As noon approached, Ash walked through the forest north of Cerulean City with the map given to him by Liora. Originally, Ash had planned to go directly to the next gym, but after hearing that Ash was heading to Vermilion City, Liora gave him a map and told him to go see a man named Bill, saying it would be helpful to him. Ash walked through the forest for nearly an hour with the map but still couldn't find the Light house Liora had mentioned.
"Oh my god. What a crappy map! Is Liora trying to kill me?" Ash sat on a large rock, eating a sandwich Mirror had made for him, and angrily threw the map aside while complaining.
"Saur, Saur," the Ivysaur that had been following Ash for half a day sat by his feet, eating the sandwich Ash handed him.
"Ivysaur, it's been a while since we've been close, shall we do it now?" Ash looked at Ivysaur beside him for a moment and realized that he hadn't done with Ivysaur in a long time. Ash looked at Ivysaur with a lecherous smile and slowly reached out his left hand to touch Ivysaur's head.
The young Ivysaur's face flushed slightly, but it didn't dodge, allowing Ash's hand to touch her head.
Just as Ash was about to touch Ivysaur's head, a scream echoed through the forest.
"Oh my god, whose bitch is giving birth? The screams are so loud." Ash was so startled by the sound that he nearly fell over, losing all interest.
Ash stood up, gathered his belongings, and said, "Let's go, Ivysaur. Follow me to see who's screaming so seductively."
Ash and Ivysaur quickly located the source of the sound.
When Ash parted the branches blocking his view, he saw four wearing black cothes figures standing across from several young men and women. One of the figures snatched a Poké Ball from a teenager on the opposite side.
"Haha, who else wants to challenge us?" the man in black said with smirk.
"Damn it... bastards." The victims were all furious, but none of them dared to step forward to challenge them.
"If no one else wants to, then I'll take these Pokémon with me." the man smiled, pulled out a dozen Poké Balls, waved them in front of the group, then put them back into his backpack.
"Huh? What are these Rocket Team members doing?" Ash raised his eyebrows, puzzled by Team Rocket's actions. Were they stealing Poké Balls? But it didn't seem like it. It looked more like they were participating in some kind of competition...
"I'll challenge you." Suddenly, a voice rang out from the bushes across the field. Everyone looked over, and a young man in a lab coat with brown hair emerged from the bushes.
"It's Bill, he's here." Someone in the crowd recognized him and shouted.
"Oh? He's Bill?" Ash glanced at the newcomer. Standing at 1.75 meters tall, he gave off an intelligent aura and had a natural leadership presence. He was also quite handsome, scoring around 7 or 8 out of 10.
"Oh, you want to challenge us? Alright, but think carefully, if you lose, you'll have to give your Pokémon to us," said the man with a smile.
"If I win, you'll return the Pokémon to everyone," Bill said calmly.
"The match is 1v1, the loser must hand over their Pokémon to the winner," said the man in black.
"No problem, let's begin."
"Alright, since you say so, let's begin. Go, Arbok." The man released his Pokémon, a purple-bodied cobra over two meters long, which stuck out its tongue and glared at Bill.
"Arbok, huh? Then I'll use him. Go, Kangaskhan." Bill also released his Pokémon.
"Arbok, use Glare." The man in black took the initiative, commanding Arbok to use Glare.
"Ssss..." Arbok straightened its body, making the pattern on its chest larger, and aimed it at Kangaskhan.
"Roar." Kangaskhan took a step back, its body emitting electric sparks, clearly hit by the move.
"Kangaskhan, use Focus Energy." Bill also commanded at this moment, and Kangaskhan crossed its arms. "Arbok, don't give him a chance. Use Poison Fang." The man in black wouldn't miss this opportunity and immediately ordered Arbok to finish the job. "Kangaskhan, use Fake Out." Just as Arbok was about to bite Kangaskhan, Kangaskhan suddenly spread its arms and slapped Arbok's head as it flew toward it.
Arbok screamed in agony.
"Don't give him a chance. Hit him with another Focus Blast and send him back home," Bill ordered at that moment.
"Roar." Kangaskhan gathered power in both hands, unleashing a 10-centimeter-radius Focus Blast
directly at the old man's chest...
Instantly, over a dozen Pokémon surrounded the Kangaskhan.
"Damn, how dare you be so cunning!" The crowd erupted in anger upon seeing the man resorting to underhanded tactics, but their Pokémon had all been taken away, leaving them unable to confront the men.
"Haha, kid, now you know the consequences of defying me. Hand over all your Pokémon, and I'll spare your life." The man laughed arrogantly.
"Damn it," Bill frowned, clearly taken aback by the man's move.
"Ivysaur, use Razor Leaf. Pidgeot, use Whirlwind. Rattata, use Super Fang. Abra, use Psychic." Ash, who had been standing by, finally made his move. All the Pokémon used their skills together, and this sudden turn of events caught the Rocket Team off guard.
"What? Reinforcements?" The man exclaimed in surprise.
"Hmph, Kangaskhan, use Comet Punch. Meowth, use Thief. Eevee, use a shadow ball." Bill threw out two more Poké Balls and issued his commands.
"Damn it, counterattack quickly." The man reacted swiftly, but it was already too late. Due to a few seconds of negligence, their Pokémon had been scattered and quickly defeated.
"Damn it, I'll remember you. I'll be back." The man looked at the situation and could only take out a Pokémon Ball and throw it out, "Weezing Haze."
A cloud of black mist...
"Cough cough... Pidgeot, use Whirlwind to disperse the black mist," Ash commanded.
"Pidgeot..." The black mist dissipated, and the Team Rocket was already gone.
"Damn it, they got away," Ash said, sounding a bit annoyed.
"It's okay, the Pokémon are all safe. Let them run if they want to." Bill took the Poké Balls Meowth had just stolen back and returned them to their owners, then said to Ash, "Thank you for earlier. If it weren't for you, they might have stolen my Pokémon too."
"It's okay. By the way, your name is Bill, right? I came here to find you."
"Find me?" Bill looked at Ash in confusion. Liora explained to Bill.
"Oh, so you're going to Vermilion City. I don't have much to give you. I have a ship ticket here. It's for the new ship, the S.S. Anne, which will set sail in 10 days for the ship parade celebration in Vermilion City. There will be many trainers there, and you can join in." Bill said, handing Ash a ship ticket from his backpack...
"The S.S. Anne... I was just thinking of going to check it out... Thanks." Ash didn't hesitate, took the ticket, and put it away.
"No problem, I didn't want to go anyway. It's too far." Bill laughed.
"Since that's the case, I'll be going... I don't want to stay in this place for too long." Ash said and started to leave.
"Haha... I hope to see you again." Bill said without trying to stop him.
"I don't want to return here," Ash muttered under his breath, turned around, and headed toward Vermilion City.