The two of them started arguing on the spot, neither willing to back down.
In the end, Misty huffed and turned away, refusing to speak to Ash out of spite.
The comment section erupted into chaos.
[I'm a guy, but I'm on Misty's side. Bugs really are kind of... you know.]
[I think it's a little creepy too, but Ash has a point. It's so innocent.]
[Misty's gap moe is too adorable. One second she's like a fierce tigress, the next she's terrified of a bug.]
Time passed, and the scene quickly shifted to nightfall. Ash and Misty appeared to have decided to camp in the forest for the night.
A bonfire crackled in the clearing, its dancing flames pushing back the darkness.
Ash and Pikachu were already asleep, their breathing slow and steady.
But Caterpie was awake.
It crawled alone to the top of a tall rock and gazed up at the bright, full moon hanging in the sky.
The stars glittered overhead, the Milky Way stretching across the heavens like a ribbon of silver.
In Caterpie's wide, round eyes, the entire starry sky was reflected.
"Caterpie... Caterpie..."
It called out softly, as if whispering something to the moon.
Pikachu nearby hadn't quite fallen asleep. It opened its eyes, looked at Caterpie's silhouette, and let out a quiet sound. "Pika pika..."
Caterpie turned around, looked at Pikachu, and began waving its body expressively.
"Caterpie, caterpie..."
No one could understand what it was saying, but those longing eyes and the way it kept glancing up at the sky said everything. It wanted to fly. It didn't want to spend its life crawling along the ground. It wanted to soar through the blue sky, free as the birds above.
Pikachu listened quietly, its gaze softening. It gently patted Caterpie on the head, as if offering encouragement.
The scene had no human dialogue whatsoever, conveying everything purely through the Pokémon's movements and cries, yet somehow it stirred something unexpectedly tender in the heart. The comment feed slowed, everyone moved by the moment.
[Poor Caterpie. Being rejected like that must've hurt.]
[What is Caterpie saying? It keeps looking up at the sky.]
[Is it saying it wants to fly? That's heartbreaking to watch.]
[Pikachu can actually be really gentle... so why is it never like that with Ash?]
[The production team is something else. They express this kind of emotion so perfectly without a single word of dialogue.]
Dan the Demon King watched the scene and found himself lost in thought.
"Since Caterpie is based on a caterpillar, is it possible it could evolve into a butterfly?"
He typed out the comment casually.
It immediately sparked a wave of discussion.
[Hard to say. These are Pokémon, not real bugs. Maybe it stays a caterpillar forever.]
[I think it can evolve! This is a world of magic. Anything's possible.]
[If it evolves into a butterfly, Misty won't be scared of it anymore, right?]
[I hope it evolves too. Caterpie works so hard. It deserves to have wings.]
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, sunlight once again poured through the trees and lit up the forest floor.
Ash and Misty packed up their things and set off again.
Just as they reached a clearing, a sharp bird cry split the air above them.
"Shriek!"
A dark shape plummeted from the sky, whipping up a gust of wind strong enough to make Ash squint.
It was a bird Pokémon, considerably larger than a common sparrow, with brown feathers and razor-sharp talons.
"It's a Pidgey!"
Ash's eyes lit up. He pulled out his Pokédex to confirm.
[Pidgey, the Tiny Bird Pokémon. Its talons are highly developed. It can snatch prey in its claws and carry it back to its nest over 60 miles away.]
"Alright! I'm catching you!"
Without a second thought, he hurled a Poké Ball.
"Go, Poké Ball!"
But Pidgey was nothing like the docile Caterpie from the day before.
It flipped nimbly through the air, snapped its wing forward, and batted the incoming ball right back.
"Crack!"
The Poké Ball burst open in midair.
Misty's voice followed immediately, dripping with disdain.
"I knew it! You have to battle a Pokémon before you can catch it. Caterpie only let you catch it because it's weak, just like the idiot throwing the ball!"
"Ugh, fine! We'll do this the hard way. Go, Caterpie!"
Ash sent out Caterpie again.
Misty saw this and immediately screamed.
"You moron! Flying-types beat Bug-types!"
"What kind of brain sends a bug Pokémon to fight a bird?! Do you have absolutely zero common sense?!"
Ash froze, his hand pausing mid-motion.
"Huh? Is that a thing?"
But Caterpie was already out.
