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The day after bidding farewell to Nana, Ash and his group passed through a forest. Soon, they discovered something unusual here. "What's going on? Why is it suddenly so desolate?" "It was clearly a beautiful green forest just now?" Ash closed his eyes. His Aura spread out. Indeed, only a section of this place had become very desolate, with all the trees withered. Soon, he noticed something amiss.
"This way!" Ash opened his eyes, called out to the two, and hurried over. It was a tall, thick tree, large enough for five or six people to embrace. Several Heracross, about 1.5 meters tall, could comfortably find spots to rest on it. They seemed to be feeding on tree sap.
"Ah, what is that? Could it all be insects?" Misty was most afraid of insects. Back in Viridian Forest, where Ash caught Caterpie, they only passed through quickly because of her. "That's Heracross, Misty. This is a beetle-like Bug-type Pokémon, not furry. Don't be afraid!" Ash said with a comforting smile. Hearing this, Misty nodded. "You're right, it seems okay! It actually looks pretty pleasing to the eye."
Heracross, the Rhinoceros Beetle Pokémon, had a gentle nature and great strength. It was skilled at drilling its horn into an enemy's abdomen and then tossing them. As the three discussed, several Butterfree flew over. These Heracross not only allowed Butterfree to eat with them but also gave up good spots for them. "They're truly gentle-natured, that's great!" Misty wasn't afraid of Butterfree. Ash had one before too.
"So, why did this place become so desolate?" Brock began to ponder.
"We'll find out if we wait!" As soon as Ash finished speaking, the answer appeared. Several Pinsir appeared in the forest. Compared to Heracross, Pinsir looked much fiercer and more intimidating. Their arrival immediately scared away the Butterfree here, and they climbed into the crown of the big tree, glaring fiercely down at the Heracross.
"Heracross, don't just run! You need to find a way!" Misty shouted as she saw Heracross being forced back by Pinsir. However, Heracross flapped its wings, and just as she thought they were about to counterattack, they ran away.
They ran?!
"Now I understand! The arrival of Pinsir drove away the Heracross. So the Heracross had to feed on the sap of these smaller trees, which is why these trees withered!" Brock immediately understood what was happening here.
"Damn it, those Heracross are too cowardly!" Misty said with a hint of resentment, looking at the Pinsir that had taken over the big tree.
"Misty, you're wrong. Being gentle-natured doesn't mean being cowardly! When the world is destroyed, heroes are born!" Hearing Ash's words, Misty was a bit dazed. Little did she know, back then, when the Pidgey flock in Viridian Forest was threatened, Ash's Pidgeotto evolved into Pidgeot!
Pikachu, however, made a discovery. From the group of Heracross that left, one actually flew back. This Heracross was even larger and its eyes were much sharper. "This is... a hero!" Misty murmured, looking at that Heracross. That Heracross glanced at Ash, then flew over. Ash chuckled softly. "Pikachu!"
"Pika!" Ash and Pikachu followed closely behind!
The Heracross flapped its wings, and a white light appeared on its horn. "Hmm? That's a Flying-type move, Aerial Ace!" Ash immediately recognized Heracross's move.
"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Flying-type moves countered Bug-types. With this move, combined with Pikachu's agile movements, they quickly drove away the Pinsir.
"Not bad!" Ash praised Heracross, looking at it as it landed in front of him. "Eat this!" This was Bug-type Pokémon food he had just exchanged from the System Shop. Its taste was by no means inferior to tree sap. It was clear that Heracross loved to eat it.
After the Pinsir were driven away, the Heracross and Butterfree returned. The Heracross beside Ash looked at him, then walked towards the depths of the forest, the direction the Pinsir had fled. Seeing this, Misty, who had returned to Ash's side, couldn't help but murmur, "Is it going to find Pinsir to settle the score? It's truly a 'hero'!"
"It probably isn't going to settle the score!" Ash motioned for the two to follow. Pikachu had already returned to his shoulder. The three followed behind Heracross. Brock, after thinking carefully, agreed with Ash's view. "Misty, think about it. Why did those Pinsir come to Heracross's territory to feed on tree sap?"
"Isn't it because Pinsir are very fierce Pokémon?" Misty asked without thinking.
"Of course not!" Ash shook his head. "Although Pinsir look fierce and their personalities are indeed much fiercer than Heracross, they also need fixed territories, and they definitely wouldn't intentionally invade others' territories!" If that was the case... Brock immediately reacted, "Then that means there must be some reason that made Pinsir lose their territory, which is why they came to Heracross's territory!"
"Brock is right." With that Heracross leading the way, the three walked quite smoothly. But soon, they saw a canyon. Heracross stopped at the edge of the canyon and looked at Ash. Seeing this, Ash deduced, "It seems Pinsir's territory should be on the other side of this canyon!"
"But how do we get across?" Brock was a bit troubled. Charizard wasn't capable of carrying people in flight yet. Ash looked around. "Heracross, push down that big tree. You should be able to do it!"
"Heracross!" Heracross's eyes lit up. It stepped to the back of the big tree.
Boom! With surprising ease, the large tree was pushed down, forming a natural bridge across the canyon.
"That's amazing!" Ash praised Heracross, then led Pikachu across first. After gaining a basic grasp of Aura, his "strongest true newbie" athletic ability had been further enhanced. Walking across this single-log bridge was certainly no problem. However, Misty, who was at the very back, was in a predicament.
"Hey, don't walk so fast!" Ash turned around. As a girl, Misty looked very scared. After all, the tree trunk was round. If she slipped and fell into the canyon, a few lives wouldn't be enough. Seeing this, Ash shook his head and walked back.
"Ash? What are you doing back?" Ash squatted down with his back to her. "Come on up!"
Pikachu: 185/255