A mechanical arm shot toward Pikachu.
“Pikachu, Iron Tail!”
Bang!
The mechanical arm fell to the ground.
Ash possessed Aura, and ever since he had sensed Team Rocket’s Aura signatures, he had remained on guard.
“What?
How did that happen, meow?”
“What’s going on, Meowth?
Didn’t you say catching Pikachu was foolproof?”
“Uh… the anti-electricity measures were foolproof.
I didn’t expect the twerp to stop following the usual routine, meow!”
Meowth was deeply depressed.
Didn’t they usually open with Thunderbolt no matter what?
“Time to send you packing!
Taillow, Wing Attack!”
Taillow swooped up and slashed Team Rocket’s balloon apart.
“Ah!
We haven’t finished our lines!”
“We still had one line left!”
“What a terrible feeling!”
“Wobbuffet!
(〒﹏〒)~”
After saying goodbye to Nicholai, the group continued toward Rustboro City.
“Hey!
Wait for me!
I can’t go on… Can’t we rest for a bit?” May panted.
“Seriously, sis?
Didn’t we just rest?
Your stamina is terrible!” Max replied helplessly.
Ash and Brock were equally speechless.
They had rested countless times along the way; otherwise, they would already have been much closer to their destination.
“But I’m really tired again.”
May simply sat down.
“May, you really should exercise more,” Ash said helplessly.
“Pika~”
Pikachu nodded in agreement.
“Hmm… there’s a Pokémon Center nearby,” Max said, checking the PokéNav.
“A Pokémon Center?
Then there must be lots of delicious food!”
May’s eyes immediately lit up.
(✧▽✧)
But someone else was even faster.
“Pokémon Center!
Charge!
For Nurse Joy—cough, no, for the food!
Hurry, hurry…”
Brock grabbed May’s arm and started running.
“Hey, wait!”
May shook off Brock’s hand, took a few steps back, and leaned against a tree.
“Ow!
That hurts.”
“That’s…”
Ash removed a torn piece of net embedded in the tree trunk and inspected it carefully.
“A capture net used by Pokémon poachers.
These aren’t sold to the public.
There must be poachers nearby, so everyone be careful.”
“How can people like that exist?!” May said angrily.
“Let’s head to the Pokémon Center first.
We may be able to learn something there.”
“Yeah!” ×3
The four hurried onward and soon arrived at the Pokémon Center.
“Welcome!”
Nurse Joy greeted them with a smile.
“Ah—Nurse Joy!”
Brock was about to rush forward when May shoved him aside.
Just like that, he lost his chance to greet Nurse Joy and silently shed tears.
(╥﹏╥)
“Hi, Nurse Joy.
Did you move here from Oldale Town?” May asked.
“Huh?”
“May, you’re mistaken.
Nurse Joys all over the world look alike,” Ash explained.
“Exactly, sis.
Look at this.”
Max pulled out a notebook containing a collection of photos of different Nurse Joys.
“Ah!
They all look the same!” (⊙_⊙)
Just like Ash in the past, May was making all the same mistakes.
“That’s right.
You probably met my younger sister,” Nurse Joy added.
“No, no.
You are simply too young and inexperienced!”
Brock walked over mysteriously, took Nurse Joy’s hand, and declared, “Among all the Nurse Joys in the world, I can tell that your bangs are one centimeter longer than theirs!”
Everyone: (￣ω￣;)
‘As expected of Brock.
Even Nurse Joy herself probably couldn’t tell’, Ash silently complained.
“Amazing!”
May looked at Brock with admiration.
“I don’t think ‘amazing’ is the right word here, sis,” Max said, sweating.
“Nurse Joy!”
Officer Jenny arrived at the Pokémon Center with Growlithe.
“Ah—Officer Jenny!
Among all the Officer Jennys in the world, I can tell that your eyelashes are half a centimeter longer than the others’!”
Brock immediately abandoned Nurse Joy and rushed over.
Officer Jenny: “Uh… is that so?
I didn’t know that myself.”
“No way!
Officer Jennys all over the country too?” (⊙ω⊙)
May’s eyes widened.
“That’s right, sis.”
Max turned another page, revealing a row of Officer Jenny photos.
“Sorry, I still have work.”
Officer Jenny pushed Brock aside and spoke to Nurse Joy.
“Have you recently seen any injured Pokémon, or any Pokémon that were brought here by someone?”
“No.
Why do you ask?”
“Poachers have been very active in this area lately.”
“So it really was poachers!”
May and Max exclaimed.
Officer Jenny showed them a wanted poster.
“Judging by the methods, the poacher is likely Pokémon Hunter Rico.
He’s a notorious criminal who doesn’t care at all about hurting Pokémon.”
Ash handed over the torn net.
“Officer Jenny, look at this.”
“This is part of a capture net frequently used by poachers!
Where did you find it?” Officer Jenny asked excitedly.
“In the forest we passed through on the way here.”
“Could you take me back there?”
“Of course!”
The group returned to where they had found the torn net.
“It seems the poacher first traps Pokémon in these nets so they can’t move, then captures them,” Officer Jenny said while examining the area.
Suddenly, Max pointed at the ground.
“Look at this!”
It was a tire track.
“This should be the poacher’s vehicle track—and it’s still fresh,” Officer Jenny said.
“That means the poacher is nearby!” Brock added.
“Please, Taillow and Pidgeot.
Search from the air!”
Ash also spread his Aura, searching for Team Rocket’s familiar signatures.
If he remembered correctly, Team Rocket had played an important role in the original version of this incident.
The group followed the tracks.
Elsewhere, Team Rocket was discussing their battle plan when Meowth accidentally rolled down a slope.
“Help, meow!”
Crash!
Meowth slammed into something covered by camouflage cloth.
“What?
What’s inside, meow?”
He pulled the cloth away and found cages full of Ekans.
“Wha—what?!
It’s full of Ekans!
What’s going on, meow?”
Jessie and James came down the slope.
“Are you okay, Meowth?
What’s all this?”
After learning what had happened, Team Rocket decided to rescue the Ekans and build an Ekans army.
Just as they began, a Fearow swooped down and knocked them flying.
Then a jeep arrived.
A green-haired man stepped out.
“What do you idiots think you’re doing to my prey?”
Team Rocket discovered Koffing in Rico’s vehicle.
The two sides confronted each other: one wanted to rescue the Ekans and Koffing, while the other wanted Team Rocket’s Arbok and Weezing.
To be continued…
….