Dusk was approaching. The young man walked alone with Pikachu through the forest below Miyacha Mountain... Blue had also left. After thanking Ash very solemnly, she still decided to depart by herself.
Ash wasn't surprised. Just as she said... it was her own business after all. She had to try it alone first and couldn't rely on others from the start.
So this wasn't bad, at least he didn't get friend-zoned... "In the end, I really am starting my Journeys alone."
Going from a trio to being all alone, and also missing the encounter with a certain Water-type girl... This wave was indeed a slight loss.
Advancing smoothly, Ash quickly arrived at the Pokémon Center in Viridian City, but what met his eyes was a scene of ruins filled with smoke and dust.
"What just happened here?" Ash found Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Center and asked.
"We were attacked by the wanted Team Rockets duo. Although we drove them away, the Center suffered great damage and is currently a mess." Nurse Joy said helplessly.
"Team Rockets?"
Ash was stunned for a moment. In the original story, the one who flipped the roof off the Viridian Pokémon Center seemed to be himself... and he even fried a bicycle in the process~
He didn't expect that even without him present, the True Protagonist could still wreck this place like this.
"Is there anything I can help with?" Seeing Nurse Joy's difficulty, Ash immediately asked enthusiastically.
"Not much. The stored Poké Balls here have already been transferred to Pewter City. Now there's only one problem..."
Nurse Joy led Ash to a ruined hospital room. Lying on the bed was a Pokémon covered in bandages, almost unrecognizable by species, with a Chansey nervously attending nearby.
But looking at the weak heart signal on the monitor, the situation was clearly not optimistic.
"This Heracross is severely injured. Its pincers on its head are completely broken, and its body has suffered massive trauma..." Nurse Joy said distressfully. "And it was abandoned. Our transfer machine here is broken, so we can only manage emergency treatment..."
"A discarded Heracross... What exactly happened?" Ash questioned carefully.
"Its Trainer was originally a Samurai Boy..."
"It should be a Bug Catcher, right... Uh, please continue." After being glared at by Nurse Joy, Ash immediately shut up.
"That Samurai Boy seemed to use Heracross to challenge someone else's Metapod, and then..."
"Then Metapod, being as hard as it could possibly be, ground Heracross's pincers to pieces, is that right~"
Nurse Joy had only started, but Ash had already basically pieced together the entire event.
"That's how it happened. It was already severely injured when it was brought in... and then it was buried alive just now, and Chansey spent a lot of effort digging it out."
"May I treat it? I am Ash from Pallet Town, and I studied a bit of medicine at Professor Oaks Laboratory." Ash handed over his pokédex. "At the very least, I can capture it and take it to Pewter City."
Professor Oaks Laboratory was definitely a golden signboard. After confirming Ash's identity, Nurse Joy immediately led him into the sickroom.
Seeing this Heracross up close, Ash realized it was wrapped up like a silkworm cocoon, with only a pair of listless eyes staring at the crumbling ceiling.
"Chansey, you go rest first. I'll take care of it." Ash instructed Chansey. Under the dual effect of Aura and Viridian Power, Chansey obediently handed the situation over to Ash.
"Heracross, are you alright?"
"Hiss..." Hearing Ash's voice, Heracross only gave a hoarse growl, and then ignored him.
"It even skipped the stage of hating humans. It looks like its heart is completely broken..." Ash shook his head helplessly, internally noting how awful that Samurai was.
For a Bug Catcher to abandon his Bug-type Pokémon, this was practically abandoning his faith!
"Honestly, I don't know why you've given up hope..." Ash suddenly said seriously. "Is it just because you were abandoned by an irresponsible guy? Or is it... because of these injuries, you feel like you have no future hope?!"
No response.
Heracross was currently immersed in despair; it wouldn't open its heart easily.
"Could it be that... you actually genuinely accepted the evaluation that guy gave when he abandoned you, and you think you're a useless piece of trash?!"
"Hiss?!" Heracross's body trembled violently, its blood-red eyes glaring fiercely at Ash.
But quickly, it cried out in agony as the movement aggravated its injuries.
"Very good. The fact that you can get angry means there's still hope." Ash suddenly smiled in satisfaction.
If before he was just casually treating it, now he was genuinely interested in this Heracross.
He was going to capture this guy... and he would definitely succeed!
"Heracross, there's no need to feel inferior about being weak; it's just a temporary state." Ash sincerely persuaded. "As long as you persevere and work hard, you will eventually become strong."
"Hiss..." Heracross groaned weakly. It wasn't like Nurse Joy hadn't told it these grand truths, but in its current state, it couldn't even fully recover... And even if it did recover, so what? It would still just be trash that couldn't beat a Metapod!
"The trash isn't you, it's the person who abandoned you! That guy didn't train you properly, and then pushed all the blame onto you!"
Ash seemed to understand Heracross's inner feelings. He placed his hand on Heracross, instantly making the Pokémon feel a warm current cleansing its entire body.
It felt all its wounds itching, seeming to writhe with vitality... That was the healing power of Viridian Power!
"Hiss... Hiss?!" Heracross struggled to look at that genuinely smiling face, but the next second, its eyes filled with extreme terror!
The already dilapidated roof suddenly collapsed completely at this moment!
RUMBLE!
The roar came, but Heracross didn't feel any pain. It opened its eyes, full of doubt and surprise, only to see a massive shadow... It was an incredibly huge Onix, which had swept away all the debris with its body!
It was his Pokémon?!
"Trust me... your injuries are not a problem, and your strength is definitely not a problem! As long as you are willing to pull yourself together, I can not only heal you but also make you stronger! Heracross, do you dare to show some backbone and tell me your attitude?!"
Ash pulled out a Poké Ball and held it out in front of Heracross.
"You must know... weakness is never the original sin; only giving up is!!"
"Hiss... HISS!!"
Heracross was completely encouraged by Ash. It let out a painful yet passionate roar, struggling to spring up from the bed, allowing the bursting wounds to stain the bandages red!
Its body began to tremble restlessly. Finally, it violently pulled out a scarred arm, clenched its fist, and pressed the switch on the Poké Ball!
Ding~
The severely injured Heracross turned into a streak of red light, willingly captured by Ash!
"Pleased to meet you, Heracross." Although it was an impulsive capture, Ash was very satisfied.
Although Heracross wasn't winning any beauty contests, if properly trained, it would undoubtedly be an excellent Bug-type fighter.
Especially since he saw something important in Heracross.
Power, technique, special moves—these can all be honed later... but some things are innate!
For example, the dignity of refusing to be weak... and the courage to be reborn from the cocoon!!
There is an illustration here, viewable after the version update