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Time rewinds slightly to when Eddie had just left Celadon City and entered the forest to the northeast.
At the border checkpoint of Saffron City, two people wearing tattered white uniforms arrived with a Meowth that appeared to be starving to death.
"Finally... we finally made it here..." one of them gasped.
"Say less, save your energy and hurry back to headquarters. Getting food and rest is what matters most right now..." the other replied weakly.
"I'm so hungry, meow..." the Meowth added pitifully.
Yes, these two individuals were members of the Team Rocket trio who had been defeated twice in a row by Eddie in Celadon City just two days earlier.
After Eddie had beaten them for the second time during the Fighting Tournament, they hadn't dared to remain in the city any longer and had fled directly toward Saffron City.
They were completely penniless and had been forced to go without food. After an arduous journey lasting one full day and two nights, they had finally reached the border of Saffron City this morning.
"Who are you?" the checkpoint guards asked with immediate suspicion upon seeing such a suspicious-looking trio.
"We're on your side! Jessie and James from Contest Category, 4th Group of the R Division," James directly reported their Team Rocket identification numbers in response to the guard's questioning.
The guard's expression changed instantly upon hearing this information.
He then spent considerable time typing on the computer terminal at the checkpoint. After confirming the validity of their credentials, he immediately displayed a welcoming smile.
"You're our people! What happened to you? I heard that the branch over there was completely destroyed. Are you survivors who managed to escape?"
Indeed, the guards at checkpoints in all four directions around Saffron City were Team Rocket members!
Saffron City served as Team Rocket's headquarters. Since it was their main base of operations, security measures of this magnitude were naturally implemented.
"We'll report everything that happened..." Jessie began weakly.
"Can you take us back to headquarters right now..." James continued.
"We're dying of starvation, meow..." Meowth finished.
The trio seemed to be performing some kind of comedy routine. Each person would collapse after finishing their sentence, and only when all three had fallen down did they manage to complete their request.
Seeing this pitiful display, the guard felt sympathy for the three of them, though he couldn't help finding their synchronized collapse somewhat amusing.
"Pfft... Hahahaha!"
"What the hell are you laughing at?!" all three shouted in unison.
As if they had used up their last reserves of strength, the trio yelled at the guard while collapsing again, then immediately fainted from exhaustion.
"Ahem, I just remembered something funny," the guard explained with embarrassment.
"I'll report to headquarters! There are three operatives here who need assistance..."
The guard finally managed to control his laughter. Although the trio had yelled at him, he still notified headquarters to send transportation for Jessie, James, and Meowth.
After they were brought back and given medical treatment (mainly food), the trio reported everything they had witnessed and experienced.
Naturally, they omitted any mention of their cowardly retreat, claiming instead that they had remained at the branch until the very end before escaping.
Following their recovery with a good meal and rest, the three operatives began discussing their next Pokemon capture mission.
"So this really is the mysterious Bulbasaur garden..." Eddie observed with wonder.
After cutting through the Vine Whip barrier, Eddie had discovered a secret garden hidden within the forest.
Although finding a cultivated garden in the middle of a wild forest was certainly unusual, such a place did exist here, and the anime had indeed referred to it as a "mysterious garden."
Living here were rare Pokemon—specifically, members of the Venusaur evolutionary family.
Yes, the rare Grass-type Pokemon that Erika had mentioned were members of the Venusaur family, Pokemon that were almost impossible to find in the outside world.
Although their numbers weren't enormous, compared to the situation in the outside world where these Pokemon were virtually nonexistent, the population here was quite impressive.
"Three Venusaur, twelve Ivysaur, twenty Bulbasaur—a total of thirty-five Pokemon," Eddie counted as he observed the Venusaur family living peacefully in their garden.
There were thirty-five Pokemon in total. If they were discovered in the outside world, they would certainly be fought over by countless trainers and researchers.
"Setting aside the Bulbasaur and Ivysaur for now, the weakest of the three Venusaur is at Peak level, while the two strongest have reached gym leader level. That's impressive. No wonder they can live safely in this dangerous forest."
Competition for territory among Pokemon was far more intense than similar conflicts among humans. While humans competed for territory for economic gain, Pokemon fought for their very survival.
For the Venusaur clan to survive peacefully in this forest, they absolutely had to possess considerable strength.
"Bulba? Bulbasaur!" came a curious call.
At that moment, one Bulbasaur noticed Eddie and called out with obvious confusion, as if wondering why a human had appeared in their sanctuary.
However, shortly after calling out, the small Pokemon seemed to sense something special and began running toward Eddie with apparent joy.
Unfortunately, there was a Garchomp standing beside Eddie. This particular Bulbasaur ran halfway before noticing the intimidating presence of the powerful Dragon-type, and immediately didn't dare approach any closer.
"Bulba~" called out multiple voices.
The actions of this first Bulbasaur were quickly noticed by other Pokemon of the same species, and naturally, they also spotted Eddie and the Garchomp beside him.
Their reaction was identical to the first Bulbasaur's. They appeared confused initially, then began running toward Eddie as if they sensed something appealing about him.
However, once again, even though Garchomp remained silent without roaring, simply standing next to Eddie was enough to prevent any Bulbasaur or Ivysaur from approaching closely.
Garchomp was not only a powerful Dragon-type Pokemon, but also one that was approaching a breakthrough to gym leader level. Moreover, as a Dragon-type Pokemon, it had no concept of restraining its presence. Its intimidating aura was almost constantly visible to other Pokemon.
Under these circumstances, weaker Pokemon naturally didn't dare to approach.
Only groups of wild Pokemon with numerical advantages would foolishly attempt to attack Eddie in large numbers.
Perhaps their advantage in numbers and territorial instincts gave them misplaced confidence in such situations.
While Bulbasaur and Ivysaur didn't dare approach Eddie directly, the Venusaur were different.
Led by two gym leader-level individuals, with the weakest being at elite level, they slowly approached Eddie's position.
Although they were also wary of Garchomp's intimidating presence, their own substantial strength gave them the confidence to approach the human visitor.
"Venusaur, Saur saur saur... Venusaur saur," the strongest Venusaur spoke to Eddie.
For some reason, they seemed to firmly believe that Eddie could understand their communication.
(Human, although you possess a natural aura that attracts us, the Pokemon you brought has frightened our younger family members.)
Upon hearing this, Eddie felt somewhat embarrassed and recalled his dissatisfied Garchomp back to its Poke Ball.
The very moment Eddie returned Garchomp to its ball, all the Bulbasaur and Ivysaur immediately ran to Eddie, calling out happily and gently rubbing against him.
"Hmm, why haven't other wild Grass-type Pokemon gotten this close to me before? Is it because the Venusaur clan living here is more connected to nature, so they can sense the Power of Viridian within me?" Eddie wondered thoughtfully.