"What do we do now?!"
Ash's eyes widened as he stared at Zapdos soaring overhead. Electricity burst wildly from its body, spreading so far that it enveloped the entire Abandoned Power Plant, forming what was effectively an enormous electric barrier.
The air crackled with constant zzzt—zzzt sounds, and even Ash's vision seemed tinted with a dull yellow haze.
Electric Terrain.
There was no chance Zapdos would let him leave without a fight.
The long-time starter trio had already withdrawn.
Sending in the food-chain squad would be suicide.
Even Pikachu—his most trusted ace—had clearly decided to sit this one out.
Ash panicked.
"Do you need to use one of my Pokémon, Ash?"
Red's calm voice echoed in his mind.
Now fully sober, Red realized he might have seriously underestimated the matchup. With Ash's current roster, facing an opponent like this was practically asking to be wiped out.
"No," Ash rejected him immediately.
"Today is the first day without Gary. I don't miss him—but this battle has to be mine."
Besides, Red's absurdly overpowered Pokémon would win even if Ash's grandma were commanding them. That wouldn't mean anything.
He still had one trump card.
Without hesitation, Ash threw a Poké Ball and shouted:
"Alright—Gengar, I choose you!"
A flash of red light—
Thud!
A vacuum cleaner dropped from midair and smashed into the ground.
Zapdos froze.
…Since when were household appliances Pokémon?
The vacuum cleaner lay there motionless, its lid flipped open—yet the purple, liquid-like substance inside stubbornly refused to spill out.
Back on the S.S. Anne, Ash had already opened the vacuum's back panel, but Gengar had stubbornly refused to come out.
On one hand, it genuinely wanted to strangle this Trainer who had tricked it.
On the other hand, this same human had rescued it from that sorrowful place where it had been abandoned for three long years.
Humans had cast it aside.
Humans had also brought it back.
That contradiction left Gengar deeply conflicted.
But one thing was certain—
This rookie Trainer wasn't qualified to command it.
"Hmph."
The liquid-like Gengar closed its eyes and decided to nap inside the vacuum cleaner instead.
"Ash, think fast!" Brock shouted urgently.
"High-level Pokémon sometimes won't obey their Trainers!"
Without the vacuum cleaner—Gengar's natural Ghost-type counter—this powerful old-school Kanto Gengar could have wiped Ash out effortlessly.
If it actually fought seriously, maybe—just maybe—it could go toe-to-toe with Zapdos.
Winning wasn't expected.
Surviving a few exchanges without embarrassment would already be a miracle.
Seeing this, Ash hurriedly called out, his expression sincere.
"Gengar! We promised we'd reach the top together! There's a Zapdos right there—beat it, and tomorrow we're already at the summit!"
"Geng-gar!"
(We never promised that!)
"Gengar, you're my best friend! I need your power!"
"Geng-gar!"
(We're not close!)
"Defeating it will prove how strong you are!"
"Geng-gar!"
(I'm already strong!)
"Tomorrow we'll go to Lavender Town—I'll find you a female Gengar at Pokémon Tower!"
"Geng—?!"
Before the conversation could continue, a bolt of lightning suddenly crashed down—
Straight onto the vacuum cleaner.
"GENG!"
Sensing the terrifying power behind the strike, Gengar didn't dare take it head-on. Its body instantly phased, slipping out of the vacuum cleaner in a near-miss.
The vacuum cleaner itself was blasted into a charred wreck.
Gengar's eyes turned blood-red with rage. Its body puffed up like an angry Qwilfish as it pointed furiously at Zapdos.
"Geng-geng-geng!!"
That vacuum was comfy!
Whether it was Zapdos's sneak attack—or the promise of a female Gengar—Gengar's fighting spirit finally ignited.
It was going to drag that frizzy thunderbird out of the sky.
"Yes! I knew we could fight side by side!"
Ash was deeply moved.
With Gengar's power, maybe—just maybe—they could topple even a Legendary Pokémon.
"Gengar, use—"
Before he could finish, Gengar had already acted.
With a casual flick of its chubby hand, it launched a purple-black orb of energy.
Shadow Ball!
Willingness to fight didn't mean willingness to obey.
Ash's gaze darkened slightly.
So that's the consequence of trick-capturing…
Still, as the Trainer, he had to seize every possible opening for Gengar.
He took a deep breath and focused intently on the battle.
"SKREEEE!!"
Zapdos cried out sharply. Lightning exploded between its spiked feathers, spreading outward in all directions. Empowered by the Electric Terrain, the surge detonated the incoming Shadow Ball midair.
The discharge didn't stop.
