In the real world, the audience stared at the Zapdos that had been struck down by Thunder, rendered speechless.
The live broadcast chat, once bustling with conversation, fell completely silent. After a long while—
[Volkner]: Let me ask… Zapdos is called the Thunder God, right?
[Zapdos]: Wrong! I am the one worthy of the name Thunder God! The other Zapdos are just ordinary Pokémon! Absolutely true! Especially the one in the video—I don't know him!
The leader of the Zapdos clan immediately stepped forward to clarify. Was that Pokémon in the image a member of his tribe? What nonsense! He had no such disgraceful clansman! Being defeated by other moves was one thing, but by an Electric-type move? That was too much! Although Zapdos was Electric/Flying-type and had no resistance to Electric moves, still… you are a Zapdos, the Thunder God! Was this performance not far too outrageous now?! The Thunder God, struck down by thunder, even getting slightly scorched… What kind of hellish joke was this?!
[Moltres]: Hahahaha! Arrived immediately and laughed!
[Articuno]: Hahahaha! Arrived immediately and laughed!
[Caitlin]: Hahahaha! Arrived immediately and laughed!
[Steven]: Interrupting the chain! Caitlin, why are you piling on? Articuno and Moltres have history with Zapdos, but why are you joining in?
[Caitlin]: Ahem, isn't the essence of humanity to be a repeater? I'm just getting into the spirit!
[Lance]: But honestly… Zapdos being shot down by Pikachu's Thunder… This scene is truly iconic! It's up there with the famous scene of Groudon flying, right? Although I haven't actually seen Groudon fly yet.
[Steven]: ?
[Steven]: Hey now, you can tease me, but why drag our Lord of the Land, Groudon, into this?! Even if it's true Groudon can't fly, you can't just say it here! How sad would He be to see people saying He can't fly!
[Wallace]: …I have reason to suspect you're bullying Groudon, and the evidence is conclusive.
[Koga]: Steven… aren't you afraid Groudon will step out of a volcano after the live stream ends and trample your Devon Corporation to dust?
[Steven]: Uh… that won't happen, right? Groudon isn't that petty, is He?
Groudon: Haha.
If He could speak now, He'd use every curse word He'd just learned from humans! Groudon, deep within a volcano, silently seethed and committed the name 'Steven' to memory. If I ever hear someone named Steven after I awaken—regardless if it's the right one—I'm striking first with Precipice Blades! As for what Koga said about destroying Steven's family assets… tempting, but impossible. Not to mention He didn't know where Devon Corporation's holdings were, even if He did, He couldn't. The Sky Dragon that maintained order wasn't a joke. If He really caused chaos in the human world, forget human resistance—the Sky Dragon wouldn't stand idle. So… better to just use Precipice Blades on Steven next time! Oh, and also that guy named Lance… Steven's face was unknown, but Lance… Haha! Don't let me run into you! Otherwise, I'll make you taste Precipice Blades too!
Lance felt a sudden chill but saw no one staring at him. Thinking it was his imagination, he happily continued joining the Groudon-bullying in the chat. He wasn't actually familiar with Groudon, but hearing from Steven that it couldn't fly was surprising. Were there any first-tier Legendaries that couldn't fly? He didn't know much about the others, but he knew the Sinnoh trio and the Tao trio could fly. A first-tier Legendary that couldn't fly… was indeed rare, sparking his desire to tease… ahem.
For now, Zapdos quite wisely kept its beak shut. With Groudon drawing the fire, everyone had forgotten it was his Zapdos being mocked initially. Zapdos getting beaten by Pikachu… was no less amusing than Groudon's inability to fly. It was just that first-tier Legendaries offered more entertainment value, so everyone forgot about the Thunder God. But… this was only temporary, because the battle on the field wasn't over yet!
In a Black World —
Ash watched the falling Zapdos and doubted its life choices for a moment. Pikachu on the field, ready to use Volt Tackle, was also stumped by the scene… Did this bird have brain damage?
Pikachu's shoulders slumped, arms drooped, and head tilted forward in a speechless pose. (Cue Vegeta's speechless.jpg)
Just before hitting the ground, Zapdos finally woke up, frantically flapping its wings to halt less than ten centimeters from the earth. The powerful downdraft flattened the grassland grass, unable to rise.
