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Chapter 72 - Chapter 72: The Whole World is Assisting, Squirtle's Follow! The Royal Three Families' Bond, Another Draw

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"I have a bad feeling…"

"Me too…"

Sitting in the cockpit, James and Jessie watched the flashing electric sparks, cold sweat already breaking out on their foreheads.

Based on their extensive experience, the flashing sparks just now likely meant that the robot's central core was destroyed.

In layman's terms… it was about to explode!

"Boom!!!"

As expected, the robot did explode, and the Team Rocket Trio, while exclaiming about the unpleasant feeling, flew directly into outer space (exaggeration.jpg).

Watching Team Rockets turn into stars again, Ash couldn't help but shake his head: "Why do these three never learn? They've never beaten me, yet they relentlessly come to bother us."

Speaking of which, the Team Rocket Trio are truly resilient!

Saying they were blasted into outer space might be an exaggeration, but they were indeed sent flying hundreds or even thousands of meters away every single time.

Under these circumstances, every time they were seen, they were completely unharmed, with no broken arms or legs. It's clear their physical fitness is unusually strong. Are those guys the humanoid Pokémon?

"Perhaps they're a bit like you, Ash, in personality," Misty said, walking forward with the Squirtle squad after Team Rockets were defeated.

"How am I like them?" Ash pouted, a bit displeased that Misty was comparing him to Team Rockets.

"You never know, you both seem equally stubborn~" Brock also walked forward, chuckling.

Ash's personality was fully displayed to them in daily life. When faced with setbacks like failing at cooking or training skills, Ash never knew what it meant to give up, but instead persevered until he succeeded.

This stubborn personality indeed had something in common with Team Rockets.

Ash's face was covered in black lines, and he decided not to argue with Misty and Brock.

He picked up an injured Squirtle with one hand and then said to the leader Squirtle: "Let's go, take them for treatment first. Although they are minor injuries, it's not good to delay."

"Squirtle…" The leader Squirtle scratched his head, a hint of embarrassment on his face.

He was asking if the townspeople would still be willing to treat them, considering the trouble they had caused the town before.

"Don't worry, they haven't taken it to heart, and you guys were just playing pranks. Just don't do such things again in the future." With that, Ash led the way.

Ralts also used Confusion to lift an injured Squirtle and followed with his short legs.

The remaining Squirtle, who wasn't too badly injured, and the leader Squirtle exchanged glances and also closely followed Ash's footsteps… At the town's Pokémon Center—

"Alright, they're fine now. Just make sure they get plenty of rest when they go back," Joy said, walking out with the three mostly recovered Squirtle, a smile on her face as she addressed everyone.

The three little ones happily reunited with their leader, and after some greetings, everyone looked at Ash and his companions in unison.

"Squirtle Squirtle!" Humans, we cannot repay your kindness in saving us. Tell us whatever you need us to do!

The leader Squirtle pounded his chest, speaking in a very righteous manner.

While speaking, he also gestured with his hands and feet, afraid that Ash wouldn't understand.

Ash, however, smiled and waved his hand, saying: "It was just a small favor. If possible… can I become your Trainer? Whether it's a battle or if you want me to prove something, you can test me however you like, as long as you accept me!"

Ash had no intention of taking advantage of their gratitude. The interaction between Team Rockets and the Squirtle squad was not part of his plan. Originally, he had intended to use delicious food and his sincerity to persuade and deter Squirtle, to see if he could convince it to battle him and then capture it.

Ash wasn't very confident about this, as being abandoned by a Trainer is an absolutely indelible trauma for a Pokémon. But with Team Rockets' interference, things seemed to have become simpler… Squirtle's expression froze upon hearing Ash's words. A few seconds later, he took off his sunglasses, revealing a pair of watery eyes.

Ash finally understood why Squirtle wore sunglasses. If he didn't wear sunglasses, he wouldn't look fierce at all.