He looked around, clearly still confused.
And then he saw something charging straight at him.
Pidgey launched its attack.
It dove straight down, its sharp beak cutting through the air like a blade aimed at Caterpie.
"Caterpie!"
Caterpie had no time to dodge. Pidgey slammed into it hard, sending it tumbling across the ground several times.
"Caterpie!"
Ash went pale.
Pidgey didn't stop. It circled overhead and dove again, even faster this time.
Caterpie could only scramble desperately along the ground to avoid the strikes, completely unable to fight back. It was taking a brutal beating.
The comment section filled with anguished cries.
[Sending a bug to fight a bird... even I know not to do that, Ash, come on...]
[Type matchups? So that's an actual mechanic in this world? Certain types are weak to others?]
[Looks like it. Flying beats Bug, like rock-paper-scissors?]
[What type is Pikachu? Electric? What does Electric beat?]
Dan the Demon King frowned at the screen, then his expression shifted to realization.
"So type matchups are actually a thing in this world. And they mirror real life pretty closely. How many types are there in total?"
On screen, Pidgey's beak began to glow with blinding light as it dove at Caterpie again.
Ash completely panicked. "Caterpie, come back! Pikachu, it's up to you!"
"Pikachu!"
Pikachu had been ready. The moment it heard the command it leapt off Ash's backpack, the electric sacs on its cheeks crackling with energy.
"Piiika... CHUUU!"
A bolt of golden electricity tore through the air and struck Pidgey dead-on.
"Shriek!"
Pidgey let out a pained cry, smoke rising from its body, and plummeted to the ground in a heap, knocked completely unconscious.
[Pikachu always comes through.]
[That damage output. It one-shot it!]
[So THAT'S how type matchups work? Incredible!]
Misty chimed in from the side: "That's more like it. Electric-types beat Flying-types."
The comment section connected the dots instantly.
[Electric beats Flying!]
[A bird getting struck by lightning is a hard counter... that actually makes sense.]
[Ash's brain is running on fumes. It's basically all Pikachu carrying him.]
With Pidgey knocked out, Ash wasted no time and threw a Poké Ball.
"Go!"
The ball sucked Pidgey in with a flash of red light.
This time, the Poké Ball rolled and shook wildly on the ground, rocking left and right, each wobble ratcheting up the tension in the room.
Finally.
"Ding!"
The ball went still. Capture successful.
Ash ran over and scooped it up, striking his signature triumphant pose.
"I caught a Pidgey!"
But before Ash could celebrate for long, a strange plume of smoke began to billow from deep within the forest.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Several explosions rang out, and a massive Meowth-shaped balloon rose slowly into view. Standing atop it were three familiar figures.
Red hair. Blue hair. And a Meowth walking upright on two legs.
Team Rocket, making their grand entrance.
The livestream chat exploded.
[Not these guys again! Didn't they get blasted off last time?]
[Here we go. They're back.]
[Somehow I've already heard this intro twice and it never gets old.]
[The man and woman with their own theme music!]
The trio leapt down from the balloon and landed squarely in front of the two trainers.
Jessie struck an elegant pose and pointed at Ash.
"Hey, twerp. We meet again!"
James pointed right alongside her.
"Twerp, you're not getting away this time!"
"You two again?!"
Ash blinked.
Misty beside him was completely lost.
"Excuse me, who are you people? How rude!"
But the moment those words left her mouth, the trigger was pulled.
A burst of dramatic music blared out of nowhere.
Jessie posed elegantly.
"Since you're asking so sincerely..."
James produced a rose from seemingly thin air and followed right on cue.
"We'll graciously tell you..."
The two moved in perfect sync, as though they'd rehearsed it a thousand times.
Jessie: "To protect the world from devastation!"
James: "To unite all peoples within our nation!"
Jessie: "To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
James: "To extend our reach to the stars above!"
Jessie: "Jessie!"
James: "James!"
Meowth leapt out between them and struck a pose.
"Team Rocket, blasting off at the speed of light! Surrender now, or prepare to fight!
Meowth, that's right!"
"Meooowth~"
That slick, rehearsed routine, paired with those wonderfully absurd lines, set the comment feed flying once again.
[I've memorized the whole speech at this point!]
[No matter how many times I hear it, the moment Meowth drops that last "Meowth, that's right," I lose it every time.]
