"Ash, are you sure this is the right way?"
"Judging by the trail the Sunkern left when it rolled down the slope, we should be heading in the right direction."
After bidding farewell to Swinub's Trainer, Ash and the others continued their search for Articuno.
However, they soon ran into a problem. They had no idea where to begin looking.
Todd knew that Articuno had been sighted in the area, but he had no information about its location. Forget an exact position, he did not even know the general area where it had appeared.
That was when Ash suggested that they could use the trail left by the frozen Sunkern to locate Articuno. His reasoning went like this.
"That Sunkern was frozen solid, and Articuno must have had something to do with it. It isn't winter yet, and there aren't any ice caves or similar places nearby. The only explanation is that Articuno was somewhere near the place the Sunkern came from. As long as we follow its trail, we're bound to find some clues about Articuno."
Since no one else had a better idea, they decided to follow Ash's suggestion.
Two days later, they finally arrived at the foot of a snow-covered mountain that towered into the clouds.
"This is the tallest mountain in the area," Brock said as he consulted the travel guide.
The mountain did not have an official name, but it was a strange and magnificent sight. Its entire surface was blanketed in snow, which had buried all the vegetation beneath it. If they had not looked carefully, they never would have noticed the plants at all.
Since they were about to begin climbing, everyone quickly put on warmer clothes. Once they climbed any higher, they would need proper cold-weather gear.
The climate on a snowy mountain could be extremely unpredictable, so Ash activated his Aura as a precaution, keeping watch for any unexpected danger.
Something unexpected really did happen, but it came as a pleasant surprise.
Up ahead, a pink, balloon-like Pokémon holding a microphone was frozen inside a block of ice. Ash recognized it at once. It was Jigglypuff.
He had never expected the little Pokémon that had been following them all this time to arrive here several steps ahead of them.
Ever since Ash had given Jigglypuff a custom-made microphone back in Kanto, the little Pokémon had set off on its own "concert tour." Unlike in the original story, however, it no longer scribbled on the faces of the Pokémon and people who fell asleep while listening to its songs. Ash had told it before that its singing healed people and brought them salvation.
Back in the present, everyone recognized Jigglypuff as soon as they saw it.
"I was just thinking that we hadn't seen it in a long time. So it was frozen here," Brock said.
"If Jigglypuff was frozen here, Articuno must have had something to do with it," Todd said, immediately focusing on the clue.
"Whatever happened, let's get it out first."
Ash examined the block of ice, then shattered it with a single punch. His physical strength was now several times greater than that of his original counterpart, so breaking a chunk of ice was hardly difficult.
After finally finding a clue about Articuno, Todd was understandably impatient. The moment Jigglypuff was freed, he grabbed it and asked, "Jigglypuff, did you see Articuno? Tell me, where is it now?"
Annoyed by his frantic questioning, Jigglypuff mercilessly unleashed a flurry of Double Slaps, leaving his face swollen.
Ash burst out laughing. "Todd, if you question it like that, of course it's going to hit you."
He then walked over, crouched in front of Jigglypuff, and asked, "Jigglypuff, would you like to come with me? If you do, you'll get to see all kinds of new things. You might even meet people who'll listen to you sing."
"What? Ash, you want to catch it?" Misty and Brock exclaimed in surprise. Jigglypuff had followed them for a long time, but the thought of Ash actually catching it still seemed unbelievable.
Jigglypuff blinked, then raised its microphone. Seeing this, Ash quickly sent out Kirlia and had it use Safeguard to protect everyone.
Jigglypuff began to sing.
When the song ended, it discovered that not a single person present had fallen asleep. Everyone had remained silent and listened until it finished the entire song. Jigglypuff could hardly contain its joy.
Thanks to Ash's earlier guidance, it understood that its singing naturally lulled people to sleep and carried them into dreams, so it no longer played pranks on them.
Deep down, however, it still yearned for someone who truly understood its music, someone who could listen to its entire song without falling asleep.
Now, Jigglypuff had finally found the Trainer who had set it on the path of becoming a traveling singer.
Everything seemed to have been destined from the very beginning.
Jigglypuff happily bounced into Ash's arms and rubbed its head against his chest.
"Jiggly, Jigglypuff..." Jigglypuff nodded happily, showing that it agreed.
"Then I look forward to traveling with you, Jigglypuff!"
"Pika!"
"Kirlia!"
And so, Jigglypuff, the "divine singer" that had followed Ash and his friends for so long, finally joined Ash's team.
...
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