Although Red and Ash recovered quickly, that short delay was already enough time for Team Rocket to retreat.
On top of that, Mt. The Moon's cave system was incredibly complex. Once someone lost track of the enemy, catching up again was almost impossible.
So after chasing for a short while, the group gave up the pursuit.
After resting briefly, they didn't linger and quickly left the cave, arriving at the top of Mt. Moon.
Brock hurried toward Mt. Moon's most famous attraction—the giant Moon Stone.
Because the Moon Stone was extremely precious, the area was normally closed to the public. But now wasn't the time to worry about such details.
So Brock quickly climbed over the barriers with practiced ease, as if this place were his own backyard.
Those movements definitely didn't look like something he was doing for the first time.
Serena found it a little suspicious, but the other two didn't react at all.
Of course, Red knew exactly what kind of person Brock was.
As for Ash… he simply didn't notice anything strange.
When they finally examined the giant Moon Stone, Brock circled around it several times.
Yet he couldn't find a single scratch.
"That's strange," Brock muttered while scratching his head.
"There's no sign of damage."
He turned to Ash and Red.
"Are you sure you heard Team Rocket say they collected Moon Stones?"
"I'm pretty sure," Ash replied, glancing at Red.
"Red heard it too, right?"
"…Yeah."
Red responded with a single word.
"That's odd. The Moon Stone here looks completely untouched."
Brock looked even more confused.
Did Team Rocket really drive everyone away just to collect small fragments of Moon Stone?
Sure, Team Rocket could be ruthless enough to do something like that.
But it still felt excessive.
What exactly had they taken?
And why did they need Moon Stones?
Ash quickly gave up thinking about it.
Seeing the others still deep in thought, he stepped forward and said cheerfully,
"If we can't figure it out, let's just tell Officer Jenny later. She probably knows more than we do."
"…That's true," Brock nodded.
"That might be our only option."
Although Mt. Moon had become quiet because of Team Rocket's activities, the group hadn't forgotten why they came here.
The summit of Mt. Moon had fewer Pokemonthan the caves, but there were still plenty of Clefairy… Clefairy… and more Clefairy.
Most of them hid themselves, but there were so many that you could still spot a few without much effort.
"Ash, do you want to catch a Clefairy?"
Serena asked with sparkling eyes.
"Clefairy are so cute."
"I'd rather catch something cooler," Ash said while searching the area for other Pokémon.
Unfortunately, he couldn't find anything besides Clefairy.
"This is tough."
Ash scratched his head and sighed.
"I guess I'll just catch one anyway—"
"…Cool?"
Red suddenly spoke from beside him.
When Ash looked over, Red opened his Pokédex and scrolled through it.
Then he showed Ash the screen.
"This one?"
Ash leaned closer.
The Pokédex showed a large, bipedal, brown Pokémon.
Ash read the name.
"Kanga…skhan?"
"Kangaskhan? Did you say Kangaskhan?"
Before Ash could react, Brock rushed over.
After seeing the Pokédex entry, Brock looked at Red in surprise.
"You mean Kangaskhan appear around here?"
"…Yeah," Red replied briefly.
"Go?"
"Is Kangaskhan strong?" Ash asked curiously.
"Very strong," Brock said seriously.
"I remember that one of the Kanto League Champions once had a very powerful Kangaskhan."
"Really?"
Ash's interest instantly skyrocketed.
"Alright! Then Kangaskhan it is! Red, please take me there!"
"Okay."
Red answered immediately.
He was a decisive person, so he gestured for Ash to follow.
"Come."
"Got it!"
Ash eagerly followed.
Brock came along too, curious to see the rare Pokémon.
Serena hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.
"You guys go ahead. I want to try catching a Clefairy, so I'll stay here."
Everyone accepted that decision.
After reminding her to stay safe, the three boys headed down the mountain in search of Kangaskhan.
Before leaving, Froakie beat Ash up again, adding several new red marks to his already bruised face.
Red and Brock watched in amazement.
Froakie's attacks were not gentle at all.
Against an ordinary person, those blows could easily cause serious injury.
Yet Ash only ended up with minor wounds.
His physical durability was almost comparable to that of powerful Pokémon.
Red felt increasingly strange about this fellow from Pallet Town.
The people from that town were all… weird.
"By the way, Red!"
Ash suddenly said.
"After I catch Kangaskhan, let's battle!"
He raised his fist enthusiastically.
"I heard from the Bug Catcher that you're really strong!"
"We should definitely have a battle!"
Earlier, Ash had learned that Red was one of the three monsters from Pallet Town the Bug Catcher mentioned.
And Ash had always been curious about them.
Now that he had finally met one—
Of course he wanted to battle.
"…Sure."
Red agreed without hesitation.
He never refused a challenge.
Even if this fellow seemed a bit inexperienced.
Still—
That Froakie was interesting.
And Ash himself seemed… strange.
Red had a feeling Ash might surprise him again.
Just like when they were kids.
Yes.
Red actually recognized Ash.
They had met briefly when they were younger.
Red once helped Ash with something, which left a small impression.
What had Ash done back then?
Nothing too crazy.
He had simply covered himself in mud and pretended to be a Diglett to get close to a group of Dugtrio.
And somehow—
It worked.
Red had been shocked.
Later he tried the same trick himself.
He covered himself in so much mud he almost resembled a Grimer.
