“Wow… that was incredible…”
May stared blankly at the battlefield before her.
Pokémon were sprawled across the ground in every direction, completely defeated, while the green-haired Pokémon Hunter knelt nearby with a pale, defeated expression as Officer Jenny locked handcuffs around his wrists.
A two-against-five battle had ended in a one-sided sweep.
Seeing it happen firsthand was unbelievably shocking!
“Yeah… I never imagined Ash had become this strong.”
Brock sighed in admiration.
From beginning to end, Ash had completely controlled the flow of battle.
There wasn’t a single wasted movement.
Every command had been precise, every timing flawless.
The pace of the fight had been so overwhelming that the opponent never even had the chance to properly react before being crushed.
“As expected of Big Brother!
Pikachu and Pidgeot were amazing too!
Winning two against five… I’ve never seen anything like that before!”
Max waved his arms excitedly, his eyes shining with admiration.
Ash walked over and noticed the strange looks the three were giving him.
“What’s with those expressions?” he asked helplessly.
Brock immediately let out a relieved sigh.
“Good, you’re still the same Ash.”
“…Why do I feel slightly insulted by that?”
Ash twitched at the corner of his mouth.
But honestly, he barely had time to think about their reactions.
At that moment, his mind was completely occupied by the System notifications ringing nonstop in his head.
His points had finally surpassed the 5,000 mark!
That meant he could finally exchange for the item he had been eyeing for a long time.
What surprised him even more was the amount of points earned from the Pokémon Hunter’s team.
Most of the man’s Pokémon had only been around Levels 30 to 40, yet each still granted between 100 and 200 points.
Even the Level 50 Tyranitar had awarded a massive 300 points.
Back during the Silver Conference, defeating Harrison’s Pokémon had only earned Ash around 300 points total toward redeeming Aura abilities.
Comparing the two made the difference obvious.
Ash silently began organizing the System’s reward patterns in his mind.
Current Point Reward EstimatesTrainer Battles:
Levels 1–20 → roughly 10 points
Levels 20–30 → roughly 20 points
Levels 30–40 → roughly 50 points
Levels 40–50 → roughly 100 points
Levels 50–60 → roughly 150 points
The exact numbers fluctuated slightly, but the general range seemed accurate.
Ash still hadn’t encountered truly elite Pokémon above that range yet, so he couldn’t fully confirm the higher-level rewards.
However, one thing was now crystal clear.
Battling criminal organizations or evil forces appeared to double both experience gains and System points.
And based on his Gym battle against Norman’s Slaking, official Gym battles likely granted rewards several times greater than ordinary matches.
Thinking this through, Ash couldn’t help but feel excited.
Compared to that…
The regular Pokémon League suddenly seemed far less appealing.
If Gym battles rewarded that much, then what about the Elite Four?
Or even the Champion?
Just imagining it made his blood boil.
After Officer Jenny finished handling the remaining cleanup and thanked Ash and the others for their assistance, the group spent the night at the nearby Pokémon Center.
The next morning, they resumed their journey through Petalburg Woods.
“It’s all Sister’s fault!
Look, now we’re lost!”
On a narrow forest trail, Max finally couldn’t hold back his complaints anymore.
“I told you we should’ve gone right, but you insisted on taking the left path!”
“But the left side looked way more interesting!” May argued immediately, pointing ahead defensively.
“There were flowers blooming everywhere!
And besides, you were the one holding the PokéNav!
How did you still manage to get us lost?”
“That’s because we’re outside the signal range now!”
Max held up the PokéNav angrily and pointed at the blank map screen.
“It’s obviously your fault!”
“What did you say?!”
May put her hands on her hips and glared fiercely at him.
The siblings instantly began bickering again.
Brock sighed helplessly and stepped between them.
“Alright, alright.
Getting lost while traveling is normal.
It happens all the time.”
“Exactly,” Ash added calmly.
“Panicking won’t help.
We’ll just figure out the route little by little.”
“But Sister’s attitude is still OW!”
Before Max could finish, May’s fist slammed directly onto his head.
Max instantly crouched down while clutching his forehead miserably.
“Big Brother, you’re biased!”
Ash pretended not to hear him.
Then suddenly
He stopped mid-step.
“…Huh?”
Rustling sounds echoed from nearby trees.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Several green figures rapidly darted between the branches overhead.
Max’s eyes widened immediately.
“T-Those are Treecko!”
“Wow!
There are so many!”
May’s eyes sparkled with excitement too.
They had seen Treecko back at Professor Birch’s lab, but seeing an entire group moving through the forest together felt completely different.
However, the Treecko only paused briefly after noticing Ash and the others.
