The next morning, the trio set off for Jubilife City. On the road, Dawn, for some reason, was full of energy and enthusiastically training Piplup. Her performance yesterday must have left her feeling unsatisfied.
"Piplup~"
In front of them, the little blue penguin was trying to gather energy in its beak to use Peck on Pikachu. But Pikachu, known for its agility, easily dodged the attack with a quick sidestep. The two played and chased each other like a game, which didn't seem much like real training.
"Piplup has really improved! It's getting so good at using Peck," Ash praised the young girl.
"Really?! That's great!" Dawn looked at Piplup's Peck attack, then hugged Piplup and cheered happily. Seeing how happy Dawn was, a smile formed on Ash's face. He quietly thought about the beauty of youth. The air was filled with the girl's joyous mood.
But at that moment, Ash's brow furrowed. Sensing something was wrong, he immediately opened a Poké Ball.
"Pidgeot, use Steel Wing!"
Pidgeot's wings shone with a metallic sheen. It flew above the trio and blocked a sudden mechanical arm. The trio and their two Pokémon were startled and looked up.
"It's you guys again!" Ash sighed, rubbing his forehead.
"Pika Pi~" Pikachu copied Ash, shaking its head with a paw on its head.
"Team Rocket, you're here in Sinnoh too? You're really persistent. I have to admire your obsession with Pikachu," Brock commented. They had already crossed four regions: Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and now Sinnoh. If this kept up, they'd be following Ash for a long time.
"Who are they?" Dawn asked, confused as she looked at Ash and Brock covering their faces. Then she curiously looked up at the Team Rocket trio in their Meowth balloon.
"Oh no, this is triggering..." Ash realized what was happening, but it was already too late.
Jessie: I hear a voice asking who we are!
James: We have arrived with the speed of light!
Jessie: The wind...
James: The earth...
Meowth: The sky, meow!
Jessie: To send a message of danger to the world!
James: To spread a crisis to the universe!
Jessie: When you call out that name, whether you are an angel or a devil...
James: Everyone will tremble at this bewitching voice!
Jessie: Jessie!
James: James!
Meowth: And me, Meowth!
Jessie: We are the main characters of this era!
James: We are invincible...
All/Meowth: Team Rocket (meow)!
Wobbuffet: Wobbuffet!
Mime Jr.: Mime, Mime!
"..."
"They have new lines again? Do they change them for every region?" Brock sighed in amazement.
This was the first time Ash had heard their new motto, and he felt a strange sense of nostalgia. He could almost hear the familiar background music in his ears.
"Are they friends?"
"Something like that. They're just three idiots who want to steal my Pikachu."
"Hey, kid, who are you calling an idiot, meow?!" Meowth yelled back in a huff.
"And who are you calling a kid? I'm a grown-" Before Dawn could finish, she started arguing with them.
Ash couldn't be bothered to waste any more time with Team Rocket. He immediately commanded Pidgeot.
"Pidgeot, use Steel Wing to slice their balloon!"
"Pidgeot~"
Pidgeot nodded in understanding. It flapped its wings, which shone with a bright metallic luster, and charged toward the balloon, slicing it in half. Team Rocket let out a synchronized "Looks like we're blasting off again!" and disappeared into the sky.
"Ding! Gold coins increased by 50."
Ash heard the system notification and shook his head dismissively. He'd get more gold coins from battling a few Pokémon.
"Alright, let's keep going."
After defeating the trio, the group continued their journey to Jubilife City, returning to their normal routine. But when they arrived at a town with small Western-style houses, Ash began to carefully observe the bushes. He remembered that this area was home to one of the Sinnoh starter Pokémon: Turtwig.
In the original story, this Turtwig was the second Pokémon Ash caught in Sinnoh, and its story was quite pitiful. Turtwig had the potential to be a strong Grass-type ace. But after Chimchar joined the team, the narrative shifted to highlight its power, taking the spotlight away from Turtwig. After Turtwig evolved, its victories became very few and far between.
This was also related to the original Ash's usual fighting style. He always favored a quick-attack style, and tanks like Torterra weren't a good fit for him. So when the speed-focused Turtwig suddenly evolved into a tank like Grotle and then Torterra, both Ash and the Pokémon struggled with the change in fighting style, which is why Torterra performed so poorly in the later seasons of the DP series.
But Ash was different now. As an experienced gamer, he was confident he could handle a tank like Torterra. He had often used Aggron as a tank in his games, so handling a Torterra would be a piece of cake.
"Come out, Turtwig! I'll train you well!" Ash muttered to himself as he searched for the Pokémon. He even asked Dawn and Brock for help, and Pikachu and Piplup joined in too.
Whoosh whoosh~
"Something's moving in that bush. Let's go check it out."
The strange sound caught Ash's attention. He quickly called the others over.
"Is it a Pokémon?" Dawn asked with excitement. After searching for so long, she finally saw a glimpse of the Pokémon Ash was talking about.
"What kind of Pokémon is it? It's got your attention," Brock asked curiously.
"It's the Grass-type starter from this region, Turtwig. I just saw its silhouette flash by in the bushes."
Ash didn't hide its identity and told them. The second part was, of course, a lie. He couldn't exactly say that he knew about this Pokémon from a show, could he?