Ash hadn't expected Slowking to pull it off, but Bulbasaur had finally evolved.
Now, with the exception of Charizard, who was training in the Charicific Valley, all the Kanto starters Ash had caught had completed their first stage of evolution. In fact, five of his starters (counting Johto) had now reached their middle forms.
Wartortle and Ivysaur had already accumulated a massive amount of experience. Now that they were no longer suppressing themselves, Ash was confident they would reach their final stages soon. Their Bond with Ash was beyond question; once they reached their final forms, they would surely be able to achieve Bond Phenomenon immediately!
"Who are you people?"
Leaving Bloomingvale behind, Ash and his group resumed their journey toward Ecruteak City when they happened upon a familiar voice.
"It's Gary!"
Ash could never mistake that voice. Then, another familiar set of voices followed.
"Prepare for trouble, if you're so inclined!"
"And make it double, to be kind!"
...
"Cut the chatter. Did you think I was an idiot like Ash?" Gary Oak snorted coldly, cutting off the Team Rocket Trio's opening lines.
"Wobbuffet!" A Poké Ball behind Jessie suddenly popped open. She had actually caught a Wobbuffet? It seemed they really had passed through a village of Wobbuffet on the way.
"Umbreon, use Hidden Power!"
"Wobbuffet, use Counter!"
The battle between Gary and the Team Rocket Trio was about to ignite. However, Counter failed to reflect the special attack that was Hidden Power, and Wobbuffet was sent flying backward.
Ash realized his journey had been remarkably quiet lately because the Team Rocket Trio hadn't shown up in a while. He hadn't expected them to target Gary instead. But more importantly... that guy Gary actually called me an idiot!
Ash patted Molly's head, left Misty and Brock behind, and jumped out with Pikachu. "Gary, you're the real idiot here!"
"Ash. I noticed you a while ago," Gary said, not looking surprised in the least.
On the other hand, the Team Rocket Trio looked at Ash as if they'd seen their savior. "Brat boy! We finally found you!"
Ash was left completely bewildered. "What's going on?"
"Ash, these three losers followed you all the way from Kanto to Johto. They lost your trail a while back and happened to run into me. They figured we'd eventually meet up, so they've been following me the whole time," Gary explained.
"Brat boy..." Meowth began to cry piteously. "You have no idea! He's handed us over to the police so many times!"
James and Jessie were also wailing at the top of their lungs. They had clearly had a miserable timemuch worse than when they were following Ash. No wonder Team Rocket hadn't shown their faces; they had been repeatedly delivered to Officer Jenny by Gary.
"Wouldn't it be better to just stay with Officer Jenny? You get food and a roof over your heads," Ash muttered, not even knowing where to start with them. In a way, he had Gary to thank for the peace and quiet.
"We can't do that! We have our dreams!" the Team Rocket Trio shouted with sudden, righteous indignation.
"Forget it. Gary and I are going to have a battle. You guys can leave now!" Ash shook his head. "Thunderbolt!"
Pikachu leapt from Ash's shoulder, and a cascading bolt of Thunderbolt struck. Team Rocket was once again blasted into the sky by that familiar current. But this time, their cry was...
"What a happy feeling!"
It seemed they were glad to have finally found their "target" again.
Ignoring them, Ash turned back to Gary. "Gary, so that Eevee of yours evolved!"
Before Ash had transmigratedspecifically, after the Indigo Plateau Conference ended and Gary returned to Pallet TownGary had used Eevee to defeat Ash's Pikachu. Later, when they set out for the Johto region, the current Ash had arrived. If he had come just a bit earlier, he was sure he could have defeated that Eevee.
"Ash, let's save our battle for the Silver Conference!" Gary recalled his Umbreon and turned to walk away.
"That kid is as arrogant as ever."
Ash shook his head and looked at Misty, Brock, and Molly as they caught up. "Let's keep moving!"
...
Resuming their trek, Ash's group eventually found themselves in a valley with fresh air and pleasant scenery. To Ash, this was another perfect training ground. They soon discovered that they weren't the only ones who had chosen this place for special training.
"What an amazing Ledian!" Misty couldn't help but praise as she watched a Ledian fly effortlessly through the dense jungle, dodging every tree with ease. As Ash had noted before, Misty wasn't afraid of bug Pokémon like beetles or ladybugs.
The group followed the Ledian and soon reached the heart of the valley. Suddenly, a violent gust of wind blew through, nearly knocking the Ledian backward. Ash's eyes flashed with a blue light, and he used his Psychic power to stabilize the Pokémon's form.
"Pidgeotto, stop!"
At the sound of that command, the wind in the valley died down. A young boy ran over and caught the Ledian.
"Hello there. Are you guys okay? Was that... Confusion?" the boy asked, looking at Ash with curiosity.
"That's right. Ash is a Psychic!" Misty replied, long since used to Ash's abilities and speaking with a hint of pride.
"Sorry about that, I hope no one was hurt!" A middle-aged man walked over, accompanied by a Pidgeotto and another, slightly larger Ledian.
That blast of wind had clearly been the Pidgeotto's Gust. It appeared they were also engaged in special trainingtraining the Ledian to fly against strong winds. In fact, this was common for Flying-types; since flight was always accompanied by the wind, many of their moves were wind-based.
As it turned out, the father and son were forest rangers for this mountain. Because the valley was often subject to powerful gales, they needed to train the Ledian to maintain flight under such conditions.
Upon hearing this, Ash couldn't hold back. How could he pass up such a perfect training spot?
"I choose you, Noctowl!"
Ash sent Molly with Misty and Brock to the rangers' house to rest while he and Pikachu headed deeper into the valley, where the gales were most frequent.
"Hoot?"
The moment Noctowl emerged, it was nearly blown away by a strong gust. It hurriedly flapped its wings to regain its balance.
"Noctowl, you're the only Flying-type I have on me right now. I'll need to rely on your mobility a lot! These winds are the best training ground. Try to ride the wind; with your intelligence, I'm sure you'll figure it out in no time!"
This Noctowl of Ash's was a shiny Pokémon with exceptional intelligence. This was the perfect opportunity to boost its combat capabilities!
Noctowl: 150/200
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