Once the performance was over, Jessie cut straight to the point.
"Hand over that rare Pikachu, kid!"
Ash instinctively pulled Pikachu closer. "Rare Pikachu?"
James nodded vigorously. "That one right there. The one that produces unusually powerful electric currents. It's special."
Ash scratched his head and looked down at the Pikachu in his arms with a genuinely puzzled expression.
"But... Pikachu are basically as common as stray dogs on the street..."
The air seemed to freeze for a full second.
Then the livestream chat completely lost its mind.
[STRAY DOGS! Pikachu is a stray dog!]
[Legendary line. This is absolutely a legendary moment.]
[Pikachu: I beg your pardon?]
[I'm dying. Ash's brain operates on a completely different wavelength.]
[Meowth heard that and wants to throw hands. Pidgey heard that and wants to cry.]
Even Dan the Demon King couldn't hold back a laugh.
James turned beet red, clearly struck speechless. "Quit stalling! Attack!"
He flicked his wrist and two Poké Balls flew out at once.
"Go, Ekans!"
"Koffing, let's go!"
Two Poison-type Pokémon materialized on the field, radiating menace.
Seeing them act so brazenly, Misty stepped forward, furious.
"You've got some nerve ganging up on us like this! Go, Goldeen!"
She threw her Poké Ball and in a flash of red, a red-finned Goldeen appeared on the ground.
But then...
"Gloop... gloop..."
Goldeen flopped desperately on the dirt, completely unable to move, slapping its tail uselessly against the ground. It couldn't swim, couldn't do anything.
"Pfff, bahahaha!" Jessie clutched her stomach, doubled over with laughter. "What even is that?"
James was laughing so hard his face had gone crooked.
Misty's face turned red. She recalled Goldeen quickly, flushing. "If my Pokémon weren't all Water-types that can't fight on land, you'd be finished by now!"
Ash stepped forward immediately.
"It's okay, Misty, watch me! Go, Pidgey!"
He threw the Poké Ball with full confidence.
"Spear..."
Pidgey burst out, but the moment it appeared, it swayed through the air like it was drunk, spun in a couple of circles, and then dropped to the ground with a thud, eyes swirling into spirals, completely out of commission.
It had only just been knocked out by Pikachu's Thunderbolt and caught, and hadn't recovered at all.
"Hahahahahaha!" Team Rocket erupted in laughter.
Meowth was crying tears of joy, waving its paws gleefully.
"That kid's just bringing out junk, Meowth! Don't waste our time with these scraps! Get that Pikachu out here, Meowth!"
Pikachu heard this and shot forward, ready to unleash a Thunderbolt.
But Koffing moved first.
"Sludge!"
"Splat!"
A thick glob of dark sludge shot out and smeared directly over Pikachu's eyes.
"Pika!"
Pikachu let out a pained cry, blinded by the sludge, and writhed helplessly on the ground, unable to fight.
"Pikachu! Are you okay?!"
Ash panicked and tried to run to Pikachu's side, but Ekans blocked his path.
Misty gritted her teeth, at a loss for what to do.
Jessie watched the scene unfold and let out a triumphant laugh.
"Hahaha! You're out of options now, kid!"
The situation had flipped in an instant. Ash's entire team had collapsed.
Now, standing beside him, was only one Pokémon left: the tiny, fragile Caterpie.
Ash clenched his jaw. He looked at the powerful enemies in front of him, then back at Pikachu writhing in pain and Pidgey knocked cold on the ground.
"Caterpie... it all comes down to you now!"
He crouched down and looked Caterpie in the eyes, his gaze full of trust.
Caterpie didn't flinch. It looked at Ash's unwavering expression, and from somewhere deep inside that small body, a surge of courage rose up.
"Caterpie!"
It marched forward to the front line with determination.
"Twerp, just give it up already," Jessie said, waving her hand dismissively. "And what on earth is this thing?"
"Looks like a total weakling, Meowth!"
Meowth bared its claws, already itching for a fight.
Ekans eyed the unremarkable little bug, let out a dismissive hiss, and lunged forward with its jaws wide open.
At that razor's edge of a moment, something shifted in Caterpie. It entered a state of pure, burning fury.
It had been looked down on again!
But not anymore. It couldn't keep letting this happen.
It opened its mouth wide.
String Shot!
۞۞۞۞
~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones