After successfully delivering the medicine to Sunny Town, Ash and his companions continued their journey.
The weather soon turned against them. When they reached the outskirts, the previously clear sky suddenly filled with dark clouds, and within moments a torrential downpour began. The three hurried along the muddy road, searching for somewhere to take shelter from the rain.
"Look! There's a big house over there!" Misty, with her sharp eyes, pointed toward an old looking mansion standing in a clearing among the trees.
They quickly ran to the eaves and knocked on the door. A young girl with short brown hair and a slightly melancholic expression opened it. Her name was Duplica. When she learned that Ash and the others were travelers seeking shelter from the rain, she kindly invited them inside.
The interior was simple but tidy.
Soon, a purple, blob like Pokémon slid out from the back room and curiously examined the guests. It was Ditto.
"This is my partner, Ditto," Duplica introduced, though there was a faint trace of disappointment in her voice.
To welcome them, Duplica asked Ditto to perform its specialty, transformation. Ditto's body began to squirm and change shape. A flash of light appeared, and it successfully transformed into Pikachu. Its body, tail, and color were almost identical.
"Wow, it looks just like it!" Misty praised.
However, when they looked more closely, they noticed that the transformed "Pikachu" still had Ditto's signature dot eyes and slightly curved smile. The face remained unchanged, making it look both funny and a little strange.
"Sigh, that's the problem…" Duplica sighed. "My Ditto works very hard. Its transformations are almost perfect, but the face, no matter what we try, never completely becomes the target's face. We've practiced for a long time, but we still haven't been able to overcome this bottleneck."
Ash's Aura could clearly sense Ditto's frustration and Duplica's anxiety. He walked forward, crouched down, and gently spoke to Ditto.
"It's okay, Ditto. You've already done an amazing job! Transformation isn't just about copying appearances. What matters more is understanding and feeling the Pokémon you're transforming into. Don't rush. Let's try again together, alright?"
Duplica, Brock, and Misty were all touched by Ash's kindness, and they decided to help Ditto with some special training. They asked Ditto to transform into Pikachu, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur in turn. Everyone patiently pointed out the details and encouraged it to feel the different expressions and personalities of each Pokémon.
However, not long after the training began, the mansion's door suddenly burst open with a loud bang!
"Since you asked so sincerely!"
"We'll kindly tell you!"
…
"We are Team Rocket, traveling through the rain! This rare Ditto now belongs to us, meow!"
Just like cats smelling fish, Team Rocket's trio appeared right on time.
They had clearly been spying outside the window for quite a while. While everyone's attention was focused on Ditto's training, Jessie quickly threw out a special capture net that accurately trapped Ditto. James and Meowth immediately pulled back the rope, dragging the struggling Ditto outside before vanishing into the rain.
"Ditto!" Duplica cried out anxiously.
"Those jerks! After them!" Ash immediately led Misty and Brock into the rain to chase Team Rocket.
Following the tracks in the mud and the faint trace of Ditto's presence, they eventually tracked Team Rocket to an abandoned shack that looked like a temporary hideout.
Peeking through the window, they saw Team Rocket inside proudly admiring Ditto, which was locked inside a cage, while trying to command it to transform.
"We have to rescue Ditto," Ash whispered. As he observed the surroundings of the shack, his eyes fell on several dusty old boxes in the corner. Inside were what looked like old stage costumes.
A brilliant plan, with a bit of mischievous flair, quickly formed in his mind.
He motioned for Misty and Brock to come closer and quietly explained his idea.
At first they looked surprised, but soon eager smiles appeared on their faces.
The three quickly searched through the costumes to find suitable outfits, then waited patiently for the right moment.
Meanwhile, inside the shack, Team Rocket had just watched Ditto transform into Meowth. They were about to make it transform into other Pokémon when a voice suddenly rang out from outside.
"As if we'd let you!"
"Who's there?"
"Click!" As the familiar spotlight lit up, the protagonists began their imitation entrance.
Ash: "Since you asked so sincerely!"
Brock immediately followed, imitating James' tone:
"We'll kindly tell you!"
James's face flushed red with anger when he saw this. "How dare you imitate us?!"
