Ash was confused. It was his turn to attack, and he didn't know what to do. Was it really worth continuing? His Charmander was down to just 3 HP, while Blue's Squirtle still had about 9 HP. It was a finely tuned strategy, Ash thought. Blue had perfectly utilized his Pokémon's abilities, and his tactic to gradually weaken Charmander's defenses before finishing it off with a tackle had paid off, unlike Ash who had just kept repeating the same attack over and over, like a novice player in Street Fighter.

What am I going to do? What am I going to do? Ash muttered to himself. You know what you have to do. There's only one option: attack and lose. You knew this would happen, you knew you'd lose.

He kept hearing that little voice repeating the same lines over and over.Just give up, you don't have to win this time. Ash knew his weaknesses; he was a pragmatic and cautious boy. In fact, his motto was simple: it's better to underestimate yourself and win unexpectedly than to overestimate yourself and lose miserably. To him, that was being realistic. But this time was different. Sure, he'd been challenged, and he had nothing to gain from winning, yet deep down, he didn't want to lose or give up so easily. Maybe it was Blue's determination that drove him. Very likely. We always try to surpass ourselves and give our best, especially when we're told we can't do it. That's what makes us human, after all. But in the end, all that mattered was that, at this moment, Ash understood what it meant to be a Pokémon trainer.

Ash was still deep in thought. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead, and his dilated pupils darted left and right, up and down, each movement corresponding to a different option he considered. But none of them seemed right. He was starting to lose hope. It's hopeless, he kept telling himself.

NO! YOU CAN'T GIVE UP!

It was that loud voice from earlier again, cutting through Ash's thoughts and snapping him out of his stupor.

That voice again? Ash thought, completely bewildered. He wanted to know where it was coming from. Was it stress? Or was he just losing his mind? It didn't matter anymore, not right now, because in a few seconds, Blue was going to wipe the floor with him.

Ash sighed. No matter what the voice in his head said, there were no miracle solutions. It had just shown up to give a trivial piece of advice, like those old mentors in shonen manga who appear in a hero's flashback and shout "GANBAREEE," and poof, problem solved. If only it were that simple, Ash muttered with a sigh. He was on the verge of giving up when suddenly, a message appeared on his virtual screen.

Potion item added to your inventory. Do you want to use Potion on Charmander?

In an instant, Ash's foggy mind cleared. “Oh”, he said, surprised. “How did I forget I had this all along?”

"But how did it get into my console?" he wondered.

"Oh, right!" he exclaimed. "The console must have scanned me and added the potion to the inventory, just like the professor mentioned earlier."

"No time to waste." Ash pressed the button. "Of course I want to use it, yes!" he cried as he pressed the button.

Potion used on Charmander. Charmander gains 16 HP.

Blue watched in astonishment as Charmander, who had been on the brink of defeat, fully recovered its HP.

"No! How can a loser like you have a healing potion? This isn't fair!"

"Well, Blue, this just shows the difference between you and me", Ash said with a wide, mischievous grin. "You should know that a real Pokémon trainer always comes prepared before a battle", Ash added.
He was grinning broadly, his eyes wide with excitement. Against all odds, the fear had shifted sides, and now it was his turn to attack.

But before you, dear reader, get upset and think Ash benefited from plot armor or a deus ex machina, let's rewind a few hours to understand what really happened.

******* Flashback begin ********

In a beautiful and cozy house, a boy was coming down the stairs.

“Mom, look what I found”, Ash said, showing his mother the strange object he had just discovered. “I think it belonged to Dad, because it looks like those Pokémon potions we see in books, but this one seems a bit older.”

“Let me see!”, ash's mother said as she took the potion from him.

The potion was in a small plastic bottle. It was either purple or maybe pink. The bottle was transparent, allowing the liquid inside to be seen. It also had a screw-on spray nozzle.

“Yes, you're right, Ash”, his mother said as she read the label on the potion.

“Great, I can sell it at the Pokémon Center around the corner. That’ll get us a few extra Pokédollars.”

“Oh, but wait, Ash”, his mother intervened. “Look! The Pokémon label isn’t the same as on the new potions. This one must be expired.”

“Probably”, the boy agreed as he took the potion back from his mother. “That's why I plan to show it to the professor so he can examine it. By the way, he invited me to come to his lab. I wonder what he wants”, the boy added as he headed towards the door.

