With Jessie and the others sent flying, Koffing's poisonous smoke finally stopped spewing, and the thick clouds of toxins in the air ceased spreading any further.
"Damn it! What's with that brat? He's so weird!"
"That Pikachu's not normal either!"
"Exactly, meow!"
Ash had wanted to press his advantage, but the moment Meowth suddenly spoke, he froze. A beat later, he pointed in shock. "A… a Pokémon that can talk?!"
Sure, Meowth had also spoken during their silly introduction chant, but Ash's Aura Power automatically translated Pokémon speech into human language inside his head. He hadn't noticed Meowth was literally speaking human words.
But now he could hear it loud and clear—Meowth was actually speaking human language!
"It really is a Pokémon that can talk… but this isn't the time to get hung up on that! Ash, finish them off while you've got the upper hand!" Misty was just as stunned, but she quickly shook it off. Now wasn't the time to marvel. They had to strike before Team Rocket regrouped.
"I got it! Pikachu—Thunderbolt!"
"Pika—CHUUU!!" Golden lightning blazed even brighter than before, streaking through the air and splitting the smoke as it slammed toward the Team Rocket trio.
Jessie and James tried to order Koffing and Ekans to counter, but Pikachu's Thunderbolt was too fast—even faster than the Thunder Shock earlier! With the three of them tangled up together, they couldn't react in time.
And so…
"AAAAH! It's shocking! So shocking!!" (x3)
BOOOM!
Thunderbolt struck, a blinding flash of gold engulfing the entire Pokémon Center. A deafening explosion followed as the blast tore through the ceiling.
Bolts of lightning shot skyward, blasting open the roof. Though the smoke had mostly cleared, nearly everyone had already inhaled some. Their bodies felt heavy and sluggish, limbs barely moving.
Chunks of the shattered ceiling rained down toward the dazed people below. They wanted to run, but their bodies refused to cooperate.
Eyes squeezed shut, they braced for the impact—yet nothing landed.
When they cautiously opened their eyes, the rubble lay harmlessly on the floor before them.
"What… what just happened?"
"No idea. Maybe a gust of wind blew it aside?"
"Scared me half to death. I thought I was headed straight to the hospital."
"If you had, at least it'd be convenient—instant admission!"
"Don't joke around. This is a Pokémon Center. It's for Pokémon, not us!"
"Ahahaha!"
"..."
The unlucky few who'd nearly been crushed slumped onto the ground, laughing it off as the tension drained from their faces.
Not far away, Misty stared at Ash, her pretty face full of disbelief. Her expression said it all—You… you can even do that?!
She was right. The rubble hadn't been blown away by any gust of wind—it was Ash. He'd raised an Aura Power barrier to shield those people from harm.
Misty had already seen Ash use a protective shield against Spearow, but she'd never imagined he could expand it to protect a whole group at once.
Once again, her understanding of Aura Power was overturned. This ability wasn't just comparable to psychic powers—it might actually surpass them.
As the dust settled, the blue glow faded from Ash's eyes. Pikachu, who'd been so fierce seconds ago, collapsed flat onto the floor, completely drained.
Ash, weary himself, knelt and gently scooped him up. "Thanks, Pikachu. You did great."
"Pika… pika~~" Pikachu weakly raised a paw and flashed a little victory sign.
…
The incident at the Pokémon Center came to a close. The good news was, aside from filling the place with poison gas, Team Rocket hadn't caused much damage. Just one gaping hole in the ceiling.
Those affected by the smoke were quickly treated by the Center, and every one of them expressed heartfelt thanks to Ash. While everyone else had been incapacitated, only he had stood up to protect them.
No one knew how he'd resisted the poison, but that didn't change the fact that he'd saved them. Many thanked him not just in words, but with actions.
"R-really, there's no need. Protecting a Pokémon Center is every Trainer's duty."
"Be that as it may, you still saved me. Please, just accept this small token of gratitude."
Ash tried to refuse, but in the end, he accepted the thousand PokéDollars the middle-aged man pressed on him.
For a Trainer, a thousand wasn't much. A single Normal Poké Ball cost two hundred, and High-grade Poké Balls ran five hundred to a thousand each.
But for an ordinary family's grocery budget, a thousand covered over a week's meals. No wonder raising Pokémon was such a money sink.
And that man wasn't the only one. By the time Ash sat down to wait for Pikachu's recovery, he'd received more than ten thousand in donations. Not only had he covered all the money he'd spent shopping earlier, he actually came out ahead.
"Well, well… the great hero who saved the Pokémon Center~~" Misty teased, propping her chin on her hand.
"Heh heh, it's not that amazing…" Ash rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed yet secretly pleased.
He was fifteen, after all. After pulling off something big and getting showered with gratitude, who wouldn't feel a little proud?
"By the way, didn't you feel dizzy at all from breathing the smoke?"
"Hmm… at first, no. But after a while, I did feel a bit off. Still, as long as I circulate Aura Power through my body, it pushes the poison right out."
"Aura Power can do that too? That's way too convenient." Misty's eyes widened in disbelief.
So it's called Aura Power, but it might as well be written as all-purpose power.
It let him understand Pokémon speech, defend, attack—and now even purge toxins from his body. It was absurd.
"Haha, that's not all. Aura Power can do more than this!"
"It has more uses?!"
"Yep. But… that's a secret~~ I'll tell you when we battle."
"Oh, come on, tell me now!"
"Nope. Gotta save it as my trump card for battle."
"Stingy…"