“Taillow, use U-turn one more time!”
“Taiiillow!”
Wrapped in streaks of white light, Taillow dove sharply from the sky.
Its speed increased continuously during the descent before it suddenly twisted upward with the momentum of the wind.
Bang!
The Beedrill opposing it was struck directly and sent flying backward before crashing heavily into the ground.
“Beedrill!”
The young Trainer cried out anxiously as he rushed forward to check on his Pokémon.
After confirming that Beedrill had lost the ability to battle, he could only sigh helplessly.
“You’re amazing, Ash!”
May clasped her hands excitedly in front of her chest.
“That’s eighteen straight victories already!”
Max looked equally thrilled as he watched the opposing Trainer shake hands with Ash after the battle ended.
“Big Brother Ash is incredible!
And Taillow too!”
“It actually mastered U-turn during battle!”
Brock smiled faintly as he explained patiently,
“That’s one of the charms of Pokémon battles.”
“Battles deepen the bond between Trainers and Pokémon while helping both sides grow stronger together.”
Ash walked back over after saying goodbye to the defeated Trainer.
“Yeah,” Ash replied with a grin.
“Thanks to these past few days of nonstop battles, Taillow, Combusken, and I are getting more synchronized with each other.”
Under Pidgeot’s guidance, Taillow had finally managed to master U-turn properly today.
Ash was genuinely pleased with the result.
The number of Trainers traveling through the Hoenn region was astonishingly high.
Especially around forests and routes filled with wild Pokémon, Trainer camps were commonly established nearby.
When Ash first learned this after arriving in Hoenn, he had been extremely excited.
After all, battling Trainers not only allowed Pokémon to accumulate practical combat experience quickly, but also helped him continuously earn system points through victory.
Even though most Trainers they encountered were fairly average in skill, the constant battles still provided valuable training.
And more importantly
Ash genuinely enjoyed battling.
During just these past few days:
Combusken had already reached Level 27.
Taillow had advanced to Level 18.
Even little Ralts, after defeating a wild Caterpie during training, had successfully risen to Level 5.
The growth speed was astonishing.
Ash’s mood had remained excellent the entire time.
“Ash really seems happy lately,” Brock commented while washing dishes nearby.
Although Ash had always been enthusiastic about Pokémon training, Brock could clearly tell that something had changed after arriving in Hoenn.
Ash had become calmer.
More mature.
More focused.
At the same time, his passion for becoming stronger had only intensified.
“Of course he’s amazing now!”
May said proudly while helping organize supplies nearby.
However
Before she could continue, Max suddenly interrupted with a lecturing tone.
“Well, obviously!
Big Brother Ash is already a Silver Conference Champion-level Trainer, unlike Sis who still ”
Bang!
May’s fist landed directly on Max’s forehead.
“Owww!”
Max instantly crouched while clutching his head.
“What was that for, Sis?!”
“You’re so violent!
At this rate nobody’s ever going to marry you GYAAAH!”
Bang!
A second punch followed immediately.
Brock watched the siblings bickering with a helpless smile.
Nearby, Ash remained focused on Ralts’ training.
“Ralts, continue compressing your Psychic power slowly.”
“Imagine your energy wrapping tightly around the target like invisible hands.”
“Ralts~”
Soft blue Psychic energy spread outward.
Ash’s body slowly rose into the air under Ralts’ control.
The tiny Pokémon’s face quickly became serious from concentration.
One minute.
Two minutes.
Three minutes.
Finally
The blue light suddenly flickered and disappeared.
Ash landed steadily back on the ground.
“Ral…”
Ralts swayed dizzily from exhaustion.
Ash immediately picked her up gently.
“You did really well.”
“You maintained Psychic control longer than yesterday.”
“Ralts~!”
The tired little Pokémon immediately smiled happily after receiving praise.
May walked over curiously.
“Ash, why have you only been making Ralts practice Psychic these past few days?”
“Doesn’t she already know moves like Teleport and Ice Punch?”
Ash smiled slightly.
“Looks like you’ve been paying close attention.”
May froze briefly before quickly looking away with a faint blush.
Ash, however, did not notice.
He continued explaining naturally,
“Ralts is primarily a Psychic-type Pokémon.”
“The better her control over Psychic energy becomes, the easier it’ll be for her to learn stronger moves later.”
“By repeatedly refining Psychic itself, she’ll improve her precision, reaction speed, stamina, and energy manipulation.”
May nodded in realization.
“So that’s why you told me to focus on practicing Ember and Peck repeatedly with Torchic?”
Max quickly took out his notebook while speaking excitedly.
“I’ve never read about this kind of training method in Pokémon books before!”
Ash nodded calmly.
“That’s because this type of foundational training is mainly useful during the early growth stage.”
“Once Pokémon become stronger, like Combusken, Pikachu, or Pidgeot, their training needs to become specialized according to their individual characteristics.”
Ash accepted the cup of water Brock handed over before taking a few sips.
Then he noticed everyone staring at him seriously.
Even Brock looked thoughtful.
Ash laughed helplessly.
“There’s no point trying to learn everything at once.”
“You need to improve step by step.”
Then he looked toward May seriously.