******End of the flashback******

Now that you know how Ash obtained the potion, let's return to our story. Where were we? Ah yes, Charmander returning from the brink of defeat and Ash more determined than ever to defeat Blue.

"It looks like it's my turn to attack now", said Ash calmly. He was confident of his victory. Charmander had regained all its HP, and Squirtle was down to just 9 HP. Victory was within reach, unless Blue also had a potion, but Ash doubted it, judging by the fear in his pale, worried eyes.

"Charmander, use SCRATCH", Blue barely recovered when he saw claws flew instantly, piercing directly into Squirtle's flesh, reducing its HP to 5.

Blue was completely bewildered. His mind was so confused that if he were a Pokémon, he would have injured himself in his own confusion. Sweat dripped down his temple, and he was breathless.

"Squirtle, u-use TACKLE", Blue stuttered weakly. Squirtle's attack hit Charmander, but Ash seemed unfazed. Just one or two more attacks and it would be over.

"Charmander, use SCRATCH."

Squirtle took the attack head-on and nearly collapsed. Its HP now dropped to just 3. A frantic beeping echoed from Blue's console. His Pokémon was in critical condition. Blue knew the end of the battle was inevitable. He crouched down and leaned towards Squirtle.

"Squirtle, I know I'm asking a lot from you and you're in bad shape, but I just need one last effort from you", Blue's expression changed. His gaze was intense, his piercing eyes locked intensely onto Squirtle. There was great determination in his eyes. Squirtle seemed to understand Blue's words, feeling his emotions. It, too, didn't want to give up. Thus, with great effort, it struggled to stand up, even more determined than before.

"Squirtle, use TACKLE", Blue exclaimed. His voice had a different tone, a mix of apprehension and determination. It sounded like a final burst, a cry from the soul. Squirtle seemed galvanized. Blue's words had reaffirmed its determination, and in its eyes burned an unyielding will. It knew it wouldn't win the battle, but it wouldn't lose without giving everything in one last burst of effort.

Squirtle positioned itself, stepping back a few paces and firmly anchoring its feet in the ground, ready to launch its final charge. One thing was certain: it would be formidable. Squirtle continued to firmly dig its hind legs into the ground, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Now was the moment. In a flash, Squirtle leaped swiftly and unleashed a massive shockwave towards Charmander. It was unstoppable, and it was certain to hurt.

Charmander took the attack head-on. The attack was effective and incredibly violent, so much so that Charmander almost fainted, but it managed to hold on. Even though the attack cost it a significant portion of its HP, it wasn't down to zero. Now that Squirtle had completed its last attack, it was Charmander's turn to strike.

"Listen to me, Blue" Ash said. He strangely seems more confident in himself. "I'm not going to lie, I still don't know who you are, but after our battle, I consider you as a rival too", Ash energetically declared, pointing at Blue. On the other side, Blue, still downcast, looked perplexed at Ash, but the slight smile that appeared on his face afterward showed that deep down, he was glad that Ash accepted him as his rival.

"Charmander, use SCRATCH", Charmander hopped excitedly on its feet. It had just lost some HP due to Squirtle's attack, but it was fired up by this battle. Somewhere inside, it was starting to see Squirtle as its rival too.

Once its attack was ready, Charmander stopped hopping and leaped into the air. It spun around and, with a swipe of its front paws, sent a blazing wave of claws. The claws flew at the speed of sound and slashed through Blue's Pokémon. Blue watched as his Pokémon's HP dropped to zero, signaling the end of the battle.

"You fought a great battle, Blue. Your strategy was well thought, and you would have defeated me if I hadn't had this potion. (Which is quite strange, considering you're the professor's grandson and don't have one... Hmm, maybe it's the work of some higher power.) But know this...".

Ash paused for a moment. "Throughout Heaven and Earth, I alone am the honored one."

"No but damn, Ash, you're gonna get us striked, you know that's a ju..." The professor was interrupted and his sentence censored by a long beep, like those YouTube videos where YouTubers censor swear words they accidentally let slip.

"Nooooo, No, no, no more words, nothing, that's enough, everyone be quiet", exclaimed the professor, clearing his throat. Professor Oak congratulated the two boys, the tension eased, and everything returned to normal. Ash looked at the professor, then at Blue. He was completely euphoric. Whatever happened next, Ash would never be the same.