It continued racing straight toward Gengar.
"GENG!"
Gengar activated its Levitate ability, floating upward and narrowly weaving through the dense lightning.
In the next instant, its eerie silhouette appeared less than three meters in front of Zapdos.
Its right fist glowed with terrifying cold.
Ice Punch!
As a veteran high-Speed, high-Attack Kanto bruiser, this punch—
combined with Ice-type effectiveness—
would hurt even Zapdos badly.
"SKREE!!"
But as a Legendary Bird, Zapdos didn't panic.
It flapped backward while violently beating its wings, releasing a wave of scorching red-hot air.
WHOOSH—BOOM!!
The intense heat slammed into Gengar, slowing it down and weakening the frost around its fist.
Heat Wave!
By the time Gengar reached Zapdos, the Ice Punch had lost its effect.
It swung—
and missed.
Spotting the opening, Zapdos's eyes gleamed. One wing flashed with brilliant metallic light as it swept sideways without mercy.
Steel Wing!
SHRIIING—!
The sheer force tore through the air itself.
"GENG!"
No time to dodge.
Gengar's eyes widened monstrously.
Then don't dodge.
A wicked grin spread across its face.
Its blood-red eyes flared with intense blue psychic light.
Invisible force erupted, forming a massive spectral hand that caught Steel Wing mid-swing.
CLANG!
Zapdos's wing stopped less than half an inch from Gengar's face.
The violent airflow caused Gengar's gaseous body to ripple uncontrollably.
Psychic!
Gengar raised both hands. Blue ripples expanded outward as its psychic power surged again, threatening to hurl Zapdos away.
"SKREEEE!!"
Zapdos shrieked.
From its body erupted an overwhelming surge of electricity, forming a deep-yellow lightning barrier that shattered the psychic grip completely.
With a powerful flap, lightning exploded outward, fed continuously by the Electric Terrain.
The entire battlefield was swallowed by thunder.
"Geng…"
Even Gengar was forced back.
It was a glass cannon—one solid zap and it'd drop instantly.
Unable to fight up close, Gengar tried firing Shadow Balls from afar, but each was destroyed before coming within five meters of Zapdos.
Worse still, more and more electricity flooded the power plant, slowly closing in.
By the time Gengar realized it—
It was trapped in a web of lightning, escape blocked in every direction.
A dead end.
Gengar glanced around anxiously.
"Gengar—use Thunder Punch!!"
A clear, confident shout snapped its attention downward.
Ash was waving at it from below.
Those bright, unwavering eyes caused Gengar to hesitate.
It was… a strange feeling.
But Thunder Punch? What good would that do?
Seeing no response, Ash shouted again—without hesitation:
"Trust me, Gengar! Thunder Punch!!"
The conviction in his voice reached Gengar.
Its eyes lit up.
Its left hand rose—lightning crackling instantly across its palm.
The moment it activated the move, Gengar understood.
A sly grin spread across its face.
Gengar spun its Thunder Punch like a windmill—
And the surrounding lightning field shifted, drawn toward its fist.
"GENG!!"
Seizing the opening, Gengar charged forward.
The lightning around it was pulled in like metal to a magnet, converging into its left arm until it formed a massive, terrifying sphere of electricity.
Brock and Misty gasped.
"That move… that's Vermilion Gym's—!"
Lt. Surge's Raichu had once drawn in lightning with Thunder Punch in exactly the same way.
Was Ash recreating that strategy here?!
They stared at Ash in disbelief.
This kid's battle IQ is terrifying.
"GENG-GAR!!"
Gengar closed the distance in an instant, swinging the lightning-charged fist with devastating force.
"SKREE!!"
Zapdos laughed instead of panicking.
Using Thunder Punch against the God of Thunder?
Ridiculous.
Zapdos detonated its own electricity in response.
Two massive currents collided head-on.
BOOOOOM!!
Lightning exploded outward in every direction. The entire power plant shook violently as old machinery roared back to life, engines screaming.
Even the ceiling was blasted open by the discharge.
Half a minute later—
The thunder faded.
The two Pokémon were locked in a stalemate, Zapdos's power even slightly overwhelming Gengar's.
Zapdos smirked in satisfaction.
"Geng…"
"Idiot bird…"
In the next instant, both Gengar and Ash revealed the same cold, triumphant smile.
Thunder Punch had never been the goal.
Without type advantage, even a clean hit wouldn't do much.
They were already within arm's reach.
And Gengar slowly raised the hand it had been hiding behind its back.
Frosty, bone-chilling cold radiated from it.
This was the real plan.
"Gengar—Ice Punch!!"
Ash roared.
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