Chapter 119

[In the forest, Casey encountered the Team Rocket trio. Under their instigation, Casey regained her courage. She found Ash again and challenged him to a second battle.]

[The battle didn't have a winner. During the battle between Ash and Casey, Team Rocket made a move.]

[To save their respective Pokémon, Ash and Casey cooperated and successfully defeated Team Rocket.]

[After saying goodbye to the new Trainer Casey, Ash and the others continued to head toward Violet City.]

Sidney: "Team Rocket truly has perseverance. From Kanto to the Orange Archipelago, and then to Johto—I can't even count how many times they've been defeated, yet they still refuse to give up."

Wattson: "Don't say that. Their craftsmanship in making robots is getting more and more exquisite. If it weren't for the inexplicable accidents that always happen right when they are about to succeed, they might have really been able to snatch Pikachu."

Norman: "If you ask me, these three guys are still very talented. Stop being Team Rocket and go be engineers; the future would be absolutely limitless."

Jessie: "Engineers? What are you talking about? How could we go do such embarrassing things!"

Meowth: "That's right, that's right, Team Rocket is our faith!"

James: "Actually, being an engineer is pretty good, at least you can fill your stomach."

Jessie, Meowth: "James!!!"

[On the way to Violet City, Ash and the others came to a forest—a desolate forest.]

[It was fine ahead, so why did it suddenly become desolate? Just as Ash and the others were puzzled, Pikachu pointed to a giant tree in front, where a group of Heracross were lying. The answer was obvious.]

[Ash originally wanted to catch the Heracross, but the Ranger stopped him.]

[Ranger Forrest's philosophy is that one needs to observe before catching Pokémon. Under Forrest's persuasion, Ash temporarily put aside the idea of catching Heracross.]

[Just as they were talking, a group of Pinsir arrived. Just when Ash and the others thought the Heracross would fight back, they tacitly ran away.]

[Only the last Heracross was left on the tree, seemingly protecting a Butterfree that couldn't escape in time.]

[After driving away the Pinsir, Ash and the others realized they had overthought it. The reason Heracross didn't run away was simply because it was too gluttonous.]

[To help the forest restore ecological peace, Ash and the others followed Forrest to investigate the cause of the Pinsir riot.]

[In the end, they discovered that the culprit behind everything was Team Rocket. After driving away Team Rocket, the Pinsir returned to their own forest.]

[The Heracross and Pinsir could finally live in harmony again.]

[After saying goodbye to Forrest and the Heracross, Ash and the others hit the road again. However, after walking out of the forest, Ash unexpectedly discovered that a Heracross had followed them.]

[Just like that, Ash easily caught the precious Heracross.]

Bugsy: "Ash's luck is too good!"

Aaron: "Right, this Heracross's talent is truly explosive, especially in terms of strength. I've never seen a Heracross with such great strength."

Even Team Rocket's elaborately crafted Pinsir robot was no match for Heracross, which shows how abnormal it is.

Viola: "Brave warriors are the most likable. I'm moved; I also want to catch a Heracross."

Misty: "Another Bug-type Pokémon, sigh."

Bug-type Pokémon are the scariest.

[After catching Heracross, Ash and the others arrived at the Onix Valley, where a group of Donphan that can find gems live.]

[In the Onix Valley, Ash and the others helped Miss Eichi successfully retrieve her Donphan.]

[Next, under Ash's confident lead, Ash and the others got lost in the forest.]

[In the forest, they also met Gary. Gary kindly reminded Ash that he must catch a Hoothoot; without a Hoothoot, there's no way to get out of the forest.]

[After getting Gary's reminder, Ash immediately decided to catch a Hoothoot in the forest. Coincidentally, a Hoothoot appeared right in front of him.]

[Just as Ash was preparing to catch it, he realized that this Hoothoot had an owner.]

[Hoothoot's owner is Grandma Hagatha, who is the owner of a Hoothoot rental shop.]

Diantha: "Hoothoot rental shop? What does that mean?"

Morty: "Because a large group of mischievous Ghost-type Pokémon live in the Lost Forest, Grandma Hagatha is responsible for renting out Hoothoot to passing travelers to help them get out of the forest."

Roxanne: "So that's how it is."

[There was only one Hoothoot left in the shop, and this Hoothoot couldn't handle things on its own yet. Grandma Hagatha originally didn't want to rent it to Ash and the others, but under Ash's insistence, she had to compromise.]

[Just like that, Ash and the others hit the road with Hoothoot.]

[After several twists and turns, with Hoothoot's help, they walked out of the Lost Forest.]

[After returning Hoothoot to Grandma Hagatha's sister, Grandma Wilma, Ash and the others continued their journey.]

