Once Ash's silhouette vanished into the distance, the real "wild battle" began.

  Although Milcery with Wonder Guard could completely wall the Flying-type Fearow, she only knew Tackle right now. Taking them out one by one would take forever; he needed something efficient.

  Thinking of this, Hakuya defaulted to his "wheelchair" strategy.

  "Sprigatito, show them what real power looks like!"

  "Wait, what kind of tactic is that?"

  Misty, who had never seen someone start a wild battle by immediately switching Pokémon, let out a confused gasp.

  As Hakuya tossed Sprigatito's ball back out, a fsh of white light erupted. The heavy clouds above finally broke, and the rain began to hammer down in a deafening, rhythmic roar, like ten thousand drums beating against the earth.

  Soaked in the torrential downpour, Sprigatito opened her eyes and entered her ultimate state.

  The soft breeze around her suddenly froze.

  Then, it was repced by a violent, emerald tempest that felt like it would tear the world apart.

  [All-Around Transformation] Ability, activate!

  ...

  Meanwhile, sprinting toward Viridian City, Ash occasionally looked back at the forest with worry.

  That flock of Fearow looked incredibly dangerous—could Hakuya really hold them off until he found help?

  But his worry didn't st long; a massive, fierce cyclone of green leaves suddenly erupted, swallowing the entire forest behind him.

  Amidst the thunderous roar of the storm, he could see rocks and debris being tossed into the sky.

  Is that... the power of Hakuya's Pokémon? That's insane...

  Ash marveled at the sight, realizing he probably didn't need to find help after all.

  Compared to Ash, who was seeing it from a distance, Misty stood right next to the eye of the storm. Being so close to Hakuya and Sprigatito, her experience was far more visceral.

  The moment Sprigatito re-entered the field, the Petal Blizzard combined with the rain to plow through the ground like a giant's drill.

  "The pressure... it's completely different."

  Misty whispered to herself, feeling her sanity slip away again.

  If Sprigatito felt powerful before, her current aura was downright terrifying. Just looking at her from a distance made Misty break into a cold, nervous sweat, her wet clothes clinging to her curves as her heart hammered against her ribs.

  "I didn't expect the Hero Form to have such a fshy special effect in reality."

  Looking at the decimated forest around him, Hakuya was secretly impressed.

  "GAH-HAAA—"

  At that moment, the flock of Fearow in the sky finally lost their patience.

  With a shriek that pierced the clouds, dozens of Fearow tucked their wings and turned into brown streaks of death, diving down through the rain like heavy bolts shot from a titan's bow.

  "Sprigatito, dodge."

  "Nya-ha~"

  With a slight dip of her body, Sprigatito left behind a series of emerald-colored afterimages.

  Spinning, jumping, evading...

  The diving beaks hit nothing but air. As forest predators, the Fearow were used to group tactics; the front line immediately pulled up while more dove in to take their pce.

  They carved sharp, jagged lines through the rain, using Aerial Ace from impossible angles.

  In an instant, Sprigatito was surrounded by a chaotic web of brown wings.

  Any normal Pokémon would have been knocked out by such a seamless coordinated assault, but a "wheelchair" build was called that because you could win with your eyes closed.

  "Sprigatito, use Petal Blizzard."

  "NYA-HA—!!!"

  Sprigatito stopped her movement.

  Not out of exhaustion, but to build momentum.

  Her crimson eyes fred with light. With a single, clear cry, the ground, the rain, and even the air itself began to shimmer. Thousands of brilliant flower petals and glowing orbs materialized out of thin air before exploding outward.

  And then... that was it.

  In the span of three minutes, Hakuya had repeated that command five times.

  The Fearow in the sky were knocked down like falling stars, leaving the ground covered in broken feathers. Even the arrogant leader was now in tears, calling for a frantic retreat.

  "Nya-ha~"

  "Yeah..."

  "You think so too, right, Sprigatito? Compared to that Rayquaza, these guys are way too weak."

  Watching the Fearow flock—who had arrived like conquerors and were now fleeing like beaten dogs—and hearing the cryptic conversation between Hakuya and his cat, Misty couldn't help but smile. She twirled a wet lock of her orange hair around her finger, her eyes shimmering with admiration.

  After her worldview had been shattered so many times, she was starting to get used to it.

  No matter how absurd the situation, if it involved Hakuya, it somehow felt logical.

  As she marveled at him, her gaze shifted to a strange phenomenon on the horizon.

  "Hakuya, look over there!"

  The rain had stopped, and the sky was being painted in a brilliant, liquid gold.

  The heavy clouds were being torn apart by an invisible, divine force.

  The sunlight poured down in sharp, golden rays, hitting the puddles on the ground and creating a sea of dancing gold spots. And then, a distant, ethereal cry echoed through the valley.

  "Is that... Ho-Oh?!" Misty whispered, staring at the majestic silhouette flying through the clouds.

  "Oh~ so it's a Shiny Fearow~"

  Following Misty's gaze into the clearing sky, Hakuya understood.

  Just like the original anime, the guardian of the Johto region, the god of the skies, and the legendary "camera-man" Pokémon had finally appeared to show off after the battle was over.

  But while Misty looked on with reverence, a mischievous thought crossed Hakuya's mind.

  If I catch a Ho-Oh in the randomized world and then bring it out to fight this one, what would happen?

  Anime Ho-Oh vs. Game-Stat Ho-Oh?

  Damn... just the thought of it is exciting as hell!

  Of course, it was just a thought for now.

  Realizing that pn would be difficult in the short term.

  On one hand, he was broke. Farming Bug Catchers in the Kanto countryside didn't pay well, and he spent most of his time in the game world getting elbowed into oblivion by broken NPCs, so he couldn't afford enough Poké Balls. On the other hand, the base catch rate in Randomized Emerald was absolute garbage.

  Catching a full-health Shiny Milcery with three balls was a miracle of luck.

  Trying to catch a Ho-Oh would likely require an astronomical number of Poké Balls, enough to make his arm fall off from throwing.

  If he wanted to improve his catch rate, he needed to clear more of the story and earn some Gym Badges.