Clap!
Clap!
Clap!
“Long time no see, Ash.
I never expected you to have become this strong!”
Just then, a burst of applause and a familiar voice came from the forest.
“Brock!
What are you doing here?
Didn’t you go back home?” Ash asked in surprise.
(⊙o⊙) He knew Brock would eventually appear, but he hadn’t expected it to happen so soon.
“I heard a huge commotion just now, so I came over to take a look!
And although I did go home, I just couldn’t settle down.
I heard from Professor Birch that you were on your way to Rustboro City, Ash, so I came after you.” Brock walked out of the forest.
“Long time no see, Ash and Pikachu!”
“Pika pika~”
Ash and Brock shook hands.
Ash’s Pokémon also greeted Brock.
Aside from Eevee, all of them were very familiar with him!
“Long time no see, Phanpy!
And Pidgeot, it looks like Ash finally brought you back!
Is this the Eevee you just caught?
You’ve raised it well!
And this Torchic is looking pretty good too!” Brock greeted each of the Pokémon one by one.
“So that means we can travel together again, right?” Ash asked.
“Yeah.
Then please take care of me again.”
“Same to you!
Oh, right.
These two are May and her younger brother Max, both rookie Trainers traveling with me.
That Torchic is May’s starter Pokémon.
And their father is Norman, the Gym Leader of Petalburg Gym.”
Ash introduced May and Max to Brock, then introduced Brock to the siblings.
“This is Brock, the former traveling companion I told you about before.
His goal is to become the world’s greatest Pokémon Breeder.”
“I’m still learning, though.
Nice to meet you, May and Max!
Are your goals to become Gym Leaders too?”
“Ah…
no, I haven’t really decided on a goal yet!” May scratched her head.
“Nice to meet you too!
As for me…
I don’t even have a Pokémon yet.” Max looked a little dejected.
Brock crouched down and patted him on the shoulder.
“My little brother doesn’t have a Pokémon either, but he still dreams of becoming a Gym Leader.
So cheer up!”
Then he added, “In fact, I myself have also left Onix and the others at the Gym this time, so the only partner I have with me right now is Forretress.”
“Mmm” Max nodded, looking much more cheerful.
“Oh, right, Ash.
What was that move you used earlier?
It was really powerful!” Brock asked curiously.
“Yeah, yeah!” May and Max also looked at Ash expectantly.
“Haha!
It’s the Z-Move battle system from the Alola region.
Right now, it’s mainly used in Alola, and it’s still rarely seen in other regions,” Ash explained with a smile.
“I see!”
Everyone nodded in understanding.
Then May suddenly spoke up.
“Um…
before, Ash told me that the food you make is really delicious, so…” *◟(ᵒ͈ᵕᵒ͈)◞* Her face was filled with anticipation.
After all, if there was a hot meal to eat, who would want to keep eating cold lunch boxes?!
“Haha!
Come on!
I originally made a few rice balls, but there probably won’t be enough for all of us.
I’ll make some stew too!” Brock said, leading Ash and the others toward the place where he had left his luggage.
“Yay!” ヾ(^▽^*))) May happily jumped up.
“Ah!
Where did the rice balls I made go?!” Brock suddenly shouted.
“Could they have been stolen by wild Pokémon?” May suggested.
“How could that be?
Ah, forget it.
I’ll make the stew first!” Brock frowned, then shook his head and took a pot and some ingredients out of his backpack before starting a fire to cook.
Taking advantage of the break, Ash let Taillow out to treat its injuries.
“Siba~”
Ash sprayed some Potion onto Taillow.
Brock walked over and checked Taillow’s injuries.
“Mm!
It should be fine now!
Ash, you’ve grown a lot during this time!”
“People grow up, you know!” Ash scratched his head sheepishly before turning to Taillow.
“Please take care of me from now on, Taillow!”
“Siba~”
Taillow raised its right wing, indicating that it had no problem with that.