The Dugtrio ignored him completely.
Green laughed at him for days afterward.
So yes—
Red was actually quite curious about battling Ash.
But first—
Ash needed to catch a new Pokémon.
Red suddenly stopped walking.
"…Here."
"We're here?"
Ash looked around.
"Where's the Kangaskhan?"
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
Heavy footsteps echoed.
Then a massive head appeared above the trees.
It was Kangaskhan.
Seeing the group, the Kangaskhan's expression became fierce.
It spread its arms and roared in warning.
"Alright! I'll catch you, Kangaskhan!"
Ash immediately threw a Poké Ball.
"Mimikyu, I choose you!"
"Mimi!"
"Use Double Team!"
Mimikyu instantly created over a dozen copies.
At that moment, Kangaskhan suddenly made a strange face, as if something had gone wrong.
"What's happening?" Ash asked.
"It probably tried using Sucker Punch," Brock explained.
"Sucker Punch only works if the opponent uses an attacking move. Since Mimikyu used Double Team instead, the move failed."
"I see!"
Ash nodded enthusiastically.
"A priority move, huh? In that case—Mimikyu, use Shadow Sne—"
"Wait, Ash."
Brock quickly stopped him.
"Ghost-type moves don't affect Normal-type Pokémon. You know that, right?"
Ash blinked in confusion.
Brock rubbed his forehead.
"…Right. You're still a beginner trainer."
He quickly explained the type chart.
Ash didn't remember most of it.
But he did understand one thing.
Ghost and Normal moves can't hit each other.
"Then no Ghost moves…"
Ash thought for a moment.
"In that case—Mimikyu, use Hone Claws!"
"Mimi!"
Mimikyu sharpened its claws.
Its Attack rose.
Kangaskhan didn't stand idle.
It charged forward, smashing through the illusions with its massive body.
After clearing the copies, it found the real Mimikyu.
It immediately opened its mouth—
Crunch!
"Don't be scared, Mimikyu! Use Slash!"
"Mimi!"
Mimikyu leapt into the air and struck Kangaskhan with a sharp claw.
THUD!
The powerful strike forced Kangaskhan back two steps.
"Now! Use Wood Hammer!"
"Mimi!"
Mimikyu's tail turned into a massive hammer and slammed into Kangaskhan's nose.
Kangaskhan's eyes rolled upward.
But the recoil also hurt Mimikyu.
Wood Hammer caused recoil damage.
Luckily, recoil alone didn't trigger Mimikyu's special ability.
That was why Ash used the move without hesitation.
Seeing Kangaskhan dizzy, Ash quickly threw a Poké Ball.
"Go, Poké Ball!"
The Poké Ball flew through the air.
Just as it was about to hit—
Rustling came from the bushes.
A shadow suddenly flew out and collided with the Poké Ball.
The Poké Ball opened and absorbed the Pokémon.
Shake… Shake…
Click.
The Pokémon was caught.
"WHAT?!"
Everyone stared in shock.
Before they could process it, Kangaskhan started recovering.
Ash quickly threw another Poké Ball.
"Go, Poké Ball!"
But once again—
Another shadow flew out of the bushes and hit the ball.
This time the Poké Ball opened immediately.
Inside was a Spearow.
"Caw!"
The Spearow screeched threateningly before flying away.
Meanwhile—
Kangaskhan had already recovered and fled.
"Kangaskhan ran away."
"…What?!"
Ash looked devastated.
Brock tried to comfort him.
"Don't worry, Ash."
"You still caught a Pokémon."
"Let's see what it is."
"Maybe it's even better than Kangaskhan."
"Good point."
Ash picked up the Poké Ball.
He took a deep breath.
"Come out, my Pokémon!"
A flash of white light appeared.
Then—
A small golden insect Pokemon appeared.
"…A Weedle?"
"Eep!"
The tiny Pokemon panicked when it saw everyone staring.
It quickly curled into a ball and hid behind the Poké Ball.
"It looks a bit timid," Ash said gently.
"Didn't expect it to be a Weedle."
He had seen thousands of them before.
Ash crouched down and extended his hand.
"Hello, Weedle."
"My name is Ash. I'm going to be a Pokemon Master."
"Will you become my Pokémon?"
"Eep?"
Hearing Ash's gentle voice, the Weedle slowly raised its head.
Seeing the genuine kindness in Ash's eyes, it hesitated.
Then it crawled forward and lightly touched Ash's hand with its horn.
"Eep!"
"Alright!"
Ash happily lifted the Weedle.
"I caught a Weedle!"
Even though Weedle was common, such a strange capture made Ash feel they had a special bond.
And Ash's love for Pokemon was never just words.
"Wait, Ash."
Brock suddenly stopped him.
"This Weedle… looks different."
Red nodded.
"…Shiny."
"What do you mean?"
Brock explained,
"Your Weedle is a shiny Pokémon."
"Normal Weedle are brownish-yellow. Yours is bright gold."
"That's probably why the Spearow was chasing it."
Ash didn't fully understand.
But he grinned.
"That's awesome! You must be really strong, Weedle!"
"Eep!"
Weedle didn't know why Ash was happy.
But it became happy too.
After spending some time with Weedle, Ash let it sit on his shoulder.
Then he turned excitedly to Red.
"Red! Let's battle!"
"…Okay."
Red agreed immediately.
He never refused a challenge.
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