Ash couldn't fathom how Slowking had pulled it off, but Bulbasaur had finally evolved. Now, with the exception of Charizard who was currently training in the Charicific Valley, all of the Kanto starters Ash had caught had completed their first stage of evolution. This brought the total to five starters (counting both regions) that had reached their second forms.
Wartortle and Ivysaur had already accumulated a massive amount of experience. Now that they were no longer suppressing their forms, Ash was confident they would reach their final stages soon. Given their incredible bond with him, they would likely be able to achieve Bond Evolution the moment they reached their final forms.
"Who goes there?"
After leaving Blondel Town, Ash and his group resumed their journey toward Ecruteak City. By chance, they heard a familiar voice.
"It's Gary!"
Ash could never mistake that voice. Then, they heard another set of familiar voices.
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"
...
"Cut the chatter. Do you really take me for a fool like Ash?" Gary snorted coldly, cutting Team Rocket's motto short.
"Wobbuffet!" A Poké Ball behind Jessie suddenly burst open. She had actually managed to catch a Wobbuffet? It seemed they had indeed passed through a Wobbuffet village on their way.
"Umbreon, Hidden Power!"
"Wobbuffet, Counter!"
The battle between Gary and Team Rocket was instantaneous. However, Counter failed to reflect the special attack that was Hidden Power, and Wobbuffet was sent flying. Ash realized then why his journey had been so peaceful lately—Team Rocket hadn't appeared in a long time. It turned out they had set their sights on Gary instead.
More importantly, that guy Gary just called him a fool!
Ash rubbed Molly's head, left Misty and Brock behind, and leaped out with Pikachu. "Gary! You're the fool here!"
"Ash. I noticed you a while ago," Gary said, not looking surprised at all.
On the other hand, Team Rocket reacted as if they had seen their savior. "Twerp! We finally found you!"
Ash looked at them, completely bewildered. "What's going on?"
"Ash, these three losers have been following you from Kanto to Johto. They lost your trail a while back and happened to run into me. They figured we'd eventually cross paths, so they followed me instead," Gary explained.
"Twerp..." Meowth cried piteously. "You have no idea! He's turned us over to the police so many times!"
James and Jessie were also wailing loudly. Evidently, their time following Gary had been much more miserable than their time following Ash. No wonder they hadn't shown their faces; Gary had been constantly handing them over to Officer Jenny.
"Can't you guys just stay with Officer Jenny? At least the food is good," Ash sighed, not knowing how else to criticize them. In a way, he had Gary to thank for the recent peace and quiet.
"We can't do that! We have our dreams!" Team Rocket suddenly declared with righteous indignation.
"Fine, fine. Gary and I are going to have a talk, so you can leave now," Ash shook his head. "Thunderbolt!"
Pikachu leaped from Ash's shoulder, and a bolt of lightning surged downward. Team Rocket was sent blasting off into the sky by the familiar current. But this time, their cry was...
"This feels so wonderful!"
The feeling of finally finding their "proper" target seemed to be a relief for them.
Ignoring them, Ash turned to Gary. "Gary, so your Eevee evolved!"
Before Ash had transmigrated—specifically after the Indigo League when they returned to Pallet Town—Gary had used Eevee to defeat Pikachu. Later, as they set off for Johto, the current Ash took over. If he had been there just a bit earlier, he was certain he could have won that match.
"Ash, let's save our battle for the Johto League Silver Conference," Gary said, recalling Umbreon and turning to leave.
"That guy is surprisingly casual about it," Ash muttered. He shook his head and looked at Brock, Misty, and Molly as they caught up. "Let's keep moving!"
...
As they continued their journey, the group noticed they had entered a valley with fresh air and breathtaking scenery. To Ash, this was another perfect spot for special training. They soon discovered they weren't the only ones who thought so.
"What an amazing Ledian!" Misty praised as she watched a Ledian weave effortlessly through the dense forest, avoiding every single tree. As Ash had noted before, Misty wasn't afraid of beetle or ladybug-like Pokémon.
Following the Ledian, they soon reached the center of the valley. A sudden gust of wind blew through, sending the Ledian tumbling backward. Ash's eyes flashed blue, and he used telekinesis to catch the Pokémon, helping it stabilize.
"Pidgeotto, stop!"
At the command, the wind died down. A young boy ran over to retrieve the Ledian.
"Hello, are you all okay? Was that... telekinesis?" the boy asked, looking at Ash with curiosity.
"That's right. Ash is a psychic!" Misty replied proudly, having long since grown used to Ash's abilities.
"I'm sorry, I hope you weren't hurt!" A man arrived with a Pidgeotto and a slightly larger Ledian.
The powerful wind from moments ago had clearly been Pidgeotto's Gust. It appeared they were training the Ledian to fly through strong winds—a common practice for Flying-type specialists, since flight and wind were inseparable.
It turned out the father and son were forest patrollers for this mountain. Because the valley often experienced gale-force winds, the Ledian needed to be trained to maintain their flight paths.
Knowing this, Ash couldn't hold back. How could he pass up such a perfect training ground?
"Noctowl, I choose you!"
Ash asked Molly to go with Misty and Brock to the patrollers' house to rest while he took Pikachu deep into the valley, where the winds would pick up again shortly.
"Hoo?"
The moment Noctowl emerged, it was nearly swept away by a sudden gust. It flapped its wings frantically to regain control.
"Noctowl, you're the only Flying-type I have with me right now. I rely on your mobility quite often! These strong winds are the perfect training. Try to ride the wind—with your intelligence, I know you can master it!"
Ash's Noctowl was a rare color and highly intelligent. This was the perfect opportunity to boost its combat capabilities!
Noctowl: 150 / 200