The next day, Ash and Sabrina left the Whirl Islands and continued toward their goal, preparing to challenge the next Gym.
"Ring… ring…"
At that moment, Ash's phone suddenly rang. Very few people contacted him, so whenever it did ring, it usually meant something important.
"Grandpa, why are you calling?" After picking up, Ash asked Professor Oak with a hint of confusion. These days, Professor Oak had been extremely busy.
Ever since the Dream Forest on Fantasy Island underwent changes due to the surge of vitality, many Pokémon had begun to evolve in a positive direction. With the addition of multiple Legendary Pokémon, Professor Oak had practically immersed himself in research there every day.
"Ash, I heard from Nathan Glacienne that you encountered Team Rocket in the Whirl Islands." Professor Oak's tone was unusually serious. It had not even been half a year since the Indigo League, so Team Rocket's sudden activity was suspicious.
"Yeah… it's just a shame one of them escaped." Thinking about the submarine that got away, Ash's mood darkened. Sensing this, Sabrina, who was beside him, gently stroked his chest to calm him down.
"That's exactly why I'm calling. I've received some information. The Nanye family in Jhoto seems to have made contact with people like Team Rocket. However, this hasn't been confirmed yet, so I wanted to hear your thoughts."
The moment he heard this, Ash's eyes instantly shifted into the Sharingan. A trace of excitement flashed through his mind.
So they finally showed themselves…
"Grandpa, Sabrina and I are still in the middle of our Gym challenge. There are only two Gyms left. Once we're done, I'll head over and investigate. I also want to find out who provided this information."
Although Ash was eager to act immediately after hearing about Team Rocket, he knew the source of the intelligence still needed to be confirmed.
"This isn't fully verified yet, but it's likely true. The Nanye family has been making quite a few moves recently, and their relationship with the Jhoto League has been getting worse," Professor Oak replied.
"I see… then I'll confirm it myself. Anyway, my relationship with the Jhoto League is already strained, so there's no need to hold back."
After ending the call, Sabrina looked at him and asked, "You got news about Team Rocket?"
"Yeah." Ash nodded, a faint smile forming on his lips. "Looks like my luck's been pretty good lately. This time, I'll wipe them out completely. My relationship with Jhoto isn't exactly great anyway, so I can finally fight without worrying about the consequences."
Many of Ash's abilities were large-scale techniques, which usually required him to be cautious about the surrounding environment. But in Jhoto, he had no such concerns.
"Then we need to be careful. You ruined their plans yesterday, so they might already have their eyes on us," Sabrina said, her tone carrying a trace of concern. She seemed to have momentarily forgotten both Ash's strength and her own psychic abilities.
"Relax. If they really are watching me, then I should be thanking them. Saves me the trouble of hunting them down myself. As long as they show up, none of them are leaving… and with your psychic power, you can protect yourself easily. There's nothing to worry about."
Ash shook his head lightly. Sabrina was overthinking things. The area they were currently passing through was a dense forest on the way to the next Gym. Unlike ordinary forests, this one was covered in thick fog, severely limiting visibility.
"Hm?" Suddenly, both Ash and Sabrina stopped at the same time.
They felt it.
A powerful presence.
Although the aura felt somewhat restrained, its true strength had clearly reached the peak of the Champion level.
"It's a Pokémon… there's no doubt about it." Sabrina narrowed her eyes slightly. As a psychic, she was extremely sensitive to this kind of energy fluctuation.
"Miwoo~"
A soft, gentle cry echoed through the fog.
Moments later, a golden Ninetales stepped forward gracefully.
The instant Ash saw it, his Sharingan contracted sharply.
"That's impossible… this level of psychic power… it should belong to a Psychic-type Pokémon. But Ninetales is a pure Fire-type. Even if it can learn some psychic moves, this level of mental strength is far beyond normal…"
Ash found it hard to believe what he was seeing. The pressure coming from this Ninetales was even more astonishing than that of a rampaging Rhydon.
"It's beautiful… a Ninetales like this is incredibly rare. But why is it here?" Sabrina couldn't help but admire it.
"Miwoo~"
The golden Ninetales seemed very fond of Ash. It slowly approached him, then gently leaned into his arms, acting affectionately.
Seeing this, Sabrina felt a faint hint of envy at Ash's natural affinity with Pokémon.
"Alright… easy there." Ash smiled and gently stroked Ninetales' silky fur. Ninetales always carried an elegant, almost noble temperament, giving off a calm and refined presence.
"Why are you here alone?" Ash asked softly.
"Miwoo~"
The Ninetales let out a soft cry. Thanks to his chakra perception, Ash quickly understood what it meant.
"You're saying your Trainer lives nearby?"
Even after understanding, Ash frowned slightly. He had not sensed any other human presence in the surrounding area besides himself and Sabrina.