Leaving Slateport City, Ash and his friends set their sights on Mauville City, once again entering a vast forest for a dose of "forest bathing." After walking all morning, they decided to find a place to rest.
Max checked his PokéNav and found a Pokémon Center nearby. The group picked up their pace and headed toward it.
As they got closer, they saw a massive tree standing tall in the forest below the hill. From a distance, its enormous canopy looked like a giant sunshade!
Ash marveled, "I can't believe there's a thousand-year-old tree in a place like this. It must be home to a lot of powerful Grass-type Pokémon." This reminded Ash of the great tree in the Treecko forest, where he had met the "left-behind" Treecko, even though it had stayed there willingly.
The group decided to rest at the Pokémon Center first before exploring the giant tree.
As soon as they arrived at the Pokémon Center, Brock dashed inside. ─=≡Σ(((つ??3??)つ "Ah Beautiful Nurse Joy, I've arrived" Max quickly followed.
Before Brock could even do anything, he froze in place. Max looked around at the environment and asked, "Huh? Nurse Joy isn't here!" It was a shock, as Nurse Joy was a worker who was on duty 365 days a year, rain or shine. It was impossible for a Pokémon Center to not have a Nurse Joy.
Ash and May also walked in. "Maybe she went out to help a wild Pokémon, since no one else is here right now," Ash guessed.
"Pika?! Pikapi~" Suddenly, Pikachu seemed to smell something and ran up to the second floor.
"Let's go, follow it! Pikachu must have found something!" Ash called for the others to follow.
They went upstairs, and the eager Brock, who was still muttering about Nurse Joy, was the first to enter the room Pikachu pointed to. Then... nothing. Brock fainted!
"Brock, Brock, what's wrong?!" Ash yelled. He looked carefully and saw the room was filled with blue Sleep Powder. "Careful, there's Sleep Powder in here!"
Ash held his breath and dragged Brock out. On the first floor, he managed to wake him up.
"What happened to me?" Brock asked groggily, his head still spinning.
"It was Sleep Powder!" Ash said with a frown.
This time, Ash and the others had Beautifly use Gust to clear the Sleep Powder before re-entering the room.
"Look at this report! It's an investigation of the surrounding Pokémon, signed by Nurse Joy, and it's not finished yet!" May said, looking at the computer screen.
Max had also made a discovery. He pointed to a corner of the room: "Look, there's a security camera over there!"
With a security camera, things got much easier. Ash and the others went into the monitoring room and saw a long-haired, white-haired Shiftry. It had knocked out Nurse Joy with a handful of Sleep Powder, lifted her onto its shoulder, and carried her away. This fulfilled the dreams of countless internet fans. If it weren't a Pokémon and a person, you could easily imagine that it was capturing her to be its bride.
(〝▼皿▼) Brock couldn't stand it after watching the footage. I didn't even get to try that move yet, and a Shiftry beat me to it! He swore he would rescue Nurse Joy and be her hero, winning her heart in the process.
"If it's a Shiftry, it's most likely at that giant tree!" Ash guessed.
"Alright! Let's go! Don't be scared, Nurse Joy! I'm coming for you!" Brock rushed out.
"Hey~ Wait for us!" Ash and the others called after him, chasing him with no other choice.
"Come on out, Ralts! Use Teleport!" Ash and the others quickly moved to the base of the giant tree.
"Ralts~" Ralts had reached its limit. "Thanks, Ralts. Get some good rest!" Ash said, recalling it.
Then, Ash and his friends were surrounded by a large number of Grass-type Pokémon, which began releasing Sleep Powder at them! The group had to have Beautifly use Gust and Corphish use Bubble Beam to clear the powder.
Meanwhile, the kidnapped Nurse Joy had woken up at the top of the giant tree. The first thing she saw was the menacing-looking Shiftry who had kidnapped her.
"Excuse me, did you need me for something?" Nurse Joy wasn't scared; instead, she asked gently.
