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Forest... forest... forest... Johto region had very dense vegetation, so they passed through many forests during their journey. And now, after bidding farewell to Mika and a three-day journey, Ash and his companions arrived at another dark forest.
"Pika?"
As they walked, Pikachu, perched on Ash's head, seemed to have made another interesting discovery.
"What's wrong, Pikachu?"
Following the direction Pikachu pointed, Misty noticed a birdhouse. This was a birdhouse made for Flying-type Pokémon, similar to fishing; it was a method for catching Flying-type Pokémon.
"It certainly looks like a birdhouse," Brock estimated, looking at the birdhouse's size. "But it's too big for a Pidgey, and too small for a Pidgeot!" Brock's thinking was still limited to the Kanto region, forgetting that the Johto region also had its own regional bird: Hoothoot. And Hoothoot's evolved form was Noctowl!
A Noctowl landed in front of the birdhouse, tilting its head, but found the birdhouse a bit too small for it. This forest seemed to be home to a considerable number of Noctowl. Logically, Noctowl should be nocturnal, but the forest's dim light allowed these Noctowl to fly around even during the day. Just then, a branch extended from the tree trunk beneath the birdhouse, scaring away that Noctowl.
"Did that branch just scare away the Noctowl?" Misty couldn't believe her eyes. Had that tree become a Pokémon too? Ash swept it with Aura Power. It was clearly a person disguised as the tree. Such meticulous camouflage. That birdhouse must have been set up by him too.
"Hey, look!"
Brock, who had been watching the birdhouse, made a new discovery: a very beautifully colored Noctowl appeared in front of that birdhouse. It was clearly a Shiny Noctowl! Logically, Noctowl were originally nocturnal Pokémon, so their colors were typically brown, allowing them to better conceal themselves at night. However, a Noctowl with such vibrant colors would glow brightly like a flame even at night. Furthermore, ordinary individuals would naturally repel a Shiny. For such a beautiful Shiny Noctowl to live so freely in this forest and face trainers like the person in the tree, its strength and intelligence must be truly formidable. This beautiful Noctowl's body was significantly smaller than an average Noctowl, and this size fit the birdhouse perfectly! This birdhouse was clearly meant for it!
The person disguised in the tree trunk once again held out some Berries, trying to lure the beautiful Noctowl. But this Shiny Noctowl tilted its head, kicked the Berries away, then slammed its head into the tree trunk. Under the tree's tremor, the person fell directly from the tree.
Ash shook his head and stepped forward. "Noctowl, let's have a capture battle!" As a Pokémon trainer, one should catch Pokémon through fair one-on-one battles. A capture battle was a process for a trainer to gain a Pokémon's acknowledgment!
"Hoot!"
Indeed, a fair and open battle. This Noctowl also had no reason to refuse. It simply stood on the tree branch, tilted its head, and waited for Ash's Pokémon.
"Then I'm counting on you, Houndour!"
Ash still sent out Houndour. After these past few days of training, this battle-hardened Alpha would soon evolve!
"It's a Houndour! Who exactly are you?" The person who fell from the tree seemed to have been knocked unconscious and only just woke up. Seeing Ash send out Houndour, he cried out in shock. Ash and his companions no longer had the presence of mind to ask what was going on; the battle was about to erupt!
But soon, Ash understood what was happening! He saw the Noctowl dive down from the tree, its large eyes glowing red, as if it had activated some move!
"It's Hypnosis!"
Brock, on the side, quickly recognized the move. A red light enveloped Houndour, but then the red light suddenly shattered. Hypnosis, as a Psychic-type move, was completely ineffective against the Dark-type Houndour!
"This uniquely colored Noctowl's Hypnosis is very powerful; it can make people hallucinate! I've suffered too many losses from its Hypnosis." The trainer who fell from the tree came to Brock and Misty's side and began to describe Noctowl's situation. He, of course, didn't know that Ash, having transmigrated, might have forgotten most other things, but he remembered the Shiny Noctowl incident vividly!
"Houndour, Sucker Punch!"
Noctowl's Hypnosis, which had always been so effective, was useless against Houndour. Even Noctowl was startled. It quickly flapped its wings, trying to distance itself from Houndour again. But Ash had seized that moment, commanding Houndour to attack! Houndour instantly vanished from its spot, slapping Noctowl down.
However, this Noctowl reacted quickly. The moment it was about to hit the ground, it suddenly flapped its wings, knocking Houndour flying!
"Aerial Ace?"
"Houndour, are you alright!"
The Alpha was knocked back over three meters but maintained its body balance, its crimson eyes fixed on Noctowl! It shook its head, indicating it was fine. Noctowl had regained its composure and returned to the treetops. It tilted its head, a much more pronounced angle than an ordinary Noctowl, which was its thinking posture! This Noctowl was also highly intelligent! The next second, it violently flapped its wings, and blades of air descended from the sky like a fierce storm.
"Air Slash?"
After the failure of Hypnosis, this Noctowl realized that Psychic-type moves wouldn't affect this large black dog, so it switched to Flying-type moves! Ash grinned. "Use Quick Attack to dodge, then Flamethrower!" Houndour roared, its figure vanishing into a flash of electricity. Battle-hardened, it possessed strong intuition and instinct for combat. It narrowly avoided the Air Slashes, seizing a momentary gap to leap up, getting as close to Noctowl as possible before immense flames shot into the sky. Only Houndour, with its very high bond value, could execute such a maneuver, responding to Ash's command.
"Boom!"
Flamethrower swept away the Air Slash and directly hit Noctowl!
"Now!"
Ash seized the instant opportunity. Even though Noctowl was enveloped in the smoke of the explosion, he accurately threw the Fast Ball given by Mr. Kurt! This type of ball was suitable for Pokémon with very high escape speeds. The Fast Ball captured Noctowl and fell to the ground in front of Ash.
Ding!
Ding!
It only shook twice before the light went out.
"I caught Shiny Noctowl!"
Noctowl: 120/190
Houndour: 175/210