Catallia City had an old-world charm and beautiful scenery.
After leaving Florando, Ash and the group arrived here quickly.
As soon as they set foot in the city, they heard sirens wailing—Brock, for the sake of Officer Jenny, dashed ahead, leaving Ash and Misty behind without a second thought.
But Brock hadn't gotten far before he was tripped by an invisible silk thread on the ground.
Seeing this, Ash hurried to block Misty's step and, remembering the town's name, recalled something significant.
Sure enough, a green, smiling Pokémon seemed to appear, hanging in midair.
"So cute!"
Hearing Misty say this, Ash could only force a smile and quietly cover his ears.
When the green Pokémon extended its spider legs, turned around, and revealed its true face, Misty immediately let out a scream.
"It's a bug!!!"
Ignoring Ash and Misty, Spinarak proceeded to tie up the already-tripped Brock tightly with its silk.
Before long, Officer Jenny arrived.
"Is this the Black Arachnid?"
Normally, whenever Brock saw Officer Jenny, he'd teleport to her side in an instant.
But this time, he was wrapped up like a mummy on the ground, pretending to be a caterpillar. "Ash, Misty, come help me!"
Ash and Misty rushed over to explain, but when Officer Jenny saw Pikachu and Togepi at their side, she immediately recognized them.
"Are you the experts who deal with Pokémon thieves?"
Upon learning their identity, Officer Jenny promptly had Spinarak release Brock.
The three of them were still confused about this strange title, but Officer Jenny was convinced. "That's right—the officer from New Bark Town wrote to me, saying a group of three travelers had been a big help in handling Pokémon thieves!"
Once they heard New Bark Town mentioned, Ash and the group realized it must have been about rescuing Totodile.
Brock, now free, immediately went to impress Officer Jenny. "Officer Jenny, you're absolutely right—as it happens, I am an expert on Pokémon thieves!"
Officer Jenny glanced at him. "But you couldn't even avoid Spinarak's threads! This young man looks like the real professional," she said, pointing at Ash with a smile.
Hearing this, Ash felt embarrassed to refuse, and since they were already involved, he gladly accepted the responsibility.
It turned out that in Catallia City, the police tradition was to use Spinarak as their partner Pokémon.
But all of this started with someone known as The Black Arachnid.
This criminal had once rampaged across countries, never being caught—he was called the unbeatable master thief.
He partnered with Meowth, working with perfect synergy, and whenever they ran into trouble, Meowth would use Pay Day, stunning their opponents and helping them escape.
But such a notorious thief was eventually captured by the current Officer Jenny and her Spinarak partner.
Since then, the city was named Catallia City, and for every Jenny here, Spinarak became the traditional police Pokémon.
Recently, though, a self-proclaimed second-generation Black Arachnid had appeared. The Pay Day left behind by this Meowth resulted only in piles of bottle caps.
Actually, if Officer Jenny here used Growlithe as her partner, they could just track these bottle caps to locate the thieves' hideout, right?
Ash only thought this to himself—he certainly didn't dare say it out loud.
He was afraid he'd get whacked.
Besides, he didn't have any dog Pokémon to help, anyway.
But looking at those bottle caps, Ash wondered—could the second-generation Black Arachnid be Team Rocket's trio?
No wonder they hadn't seen them lately. They must have gotten ahead and started cosplaying as famous thieves.
Just as Ash and the group decided to help Officer Jenny catch the second-generation Black Arachnid, Jenny received a tip—a wealthy local family had received a warning letter from the thief.
Officer Jenny quickly took Ash and the group to the wealthy man's home. The new Black Arachnid was expected to show up at midnight to steal a silver goblet.
It was a prized family heirloom, beautiful and surely valuable.
It was only just getting dark, with a full seven hours until midnight.
Ash's body flickered with blue light as he immediately noticed a familiar Aura hidden in the ceiling above.
He didn't say anything. Instead, he stretched and left Brock alone guarding the silver goblet, while he went with Misty to the garden outside.
Officer Jenny directed Spinarak to spin webs, covering the entire villa.
If The Black Arachnid intruded, Spinarak would sense it and bring them to justice.
Yet Ash only shook his head, knowing that Team Rocket—the trio—had already infiltrated the mansion and were lying in wait until midnight.
Having Aura Power was awfully convenient.
"Come out, Charizard!"
"Charizard!"
Charizard had grown larger and stronger, and now even looked forward to Ash's special training sessions, even if the Macho Brace was a bit uncomfortable.
"Put it on!"
In no time, the Macho Brace had Charizard restrained again.
"All right, let's train! Start with ten sets of push-ups!"
Not only Ash and Charizard, but Pikachu also earnestly continued training its Iron Tail.
"Ash, is this really okay?"
Misty was a bit worried. Everyone was feeling tense—how could Ash act so relaxed and start special training?
Ash shook his head, doing push-ups and laughing. "Getting anxious now won't help. Since the warning is for midnight, there's no reason to just sit around."
"But…"
"Don't worry, Misty—let's just have Brock guard on his own for now! Oh, and it's time for dinner. Go ask the trainers here to prepare something nice!"
How could Ash miss a chance to dine well while staying with such wealthy hosts?
Not just for him—Charizard and Pikachu, who were starting their special training, needed extra nutrition, too.
"All right!" Seeing how calm Ash was, Misty couldn't help but relax too.
You had to admit, the meal in a wealthy house really was sumptuous.
A big meal made training even more efficient.
Misty simply stayed by Ash's side, holding Togepi as it cheered for Pikachu and Charizard.
Without noticing it, Ash had truly grown a lot, and being near him just felt so reassuring!
Charizard: 195/255
Pikachu: 200/255