Ash, Misty, and Brock struggled through a remote forest, where the grass rose above their waists.
The air smelled of soil and grass, and every so often, they heard the low cries of Pokémon nearby.
After walking for what felt like ages, they finally reached a clearing with a small pool.
Ash, Misty, and Brock sat on a nearby rock to rest.
Misty perked up when she spotted a round, plump Oddish walking toward the edge of the pool.
“So cute!
All right, I’ll catch it.
Go, Starmie!” Misty pulled out Starmie’s Poké Ball and prepared to battle Oddish.
Oddish was not a Water-type Pokémon, but Misty had never been able to resist cute Pokémon and wanted to catch it anyway.
Before Misty could throw the Poké Ball, Ash grabbed her wrist.
“Wait, Misty.
You can’t catch it.”
Misty pouted.
“Why not?”
“There’s a Pokémon sanctuary nearby,” Ash said.
“The Pokémon in this area were injured or abandoned, so catching them is forbidden.”
“Huh?
Really?
All right.” Misty put away her Poké Ball, disappointed.
She looked back at Oddish, still a little disappointed that she could not catch it.
Ash smiled and sent out Ivysaur.
As soon as Ivysaur appeared, it recognized both the area and the Oddish in front of it and immediately perked up.
“Ivysaur!
Ivysaur!” it cried, running over to Oddish.
“Oddish!” Oddish called back.
Oddish recognized Ivysaur too.
It was the same Bulbasaur it had once played with.
Oddish jumped into the air and waved its leaves to welcome Ivysaur.
The two Pokémon traded cheerful cries, showing how much they had missed each other during their time apart.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, dappling the ground as Ivysaur and Oddish led the way.
Ash, Misty, and Brock followed behind them.
The ground felt soft beneath their feet, and they occasionally saw Rattata dart through the grass.
As he walked, Ash thought about Team Rocket.
Ash knew the trio far too well.
Wherever Pokémon gathered, there was always a chance Team Rocket would appear and cause trouble.
The same thing had happened in the original story.
Ash clenched his fist, determined to be ready for them.
With that in mind, he opened the system’s exchange interface.
He quickly searched through the available items.
Finally, an item called the Spatial Loop Cube caught his attention.
Once placed, the cube twists the surrounding space into a maze that no one inside can escape.
Ash gave a sly grin when he read the description.
“This is perfect.
I’ll use it to mess with Team Rocket.”
He made the exchange.
A cube about the size of a grape appeared in his pocket.
It felt cool to the touch, and Ash hoped it would send Team Rocket packing.
Ash activated his Aura.
His Aura spread through the area, allowing him to sense every presence nearby.
Soon, he picked up three familiar and irritating Aura signatures.
The three signatures were unmistakable, reflecting Jessie’s flamboyance, James’s laziness, and Meowth’s cleverness.
“There they are.” Ash opened his eyes with a determined smile.
Ash used his psychic powers to see what the Team Rocket trio was doing.
He soon spotted Jessie, James, and Meowth sneaking around and checking their surroundings.
Ash took out the Spatial Loop Cube.
The runes across its surface lit up, sending out rings of soft light.
Without anyone noticing, Ash used telekinesis to send the cube toward Team Rocket.
The cube shot through the air toward Jessie, James, and Meowth.
It spun through the air, glowing brighter with each turn.
The moment it landed near Team Rocket, a strange wave of energy spread out from the cube.
At first, nothing seemed to have changed.
But Jessie, James, and Meowth would probably wear themselves out trying to escape.
…
Meanwhile, Ash, Misty, and Brock continued chatting as they entered a wide green meadow dotted with neatly arranged wooden cabins.
Pokémon hopped, wandered, and played among the cabins.
Ivysaur and Oddish cried out happily, then raced toward the center of the Pokémon sanctuary.
Ash smiled with relief as he watched them disappear into the sanctuary.
All of those changes had begun with Ash’s first meeting with Melanie.
During that visit, Ash had met the kindhearted Melanie and taken Bulbasaur with him.
Ash had wasted no time reporting Melanie’s situation to the Pokémon League.
Caring for the entire sanctuary alone was a huge responsibility for Melanie.
Ash wanted Melanie and the sanctuary’s Pokémon to receive more support.
When the Pokémon League learned what Melanie had done, it praised her for her kindness.
Soon, the Pokémon League began providing support.
The Pokémon League built more comfortable cabins, giving the Pokémon warmer homes.
It also set aside special funding and supplied modern equipment for their treatment and care.
Ash looked over the transformed Pokémon sanctuary with admiration.
“I never expected this place to change so much.
Melanie must be really happy.”
“Oh, so Melanie’s here.” Misty crossed her arms and gave Ash a dangerous smile.
Ash stiffened.
Not good.
Misty was getting jealous again.
Ash stole a glance at Misty.
She was staring ahead as if she were searching for Melanie.
Just then, Melanie walked out of one of the wooden cabins.
Her dark blue hair was tied back with a bow.
She wore a pink short-sleeved shirt and red overall shorts.
She smiled warmly.
“Ash!” Melanie’s smile widened when she spotted him, and she hurried over, delighted to see him.
Ash greeted Melanie with a smile.
“It’s been a long time.
The Pokémon sanctuary has changed so much.” Even as he spoke, he felt nervous and kept an eye on Misty’s reaction.