Without the sunglasses, he couldn't possibly be a gangster. No matter how much trouble he caused, he wouldn't have any deterrent power and would probably just be laughed off… Squirtle, having removed his sunglasses, patted his shell and said 'Squirtle Squirtle.' Even without translation, Misty and Brock understood that Squirtle was choosing to follow Ash!

This meant that Ash had captured another Royal Three Families, and all the Kanto Royal Three Families were now complete! This luck… was truly unparalleled.

Ash, upon hearing Squirtle's words, had a strange expression on his face. Translated into human language, it meant—The kindness of saving my life cannot be repaid. My life is now yours.

This scene, how similar it was to Charmander… No, not just Charmander, but also Bulbasaur.

Thinking about it, of the three Royal Three Families he captured, two were assisted by Team Rockets, and the other was assisted by a scumbag, which led to him being able to capture all three Pokémon without needing to battle.

Could it be that Team Rockets were actually good people? Haha, that's impossible!

It's just that they might have a constitution where whatever they do results in the opposite effect, which is why their constant meddling turns into assistance.

Ash shook his head, casting aside those messy thoughts, then took out a Poké Ball and gently tapped it on Squirtle's head.

The Poké Ball absorbed Squirtle, then shook twice before making a crisp sound.

"I caught Squirtle!!!"

"Pika Pikachu!"

"Ralts Ralts~~"

It was still his signature capture phrase, but this time Squirtle was Ash's seventh Pokémon. Professor Oak had set it up so that any Pokémon exceeding six would automatically be transported to Oak's Laboratory.

If he didn't use the Pokédex to change the transfer settings, then the default was to transfer the most recently captured Pokémon.

So, after striking his pose, Ash quickly took out his Pokédex, made a setting, and transferred Butterfree back.

As it stood, Butterfree's progress in the team had slowed down. Sending him back to Oak's Laboratory for Professor Oak to train for a while before bringing him back might allow him to improve faster.

After sending Butterfree back, Ash released Squirtle. He couldn't just leave after capturing Squirtle; at the very least, Squirtle needed to say goodbye to his little brothers… After Ash released Squirtle, Squirtle communicated with his little brothers. Misty and Brock, who couldn't understand Squirtle's words, watched them gesticulate with confused expressions.

Ash's expression, however, grew increasingly strange. He walked over to Brock and Misty and whispered: "If this Squirtle squad chooses to become your Pokémon, would you be willing?"

Misty: !!!

"Is that even… is that even a question? Of course, I'm willing!" Misty's voice initially cracked with excitement, but under Ash's 'shush' gesture, her voice suddenly lowered.

When Misty saw Ash capture Squirtle, she was actually very envious.

Along the way, she had seen quite a few Pokémon, but she hadn't captured a single one.

On one hand, those Pokémon weren't Water-type Pokémon, and on the other hand, they weren't very cute.

The only one she had wanted to capture was Clefairy at Mt. Moon, but Clefairy had its own tribe, and she didn't want to separate Clefairy from its family, so she gave up the idea of capturing it.

This resulted in her traveling for so long without capturing a single Pokémon.

When she saw Squirtle, Misty naturally wanted to capture it, but the leading Squirtle followed Ash, and the other Squirtle were all together, so she didn't have any ideas.

But now, Ash actually asked this question, which meant there was a chance to capture Squirtle?!

Brock also had an interested expression on his face, because Ash hadn't just asked Misty, but both of them.

"What are the Squirtle saying?" Brock asked.

"The leader Squirtle said that life on the outside is difficult, and he can ask me to talk to you, to let you capture them, at least to give them a place to settle down. Otherwise, if he's not around, he's very worried about his little brothers."

Ash's words made both of them inwardly rejoice. Such a good thing?

Having been with Ash for so long, had they also received some of Ash's good luck?

Today, they could actually capture a Royal Three Families with Ash. If it really worked out, that would indeed be incredibly good fortune!

"Squirtle Squirtle!" After communicating with his little brothers, Squirtle returned and continued to gesticulate with Ash.

Ash squatted down, gently stroking Squirtle's round head with his palm, and smiled: "You don't need to do so many actions, I understand what you're saying. You want your little brothers to come with us, right?"

