"Here, Yu Feng."
Ash was waiting for something at the edge of Viridian City, and Xiao Xia was interacting with Pikachu nearby.
As if seeing something, Ash loudly greeted someone who was walking by.
"Hmm, Ash, you guys haven't left yet?"
Yu Feng was walking out when he suddenly heard someone calling him. He looked over curiously and a familiar sight appeared before his eyes.
"No, Ash specifically waited for you here."
Xiao Xia watched as Pikachu, who had just been interacting with her, scurried onto Ash's shoulder. She looked at Ash with a disapproving gaze.
"Yu Feng, do you want to travel with me?"
Ash ignored Xiao Xia's gaze and excitedly invited Yu Feng to travel with him.
"But, we'll probably have to part ways once we reach Saffron City."
Yu Feng remembered what his mom told him that day.
'Gardevoir (Go to this address when you reach Saffron City. Your mom found a travel companion for you. If it doesn't work out, let me know, and I'll find you another one.)'
Although he would challenge the Kanto Alliance with Ash, he would probably challenge the China Alliance next in the Orange League, so he had to make it clear to Ash beforehand.
"Is that so? It's fine! We can talk about that when the time comes."
"Alright, then I'll travel with you for now."
"Yay!" x2
Seeing Ash and Pikachu's shining eyes, Yu Feng couldn't bring himself to refuse. It would be too boring to walk alone, so he might as well travel with Ash.
Ash and Xiao Xia exchanged glances and high-fived in celebration, which made Yu Feng wonder if their relationship was already that good.
...Ninjago Recap (crossed out)
"In the Viridian Forest, darker than night, a Caterpie Pokémon and Ash. Can Ash catch him?"
Yu Feng stood beside Xiao Xia and Pikachu, watching Ash face off against a Caterpie.
"What are you talking about, Yu Feng?"
Xiao Xia looked at the expressionless Yu Feng, who was speaking like a recap, with some confusion. Why was Yu Feng saying such unclear things?
Yu Feng said nothing and pointed at Ash, who was confronting Caterpie, signaling Xiao Xia to watch closely. This was one of the rare times a Pokémon could be caught with one Poké Ball.
Except for Gou.
"Take this, Caterpie!"
Suddenly, Ash moved, striking his classic pose and throwing a Poké Ball at Caterpie.
He then watched intently as the spinning Poké Ball flew towards Caterpie. Caterpie seemed startled by Ash's awkward movement and didn't react.
Seeing this, Yu Feng really couldn't help but inwardly complain that this Caterpie was truly dumb. If it were his Caterpie, it would have tied both the person and the Poké Ball into a zongzi.
Under everyone's gaze, Caterpie was hit by Ash's Poké Ball and transformed into a red light, entering the Poké Ball.
The Poké Ball shook constantly, and even Ash couldn't help but swallow, fearing that this capture would fail.
The Poké Ball swayed back and forth, and everyone unconsciously held their breath.
Watching the Poké Ball continuously shake but not show a capture failure, Yu Feng's eyes twitched. He knew that when playing games, if a Poké Ball shook more than twice, it was already considered useless.
How many times did Ash's Poké Ball shake? Five or six? In short, it was definitely a lot.
"Bang!"
Finally, with a soft sound, the red light in the center of the Poké Ball disappeared, and the Poké Ball stopped shaking. This meant Ash had successfully caught Caterpie.
The moment the capture succeeded, Ash's serious expression instantly became very comical. He ran towards the Poké Ball with a big laugh.
He carefully cupped the Poké Ball containing Caterpie in both hands, extended the hand holding the Poké Ball forward, and shouted, "I caught Caterpie!"
Then he happily ran to Yu Feng and Xiao Xia, making exaggerated gestures and praising himself.
"Good job, Ash. You're amazing, Ash!"
"Although the Pokémon caught is very small, this is a small step towards success."
As he spoke, Ash put his arm around Xiao Xia's shoulder, which made Xiao Xia's gaze turn very speechless (?_?).
Then Ash tried to pull Yu Feng and Xiao Xia in, but Yu Feng quickly dodged Ash's sneak attack. Xiao Xia, however, didn't expect Ash to do that and was pulled into a spin.
"It worked, it worked, yay!"
"Wow! Stop spinning, I'm getting dizzy!"
"Pika..."
Pikachu watched the two spinning people from the side, its eyes involuntarily moving with them, then its eyes became like spirals and it fell to the ground.
"Ugh! What was that for?"
Xiao Xia flung Ash away, expressing her confusion at his excitement.
Ash was about to shove the Poké Ball containing Caterpie in front of Xiao Xia when Yu Feng grabbed his arm.
"Ash, that's enough. Girls are very afraid of bugs."
Yu Feng thought for a long time before deciding to stop Ash's 'straightforward male' behavior. After all, he himself didn't really want to accept most bug-type Pokémon.
Who knew that the fearless boy who used to play with colorful big spiders in his hands as a child would grow up to be startled by a dragonfly?
Xiao Xia gave Yu Feng a grateful look. She really couldn't accept bug-type Pokémon.
"But even if she hates bug-type Pokémon, it should be fine once it's in a Poké Ball, right?"
Ash was a bit confused. For him, there weren't many Pokémon he was afraid of, and since it was already in a Poké Ball, it shouldn't be that big of a problem, right?
As for Ash's opinion, Xiao Xia launched a fierce counterattack.
"Even if it's inside, a bug is still a bug! I don't want to see that thing!"
Seeing Yu Feng's obstruction and Xiao Xia's annoyance, Ash didn't say anything else. Instead, he rubbed the Poké Ball with a lovesick expression: "This Poké Ball is a very comfortable world for Pokémon. Pokémon are in heaven, and I also feel like I'm in paradise."
(A certain giant Shiny Gardevoir expressed strong condemnation, stating that there isn't even a computer inside a Poké Ball, it's boring to death!)
Xiao Xia's expression became extremely grim. She began to question the correctness of her decision to travel with Ash.
Then Ash went to Pikachu, holding the Poké Ball, and happily said to Pikachu, "Pikachu, your companion has increased."
"Pika!"
Pikachu twitched its small nose, sniffed the Poké Ball in Ash's hand, and also made happy movements.
Seeing that Pikachu was also happy about gaining a companion, Ash was overjoyed and made a decision.
Xiao Xia, who was being comforted by Yu Feng nearby, suddenly felt a chill down her spine, as if something bad was about to happen.
"I've decided, Caterpie, you'll come with us!"
Ash happily released Caterpie from the Poké Ball again.
"Come with us...? !"
Xiao Xia felt that her bad premonition was about to come true.