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After hearing Brock's suggestion, Melanie was also stunned. She hadn't expected that for Bulbasaur, these people would even talk about applying to the Alliance for a designated rescue station.
Such a thing couldn't be easily approved, but since the people in front of her mentioned it, they must have been confident.
From this, one could also see their determination for Bulbasaur, especially the younger-looking boy in the middle. The expression he had when he said he wanted Bulbasaur was incredibly firm.
If Bulbasaur followed such a Trainer, it should be of great help to his future.
Thinking of this, Melanie shook her head and said, "No need. This is actually just a temporary recuperation house I set up on a whim. Bulbasaur has always been helping me out, and I'm very grateful to him. However, I know that this is actually quite detrimental to his future development. If Bulbasaur stays here his whole life, he will only become a frog in a well."
"So... Bulbasaur, if you like this boy named Ash, then go with him."
"Don't worry about me. The purpose of me creating this recuperation house is actually just to do my best to help every injured Pokémon."
"But if the existence of my recuperation house hinders the natural development of Pokémon, then I might as well not be here."
Besides Melanie, the other Pokémon around Melanie also spoke up, including the Oddish next to Bulbasaur.
They had received many favors from Melanie and Bulbasaur, so they also hoped that Bulbasaur could have a good home.
If following that person could give Bulbasaur a better future, then of course, Bulbasaur should leave this place. As for themselves... they could just continue living in the wild.
Moreover, even if Bulbasaur left, Melanie didn't. Among their group of Pokémon, one would eventually emerge to inherit Bulbasaur's big brother-like responsibilities.
Hearing this, Bulbasaur fell silent. He felt that Melanie's words made sense, and he already had a slight desire to follow Ash. His companions around him were also constantly persuading him. At this moment, Bulbasaur was infinitely inclined to leave with Ash.
But it was still missing the final straw that would break the camel's back.
Just then, a loud, arrogant laugh came, accompanied by a rising hot air balloon.
"Who is it?" Melanie asked subconsciously.
"Since you ask so earnestly... bleh."
The ones making the arrogant sound were naturally the Team Rocket Trio. Half a month later, they once again caught up with Ash and the others.
This was the fourth time Ash had encountered Team Rockets. It could only be said that these two people and one cat were persistent.
This time, they had prepared a new machine, a giant vacuum cleaner!
Under the effect of the vacuum cleaner, the Pokémon from the recuperation house were sucked in one by one. With the strength of the recuperation house's Pokémon, once sucked in, they couldn't get out of the internal bag at all. Bulbasaur, seeing this, was anxious and quickly used Razor Leaf and Vine Whip to stop the opponents.
But Team Rockets had obviously invested some money this time. Razor Leaf and Vine Whip couldn't stop the vacuum cleaner at all, and even Bulbasaur was about to be sucked in.
Just then, a dark blue Energy Ball directly struck the connection point of the vacuum cleaner. The machine, which had remained motionless even after being hit by Razor Leaf and Vine Whip, instantly broke into two pieces.
Jessie and James, who had been laughing loudly, instantly lost their smiles. Their machine, which they had invested heavily in, just broke like that?!
How was that possible? It was made of reinforced steel! Even a Superior Level attack couldn't break it in one hit!
Everyone except Team Rockets' eyes were now focused on Ash. Team Rockets hadn't seen it because they were laughing, but the others saw it clearly: that blue Energy Ball just now was fired by Ash!
Brock and Misty were already used to it, while Melanie's eyes widened and her mouth hung open, her face full of disbelief.
Was that thing an attack launched by a human? Even Bulbasaur, the strongest here, couldn't damage that machine at all, yet Ash had actually blasted it into two pieces with one hit.
Who exactly was he?
"Aura Sphere!" While everyone was in shock, Ash had already condensed a second Aura Sphere and blasted it directly at the machine containing the recuperation house's Pokémon.
"Boom!"
The Aura Sphere exploded, and the indestructible machine, made of unknown metal, was directly shattered to pieces!
The Pokémon inside also scattered and flew up with the explosion. Ash saw this and quickly shouted to Bulbasaur: "Now! Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip to grab everyone back!"
"Dāna? Dāna Dāna!" Bulbasaur, who had been staring at Ash in a daze, immediately reacted and used Vine Whip to catch his companions in the air one by one.
