After rearranging his team lineup, Ash suddenly felt that six Pokémon slots simply weren't enough.
Maybe he should ask the Pokémon League to grant him a few extra carrying slots?
But that idea was unrealistic. After all, he hadn't made any real contributions to the League yet.
It was just a passing thought.
After catching the Dragonair mother and child and Tauros, Ash had originally planned to catch a Growlithe as well. But after searching for quite a while, he didn't see a single one.
When he asked Kaiser, he learned the truth.
That Growlithe actually belonged to the neighboring town's police force. It was a police Pokémon that occasionally came here to play.
Ash and his companions traveled the entire day. Unfortunately, the weather turned against them, and heavy rain suddenly began pouring down.
They were still in the Safari Zone plains, where there were very few places to shelter from the rain.
"Ash, if we turn left ahead, there's a house," Brock said while checking the map.
The map they bought had extremely detailed markings.
Following the route indicated on the map, the group soon arrived at a dim and eerie performance cabin.
This house had a strangely unsettling atmosphere.
It feels like something out of a Chinese ghost story…
Ash examined the building carefully.
"I feel like something's off here."
Misty hugged Pikachu slightly tighter. The atmosphere reminded her of Lavender Town.
"It's too quiet," Brock said softly.
"There aren't even any footprints around."
"And the place doesn't look abandoned either," Ash added thoughtfully.
He had originally come here hoping to catch a Ditto, just to see if it could transform into Arceus.
Unfortunately, just like Growlithe earlier, this Ditto already had a trainer.
They would probably meet them soon.
"Look! Isn't that Pikachu's tail?"
Misty pointed toward a corner where a Pikachu tail was wagging.
Her surprised expression quickly turned into excitement.
She had always wanted to catch a Pikachu. Even though it wasn't a Water-type, its cuteness more than made up for it.
"Wait—that's not Pikachu," Ash shouted.
Misty rolled her eyes.
"Are you blind, or am I?"
"Pika?"
Pikachu jumped down and stared blankly at the identical Pikachu.
"That's Ditto," Ash explained.
Brock crouched down and examined the fake Pikachu.
Suddenly—
The big round eyes shrank into tiny dots, and the Pokémon instantly reverted back into Ditto.
"See? I told you."
"It's pretty cute. I'll catch it then," Misty said.
She threw a Poké Ball, but it bounced away before it even hit Ditto.
"Ditto is my Pokémon."
A girl appeared beside the Ditto.
Misty sighed in disappointment. It was rare for her to see a Pokémon she liked this much.
Ditto's transformation ability fascinated Ash though.
It could transform into any Pokémon… any person… even men or women, perfectly adapting to whatever someone preferred.
"Hey!"
Suddenly Ditto transformed into Misty and copied her sigh perfectly.
"Can you tell which one is your friend?"
The girl—Imite—mixed the real Misty and the Ditto together and asked Ash and Brock to guess.
It was also part of her training for Ditto.
Brock looked extremely serious.
After examining them carefully, he frowned.
This was actually really hard to tell.
"That's easy," Ash said confidently.
Misty looked at him in surprise.
Even she herself couldn't tell the difference between Ditto and her own appearance.
Yet Ash could recognize it?
Does that mean… he understands me that well?
Within a few seconds, Misty's imagination ran wild.
Her heart fluttered and her cheeks flushed pink.
"Simple," Ash said casually.
"Let both of them punch me. The one with the stronger punch is the real one."
…
CRACK!
Ash let out a scream.
Even with the physique of a Super Pallet Town native, he couldn't withstand the strength of Misty's punch.
"I was wrong! I was wrong, Misty!"
Ash hurriedly begged for mercy.
"Oh? You were wrong?" Misty's cheeks were red as she glared at him.
"What exactly were you wrong about?"
This guy actually thought she was some kind of brute-force girl.
"I shouldn't have told the truth," Ash said after thinking for a moment, deciding to tease her.
CRACK!
Another painful sound echoed.
Ash immediately stopped provoking her.
Better to preserve his life.
If he angered Misty any further, he might not survive.
Meanwhile, Brock hadn't even noticed Ash's cries for help.
Instead, he had already started chatting happily with Imite, carefully avoiding interrupting Ash and Misty's playful quarrel.
"Let's see if you dare bully me again," Misty said, her face flushed.
Who's bullying who here…
Ash only dared to complain silently in his head.
"The rain's stopped. Let's go."
Ash stretched his sore body.
Since Ditto hadn't been captured by Team Rocket like in the original story, there was no reason to stay here.
Besides, the performance cabin hadn't had any shows for the past few days.
Ash had originally come here hoping to catch a Ditto for breeding purposes, but since it already had a trainer, he gave up the idea.
After seven or eight more days of travel, the group finally crossed a desert and arrived at a place known as the Sleepless City—Neon Town.
According to the Pokédex guide, Neon Town was lively 24 hours a day.
Because the residents slept very little, they tended to be short-tempered and irritable, keeping Officer Jenny extremely busy.
The city was filled with dazzling neon lights, shining brightly day and night.
To the south was a desert.
To the north lay a forest.
"I can see that," Ash said.
Even though it was the middle of the night, Neon Town was still brightly lit everywhere.
People who stayed up constantly were extremely irritable—arguments could be heard all over the streets.
Brock accidentally bumped into a man while walking.
Fortunately he apologized quickly, or the man might have started a fight.
"Let's go to the Pokémon Center first," Misty said.
She didn't want to cause trouble.
They had only walked through the streets for a few minutes and already encountered several people trying to pick fights.
Luckily Bulbasaur's Sleep Powder helped calm things down.
After checking into the Pokémon Center, the group finally rested.
They had spent over ten days traveling outdoors, and both their bodies and minds were exhausted.
Unfortunately—
They still couldn't sleep well here.
The noise outside was unbearable.
"Why are people still arguing?" Misty asked in confusion.
"Can't they just sleep?" Brock sighed.
Sleep?
Wasn't this the perfect moment for Jigglypuff?
Bulbasaur's Sleep Powder could make people fall asleep, but it couldn't calm their bad tempers.
However, Jigglypuff's singing had exactly that effect.
And this particular Jigglypuff seemed strangely connected to Ash—it kept following him everywhere.
Catching it would be pretty useful too.
If he ever had trouble sleeping, it could help with hypnosis.
Even if Charizard became unruly in the future, Jigglypuff's singing might still be able to calm it down.
"Let's go. It's too noisy here."
Ash decided to head to the forest north of Neon Town.
If he remembered correctly, Jigglypuff stayed somewhere around the area.
And Team Rocket was also plotting to capture it.
They planned to use Jigglypuff's singing ability to hypnotize the residents of Neon Town as revenge.
"This quiet place is much better."
"I couldn't sleep at all last night because of the noise," Brock complained.
As soon as they entered the peaceful forest, everyone's mood improved.
"I'll go pick some Berries," Ash said.
"You two stay here—don't move."
PS: I've been releasing chapters daily . Honestly, it hurts seeing almost no support on Patreon after all that work.If you're enjoying the fic, even a little, supporting me would mean a lot. It helps a student stay independent .
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