A large number of Grass-type Pokémon like Oddish and Seedot surrounded her.
"Nurse Joy, are you okay?" Ash and the others finally arrived. After seeing the Pokémon's strange behavior, Ash and his friends had patiently communicated with them, and they had a rough idea of what was going on. It turned out one of their friends needed help.
"Thank you all for coming to rescue me!" Nurse Joy said with a smile.
"Nonsense! It's the least I could do!" Brock immediately tried to rush forward but was held back by Max. After hearing the story from Ash and the others, he understood the whole situation.
"Hono~" Shiftry yelled, leading Ash and the others deep into a cave, where an injured Nuzleaf lay in the center.
Nurse Joy immediately went over to examine it. "It's too weak! If this continues, Nuzleaf will be in danger! I need a first-aid kit."
The journey was long, and time was short. In order to show his love for Nurse Joy, Brock rode the Shiftry express. After experiencing a feeling like a roller coaster, Brock successfully retrieved the first-aid kit and saved Nuzleaf.
After Nuzleaf woke up, Ash and the others said goodbye to Shiftry and returned to the Pokémon Center. After resting for the night, they once again set out on their journey to Mauville City.
After that, they traveled through some difficult mountain roads. Due to the fog, Ash and his friends met two siblings, Nana and Kaito, who guarded a lighthouse. They also met the Pokémon Plusle and Minun. The villagers mistook Ash for a hero, and he helped them retrieve a sacred Light Stone by battling and blasting off Team Rocket!
Then, while continuing on their way to Mauville City, Ash and the others arrived at a new town.
There, they met a girl named Akina with a Loudred, and decided to enter an upcoming Trick House Contest. The winner, who could overcome the Trick Master's traps, would receive a year's supply of Pokéblocks!
Ash and the others aimed for victory, pushing forward through a maze, a wobbly bridge, pitfall traps, and more. They even encountered a Jigglypuff who had crossed the ocean with its microphone! In the end, Ash and the others missed first place.
As Ash and his friends were about to say goodbye to Akina, "Pudding Pudding" The pink menace appeared once again.
Just as Jigglypuff was about to sing, Ash said, "Wait a minute, Jigglypuff. You love to sing and you love the stage, right? How would you like to join me and enter Pokémon Contests?"
Ash said this because he had discovered that his Aura could resist the hypnosis from Jigglypuff's song, though it would use a lot of his power. That's why he hadn't used it before.
Seeing Jigglypuff again, Ash decided he wanted to catch it. This Jigglypuff's singing was maxed out; even the invincible Bewear in Alola had been put to sleep by it. The thought of this made Ash's heart flutter, and the words just came out.
Everyone was shocked. Jigglypuff, a pink menace, on stage???
"Pudding~" Jigglypuff shook its microphone, indicating that if Ash could listen to its entire song, it would go with him.
Seeing Jigglypuff about to sing, everyone else started to retreat, but it was too late.
"Po-po-ri Po-po-ri Po-po-ri Po~" After the song, Ash barely managed to stay awake by using his Aura, while even Loudred, with its Soundproof ability, fell asleep from exhaustion.
(?˙▽˙?) "Pudding~" Jigglypuff was so happy that Ash had listened to the entire song that it hugged him. Jigglypuff was willingly caught by Ash!
[Jigglypuff]
[Gender: Female]
[Type: Normal, Fairy]
[Ability: Cute Charm (30% chance for an opposite-gender Pokémon to become infatuated when using a contact move)]
[Strength: Gym Leader - Mid-level]
[Moves: Sing, Perish Song, Disarming Voice, Draining Kiss...]
[Tera Type: Fairy]
"Alright, I caught Jigglypuff!" Unfortunately, no one else was around to hear it, as everyone else had been put to sleep by Jigglypuff. Ash quickly transferred Mudkip back to Professor Oak's lab, worried that his Pokémon there would get too much sleep.
Ash woke up May and the others, said goodbye to Akina, and continued on his way to Mauville City!
To be continued...