The moment Quilava saw Pikachu enter the battle, it immediately stopped moving and silently stood a short distance behind Pikachu, quietly observing.
Then, it glanced at Ash standing behind both it and Pikachu. The flames on its head and at the tip of its tail slowly died down.
"Ash, that Quilava's flames went out. Is that okay?" Misty asked, concerned upon seeing the scene.
In her memory, the flames on Fire-type Pokémon—like the one on a Charizard's tail—represented their life force. If the flame weakened, it could mean their life was in danger.
Ash shook his head. "Quilava's flames are different from Charizard's. That's not its life fire—it's the flame of its fighting spirit. Looks like this little guy's decided to sit back and watch the show!"
He wasn't afraid at all of Pikachu facing two opponents at once!
A powerful Thunderbolt from Pikachu left the Tentacruel scorched inside and out. Even if it hadn't completely lost the ability to battle, it could barely put up a fight anymore.
"Darn it! Golem, use Rollout!"
The massive Golem started rolling, and the ground beneath them trembled slightly with its sheer force.
"Quick Attack to dodge it, then use Iron Tail!"
It was a complex command, but Ash believed in Pikachu completely!
With a flash, Pikachu zipped past the rolling Golem, avoiding it head-on, and then swiftly chased it down from behind!
Its tail shimmered with a metallic glow—Pikachu's Iron Tail technique had become increasingly refined.
Before the opposing Trainer could even react, he watched in disbelief as Pikachu leapt onto the rolling Golem and slammed down hard with its glowing tail!
"Damn it!"
In just two clashes, Pikachu had nearly taken down both of the opponent's massive Pokémon.
"Now you see—you can bring all the Pokémon you want that have an advantage over Fire-types, but you still wouldn't be a match for this Quilava!" Ash was already holding an empty Poké Ball, clearly not interested in dragging this out. Capturing that Quilava was the real priority!
"Hmph, don't get cocky!" The Trainer clearly realized that Ash was far stronger than him and had no chance of winning. After recalling his two Pokémon, he cast a bitter glance at Quilava—but made no move.
Ash didn't mind having him watch from the sidelines.
"Quilava, battle me. I want to capture you!" Ash held out the empty Poké Ball, signaling a challenge for capture.
Quilava looked him straight in the eye, then stood tall. The flames on its head and tail reignited—it accepted the challenge!
That alone meant—it had acknowledged Ash as a worthy Trainer!
"Damn it!"
The Trainer watching from the side ground his teeth in frustration. He had spent a whole week chasing after this Quilava, putting in effort after effort.
He'd battled it countless times. In fact, he had even pushed it to evolve—it used to be just a Cyndaquil.
After its evolution, Quilava's strength and personality had grown much fiercer, making it even harder to catch.
But now, all of his effort seemed to have paved the way for Ash instead!
"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!"
Pikachu once again became a streak of light, dashing straight toward Quilava.
But in that same instant, Quilava vanished from its spot as well—it was also using Quick Attack!
Judging from the speed it now displayed, it was clear: the earlier battle with Sandslash had been nothing but a warm-up!
Pikachu and Quilava clashed head-on using the same technique.
BANG! Pikachu let out a yelp and staggered backward.
Ash's eyes widened—poor Pikachu's head had been knocked red from the collision. On the other side, Quilava seemed to be in the same state, rubbing its forehead before lowering its head—aiming the flame atop it directly at Pikachu!
"Flamethrower?!"
Ash instantly recognized the classic Fire-type move. It was fast—Pikachu didn't have time to dodge!
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
Lightning and flame clashed once again, erupting into a powerful shockwave that blew the rival Trainer, who had been watching from the sidelines, clean off his feet!
The sheer force of the head-on collisions left him completely awestruck.
Both Pikachu and Quilava were blown back by the explosion as well, but Ash's eyes gleamed blue—he moved with ease and caught Pikachu mid-air, shielding it from the impact.
After all, this was a capture battle. It wasn't considered cheating for Ash to protect his partner this way.
"Now's the time!"
As the smoke and blast winds had yet to settle, Ash's eyes lit up. He flung the Poké Ball he had been holding onto all this time!
Amplified by the power of Aura, the ordinary Poké Ball tore through the lingering explosion, soaring straight toward the dazed Quilava lying on the ground, its head still a little foggy.
The Poké Ball clicked once… twice… then the light on the button went dark.
Ash had captured Quilava!
From their brief exchange, it was clear: Quilava had deliberately watched the earlier fight between Pikachu and Golem from the sidelines. This showed that the little guy was brave, decisive—and maybe a bit calculating.
Its compatibility with Ash was clearly sky-high.
Sure enough, the system's scan revealed that Quilava's Bond Level had reached 120/195—even higher than Bayleef, who had evolved for Ash's sake. The difference in compatibility was only five points!
Of course, it was a newly captured Pokémon, and for it to already have 120 in Bond Level was impressive in itself.
"I captured Quilava!"
"Pika pika!"
"Damn it!" The rival Trainer was livid when he saw that Ash had actually captured Quilava. He let out a furious curse, glared at Ash one last time, and then turned and stormed off.
He had spent a full week chasing after this Pokémon—all for nothing. Anyone in his shoes would be bitter.
But truthfully, even if it hadn't been Ash, he still probably wouldn't have been able to catch Quilava. After trying for a whole week, he should've realized that already.
If he truly wanted to make progress on his journey, he'd be better off focusing on training and leveling up with his current Pokémon.
Of course, Ash wasn't going to be so kind as to offer him advice.
"Congrats, Ash. Another strong partner joins your team!"
After Bayleef's evolution, Ash had now gained the Fire-type starter of the Johto region—and an evolved one, no less.
At this point, just in terms of evolved Pokémon, Ash had already surpassed where he was during his Kanto journey.
Next stop—Azalea Town!
Pikachu: 215/255