Then, as if in a hurry, the entire group continued moving deeper into the forest.
It almost looked like they were relocating somewhere.
Ash’s eyes instantly lit up.
“Pikachu, let’s follow them!”
“Pika!”
Without hesitation, Ash rushed forward.
He absolutely loved Hoenn’s starter Pokémon.
There was no way he would miss the chance to catch a Treecko.
And judging by the timing…
This might even be the same Treecko from the original series.
“Wait for us, Big Brother!”
“You’re too slow, Max!”
May sprinted ahead while laughing provocatively behind her.
Max immediately became furious and chased after her.
Brock followed at a slower pace behind them.
With Ash’s Aura and Pidgeot scouting overhead, there was little danger as long as they stayed nearby.
After several minutes of pursuit, the group arrived at a small hill deep within the forest.
Then they all froze.
Before them stood an enormous ancient tree.
“…Whoa.”
Even Ash couldn’t help staring upward in shock.
The giant tree towered into the sky like a living fortress.
Yet despite its immense size, the trunk looked dry and withered, as though it were slowly dying.
Ash stepped closer
Thwip!
A sharp twig suddenly embedded itself into the ground directly in front of his feet.
Ash looked up immediately.
A Treecko sat atop one of the thick branches above them.
It calmly held a twig in its mouth while staring down at them with sharp, guarded eyes.
The moment Ash saw it
His eyes lit up completely.
It was this one.
The same cool, rebellious Treecko from the anime.
The one he wanted most.
Ash grinned.
“Treecko!
Let’s have a battle!”
He immediately released Combusken.
The moment the two Pokémon faced each other, tension exploded between them.
Neither was willing to back down.
“Busken!”
Treecko vanished first.
Its green body blurred through the branches before diving downward with incredible speed.
“Combusken!”
Combusken reacted instantly.
Blue-white Fighting-type energy gathered around its claws as it blocked Treecko’s tail strike head-on.
Boom!
Using the momentum, Combusken twisted its arm upward violently.
Treecko was sent flying backward and slammed heavily into a nearby tree trunk.
“Treee…!”
Treecko landed roughly before quickly regaining its footing.
Its sharp yellow eyes narrowed further.
Then
Rustle!
Rustle!
More Treecko suddenly emerged from the surrounding forest.
An older-looking Treecko stepped forward and began speaking sternly toward the younger one.
The atmosphere instantly became tense.
The elder Treecko seemed to be trying to persuade it about something.
But the younger Treecko became visibly agitated during the exchange.
Finally
“Treecko!”
With a frustrated cry, it glanced once toward Ash before suddenly turning and sprinting deeper into the forest alone.
The rest of the Treecko group hesitated briefly before retreating as well.
Ash stared thoughtfully toward the direction the lone Treecko had disappeared.
Then he smiled slightly.
“It’ll come back.”
“Huh?”
May blinked in confusion.
Ash gently patted Combusken’s shoulder before releasing Pidgeot and Taillow.
“Go bring Brock and the others here.”
“Pidgeot!”
“Taillow!”
The two Flying-types immediately took off.
A short while later, Brock, May, and Max arrived together.
“Ash!
Are you alright?”
“We’re fine,” Ash replied calmly.
“Did the Treecko escape?” Max asked eagerly.
“Not exactly.”
Ash looked toward the massive ancient tree again.
“I already found the one I want.”
As evening gradually approached, Brock finally took a proper look at the enormous tree.
“This tree is incredible…”
“Yeah…” May nodded.
“But it also looks like it’s dying.”
Ash quietly observed the dry bark and damaged roots.
“This was probably the original home of the Treecko tribe.”
“That explains why they were relocating!” Max exclaimed.
May tilted her head curiously.
“But if this place is dying, why would the Treecko you want come back here?”
Ash smiled confidently.
“Because it still cares about this place.”
Almost immediately after he spoke
A lone figure emerged from the forest.
It was the same Treecko.
Dragging behind it was a massive leaf filled with water gathered from a nearby spring.
Without even looking at the group, Treecko silently walked toward the base of the giant tree.
Then it carefully watered the roots before using fallen leaves to preserve the moisture in the soil.
Everyone fell silent.
Even May’s expression softened slightly.
Ash smiled faintly.
“Come on, Pikachu, Combusken.
Let’s help.”
He walked over and handed Ralts to Brock.
“Please watch Ralts for me.”
“Ralts~”
The little Pokémon happily waved her tiny arms.
Brock nodded knowingly.
Then he turned toward May and Max.
“Ash will handle things here.
Since it’s getting late, let’s start preparing camp nearby.”