"Pod—POD!!"
Just as Ash was being verbally cornered by both enemies and allies, his Metapod suddenly erupted into motion, trembling violently as if in extreme distress.
The misunderstanding cleared instantly.
Following Metapod's gaze, the three noticed that in one corner of the massive bug-catching net, there was a pink Butterfree.
That special Butterfree had also been caught.
Its wings were bent awkwardly, tangled tightly with ordinary Butterfree. Its expression was helpless—pressed face-down against the net, surrounded by writhing bodies.
The scene looked suspiciously like the opening of some extremely questionable "butterfly trolley problem" film.
Metapod turned a deeper shade of green, its body gleaming like jade, rage threatening to erupt at any moment.
Brock hurriedly covered Metapod's eyes again and began chanting:
"Evil spirits, be gone!
Evil spirits, be gone!"
Ash & Misty: "?"
Up above, Team Rocket also noticed something was off. Stretching their necks, they peered into the net—and immediately spotted the pink Butterfree.
"There's even a shiny Butterfree?!" Jessie exclaimed.
This was premium merchandise. Even within Team Rocket, shiny Pokémon were rare.
"Perfect timing, nya!" Meowth laughed.
"We'll make the shiny Butterfree the dance leader, nya!
It'll command the formation—and at the end, land right on Boss Giovanni's head and conquer him with cuteness, nya!"
"Then Boss will pet it and say—
'Only the Meowth trio could make me this relaxed. Promote them all to Glorious Gold, nya!'"
"Brilliant, Meowth! That's beautiful!"
"Hahaha! Then next year we'll hit Platinum!"
The three burst into synchronized laughter, imagining themselves as humble Pokémon idols—then turned back, eyes blazing, to look down below.
As long as they didn't fight and just kept talking, this brat could never beat them.
Today was finally safe.
But the situation below suddenly changed.
Ash's expression hardened—and he threw a Poké Ball.
"Go! Pidgeotto!"
"Piiidgeot—!"
Pidgeotto spread its wings and rose into the air, facing Team Rocket's balloon head-on.
Team Rocket: "?"
Wait—wasn't this supposed to be a verbal battle?
You don't even have the moral high ground—why are you attacking?!
Ash lowered his cap.
He'd finally found a legitimate reason.
"Hmph. You kidnapped my Metapod's girlfriend.
That's unforgivable!"
Which meant—by extension—Team Rocket had stolen his Pokémon.
No more nonsense.
Just fight.
There was no way Team Rocket would willingly release that shiny Butterfree.
"…This kid's brain finally started working," Jessie muttered.
"Then we'll just have to battle."
Their gazes sharpened.
In a fight, Team Rocket feared no one.
Ash struck first.
"Pidgeotto! Use Cut on the bug net!"
"Pidgeot!"
Pidgeotto shot forward like lightning. In an instant, it reached the net beneath the balloon. A cold gleam flashed along the edges of its wings, sharp cutting intent surging forth.
This was the secret technique Ash had obtained from the S.S. Anne—the HM he'd learned personally.
Cut!
Pidgeotto slashed diagonally at the net!
"CLANG!"
Sparks exploded.
Pidgeotto's wings stung from the impact—but the net didn't budge at all.
"Hahahaha! We ran the numbers!"
"That bug net isn't something a normal slash can cut!"
Team Rocket laughed smugly.
Ash's eyes lit up instead. He raised his arm and shouted again:
"Pidgeotto! Use Cut on the balloon!"
"Pidgeot!!"
Pidgeotto soared upward, eyes sharp as an eagle's, and slashed straight at the Meowth balloon's nose!
Cut!
"CLANG!!"
Another shower of sparks.
Pidgeotto was knocked back several meters, flapping awkwardly in midair, utterly confused.
"Hahaha! The balloon's made of special materials too! You can't cut it!"
Team Rocket laughed again.
Promotions really did make people calmer—and smarter.
They'd done a full risk assessment before this mission.
"Cutting attacks are useless against our balloon!"
"Only blunt-force attacks work, idiots!"
Jessie and James mocked triumphantly.
Meowth: "?"
Down below, Ash's eyes shone brightly.
"Pidgeotto! Then use your strongest Wing Attack on the balloon!"
So that was it.
