After leaving Professor Sycamore's research institute, Ash carried the little Shiny Fennekin in his arms and headed toward Lumiose City's Pokémon Breeding Street.
Along the way, everyone chatted and laughed, sharing amusing stories from their everyday lives and recounting the funny little incidents they had experienced while spending time with their Pokémon.
However, just as Ash and the others were passing a park near Lumiose City's Pokémon Breeding Street, Ash suddenly frowned and stopped walking.
He had just sensed something.
A powerful wave of malice was coming from inside the park beside them!
"Ash, what's wrong?"
Noticing that Ash had suddenly stopped, Serena turned toward him with a puzzled expression.
"Watch out!!"
The instant Serena finished speaking, Ash's expression changed dramatically. He grabbed her hand and abruptly leapt backward, pulling her along with him.
"Shrrr—!"
A volley of purple Poison-type needles suddenly shot out from the nearby park.
In the blink of an eye, the spot where Ash and Serena had been standing was covered in purple needles, making the ground look like the spiny back of a hedgehog!
"Ah!!"
Serena, Clarissa, Misty, Shauna, Bonnie, and the others all let out startled cries. Even Clemont, Tierno, and the other boys couldn't help but gasp.
The attack had been incredibly dangerous!
If Ash hadn't sensed the danger and stopped in time, pulling Serena away with him, those poisonous needles might have struck their bodies instead.
"Ash…"
Clarissa's face had turned pale. Even the hand holding Ash's was trembling slightly.
Ash gently patted her hand, reassuring her that there was nothing to be afraid of.
But just then, a purple-haired woman with a voluptuous figure sauntered out of the nearby park.
Her expression was relaxed, and her voice was dripping with exaggerated sweetness.
"Oh, my, my~"
"I'm terribly sorry! My Drapion and I were just training in the park. One of its moves accidentally went off course and flew over here. I hope none of you were hurt?"
"Oh, dear, I'm so sorry~"
Although the woman was speaking as if she were apologizing, there wasn't the slightest trace of guilt or remorse in her expression or tone. She looked almost as though the attack had been deliberate.
However, not everyone was like Ash.
Not everyone had witnessed the darkness lurking beneath the surface of this world, nor did everyone possess Psychic abilities that allowed them to perceive other people's thoughts and easily see through their disguises.
Hearing the woman's seemingly apologetic words, Clemont and the others—who lacked much social experience and were relatively innocent—actually began to believe her explanation.
The tension and fear on their faces gradually faded. They were even preparing to accept her apology and let the incident go.
But before Clemont or anyone else could say a word, Ash spoke first.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
Ash stared at the purple-haired woman who had just attacked them. His expression was icy, and his voice carried a chilling murderous intent.
He had sensed the woman's malice from the very beginning. There was no way he would mistake a deliberate attack for an accident.
"Hey kiddo, what are you saying? Goodness, your expression is so frightening! You're scaring me!"
Feeling the murderous aura radiating from Ash, the purple-haired woman's eyelid twitched. The smile on her face stiffened slightly.
However, she was one of Team Flare's senior executives, a powerful Trainer at Elite Four level.
Although Ash's imposing presence had surprised her, she quickly reminded herself of the enormous difference in strength between them. Before long, she had regained her composure.
The woman's face once again returned to its earlier expression of casual indifference, as though nothing had happened.
"Oh, come now! I was simply training my Pokémon in the park. It really was an accident. And didn't I already apologize?"
As she spoke, the purple-haired woman placed a finger against her lips. She put on an adorable expression and spoke in an innocent, almost coquettish voice.
But after hearing Ash's cold response and observing the woman's excessively sweet, insincere manner of speaking, Clemont and the others finally began to understand what was happening.
Although they didn't know exactly why, they could tell that this woman had attacked them deliberately.
The Drapion beside her had fired a volley of Pin Missile earlier, and those poisonous needles had nearly struck them.
Whether in battle or during everyday life, League laws strictly prohibited Trainers from ordering their Pokémon to attack other Trainers.
The woman claimed it had been an accident, but it was obvious that she had done it intentionally.
Faced with someone who had blatantly broken the law and nearly injured them, Clemont and the others could no longer hide their hostility.
It didn't matter how beautiful the woman was. Their eyes were now filled with undisguised anger.
"An accident? You were just training your Pokémon, and its move happened to go off course?"
Ash looked at the woman, who was still pretending to be innocent, and a mocking smile appeared on his face.
The icy murderous aura that had surrounded him moments earlier suddenly vanished, melting away like spring snow beneath the blazing sun.
He turned his head and glanced at Pikachu, who was perched on his shoulder.
"Pikachu, we've been rather busy these past few days. I haven't had much time to train with you. Since we're here, why don't we get in a little practice?"
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
With the little Fennekin still nestled in his arms, Ash gave Pikachu a meaningful look.
As Ash's very first Pokémon, Pikachu shared a level of understanding with him that few others could even imagine.
The moment it heard Ash's words, Pikachu understood exactly what its Trainer intended.
"Pika!"
Pikachu called out and immediately sprang into the air from Ash's shoulder.
The electric sacs in its cheeks began to glow. In the next instant, a thick bolt of lightning, nearly as wide as a person's arm, erupted from its body and shot straight toward the woman standing on the stone steps inside the park!
"Ah!!"
Although Celosia belonged to the criminal organization Team Flare and habitually treated the Pokémon League's laws as meaningless, she had always acted without restraint.
But in her twisted understanding of the world, disregarding the League's laws was a privilege reserved for people like her.
The laws were shackles meant to restrain ordinary people. For members of an organization like Team Flare, however, their disregard for those laws was practically a protective shield!
And now…
Ash was actually disregarding the League's laws too!
How dare he order Pikachu to attack her directly?!
How could he possibly dare to do something like that?!
"Drapion!"
Unfortunately for Pikachu, its Thunderbolt didn't reach Celosia.
Just as the lightning was about to strike its target, the Drapion beside her suddenly leapt into the air, throwing itself in front of its Trainer and taking the attack on her behalf.
"BOOM!!"
"Damn brat! How dare you order your Pokémon to attack me?!"
With Drapion having intercepted the attack, Celosia finally recovered from her shock.
But the woman who had just been acting so casually and confidently was nowhere to be seen.
Her eyes were bloodshot, and her expression twisted with fury. She looked like a madwoman as she unleashed a furious tirade at Ash.
"Hm?! Obasan why are you so angry? You're frightening me~"
Ash tilted his head slightly, putting on an innocent expression.
"I wasn't trying to hit you, either. I was just practicing moves with Pikachu, and it accidentally went off course. I didn't expect its attack to fly in your direction."