“Hm?”
Ash seemed to hear something and looked into the distance.
Sure enough, an Oddish was by a small pond nearby, slurping water.
“That is!”
Seeing the Oddish appear, Ash became very excited. He pulled out his Pokédex from his bag to check the Oddish’s information.
The Pokédex, in a mechanical voice, slowly introduced the Pokémon, Oddish, to Ash.
“Alright, I’m going to catch it!”
Ash happily looked at the Oddish. His goal was to catch Pokémon, so he naturally couldn’t let the Oddish in front of him get away. He then pulled out a Poké Ball from his waist, intending to catch the Oddish.
“Wait a minute!”
“Why?”
Xiao Xia stopped Ash from catching the Oddish, which made Ash incredibly curious. What reason did Xiao Xia have to stop him from catching the Oddish?
“That Pokémon is mine to catch.”
Xiao Xia pointed to herself triumphantly, indicating that the Oddish was hers to catch.
“Why?! I found it first!”
Ash was very unconvinced after hearing Xiao Xia’s words. What kind of reason was that to stop him? Wasn’t catching a Pokémon a matter of who saw it first?
“That’s a Pokémon by the water, it’s within my sphere of influence!”
Xiao Xia said as if it were obvious; any Pokémon by the water was within her catching range.
“Those two are at it again.”
Yu Feng, who was resting nearby, was utterly speechless. Were they really going to argue all day?
“How should I put it? They always argue over such small things.”
Brock also awkwardly explained to Yu Teng Sheng Dai, as one really had to get used to such things.
Yu Teng Sheng Dai nodded thoughtfully, indicating her understanding.
Xiao Xia, arguing with Ash, saw the Oddish about to escape and summoned Starmie, having Starmie use Water Gun to send the fleeing Oddish spinning.
“Good opportunity!”
Xiao Xia looked at the incapacitated Oddish and excitedly threw her Poké Ball, wanting to catch the Oddish. Of course, if nothing unexpected happened, something unexpected was about to happen.
Suddenly, Xiao Xia’s Poké Ball was smacked away by a Vine Whip that appeared from nowhere. Turning back, a fierce-looking Bulbasaur appeared before them.
“That is! The Bulbasaur I dream of!”
The moment Ash saw the Bulbasaur, his expression turned from shocked to one of infatuation. This was the Bulbasaur he had always dreamed of catching!
Bulbasaur didn’t give them time to react. With just a light Tackle, Starmie lost its fighting ability and lay in Xiao Xia’s arms.
This swift incapacitation made Yu Feng wonder if Starmie was faking it for Xiao Xia. Bulbasaur didn’t even use a Grass-type move. Was it really incapacitated by just one Tackle? What a joke!
“In that case, it’s my turn! This time, I’ll definitely catch you!”
Ash took over the battle. He could let the Oddish go, but his dream partner? (Pokémon) He had to catch it.
Ash, whether he had a sudden realization or what, actually sent out Butterfree to deal with Bulbasaur. This gave the onlookers a feeling that their child had finally grown up.
Ash commanded Butterfree to release Sleep Powder. Butterfree flapped its wings, and Sleep Powder, shimmering with tiny lights, drifted towards the garlic… Bulbasaur.
Watching the Sleep Powder, Bulbasaur retreated slightly, took a deep breath, inhaled the Sleep Powder, then fell asleep and was caught by Ash. Just kidding.
Bulbasaur took a deep breath and exhaled a strong gust of wind, blowing the Sleep Powder directly back. Instead, Butterfree was put to sleep by its own Sleep Powder.
“Hurry up, Butterfree!”
Seeing this, Ash quickly urged Butterfree to snap out of it. Falling asleep to its own move was too embarrassing.
Hearing Ash’s call, Butterfree forced itself to shake off the fatigue and perk up. Unfortunately, Bulbasaur didn’t intend to give it any more chances and sent it flying with a Tackle.
“So strong…”
Ash looked at the incapacitated Butterfree with a grim expression. He never expected this Bulbasaur to be so strong.
“Is it possible that it’s not that it’s strong, but that your Butterfree isn’t trained enough?”
Yu Feng muttered about Ash’s command. A Bug-type Pokémon being defeated by a Grass-type was even more perplexing than Xiao Xia’s Starmie being defeated.
After defeating Butterfree, Bulbasaur protected Oddish and fled into the distance. Before leaving, it gave Ash a fierce look, seemingly wanting him to retreat in the face of difficulty.
“Bulbasaur! I really want it, I really want to catch it!”
Seeing such a strong Bulbasaur, Ash was practically high with excitement. He simply couldn’t resist such a cool Bulbasaur!
“Pika~”
Pikachu couldn’t help but shrug. He had no way to deal with Ash like this.
Watching the scene, Yu Feng couldn’t help but rub his forehead. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he instructed Pikachu: “By the way, I need to go back for a bit and will be back tomorrow. During this time, I’ll trouble you, Pikachu, to take care of them.”
Yu Feng squatted in front of Pikachu and patted its head. If he remembered correctly, encountering Bulbasaur meant that Brock was about to begin his lecherous behavior.
And Xiao Xia would keep falling into traps today, while Ash would continue to argue with Xiao Xia. Looking at it this way, only Pikachu was reliable in the whole team for now.
What? You said there was also Yu Teng Sheng Dai? It would be good if the Pokémon she brought didn’t cause trouble today.
Not to mention, who knew if she would end up traveling with Ash and Xiao Xia or with Brock.
So, asking Pikachu was the best choice.
“Pikachu!”
Pikachu nodded confidently, patting its chest to assure Yu Feng that it would take good care of Ash and the others.
After getting Pikachu’s affirmative, Yu Feng gave Ash and the others a thumbs-up and then disappeared.
“Ugh, really, are we that untrustworthy?”
Ash was very angry about Yu Feng’s distrust. Why trust Pikachu but not him?
“From a generally rational perspective, your state today is indeed untrustworthy.”
Brock quietly added a jab at Ash. Normally it was fine, but now these two were practically arguing to the heavens. Wasn’t it normal for Yu Feng not to trust them?
“Don’t you secretly gloat! Xiao Feng didn’t ask you either!”
Xiao Xia’s words were like a sharp knife piercing Brock’s body. Yes, that’s right, only asking Pikachu and not him meant Yu Feng didn’t trust him either.
This made Brock, who prided himself on being as hard as rock, feel a sense of vulnerability. How could he not be more reliable than Pikachu?
Meanwhile, Yu Teng Sheng Dai, who was nearby, had no reaction. It was normal not to trust her. Who would trust someone who had just joined the team?