Those two had exploited human instinct—everyone assumed balloons were weak to cutting, so they reinforced that weakness and swapped it for one no one would normally test.
Ash silently raised a middle finger in his heart.
Seeing this, James immediately dropped his smugness and threw a Poké Ball.
"Koffing! Use Rollout!"
"Koffiiing!"
Koffing appeared, spinning wildly in midair. A heavy silver sheen surrounded its body as it smashed into Pidgeotto, knocking it away mid-attack.
James followed up instantly.
"Now—use Smog!"
"Khooo—PFFFT!!"
A thick cloud of black-green gas erupted, completely engulfing Pidgeotto. The situation instantly turned unfavorable.
"Damn it…" Ash cursed.
Pidgeotto's fixation on the balloon had given Team Rocket an opening.
Fine.
Time to test the ultimate technique Red had personally taught him.
Ash's eyes flared.
"Pidgeotto! Use Defog!!"
"Pidgeoooo!!"
A piercing cry rang out from the smoke. Purifying light flared across Pidgeotto's wings as it beat them powerfully.
The poisonous smog vanished instantly—air quality restored, PM2.5 officially compliant.
Koffing, which had been preparing a sneak attack, was completely exposed and could only retreat awkwardly.
"As expected of Red's secret technique," Ash muttered.
"If this were Gust, we'd still be flapping."
Pidgeotto pulled back, keeping its distance.
If it approached, Team Rocket would counter.
If it didn't, it couldn't use blunt-force attacks on the balloon.
A deadlock.
"Hahahahaha!!"
High above, Team Rocket laughed freely as the balloon dragged the net higher and higher.
Soon, even Pidgeotto wouldn't be able to reach them.
Victory was assured.
"What do I do…?"
The laughter rattled Ash's nerves. Sweat dripped down his forehead.
Then—
"Pod—POD!!"
Metapod spoke again.
Its gaze was unwavering. Its emerald body gleamed, hardened to the extreme.
It had used Harden.
For the pink Butterfree—
it had hardened completely.
"Metapod…"
Ash stared at it, then looked up at the shiny Butterfree in the sky.
In that instant, his gaze became just as resolute.
Trainer and Pokémon—perfectly synchronized.
High above, Team Rocket had already popped champagne, clinking flutes in celebration.
"Damn it! We finally won today!"
"Team Rocket really is the strongest!"
As they laughed and leaned over to make a polite victory gesture—
James suddenly frowned.
"…What's that kid doing?"
"Is he… lifting the Metapod?"
"He's not thinking of throwing it, is he, nya?! This is a thousand meters up!"
The next second—
All three crushed their wine glasses in their hands, eyes bulging.
Below them, Ash had taken a javelin-throwing stance.
He sank his hips, powered up from his core, muscles bulging—
And hurled the half-man-tall Metapod straight at them.
"BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!!"
The projectile tore through the air, sonic booms exploding in its wake like a cannon shell!
Metapod spun rapidly, closing the distance at terrifying speed!
"Impossible, nya!!"
"Even if he throws it, it can't reach this high!"
"And even if it does, it won't have any power left!!"
They shouted desperately.
Then—
Hiss.
All three sucked in a cold breath.
This kid's physical strength was terrifying.
Below, Ash's arms were crimson and swollen, legs trembling.
That throw had drained him completely.
Even with his absurd physical density, throwing Metapod a thousand meters upward with enough blunt force was sheer madness.
"Heh… but didn't you forget something?"
Ash lifted his head.
Light blazing in his eyes like sun and stars, youthful and fearless.
He raised his reddened arm—and snapped his fingers.
High above, Pidgeotto understood instantly.
Steel gleamed across its wings—harder than iron itself. It had already positioned itself directly behind Metapod.
Ash's grin turned sharp.
At the perfect moment, he roared:
"Pidgeotto—use your maximum-power STEEL WING!!
Pidgeotto!"
"PIDGEEEOT!!"
With a deafening cry, Pidgeotto unleashed all its strength.
STEEL WING—SMASH!!
"CLANG——!!!"
Metapod's speed exploded once more, its body turning into a true artillery shell—
Rocketing straight toward Team Rocket!
This was Ash's original ultimate move.
If it needed a name—
The Finishing Touch!!
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