At that moment, a flock of Taillow flew over and prepared to attack Ash and the others.
“What’s going on?
What are all these Taillow doing?!” May quickly hid behind Ash in fear.
Meanwhile, Ash’s Taillow flew in front of the flock and tried to persuade them.
“Trying to talk them out of it is useless, nya!” Meowth’s voice came from the distance.
“This…
don’t tell me it’s them?” Brock found it hard to accept.
They had come all the way to Hoenn and still hadn’t managed to shake those three!
Ash nodded at Brock.
“That’s right!
It’s the Team Rocket trio!”
“Wahahaha~”
Jessie, James, and Meowth appeared, laughing.
“Why is it you guys again?” （＃－.－） Brock said helplessly.
“Since you…” (Team Rocket’s motto)
“From today onward, these Taillow officially join our lineup!” James said proudly as he looked at Ash and the others.
“The Taillows’ indomitable and never-say-die fighting spirit—”
“Is exactly the spirit of Team Rocket!”
“That’s right, nya~”
“Wobbuffet~”
“All right, Taillow!
Work hard for the sake of the rice balls and take care of them!” Jessie pointed at Ash and the other three, ordering the Taillow to attack.
“Rice balls!
Don’t tell me you’re the ones who stole the rice balls I left here?
Unforgivable!” Brock glared furiously at the Team Rocket trio.
While Brock confronted Team Rocket, the Taillow flock surrounded Ash and the others.
“Siba~ Siba~ Siba~” ×N
Then, Ash simply took out several cans of Pokémon food and handed them out to the Taillow.
“Come on, come on!
Don’t rush!
There’s enough for every Taillow!”
The three members of Team Rocket awkwardly looked at one another.
“No way!”
“They betrayed us because of food!”
“Hmph!
Team Rocket, you want to compete with us in terms of food?
Do you really think you can beat us?
Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!”
“Pikachu~!”
Pikachu unleashed a powerful yellow bolt of electricity that struck Team Rocket.
Boom!
“What a twerp-tastic feeling!”
“Wobbuffet~ (^o^)/”
Afterward, Ash and the others said goodbye to the Taillow flock.
Once they had finished the lunch Brock prepared, they continued toward Rustboro City.
Petalburg Woods was still vast.
Along the way, Ash and the others encountered many passing Trainers, and unsurprisingly, all of them became Ash’s experience points!
Not only could they help Eevee and the other three little Pokémon grow, but they also provided more points.
It was killing two birds with one stone, and Ash was feeling pretty pleased with himself!
“Taillow, use Wing Attack!”
“Siba~!”
The Pokémon Ash had sent out was the Taillow he had only recently caught, while the passing Trainer’s Pokémon was a Beedrill.
Whoosh!
Taillow shot directly toward Beedrill and struck it in an instant.
Beedrill fell to the ground with swirls in its eyes, having lost the ability to battle.
It would have been strange if a Bug-type Pokémon that was only at the peak of the Normal level hadn’t been defeated by an Elite-level Flying-type Pokémon!
Taillow flew onto Ash’s shoulder, and Ash walked over.
“Is your Beedrill okay?”
“It’s fine.” The Trainer helped Beedrill up and checked on it.
“Thanks to you, I gained some great battle experience.”
The two then reached out and shook hands, becoming friends.
After saying goodbye to the Trainer, the group continued on their journey.
“Being able to shake hands so enthusiastically after a battle…
that really feels like youth!” May remarked as they walked.
“Fighting and forming friendships at the same time—that’s what Pokémon battles are all about,” Brock explained.
“That’s right!
May, you should try it too.
I’m sure you’ll come to enjoy that feeling!” Ash suggested.
“Pika!”
Just as everyone was about to leave Petalburg Woods, Pikachu suddenly cried out in alarm toward a certain direction.
Whoosh!
A huge Pokémon suddenly burst out of the bushes!
To be continued…