The smoke slowly dissipated, and Ash and Pikachu focused on the aftermath caused by the Aura Sphere.
In Ash's estimation, being able to defeat five or six Spearow with this Aura Sphere and injure the remaining ones would already be an outstanding effect.
But the final result far exceeded his expectations.
Of the dozen or so Spearow charging at the front, every single one was knocked out!
Ash couldn't help but look at his own hands. This was just the result of using fifty percent of his strength. If it was a full-power Aura Sphere...
Wow, is this the power that Aura Ash mentioned, comparable to a legendary Pokemon?
It seems his understanding of Pokemon is still too shallow. If only he had paid more attention during Professor Oak's classes.
"Pika Pika..." Monster...
Pikachu swallowed hard and said involuntarily.
Having been in the human world for so long, he had never seen such a monstrous human.
The skill used during their previous battle seemed to show restraint. If it were as powerful as this move, he might not just end up gravely injured and unconscious; he might have seen God that day.
"Let's get them, Pikachu! Half each!"
"Pika Pika!" You eight, me two!
Ash rolled his eyes without arguing with Pikachu's distribution because, for now, he was indeed the stronger one!
With that said, the duo charged toward the Spearow flock!
Ash unleashed his full Aura Power, with one hand firing Aura Spheres chaotically within the Spearow flock, easing Pikachu's pressure significantly.
Pikachu seized every opportunity on the side, using Thunder Shock to stealthily take out one or two Spearow.
The majority of the pressure was on Ash. Facing the Spearow flock attacking en masse, he used one hand for Aura Spheres and the other to sustain an Aura Shield, like a war god!
In less than five minutes, all the remaining Spearow were taken down by Ash and Pikachu!
"Huff... huff... chase or not? I told you, don't force me to act, the consequences are severe!" Ash panted, standing with hands on his hips, looking at the fallen Spearow with a proud expression.
Next to him, Pikachu mimicked Ash's stance, hands on hips, looking proud.
As a Starter Pokemon with almost no battle experience, defeating nearly an entire Pokemon group on his first day out! If word got out, he would be revered by all Pokémon!
Even though he wasn't the main force in this battle.
After dealing with the Spearow flock, the duo finally caught a breath. Ash took out a map, roughly checked their position, and discovered that due to the Spearow chase, they were already very close to Viridian City.
Even at a normal pace, they should arrive by tomorrow morning.
"I must say, we should thank those guys. If it weren't for their chase, we wouldn't have arrived here so quickly." Ash put away the map, speaking with a face full of sentiment.
Pikachu nodded in agreement, and with that, they prepared to move on. As for the fallen Spearow, they hadn't suffered serious injuries.
Though they lost their fighting ability, due to their Pokemon physiology, they could quickly recover as long as there wasn't fatal damage.
Otherwise, the League would have to ban battling wild Pokemon, since wild ones don't have trainers, and no one would bother taking them to a Pokemon Center for recovery.
As long as the damage isn't too severe, wild Pokemon can usually recover on their own in no time.
"Wait, Pikachu." Just as Pikachu was about to leave, Ash suddenly spoke, shifting his gaze to a tree not far away.
"Hey, you over there, come out, I've already found you."
The battlefield looked like a countryside path, with grass covering the ground and flowers and trees not far away; a somewhat wilderness-like place.
At first, Ash didn't notice, but during the battle, he sensed an Aura presence in the nearby trees.
Judging by the Aura's strength, it didn't seem like a Pokemon's Aura, meaning someone was hiding behind the tree.
The person probably saw his and Pikachu's battle with the Spearow, though Ash wasn't too concerned, he was puzzled as to why the person remained hidden.
If it was out of fear of the Spearow, they should have come out once the flock was defeated.
His glorious defeat of the Spearow was surely worthy of some praise, right?!
Yes, this was Ash's thinking when he called out to the person behind the tree.
Who could watch such an awesome battle and resist hiding?
"Still not coming out? I'm going to take action!"
"Wait, wait, wait!" A clear voice rang out, surprising Ash. From the voice, the person behind the tree turned out to be a girl?
As the figure emerged from behind the tree, Ash took a clear look at her appearance.
She wore a sleeveless yellow crop top with a ponytail, her ample chest slightly bulging the shirt, and suspenders shorts below, looking very cool, with her white arms and long legs reflecting light.
Her round baby face paired with a small nose and gem-like green eyes looked playful and cute, except her face now showed panic.
"A girl? What were you doing hiding behind that tree?"
"Cough, cough, I... I was just passing by, I didn't see anything, really."
"Liar! You've been there for a while!" Ash mercilessly exposed the girl's lie.
"I... I didn't mean to see it, please don't silence me!" The girl clasped her hands, lowering her head pleadingly.
This left Ash utterly puzzled.
"Silence? Is there something wrong with you?"
"..."
After preliminary talks with the girl, Ash understood why she was unwilling to come out and her expression after being called out.
The girl's name was Misty. Seeing Ash and Pikachu battling the Spearow, she had wanted to help.
After all, a Trainer with just a Pikachu couldn't possibly tackle so many Spearow, right?
However, she guessed the protagonist wrong; the main battle force wasn't Pikachu, but the Trainer himself!
Watching Ash decimate the vicinity, Misty couldn't help but imagine some secret human-augmentation or a superweapon from a secret organization...
This was why Misty didn't dare come out after the battle ended.
Listening to Misty's wild speculations, Ash quickly stopped her and explained he was just a human with some special abilities and a Newbie Trainer.
After much convincing, Misty finally believed Ash and breathed a sigh of relief, at least she didn't have to worry about being silenced...