"Bzzz—!"
"Bzzzz—!"
The vicious Beedrill swarm charged into the valley without a single attempt at negotiation.
The moment they arrived, they launched a merciless assault.
Bulbasaur bravely stepped forward to meet them head-on, but despite its courage, its Razor Leaf and Vine Whip did little to stem the tide.
Several Beedrill were knocked down and forced back.
Yet in the blink of an eye, they simply rose into the air again and rejoined the swarm, their twin stingers gleaming as they surged forward with murderous momentum.
"Everyone... everyone, attack!"
The young woman in the reddish-brown headscarf shouted shakily as she looked at the overwhelming cloud of Beedrill descending upon them.
"Caterpie!"
"Ratta!"
"Bellsprout!"
"Paras!"
Despite their fear, the sanctuary Pokémon gritted their teeth and obeyed.
One after another, they launched attacks toward the incoming swarm.
Gloom fired Razor Leaf.
Bulbasaur lashed out with Vine Whip.
Rattata used Tackle.
Caterpie shot out String Shot.
Even the young woman joined the battle herself. She hurried to the stream, filled her small metal bucket halfway with water, and splashed it toward the charging Beedrill.
Unfortunately, compared to the size and strength of the Beedrill swarm, their resistance resembled nothing more than a scattered group of militia.
They lacked coordination.
They lacked power.
And most importantly, they lacked numbers.
No effective offense or defense could be organized against the relentless assault.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The rear ranks of the Beedrill launched volleys of Pin Missile.
Meanwhile, the front ranks dove in with deadly Twineedle attacks.
The sanctuary defenders collapsed almost instantly.
"Ahhh!"
"Watch out!"
Aside from the exceptionally brave Bulbasaur, most of the Pokémon were struck by the incoming attacks and immediately lost their fighting spirit.
The physical injuries.
The pain.
The psychological pressure.
All of it combined to force them backward.
Some retreated.
Others fled outright.
Only Bulbasaur continued fighting.
It stood firm against the overwhelming enemy.
Refusing to retreat.
Refusing to surrender.
Yet because it stubbornly remained at the front line, it naturally became the primary target of the swarm.
Its body was already covered in wounds.
Some had been caused by Pin Missile.
Others by Twineedle.
Every inch of it seemed battered and bruised.
Again and again it was knocked down.
Again and again it gritted its teeth and struggled back to its feet.
But no matter how determined it was, facing the Beedrill swarm alone made it little more than a living target.
All it could do was attract as much enemy attention as possible.
By doing so, it eased the pressure on its companions and delayed the advance of the swarm.
Meanwhile, the other sanctuary Pokémon were retreating exactly as they always had during previous attacks.
After a brief first round of resistance, they began withdrawing one by one.
Soon, only a handful remained fighting alongside the young woman and Bulbasaur.
Even those few survivors were already covered in injuries.
The young woman herself had not escaped unharmed.
Several cuts marked her body.
Even her metal water bucket had been riddled with holes after being pierced repeatedly by Beedrill stingers.
"Bzzz—!"
"Bzzzz—!"
"Bzzzzzz—!"
The first wave of Pin Missile finally ended.
But another was already being prepared.
Likewise, after completing one assault run, the front-line Beedrill were circling around for a second charge.
Seeing this, Ash knew it was time.
He had originally intended to provide help when it was truly needed.
A timely rescue was far more meaningful than intervening too early.
But there was also such a thing as waiting too long.
If he delayed any further, the young woman and Bulbasaur might suffer serious injuries.
"Pikachu, use Discharge and get their attention."
Leaving Clarissa hidden behind the bushes, Ash stepped out alongside Pikachu and Greninja.
"Pikaaa~!" (^o^)/
As Ash tossed Pikachu into the air, the Electric Mouse Pokémon immediately unleashed a burst of electricity.
Brilliant lightning exploded outward.
Crackling currents surged through the air.
In an instant, the dazzling display captured the attention of every Beedrill in the valley.
"Bzz?!"
"Bzzz?!"
The swarm immediately noticed that there were additional humans hidden within the valley.
And now one of them had openly challenged them.
Without hesitation, the Beedrill redirected their aggression.
Their target changed instantly.
Ash and Pikachu became the center of attention.
"Bulba?!" O_O
"You two?!" the young woman exclaimed.
Both she and Bulbasaur stared in shock.
They had regarded Ash as an unwelcome outsider only moments ago.
Yet now, this stranger had voluntarily stepped forward to help them bear the brunt of the Beedrill assault.
Surprise.
Joy.
Relief.
Gratitude.
All those emotions appeared simultaneously on their faces.
Ash had been secretly observing their reactions while drawing the Beedrill's attention.
The moment he saw those expressions, he knew his plan had succeeded.
The perfect timing for a rescue wasn't merely saving someone.
It was saving them when they needed it most.
With that accomplished, Ash no longer hesitated.
"Pikachu, use Electroweb!"
"Greninja, use Icy Wind!!"
The two commands were issued almost simultaneously.
Pikachu and Greninja moved immediately.
"Pikaaa!!"
Electricity flowed through Pikachu's body and gathered at the tip of its tail.
Then—
WHIP!
A grapefruit-sized sphere of compressed electricity shot into the air.
Moments later, it exploded.
CRACKLE!
A gigantic web woven from electricity spread outward and descended upon the incoming Beedrill.
The charging swarm had no time to dodge.
They were instantly wrapped together in a tangled mass.
But Electroweb wasn't merely a restraining move.
It also packed considerable offensive power.
"Gwaaah!!"
Greninja stepped forward.
Drawing in a deep breath, it blew forward with tremendous force.
A freezing gale erupted from its mouth.
Snowflakes.
Ice crystals.
Bitterly cold winds.
The frigid storm swept across the battlefield.
The Beedrill diving toward them were struck head-on.
Instantly, their bodies stiffened.
A thin layer of frost spread across their exoskeletons.
The frost thickened.
Then transformed into solid ice.
The ice continued accumulating until each Beedrill became a heavy frozen block.
Unable to support the sudden weight, the frozen insects dropped from the sky like dumplings falling into boiling water.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
They crashed into the soft grass below, creating pits of varying depths all across the valley floor.
"Pikachu, Electroweb again!"
"Greninja, continue using Icy Wind!!"
Ash's commands continued without pause.
Wave after wave of attacks swept across the battlefield.
Electrified webs filled the sky.
Freezing winds froze everything in their path.
The Beedrill swarm simply couldn't withstand such overwhelming power.
One group after another was dragged from the air by Electroweb.
The rest were frozen into solid ice and crashed helplessly to the ground.
The battle quickly turned into a one-sided massacre.
By the time Ash finally stopped issuing commands, not a single Beedrill remained airborne.
Every member of the swarm had been defeated.
Some were bound by electric webs.
Others lay trapped within blocks of ice.
But regardless of how they had fallen, the result remained the same.
The Beedrill swarm—nearly fifty or sixty strong—had been completely wiped out by the combined efforts of Pikachu and Greninja.
The valley fell silent.
The terrifying enemy that had pushed the sanctuary to the brink of collapse moments earlier had been utterly crushed.
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T/N:
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