Lowering her voice, Misty tried her best to mimic Jessie's dramatic cadence:
"To protect the world from devastation!"
Duplica continued, "To unite all peoples within our nation!"
Misty: "To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
Brock: "The cute and charming rightful protagonists!"
"Ash!" "Misty!" "Brock!" "And Duplica, today's special guest star!"
"We are the heroes traveling across the galaxy!"'
"Surrender now or prepare to fight all of us!"
"Pika pika!"
As Pikachu finished the finale, Jessie and James were already red with rage. They had finally experienced what true social humiliation felt like.
Before finishing, Duplica could not help adding, "No wonder Team Rocket's entrances are always so stylish. Saying those lines feels amazing!"
While Team Rocket remained trapped in overwhelming embarrassment, confusion, and near petrification, the Ditto locked inside the cage seemed to be stimulated by Ash and the others' ridiculous yet courageous imitation, as well as Team Rocket's intense emotional reaction.
Its body suddenly tensed. Light flashed, and it successfully transformed into Meowth!
And unlike before, this time even the face was perfectly copied, almost flawless.
"Meow? Why is there another me, meow?" The real Meowth peeked through his fingers and saw two versions of himself, completely stunned.
The Ditto disguised as Meowth nimbly used its claws to open the cage's simple latch. Then it quickly reverted to its original form, jumped out the window, and returned to Duplica and Ash.
Ash looked at Ditto, which had finally broken through its bottleneck and achieved perfect transformation. Then he glanced at Team Rocket, who were still trapped in a mixture of shame, anger, and existential doubt. A thought crossed his mind. Although Team Rocket always caused trouble, in a strange way their kidnapping, combined with his own side's "humiliation style" rescue, had created the pressure and opportunity Ditto needed to break through.
He cleared his throat and said to Team Rocket, who still had not fully recovered from their social devastation inside the shack, "Hey, Team Rocket. Since you technically 'helped' train Ditto and let it finally master perfect transformation, we won't have Pikachu blast you off this time. Just leave. And stop trying to capture Ditto."
Jessie, James, and Meowth snapped out of their humiliation when they heard this. They were actually… being let go?
Although the reason sounded extremely humiliating, not getting blasted away by Pikachu and escaping this place where their reputations had been utterly destroyed was still a blessing.
The three of them no longer cared about dignity or Ditto. They scrambled out of the shack in a panic, even forgetting their hot air balloon, and disappeared miserably into the rain soaked forest.
The rain gradually stopped, and a rainbow appeared in the sky.
Duplica tightly hugged Ditto, who had finally learned perfect transformation. Tears of joy streamed down her face as she repeatedly thanked Ash and his friends.
"No need to thank us, Duplica. Look, even Team Rocket can 'help' sometimes," Ash said with a smile as he took off the ridiculous costume. "I'm sure you and Ditto will work even better together from now on."
That night, Ash and his friends stayed over at Duplica's home at her warm invitation. Late at night, moonlight streamed through the window into the guest room. Duplica quietly came to Ash's room. A blush colored her cheeks, and her eyes shone with a mixture of gratitude and admiration.
"Ash," she said softly, "thank you so much for today. Not only did you help Ditto break through its bottleneck, you also rescued it from Team Rocket in such a clever way… I don't know how to repay you."
Ash looked at the sincere girl before him and smiled gently. "You don't have to repay me. Seeing you and Ditto smile again is already the best reward."
Duplica shook her head and gathered her courage to step forward.
"No… I want to express my thanks in my own way… Will you… explore the origin of life with me?"
Under the moonlight, two young hearts slowly drew closer. On this night filled with the miracle of Ditto's transformation, they explored together the most primal mysteries of life.
[Ding! Host helped Ditto break through its bottleneck and formed a deep bond with Duplica. Reward: 300 World Points.]
[Current World Points: 19,400]
The next morning, after saying goodbye to the radiant Duplica and the now perfectly transforming Ditto, Ash and his companions stepped onto the road once more, walking through the morning dew toward new adventures.
Every encounter left a unique mark on their journey.
After all, every journey deserves some special memories, doesn't it?
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