[After leaving the Lost Forest, Ash and the others arrived at Azalea Town, where they met Ali, who was performing with Bellossom.]

[With Ash and the others' help, Ali's Bellossom completed the final ultimate move, "Leaping Moon," and performed successfully at the performance convention.]

[In the new city, Ash and the others helped Officer Jenny successfully defeat the Team Rocket trio who were disguised as Meowth.]

[After saying goodbye to Officer Jenny, they came to the suburban villa area, where they met Snubbull and its owner, Madame Muchmoney.]

[Although Snubbull lived a happy life without worries, it wasn't happy.]

[While Ash and the three were enjoying delicious food in the villa, Jessie, James, and Meowth were hiding in the backyard.]

[Looking at the luxurious villa, Meowth couldn't help but sigh: "What a big courtyard. Even the doghouse where the guard dog Growlithe lives is bigger than our Team Rocket branch."]

[Jessie: "This yard is ridiculously big!!! It's not a children's playground."]

[Meowth: "It's probably about as big as James's old home."]

["Um, this yard might be as big as our backyard," James thought for a moment and gave an answer.]

Brawly: "Can you stop being so Versailles? I can't take it!!!"

Roxanne: "It's so good to be rich. I also want to live in a big villa and eat delicacies every day."

Gardenia: "Just think about it. Sigh, we have no chance in this life."

[With Brock's help, Snubbull successfully got rid of the arranged marriage, but something no one expected happened: Snubbull actually fell in love with Team Rocket's Meowth. In order to become Meowth's girlfriend, it even ran away from home.]

Jessie: "Meowth, haven't you always wanted to have a sweet romance? Now the opportunity is here. As long as you date Snubbull, you will not only gain love but also countless wealth."

James: "In that case, our external debts can all be paid off."

Meowth: "Hey, what are you talking about? I hate Snubbull the most. I don't want to date Snubbull at all!!!"

[After passing through the Stantler forest, Ash and the others arrived at the foot of a snowy mountain, where Ash met a proud Chikorita.]

[After a series of adventures with Chikorita, Ash successfully caught it.]

Gardenia: "This Chikorita is quite good, actually being able to defeat Ash's Charizard."

Although there was a component of coincidence, Chikorita's strength is still worth affirming.

Gary: "Are wild starters really that easy to encounter?"

This is already the fourth starter Ash has caught in the wild.

Ash is simply a starter harvester. If this continues, I guess Cyndaquil and Totodile won't be able to escape from his hands either.

Ash: "Great, Heracross, Chikorita. This way I have two new companions."

Falkner: "Don't forget your old love when you have a new one. So, Ash, when are you going to pick up Pidgeot?"

Ash: "..."

The white-bordered screen dimmed, and the black-bordered screen lit up.

[New Bark Town, the town where the wind of beginning blows.]

[The first thing to do when arriving in New Bark Town is definitely to visit Professor Elm.]

[At Professor Elm's house, Ash met a girl named Casey.]

["Casey, don't you want to become a Pokémon Master? Then you must learn from Ash. Ash is the champion of the last Indigo Plateau Conference and also defeated the undefeated Drake in the Orange League, winning the Winners' Cup," Professor Elm introduced to Casey.]

["Professor Elm, that's too exaggerated." This series of titles made Ash a bit embarrassed.]

[Professor Elm laughed: "I'm just telling the truth."]

["Wow, Ash, so you're such a powerful Trainer. Do you want to have a Pokémon battle with me?" Casey raised her head proudly. "Don't look at me like this; I'm also a Pokémon Trainer."]

["A rookie Trainer who only got her starter Pokémon two days ago," Professor Elm added.]

["No problem." Although Casey was just a newcomer, Ash still readily agreed to her battle request.]

[Before heading to the Johto region, Ash left most of his Pokémon at Professor Oak's lab, only bringing three: Pikachu, Charizard, and Mankey.]

..... 0 ....

[Battling Casey, Pikachu and Charizard definitely couldn't be used. If they were used, it would be a proper bullying of a child. Only Mankey was an option.]

[Mankey was a Pokémon Ash had just caught and hadn't had time to train yet. In terms of level, it was basically on the same level as Casey's starter Pokémon.]

[Just as Ash was preparing to take out Mankey, Casey pointed to the "Ralts" on Ash's shoulder and said confidently: "I want to battle it!!!"]

Karen: "Casey's eye is really good, picking the strongest Pokémon at a glance. Admire, admire."

Elesa: "Do you think Dark Ash will really send Mew out?"

Erika: "Impossible. Do you think Dark Ash is Ash?"

Diantha: "You don't say, if it were Ash, he might really let Mew go."