"Cottonee, use Cotton Spore!"
Following Chén Nuò's command, Cottonee quickly scattered a cloud of Cotton Spore, aided by the effects of its Prankster Ability.
The spores dispersed with remarkable speed, and Cottonee seemed to take a special delight in tossing them about. It looked as though a new king of nuisance was about to be born.
The reason Chén Nuò chose Cotton Spore over Stun Spore came down to the Poochyena's Ability, Quick Feet. Opting for Stun Spore would have actually boosted the opponents' speed.
If the opponents got scared and decided to flee, that would be for the best. But if they didn't run and chose to launch a direct attack instead, Cottonee would be in for a rough time.
Therefore, lowering their speed with Cotton Spore was far superior to using Stun Spore.
"Mudkip, do me a favor! Hit those Poochyena with Water Gun!" Chén Nuò said, looking down at the adorable little Mudkip.
Mudkip: "Mup!"
Despite its cute appearance, Mudkip's combat prowess was by no means weak. Upon receiving Chén Nuò's instruction, it immediately unleashed a stream of water straight at the Poochyena.
With just a single Water Gun, those poor Poochyena were sent tumbling in all directions, and then they turned tail and fled, yelping as they went.
"Wow!" May gasped in astonishment as she watched Mudkip chase all the Poochyena away with Water Gun.
"You're May, right?" Chén Nuò asked, his eyes crinkling into a smile as he looked at the young girl.
"Ah, yes! Do you know me?" May looked utterly bewildered, clearly shocked that Chén Nuò knew who she was, as she could swear she had never met this boy before in her life.
"I know a thing or two!" Chén Nuò gave a meaningful smile before turning to greet Professor Birch.
"Professor Birch, how on earth did you end up in such a mess?"
"Ah, Chén Nuò! Thank goodness you showed up, or I'd have been finished!" Professor Birch climbed down from the tree, covered from head to toe in dirt and leaves.
The professor scrambled up the slope, picked up a Poké Ball from the ground, and called back the Mudkip that had just performed so valiantly. "Return, Mudkip."
"May, Chén Nuò, I'm so sorry for causing you two trouble! Er, and who is this young lady?" Professor Birch asked, noticing the white-dressed girl standing on the slope nearby.
"Oh, she's my companion! She's traveling with me!"
"My name is Lillie!" Lillie chimed in with perfect timing.
Professor Birch let out an "oh" and didn't pry any further, merely nodding in understanding.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something crucial, he blurted out, "Oh dear! This is bad, now's not the time for introductions!"
He hurriedly scrambled up the slope and told the three of them, "There's no time, follow me right now!"
Unwilling to leave the three youths behind in the backwoods, Professor Birch decided to take them along as he searched for Pikachu.
After following the path ahead for a short distance, a blinding flash of lightning split the sky, accompanied by terrifying bolts of yellow electricity!
"Is that the legendary Pikachu?" Chén Nuò watched the lightning crackle, realizing at once that this was the plot from the anime—he must have stumbled right into the Hoenn arc, which meant Ash Ketchum should be around too.
"Pikachu's electrical output is at its absolute limit, it might overload and explode at any second. This way!" Frowning deeply at the distant lightning, Professor Birch locked onto the direction and broke into a sprint.
Chén Nuò couldn't help feeling a measure of respect as he watched Professor Birch, despite his rather stout physique, navigate the dense jungle with such remarkable speed.
"Ah!" May let out a gasp of shock upon hearing the professor's words!
"Let's go, we need to keep up!" Chén Nuò wasn't overly panicked; after all, with Ash and Pikachu as the protagonists, they weren't going to die so easily!
The group hurried anxiously to the source of the lightning and found Ash desperately trying to calm Pikachu down.
Chén Nuò finally laid eyes on the protagonist he had grown up watching.
He looked just like he did in the animation—even in reality, the moment you saw him standing there, you instinctively knew this was Ash Ketchum.
"Ash, get away from it! Pikachu's condition is unstable, it could explode at any moment!" Everyone was frantic, and Professor Birch rushed forward to stop Ash from getting too close to Pikachu.
Chén Nuò desperately wanted to step in and help. He reached for Cottonee's Poké Ball, intending to send Cottonee out to control Pikachu, but then a thought crossed his mind, and he hesitated for a fraction of a second.
And in that single moment of hesitation, Pikachu bolted!
Right toward the cliff edge!
"Pikachu!" Ash cried out, turning his head just in time to see Pikachu take off. Noticing Pikachu's escape, Ash chased after him without a moment's hesitation.
Seeing Pikachu dash over the cliff, Ash didn't hesitate for even a second. Disregarding his own safety entirely, he threw himself over the edge.
The four of them stood frozen in shock, watching as both boy and Pokémon plunged over the precipice, before scrambling frantically to the cliff's edge.
Chén Nuò watched Ash and Pikachu hanging onto a tree root dangling over the abyss, his heart pounding in his chest. He couldn't help muttering a mental complaint: "Whoa, kid, it's a good thing you're the main character! Anyone else would be dead for sure!"
Acting as if he were prepared for this exact scenario, Professor Birch immediately pulled a length of mountaineering rope from his pack the moment he saw Ash at the cliff's edge.
Seeing the rope, Chén Nuò could only think: That's right, this is it—the exact item from the game! An exact match!
That thought lasted only a split second, however, as he immediately stepped in to help Professor Birch lower the rope.
"Ash, hurry up and grab this! Grab onto this right now!" Professor Birch shouted downward, his hands gripping the rope for dear life.
Down below, Ash noticed the rope, braced himself against the rock face to find a foothold, grabbed the rope with one hand, and with the other, he held onto Pikachu, beginning his ascent up the cliffside single-handedly.
Sheer strength, pure and simple!
With four people up top, pulling the rope wasn't too strenuous, and they quickly hauled Ash and Pikachu back up to safety.
Yet midway through the rescue, Pikachu suffered another electrical overload and unleashed a Thunderbolt. True to form, Ash was a real man, gritting his teeth and enduring the full voltage of the Thunderbolt while continuing his climb!
He even got bitten by Pikachu along the way, yet he still managed to haul himself and Pikachu safely up the rock face.
Once over the ledge, Pikachu—cradled in Ash's arms—let out a pitiful whimper, nuzzled Ash's wound, and looked up at him with remorseful, apologetic eyes.
"Pikachu, you don't need to feel guilty over a little bite like this!"
Witnessing the scene unfold before him, Chén Nuò felt a deep surge of emotion. Watching it through a screen in the old days had always brought tears to his eyes.
Yet experiencing it in reality allowed him to truly feel this profound bond between human and Pokémon. Ash genuinely regarded Pikachu as his friend—the kind of friend who would gladly have your back through thick and thin!
"No need to feel guilty about the bite? Hmm, that sounds like a question."
A female voice muttered nearby, and suddenly, a massive, orange, battery-like robot burst out from behind them.