Spinarak Town was quaint and full of old-world charm, with scenic beauty all around.
After leaving Eastgate Town, Ash and the others quickly arrived here.
The moment they stepped into the town, the sharp wail of police sirens cut through the air. Brock immediately panicked—Officer Jenny might be in trouble! Without a second thought, he dashed ahead, leaving Ash and Misty in the dust.
But before he could get far, Brock suddenly tripped over a nearly invisible string stretched across the ground.
Seeing this, Ash quickly held Misty back. The name Spinarak Town had sparked a memory.
Sure enough, a green Pokémon with a grinning face seemed to descend from the air out of nowhere.
"So cute!" Misty exclaimed.
Ash could only give a wry smile at her reaction and quietly covered his ears.
As the green Pokémon turned around, revealing its full spider-like form with those sharp little legs, Misty instantly let out a blood-curdling scream.
"B-Bug alert!!!"
The Spinarak paid no attention to Ash or Misty and swiftly began cocooning the fallen Brock, wrapping him up tightly in its silk.
A moment later, Officer Jenny arrived on the scene.
"Is this the infamous Phantom Thief Nekomaru?"
Normally, Brock would have teleported to Officer Jenny's side by now.
But this time, he was bound like a mummy, squirming on the ground like a caterpillar. "Ash, Misty, help me!"
Ash and Misty rushed over to explain, but before they could say much, Officer Jenny glanced at Pikachu and Togepi beside them and immediately recognized who they were.
"You three—are you the Pokémon thief-busting experts I've heard about?"
Realizing they'd been identified, Officer Jenny quickly instructed Spinarak to release Brock.
Ash and the others were still confused about their sudden "expert" status, but Officer Jenny seemed absolutely certain.
"Yep! My cousin from New Bark Town sent me a letter, said there's a group of three travelers helping out a lot in catching Pokémon thieves!"
Hearing that it was someone from New Bark Town, Ash and the gang finally made the connection—it must be about the Totodile incident.
Once Brock was free, he wasted no time strutting up to Officer Jenny to show off.
"You're absolutely right, Officer Jenny! I am a Pokémon thief specialist!"
Officer Jenny gave him a skeptical glance. "Oh yeah? But you couldn't even dodge Spinarak's string! This little guy looks more like the pro to me."
She smiled and pointed to Ash.
Ash chuckled awkwardly. There was no way he could decline now—not that he would. After all, they had stumbled into it, and helping out was just what he did.
It turned out that in Spinarak Town, the local police had a tradition: all Officers Jenny here used Spinarak as their official Pokémon partners.
And all of this tradition began with a legendary incident involving a thief named Nekomaru.
Nekomaru was a notorious phantom thief who once caused chaos across multiple regions. No one had ever managed to catch him—earning him the title of The Unstoppable Bandit.
His partner was a Meowth, and the two were perfectly in sync. No matter what kind of crisis they faced, Meowth would always pull off a dazzling Pay Day, stunning their pursuers and allowing the duo to escape in a shower of coins.
But even such a skilled thief was finally caught—by none other than the Officer Jenny of this very town, alongside her trusty Spinarak.
Ever since that legendary capture, the town was renamed Spinarak Town, and every Officer Jenny here used Spinarak in honor of that success.
However, recently, a new thief claiming to be Nekomaru II had appeared. This new Meowth was also using Pay Day—but instead of coins, it left behind a trail of… bottle caps.
Ash had a thought. If Officer Jenny here used Growlithe instead, wouldn't it be easier to sniff out the thief using those bottle caps as a trail?
Of course, he only dared to think it. Say it out loud? Nope. He liked living.
Besides, he didn't have any canine Pokémon with him either. No help there.
Still, looking at those bottle caps, Ash couldn't help but suspect something.
Could this Nekomaru II be... Team Rocket?
That would explain why they hadn't run into Jessie, James, and Meowth lately—they'd gotten ahead of them and were playing phantom thief cosplay now?
Just as the trio agreed to help Officer Jenny catch this so-called Nekomaru II, she received a report—one of the town's wealthy residents had just received a warning letter from the thief.
They wasted no time heading to the mansion, where they learned the phantom thief had announced their intention to steal a silver goblet—an heirloom of the household—at the stroke of midnight.
The goblet did look exquisite, probably worth a lot.
The sun was only just setting. Midnight was still a full seven hours away.
A blue shimmer of aura flashed in Ash's eyes—he'd just sensed a familiar pulse coming from the attic ceiling.
He said nothing. Instead, he stretched with a yawn and volunteered Brock to stay behind and guard the goblet room while he and Misty took a stroll in the mansion's garden.
Officer Jenny had Spinarak weave a giant web across the entire estate, sealing the mansion in layers of silk. Any intruder would trigger the alarm.
But Ash only shook his head slightly.
He already knew the truth.
Thanks to his Aura powers, he could sense it clearly—Team Rocket's trio had long since snuck in and were hiding, waiting for midnight.
Aura powers really are convenient.
"Come on out, Charizard!"
Rooooar!
Charizard emerged in a flash of flame and fury, its towering frame even more powerful than before. It had started to look forward to Ash's training sessions, though that restrictive harness was still a pain.
"Put it on!"
Ash once again strapped the intense training harness onto Charizard.
"Alright, let's start! Ten sets of push-ups, go!"
Ash wasn't slacking either. While Charizard trained, Pikachu was focused on perfecting its Iron Tail with laser-like precision.
Misty looked worried.
"Ash… is it really okay to be training now? Everyone's tense and waiting for the thief—shouldn't we be on alert?"
Ash kept doing push-ups and grinned, "Getting anxious won't help us. The thief said midnight, right? We've got time. Might as well make good use of it."
"But still—"
"Relax, Misty. Brock's watching the silver goblet. And hey, it's dinner time—why not ask our host to prepare something nice for us?"
After all, it's not every day they get invited into a mansion like this. Ash wasn't about to pass up the opportunity for a fine meal.
Charizard and Pikachu, both training hard, definitely needed the extra nutrition too.
"Well… okay," Misty relented. Seeing how calm Ash was, her own nerves eased as well.
She had to admit—the dinner was incredible.
A good meal gave everyone more energy for training.
Misty sat beside Ash in the garden, holding Togepi, who cheered on Pikachu and Charizard with adorable squeals.
Without realizing it, Misty felt a sense of peace wash over her. Ash had really grown.
Just being near him… it feels so safe now.
….
Charizard: 195/255
Pikachu: 200/255