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Ash stopped being modest with Yellow and gestured for her to go retrieve the Poké Ball.
Yellow suddenly remembered that this was her first captured Pokémon. She quickly stepped forward and picked up the Poké Ball from the ground.
"Come on out, Rattata!!"
Yellow threw the Poké Ball without hesitation, and soon Rattata appeared before them. Its fur was still singed black from the electricity, and it no longer displayed its earlier arrogance.
"You must be in pain, right? Let me help treat you!" Yellow said gently, then knelt down to begin healing Rattata.
Rattata seemed a bit wary at first, but when Yellow began channeling the Power of Viridian, her entire being radiated an energy that harmonized with the surrounding environment.
Although the Power of Viridian could be used anywhere, it originated from Viridian Forest itself.
When Yellow used it here, it was as if she became one with Viridian Forest and the forest became one with her.
Pokémon were naturally cautious of humans, but they had no fear of nature itself. Rattata had been born in this very forest.
This forest was its home. When Yellow used the Power of Viridian, Rattata felt as though it was being embraced by the Viridian Forest where it lived.
Gradually, Rattata lowered its guard. Seeing this, Yellow didn't waste any time and placed her hand on Rattata's body.
With the infusion of the Power of Viridian, Rattata's injuries steadily healed.
Chatter chatter!!!
Soon, Rattata had fully recovered from its injuries and regained its energy. It hopped up happily, and because it sensed Yellow's kindness and the comforting power flowing through her, it instinctively drew closer and rubbed affectionately against her leg.
"Hehe! Rattata, I'm looking forward to working with you from now on!" Yellow was thrilled about catching her first Pokémon.
Chatter chatter!!!
"Also, you can't go around stealing other people's food anymore! If you're hungry, just let me know!"
Although she had never been very confident before, after catching her first Pokémon, Yellow unconsciously began acting like a proper Trainer and started teaching her Pokémon right from wrong.
Chatter chatter!!!
Rattata responded to her words and seemed to recognize its mistake, lowering its head slightly in contrition.
"It's alright. As long as you can admit your mistakes and correct them, you're still a good Pokémon. From now on, I'll call you Ratty!" Seeing this, Yellow gently patted Rattata's head. Rattata perked up immediately upon hearing this.
Chatter chatter!!
Yellow had a habit of giving nicknames to her Pokémon, so she gave Rattata a new name right away. Rattata seemed very pleased with its new nickname.
"Okay, let me introduce you to everyone!" Yellow said as she turned Rattata around, preparing to introduce her new partner to Ash, Pikachu, and Chuchu, when suddenly—
Whoosh!!!
Two mechanical arms descended from above, grabbing both Pikachu and Chuchu. Before anyone could react, they snatched both Pikachu up into the air.
"Pikachu!"
Seeing this scene, Ash and Yellow shouted simultaneously, but Pikachu and Chuchu were already being lifted rapidly skyward.
Pika pika??
As the two Pokémon struggled, Pikachu instinctively released an electric Discharge to attack, but found it had absolutely no effect. The palms of the robotic arms were covered in a layer of pink rubber material—clearly insulated against electricity.
"Hahahaha! It's useless! We've already taken precautions against Thunder Shock!" A smug, taunting laugh echoed from above.
"What??" Misty and the others below showed expressions of shock and alarm.
"Prepare for trouble!"
"And make it double!"
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth! That's right!"
A familiar voice rang out from the sky. These lines were practically second nature to Ash and his friends by now, but they were still relatively new to Yellow.
Looking up at the enormous Meowth hot air balloon hovering above, she felt confused as she listened to the strange motto.
"Who are these people?"
"They're Team Rocket—the ones we were telling you about yesterday!"
Misty, standing beside her, quickly explained. Yellow was traveling on her own now too, so Misty wanted to warn her to avoid such dangers in the future.
"So it's these criminals! Hey! Give me back Chuchu right now!"
Yellow had heard Ash and the others talk about Team Rocket the previous evening, and her eyes flashed with anger. Despite her usually gentle personality, Yellow became furious when faced with Team Rocket and the sight of her own Pokémon being captured.
At the same time, she found unexpected courage rising within her. Yesterday she had heard about Team Rocket being dangerous villains, but now she felt no fear whatsoever.
"Huh? There's another rude little brat. Don't you know it's impolite to interrupt people?!" Still in the middle of reciting their motto when she was cut off, Jessie looked visibly annoyed.
"You're the ones who just stole other people's Pokémon! You have no right to lecture anyone! Now give back Pikachu and Chuchu!" Misty grew angry and shouted up at them.
"That's not going to happen. These Pikachu belong to us now. We didn't expect to get double the haul—catching two Pikachu at once. The boss is going to be so pleased!"
"Stop wasting time and let's get out of here before things turn out like before, meowth."
Obviously, Team Rocket had no intention of releasing Pikachu, especially since they had caught two this time. After grabbing both Pikachu, they prepared to make their escape. Meowth began accelerating the hot air balloon's ascent.
Ash frowned slightly when he saw this. Team Rocket was getting more and more careless. Did they really think they could escape that easily? Where did they think they could fly with Charizard and Pidgeotto around?
"Pidgeotto, use Quick Attack!!"
Ash called out to his Pidgeotto. Upon hearing the command, Pidgeotto immediately shot into the air, flying directly toward the balloon.
"Don't even think about it, meowth!"
Meowth spoke up immediately when it saw this. As Pidgeotto's Quick Attack brought it closer, Meowth suddenly pulled out a remote control and pressed a button.
Metal plates suddenly rose from beneath the hot air balloon, rapidly encasing the entire structure and forming a metallic shell around it. The Meowth balloon transformed into a metal-armored Meowth.
Boom!!!
Pidgeotto's Quick Attack slammed into the shell, but failed to penetrate it. Instead, Pidgeotto was knocked back by the recoil force.