Thunder roared as if the heavens themselves had split apart. Bolts of lightning rampaged through the great hall, tearing at the ceiling and blasting upward into the stormy skies. The strike was so violent that the roof cracked open, and w, who had been hiding unseen above, nearly leapt out of its skin.
The endless lightning pierced through the heavy clouds, splitting the gloom and illuminating the sky in blinding flashes. Even the violent winds howling outside began to falter, stunned into silence by the sheer ferocity of the storm.
w hastily conjured a shimring bubble, encasing the few people it had just rescued, shielding them from the stray electric currents that scattered in every direction. Its little heart was pounding.
This ga isn't fun at all, it thought anxiously. And wtwo only dragged here to save people… not to let anyone else know I was helping.
Down below, the great hall was a battlefield of chaos. Lightning sprayed like shards of shattered glass, striking everywhere at once. One unlucky bolt crashed directly into the proud Salance that had been towering just monts before.
The mighty dragon scread once, then collapsed to the floor in a charred heap, all its forr arrogance snuffed out in an instant.
Even wtwo froze. Its normally calm eyes widened slightly, unable to comprehend what it had just witnessed.
What power is this?
It wasn't just Pikachu's electricity anymore. This was sothing far beyond its calculations, a force that tore through limits.
Could it be… the trainer broke through my restrictions?
wtwo's mind raced. A single Pikachu, a Pokémon that by all logic should never rival even the weakest Elite, had just unleashed a surge powerful enough to annihilate a champion-level Salance in a single blow.
The thunderstorm crackled around them, each arc of lightning a reminder that even wtwo itself might suffer serious injury if it were struck directly. For the first ti in a very long ti, wtwo felt the faint whisper of caution.
Is this… the power of bonds?
The word echoed in its mind. On its travels, wtwo had often heard human trainers shouting it passionately: "This is the strength of our bond!" Their Pokémon would glow with renewed determination, their strength spiking for a mont.
But never never had wtwo seen it reach this scale. Those boosts were temporary, a slight surge in combat ability. What it saw now was a transcendence.
Dodging a stray bolt, wtwo's thoughts drifted to Lin Feng. That boy… could he truly wield the sa kind of power?
On the ground, Pikachu's body shook violently. The little Pokémon's breath was shallow, its cries breaking into sobs. Tears streaked down its cheeks as it clutched Ash's cap tightly, trembling like a child who had just lost their entire world.
The lightning storm began to weaken, fading away as quickly as it had co. Pikachu's desperate cries filled the silence.
Around it, Ash's other Pokémon Charizard, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and the rest stood frozen. Their eyes welled with grief at Pikachu's sorrow. One by one, they lowered their heads, unable to watch any longer.
But then
Soft, iridescent bubbles drifted down from the shattered ceiling. They floated gracefully through the hall, shimring like raindrops kissed by the sun.
And inside them… were people.
Gasps rippled through the survivors. Even wtwo hesitated, surprised. In its carefully constructed "ga," this was not supposed to happen yet.
One bubble descended slowly, and inside it lay none other than Ash.
Pikachu froze, its teary eyes locked on the fragile sphere. It clutched the cap tighter, then looked up again. The tears ca harder, spilling uncontrollably as hope warred with disbelief.
w drifted down gently, its eyes soft with compassion.
"Pika?"
Pikachu whimpered uncertainly, reaching toward the bubble.
"Mi~" w cooed, its voice tender. (Don't cry anymore. Your trainer is fine. He's only sleeping.)
It couldn't bear watching Pikachu's tears. Breaking the rules of wtwo's test, it decided to intervene. With a small poke of its paw, the bubble popped.
Ash stirred within, blinking open his eyes. His hand pressed to his temple as if from a lingering ache. "Pikachu?"
For him, the last mory was holding Pikachu tightly, refusing to let go. Now, as his vision cleared, he caught sight of Salance lying unconscious on the ground. His breath caught. "You… you defeated Salance?"
"Pika?!"
Pikachu's heart clenched painfully. Seeing Ash's joyous disbelief, it could only squeak and unleash a spark, proving that yes it had won. Even if it didn't understand how.
"Ahhh! That stings!" Ash yelped, twitching from the shock.
And yet he laughed through the numbness. "You really did it…"
Finally, Pikachu broke into a smile through its tears. It leapt forward and buried itself in Ash's arms, clinging as if it would never let go again.
High above, wtwo observed quietly. The boy and his Pokémon… their bond had pushed them beyond logic, beyond control.
Beside it, w floated with a pout. "Mii…" (This ga isn't fun at all.)
Almost being fried by lightning was not its idea of entertainnt. Hide-and-seek at Lin Feng's nursery had been far more enjoyable.
wtwo's calm reply echoed in its mind. "Then the ga is over."
Yes. The decision had already been made.
Lin Feng was right. If humans and Pokémon could live together like this, then perhaps the world didn't need destruction. Perhaps coexistence was not a lie.
wtwo gathered its power. Its eyes glowed, and in seconds every trainer and Pokémon in the hall except Ash and Pikachu slumped unconscious to the floor. Their mories of the battle were erased, wiped clean.
It then summoned the injured Pokémon: Psyduck, Charizard, and Gyarados. Their battered bodies appeared, still groaning in pain.
wtwo turned to w. "Help . Heal them."
"Mi?"
w blinked, astonished. Was it being used as a… laborer? But when it saw the severity of their wounds, it sighed softly and summoned shimring droplets of life energy. They rained down gently, and the Pokémon's wounds began knitting shut, strength returning to their bodies.
When they were healed, wtwo sent them back to their trainers, laying them safely at their sides.
Just then, Dragonite swooped into the ruined hall, carrying a large sack. Its eyes flickered with relief when it saw the battle had ended.
wtwo nodded. "Dragonite. Take them back to their hos."
The great dragon lifted the unconscious trainers with ease, wings beating as it carried them off one by one toward safety.
As silence returned, w shifted nervously beside wtwo. "Mii?" (Are you going to Lin Feng's nursery now?)
"Yes," wtwo answered. "I need Dragonite delivered there."
w's eyes sparkled. "Mii~!" (Then take with you!)
wtwo tilted its head. "If you want to go, just go. Why do you need to bring you?"
It could sense Lin Feng had accepted w already. The boy had surely recognized its identity, but instead of exposing it, he'd simply played gas with it, hiding and seeking as if it were nothing more than another mischievous Pokémon. That alone proved acceptance.
w, however, pouted in silence. Its tiny face scrunched up, lips pressed tight. Deep inside, it still felt guilty like it had sohow quarreled with Lin Feng.
And it didn't know how to explain that to wtwo.
The storm outside cleared completely, leaving only the faint crackle of fading thunder. Within the battered great hall, one truth settled in wtwo's heart.
This was not the end of humanity.
It was the beginning of sothing new.
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