Behind Ash, Misty watched wide-eyed as the Geodude lay asleep and wrapped in white silk, her lips parting in astonishment.
She was starting to understand why Ash had caught Caterpie. Forget raw strength—this kind of status-inflicting strategy was tailor-made for Butterfree.
Even though Butterfree was fully evolved, like most Bug-types its base stats were low. Especially its HP and Defence—utterly pathetic.
Its Speed wasn't great either, though better than average. Its real strength was Sp. Atk, but what good was that on a mid-Speed glass cannon? Especially one that had only just evolved and was already up against a Gym Leader's Pokémon.
That was why Misty hadn't thought much of Butterfree's chances in a Gym battle.
But Ash had smacked her doubts aside from the very start, like he was saying—watch closely, this is how you use a Butterfree.
After Butterfree had done its job brilliantly, Ash chose to recall it.
"Great work, Butterfree. Come back!" He snapped the Poké Ball shut, then looked down at Pikachu. Pikachu gave a nod and bounded forward.
"You're up, Pikachu!"
"Pika Pi!" Pikachu was fired up.
"First Butterfree, now Pikachu? Bug, Flying, Electric… Ash, are you doing this on purpose, or do you really not understand type matchups?" Brock's expression cracked for the first time when Pikachu appeared.
What was this lineup? Pikachu, Butterfree—both utterly walled by Rock and Ground!
Even if Ash hadn't studied the Pewter Gym's typing beforehand, seeing Geodude should've been clue enough. In Kanto, Geodude was as common as Pidgey or Spearow—most Beginners knew its typing by heart. And Ash wasn't some clueless rookie; anyone who could pull off tactics like that with Butterfree had to know better.
Yet he'd deliberately sent out two Pokémon at a type disadvantage. Not just bad matchups either—Butterfree got quadruple countered, and Pikachu's Electric moves didn't even scratch Ground-types. That wasn't a disadvantage, that was a hard wall.
Any Gym Leader facing a lineup like this would groan, unless their Pokémon out-leveled the opponent.
But Ash…
"Of course I know Pikachu's Electric moves won't work on your Ground-type Geodude. But Pikachu isn't limited to Electric moves. Show him, Pikachu—let Brock see the secret technique we've been training!"
"Pika Pi!" Pikachu planted its feet, raised its little arms to its waist, and slowly closed its eyes.
Ash mirrored it exactly, hands at his waist, eyes shut. The two moved in perfect unison.
Brock and Misty exchanged puzzled looks. Misty especially—she'd been with Ash the whole time. She knew what training he'd done.
They'd battled, they'd drilled Pikachu's Electric moves and Speed. That was it.
The only other odd habit was after meals, when Ash would sit cross-legged, eyes closed like he was meditating, and Pikachu would perch on his shoulder, eyes shut as if dozing.
Sure, it looked a bit like this. But that was a "secret technique"?
Seconds ticked by. The window Butterfree had created with Sleep Powder was being squandered. Brock didn't interrupt.
He didn't know if Ash was bluffing or if he really had some hidden trump card, but the longer things dragged on, the better it was for him. Geodude might be asleep now, but as soon as it woke up…
Pikachu only had Electric moves and basic Normal ones. The latter couldn't hurt Geodude much, but chip damage was still damage. If he could just stall until Geodude woke…
Then Geodude twitched inside the cocoon of white silk. Brock's heart leapt. "Geodude, wake up! Rollout, now!"
"Geo…!" Geodude's eyes snapped open. With a heave, it tore free of the sticky strands!
The leftover silk slowed it a little, but Geodude had always been slow. No big deal.
It curled up tight again and began spinning on the spot.
"Now, Pikachu—Aura Sphere!!" Ash's eyes flew open as he shouted.
"Pika Pi—KA!!" Pikachu's eyes flashed blue, glowing like deep sapphire. Between its tiny paws, a sphere of brilliant azure energy took shape, swelling rapidly until it was nearly Pikachu's height.
Before Geodude could roll forward, Pikachu thrust out its paws. The Aura Sphere shot out like a falling star.
Sensing danger, Geodude tried to swerve away, banking on Rollout's momentum to dodge.
But the Aura Sphere curved midair, homing in like a predator—and slammed into the fleeing Geodude.
BOOM!!
The explosion shook the arena, smoke billowing sky-high. Pikachu pressed its little hands down calmly, exhaling a long breath. Then it slowly turned away.
The blast roared behind it, smoke swirling. And Pikachu stood there like one of those movie heroes—real men don't look back at explosions.
Misty and Brock both stood frozen, jaws dropped, staring at the rising smoke in stunned silence.
What the hell had that been?! Aura Sphere? He'd never even heard of a Pikachu learning that! Brock's brain spun in disbelief.
Misty's thoughts were a mess. She knew what Aura Sphere was—that was the move Ash created using Aura Power. So why could Pikachu use it too?
No… wait. Ash and Pikachu had just made the same gesture, both with eyes closed. Could it be…? No. Impossible.
One body, one mind—Trainer and Pokémon fusing, sharing techniques? That was the stuff of fantasy. It couldn't really exist… could it?