"Enough, Charizard!"
Ash's voice cracked with desperation as he shouted across the battlefield. His Charizard was covered in wounds, its orange hide torn and burned, its wings trembling with exhaustion. He had already said those words countless times during the fight, but Charizard refused to listen.
Even though both Pokémon were battered, Charizard's injuries were far worse than Salamence's. The dragon's raw power and endurance completely outclassed it. By all logic, Charizard should have already collapsed long ago. And yet, it fought on, straining against the weight of its wounds, eyes burning with the fire of loyalty.
Salamence lashed its tail, slamming Charizard into the stone floor. The impact shook the ground. Breathing heavily, the blue dragon blinked, its eyes softening for a brief moment. The crimson haze of hatred began to fade.
Why?
Why did this Charizard, clearly weaker than itself, keep forcing its body to stand?
Why would it throw away its own strength and life like this?
Was it truly just because of the boy who stood behind it?
Salamence could not understand. All it had known of humans was cruelty.
When it had been captured, it was not treated as a partner but as an object. At first, they tortured it with poison, paralysis, and endless experiments, trying to break its will. When that failed, they drained its blood day after day, extracting what they wanted, starving it to keep its power suppressed. For six long months, it had not tasted food, only the bitter lifeline of nutrient fluids.
Humans had stripped everything from it, leaving only hate.
So when it looked at Charizard and the human boy when it saw the bond that gave the fire dragon strength it could not comprehend.
Charizard, barely conscious, was thrown at Ash's feet. The boy's eyes filled with pain as he rushed forward. He pressed trembling hands against his partner's scales, holding it down with a choked voice. "That's enough, Charizard. You've done more than I could ever ask. Let the others take it from here."
But Charizard bared its fangs stubbornly. With a groan, it tried to rise again, wings quivering, body shuddering. For a fleeting instant, its spirit willed it to fight once more but the body could no longer obey. Charizard collapsed in a heap, finally defeated.
Ash's breath shuddered as he swallowed hard. His eyes turned to the small yellow figure on his shoulder. "Pikachu. It's your turn. I'm counting on you."
"Pika!" Pikachu cried, cheeks sparking. It had been restless through the entire battle, watching helplessly as Charizard endured blow after blow. Now, at Ash's command, it leapt from his shoulder.
The sight was almost absurd: a tiny mouse Pokémon standing against the towering Salamence, wings spread wide, scales gleaming like iron. The size difference alone made Pikachu look fragile, almost breakable.
But its eyes burned with fire.
Salamence growled, its wings beating as sharp stones materialized around it, spinning with deadly force. Its ability, Moxie, had triggered from its victories, powering it up with each opponent defeated. Now, with its attack strength rising higher and higher, the Stone Edge it launched fell like a meteor shower, tearing through the air toward Pikachu.
"Quick Attack to dodge, Pikachu!" Ash's voice rang out.
In an instant, Pikachu blurred into motion. Its body glowed white as it darted forward, weaving between the jagged stones with impossible speed. Not a single one touched it.
Salamence's eyes widened. Its attacks had devastated every opponent before, yet this small creature slipped past as if dancing between raindrops.
"Great job! Now, Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.
Electricity exploded from Pikachu's cheeks, leaping into the air like coiled serpents of lightning. The blast struck Salamence head-on.
The dragon roared, staggering. The electricity seared deeper than expected, far worse than Charizard's flames. Salamence snarled in fury. How could something so small hurt it like this?
It would not allow it.
It slammed to the ground, releasing waves of ground energy. The battlefield trembled violently. This was Earthquake. With its boosted power and type advantage, the shockwaves rattled the entire island.
Pikachu cried out as the ground shook beneath it, the vibrations blasting through its tiny body. It staggered, ears flat, expression twisted in pain. One hit had drained almost all of its strength.
Normally, that should have been enough to finish any Pikachu. But Ash's partner still stood, trembling but unbroken.
Salamence's fury only grew. Mewtwo had ordered it merely to defeat the trainers' Pokémon, but it remembered no such restraint. Anger had erased reason. Energy built in its throat, a beam of destruction far greater than before. Hyper Beam.
This one was stronger than the attack that had obliterated Golduck earlier. And it was aimed directly at the battered Pikachu.
The charge took longer, gathering more power than ever. That moment of delay was agony for the trainers watching. Misty and Brock squeezed their eyes shut, unable to bear it. They had seen hope in Charizard and Pikachu, only to now face despair.
High above, Mewtwo watched silently. Its expression was unreadable, but its mind was racing. Why had Pikachu's Thunderbolt cut through Salamence's defenses? Their power difference was enormous. And then, it felt a shock.
Ash was moving.
The boy tore himself free from Mewtwo's psychic restraint, stumbling forward against the tremors of Earthquake. He staggered, nearly falling, but did not stop. His eyes never left Pikachu.
Mewtwo's mind faltered. Impossible. That was its psychic power. How could a mere human break free?
Ash didn't care about the impossibility. He ran, faster and faster, until at the final moment, as Hyper Beam lanced forth, he threw himself in front of Pikachu.
The light consumed him.
Ash's back took the full brunt of the blast as he shielded Pikachu with his body. For a blinding instant, the world was nothing but searing white.
And then he was gone.
When the light faded, Pikachu remained, trembling, staring at the empty space where Ash had stood. Its trainer, its friend, its everything… had vanished.
The little mouse's eyes widened. Tears welled and spilled freely as it clutched the familiar hat that had fallen from Ash's head during the quake. Its paws wrapped around the brim desperately, as though holding it could bring him back.
But there was nothing to grasp.
Only emptiness.
"Pi…ka…" Pikachu's voice broke, shaking with grief. Its sorrow was so raw that it radiated through the entire hall. Even those who could not feel aura felt it in their hearts a wave of pain and loss that made their chests tighten.
Mewtwo froze, its calm mask shattered. Could it be… that it had been wrong all along? That humans were not only cruel, but also capable of sacrifice and love so deep it defied logic?
Salamence, too, stood still, its fury stalled by the incomprehensible sight of a human throwing away his life for a Pokémon.
And then
Lightning erupted.
From the center of the battlefield, Pikachu's body blazed with electricity, arcs of golden thunder surging like a storm unbound. Grief had become power, sorrow transformed into wrath.
The hall shook with its cry.
"Pika… PIKA!"
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