Occasionally, the two sides exchanged, satisfying their fun of bullying Pokémon while also getting something to eat.
"Get lost!!" Ash roared in anger when he saw the situation, but his shout didn't scare the Spearow. Instead, several Spearow turned their fierce gazes toward him.
The next second, five Spearow suddenly charged toward Ash. He took the lead, striking out with a hand chop, colliding with the sharp beak of the Spearow in front of him. In an instant, the speed at which the Spearow flew at him was as fast as the speed it was knocked back, even faster!
After knocking away the Spearow at the forefront, Ash glared fiercely at the remaining Spearow. The Spearow weren't stupid; seeing their companion taken down by a mere raise of a hand, they quickly reassessed the disparity in strength and immediately turned to flee!
Before leaving, they didn't forget to drag away their companion who was knocked out by Ash.
After driving away the Spearow, Ash and the others quickly rushed over to Charmander. At this moment, the flame on Charmander's tail was so weak it was almost invisible.
Brock estimated that if Ash hadn't noticed Charmander earlier in the morning and given it some food, Charmander wouldn't have lasted until now with its stamina.
Perhaps by now, it would have lost its last bit of flame in this pouring rain and returned its soul to the sky.
"What should we do, Ash? Looking at this flame, there's no way Charmander can make it back to the Pokémon Center." Misty said anxiously as she used her raincoat to shield the flame on Charmander's tail, trying to prevent it from getting doused by the rain.
But this action was merely a drop in the bucket for Charmander; the flame continued to diminish. Unless there was some way to rapidly increase Charmander's body temperature.
Ash bit his lip, a look of worry also spreading across his face.
"Wait a minute... That's right, this! This should help!" Just as Brock and Misty were about to take Charmander away at all costs, Ash suddenly exclaimed.
The next second, a brilliant seven-colored light arose in the dim rainy day.
Rainbow Wing!!
The Rainbow Wing, a divine object left behind by the legendary Pokémon Ho-Oh.
According to the group's elders, aside from being the key to challenging Ho-Oh, the Rainbow Wing has various uses and is considered the finest held item for Pokémon.
Previously, Ash never had a Pokémon that perfectly matched the Rainbow Wing to use it, so he mainly rotated it between Pidgeotto and Butterfree.
Since both had the Flying Type attribute, the Rainbow Wing provided them with some enhancements, which partly explained the rapid increase in their levels.
Ash suddenly thought that the Rainbow Wing might help with Charmander's current situation, so he quickly released Pidgeotto and took the Rainbow Wing from it.
That's where the rainbow light had come from a moment ago.
"This... What is this?" It was Brock's first time seeing the Rainbow Wing. Although Ash would rotate the Rainbow Wing between Pidgeotto and Butterfree, Brock never paid attention to it.
Ash and Misty never mentioned anything related to Ho-Oh to Brock, not intentionally hiding it, but simply because they had traveled together, and this journey made them well acquainted with Brock's character.
They just... forgot to tell Brock about their encounter with Ho-Oh.
Upon seeing Brock's bewildered expression, Ash and Misty suddenly remembered that it seemed Brock wasn't aware of their encounter with Ho-Oh.
"This is Ho-Oh's feather, imbued with strong life force. Placing it on Charmander should have some effect." Ash said, placing the Rainbow Wing on Charmander.
The Rainbow Wing's glow seemed to become even more radiant, and the flame on Charmander's tail, previously shielded by Misty, burnt slightly brighter, no longer appearing as if it might extinguish at any moment.
"It works! Let's go, Misty, Brock, let's hurry back to the Pokémon Center!" Seeing the Rainbow Wing having an effect, Ash's face lit up with joy, but he didn't forget the main task.
The Rainbow Wing could only barely restore some of Charmander's strength, preventing further decline. For a complete recovery, they needed to reach the Pokémon Center.
Throughout the journey, Misty shielded Charmander's tail flame with her raincoat, while Brock tried to protect Charmander's body, and Ash pressed the Rainbow Wing firmly against Charmander's body.
Ralts used Telekinesis on Ash's shoulder, deflecting the raindrops that would have fallen on him, though she ended up drenched herself.
With their running, it took about less than thirty minutes to reach the Pokémon Center. Just as Ash was about to remove the Rainbow Wing, it suddenly adhered to Charmander and vanished!
Ash was momentarily stunned, then expanded his Aura Power. Under its detection, he found a presence within Charmander's body that didn't align well with his Aura, which must be the Rainbow Wing that had just disappeared.
Seeing the Rainbow Wing had fused into Charmander, Ash didn't regret the Rainbow Wing nor had time to wonder why it would merge with Charmander. In any case, the situation couldn't be better.
With the Rainbow Wing functioning within Charmander, along with the treatment from the Pokémon Center, it should fully recover without any sequelae.