"You brat, you've ruined our plans again!"
"Are you even human?! What were those blue light spheres you just fired?"
Jessie and James said furiously.
This time, they had invested heavily to guard against Ash's Pikachu, but Pikachu hadn't even made a move, and their machine was blasted by Ash! Is there any justice in this?!
"Your good deeds are the worst things for me! Bulbasaur, deal with them, use Razor Leaf!" Ash waved his hand, skillfully commanding Bulbasaur.
Bulbasaur also obeyed Ash's command without hesitation, shaking his body as dozens of sharp Leaf Blades shot out from his body, aiming directly at the hot air balloon in the sky.
A hot air balloon was not like that vacuum cleaner; it was just a fragile, thin membrane. The moment Razor Leaf passed through, the hot air balloon had over a dozen holes in it.
Immediately, after Team Rockets shouted their signature catchphrase, "We're blasting off again!" with ashen faces, they were no longer to be seen.
After sending the Team Rocket Trio flying, Ash and the others also checked the extent of the Pokémon's injuries. Fortunately, they were all fine.
And Bulbasaur, after checking the Pokémon's injuries, came before Ash with a determined look.
"Dāna Dāna!" I want to go with you.
"Really?! That's great!" Ash jumped three feet high in excitement. He had almost given up hope, but he hadn't expected Bulbasaur to change his mind.
Brock looked at the boundless blue sky and chuckled, saying, "This time, Team Rockets did a good deed again. It's because they showed Bulbasaur his shortcomings and your strength, Ash, that Bulbasaur so resolutely chose to follow in your footsteps."
Hearing this, Ash, who was happily hugging Bulbasaur, paused, a strange expression appearing on his face.
It had to be said, it really was as Brock said. Without Team Rockets, Bulbasaur might have continued to be conflicted.
Last time, it was also because of Team Rockets that he was able to enter Clefairy's mysterious ritual and catch Ralts.
Could it be... those three guys were his lucky stars?
No, no, no, how could that be? They were just a purely comical villain organization!
Ash would never admit they were his lucky stars... In the end, Ash successfully caught Bulbasaur, which meant his Pokémon team had reached five, just one more Pokémon to be full.
After catching Bulbasaur, Ash and the others also asked Melanie for directions and then continued towards Vermilion City.
Compared to the smooth journey to Pewter City and Cerulean City, the road to Vermilion City was much harder.
They had already lost their way an unknown number of times. If they had taken a special car, it might have only taken a day to reach Vermilion City, but if they went on foot...
Even if they could walk straight to Vermilion City, it would take at least a week.
Not to mention that Ash and the others were still getting lost, and the time required for detours increased exponentially.
According to the direction Melanie pointed out, they had only covered half the distance. One should know that they had already been walking for over half a month.
A week's journey had taken them over half a month, and they had only covered half the distance. One can imagine how badly they were lost.
But getting lost also had its advantages. Just catching a Bulbasaur was already completely worth the time spent getting lost.
Following Melanie's guiding direction, Ash and the others finally walked out of that forest and onto a normal road.
Then, the group found their position on the map and continued their journey towards Vermilion City... Two days later, Ash and the others appeared again in a jungle. Looking at the similar jungle in all directions, a cold sweat ran down Ash's forehead.
They... seemed... to be lost again?
"No!!! Why are we lost again?! This road to Vermilion City is too difficult! We should have taken the direct bus to Vermilion City from Cerulean City back then! We don't even know how many times we've been lost now!" Misty said, clutching her head in despair.
"Don't say that. If we hadn't gotten lost, how could I have caught Bulbasaur? And along the way, we've gained a lot of experience and learned a lot!" Although Ash also found their constant getting lost a bit hard to bear, he could be said to be the biggest beneficiary of getting lost.
Anyone could complain about getting lost, but he couldn't.
"All those benefits you mentioned are what you gained! We didn't gain anything at all!" Misty said indignantly.
Ash's growth throughout this journey was absolutely visible, both for Ash himself and for his Pokémon. Coupled with catching a rare Pokémon like Bulbasaur, his gains were undoubtedly significant.
But what did they gain? At most, some of Brock's Pokémon gained a little level, and her Staryu also gained one level, and that was it.
Such gains could be achieved even without getting lost!
