Chapter 242: A Meeting Across Time and Space (5)
Ash used his Aura to detect the surroundings and led the group toward the area in the forest with the most wild Pokémon.
After running for who knows how long, the group arrived at an area filled with thick fog.
"Pika!"
Pikachu called out into the mist.
Then, a fierce-looking Ursaring walked over with a swaggering gait, followed closely by a Teddiursa.
The Ursaring gave Ash and the others a look, then turned and walked toward the back.
"What's wrong?" Brock asked in confusion.
"They want us to follow them; the Life Lake is just ahead," Ash explained.
After following the Ursaring for a while, a Stantler took over the lead, followed by a Sentret. After passing through a weed-choked section, the group arrived in front of a Lake.
The Lake was shrouded in thick fog, giving it a cold and mysterious feeling.
"Bi~"
As soon as Celebi entered the Life Lake, it felt like it had returned home. It left Sammy's shoulder, dove into the water, and swam toward the center of the Lake.
The moment it entered the Life Lake, the fog that had been shrouding the surface of the Lake suddenly dissipated.
The banks of the Life Lake were crowded with wild Pokémon.
After receiving the nourishment of the sunlight and Lake water in the center of the Lake, Celebi emitted a green light and then flew spiritedly toward Ash and the others.
Clearly, Celebi had fully recovered.
After recovering its energy, Celebi became very lively and playful. It pulled Ash and Sammy to play in the Lake, and during this time, it even used its power to completely heal Misty's foot.
As the sky grew dark, the group decided to set up camp beside the Life Lake.
When the capsule house was released, it surprised Sammy for a long time. He hadn't expected that technology could advance so quickly in forty years.
...
In the forest.
The Team Rocket Trio and the Iron-Masked Marauder also found a place to set up camp.
"Lord Iron-Masked Marauder, those Ashs are not to be trifled with. If you only want to catch Celebi, I think you need a machine that can mask your presence," Meowth suggested to the Iron-Masked Marauder.
The Iron-Masked Marauder glanced at Meowth and asked, "Why?"
As an executive, the Iron-Masked Marauder had heard of Jessie's team's track record, especially since Giovanni, the boss of Team Rockets, had given them a long-term mission, and they had recently sent back an important piece of intelligence.
The content of this intelligence was said to be related to a legendary Pokémon, but since the Iron-Masked Marauder's goal was Celebi, he hadn't had time to investigate this intelligence yet.
"Today, that Ash who owns Pikachu possesses a special Psychic power. He can sense everything around him, and he has used this Psychic power to ruin many of our plans."
"That's right, Lord Iron-Masked Marauder, that Ash is really weird. Not only can he accurately expose our disguises every time, but he also ruins the traps we set, and he even knows our Team Rockets' distribution in various places like the back of his hand.
Not long ago, he even sent Dr. Seelano and Captain Tatsumi to jail."
"That Ash also has a very close relationship with the Johto Champion, Lance," James added.
"Oh? This matter seems to be getting more and more interesting. Then, I'll leave this shielding device to you three to handle.
If this is done well, once I catch Celebi, there will be no shortage of credit for you," the Iron-Masked Marauder said.
Hearing this, the Team Rocket Trio was excited. Meowth even patted his chest and said, "Yes, leave this to us, Meowth!"
Then the three of them ran to a corner and started preparing.
"Hey, are you two really planning to help the Iron-Masked Marauder catch Celebi?" Jessie asked in a low voice.
James, being a bit naive, said, "What else? Didn't Lord Iron-Masked Marauder say he would give us credit?"
Meowth said, frustrated, "Stupid! Celebi is a legendary Pokémon. If the Iron-Masked Marauder catches it and presents it to the Boss, all the credit will be his, Meowth!"
"But Meowth, why did you agree to him?" James asked, looking at Meowth in confusion.
"If I don't agree to him, who will help us fight that Ash? Do you want to blast off again, Meowth?"
"That's right, Meowth, it seems you already have a plan!" Jessie said, looking at Meowth with a wicked smile.
Meowth also revealed a cold, wicked smile: "Of course, the credit for capturing Celebi this time can only be ours, Meowth!"
...
A sleepless night.
The next day, when the sky was just beginning to brighten, Ash woke up and saw Sammy drawing a picture of Celebi and Pikachu.
"Sammy, you're up so early!" Ash asked.
Sammy smiled and said, "Yeah, I'm used to it."
"It's drawn very well, and your observation is very detailed. Sammy, do you plan to become a Pokémon Researcher in the future?" Ash asked.
"This? I haven't thought about it yet! Actually, I left home to travel because I felt very lost. During this time traveling, I have seen many different Pokémon and have also made friends with quite a few of them.
Perhaps in the future, I will choose to be a Pokémon Researcher, but it's too early to say that now..." Sammy said, his tone unconsciously becoming dejected.
Ash knew what Sammy was worried about, so he comforted him: "Sammy, it's okay. Celebi was able to bring you to this time, so it will definitely be able to take you back."
"Yeah! By the way, Ash, why did you go out to travel?" Sammy suddenly asked.
"Me? I want to become a Pokémon Master and make friends with Pokémon."
As the two talked, before they knew it, the sun had risen.
After finishing breakfast, Ash and his group headed toward the shrine where they had found Sammy and Celebi.
Along the way, Celebi was extremely lively, like a puppy that had been imprisoned for a long time and had regained its freedom.
It wanted to touch everything it saw and wanted to pick and eat any fruit it saw.
Upon arriving at the shrine, Celebi was still frolicking energetically.
Suddenly, a mechanical arm reached out from the dense bushes nearby.
Celebi nimbly dodged this sudden attack.
Facing this sudden situation, Ash couldn't help but frown. He had been keeping his Aura detection on the whole time; there shouldn't have been any enemies nearby!
"What's going on?" Sammy asked, looking around in confusion.
"Since you asked with such sincerity."
"We will tell you out of mercy."
"Now is not the time for that! Hurry up and catch that Celebi!"
At this moment, the Team Rocket Trio jumped out, each holding a net, and they all had a device similar to a signal transmitter hanging on them.
Seeing the devices on the Trio, Ash realized what was going on. These three idiots had actually become smart; they had actually come up with an instrument to counter his Aura detection.
He was sensing the three of them now as if he were sensing some kind of wild Pokémon; no wonder he couldn't detect their ambush.
"Celebi, come behind me!" Sammy shouted anxiously.
"Bi~"
Hearing this, Celebi turned and flew behind Sammy.
"Want to run? I won't let you have your way. Tyranitar, use Hyper Beam."
The Iron-Masked Marauder's voice came, and the next second, a beam attack with astonishing power blocked Celebi.
"What a pain. Pikachu, go take care of Tyranitar."
Loving Book So Far Check Out 80+ Advanced Chapters At Pa Treon:
patreon.com/FicTonic1