When Ash fell into danger, Ayumi and Misty also ran into trouble.
Since they had lost track of Ash, the two of them had slowly strayed off their course.
As they were passing by a river, a group of Pokémon that had been startled by the battle's aftermath came rushing towards them. Unfortunately, there was a Gyarados in the river!
After having its territory encroached upon by so many Pokémon, it immediately came out to assert its dominance, but it had little effect on the panicked Pokémon. It even got hit by a Rhydon's horn.
The two Elite-level Pokémon refused to back down, and they immediately started fighting.
The scene was chaotic, and Ayumi and Misty, who had planned to leave quietly, were caught in the crossfire. A rock sent flying by Gyarados hit and injured Ayumi's leg.
Misty had no choice but to take her behind a rock to rest while she tried to communicate with the two Pokémon and get them to calm down.
"Bang!" Another collision occurred. A Hydro Pump overpowered a Stone Edge, and Rhydon immediately fell to the ground.
"Roar-!" Gyarados roared into the sky, as if to declare its power.
Misty was shivering in fear.
She had always loved Water-type Pokémon, so she often went to the water to play with them.
But when she was an infant, she accidentally crawled into a Gyarados's mouth.
The experience of almost becoming Gyarados's "poop" left her with an extreme fear of them, which caused her to not even have the courage to face it now.
Gyarados scanned the area. The ground was filled with Pokémon it had defeated or injured by mistake. Finally, the savage Pokémon set its sights on Misty, who had her arms crossed, and slowly approached her.
"Ah! So scary... Ash-!"
Ash in the forest immediately looked in the direction of the voice.
He thought he heard Misty's voice.
But the current situation didn't allow him to think too much. Sabrina was already walking towards him, her footsteps in sync with his heartbeats.
Beside him, Erika was lying on the ground. She had been knocked out by Sabrina.
After all, with her good friend around, Sabrina couldn't fully let loose.
Sabrina's gaze landed on the Poké Ball on Ash's waist: "Kid, hand over the Eevee."
Ash's forehead was dripping with cold sweat, but he refused to give in: "And if I say no?"
"Whoosh!" A huge spiritual pressure came down from the sky, and Ash suddenly had trouble breathing.
This was the oppression from Sabrina's psychic ability.
"Pika! Pikachu-!" Pikachu instinctively shot a Thunderbolt at her, but Sabrina controlled it with her psychic ability and sent it back.
"Bang!" "Pika!"
The little mouse cried out as it was sent flying, crashing heavily into a tree before falling weakly to the ground.
Just one hit was enough to heavily injure it!
"Pikachu!" Ash's eyes widened, and he looked at Sabrina with a hint of hostility.
He didn't say any harsh words. Instead, he was constantly thinking of a solution to the problem.
"Hum..." The psychic ability controlled the Poké Ball on Ash's waist, and it slowly floated out. Eevee was about to be released.
"Slap!" A big hand grabbed the Poké Ball and put it back.
Ash's eyes were determined. True Energy swirled around him. Although it was weak, it could effectively resist the psychic ability's control.
Under the cloak, a beautiful curve formed on Sabrina's red lips. Her red eyes fell on Ash: "Interesting... you can actually break free from my seal?"
But Ash clearly had no intention of actually confronting Sabrina. He threw out another Poké Ball: "Pidgeotto, use Tornado!"
"Pidgeotto-!"
Fallen leaves and sand were immediately swirled up and attacked Sabrina. Ash then picked up the Pikachu and Erika on the ground and planned to escape.
But before he could take two steps, a Pokémon with a spoon appeared in front of him.
Kadabra Lv. 57 (Elite)
Description: A Pokémon that grew up with the Psychic Queen, Sabrina. It has an extremely developed mind and can perform over 100,000 calculations in one second. Its psychic talent is beyond imagination because it has not fully evolved.
Ash's face immediately turned grim... He didn't expect Sabrina to have a backup plan.
While the two were in a standoff, a group of two people and one cat were whispering in the bushes. It was the Team Rocket trio that had been following Ash since Viridian City.
Just like in the original series, because they were sent flying by a powerful Thunderbolt from Pikachu, they mistakenly believed that Pikachu had a power far beyond its kind.
Meowth: "As expected, the boss is strong, meow... The powerful Pikachu couldn't even take one hit."
Jessie: "The boss? Meowth, you know that woman?"
James: "I think that's the Psychic Minister. I've met her once before. She's a powerful psychic herself."
"What? Does that mean that the Pikachu we worked so hard to find is about to be stolen by her?!"
Jessie pouted: "No way. You two think of something. We still need that Pikachu to get a promotion and a raise!"
"..." James and Meowth looked at each other, both feeling a little helpless... This was basically a suicide mission, wasn't it?
Ignoring Pikachu's struggles, Ash recalled it and Pidgeotto to their Poké Balls. He then picked up the Eevee's Poké Ball and turned to face the calm and composed Sabrina.
His eyes were cold, and his mouth was slightly turned up: "Woman, do you think you have me cornered?"
Sabrina didn't say anything. A familiar psychic pressure weighed down on Ash again.
"If you're not going to give it willingly, I'll take it myself," she said, slowly walking towards him with long strides.
Ash lowered his head, his voice low but filled with a savage determination: "Aren't you afraid I'll destroy this Poké Ball?"
Her footsteps stopped. Sabrina's eyes finally showed a flicker of emotion. She was a little surprised by his determination to destroy it all.
Ash saw her stop, and his mouth curved up slightly: "How about we make a bet?"
"I'm not interested... You're not in a position to negotiate," she said. In her eyes, Ash was just a fish on a cutting board.
"What if I can help you control the Eevee? Looking at its pain, you haven't been able to fully master this technique yet, have you? If Eevee is willing to cooperate..."
Ash's voice was full of temptation, but the coldness in his eyes grew with every word.
"Oh? What do you want?"
As expected, Sabrina was interested in his offer.
"It's simple. Let's have a bet. If I win, you leave. If you win, I'll cooperate with you. How about it?"
"What's the bet?" Sabrina filed her nails, looking a little nonchalant.
In her opinion, this was just a waste of time.
"Arm wrestling!" Before she could speak, Ash continued: "You're allowed to use your psychic ability, but no Pokémon."
Sabrina's mouth opened: "Sometimes, ignorance is a blessing..."
"I'll say the same to you..." Ash's mouth curved up slightly, a little arrogant and wild: "I, Ash, have never lost to a woman!"
"Heh! Then let's go," Sabrina said, recalling her Kadabra to show her sincerity.
"Slap!" Sabrina slapped a nearby tree, and her psychic ability cut it in half like a blade.
Then, a tree stump was formed as a table. The two of them slowly extended their right hands and clasped them together.
The moment he touched her hand, a cold and smooth feeling spread through him. The smile on Ash's face widened.
Although she didn't know why he was so confident, Sabrina was also full of confidence in herself.
Her psychic ability could lift dozens of Snorlaxes, after all.
But Sabrina didn't know that the arm wrestling was just a diversion.