“Ah, so that is Ho-Oh.
It’s still as beautiful and powerful as it was in my memories.”
Rainbow Hero Ash sighed with emotion.
Starting from his feet, his body gradually turned into specks of light and began to fade away.
After fulfilling his obsession, he could no longer remain in Ash’s world.
“The me of this world, keep your original heart.
No matter what, don’t let the feather lose its shine.”
Before Rainbow Hero Ash completely disappeared, he left Ash with those words.
Ash was stunned for a moment, but he still nodded slightly.
[Obsession fulfilled.
Obtained ability: Physical Enhancement.
Exp.
Candy ×1.]
After fulfilling Rainbow Hero Ash’s obsession, a pure stream of energy seemed to flow through Ash’s body.
This energy was like a wandering dragon, passing through every inch of him.
As the energy filled him, Ash felt as though his body had become even stronger.
“What does Exp.
Candy do?” Just as Ash felt puzzled, a text prompt appeared in front of him.
[After consumption, it can increase experience points and strengthen power.]
After seeing the text prompt, Ash immediately understood.
A blue candy appeared in his hand.
Without hesitation, he ate it in one bite.
As the Exp.
Candy entered his stomach, Ash once again felt that energy filling his limbs and bones, making his body even stronger.
The current Ash felt that his strength alone was already enough to compare with those Fighting-type Pokémon that specialized in power.
“As expected, I’ve gotten stronger!”
“Only by becoming strong enough can I protect Pikachu properly.”
Ash was extremely satisfied with the reward he had received after completing this obsession.
“What are you eating?” Misty noticed Ash’s movement.
“Candy.”
“Do you have any more?
Give me some.”
“There’s none left.”
“You actually ate it all by yourself!!”
Misty voiced her protest.
Ash spread his hands and shrugged, indicating that he really did not have any left.
After putting away the Rainbow Feather given by Ho-Oh, Ash and Misty chatted and laughed as they arrived at the Viridian City Pokémon Center.
This was a place that provided lodging for League Trainers and treatment for Pokémon.
The first thing Ash did after arriving at the Pokémon Center was use his own pocket money to compensate Misty for her bicycle.
However, Misty was not in a hurry to buy a new one.
After that, Ash contacted Delia.
The video call connected, but strangely enough, what appeared on the screen was not only his mother, but Professor Oak as well!
“Why is Professor Oak at my house?!” Ash asked in confusion.
Professor Oak answered as though it were only natural, “Of course I’m at your house waiting for you, you little brat, to call back.”
Ash nodded thoughtfully.
Seeing this, Delia smiled and said, “Since you’re calling back, Ash, that means you’ve already arrived in Viridian City, right?”
Ash looked rather excited and began telling Delia about his great achievements.
“That’s right.
And while I was in Viridian Forest, I defeated a lot of Trainers and even captured three Pokémon.”
Professor Oak was quite surprised after hearing this.
“I really didn’t expect that you would already have four Pokémon in such a short time, Ash… However, you need to pick up the pace.”
“My grandson Gary has already completed a Gym challenge.
Although he failed, he has now already set off for the city where the next Gym is located.”
Hearing Professor Oak say this, Ash immediately frowned.
“I didn’t expect Gary to be so fast.
By the way, what’s a Gym?”
Not only Professor Oak, even Misty, who was standing beside him, could not help covering her forehead helplessly after hearing Ash’s words.
Professor Oak sighed and explained to him, “If you want to challenge the League Conference, you first need to obtain eight Gym Badges.
And only by challenging Gyms and receiving recognition from the Gym Leaders can you obtain those Gym Badges.”
Ash immediately understood.
His goal was to become a Pokémon Master, and the League Conference gathered powerful Pokémon Trainers from across the entire region.
If he wanted to become a Pokémon Master, standing out at the League Conference was undoubtedly the best path.
“Good.
Then I’ll challenge the Gyms and participate in the League Conference!”
After saying that, Ash directly hung up the phone, already impatient to go challenge a Gym.
Misty seemed to have gained some understanding of Ash’s personality by now.
He was a Pokémon Trainer who was strong, loved battling, but was also careless and rough around the edges.
After figuring out Ash’s personality, Misty grabbed him by the collar.
“Do you know where the Viridian City Gym is?”
The moment she said this, Ash froze on the spot.
“Oh, right.
Where is the Viridian City Gym?” Ash slapped his forehead.
Even Pikachu could not help shaking its head repeatedly.
“I don’t know either, but we can ask the Nurse at the Pokémon Center,” Misty said, pointing at Nurse Joy not far away.
At this moment, Nurse Joy’s expression looked rather ugly.
Standing in front of her was a man and a woman wearing large trench coats.
The man had short bluish-purple hair parted down the middle.
The woman had long hair and sharp eyes.
Anyone could tell at a glance that she was not someone easy to deal with.
“Nurse Joy, don’t do anything reckless.
As long as you let Meowth take all the Pokémon in the Pokémon Center, we won’t do anything that harms your life,” the woman said softly and gently, but the words she spoke made one shudder.
Nurse Joy swallowed.
This was the first time she had encountered such a situation, leaving the innocent and kind Nurse Joy completely at a loss.
At this moment, Ash and Misty slowly walked over with Pikachu.
“Nurse Joy, may I ask where the Viridian City Gym is?” Ash asked carelessly.
Nurse Joy could not help shouting, “No!
Don’t come over!”
In just an instant, Ash and Misty realized that something was wrong.
“Nurse Joy, what happened?” Ash could not help asking.
Just as Nurse Joy was about to speak, the man and woman in front of her suddenly opened their mouths.
“Since you asked so sincerely…”
“Then I’ll tell you out of the kindness of my heart.”
“To prevent the destruction of the world.”
“To protect the peace of the world.”
“To denounce the evils of truth and love.”
“The lovely, charming villains.”
“I’m Jessie.”
“I’m James.”
“We are Team Rocket, soaring across the galaxy.”
“The white hole, a white tomorrow is waiting for us.”
“That’s right, meow!”
Meowth, who stood on two feet and had a gold coin on its forehead, appeared in front of them.
“Team Rocket?
What’s that?” Ash and Misty asked in confusion.
Pikachu also tilted its head, looking curious.
Nurse Joy hurriedly explained, “They’re an infamous evil organization.
What they love most is stealing Trainers’ Pokémon, so don’t come any closer!
Go call the police and find the police to handle this!”
The moment Ash heard that they were an evil organization specializing in stealing Trainers’ Pokémon, he felt as though he had been struck by lightning, and everything in his heart became clear.
So the future Professor Ash had encountered Team Rocket in Viridian City, which led to Pikachu being stolen.
Ash clenched his fists tighter and tighter, so tightly that even his fingertips lost all color.
His nails dug into his palms, and the pain forcibly calmed him down.
“I… will definitely protect Pikachu!”