"Give a smile and be repaid with warmth."
Pokémon are very simple creatures—if you're good to them, they'll be good to you. It's that simple.
Dark clouds covered the sun, and heavy rain poured down, accompanied by the rumble of thunder.
The doomsday-like atmosphere didn't scare Pikachu at all—it didn't retreat into its Poké Ball.
As the Fearow swooped toward Ash, Pikachu sprang into action.
Even with its body covered in wounds, Pikachu still rushed forward without hesitation.
It climbed onto Ash's shoulder and, using it as a springboard, leaped into the air.
In an instant, a bolt of lightning shot up into the sky, illuminating the entire world.
The scene changed—the rain had stopped, and the sky had cleared. The Fearow were long gone, leaving only Ash and Pikachu lying weakly on the muddy mountain path.
The two looked at each other and smiled.
Just then, a dark shadow flew across the sky.
[Ding! Entering the Prize Quiz segment!]
Question: What Pokémon flew across the sky?
A: Shiny Fearow
B: Zapdos
C: Galarian Moltres
D: Ho-Oh
E: Groudon
[Aaron: Here it comes, here it comes—the quiz is here!]
With a quiz comes a reward, and with a reward, Aaron was excited.
[Lt. Surge: Is this really the time to care about the quiz? Shouldn't we be more concerned about why Ash's Pikachu is so outrageous?]
[Lt. Surge: That pillar of lightning connecting heaven and earth—was that really Pikachu? Incredible!]
[James: Heh heh, it's the real deal. Who else could it be if not Pikachu?]
[Jessie: Hahahaha! Indeed, our vision is unmatched. Now you all know how precious that kid's Pikachu really is!]
[Meowth: Catch it, give it to the boss, get promoted to executive, become a branch manager—it feels great, meow!]
[Giovanni: …]
Everyone in the chatroom was focused on Pikachu, marveling at its unbelievable power.
At this moment, only one person was trembling—Will.
The Pikachu-hater and Ash-hater dared not utter a word, afraid he'd be dragged out and flogged alive.
After all, he had just declared that Pikachu was useless. Who would've thought that less than half a day later, he'd be completely humiliated?
A single bolt of lightning had wiped out hundreds of Spearow. This wasn't Pikachu—this was Raikou incarnate!
Luckily for him, the system had timely started the prize quiz, diverting everyone's attention. Otherwise, he'd be doomed.
[Aaron: Stop talking about other things, answer the question! This is what matters most—don't delay me from getting my reward!]
[Lucian: Rewards? Are rewards that easy to get?]
[Aaron: That's for you. For me—Aaron—there's no difficulty at all.]
[Flint: Then, may I ask the almighty Aaron—how many rewards have you received so far?]
[Bertha: I'll answer for Aaron—it's zero.]
[Aaron: …]
[Diantha: First, we can rule out option E. As everyone knows, Groudon can't fly at all, so it's impossible for it to have flown across the sky.]
[Maxie: Is the system messing with us? Why include Groudon in the options? Is it targeting Groudon?! The Groudon Protection Association protests!]
[Archie: Protest invalid! Protest rejected!]
[Steven: The silhouette of that mysterious Pokémon felt warm, like a rainbow after the rain.]
Although it was just a fleeting glimpse, Steven was certain he truly saw a rainbow.
[Leon: Warm? Rainbow? In that case, option C can also be ruled out. Our Galarian Moltres has nothing to do with the word 'warm.']
[Wallace: Saw a rainbow? I think you're hallucinating. Why didn't I see a rainbow? This question doesn't even need thinking—it must be A! Where Spearow appear, Fearow naturally follow. And since Shiny Fearow also shines, maybe what you saw wasn't a rainbow, Steven—it was a Shiny Fearow.]
[Koga: That lightning bolt that scared off the Fearow was strange. It didn't seem like something Pikachu could release. I strongly suspect Zapdos was helping from behind—so the answer should be B, Zapdos.]
[Will: Seconded!]
The moment Koga said it, Will's mind clicked.
Yes, that must be it! The Fearow weren't driven away by Pikachu, but by Zapdos hiding nearby.
It had to be true—after all, Pikachu didn't have that kind of power!
[Cynthia: What a joke. Anyone with eyes could see that lightning came from Pikachu. What does that have to do with Zapdos?]
[Diantha: Heh, I can only say—haters only see black.]
[Koga & Will: ...…]
Kanto Town
Misty asked, "Ash, what should we pick for this question?"
"Ho-Oh. I think what I saw was Ho-Oh," Ash said, though a bit uncertainly.
"Ho-Oh?!"
"Are you sure?!"