Beartic Ice Cream—the local specialty of Virbank City.
After spending quite a while in Virbank City, Ash, Cynthia, and Sabrina finally set off on the road again, this time heading toward Nimbasa City.
Caitlin was there, and she was good friends with Elesa.
Elesa was currently taking part in a Pokémon fashion show there.
And Lyra—the girl Ash had asked Elesa to help look after—was also there, working hard and honing her skills at the TV station where Elesa worked.
To make the trip more fun, Cynthia insisted on showing off her "driving skills." So the three of them bought a rugged SUV and decided to drive from Virbank to Nimbasa.
They had just left the city limits of Virbank.
"That Beartic Ice Cream was seriously delicious. What about you two?"
Ash patted his stomach in satisfaction.
"Pika pi!"
Suddenly, Pikachu cried out sharply.
Right up ahead on the road—a small, delicate figure had appeared out of nowhere.
Pikachu's alert cry had already drawn Cynthia's attention. The moment she saw the small figure, she slammed the brakes!
The tires screeched loudly.
Luckily, they hadn't been going too fast, and the SUV's quality was solid. The vehicle came to a halt just in time—before it could run over the mysterious Pokémon.
"Pika pi!"
Pikachu leapt out first.
Ash was right behind, and when he saw the Pokémon more clearly—his eyes widened.
It was Meloetta.
The memory of this storyline immediately came back to him.
This Meloetta held a great deal of importance to the Unova Region as a whole.
It had always been secretly protected by someone named Ridley, who worked to make sure Meloetta wouldn't be captured and used by evildoers.
But now—something was clearly wrong with it.
Cynthia and Sabrina were just about to speak when—
Suddenly, a strange trio came tumbling down the hillside next to the road!
"Well, speak of the devil—we've been searching high and low, only for it to drop into our laps!"
"Running into you here, twerp! Meloetta and Pikachu are ours now!"
"That's right, nya! We're not the same old Team Rocket anymore, nya!"
Jessie, James, and Meowth! The trio burst into the scene, leaping dramatically down from the hill, landing in style.
Trailing behind them were four Pokémon: Arbok, Weezing, Woobat, and Yamask.
"Chaaarbok!"
"Weeeezing!"
"Chaaa!"
"Woooo…"
The trio glared at Ash and Pikachu. Old memories of being fried and blasted off by that yellow mouse returned with full clarity.
But this time—they had evolved. They were determined to reclaim their pride!
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
"Pikaaaa—CHUUU!"
Pikachu unleashed a blazing Thunderbolt—not quite as strong as a full-on Thunder, but definitely more powerful than the average attack.
In one electrifying sweep, the entire Team Rocket lineup—including their four Pokémon—was blown sky-high, trailing smoke like a meteor shower.
In the original timeline, it was true that this version of Team Rocket had leveled up.
But Ash wasn't the same Ash from the original timeline either!
As the trio vanished into the sky, once again doubting their lives—
"Wait… Have we really changed? Why are we still getting zapped like this…?"
"I was wondering the same thing…"
"Not the time for this, nya! Let's focus on what's important…"
"We're blasting off agaaaiiin!"
Ding!
Ash smacked his forehead.
He had completely forgotten—he should've used Garchomp. That would've let his team gain some battle EXP at least.
Pikachu's level was already too high. Team Rocket couldn't even provide it with any decent experience anymore.
"Ash, it's bad!" Cynthia's voice turned serious. "Meloetta's really sick—fever, poisoning, major exhaustion. We need to get it to a Pokémon Center right away!"
Cynthia gently cradled Meloetta in her arms and quickly checked its vitals.
As the Sinnoh Champion, handling something like this was second nature to her.
"Ash, I found some berries nearby that should help with poisoning and fever," said Sabrina, using her psychic powers to locate them from the surrounding forest.
But there was a problem—Meloetta had completely passed out.
It couldn't even chew on the berries anymore.
Ash carefully took Meloetta into his arms. At this point, there was only one solution—the Universal Elixir.
Thankfully, this item was now purchasable from the system shop using Poké Coins.
"This thing's called a Universal Elixir. It's my newest formula—but due to ingredient limitations, it can't be mass-produced. Still, it can heal any non-lethal Pokémon injury."
As Ash explained, he gently fed the medicine to the unconscious Meloetta.
Meloetta was suffering.
But then—her eyes fluttered open.
The first thing she saw was Ash.
Thanks to Ash's Aura power and the power of the Hero of the Wave (Overcoming Power), he exuded a unique warmth and gentleness that Pokémon instinctively trusted.
At the same time, Ash activated his full Overcoming Power, letting Meloetta instantly understand what had happened.
"Melomelo!"
Meloetta cried out gratefully, thanking everyone with teary eyes.
Ash finally got a moment to check Meloetta's stats—it was only Level 50. Combined with its naturally gentle disposition, it made sense that Team Rocket's ambush had actually worked.
But then—a huge shadow fell from above.
It was a Golurk!
The moment Golurk spotted Meloetta in Ash's arms, it launched an attack without hesitation!
"Garchomp, use Dragon Claw!"
Cynthia's eyes narrowed.
She wasted no time. With one swift motion, she sent out her ace: Garchomp.
Attacking like that, with no warning? It had officially crossed the line.
With a slash of its bladed fin, Garchomp's Dragon Claw tore into Golurk's chest, sending the massive golem crashing backward.
Then—someone jumped down from Golurk's shoulder.
A man—clearly flustered, staring at Meloetta with wide, panicked eyes.
"You! What are you doing with Meloetta?! Hand her over right now!"
Meloetta quickly jumped in between both sides, waving her arms and calling out in song to stop them.
As it turned out, the man's name was Ridley—he had always been Meloetta's secret guardian, protecting her from those who would exploit her power for evil.
His Golurk was his partner, and he had been tailing Meloetta ever since their home was destroyed by the strange trio.
They had been separated during the chaos.
So when he saw Meloetta in the arms of strangers, he had instinctively assumed the worst—and lashed out in desperation.
--------------
T/N:
Access Advance Chapters on my
P@treon: [email protected]/PokePals