"Hello there! My name is Brock! Please, I simply must know the name of the beautiful flower standing before me!"
In a display of speed that bordered on teleportation, Brock lunged forward to intercept the running girl. He stood before her with stars in his eyes and a dramatic flair.
However, the young woman, Mariah, didn't even slow down. She brushed past him as if he were a ghost and sprinted straight toward Ash.
By then, Ash had already coordinated Heracross and Chikorita to snag the drifting Hoppip safely from the sky.
"Hoppip! Oh, I was so worried about you!" Mariah cried, pulling the fluffy Pokémon into a tight embrace. She looked up at Ash, her eyes shimmering with gratitude. "Thank you so much! Truly!"
"My name is Mariah," she introduced herself properly. "If you don't mind the mess, please, come to my house and rest for a while."
Mariah lived in a charming, red-roofed house on the outskirts of town. A massive, sturdy net was stretched across the front yard—a clear precaution to catch any Hoppip that might be swept away by the valley's unpredictable winds.
She explained that she worked as a local weather forecaster. Aside from the spinning anemometers on her roof, her home was filled with specialized equipment. She was currently researching how to use the behavioral patterns of Hoppip to predict subtle shifts in atmospheric pressure.
Suddenly, the group noticed something strange. Seven Hoppip gathered in a tight circle, intertwining their head-leaves until they formed a single, heavy ball.
Mariah's face went pale. "The wind... no, a storm is coming! A big one!"
Almost instantly, the sky bruised into a deep purple. Heavy clouds swirled like ink in water. On the roof, the wind vanes began to spin so violently they emitted a high-pitched, metallic shriek.
"A massive tornado is forming, and it's heading straight for us!" Mariah shouted, her voice trembling as she checked her monitors.
The atmosphere turned freezing. The group scrambled to help her reinforce the windows with wooden planks, but the data was grim. Mariah had never seen a vortex with this much raw energy.
"Everyone! Get under the table, now!" she screamed.
Ash reacted with tactical precision. "Mariah, get the Hoppip back into their Poké Balls!"
"I can't! The balls are stored in the back, I'll never reach them in time!" Mariah cried, her voice rising in panic.
"Then there's no choice!"
Ash didn't even think about recalling his own team. He scooped Pikachu and Chikorita into his arms, shielding them with his body.
"Chikorita, use Vine Whip!"
The Leaf Pokémon understood the gravity of the moment. Two sturdy vines shot out, lashing around two of the huddled Hoppip to keep them grounded.
Misty grabbed a third Hoppip, clutching it and Togepi to her chest as she dived under the heavy wooden table. Even Brock abandoned his romantic antics, diving to shield the remaining two Hoppip.
"Ash, thank you..."
Mariah's voice was drowned out as the tornado struck. It didn't just knock on the door—it tore the entire roof off the house with a terrifying roar. The sheer pressure was suffocating, making it feel as though their very thoughts were being sucked out into the sky.
The heavy table they were using for shelter was the next to go, ripped away like a piece of paper. In this clash against the elements, human strength felt pitifully small.
"Gah!"
A massive piece of meteorological equipment, heavy and made of jagged steel, was uprooted by the wind. It began to tip directly over Misty.
"No!"
Ash gritted his teeth. He let go of his grip on the floor, lunging forward to catch the falling machine. He braced it against his back, his muscles screaming under the weight and the wind resistance.
"Ash!" Misty cried out, seeing the strain on his face.
Suddenly, a brilliant azure light flickered around Ash's body. For the first time, he pushed his Aura to its absolute limit, projecting a shimmering barrier to stabilize the air around them. But his mental energy had only just begun to recover from the Charicific Valley incident.
The world began to spin. A white-hot pain bloomed behind his eyes, feeling as though his skull might split open.
"Ash, stop it! You're hurting yourself!"
Under the protection of his Aura, Misty felt the wind die down, but she could see Ash's face turning deathly pale.
"I'm... I'm okay... just a bit more..." Ash wheezed.
Chikorita looked up from his arms, her large eyes filled with terror and resolve. She saw her trainer—her bridge to the world—breaking himself to keep them safe.
"Chikor!"
A blinding white light erupted from her body. The light of evolution!
In this moment of life and death, Chikorita's desire to protect Ash shattered her natural limits. Her body grew rapidly, her legs thickening and her neck extending.
As she transformed into Bayleef, the sheer energy of her evolution blasted the debris away. Her vines, now twice as thick and twice as strong, lashed out. She caught the falling machinery and hurled it away from the group before wrapping her vines around Ash and Misty, anchoring them to the foundation of the house.
Ash finally let his Aura dissipate, gasping for air as the heavy lifting was taken over by his newly evolved partner.
Bayleef stood tall, her sturdy body acting as a living shield against the gale. She was no longer a small Pokémon that needed to ride on a shoulder; she was a guardian.
Sync Progress: 160/200
Minutes felt like hours, but eventually, the roar of the tornado faded into a distant hum as the storm moved toward the horizon. The valley was left in a state of ruin, but the silence was beautiful.
"Ash, talk to me! Are you okay?" Misty asked, her hands shaking as she supported him.
Bayleef didn't let go yet. Her vines remained gently coiled around Ash's waist, ensuring he wouldn't collapse.
"I'm fine, Misty. Really," Ash managed a weak smile, patting Bayleef's sturdy, curved neck. "You did it, Bayleef. You were amazing."
Mariah checked her seven Hoppip. Miraculously, they were all safe. They began to hop around the ruins of the house, seemingly oblivious to how close they had come to being lost forever.
"Ash, I don't know how to thank you," Mariah said, her voice thick with emotion. "If you hadn't held that machine... if your Pokémon hadn't evolved... I would have lost everything."
Ash stood up slowly, leaning against Bayleef for support. "Don't thank me. Bayleef is the hero today."
Bayleef nuzzled Ash's cheek affectionately, her scent—now a more potent, spicy aroma—filling the air.
Bayleef Sync: 160/200