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"The Mysterious Garden?" Looking at the magnificent sight before them, Ash realized this place appeared ordinary when not in bloom, but when the flowers opened, the entire grassland transformed into a spectacular display.
The area looked like a beautiful garden, which was probably the secret behind the legendary The Mysterious Garden that no one had ever been able to locate. Before the blooming began, no one would recognize this as a garden because it appeared no different from any ordinary forest. The only notable feature was the massive tree that looked withered and dead.
However, at this very moment, as the surrounding flowers burst into bloom, they witnessed something extraordinary happening to the great tree behind Venusaur. The tree that had appeared completely lifeless suddenly began to change before their eyes.
The originally withered and yellowed trunk slowly became covered with a layer of vibrant green. Fresh green buds gradually appeared in the crevices and gaps at the base of the massive tree.
The entire ancient tree was suddenly filled with life and vitality. At the top of the tree, fresh greenery continued to appear on branches that had seemed completely dead just moments before.
Slowly, like new hair growing on a bald head, the tree transformed into a towering giant filled with lush foliage in just an instant.
"This is incredible..." Everyone stared at the scene in complete amazement. None of them had ever witnessed anything like this before in their lives.
"Does that Venusaur actually have the power to bring plants back to life?"
Brock looked at the massive Venusaur in disbelief. The pollen it was continuously releasing seemed to be spreading throughout the entire area with magical effects.
As the pollen drifted around them, all the surrounding flowers, plants, and trees began to bloom with renewed vitality and beauty.
"How amazing!" Misty couldn't help but exclaim. This power was indeed quite incredible to witness firsthand.
But the most surprising part was still to come. At the exact moment when the great tree returned to life, the bulbs on the backs of all the surrounding Bulbasaur began to emit a brilliant, dazzling light.
Then rays of pure white light enveloped each of their entire bodies. They all cried out in unison, and their bodies began to change and grow within the glowing energy.
"Is this... evolution?"
Brock was completely surprised by what he was seeing. It wasn't particularly unusual for Pokemon to evolve, but for so many to evolve simultaneously was extraordinary. This kind of mass evolution was probably something that happened only once in a hundred years.
"Ivysaur!" Among the group of evolving Bulbasaur, there was one figure that stood out as completely different from the rest.
It was Ash's Ivysaur. At this moment, it was struggling with gritted teeth, and the unopened flower bud on its back was glowing faintly, seemingly affected by the same energy as the other Bulbasaur around it.
However, the light surrounding Ivysaur flickered unsteadily and appeared unstable compared to the others. Upon seeing this concerning sight, Ash immediately slid down the slope and rushed to Ivysaur's side.
Ivysaur heard Ash's voice approaching and turned to look at its trainer. Its expression softened slightly, and its heart was deeply moved. Ash had indeed come to find it, just as it had hoped.
Venusaur naturally noticed Ash's arrival as well. It had been the one controlling the vines and thorns that had seemed to come alive outside the garden area.
After those defensive barriers had been broken through, Venusaur had sensed it immediately, but it hadn't tried to stop the intruders. It seemed that the ancient Pokemon wanted to see for itself what kind of trainer Ivysaur had chosen to bond with.
However, Venusaur was not launching any attacks on Ash and his companions. Instead, it continued to release its powerful energy, seeming to compete directly with Ivysaur's will and trying to force Ivysaur to evolve against its wishes.
"What's wrong with Ivysaur?" Misty and Brock approached and could see that Ivysaur's current condition looked troubling and painful.
"Could it be that Venusaur is using its own power to help the other Bulbasaur and Ivysaur evolve?" Brock guessed with surprise and wonder.
"How is that even possible?" Misty couldn't believe such a thing could happen, but looking at the flowers and trees blooming magnificently around them, she began to feel uncertain about what was normal.
For a long time, there had been no clear scientific conclusion about whether Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, and Venusaur should be classified as plants or as living creatures in the traditional sense.
Even Professor Oak couldn't be completely certain about their true nature. But if they were considered to be part plant, it might make perfect sense. Venusaur clearly had the power to make plants bloom and flourish, so perhaps this same power could also be used to influence other Bulbasaur family Pokemon.
"You don't want to evolve like this, do you?" Ash knelt down next to Ivysaur, studying its expression carefully.
When he had first captured Bulbasaur, his unintentional words had helped Bulbasaur let go of its worries and choose to evolve into Ivysaur.
He had thought that Ivysaur had no objections to evolution in general, but now it seemed that the situation was much more complicated than he had realized.
"Ivy... Ivysaur!"
After hearing Ash's words, Ivysaur looked directly at its trainer but shook its head slightly. It was still resisting the powerful energy flowing through its body, but it looked at Ash with clear determination in its eyes.
Ash was slightly stunned as he studied Ivysaur's expression and the way it shook its head. What Ash sensed was not that Ivysaur was unwilling to evolve, but rather a completely different emotion entirely.
Ash looked at Ivysaur thoughtfully and asked in a tentative voice.
"You're not unwilling to evolve... you just don't want to evolve in this particular way, do you?"
Yes, that was exactly what Ivysaur was feeling in its heart. It wasn't that Ivysaur didn't want to evolve into Venusaur eventually, but rather that it didn't want to evolve in the same forced manner as all the Bulbasaur around it were experiencing.
Ivysaur listened to Ash's understanding words and nodded firmly, confirming that Ash had correctly understood its true feelings about the situation.
When Venusaur, who was not far away observing the interaction, saw this scene unfold, its expression changed slightly. It seemed to finally understand why Ivysaur had chosen to evolve for this particular human trainer.
Even without being able to communicate directly through words, this human could actually understand Ivysaur's deepest inner thoughts and feelings.
No wonder Ivysaur, who had always strongly disliked and distrusted humans, had chosen to bond with this trainer specifically.
But Venusaur still wanted to test whether Ivysaur could resist its ancient and powerful evolutionary energy.
"I understand completely. We have to evolve in our own way, on our own terms!"
Upon hearing Ivysaur's feelings, Ash knelt down next to his Pokemon, looked directly into its eyes, and spoke with complete seriousness and conviction. Ivysaur nodded firmly after hearing these supportive words.
Ivysaur was prepared to block Venusaur's overwhelming force with all of its willpower, knowing that this ancient ceremony would finally end when dawn arrived. At that moment, it suddenly felt a warm, comforting energy flowing across its back.
"Ivysaur!"
Feeling a strange but familiar force coming from the flower bud on its back, Ivysaur suddenly turned around and discovered that Ash had placed his hand gently on its back.
When Ivysaur looked up at Ash, it found that Ash's pupils were glowing with a soft red light, and he was looking down at it with an encouraging smile.
"Let me help you resist this!"
For the proud and independent Ivysaur, it normally didn't like to ask others for help with anything, but Ash was always the exception to that rule. Ivysaur felt a warm, supportive energy entering its body.
Working together with Ash's mysterious power, Ivysaur gradually began to suppress and resist the evolutionary energy being released by the ancient Venusaur.
At this crucial moment, Venusaur seemed to sense that the young trainer in front of it possessed some kind of incredible and mysterious power. Venusaur frowned slightly with curiosity and gradually began to stand up to its full, imposing height.