After thinking for a moment, Melanie looked at Bulbasaur and spoke softly.
"This child is the guardian of the village. It's been protecting injured Pokémon all this time."
"It's very wary of outside Trainers, and it even drives them away sometimes."
"So that's why. No wonder it was so hostile toward us," Misty said in realization, smiling apologetically at Bulbasaur.
"Bulba… Bulbasaur, milk!"
Ash took out a bottle of Moomoo Milk, trying to tempt the "Lone Wanderer." After all, there were probably very few Pokémon that could resist Moomoo Milk.
"Bulba~"
Bulbasaur ignored Ash and turned its head away.
"Ash, let me try," Melanie said as she took the Moomoo Milk and walked toward Bulbasaur.
After Melanie mediated for a while, Bulbasaur's hostility toward Ash and his friends finally eased.
Following Melanie over, Bulbasaur carefully examined the three of them. They seemed different from the Trainers it had met before.
"I've explained things to Bulbasaur," Melanie said gently while looking at it. "But it's still a little wary of you."
Ash waved his hand to show that it was fine.
Bulbasaur walked back toward the group of Pokémon on its own. Oddish soon invited it to join their game.
"I haven't seen Bulbasaur this happy in a long time."
Near the pond, a group of Pokémon were playing together in harmony. Even the huge and ferocious Gyarados joined in, making the scene lively and peaceful.
"Bulbasaur sacrifices itself to help the weaker Pokémon here," Melanie said softly. "But if this keeps going, it might become like a frog at the bottom of a well, never seeing the outside world."
"Ash, you can tell Bulbasaur is special too, right? I don't think it should spend its whole life guarding this forest. It should go out and see the world. Who knows—maybe it could achieve something great."
"I know," Ash replied seriously, his gaze moving toward Bulbasaur. "I'd really like Bulbasaur to travel with me."
"Miss Melanie, if Bulbasaur leaves, wouldn't the village lose its guardian?" Brock suddenly said with a serious expression.
"I could stay here and protect everyone in Bulbasaur's place."
"Huh? That… won't be necessary," Melanie said awkwardly but gratefully. "I can take care of things here myself."
As expected of you, Brock…
Ash almost burst out laughing and silently mourned Brock for three seconds.
Misty paused as well. She had been thinking Brock was seriously concerned about the village's safety, but it turned out he was just recommending himself.
"Let's have lunch first."
As expected of a Pokémon Breeder, Brock had excellent cooking skills. It didn't take long for him to prepare most of the meal.
"Lunch is ready!"
As soon as the Pokémon heard the call for food, they rushed over immediately.
Pikachu and Pidgeotto pushed Bulbasaur toward the table, patting their chests confidently as they praised Brock's cooking. His food was absolutely top-tier!
"Brock, your cooking is amazing," Melanie said after tasting a bite. "Could you teach me?"
"If I could learn to cook like this, the Pokémon here would be really happy too."
"Of course," Brock agreed without hesitation. Then he added,
"I can also work as a bodyguard."
Here we go again… still holding onto that bodyguard idea.
Ash noticed Pikachu and Pidgeotto making funny faces and acting something out together. Their acting was surprisingly convincing.
When Ash finally understood what they were reenacting, he turned to Misty with a dark expression while she struggled to hold in her laughter.
Pfft!
"Hahaha—sorry! I didn't mean to laugh at you!"
Misty couldn't hold it in anymore. Tears almost came out from laughing.
Who knew Pikachu was so talented? Together with Pidgeotto, it perfectly acted out Ash's facial expression when tasting Energy Cubes. It was ridiculously hilarious.
"Are you done laughing yet?" Ash asked helplessly. Misty was leaning on his shoulder and laughing so hard she could barely breathe.
"Okay… okay… I'm done," Misty said while holding her stomach. "My stomach hurts from laughing."
"Kid, help us out, meow!"
At that moment, a familiar voice came from behind them.
"Team Rocket? Why is it you guys again?" Misty asked with a red face and a frown.
"No, no! We're not here to do anything bad!" James hurriedly explained, clearly afraid Ash would have Pikachu use Thunderbolt.
"We were just passing by and ran into a bunch of traps."
Ash finally understood why Team Rocket looked so miserable—they had fallen into the village's trap defenses.
"I'm so sorry!" Melanie quickly apologized.
Jessie, James, and Meowth wanted to complain a bit more, but when Ash shot them a glare, they swallowed their words.
So frustrating… now they even had to watch the kid's mood.
"Just you wait! When we recover, we'll make you regret it, twerp!" Meowth grumbled angrily.
Despite their stubborn attitude, the smell of food soon reached them, and their stomachs growled loudly.
"Here."
Ash handed them some food. After all, they were old acquaintances by now. Without these guys showing up all the time, he wouldn't have earned nearly as many system rewards.
"Thank you, meow!"
Meowth quickly snatched the food from Ash's hand. The anger in its eyes instantly disappeared, replaced by pure gratitude.
Meowth…
Where's your dignity?
Jessie and James were stunned.
Meowth had switched attitudes way too fast. One second it was cursing Ash, and the next it was smiling politely and even thanking him.
"You guys should drink something too," Ash said, handing them drinks as well.
"Ash, what if Team Rocket is planning something?" Misty whispered. "There are lots of injured Pokémon here. If they target them, that would be terrible."
"They won't," Ash whispered back near her ear. "Just look at them right now. They're in no shape to pull anything off."
"Ash, could you come here for a moment?" Melanie called.
Hearing her voice, Misty's delicate ears instantly turned red. She pushed Ash toward Melanie.
"Bulba~"
Bulbasaur stood beside Melanie, staring straight at Ash. The hostility from earlier had disappeared, replaced by curiosity and scrutiny.
"Ash, Bulbasaur has agreed to travel with you."
"Really?!" Ash said excitedly. "Thank you, Melanie!"
"You don't need to thank me," she replied with a smile. "Your Pokémon convinced it."
"They told Bulbasaur that you're a very good Trainer—someone who truly cares about Pokémon."
"Pikachu and the others said they're very happy traveling with you and that they're looking forward to Bulbasaur joining the team."
So that was it.
Pikachu, Gyarados, Butterfree, and Pidgeotto had basically talked Bulbasaur into it!
"However," Melanie continued, "Bulbasaur says you must defeat it first if you want it to willingly follow you."
"Pikachu."
Ash naturally had no problem with that.
"Quick Attack!"
Pikachu dodged Bulbasaur's Vine Whip and charged forward headfirst. In the end, the electric mouse had the advantage, knocking the "Garlic Toad" back.
"Thunderbolt!"
Pikachu unleashed a bolt of electricity. The attack was so fast that Bulbasaur had no time to react and was struck directly.
Ash turned his cap backward, pressed the button on the Poké Ball to enlarge it, and threw it toward the fallen Bulbasaur.
The Poké Ball shook a few times—
Then stopped.
Ash had successfully caught Bulbasaur.
"Pika—Pikachu!"
(Welcome to the team, Bulbasaur!)
Pikachu cheered excitedly.
The surrounding Pokémon also burst into happy cries.
"The twerp got a new partner, meow," Meowth said while chewing bread.
"That Bulbasaur looks pretty strong," Jessie commented, sensing its potential. After all, any Pokémon chosen by the twerp probably wasn't ordinary.
"Looks like we've got another opponent," James sighed, already imagining future battles.
Having eaten Ash's food, the Team Rocket trio offered their congratulations sincerely.
"Hey!"
"Twerp, congratulations on catching Bulbasaur!" ×3
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