After leaving the Fighting Spirit Dojo.
The aura of the human city was gradually replaced by the freshness and humidity of the forest.
Having smelled the scent of sweat and medicinal oil for so long, suddenly leaving it felt a bit unfamiliar.
Ash, Misty, and Brock rode their bicycles along the increasingly rugged and uneven road, heading in the direction of Gringey City.
Compared to the wide main roads connecting the major cities, this road leading to the industrial city had obviously been neglected in maintenance, with a potholed surface.
The trees on both sides also appeared to grow more wildly, with dense branches occasionally extending into the middle of the road.
In short, the road conditions were quite difficult.
It was far worse than the road between Saffron City and Celadon City.
Ash rode at the very front.
His gaze scanned ahead, constantly alert for any abnormalities, but his body seemed unable to stay idle.
Whenever his bicycle passed a large tree by the roadside that looked sturdy enough, he would subconsciously throw a punch, or use his hand as a knife, swiftly and precisely delivering a strike to the trunk.
"Bang!" "Smack!" "Thud thud—"
The dull sounds of impact and the subtle tremors of the trees became the most frequent background noise of the journey.
At first, Misty and Brock could maintain their silence.
But as more and more roadside trees fell victim to his vicious hands, Misty finally couldn't help but hold her forehead and retort:
"Hey, Ash! I know you just finished special training at the dojo and have excess energy, but you don't need to go and greet every single tree, do you?"
"They aren't going to jump out and battle you!"
Misty felt... could it be that Ash would turn into one of those muscle-brained fighters in the future?
Please, not that!!
Brock smiled helplessly: "Although trees have tenacious vitality, and a punch mark usually doesn't matter much, this habit of yours to hit everything you pass... does look a bit..."
Plant-based organisms are different after all. Especially large trees, which mainly rely on their bark to transport nutrients.
As long as a large ring of bark isn't severed, there's basically no problem.
A punch mark?
It completely doesn't matter.
Anyway, it wouldn't be like that scenario where 'one stick in hand after school leaves miles of wildflowers headless'.
Hearing this, Ash chuckled: "Sorry, sorry."
"For a Martial Artist, one must turn the method of exerting force into muscle instinct."
"And since I just learned Aura not long ago, I need to practice even more."
"I'm just trying to find the feeling~"
"To link Aura and muscle instinct together while exerting force."
This was also the biggest difference between humans and Lucario, who are Aura Pokémon.
Lucario knows Aura from birth; it is instinctual by nature.
Humans learn Aura later in life and need to train this into an instinct.
There is no way to rush this aspect; one can only rely on time to grind it out.
"Besides, look."
Ash pointed to a tree trunk he had just struck with a hand knife; only a shallow white mark remained there.
"I controlled my strength; I won't really hurt them."
Saying this, to prove his point, he threw another punch at the trunk of a different tree.
This time, the instant his fist contacted the bark, a layer of imperceptible, lustrous Aura light flashed and vanished.
The fist paused slightly as if sinking into soft mud, and immediately, the tree trunk shook violently.
Leaves rustled down, yet the bark itself remained completely undamaged.
As long as the outer bark of the tree isn't damaged, hurting the wood inside matters even less.
For a large tree, the wood inside only serves a structural support function; other than that, it doesn't matter at all.
"This..." Misty and Brock looked at each other, both seeing the surprise in the other's eyes.
This wasn't pure brute force, but some kind of penetration and oscillation technique—how long had it been since he learned Aura?!
"Alright, you win." Misty sighed, considering it an acknowledgment of his unique training method.
High in the sky.
Pidgeotto spread its wide wings, its sharp gaze sweeping over the forest and road below like a scanner, ensuring there were no large-scale wild Pokémon groups or other potential dangers ahead.
It occasionally let out a crisp cry, transmitting a signal of "all safe" to its companions on the ground.
Meanwhile, on Ash's head and shoulders, it was a different scene.
Misdreavus seemed to have recovered from the previous disappointment of being unable to safely conduct Ghost-type power to Ash, or rather, it had turned that depression into motivation for pranks.
Sometimes it turned into a blurry black shadow, approaching Pikachu silently, then suddenly materializing and letting out a strange cry of "Muma!".
Sometimes it used illusions to create fake obstacles on the path ahead, causing Pikachu to subconsciously want to use an electric attack to clear them.
