On the road to Santalune City.
Serena seemed to suddenly remember something.
She took out a handkerchief and handed it to Ash, saying, “Ash, I’ve always wanted to return this to you.”
Ash replied, “You still kept this?”
Bonnie asked, slightly confused, “Is this a keepsake of love that Ash gave you?”
Although children’s words are often innocent, Bonnie’s remark still made Serena’s pretty face flush red.
Ash explained the whole story.
He was clearly not the dense type.
Several years had passed, yet Serena still kept that handkerchief so carefully preserved.
If someone said Serena had no feelings for Ash, even a ghost would not believe it.
“Ash, you really remember!”
Hearing Ash’s words, Serena’s smile became even brighter.
Suddenly, Pikachu and Froakie seemed to sense something and looked around vigilantly.
The next second, a red berry fell from a tree, coincidentally hitting Pikachu.
Pikachu curiously stepped forward to check it, but before it could touch it, a current of electricity struck, forcing Pikachu back and knocking the berry away.
Bonnie, who had also wanted to approach, was startled.
Clemont quickly stepped forward to check Bonnie, only relaxing after confirming she was unharmed.
Ash had already spread his Aura to observe the surroundings, his gaze locking onto a nearby tree.
Pikachu and Froakie also turned to look.
A small, round, mouse-like Pokémon climbed down from the tree and ran toward Bonnie.
To be precise, it was heading for the berry in Bonnie’s hand.
Ash said softly, “It’s Dedenne.”
“Dedenne?”
Serena curiously took out her Pokédex and scanned it.
[Dedenne, the Antenna Pokémon.
Its whiskers act as antennas and can send and receive electricity]
The moment she saw Dedenne, Bonnie exclaimed, “It’s so cute!”
Pikachu and Dedenne locked eyes, and both released small electric sparks from their cheeks as if testing each other.
Bonnie said, “It’s not even afraid of people!”
Clemont speculated, “Since they are both Electric type Pokémon, they are probably communicating through electricity.”
“I want this Dedenne!
Let me adopt it, big brother!”
Bonnie grabbed Clemont’s sleeve and pleaded.
“Adopt?” Serena paused, then asked, “Does that mean you are not a Trainer yet, Bonnie?”
“Yes!
I want it to become my partner after I become a Trainer.
Big brother, can I?
I promise I will take good care of it!”
Bonnie was clearly very fond of Dedenne.
“Well, that is easy to say…” Clemont hesitated.
Ash understood what Clemont was worried about.
“It’s fine, we do not mind.”
“That’s right, I will help too!” Serena added.
Seeing this, Clemont finally made up his mind to capture Dedenne.
Seeing Clemont agree, Bonnie happily walked up to Dedenne and handed over the berry.
“Dedenne, this is what you wanted, right?”
Just as Dedenne was about to take the berry, a Fletchling suddenly swooped down and snatched it, flying onto a nearby tree branch.
Bonnie shouted, “Wait!
That belongs to Dedenne!”
Fletchling ignored her completely, tossed the berry into the air, and swallowed it in one gulp.
Then it even chirped loudly at Ash and the others as if showing off.
[Pokémon: Fletchling]
[Type: Normal, Flying]
[Gender: Male]
[Strength: Common Low-tier (11)]
[Ability: Big Pecks (Prevents its Defense from being lowered)]
[Held Item: None]
[Moves: Tackle, Quick Attack, Peck, Razor Wind, Tailwind]
Seeing this, everyone felt a surge of anger.
Dedenne, having its food stolen, felt wronged.
Tears welled up in its eyes, and with a pitiful cry, it ran into the bushes.
Seeing this, Bonnie felt extremely regretful.
Froakie did not wait for Ash’s command.
It leapt up and fired Bubble at Fletchling.
Fletchling reacted quickly, flapping its wings and easily dodging the attack.
“Froakie, that one is very fast, be careful.”
After warning Froakie, Ash looked at Fletchling and said, “Fletchling, this will be a capture battle!”
Hearing this, Fletchling looked cautiously at Pikachu beside Ash.
Pikachu also showed eagerness to battle.
However, Ash did not intend to use Pikachu.
He turned to Froakie.
“Froakie, use the trees around you.
With your jumping ability, you can defeat it.
Go!”
Froakie immediately leapt twice and reached the tree where Fletchling was perched.
Seeing Froakie approach, Fletchling quickly took off into the air.
Froakie chased closely behind.
“Use Bubble to disrupt it.”
Froakie continuously fired Bubble attacks, limiting Fletchling’s movement.
While dodging, Fletchling failed to notice Froakie disappear from sight.
When it finally turned to counterattack, its Peck struck a decoy formed from clustered bubbles.
Its body became stuck in the bubbles, and panic set in.
“Froakie, now!
Water Pulse!”
From above, Froakie launched a dark blue sphere of energy.
Boom!
After the explosion, Fletchling fell straight down.
Ash quickly threw a Poké Ball to capture it.
The Poké Ball shook, but Fletchling broke free after a few seconds.
“So close!” Serena said regretfully.
Fletchling flew back into the air and used Razor Wind.
Sharp wind blades rushed toward them.
Froakie used the tree again to leap and fired another Water Pulse.
This time, the attack hit directly and knocked Fletchling unconscious.
Ash threw another Poké Ball.
Click.
The capture was successful.
[Ding…
Battle settlement in progress…
Evaluation: C-]
[Ding!
Congratulations on obtaining reward: 200 Points]
After capturing Fletchling, Ash let out a breath of relief.
If it had escaped, Clemont might have used one of his strange inventions.
He definitely did not want to be chased by a swarm of Beedrill or get caught in an explosion caused by Clemont’s gadgets.
Just as Ash completed the capture, the ever-persistent Team Rocket trio encountered a mysterious Pokémon.
This Pokémon had been watching them since Lumiose City.
More precisely, it had been watching their food.
The moment it appeared, it attacked.
Thick black ink splattered all over their faces.
Meowth stared at the squid-like Pokémon floating in front of him.
“It’s a Pokémon I’ve never seen before, meow!”
James took out a scanner.
“Inkay?”
“Huh?!”
Jessie and Meowth both turned to him in confusion.
James shrugged.
“Why are you looking at me?
Its name really is Inkay.”
“Wobbuffet!”
“In any case, let’s catch it first, meow!”
Jessie pushed Wobbuffet forward.
However, Inkay did not use a standard attack.
It continued spraying ink, completely covering Wobbuffet.
Seeing this, James used their lunch as bait.
While Inkay was distracted eating, James threw a Poké Ball.
The capture succeeded instantly.
Everything happened so fast that neither Meowth nor Jessie had time to react.