"What? You're definitely not going to steal Pokémon," Misty said, sounding annoyed. Snatching other people's Pokémon was one of the things she found most infuriating.
"Little girl, what can you do with you being alone?" Jessie and James completely disregarded Misty's words.
"Miss Joy, have my Pokémon recovered?" Ash asked, turning to the Pokémon Center nurse.
"They've regained their spirits, but they're still inside," Joy replied.
"There should be a lot of Pokémon in this Pokémon Center. Don't try to stop us. Come on, Ekans!"
"Koffing, use Smokescreen!"
Jessie and James launched their offensive. Koffing released a thick smoke while Ekans used the cover to rush towards Ash and the others.
"Get out of the way!" Ash shouted, pushing Misty and Miss Joy aside. Ekans crashed into the front desk, smashing it and biting the wires underneath.
"Miss Joy, take us to get the Pokémon at the back," Ash urged.
"Okay!" Joy, unsure of what to do, agreed. As a doctor, she wasn't good at fighting and had to rely on Ash and Misty.
She quickly led Ash and Misty into the passage. Jessie and James knew they needed Joy to find the Pokémon and ordered Ekans and Koffing to follow.
Soon, Miss Joy led them to the infirmary where many Poké Balls were stored. Pikachu was there too.
"Pika!" Pikachu jumped off the table excitedly upon seeing Ash.
"Pikachu, get ready to fight," Ash said seriously.
Understanding the situation, Pikachu ran to Ash's side, preparing for battle.
"Now, Pikachu is the only one we can use," Ash thought. "Magikarp isn't ready for battle, and even if it were, there's no water here."
Suddenly, the room's lights dimmed and then went out completely.
"What happened?" Misty asked, looking flustered.
"The line must be damaged. It's okay, I have a temporary generator," Miss Joy said calmly. Every Pokémon Center has backup generators for emergencies to prevent power outages from disrupting treatments.
The generator started immediately, and a group of Pikachu stood on a conveyor belt, generating power by running on it like a treadmill. The power was transmitted to the entire center, and the room was soon lit up again.
"I need to teleport the Poké Balls to other cities first. Can you buy me some time?" Miss Joy asked, still worried despite Ash and Misty's presence.
At that moment, smoke seeped in through the door's gaps, followed by a loud noise. Koffing used Tackle to break through, shattering the door.
"Pikachu, Quick Attack!" Ash commanded without hesitation. Pikachu launched itself at Koffing, initiating the battle.
Boom!
Pikachu rushed forward, a silver flash emanating from its body as its speed increased. Koffing couldn't react in time to the swift Spark attack and was directly hit head-on by Pikachu.
As soon as they entered the infirmary, Koffing was knocked out instantly. Ash followed, with Misty close behind.
Jessie and James, who were preparing to enter the medical room, arrived just in time to see something flying out of the smoke. They instinctively dodged it.
Koffing hit the wall directly behind them, and then Pikachu and Ash emerged from the smoke.
"I'll be your rival!" Ash said with a slight smile, taunting the duo.
"You brat, how dare you spoil our plans," Jessie fumed. The other trainers outside had already run away in fear, but Ash stood firm, ready to stop them.
"The Poké Balls are all inside. If you want them, you have to get past me," Ash said confidently.
"Ash, I'll help you!" Misty arrived at Ash's side, holding her Poké Ball. She had already retrieved it.
"No, go help Miss Joy!" Ash replied.
"But..."
"Don't worry, leave it to me!" Ash looked at Misty with firm eyes.
Seeing Ash's confident look, Misty was taken aback for a moment. Although still a bit worried, his confidence reassured her.
"Alright, be careful."
"Arrogant kid, don't dare to look down on us. Ekans, give him something to remember! Use Bite!" Jessie ordered.
Ekans charged at Pikachu, mouth wide open, its sharp teeth gleaming with a silver light as it aimed to bite.
"Pikachu, Agility!" Ash responded calmly.
With the command, Pikachu dashed forward. Unlike Quick Attack, which had a burst of power, Agility increased Pikachu's speed without causing damage.
Pikachu's figure flickered left and right as it ran forward, moving so fast that Ekans couldn't tell which direction Pikachu was attacking from.
Pikachu rushed in front of Ekans, leapt high, jumped over Ekans' head, and landed behind it.