Over the course of two months, Serena obtained eight Gym Badges, and Ash wasn't idle either.
Besides the improvement of his Pokemon, he also acquired a new Pokemon.
To be precise, it was a new Poke Egg.
The Poke Egg has already hatched, revealing a blue Phanpy inside.
The talent of this Phanpy was decent, but among Ash's outstanding Pokemon, it appeared somewhat mediocre.
After Serena obtained the eight badges, the group's objective was completely achieved.
There's still a month before the Silver Conference begins, so encountering any kind of opponent wouldn't be surprising by then.
Ash and Serena need to work hard to improve within this month.
Especially Serena. Although she got the eight badges, none of them were obtained by fighting a Gym Leader at full strength.
If she were to attend the Silver Conference now, she'd only become cannon fodder.
Within this month, her strength must be significantly enhanced.
After Serena collected eight badges, the group's objective was thoroughly accomplished.
There was still one month until the Silver Conference started.
Ash thought about taking everyone back to Pallet Town, letting them meet his mom, and having a good rest before preparing for the upcoming Silver Conference.
Hence, the group embarked on their journey back.
At this moment, they were traversing through a lush forest.
Sunlight filtered through layers of tree canopies, spreading patches of dappled light on the ground.
Eerie cries of Pokemon occasionally echoed through the woods, making everything seem so peaceful and harmonious.
But as they walked, Ash's pace suddenly slowed down.
He furrowed his brow slightly, a hint of intense concentration flickering in his eyes.
Something's wrong—this forest is unusual.
Ash couldn't specify the source of this feeling, but with his Aura Power far exceeding ordinary perception, he could clearly feel that the surrounding scenes seemed to be subtly twisting.
Everything around carried an indescribable sense of incongruity.
What's more concerning was that this sense of distortion seemed to be only perceptible to him alone.
Misty, Brock, and the others beside him continued walking ahead, chatting and laughing as if nothing was wrong.
Ash stopped walking.
"What's wrong, Ash?"
Misty, who was walking ahead, was the first to notice his unusual behavior and turned back to ask with confusion.
Ash didn't immediately answer but surveyed the surroundings slowly.
"...Something's not right."
He spoke in a deep voice, his eyes growing more vigilant by the second.
At that moment, a low voice also resonated in his mind.
It was Mewtwo inside the Pokeball.
'Ash, you felt it too.'
Mewtwo's tone carried a sense of gravity as well.
'There's an unusual presence in this forest, deeply hidden, almost melded with the forest itself.'
'From the moment we stepped in, we were likely already being watched.'
Upon hearing Mewtwo's words, Ash's expression completely darkened.
If even Mewtwo sensed the anomaly, it wasn't just his imagination.
Dawn looked around but couldn't see anything unusual.
She blinked her big eyes, appearing puzzled.
"No, it looks ordinary here? Just a regular forest..."
Before she could finish her words—
"Clap, clap, clap."
A slow, rhythmic clapping sound suddenly echoed in the silent forest.
The applause wasn't loud, but it struck everyone's heart like a heavy hammer.
The group quickly turned toward the sound.
A figure slowly emerged from within the thickest tree ahead.
It was a middle-aged man.
He had a tall and upright posture, a stern face, and deep eyes that seemed to absorb one's soul.
His face was expressionless, exuding an aura of authority and indifference from someone accustomed to high positions.
"No wonder you're the young lad who has forced Team Galactic to retreat multiple times."
The man slowly spoke, his voice low and calm, with genuine admiration in his words.
"To detect anomalies in the domain I've set up, your abilities are indeed exceptional."
Ash's pupils contracted suddenly.
"Who... who are you?"
Misty and the others behind also sensed the tension in the atmosphere and immediately became alert.
Before Ash and the others could respond, the man slightly raised his hand.
In the next moment—
"Buzz!"
The entire forest scene suddenly distorted violently.
Those verdant trees, the filtered sunlight, the scattered patches of light—all shattered like reflections on water, turning into spinning fragments of color.
Subsequently, those fragments completely disintegrated.
In an instant, the entire world around Ash and his group changed.
The tranquil forest vanished without a trace.
Instead, there was a boundless, gray void space.
No sky, no ground, no references.
All around was an overwhelming silence and emptiness, as if they had been thrown into an isolated cage.
...
Meanwhile, just as the void space materialized.
In the forest.
Cynthia, who had been trailing the group from a distance, suddenly had a change in expression.
She suddenly halted her steps.
Just now, the group led by Ash walking not far ahead of her suddenly vanished right before her eyes!