Upon returning from the cave, Professor Birch and Ash's group went back to their campsite.
"Everyone, come on out!" Ash sent out his Pokémon for Professor Birch to examine and get acquainted with. As the leading authority in the Hoenn region, Professor Birch's check-ups were on par with Nurse Joy's.
"As expected of Ash's Pokémon!" Professor Birch carefully observed Ash's Pokémon. "And Ralts and Mudkip are developing wonderfully!" As a field researcher, he could tell at a glance that the two little ones were recently hatched.
"Ralts" "Kip"
"My Pokémon, too! Come on out, Torchic and Silcoon!" May also released her Pokémon.
"Chic~" Torchic chirped happily when it saw Professor Birch.
Professor Birch examined Torchic and Silcoon, and he nodded in satisfaction. "Torchic is being taken care of very well, and this Silcoon is also excellent! It should be able to evolve into a beautiful Beautifly."
"Really?! Thank you, Professor Birch!" ?(′∇`)? May was overjoyed to receive the professor's praise.
Brock, who was cooking, also came over. "It's my turn now! Come on out, Forretress, Lotad, and Mudkip."
Professor Birch also performed a serious check-up. "This Forretress is being raised very well, and you have Mudkip and Lotad too. Lotad, where are you looking?"
Brock said awkwardly, "I'm sorry, Lotad is a little bit spacey."
Brock's Mudkip nudged Lotad to face Professor Birch. "Kip" "Lot" Lotad finally snapped out of it.
Professor Birch checked them over, nodding in approval. "Yes, every one of them is healthy. Very good."
Afterward, Ash and the others set out their Pokémon's food bowls and poured Pokémon food into them. They also took out some MooMoo Milk for baby Ralts and Mudkip. The Pokémon happily began to eat.
"Alright, our food is ready, too!" Brock shouted to the others.
"Awesome! Time to eat!" May was the first to jump up when she heard it was mealtime.
The group ate dinner together.
The next morning, after finishing breakfast, Ash and his friends once again decided to abandon their special training plan and went to the forest with Professor Birch.
Max looked around the forest. "Okay, now let's see where there are some Pokémon!"
Suddenly, "Ah~" Max was ambushed.
Everyone looked over to see Max clutching his head, and a Pokémon that looked like an acorn was on the ground.
"Huh~ What's that?" May took out her Pokédex and scanned it:
Seedot...
Then, two more Seedot fell from the tree.
Max's headache went away when he saw they were Pokémon. (⊙_⊙) He looked at the Seedot curiously. "So these are Seedot!"
"But they look so lifeless!" May said worriedly, looking at them.
"It might be because they're dehydrated," Professor Birch analyzed.
"If they need water, I can give them some!" Max volunteered, taking out his water bottle from his backpack, pouring some water into the cap, and saying, "Here, please have some!"
The Seedot shook their heads.
"Aww~ You don't want it?" Max became disheartened.
"Professor Birch, aren't Seedot supposed to hang from a tree branch to absorb water from the tree?" Brock asked Professor Birch.
Professor Birch nodded. "Yes, that's right!"
Brock hung a Seedot on a tree branch, but after a moment, the Seedot fell off.
"Does that mean this tree isn't working?" May asked, confused.
Professor Birch looked around and saw that a lot of trees were buried in the soil. "It was a landslide! It looks like their favorite trees were crushed."
"Oh, so that's why. How sad!" Max said sorrowfully.
"Actually, if you rub their bodies with a leaf, they'll cheer up," Professor Birch said, knowing the habits of Seedot.
"Okay!" Max took a leaf without a second thought and began to rub the Seedot's bodies. The Seedot happily started to jump around.
(﹡^o^﹡) Max smiled and said, "It really worked! They're happy now!"
"As expected of Professor Birch!" Brock praised.
"Haha, it's nothing!" Professor Birch said humbly. Then his tone changed. "To communicate with Pokémon, you first have to understand what makes them happy."
At this moment, the three Seedot were happily rolling around on the ground. Professor Birch saw this and started to roll on the ground with them, saying, "Seedot rolling... rolling... rolling..."
Everyone ?_? ...
"Does Professor Birch's field research just involve playing with Pokémon?" May said, finding it hard to believe.
"He uses this method to understand how Pokémon feel," Brock explained seriously on behalf of Professor Birch.
"Rolling, rolling, rolling... How do you feel, Seedot? Doesn't that feel good? Rolling, rolling, rolling..." Professor Birch was still rolling and asking the Seedot questions.
"Noctowl, clear the thick fog!" Ash suddenly sensed Team Rocket's presence with his Aura and immediately sent out Noctowl. A cloud of black fog attacked, and Noctowl dispelled it. Everyone was shocked!
"What's going on?!" Professor Birch asked.
"Wahahaha~ Since you asked so nicely... (Team Rocket's motto)"
"We'll be taking all of these Seedot," Jessie said with a laugh.
"Go, Arbok!" Arbok charged at Ash and his friends!
"Noctowl, use Extrasensory!" Noctowl used Extrasensory and sent Arbok flying!
"If that's the case, my Silcoon! Go!" Jessie sent out her Silcoon!
"That's... a Cascoon, right?" Professor Birch asked, confused.
"Huh?! What Cascoon?! Don't you say such nonsense! I've seen it many times; it's clearly a Silcoon!"
James and Meowth started whispering to each other.
"I'll show you a real Silcoon! Come on out, Silcoon!" May sent out her actual Silcoon.
"What? They're exactly the same!" Jessie said disdainfully after a brief look.
"No, they look similar, but they're not the same. If you look closely at their eyes, you'll see. The one with round eyes is a Cascoon," Professor Birch's lesson had begun, and he started teaching Jessie how to tell them apart.
"That's right! A Silcoon's eyes are round, bright, and cute. It'll evolve into a super beautiful Beautifly! Silcoon, use Tackle!" Jessie said, refusing to listen. What you say is useless. She hadn't heard a single word of it.
"Silcoon, Tackle!" May also used Tackle, meeting her head-on.
Cascoon and Silcoon collided, and then Silcoon's body started to glow with a blue-white light of evolution!
"Silcoon is starting to evolve!"
?(′∇`)? "Yay! It worked! My Silcoon evolved into a Beautifly!" May cheered, then used her Pokédex:
Beautifly...
"How could this happen?! That little brat's Silcoon evolved into a Beautifly, but why didn't my Silcoon evolve?!" Jessie was sour with jealousy and began to scream.
"Because yours is a Cascoon!" James muttered under his breath.
"She still doesn't get it, meow," Meowth said carefully.
"This is outrageous! In that case, I'll tear that little brat's Beautifly to shreds! Silcoon, use String Shot!"
Cascoon shot a white thread at Beautifly. "This farce is over, Team Rocket! Pikachu, use Iron Tail to cut the thread, then Thunderbolt to send them on their way!" Ash saw that May's Pokémon had successfully evolved, so he stopped messing around!
"Pika-pi~" Pikachu used Iron Tail to cut Cascoon's thread, then fired a yellow current at Team Rocket!
"What?!" Jessie was shocked.
"That's a nasty feeling!" "Sonnans (???)~"
Pikachu's Thunderbolt sent Team Rocket flying deep into the forest.
On the ground, where Team Rocket landed, "Why won't my Silcoon evolve into Beautifly?" Jessie asked furiously.
"I've told you so many times! It's a Cascoon!" James said helplessly.
Meowth added, "If it evolves, it'll turn into a Dustox, meow."
"I don't believe you!!" Jessie screamed.