"Skree???" What in the world are you, Pikachu???
"Ah~ It's a real Pikachu. So… why were you so stubborn about taking that Thunder head-on?" Ash rubbed the bridge of his nose, replying helplessly.
"Skree!! Skree!!!"
"Who would've thought a Pikachu could use such powerful Thunder… Well, you've seen it now. My Pikachu can do it!"
"You didn't really think I was wasting this chance to catch you by sending Pikachu out just to play house, did you?" Ash paused, then sighed. "Oh, forget it. You Legendaries are always like this. I'd better teach you a lesson and let you see… what the strongest Pikachu really means!"
"Pikachu, Volt Tackle!"
"Pikaa!!"
Pikachu shook itself, returning from its bewildered state to a battle-ready stance. It dropped to all fours, then erupted with full power! Its small figure became a streak of golden light through the air, terrifying voltage exploding around it!
Zapdos's pupils constricted. It quickly flapped its wings, flying higher! Don't get hit! Getting hit means the end! This thought echoed in Zapdos's mind. Regardless of the threat it sensed, the Thunder earlier proved the opponent's strength was definitely superior! To defeat this Pikachu, it could only use its aerial advantage. Thinking this, Zapdos felt aggrieved again. The mighty Thunder God had to use flight to fight a Pikachu? What kind of sense did that make?! It was simply outrageous!
However… facts proved Zapdos was overthinking. It wasn't overthinking the idea of using aerial advantage to win—it was overthinking the idea that it had an aerial advantage! Pikachu's Volt Tackle was dodged at the last moment, but Pikachu didn't just crash into the air. Instead, it struck a golden thread! Or rather, the thread seemed to appear there of its own accord. Then, the golden thread acted like a solid wall, firmly stopping Pikachu's Volt Tackle—or rather, Pikachu after it flipped.
Pikachu spun in mid-air, both feet landing on the thread, then launched off with even more terrifying power and speed. Before Zapdos could process what happened, Pikachu had completed the maneuver and caught up at a faster speed. Then, amidst Zapdos's confusion, it struck solidly!
BOOM!!
CRACKLE-ZZZT!!
Thunder roared in the sky, wind and clouds churned, golden light flashed, and dense lightning exploded as if trying to split the heavens!
Lorelei, watching from a distance, pursed her lips, a strange light in her eyes. This power… was more than a little stronger than when she'd fought him before. It could probably withstand a Champion-level attack now. But… setting attack power aside, why had that Pikachu's level dropped? She couldn't be wrong about this—she'd appraised countless Pokémon and was confident in judging levels. Pikachu's current level was definitely not Champion-tier. That meant although its level had dropped, its attack power at the same level was much stronger than before! Plus that mysterious golden thread… That should be a new move, right? She didn't know the conditions for using it, but if it could be used freely, they'd likely be able to move freely in the air. Ash and Pikachu now… if they entered that mysterious, profound state from before, their comprehensive combat power was estimated to be at least comparable to a Champion's. In less than three months… had they improved this much? Before, Pikachu couldn't even defeat a mid-tier Elite Four–level Pokémon. Yes, she was talking about her Jynx. But now…
"Incredible, Ash… It seems I really need to go all out preparing for our match in a few months," Lorelei murmured to herself, folding her arms. The action stretched her impressive figure even more exaggeratedly, but Brock was still focused on the battle; otherwise, he might have started nose-bleeding again.
The golden light flickered for a full ten seconds before slowly fading. A small figure flew out from the smoke-filled sky, lightly touched the surrounding golden threads, and finally landed on the ground. The next second, another figure appeared in the sky—but it fell straight down!
Needless to say, that figure was Zapdos. It no longer looked as majestic as it had five minutes prior. Its beautiful feathers were charred black, and the spiky, hairspray-styled plumage now looked limp. One move was Thunder, the other Volt Tackle—a Legendary beast taken down in two hits! This was Pikachu now! So… who was the real Thunder God?
Ash threw a Poké Ball without hesitation. Zapdos turned into red light and was sucked inside. After shaking three times with a crisp ding!, Ash officially caught the second Legendary Bird—Zapdos! If he was collecting stamps from the three Legendary Birds, only one stamp remained now.
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