It turned out that Ash's judgment was correct.
Although Pikachu still lacked training, its tail was already one of the most important parts of its body.
It only took two days for it to learn Iron Tail. Of course, it could only use the move roughly for now—true mastery would still require practice in real battles.
What truly satisfied Ash, however, was Charizard wearing the Forced Training Device.
It had already completely adapted to the heavy, rigid restraints!
"Again!"
Ash's fists shone with blue light as he advanced instead of retreating, meeting Charizard's swiping claws head-on with a punch.
But at that moment, Charizard's claws suddenly changed.
"Hm?"
Ash's Aura sensed the danger in time, and he quickly dodged.
He saw green-blue Dragon-type energy gathering around Charizard's claws, flashing with a sharp and dazzling glow!
Slash!
That Dragon Claw could split metal and stone. Missing Ash, it pierced straight into the rock wall behind him.
"Stop!"
Ash quickly called for a halt. If that claw had really struck him, even with Aura, he would have been seriously injured.
Brock and Misty rushed over.
"Ash, what was that just now?"
Ash looked at Charizard, who also seemed unsure.
"Charizard… must have just learned the move Dragon Claw. That's a Dragon-type skill!"
"Dragon Claw? Wow, amazing!" Misty's eyes sparkled—it was indeed a spectacular move.
"Charizard, get used to Dragon Claw. Today's training ends here!" Ash said as he removed the Forced Training Device from Charizard.
"Rooaaar!"
With its restrained power finally restored, Charizard let out a roar of joy, spouting flames wildly into the sky. The fiery column stretched over five meters high.
Stretching its arms, Charizard felt stronger than ever before.
"Huh? What's this?"
Off to the side, Brock exclaimed. In his hand was a beautiful fragment of stone.
"This looks just like Ms. Itsuki's necklace! Could it be…?" Misty's eyes were full of surprise.
Ash took the stone fragment from Brock.
"Looks like our luck's really good. Charizard used its newly learned Dragon Claw and actually dug up a piece of agate!"
"That's awesome—Charizard found it!" Misty beamed at Charizard. "Huh? It even looks a little taller now."
Charizard really did seem bigger. The effect of the Forced Training Device was impressive.
Not only that, Ash's bond value with Charizard had also reached 175/255. This training was clearly a big success.
After letting Charizard practice Dragon Claw a bit more, Ash and his friends packed up their things, took the small agate shard, and went to see Ms. Itsuki again.
"Ms. Itsuki, it is fate's call that we meet again!"
Itsuki had been in another part of the valley these past few days, training a young Donphan to search for agate.
The moment Ash saw her, Brock suddenly vanished from his side and reappeared in front of Itsuki.
Then Misty vanished too—only to drag Brock away.
"Ash, are you leaving already?" Itsuki could tell at a glance that the group was preparing to depart.
"That's right, Ms. Itsuki. We found this. Could you tell us if it's agate?" Ash handed over the stone fragment.
It really was agate, and of very good quality too. This shocked Itsuki.
Hearing how Ash and Charizard had found it, she marveled at their good fortune.
Since she had promised free processing, Ash didn't hold back.
The shard was just enough to make two pendants. Ash gave one to Misty, and the other—naturally—to his mother, Delia.
"Then, we'll take our leave!"
After saying farewell to Itsuki and leaving Donphan Valley, Ash and his companions soon got lost again.
Although Ash had Aura and could sense directions, this place was clearly strange—haunted even.
Real ghosts!
"Ash, do something quick! I don't want to camp in a creepy forest like this!"
The sky was darkening. Though they were used to camping outdoors, the eerie atmosphere of this forest—where something strange could pop out at any moment—was unbearable for Misty.
Without realizing it, she was gradually starting to rely on Ash.
But as soon as she spoke, a chilling laugh echoed through the forest winds.
"Ahh!!"
Misty instinctively clung to Ash's arm. This was exactly what she feared most.
Not only that, but strange ghostly faces appeared on the trunks of the surrounding trees.
"Pikachu, that way—Thunderbolt!"
A flash of blue—Ash decisively commanded an attack in the direction where he sensed a strange Aura.
"Gwahahaha!"
Sure enough, although there seemed to be nothing there, Pikachu's electricity struck true.
But after a cry of pain, the eerie laughter returned again.
"Hmph, Pikachu, this time—over there!"
Ash pointed in another direction, and Pikachu struck again.
This time, Ash caught a glimpse of the figures flashing by.
"Gengar, Haunter, and Gastly!"
All of them were Ghost-type Pokémon!
"Misty, don't be scared. These are just illusions created by the Ghost Pokémon!" Ash reassured her gently.
"Ash… do you have a way to deal with this?"
"I can sense the Ghost-types' Aura, but I can't break their illusions. If only we had a Pokémon that could use Foresight…" Ash sighed.
"Ash, it seems you've grown quite a lot."
A voice came from the depths of the forest.
Ash knew it instantly. "Gary, is that you?"
It really was his lifelong rival. "Didn't expect to meet you here!"
At Gary's feet stood a small, one-legged owl Pokémon.
"Hoothoot?"
Obviously, Gary was using his Hoothoot's Foresight to counter the forest's illusions.
"To get out of this Forest of Deception, you'll need Hoothoot's lead," Gary explained.
Ash nodded. "Alright then, Gary. Let's walk together. Tomorrow, once we're out, let's have a 1-on-1 battle!"
"Deal."
Pikachu: 195/255
Charizard: 175/255
Snorlax: 135/255
Heracross: 100/250