In short, it was making a ceaseless ruckus.
"Pika! Pikachu!" Pikachu was originally cultivating as well.
So at first, it was startled, the electric sacs on its cheeks crackling, but it quickly realized it was Misdreavus causing trouble.
It cried out grumpily a few times, then immediately used Magnet Rise and chased after Misdreavus.
The two little guys chased and fled, tracing trajectories that were joyful to them in the air and among the roadside treetops, adding a lot of vitality to the slightly dull journey.
...Don't look at how Pikachu seems angry when being teased.
...Actually, Pikachu is having quite a lot of fun playing too.
No matter how much Pikachu pretends to be mature, it is still just a Pokémon, especially since it isn't very old either.
...Pikachu is actually very playful, okay?
As the setting sun gradually sank, dyeing the horizon a magnificent orange-red, the road became even harder to traverse.
Some sections were even occupied by spreading tree roots and overgrown vines.
The three had to get off their bikes and push them forward with difficulty.
"It seems Gringey City's main traffic really relies on waterways," Brock observed the surrounding environment and said. "With the land route maintained like this, the flow of people and freight must be very low."
A river surged nearby, the sound of water rumbling.
But looking closely, the river water seemed to carry an unhealthy, oily colorful sheen.
A faint, strange smell also began to permeate the air.
This used to be an industrial city; even if it is gradually changing trades now, the pollution is still somewhat severe.
Brock looked at the sky, then glanced at the stream beside them, which, although slightly turbid, had a fairly rapid flow: "It's getting late, and the road ahead doesn't look easy to travel either."
"Why don't we camp here? It's close to a water source, making it convenient to fetch water... hmm, although this water might need to be purified before use."
Never mind polluted river water in the wild.
Even unpolluted water that looks very clear cannot be consumed casually.
Polluted river water contains some chemical substances.
Unpolluted river water contains bacteria and parasites.
As for which is more dangerous?
It's really hard to say.
...At least a small amount of diluted sewage won't kill a person, but if the water has deadly parasites and bacteria...
...Emm, anyway, camping in the wild is very dangerous.
"Yay! We can finally rest!" Misty immediately cheered.
Having cycled continuously for half a day and pushed the bike occasionally, her legs were already a bit sore and weak.
"Misty, I think you need to exercise your body too~" Ash exerted force with his arm, visibly showing his biceps.
"I don't want to become hard as a rock like that, I'm a beautiful girl~" Although Misty liked looking at Ash's muscles, she absolutely didn't want to train her own body to be like that.
The three leaned their bicycles securely against a particularly thick tree and began to divide the labor.
Ash was responsible for clearing a clean campsite and helping to set up the tents.
Misty went out to look around to see if she could find some fruits or mushrooms, and to fetch some water by the way.
And Brock, naturally, began taking pots, pans, various ingredients, and Berries out of his backpack, preparing to show off his skills.
Vulpix was helping Brock by starting the fire.
In a sense, Brock was the busiest one.
Cooking is physically demanding work.
Soon, the campfire was lit.
The dancing flames dispelled the evening chill of the forest and brought warmth and light.
Brock skillfully processed the ingredients.
The thick soup stewing in the pot began to emit a tantalizing aroma, mixing with the sweet scent of roasted Berries.
Although cooking such delicious food in the wild was a bit arrogant.
But who was he?
Brock wasn't afraid of that.
Misty picked some edible fungi and berries, washed them clean, and handed them to Brock.
Just as Misty was bored, sitting around the campfire chatting with a few Pokémon while waiting for dinner to be ready.
An agile figure, using the cover of twilight, silently slipped out from the bushes.
Its eyes stared dead at the few plump Berries on the mat aside that Brock had just cut and prepared for salad, swallowing its saliva.
It was a Mankey!
It had been attracted by this rich aroma of food.
The Mankey spotted the opening when Brock turned to get seasonings; its hind legs pushed off violently as it dashed out, its claws reaching straight for those tempting Berries.
However, although its movements were fast, someone was faster.
Almost the same instant the Mankey moved, Ash, who was holding a twig and unconsciously practicing punch trajectories in the air, suddenly narrowed his eyes.
He didn't even fully stand up; he simply generated force from his waist and abdomen, his body turning sideways like a taut bowstring. His right hand holding the twig was like a venomous snake striking from its hole, arriving first despite moving later.
