Squirtle had finally evolved! Not only that, but its bond and compatibility with Ash had skyrocketed as well.
It had made its decision at last. Since it had chosen to follow Ash back then, it was ready to walk this path with no regrets. It formally bid farewell to its former teammates, entrusting them to Officer Jenny for training.
From this moment on, it had only one identity—Ash's Wartortle!
Naturally, Ash decided to keep Wartortle by his side.
At present, Ash's Pokémon lineup looked like this:
Pikachu: 220/255
Snorlax: 200/255
Bayleef: 200/215
Quilava: 130/200
Slowpoke: 135/185
Wartortle: 190/215
Pikachu had long since maxed out its compatibility stat, and their bond was steadily growing stronger by the day.
Ash wasn't worried about that. He and Pikachu spent every moment together. Now that the compatibility was full, the bond could grow naturally over time.
Snorlax's compatibility was also maxed out. Ever since Ash awakened his system in Johto, he had been traveling with it, training and feeding it daily to gradually raise their bond.
Both Bayleef and Quilava were Johto starter Pokémon that Ash had obtained by chance, and they'd each completed their first evolution stage.
Slowpoke was a Pokémon Ash caught in Azalea Town—no ordinary Slowpoke, but the deity-like Slowpoke with exceptional intelligence. Ash was planning to train it a bit longer before evolving it into Slowking!
Although Slowpoke's other evolution, Slowbro, could Mega Evolve, that didn't concern Ash. With the bond system in his arsenal, if his Slowking reached max compatibility and bond values after evolution, it could achieve something far greater—a version of Slowking unique to Ash himself!
But before that, Ash was planning to capture a Shellder with high compatibility!
By going through the most complete evolution path possible, he aimed to ensure that the future Slowking would reach peak compatibility!
All in all, Ash had built up a formidable team by now!
….
"Ash, lunch is ready!"
It was noon, and Ash had taken his Pokémon for some intense training. Meanwhile, Misty and Brock had set up camp in the forest and were preparing a meal.
There was no denying it—having Brock around during their journey made things so much easier.
That way, Ash could focus entirely on his dream of becoming a Pokémon Master.
"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Ash returned to camp just as the aroma of food filled the air.
"Right, Ash, go ahead and bring out the bread!" Brock called.
The bread they had bought earlier was packed in Ash's backpack. Since he left it behind during training, he had given it to Misty and Brock for safekeeping.
But when the three of them went to retrieve the backpack… it was gone!
"Stolen?"
"But we've been here the whole time! We didn't see anyone come by," Misty said with concern. While she and Brock were somewhat responsible for losing it, now wasn't the time to assign blame.
"Ash, did you have anything valuable in your bag?" Brock asked.
"My badge case, Poké Balls, and Pokédex are always with me. Nothing too important was in the backpack," Ash replied with a shake of his head.
But… that backpack had been with him since the beginning of his journey. He had to get it back.
A faint blue glow flickered from Ash's body—his Aura power spread out in all directions.
Soon enough, he spotted a trail of footprints on the ground—paw prints, to be exact. Judging by the shape, they belonged to some kind of canine Pokémon.
"Could it be a Pokémon that stole your backpack, Ash? Maybe it wasn't after your gear, but the bread?" Misty speculated.
Ash and Brock nodded. That actually made sense.
"The trail leads deeper into the forest. Ash, are we going after it?"
"Of course!"
Without even eating lunch, the three of them quickly packed up and gave chase. Luckily, Brock had been planning to make sandwiches, and the ingredients could easily be carried.
"Pika!"
Following the paw prints, they unknowingly ventured deep into the heart of the forest.
And just like that, the footprints vanished.
They had entered a dense patch of tall grass.
The blue glow returned to Ash's body, but this time, he didn't pick up on anything suspicious. Instead, the growling of their stomachs filled the air.
"Ash, I'm so hungry…" Misty moaned.
Ash's eyes lit up. "Brock, let's eat! We've still got some ingredients, right? Preferably something meaty!"
Brock immediately understood. "Of course! I was going to make ham sandwiches, remember?"
Plan in place, the three of them quickly rebuilt their tent, lit a fire, and grilled the ham until the mouth-watering aroma filled the air.
Unknowingly, the sun dipped lower in the sky. A full moon rose into view.
And finally, the scent became too much to resist—the thief revealed itself!
"You showed yourself, now don't even think about running!"
In that instant, Ash's eyes flashed with blue light, and a surge of psychic power erupted toward the target.
But—crack! The blue aura shattered on contact. The psychic power had zero effect.
"What? No way!"
Ash froze for a second, stunned, as he watched the ham disappear right before his eyes.
"Damn it… it's a Dark-type Pokémon!"
Psychic-type moves had no effect on Dark-types!
And in the Johto region, there was one canine Pokémon that fit that exact description.
Houndour—the Dark Pokémon, with Fire and Dark typing!
"Grrr…"
Apparently provoked by Ash's attempted attack, a set of blood-red eyes lit up within the brush. The low growl that followed sent chills through the moonlit forest.
"Brock, once this starts, protect Misty!" Ash warned in a low voice, his instincts screaming danger. There was more than one Houndour in the area!
"Ash…"
Misty instinctively clung to the back of his shirt, hiding behind him.
"Don't worry. Beating me won't be so easy."
And then… they appeared.
Four Houndour emerged from the darkness, forming a loose circle around the group. Their blood-red eyes gleamed with malice.
"Raaaaargh!"
On the moonlit slope above them, a much larger, stronger-looking Houndour stood tall, gazing down at them with an overwhelming presence.
That had to be their pack leader—the Alpha!
Ash clenched the Poké Ball in his hand and stared up at the powerful Houndour. "If it's a fight you want… then let's make it a capture battle!"
To his surprise, the Houndour leapt down from the slope and landed right in front of him—it actually accepted the challenge!
"In that case, I won't hold back! I choose you, Quilava!"