Want to read ahead. You know where
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"Damn it… damn it all!"
Paul's fists clenched at his sides, his jaw tight with frustration.
"Injured by a worthless Pokémon?!"
His eyes narrowed, simmering with fury.
He wasn't just angry, he was insulted.
"Elekid!" he barked, pointing with sharp precision.
"Thunder Punch. Now!"
Electricity crackled as Elekid pushed through the ache in its body.
Sparks jumped from its arms as it concentrated the current into its fist.
Bzzzt!
With a sharp cry, Elekid lunged forward, lightning bursting from its knuckles.
Sam, standing nearby, noticed Ash was still staring at him, eyebrows raised, caught off guard by something earlier.
He spoke up, voice calm but firm.
"Ash. Focus."
"Huh, ah, right!" Ash blinked, snapping out of it.
"Sorry!"
He turned back just as Elekid charged forward, lightning lighting up the ground beneath it.
"Thunder Shock!"
Electricity flared again as Elekid unleashed another wave of power, barreling toward Chimchar.
Ash didn't flinch.
"Chimchar, Dig!"
"flame~!"
Chimchar dropped low, claws tearing through the dirt with ease.
Within seconds, it vanished underground, leaving Elekid's thunder-charged punch to strike nothing but air.
Paul's glare darkened.
Ash saw his chance.
"Now, Chimchar, attack from below!"
There was a rumble.
Dirt flew.
"Chimchar!"
With a burst of energy, the Fire-type erupted from the ground like a cannonball, flames dancing on its body.
Before Elekid could even react, Chimchar slammed into it with a crushing uppercut, sending Paul's Pokémon flying backward through the air.
It hit the ground hard, skidding several feet.
Ash's eyes lit up.
"Go! Flamethrower!"
Chimchar inhaled sharply, the flame on its tail flaring bright.
FWOOSH!
A jet of fire roared from its mouth, blasting across the field.
Elekid barely had time to raise its arms before the searing heat engulfed it.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three.
When the flames finally died down, Elekid lay motionless, scorched and unconscious.
"YEAH!"
Ash bolted onto the field with a wide grin, arms already open.
"Chimchar, we did it!"
"Chim!"
The little monkey Pokémon laughed and leapt into Ash's embrace, both of them tumbling to the ground in a hug.
Behind them, Paul's face twisted in frustration.
"Damn it… useless thing," he muttered, withdrawing Elekid into its Poké Ball without another word.
He turned and walked off, not bothering to say anything else.
No congratulations. No parting insult.
Just silence.
Ash didn't even look his way. He was too busy celebrating.
After the excitement calmed down, he walked back toward Sam, Chimchar riding proudly on his shoulder.
"Hey, Sam," Ash said, still catching his breath, "why was Chimchar's Flamethrower so strong this time?"
"Yeah!" Brock added, arms crossed thoughtfully.
"That was a lot more powerful than before."
Even Dawn nodded.
"It looked like Chimchar was back at full strength… even better, maybe."
Sam smiled, unfazed by the curiosity. He'd expected this.
"Chimchar was hurt pretty bad before the match," he explained simply.
"But I helped it recover with something special."
"Special?" Ash tilted his head.
"I've got something with healing powers," he said.
"It doesn't cure everything, but it helps Pokémon recover faster. Clears fatigue too."
Ash's eyes widened.
"Whoa! That's amazing!"
Dawn leaned forward.
"Where'd you get something like that?"
Sam shrugged lightly, brushing it off.
"Let's just say it's something not many people have access to."
The trio exchanged glances.
They knew by now Sam had his secrets.
He always seemed a step ahead, always calm, even in the middle of a battle.
"Thanks again," Ash said, bowing his head slightly.
"If Chimchar hadn't been at full strength…"
"You earned it," Sam replied, his tone matter-of-fact.
"You saw your moment and acted. That's what matters."
Chimchar beamed proudly from Ash's shoulder, the flame on its tail flickering brightly in the fading sunlight.
The match might have ended, but the feeling of triumph still burned hot in the air.
After listening to the explanation, Ash's eyes lit up with sudden clarity.
"Oh, I get it now!" he exclaimed.
"Chimchar was still recovering from being hurt earlier, and with all the intense training Paul put it through, it couldn't fight at its full strength before!"
He turned to Sam with a big, earnest grin.
"Thanks, Sam!"
Dawn chimed in, "It's because you helped heal Chimchar, right?"
"Yeah, yeah, exactly!"
Ash quickly stood up straight, then bowed deeply.
"Thank you so much, Sam!"
"Flame~!"
Chimchar mimicked Ash's gesture, bowing with a little squeak, its tail flame flickering gently behind it.
Sam waved them off with a small smile.
"No need to be so formal. I'm glad it helped."
Ash was still buzzing with excitement.
"Your abilities are incredible! Just like the Gym Leader I met in Saffron City, Sabrina!"
"Sabrina?" Sam looked over at him with a flicker of recognition.
"Yeah! She had psychic powers; she could teleport stuff with her mind! It was wild!"
Ash still remembered how surreal that battle had been.
A Gym Leader who didn't just train Psychic-types but seemed like one herself.
Sam's eyes narrowed slightly as he recalled their encounter on Mt. Silver.
Sabrina had approached him with something different in her gaze, not just interest, but fixation.
She had said she wanted to be with him.
It had been a strange moment, one that lingered in the back of his mind like a shadow he hadn't quite stepped out of.
He wasn't sure if her powers had acted up since then, or if she'd learned to control them better.
With his upcoming trip to Kanto, he might be seeing her again.
Ash's voice pulled him back to the present.
"Hey, Sam… do you think I might have powers too?"
"Hm?" Sam raised an eyebrow.
"I mean, maybe I've got something special like you! Maybe it just hasn't awakened yet!"
Sam chuckled softly.
"Maybe you do, Ash. Like you said, it just hasn't awakened."
Ash's face lit up like a Christmas tree.
"Seriously?!"
"Seriously." Sam nodded, the smile not leaving his lips.
Because deep down, he knew the truth, Ash did have something special.
Something powerful. Even if Ash didn't understand it yet.
He remembered the future that lay ahead, the strange bond Ash would eventually share with Greninja.
A connection so deep it would lead to something no one had seen before: synchronized evolution, driven not by stones or levels, but by trust and shared will.
Ash might be impulsive, but his heart was pure.
That empathy, that instinct to connect, was his gift.
After talking with the group for a while longer, Sam checked his watch.
It was time.
"I've gotta head to the airport," he said.
"My flight to the Kanto Region leaves soon."
Ash, Brock, and Dawn nodded in understanding, though their faces carried hints of disappointment.
"We'll miss you," Dawn said honestly.
A moment later, a sleek shape dropped down from the clouds above, Lugia, still in its child form but graceful as ever.
With practiced ease, Sam climbed onto its back.
The wind swirled as the creature's wings stretched wide, lifting them into the sky with a single powerful beat.
They soared toward the airport.
Later, aboard the plane bound for the Kanto Region, Sam sat by the window, watching the clouds drift by in soft white waves.
He rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought.
"Ash connected with Greninja through pure instinct… a bond so deep it triggered that special evolution. A real bond evolution…"
He leaned back in his seat, eyes still scanning the sky.
"And Luca and I, we both have the power of Aura."
"If that kind of connection is possible with empathy and trust…"
He closed his eyes.
"…then maybe Luca and I could reach bond evolution too."