Ash and Pikachu continued their journey to Viridian City. According to Ash's memory, in the anime, he encountered a large flock of Spearow, bonded with Pikachu after a fierce battle, met Misty, and even saw the legendary Pokémon, Ho-Oh!

However, given the current situation, Ash felt he might miss out on meeting Misty. The main reason for the original encounter was Pikachu's refusal to cooperate, which led Ash to provoke a Spearow and eventually be chased by a flock of them.

During the chase, Ash had to jump off a cliff into a waterfall to escape the Spearow. At the bottom of the waterfall, he encountered a Gyarados, who chased him until he met Misty.

"Even if I don't meet Misty, I might still have a chance to see Ho-Oh," Ash thought, although he wasn't entirely sure.

Ho-Oh was a mythical Pokémon in the Pokémon world, said to rule the skies and have the power to revive the dead. It could resurrect deceased Pokémon, and perhaps even humans, though Ash wasn't certain.

While Pikachu wasn't a match for Ho-Oh, not even a single feather, witnessing Ho-Oh's magnificence would be a blessing!

"Well, let's just go with the flow," Ash shook his head slightly. This wasn't the anime or the game world; it was a real, living world where not everything was under his control.

"Pika?!" Suddenly, Pikachu's ears twitched, and it turned sharply to look at the sky behind them, letting out a slightly terrified cry that snapped Ash out of his thoughts.

"What's wrong?!" Ash quickly asked, sensing something was amiss. There was a loud, chaotic noise approaching from behind.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu urgently tugged at Ash's hat, prompting him to look back.

Ash turned around, his pupils contracting sharply. In his eyes was the reflection of a massive 'cloud' approaching from the sky—a large group of Pokémon heading their way!

"Spearow?!" Ash's keen eyesight recognized the source of the 'cloud,' even from nearly a kilometer away. Without a doubt, it was the largest threat outside Pallet Town, a flock of Spearow!

Spearow, a Pokémon inherently reckless and ferocious, primarily acts this way to guard its territory from invaders. It is this very temperament that deters many novice and even veteran trainers from encountering it!

A single Spearow is not much of a threat, but the real danger lies in their nature as flocking Pokémon. Where you find one Spearow, there are often many more nearby. If attacked, they will use their shrill, loud calls to summon others and unite in a counterattack!

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Typically, this retaliation is relentless, which is why Spearow has earned such a fierce reputation!

"Let's go!" Ash didn't hesitate and immediately started running. He certainly didn't want to provoke the flock of Spearow, and it seemed they were chasing after him and Pikachu!

Ash couldn't figure out when he had angered the Spearow, considering he had only attacked a Pidgey with Pikachu. Could that be the reason?!

Pikachu felt a tingling on its scalp. Having survived in the wild for a long time, it knew Spearow's disposition all too well and had no desire to entangle with them. Even with the legacy of the Sky Dragon Osiris bestowed upon it, Pikachu didn't presume it could take on so many Spearow.

Ash and Pikachu ran frantically, but the pursuing Spearow seemed convinced that they were the targets, relentlessly closing the gap. After all, Ash only had two legs, whereas the Spearows were winged and in flight!

"What's happening? What on earth is going on?!" Ash ran while looking back and pondering the reason behind Spearow's pursuit.

"Could it be...?!" A sudden realization struck Ash. No doubt, the incident with Pidgey where Pikachu used an electric attack had disturbed these Spearow, making them think an invading Pokémon had encroached on their territory!

"That was careless!" Understanding the reason, Ash felt annoyed at his own recklessness. Knowing this area was Spearow territory, his actions were indeed immature!

"The wilderness really is too dangerous..." This realization finally dawned on Ash as he remembered Professor Oak's warning not to venture into the undeveloped deep forests and mountains.

Even near the paths developed by the League, the danger was already apparent. Who could know what perils lay in places seldom tread by humans?

"Spear—!" A shrill cry sounded not far behind Ash. Turning around, he was horrified to see the fastest Spearows closing the gap, now just a hundred meters away. At this rate, he and Pikachu would be overtaken within a minute!

"We can't just sit here and wait to be caught!" Ash made a quick decision. Continuing to run would only delay the inevitable. The best course of action was to find a spot where Spearows couldn't reach and slow them down, buying more time!

"Pikachu, use Thunder Shock!" Ash yelled to Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Pika—!" Understanding immediately, Pikachu leapt from Ash's shoulder and released a burst of electric energy. A golden bolt of lightning shot out, striking a Spearow dozens of meters away!

If it had been the Pikachu of old, its attack range wouldn't have been nearly as extensive. But this was not the Pikachu of before; this one had received the legacy of the Sky Dragon Osiris!

"Spear—!" The stricken Spearow cried out in pain as it fell, smoking, but this did not deter the others. Instead, they pursued even more aggressively!

Ash knew that this action might provoke a more fierce retaliation from the Spearow, but there was no choice. If they caught up, the multitude of Spearow could potentially be deadly!

"Is this... the inertia of history?!" While commanding Pikachu to attack the Spearow, Ash searched for a place to hide. Suddenly, he spotted a cliff with a waterfall ahead. His current predicament mirrored an episode from the anime so closely, it was as if an invisible hand was trying to reset history to its original course!

"No time to think about that..." With no time to ponder these thoughts, and after Pikachu successfully hit another Spearow, Ash grabbed Pikachu, sprinted forward, and leapt from the edge of the cliff.

Below them was a river!