting this one out, he could only send out a Pokémon with sufficient speed; otherwise, it might be directly knocked over by the opponent's powerful Hydro Pump.

At this thought, Ash suddenly had a realization.

*I only have one left, why am I agonizing in the void?!*

Thus, Ash abruptly threw out a Poké Ball and shouted

"I choose you, Tool Bird!"

Emerging from the red light, Pidgeotto was just about to spread its wings and fly with a loud cry.

"Pidgy... huh?"

It suddenly turned its head 180 degrees like a Wood Gecko, looking at its Trainer with a face full of confusion.

*What did he just call me?*

*That didn't sound like a very polite name.*

Ash's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly covered his mouth.

How had he accidentally let his inner thoughts slip? He could only stare blankly and lie through his teeth

"You misheard me. I called you 'Mighty Pidgeotto'!"

"Beep beep. Data updated..."

At that moment, the Pokédex in his pocket suddenly rang out automatically, interrupting Ash's explanation.

The voice sounded somewhat cold and piercing.

"Pidgeotto. Nickname: Tool Bird."

Trainer and Bird: "..."

The scene fell into a moment of profound awkwardness.

"BOOM!"

A thick column of blue water suddenly shot forward, finally terminating the imminent Pokémon-assassin-trainer incident.

Relying on the innate sharp vision of avian Pokémon, Pidgeotto barely managed to evade the impressively powerful Hydro Pump.

"Damn it!"

Misty cried out in frustration that the sneak attack had failed, but beside her, Ash breathed a secret sigh of relief.

No matter how intense internal conflicts become, once a common external enemy appears, even sworn enemies will stop fighting to unite against the outside threat.

This formidable Starmie was clearly such an existence.

So, Ash quickly delivered another dose of reassurance.

"Pidgeotto, I'll help you change your nickname after the match. Believe me, that's a promise from a Pokémon Master!"

*He's a future Master, not right now.*

Hearing this, Pidgeotto nodded, somewhat reluctantly accepting the proposal.

The battle began!

"Starmie, use Water Gun!"

Misty launched another attack.

After all, given Pidgeotto's speed, even if a Hydro Pump had massive power, it would be meaningless if its mediocre accuracy failed to hit.

Moreover, Hydro Pump was a major move that consumed a significant amount of energy.

However, if a Water Gun could hit Pidgeotto and soak its wing feathers, causing its speed to drop significantly, it would become a sitting duck for the Hydro Pump.

*Ssh! Ssh!*

Starmie sprayed Water Guns frantically, but Pidgeotto dodged every single one through agile maneuvering, without a single drop of water clinging to its feathers.

"Pidgy-ja!"

At some unknown point, Pidgeotto had darted directly in front of Starmie, the two of them less than two meters apart.

"Starmie, use Wat—"

Before Misty could finish her sentence, Ash preempted her

"Pidgeotto, use Gust!"

With a flap of its wings, the near-zero-distance storm blew Starmie away before it could even release its skill, sending it tumbling backward.

Seeing this, Misty suddenly came up with a plan and commanded: "Starmie, use Rapid Spin against the wall!"

Starmie regained its rigidity in mid-air and spun wildly; using the reaction force from the wall, it actually launched itself toward Pidgeotto like a projectile.

*Whoosh!*

Pidgeotto took a direct hit and hurriedly flapped its wings to fly to the side to adjust its flight posture.

Misty pressed her advantage, shouting: "Starmie, continue using Rapid Spin!"

Starmie charged straight toward a side wall and, using the reaction force, bounced toward Pidgeotto once again.

Ash didn't dare be careless: "Pidgeotto, fly higher!"

"Pidgy-ja!"

Pidgeotto hurriedly flapped its wings to gain altitude, narrowly avoiding the high-speed spin.

However, Starmie then took advantage of the surrounding arena, continuously performing bouncing movements while spinning at high speeds, its altitude rising as it closed in on the target.

The situation suddenly became a stalemate, and Pidgeotto grew somewhat panicked.

But after several exchanges, Ash discovered a key detail.

Staring intently at Starmie's trajectory, just as the latter's parabolic path reached its maximum height, he suddenly roared

"Now! Use Wing Attack!"

Pidgeotto suddenly surged upward, skimming the edge to avoid the Rapid Spin. One wing was already covered in a layer of white light as it slammed downward with force.