The twig was launched.
"Snap!"
A soft sound.
The twig struck the Mankey's wrist.
A surge of chaotic Aura power penetrated instantly.
Not injuring the body.
But enough to interrupt the movement and bring a sensation of soreness and numbness.
"Roar!" The Mankey cried out in pain, its forward momentum coming to an abrupt halt.
The entire monkey seemed to have been pressed with a pause button, then flopped onto the ground with a thud, clutching its numb claw and looking up at Ash with a face full of confusion.
It completely didn't understand; it was clearly so fast, so how was it stopped by this human again?
Ash looked at the Mankey grimacing on the ground and shook his head helplessly: "It's better not to steal a Trainer's things. If you want to eat, you can try asking for it."
"Hehehe..." Misty laughed watching Ash lecture the monkey. "If you want it, just ask nicely, or bringing something to exchange works too!"
Brock walked over.
Looking at the Mankey's somewhat thin frame and dirty fur, a flash of understanding passed through his eyes.
He picked up the few Berries it had attempted to steal, added some extra Pokémon food, placed them on a clean leaf, and pushed it in front of the Mankey.
"Eat." Brock's voice was gentle. "By the looks of it, the food you've found nearby recently isn't quite enough, is it?"
"Is it because the closer we get to Gringey City, the fewer clean Berries and water sources there are?"
...This was an extremely reasonable speculation.
...It was even possible that the few Berries Misty found belonged to this monkey.
The Mankey looked at the fragrant food in front of it, then looked up at the trio. A trace of hesitation flashed in its eyes, but the growling of its stomach ultimately conquered its vigilance.
It carefully grabbed the food and began to wolf it down.
Indistinct "Hey-wha... hey-wha..." sounds came from the Mankey's mouth.
Watching the Mankey wolfing down the food, Ash squatted down and said to it seriously: "Stealing a Trainer's things is very dangerous. Not all Trainers are as easy to talk to as us... do you understand?"
The Mankey blinked, seemingly understanding yet not, and quickly stuffed the last bit of food into its mouth. Then it cried out twice to the three of them, turned, and agilely dashed back into the bushes, disappearing from sight.
Although there is a saying that Mankeys have bad tempers.
Not all Mankeys are unaware of the immensity of heaven and earth.
Fighting when you can't win is just asking for a beating.
After letting the Mankey go, the camp returned to tranquility.
The campfire crackled, and the aroma of the stew became increasingly rich.
Misty looked in the direction the Mankey had disappeared: "It seems the situation over at Gringey City might be even worse than we imagined; even the surrounding wild Pokémon have been affected."
Brock nodded. While distributing the stewed soup to everyone, he said in a deep voice: "Yeah, the impact of industrial pollution is often very long-lasting."
"After we enter the Gringey City range tomorrow, we have to be even more careful."
"There might be quite a lot of Pokémon like Grimer and Muk there."
Brock thought of Trubbish, and also Garbodor... tough to deal with.
These types of garbage-based Pokémon belong to the category of manure monsters that are not easy to bully.
Battling them.
There's no benefit if you win, and even less benefit if you lose.
But if ignored, these Pokémon will seriously pollute the environment.
They are the accomplices to the environmental pollution caused by humans, aiding its expansion.
They are also born from the environmental pollution caused by humans.
Especially Trubbish and Garbodor.
The existence of these two often implies there is a large garbage dump.
If such a garbage dump is next to a flowing water source... the picture is simply too beautiful to imagine.
But Gringey City happens to be surrounded by the sea.
It could be said to be a paradise for garbage-type Pokémon, especially since it now undertakes waste recycling projects.
The accumulation of garbage and waste will absolutely cause pollution; after all, even if they want to recycle and process it, there is a process involved.
It's just that there are many Pokémon in this world.
The power of nature can suppress the range.
But unless something like Suicune runs over to purify it, the pollution won't disappear completely.
Ash took the steaming soup bowl, but his gaze looked toward the direction of Gringey City. He gently stroked the head of Pikachu beside him: "No matter what's ahead, we will face it together."
"Pika!" Pikachu rubbed against his hand, the electricity on its cheeks flashing slightly to express agreement.
After all, everyone's strength had increased a lot now.
Misdreavus also floated down quietly, leaning next to Pikachu, watching the jumping campfire, thinking about unknown things.
____
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