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Surrounded by crackling thunder and lightning, Charizard roared with determination and rose rapidly until both Pokémon were high in the sky. At this altitude, the people watching from below could no longer see the two battling Pokémon clearly.
They could only make out a golden, glowing figure moving in a circular trajectory through the air, as if the two Pokémon were rotating around the Earth itself.
Then, under Charizard's powerful guidance, both combatants dove directly toward the ground at tremendous speed.
At this critical moment, Electivire was still grasping Charizard with its extended tails and had no way to escape the devastating attack. Even if it wanted to break free, Charizard would never let go of its grip.
BOOM! Soon, a ball of golden energy could be seen plummeting toward the earth, impacting the ground with absolutely astonishing power.
Because the electrical energy from both Pokémon surrounded them during the descent, the force when they struck the ground was even more incredible than usual—just like a meteorite crashing into the Earth.
A massive amount of air pressure spread outward from the impact site, and thick smoke billowed up simultaneously. The three trainers stared intently at the smoke cloud in front of them, waiting anxiously to see the results.
As time passed slowly, the smoke gradually began to dissipate, and two familiar figures slowly emerged from the clearing dust.
Both Pokémon's bodies were covered with dirt and debris, and their eyes remained focused on each other. Their gazes were filled with mutual recognition and what seemed to be genuine appreciation for their opponent's strength.
The two powerful Pokémon looked at each other in a moment of respectful silence. After a brief stalemate, Electivire's expression shifted, and then its body slowly began to bend downward, dropping to one knee before finally collapsing to the ground.
Charizard watched as its worthy opponent fell at its feet, then excitedly raised its head and roared triumphantly toward the sky.
"CHAR-I-ZARD!"
"We won! Excellent work, Charizard!" Seeing the outcome of the battle, Ash rushed to Charizard's side with excitement. Brock and Misty were also happy for Ash's victory and smiled with genuine pride.
"Go, Poké Ball!" Ash immediately took out an empty Poké Ball and threw it in the direction of the fallen Electivire. The red and white sphere flew through the air toward the defeated Electric-type Pokémon.
Click! The Poké Ball struck Electivire with a satisfying sound, then opened and drew the large Pokémon inside with a flash of red light.
Thud! The Poké Ball fell to the ground and began to shake slightly as the button flashed red repeatedly. Everyone stared at the Poké Ball nervously, holding their breath as they waited for the result.
Ding! The Poké Ball made a final sound, and the light on the button gradually faded away. The sphere became still and quiet, which meant that the capture had been successful.
"I successfully caught Electivire!" Ash felt a rush of excitement when he saw this result, and he stepped forward to pick up the Poké Ball.
At the same moment he touched it, the Poké Ball emitted a bright light and then disappeared from his hand completely.
Ash wasn't surprised by this, knowing that the Poké Ball had been automatically teleported to Professor Oak's laboratory since he already had six Pokémon with him. But after successfully capturing Electivire, the regret that had been nagging at Ash's heart completely disappeared.
When he had first met Electivire at the power plant, he had really liked this Pokémon with such a strong sense of justice.
When they met again, Electivire had become much stronger through evolution. The Electirizer that Ash hadn't known what to do with originally had helped the Electric-type complete its final evolutionary stage.
The reason Ash had felt regretful wasn't because he was reluctant to give up a valuable Electirizer. Even if they had never seen each other again, under those circumstances at the power plant, he wouldn't have hesitated to use the item to help Electivire evolve.
The regret came from something deeper—Ash had developed different feelings about some of his Pokémon. It wasn't that he cared about them differently or loved some more than others.
In reality, he cared deeply about every single Pokémon he had ever caught or traveled with. But he simply couldn't keep them all with him at the same time during his journey. He could only contact Professor Oak occasionally to ask about their status and well-being when he had the opportunity.
However, Pokémon like Gyarados, Electivire, Aerodactyl, Fraxure, Scyther, and other powerful Pokémon did give him different emotions compared to his other team members.
This was because they were all Pokémon that he had encountered and captured through his own choices and experiences. To put it simply, for Ash, meeting and catching Pokémon like Squirtle and Bulbasaur had felt like following a predetermined script.
But when he captured Pokémon like Electivire, Ash felt like he was truly living his own life in this world, rather than simply acting according to some predetermined path like a character in a video game.
Meeting Pikachu had been a fateful encounter that changed his life, while meeting Electivire represented another wonderful and meaningful encounter that he would treasure.
"Alright, let's get moving again!" After sorting through his complex emotions, Ash took out a Super Potion to help treat Charizard's minor injuries from the battle.
He also gave his Fire-type partner some Oran Berries from his bag to help it recover its strength more quickly.
Then he recalled Charizard back into its Poké Ball, shouldered his backpack, and prepared to continue their journey toward the next city.
They had already traveled a considerable distance from Gringey City, so Ash and his two friends had no plans to return there. If they went back at this point, they would probably be surrounded by grateful citizens again.
Instead, they planned to wait until they reached the next city with a Pokémon Center, where Ash could contact Professor Oak to check on Electivire and his other Pokémon.
"Sounds good to us!" Misty and Brock responded enthusiastically, immediately falling into step behind Ash as the three trainers resumed their adventure together.
Professor Oak's Laboratory
"Hmm? Ash has sent another Pokémon!" At that moment, Professor Oak's laboratory received an incoming teleportation signal. The renowned Pokémon researcher approached the transfer machine and looked at the Poké Ball that had materialized on the platform, already beginning to feel curious about what Ash had caught this time.
Picking up the Poké Ball with interest, he threw it onto the floor of his lab. With a flash of light, a tall, imposing figure appeared before Professor Oak, which genuinely startled the elderly professor.
"Oh my goodness! This... this is an Electivire!" Professor Oak exclaimed with amazement as he looked at the tall and mighty Electric-type Pokémon standing before him.
"Ash managed to get one before Gary did!" Professor Oak was genuinely surprised as he studied the powerful Electivire.
Gary had also captured an Elekid that had since evolved into Electabuzz. During recent conversations, Gary had asked his grandfather to help keep an eye out for Electirizers, since he obviously wanted to evolve his Electabuzz into its final form.
Starting around that same time period, Gary had actually asked his group of female admirers to drive themselves back home instead of continuing to follow him on his journey.
As Gary's grandfather, although Professor Oak didn't know exactly what had caused this change in attitude, he was very relieved by the transformation. He suspected it was probably because of Ash's influence on his grandson.
It was only recently that Gary had changed his approach and decided to take his Pokémon journey seriously as a form of personal growth and training. Although this realization had come somewhat late in his journey, Professor Oak was still very happy that his grandson had finally gained this important understanding.
"As expected of an Electivire! It's just as powerful as the research reports claim. It's said that those tails can release incredibly high-voltage electricity. This specimen looks very strong indeed."
After thinking about Gary's recent changes, Professor Oak turned his attention back to Electivire, and his old habit of hands-on research immediately took over. He began examining Electivire's body structure and then reached out to grab one of its distinctive tails.
Obviously, although Electivire could use its tails as a means of attack or even to play gently with smaller Pokémon like Togepi, it clearly didn't appreciate being grabbed and handled by a strange old man it had never met before.
BZZT! "AHHHHH! It's... it's really shocking!" Professor Oak cried out as electricity coursed through his body from the startled Electivire's defensive reaction.