The horizontally spinning Starmie had no defense for its central core, which took the hit directly.

*SMACK!*

*Take that, you Psychic-Water type!*

Under the force of the Wing Attack, Starmie plummeted vertically from the sky. Since the core had been struck, the blow was a finishing one.

Misty couldn't help but be secretly surprised; she hadn't expected Ash to be such a master of geometry.

"Starmie, take the chance to dive into the water!"

Using the momentum of its retreat, Starmie dove directly into the pool, hiding its body.

"Use Water Gun while moving!"

This was the Cerulean Gym; using Water Gun in the water was its greatest advantage!

"Damn, is it this troublesome..."

The situation turned once again into Starmie hiding underwater, popping up repeatedly to fire Water Guns.

It wouldn't get greedy after one shot; it would dive back into the water, change positions, and spray again.

Even a veteran would struggle against such erratic spraying. As Pidgeotto was being driven to exhaustion, looking as if it were about to be blasted in the face, Ash suddenly flipped his hat and shouted

"Pidgeotto, use Wing Attack on the water's surface!"

Hearing this, Pidgeotto's spirit surged, its predatory instincts reaching a fever pitch.

It rushed to a point half a meter above the water, its light-infused wing delivering a heavy strike against the surface.

*KABOOM!!*

The terrifying force caused the pool and the entire Cerulean Gym to seem to shudder violently.

The ripples spread like waves, and Starmie, which had been hiding on one side of the pool, could not withstand the vibration and was abruptly jolted out of the water.

Ash's eyes lit up, and he roared

"The final blow! Pidgeotto, use Quick Attack!"

Seeing this, Misty's eyes became even brighter than his.

Although she didn't know Ash would force it out with such brute force, knowing his finishing move would be Quick Attack was enough.

She waved her hand decisively: "Starmie, use Hydro Pump from the front!!"

Waiting for the opponent to approach before attacking—she had learned this trick from the previous battle with Armaldo.

*BOOM BOOM BOOM!!*

A thick blue column of water launched, even tearing a vacuum through the surrounding water as it surged with immense power toward the incoming Pidgeotto.

There was no way Pidgeotto could block this!

"This match is mine!"

Misty gave a triumphant smile.

Even Brock, watching from the sidelines, shook his head and narrowed his eyes.

A Hydro Pump couldn't be blocked by a Quick Attack, not even by Ash...

"Pidgy-ja!"

A sudden cry startled everyone. The powerful Hydro Pump had successfully hit Pidgeotto, yet there was no sign of impact, as if it had simply passed through.

"What happened!?"

Misty was struck with horror.

By the time she regained her senses, she found that Pidgeotto had appeared directly beneath the water column at some unknown moment, still charging along the edge, its beak glowing with a terrifying white light.

What the Hydro Pump had pierced through was merely an afterimage.

It had already arrived in front of Starmie, the distance between them less than a meter.

*SWOOSH-THUD!!*

Quick Attack landed!

The powerful strike finally became too much for Starmie to bear; its body flew backward, trailing a long spray of water.

By the time the water settled, it was completely unable to battle.

"Starmie is unable to battle, Pidgeotto is the winner!"

"The winner of this match is contestant Ash!"

Misty's older sister shouted loudly, as if she were the one who had won...

Afterward.

Ash froze for several full seconds. In truth, he hadn't expected Misty to pull such a dirty trick.

As for how Pidgeotto had dodged the Hydro Pump, even he didn't know.

But being thick-skinned, he knew that as long as he won, it didn't matter.

Thinking this, he jumped from the contestant seats onto the floating platform in the pool, hopping several steps to embrace Pidgeotto warmly.

"Pidgy-ja!"

Pidgeotto was also very happy, flapping its wings to pat Ash's head, seemingly trying to remind him of something.

"I know, I know. Brock is already arranging the premium rations. Once we go to the Pokémon Center, I'll make sure you eat your fill!"

Ash, looking joyful, recalled it into its Poké Ball.

Pidgeotto: 0-0?

Under the red glow of the Poké Ball, Pidgeotto's face looked somewhat dazed.

*You foolish Trainer, have you forgotten something?*

*Whoosh.*

In the next moment, it entered the Poké Ball without another word.