Misty watched Melanie approach and forced herself to smile.
For an instant, she could not hide her jealousy.
“Hi.
I’m Misty, Ash’s traveling companion.”
Melanie paused, then smiled back.
“Hello, Misty.
It’s nice to meet you.”
Brock’s eyes turned into hearts, and he rushed over to Melanie with a lovestruck grin.
“Hello, Miss Melanie!
I’m Brock.
Would you like to have some tea and talk about caring for Pokémon?”
Caught off guard by Brock’s enthusiasm, Melanie gave him a polite smile.
“Oh, thank you, Brock, but I still have Pokémon to care for, so I don’t have much free time.
I’m sorry.”
Brock’s face fell.
Misty rolled her eyes at Brock’s lovestruck behavior and snorted.
“Brock, show some self-respect.
You act like this every time you see a pretty girl.”
“Ivysaur!” Ivysaur called out.
Ivysaur ran over, its leaves bouncing with each step.
It went straight to Melanie, looking at her fondly.
“Oh!
Is that you, Bulbasaur?
You’ve evolved into Ivysaur!
You must have worked very hard,” Melanie said in surprise.
Melanie crouched and stroked Ivysaur’s head with a warm smile.
Ivysaur closed its eyes in contentment and let out a happy cry, rubbing its head against Melanie’s palm every so often.
Ash smiled at the reunion.
“That’s right, Melanie.
Ivysaur has worked very hard.”
Melanie gave Ash a grateful look.
“Thank you, Ash.
You’ve given Ivysaur so many chances to improve.”
Brock stared at Melanie, lovestruck all over again.
“Miss Melanie is so gentle.
I wish she’d pat my head too…”
Misty glanced at Brock, then grabbed him by the ear.
“That’s enough.
Stop thinking about weird things.”
“Melanie, you’ve taken such good care of this sanctuary.
All the Pokémon here must be very happy,” Ash said.
Melanie stood up, blushing.
“That’s thanks to you, the Pokémon League, and everyone else who helped.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves and fell across Melanie’s face, making her blush look even deeper.
Melanie bit her lip and twisted the hem of her shirt between her fingers.
She looked at Ash.
“Ash, I really don’t know how to thank you.”
Ash scratched his head and flashed Melanie a broad grin.
“Don’t say that, Melanie.
It wasn’t all because of me.
The Pokémon League helped a lot too, and I’m just happy the Pokémon here can live better lives.”
Melanie shook her head, still grateful for everything Ash had done.
“But if you hadn’t told the Pokémon League about my situation, the sanctuary wouldn’t have changed this much, and the Pokémon here wouldn’t be receiving better care.
I’ll always remember what you’ve done for me and the sanctuary.”
Misty watched them, growing more jealous by the second.
Misty coughed, stepped forward, and hooked her arm through Ash’s.
Her smile looked forced.
“All right.
Ash only did what he should’ve done.”
Melanie finally noticed Misty’s arm linked through Ash’s.
She blushed even harder and lowered her head, flustered.
“S-sorry.
I didn’t mean to…”
Ash gave an awkward laugh, trying to ease the tension.
“Haha.
Misty’s always like that.
We’re all friends.”
…
Melanie let Ash, Misty, and Brock stay at the Pokémon sanctuary that night.
The next morning, warm golden sunlight fell across the Pokémon sanctuary.
Ash, Misty, and Brock packed their bags and got ready to continue their journey.
Melanie stood at the sanctuary entrance, sad to see them leave.
She bit her lip, her hands clasped in front of her.
Then she took a deep breath, stepped forward, and looked at Ash.
“Ash, thank you so much,” Melanie said.
Ash scratched his head and gave her a broad grin.
“You don’t have to thank me, Melanie.
We’ll come back if we get the chance.”
Melanie nodded.
Then she gathered her courage and gave Ash a quick kiss on the cheek.
The kiss was over in an instant.
As soon as Melanie pulled away, her face turned bright red.
“Thank you, Ash,” Melanie whispered.
She lowered her head, too embarrassed to look at him.
The sudden kiss left Ash flustered, and his cheeks turned red too.
Ash opened his mouth to answer, but Misty coughed beside him.
Misty crossed her arms.
Her smile had gone stiff, and she looked annoyed.
“All right, it’s getting late.
We should get going.”
Melanie finally raised her head and looked at Misty.
“All right, Misty.
Have a safe trip.”
“Oddish!
Oddish!” Oddish called from beside Melanie, as if echoing her farewell.
Ash gave a helpless smile and waved to Melanie.
“We’re heading out, then.
Goodbye, Melanie.”
“Goodbye.” Melanie waved and watched them go.
Ash, Misty, and Brock followed the path until the Pokémon sanctuary faded from view behind them.
Misty walked ahead quickly, and Ash and Brock hurried to keep up.
…
Meanwhile, the Team Rocket trio had problems of their own…
After walking in circles all night, they had lost all their usual swagger.
Jessie’s carefully styled hair was now a tangled mess, more like a bird’s nest, and several leaves clung to her face.
James looked exhausted and defeated.
He staggered along as if he might collapse at any moment.
Meowth was in even worse shape.
His fur was tangled, his tail drooped, and he trudged weakly behind Jessie and James.
Meowth groaned, “Looks like Team Rocket’s blasting off again…”