“For now, your biggest priority is training together with Torchic consistently.”
“The more experience Pokémon gain through repetition, the faster they’ll react instinctively during battle.”
“If Pokémon have to wait for Trainers to think and issue every command manually, they’ll always react too slowly.”
May looked slightly overwhelmed after hearing so much information at once.
Ash smiled and lightly patted her shoulder.
“Don’t rush.”
“If there’s something you don’t understand, just ask me slowly.”
“…Okay!”
May looked up and smiled brightly.
Brock watched quietly from the side.
For some reason, he suddenly thought about Misty back in Cerulean City.
Ash really had matured unbelievably fast.
After lunch, everyone continued traveling until they eventually arrived at the Pokémon Center near the outer area of Petalburg Woods.
Naturally
The moment Brock saw Nurse Joy, his old habits resurfaced immediately.
“Nurse Joy~!”
Meanwhile, before anyone could stop him, Officer Jenny suddenly entered the Pokémon Center with several officers.
Her expression looked serious.
After a brief investigation, everyone learned that Pokémon Hunters had recently begun appearing frequently around Petalburg Woods.
Several Pokémon had already gone missing.
After hearing the details, Ash immediately remembered this event vaguely from the anime.
It seemed connected to the incident where Team Rocket eventually parted ways with Arbok and Weezing.
Back then, that scene had deeply moved countless viewers.
Thinking about it carefully, Ash immediately volunteered to help Officer Jenny investigate.
After all
For more than twenty years in his previous life, Team Rocket had faithfully appeared beside Ash and Pikachu like unpaid supporting actors.
In many ways, half of Ash’s growth had practically been built on blasting Team Rocket off again.
Nobody else was allowed to steal their spotlight.
Soon afterward, under the aerial scouting of Pidgeot and Taillow, the group successfully located a suspicious green-haired man carrying illegal capture equipment deep within the forest.
Officer Jenny stepped forward immediately.
“You’re Pokémon Hunter Rico, correct?”
“You’re under arrest for violating the Pokémon Protection Act!”
“Hmph.”
The green-haired man sneered coldly.
“You think it’ll be that easy?”
He immediately threw several Poké Balls forward.
“Go!”
“Tyranitar!”
“Golem!”
“Rhydon!”
“Mightyena!”
Four large Pokémon appeared simultaneously.
Officer Jenny’s expression immediately changed.
“Damn it… we should’ve stopped him before he released his Pokémon!”
However
Ash merely smiled.
“Pidgeot, Air Slash!”
“Pikachu, Iron Tail!”
“Pidgeot!”
“Pika!”
Dozens of sharp Air Slashes instantly rained down from above like blades.
Caught off guard, Golem and Rhydon were struck directly.
At the same time
Pidgeot shot high into the sky.
“Tyranitar, Hyper Beam!”
The hunter shouted immediately.
A golden beam erupted upward toward Pidgeot.
Ash narrowed his eyes calmly.
“Trying to predict Pidgeot’s movement?”
“Too slow.”
“Pidgeot, Sky Attack!”
“Pidgeoooot!”
Azure flames instantly engulfed Pidgeot’s body.
It sharply accelerated upward before suddenly changing direction midair with astonishing agility.
Boom!
Pidgeot pierced straight through the Hyper Beam trajectory before slamming directly into Tyranitar.
The enormous Dark/Rock-type Pokémon was blasted backward violently.
“What?!”
The hunter’s eyes widened in disbelief.
He had never imagined a Pidgeot could move that fast.
But Ash gave him no time to recover.
“Now, Pikachu!”
“Pikachuu!”
Pikachu darted forward instantly.
Its tail shone with metallic light as it leaped between Golem and Rhydon.
Bang!
Bang!
Iron Tail struck both Pokémon almost simultaneously, knocking them backward.
“You brat!”
The hunter roared furiously.
“Mightyena!
Use Dark Pulse!”
“Tyranitar, support it!”
Ash’s Aura instantly flared blue.
He had already predicted the attack trajectory.
“Pikachu, Dig!”
“Pika!”
Boom!
The ground exploded apart as Pikachu disappeared underground moments before the attacks landed.
“Pidgeot, Steel Wing!”
“Pidgeot!”
Before the dust fully settled, Pidgeot descended rapidly.
Its glowing wings slammed directly into Mightyena’s throat.
“Awoooo!”
Mightyena collapsed instantly.
“It’s over.”
Ash’s eyes sharpened.
“Pikachu!”
At that exact moment
Pikachu burst from underground behind Tyranitar.
The hunter’s face finally turned pale.
“Thunder!”
“PIKAAAAAA-CHUUUUUU!”
BOOOOOOM!!!
Blinding lightning exploded from the sky.
The entire forest shook violently.
Tyranitar collapsed amidst the thunderstorm.
Then
A quiet voice suddenly whispered beside the hunter’s ear.
“This punch…”
“…is for Jessie, James, and Meowth.”
The hunter’s eyes widened.
Before he could react
Ash, surrounded by faint blue Aura while carrying Ralts in one arm, appeared directly before him.
Bang!
Ash’s fist slammed straight into the man’s face.
The hunter spun through the air before crashing unconscious into the dirt.