Squirtle was startled, and although there was still a puzzled expression on his face, he nodded repeatedly.

He had never heard of a human understanding Pokémon language… It seems this Trainer, besides his character, also has extraordinary abilities!

"My companions are all happy to accept them. They will choose two Squirtle as their Pokémon. As for the remaining little brothers… they'll be sent to Oak's Laboratory for Professor Oak to raise. Professor Oak is a very good person, he…"

Ash briefly described Professor Oak himself and explained the environment of Oak's Laboratory. In short, it was infinitely better than wandering outside.

And if two of the four Squirtle little brothers were captured by Misty and Brock, the remaining two couldn't possibly be left outside, could they?

Life was already tough for five of them in a group. If they lost their leader and two companions, it would definitely not be a friendly situation for the remaining Squirtle.

So, with two Squirtle captured by Misty and Brock, Ash had already thought of a place for the remaining two: entrusting them to Professor Oak.

He would be at ease with Professor Oak looking after them.

Finally, the leader Squirtle agreed with Ash's suggestion, then stepped aside, allowing Misty and Brock to choose one Squirtle each as their partner.

Misty had a clear look of excitement on her face, almost floating as she walked to the front of the Squirtle. She ultimately chose the Squirtle she had carried back for treatment earlier.

Although these Squirtle all looked similar, there were still subtle differences, and Misty could still recognize which one was the Squirtle she had brought back for treatment.

Brock also chose one of the Squirtle. It's no big deal for a Rock Gym Leader to capture a Water-type Pokémon. Who wouldn't want a rare Royal Three Families with strong growth potential?

Finally, Ash put the remaining two Squirtle into Poké Balls and transferred them back to Oak's Laboratory, explaining the reason to Professor Oak via the town's phone.

Professor Oak said he would arrange for the remaining two Squirtle. If there were good Trainers, they could be their starter Pokémon; otherwise, he would keep them in the backyard and train them well.

Thus, the incident in this town came to an end. After Ash and his two companions slept in the town for one night, they set off early the next morning… Two days passed, and this time the trio successfully arrived at Vermilion City, without getting lost again in between.

This incredibly long journey finally came to an end.

Misty walked with a spring in her step the whole way, a smile constantly on her face. It seemed that capturing a Squirtle brought her unparalleled Joy.

Even when talking to Ash, her tone was much softer. After all, her ability to capture Squirtle this time was entirely thanks to Ash.

Before, she could only watch Ash's continuous good luck, never expecting to be included one day. Is this what good luck feels like? It's simply too wonderful!

Ash, after capturing Squirtle, joined the group again to learn about Squirtle's training methods, and was then reminded that he might have new draw chances.

It turned out he did, and it was two more.

One was a draw chance provided for capturing six Pokémon.

The other was a draw chance obtained for completing the achievement of collecting all the Royal Three Families.

Ash used both draw chances directly. This time, his luck wasn't as good as before; he only drew two B-rank abilities.

One ability was Cooking (B). Compared to the comprehensive Breeder he had before, Cooking (B) only improved Ash's culinary skills.

But this ability also made Ash's cooking skills advance by leaps and bounds, almost catching up to Brock.

Brock even felt puzzled as to why Ash's cooking proficiency had become so high in the past two days. Before, there were still some uncoordinated aspects, but recently they had completely disappeared, and he even knew some dishes that Brock himself didn't understand.

To this, Ash replied—it was all thanks to Brock's excellent teaching!

Shifting blame had already become Ash's norm.

The other B-rank ability was Speed Aptitude Limit B. Ash thought about it and still gave it to Pikachu.

On one hand, Pikachu benefited the most from this ability's boost; on the other hand, Pikachu was his starter and his strongest Pokémon currently, having reached the advanced peak level. Making his ace stronger was also a good thing.

After Ash applied the B-rank Speed Limit to Pikachu, Pikachu's speed aptitude was still A, but his ability fluctuation changed from C—B+ to B—B+, with the upper limit unchanged but the lower limit increased.

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