"Hmm..." Ash obediently closed his mouth and quietly looked at the map in his hand.
For a girl, getting lost in a forest and not finding a town, leading to a long time without being able to shower, was an extremely frustrating thing. It was no wonder Misty was losing her temper. In fact, it would be abnormal if she didn't lose her temper.
The most urgent task now was to find a way out of this dreadful place.
"We should be here now. If we go in that direction, we should be able to get to a normal road. Then, if we follow this road, we can reach the closest small town to Vermilion City. Passing through this town will take us to Vermilion City."
Brock also leaned over Ash's map, and after searching for a long time with Ash, he finally roughly determined their approximate location and then pointed out where they should go next with his finger.
From Brock's words, it seemed like they would reach Vermilion City soon, but all of this was predicated on them not getting lost again.
"Oh, right! My Aura Power can spread over a fifty-mile radius, allowing me to see the terrain within that fifty-mile radius. This way, it should be easy to find our way to a normal road!" Ash suddenly clapped his hands, looking enlightened.
Hearing this, Misty's face stiffened, and her gaze slowly turned to Ash, her expression gradually becoming ferocious: "You have this ability... why didn't you say so sooner!!!"
An angry Misty stretched out her fair, tender hands and pinched Ash's neck, shaking him constantly, looking like a demon from hell.
"Alright, alright, Misty, let Ash find the route first," Brock quickly advised, to prevent the two of them from going too far.
If Ash instinctively counterattacked, Misty's physique might not be as good as Team Rockets'.
Hearing this, Misty also released Ash's neck. In reality, although she was very angry just now, she didn't use much strength. She still understood the gravity of the situation; she was just simply a bit annoyed.
However, Ash was also quite cooperative, sticking out his tongue, looking like he was about to be choked to death, which actually made the anger in Misty's heart subside by more than half.
Seeing Misty release her hand and her face no longer so green, Ash also guiltily activated his Aura Power to start scanning the surrounding routes.
It was no wonder Misty was so angry. If he had remembered earlier that his Aura Power had this function, let alone Vermilion City, they would probably be in Celadon City by now!
But no matter what, he had caught a Bulbasaur on this journey. A loss may turn out to be a gain!
"...I found the way! It's over there!" In a moment, Ash had already surveyed the surrounding terrain and found the road to Vermilion City on the map.
Seeing Ash resolve the matter so quickly, Misty's anger almost flared up again.
You mean you had such an easy and effortless ability, and you actually waited until today to use it, and the reason was that you forgot!
This really makes one unable to not be angry!
"Aura Power is really convenient. I looked up some information about Aura Power on the computer at the Pokémon Center in Cerulean City before. This is a power that only a few Pokémon can use, and it doesn't have Ash's versatile abilities at all. Moreover, there's no record online of anyone possessing this power. Ash, you really are quite special."
Brock said with emotion.
The various wonders of Aura Power go without saying, and its rarity is even higher. Among humans, besides Ash, it seems no one else has ever appeared with this power.
Even among Pokémon, Aura Power can at most only be used for Aura Sphere and some wave-type moves. How could it be like Ash, who uses it for pathfinding and releasing barriers?
These functions should have been discovered by Ash only after thoroughly researching Aura Power. Before, Ash's knowledge was so limited, perhaps because he spent a lot of time studying Aura Power.
Hearing this, Misty also silently recalled the various miraculous functions of Aura Power that Ash had displayed, and the emotion in her heart slowly dispersed her anger.
A Rookie Trainer, possessing power comparable to that of Superior Level Pokémon, with strong Trainer talent, imaginative tactics, caring for Pokémon, and rapidly growing experience in raising Pokémon.
Even if he was a bit silly, Ash was still a very attractive presence. If girls outside knew about Ash's abilities and energy, they would probably flock to him.
An excellent Trainer is very popular.
Thinking of this, Misty's gaze towards Ash gradually became strange...
"Ah! There's a Pokémon whose Aura is very weak over there, let's go check it out!" Just as Misty was silently watching Ash, Ash's sudden shout almost scared the soul out of her.
That momentary flutter of her heart instantly vanished, replaced by the desire to punch Ash!
Ash's shout was not without reason. He had discovered a Pokémon with a very weak Aura on the path they were going, while using his Aura to scout.