"Are you sure you want to join my family?"
Zapdos, who had originally still been hesitating, immediately nodded in agreement after hearing Red use the word "family."
"You won't regret the choice you made today!" Red said with a slight smile, happy that he was able to subdue Zapdos.
Although the Zapdos before him was not the Thunder God responsible for the Orange Islands, the fact that it could use the move Zap Cannon showed that his Zapdos also had extraordinary talent. It simply lacked the deep experience of the true Thunder God.
After Zapdos joined, Charizard and Thousand-Year Gengar also warmly welcomed it. From today onward, everyone was family.
"Don't move. I'll help improve your strength."
Red stopped the confused Zapdos and placed his hand on its body.
[Ding! Static Ability changed to Pressure Ability!]
[Ding! Successfully stacked the Lightning Rod Ability onto Zapdos!]
"Pokémon: Zapdos
Attribute: Electric + Flying
First Ability: Pressure (Exerts pressure on the opponent, greatly reducing the stamina they use when executing moves.)
Second Ability: Lightning Rod (Pokémon with this Ability are unaffected by Electric-type moves. When struck by an Electric-type move, their Special Attack increases by one stage.)
Moves: Drill Peck, Discharge, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Brave Bird, Zap Cannon...
Personality: Loves wandering near power plants to absorb electricity
Background: An ordinary Zapdos carrying the bloodline of a legendary Pokémon. It can easily control lightning to alter the environment. It has sworn to defeat all Moltres and Articuno in order to defend the reputation of Zapdos as the strongest among the Three Sacred Birds."
"It's learned a bit too few moves..."
That was Red's first reaction after checking Zapdos's data.
Having obtained the brand-new dual abilities, Zapdos was extremely excited and almost wanted to challenge Charizard right away. However, after hearing that Charizard had triple abilities in its Mega form, Zapdos immediately backed down.
"Um… can we leave now?" Butch asked awkwardly.
"We promise we won't reveal what happened tonight!" Cassidy added.
"I almost forgot about you two."
Red glanced at Thousand-Year Gengar.
"Gengar, use Hypnosis to make them forget everything that happened tonight after meeting us."
"Noooo!" x2
Cassidy and Butch screamed. Soon their eyes spun in confusion as they fell under the control of Thousand-Year Gengar's Hypnosis, gradually forgetting everything that had happened tonight.
"You should return to Professor Oak's Laboratory first and improve your strength. My earliest partners there will train you."
Red took out an Ultra Ball from his backpack and recalled Zapdos into it. The Ultra Ball didn't even shake slightly—Zapdos had been perfectly subdued by Red.
"When I reach the Seafoam Islands, I'll let you defeat Moltres and Articuno."
After hearing Red's promise, the Ultra Ball in his hand shook slightly, indicating that Zapdos had understood.
"How 'unfortunate'~ Just got subdued by the boss and you're already being sent back to Professor Oak's Laboratory."
Thousand-Year Gengar stirred up trouble as usual, teasing Red in a joking tone.
"Oh? How about you go accompany Zapdos then?"
Red smiled as he took out Thousand-Year Gengar's Poké Ball and shook it a few times, which immediately frightened Gengar.
"Don't do that, boss! I was wrong!"
Thousand-Year Gengar hurriedly admitted its mistake. It absolutely didn't want its brain tortured by Professor Oak's senryu again.
After the crisis at the power plant was resolved, Red also called Officer Jenny and sent the unconscious Team Rocket duo to prison, continuing to squeeze Giovanni's circulating funds—though such a small amount meant almost nothing to Giovanni.
...
While traveling toward Fuchsia City, Red unexpectedly received a letter asking capable trainers nearby to come help. The purpose was to eliminate the Diglett and Dugtrio that were obstructing the construction of a reservoir.
"Yo! Isn't that Red!"
A familiar voice came from behind. When Red turned around, he saw Gary sitting in a red sports car.
"So you got that letter too? As expected of my rival!" Gary said.
Red glanced at the envelope in his hand and casually tossed it into a trash can.
"It was just forced into my hand."
"It seems the situation described in that letter isn't as simple as it appears," Gary muttered. If Pokémon were truly attacking humans deliberately, Red definitely wouldn't have reacted like that.
In Gary's guess, Diglett and Dugtrio were probably the victims in this incident.
"How about riding in my sports car with me?" Gary invited.
"No thanks. Looks like there's no seat left in your car. Are you expecting me to squeeze together with your female friends?"
Red glanced at the red sports car. Under the enthusiastic waves and greetings from the many girls inside, he slowly turned around and left without even looking back.
"Uh… well…" Gary said awkwardly. It had been a reflexive polite offer. If Red had actually agreed, Gary would have had to awkwardly let him get in.
"Don't worry, Red. I'll go ahead and find out the truth behind that letter!"
After saying that, Gary waved goodbye to Red and drove away.
(Since Red reacted like that, there must be some reason why the Diglett and Dugtrio are blocking the reservoir construction. Maybe it's because...)
Up ahead on the road, parts of the mountain path had already been forcibly converted into highways. This seriously obstructed Diglett's movement and indirectly caused soil loss, leaving the wild Pokémon living in the forest without habitats.
A short while later
Red and many trainers passing through the area gathered in an open field. By coincidence, he also ran into Ash's group of three who had come here unexpectedly.
"Brother, did you also come here by chance?" Ash asked excitedly. Earlier, because he hadn't received a letter, Gary had mocked him relentlessly along the way, leaving him extremely annoyed.
"More or less. I came to help with something," Red said calmly.
(Helping the Pokémon, that is...)
"What are you talking about? Red definitely received a letter. As your brother, he's just trying to protect your dignity a little, so he didn't take it out," Misty said sharply, telling Ash not to embarrass himself any further.
"..."
Ash remained silent for a moment, squatting down with his head lowered and saying nothing.
"Excellent Pokémon trainers who are training hard, welcome! Thank you all so much for gathering here!"
The sender of the letter—the foreman of the reservoir construction project—shouted through a loudspeaker.
"This is the biggest pest Pokémon of this century—Diglett!"
The foreman pointed to a picture of Diglett behind him and began scolding it, describing Diglett as completely useless and saying it only hindered the progress of human construction.
"Wait a moment!" Gary interrupted the endlessly talking foreman and corrected him. "Diglett isn't a Bug-type Pokémon. I think calling it a Mole Pokémon would be more appropriate."
"It's 20 centimeters tall and weighs 0.8 kilograms—the biggest extremely tiny Pokémon of this century!"
"Before dealing with Diglett, I'd like to understand what kind of trouble they've actually caused."
"Good question! The Diglett have been obstructing the construction of the largest reservoir in the mountains. They're the natural enemies of us humans!" the foreman said shamelessly, blaming everything on Diglett.
"Hmph! Just as I thought!" Gary sneered, then turned toward the gathered trainers. "Everyone can go home. This isn't Diglett's fault at all!"