Before they knew it, Ash had already captured four Pokémon in the Johto Region.
With Heracross, Bayleef, Quilava, and the newly caught Slowpoke, plus his current companions Pikachu, Snorlax, and Squirtle, the number of Pokémon on Ash's person had reached seven again.
Consequently, Ash had no choice but to transfer Squirtle back to Professor Oak.
Perhaps Squirtle had sensed something during this time. Ash had been pouring a lot of energy into his newer Pokémon, rarely training with Squirtle and instead using it as a sparring partner to help the others.
Moreover, traveling with them was Charizard, who had reached its final evolution so quickly and gained entirely new power after grueling training. Squirtle couldn't help but feel a pang of envy.
In truth, Bulbasaur had accumulated enough power to evolve shortly after Ash caught it.
In the mysterious garden of Venusaur, an elder-level Venusaur had wanted to use its power to help the Bulbasaur evolve.
However, Bulbasaur had refused. It suppressed the power rising within its body and chose to forgo evolution.
It wanted to prove that it could obtain great power even without evolving.
But during the Indigo League in Kanto, both it and Squirtle had suffered, and Ash had paid a heavy price because of it. While it wasn't a total disaster, it was clear that if they had stronger bodies, they certainly could have helped Ash achieve better results.
Squirtle had also been silently suppressing its evolution, primarily for the sake of the subordinates it had before joining Ash.
As the Squirtle Squad, wouldn't evolving be seen as a betrayal?
Yet, for a Squirtle that had voluntarily followed Ash to become his Pokémon, was that considered having a divided heart?
Now, with Ash's team of six full—even that glutton who did nothing but sleep all day remained by his side—it, the former vanguard, had been sent back.
After returning to the backyard of Professor Oak's Laboratory, Squirtle and Bulbasaur had a deep discussion about the issue of evolution, but they couldn't reach a conclusion.
In their hearts, they knew Ash was willing to respect them. Even if they were unwilling to evolve, he let them choose the life they wanted.
Bulbasaur seemed to have found a job it was suited for. Before Ash caught it, it had cared for the Pokémon in the Pokémon Village. Now, managing the backyard of the research institute was a perfect fit.
But what about Squirtle?
It had chosen to follow Ash wasn't it meant to fight for him?
Away in the Johto Region, Ash naturally had no way of knowing the inner struggles of his two former aces.
He was currently heading to the mountains behind Kurt's house to pick a few Apricorns to craft Poké Balls with special functions.
The old man they had helped at the Slowpoke Well was indeed Kurt.
Not only was he an outstanding craftsman who could turn Apricorns into Poké Balls, but he was also responsible for guarding the Slowpoke Well in Azalea Town.
Unfortunately, even Kurt had never seen a GS Ball before.
However, having delivered the GS Ball to Kurt for investigation, the group's mission was essentially complete.
To thank Ash and his friends for saving him at the Slowpoke Well, Kurt not only gave each of them a Fast Ball but also gave Ash special permission to go to the back mountain to pick some Apricorns so he could make special Poké Balls for them.
Ash, of course, was happy to accept.
As a Pokémon Trainer, who could refuse the temptation of unique Poké Balls?
"Apricorns come in seven colors: white, red, blue, black, pink, green, and yellow. Therefore, Poké Balls made from different Apricorns each have their own unique characteristics!" Kurt's granddaughter, Maizie, introduced the information regarding Apricorns to Ash and his friends as if they were precious treasures.
In the backyard of Kurt's house, they only grew White Apricorns, which was why Ash's group needed to go to the back mountain to pick others themselves.
"This is a Pink Apricorn!"
Arriving at the back mountain, Maizie pointed to a tree laden with pink fruit. "Poké Balls made from this fruit can be used on Pokémon of the opposite gender to your own!"
Hearing this, Brock immediately made a connection. "Maybe they'd even work on Nurse Joy or Officer Jenny!"
Looking at the look in his eyes...
Misty couldn't stand it anymore. She twisted his ear and cut off his fantasy.
Ash's lip also twitched. He thought to himself that this big brother, who could distinguish between Nurse Joys from different regions, had seemingly discovered a secret of this world!
Unfortunately, these Apricorns weren't ripe yet and couldn't be picked.
Moreover, they couldn't pick too many at once, or the tree would die.
Walking a few steps further, they saw Yellow Apricorns. These were for crafting Moon Balls, which were used for Pokémon that evolved using a Moon Stone.
Sadly, they weren't ripe either.
That was just the way luck went. Ash and his friends had arrived at this time of year, and since the fruit wasn't ripe, it simply wasn't meant to be.
Aside from the Apricorns, various Pokémon seemed to live here, guarding the trees to ensure they didn't die.
"That's the Green Apricorn forest!"
Directly in front of Ash and his friends was a vast area of Apricorn trees laden with green fruit. "Those can be made into Friend Balls!"
After checking, Maizie said happily, "It should be fine to pick one from over there!"
Hearing this, Ash prepared to step forward to harvest one, but a swarm of Beedrill suddenly appeared, blocking his path.
Beedrill had always been a nightmare for trainers in the wild. A single one wasn't scary, but once you laid a hand on one, it would trigger an overwhelming attack from the whole swarm.
"I'm only taking one, I won't take more!"
In the past, Ash would have immediately turned around and run with Misty and Brock.
But this time, a blue light flashed in Ash's eyes, and all the Beedrill froze in their tracks, unable to move an inch.
"This is...?"
Little Maizie was stunned by the scene before her. She had already hidden in fear behind Misty, only to find that these two older siblings weren't panicked at all in the face of the Beedrill.
Ash picked a Green Apricorn, using his Aura to pluck it with a mental force, and returned to Misty and Brock. "Ready to run?"
With that, he was the first to grab Maizie and bolt.
The Beedrill behind them broke free from Ash's restraint and immediately lunged forward.
Misty and Brock's expressions changed drastically, and they hurriedly followed.
Fortunately, the Beedrill didn't pursue them for long. Once they stopped, the four of them looked at the Green Apricorn in Ash's hand and burst out laughing.
That was a thrill! Let's do it again!
Of course, there were more opportunities. Ash took Misty, Brock, and Maizie to pick two Blue Apricorns and one Black Apricorn.
Blue Apricorns could be made into Lure Balls for catching Water-type Pokémon.
Meanwhile, Heavy Balls made from Black Apricorns were designed for Pokémon with large weights and sizes.
Once the crafting was complete, Ash received a Heavy Ball and a Lure Ball.
Misty, being a Water-type trainer, was also given a Lure Ball.
For Brock, who wanted to be a Breeder, a Friend Ball was naturally the most suitable. He even caught a Pineco on the back mountain, and their compatibility was quite high.
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