In the dark-screen world—
After Ash caught Aerodactyl, he returned to where Misty and Brock were waiting, Aerodactyl's Poké Ball in hand.
Because the cavern had been shaking nonstop just moments ago,
both of them had been worried about Ash's safety.
Only when they saw him come back safe and sound did they finally breathe a sigh of relief.
When they heard that Ash had actually subdued the ancient sky tyrant, Aerodactyl,
they were genuinely happy for him.
"So that's what you meant when you said you had another target—you were talking about Aerodactyl!"
"By the way, Ash, how did you beat it? Did you use Charmeleon?"
Misty asked curiously.
Pikachu, Ash's strongest battler, had stayed behind with them as a deterrent.
So the next in line should've been Charmeleon, right?
With tremors that violent,
it had to have been an intense fight between Charmeleon and Aerodactyl… right?
Behind Ash, Charmeleon gave an embarrassed but polite smile
and quietly ducked out of sight.
Yeah… no.
The one who beat Aerodactyl was his Trainer's fist.
"Haha, those little details aren't important," Ash laughed. "Anyway, I caught Aerodactyl, and you two got the fossil Pokémon you wanted. That's what matters!"
Misty and Brock looked at Ash suspiciously.
It definitely felt like he was dodging the question.
But he had a point: they'd each caught the fossil Pokémon they liked,
and Ash had sold a pile of fossils to Gary outside,
earning plenty of travel funds.
This trip to Grampa Canyon had definitely been worth it.
After that, Ash went back out and brought in Jigglypuff, who had been following him.
He asked Jigglypuff to sing a lullaby for the remaining fossil Pokémon.
In an instant, all of them drifted back into a deep sleep.
They no longer belonged to this era. For those not caught,
returning to their slumber was the best ending.
[Lance: That's Black Ash for you—always thinking things through.]
[Ash: Jigglypuff is actually super useful! And pretty cute too! It's a shame I didn't know Aura back then, or I definitely would've caught it!]
Without Aura, he had no way to stay awake through that song.
At that time he'd have been sleeping two days out of three—who could stand that?
And if he couldn't even remain conscious through Jigglypuff's lullaby,
there was no guarantee he'd manage to actually catch it.
[Bruno: That's another Pokémon Black Ash has that White Ash doesn't! Don't be fooled by how badly Aerodactyl got beaten—it's strong.]
[Lance: Yeah. I've got an Aerodactyl too, resurrected from a fossil. For an ancient overlord, its potential is way higher than most people think.]
[Ash: Haa… I wanted one too. But back then, my strength really wasn't anywhere close to Aerodactyl's.]
Ash felt a little regret, but mostly acceptance.
Even if his Charizard had already evolved at that time,
it probably still wouldn't have been able to beat a freshly awakened Aerodactyl.
And that Charizard wouldn't have listened to him anyway.
[Cynthia: Fate comes when it's ready, and it always asks something of you in return. I believe you'll still have a chance to catch an Aerodactyl—or other fossil Pokémon—in the future.]
[Cynthia: And I mean you in the real world, not just the you in the video.]
[Ash: Hehe, thanks for believing in me, Miss Cynthia! I'll do my best!]
In the dark-screen world—
Once everything was settled and the fossil Pokémon were back asleep,
Ash and the others climbed out of the underground cave.
They sealed up the hole Team Rocket had dug.
All debts were cleared.
Everyone had gained a lot from this trip to Grampa Canyon—
everyone except Team Rocket, whose only reward was pain.
Just as they were about to leave, Gary came over and handed Ash a Pokémon Egg.
"I dug this up in the spot Ash pointed out," Gary said. "I can't tell what kind of Pokémon Egg it is."
"But it's definitely not a fossil Pokémon, and I've already dug up a fossil that can be revived. I don't need this. So I'm giving this Egg to you."
Faced with such a gift from a friend, Ash naturally had no reason to refuse.
And so, from Grampa Canyon, the three walked away with:
three fossil Pokémon,
a good chunk of money,
and a Pokémon Egg.
It really had been a treasure trove.
Continuing toward Cinnabar Island,
Ash stopped by the nearest Pokémon Center for the Egg.
There, Nurse Joy gave him an Egg Incubator.
With it, the Egg could be kept at the most comfortable temperature,
and receive nutrient fluid at regular intervals.
Of course, it wasn't cheap.
Once the Egg was safely nestled inside the incubator, Ash turned and handed it to Misty.
"Huh? Ash, what are you doing?"
"Isn't it obvious? I'm giving this Pokémon Egg to you."
"But Gary gave that to you…"
"Hehe, it's fine. He gave it to me, and I can give it to you. I just have a feeling this Egg belongs with you, Misty."
Misty stared at Ash, momentarily stunned.
This guy… why does he like acting cool so much?
The worst part was—
the way he did it was exactly her type.
If this kept up… she really might not be able to live without him.
Her pale face flushed pink,
and she hurriedly hugged the Egg incubator to her chest, using it to hide.
"Th-thanks… Thanks, Ash."
"You're welcome. Oh, and from the pattern on the shell, I think this Egg will probably hatch into a Togepi. That's why I thought it would suit the cute, beautiful girl Misty the most."
Misty: !!
Her brain blue-screened on the spot.
What did Ash just call her—?
Cute… beautiful girl?
Her whole body tingled from the soles of her feet up.
She was happy and mortified at the same time.
Sure, she called herself that all the time…
but hearing it from Ash's mouth was completely different.
If her face had only been slightly red before,
now it was bright crimson.
She clutched the Egg and bolted.
Ash scratched his head, confused, and turned to Brock, who'd been watching the whole thing.
"What's wrong with Misty?"
"Hmm… maybe she's just embarrassed because you praised her."
"No way. She calls herself a pretty girl all the time."
"Ah… Buddha, grant me patience," Brock muttered, wearing a mysterious knowing expression.
As if he'd just seen through the entire universe.
[Misty: Look! See the difference? Black Ash is a gentleman! You, on the other hand, fought me over Togepi's custody! If Togepi hadn't seen me first, it wouldn't even be mine!]
[Ash: You can't put it that way! I'm the one who found Togepi's Egg first! But yeah… thinking about it now, Togepi really doesn't suit a macho guy like me.]
Originally, Ash had wanted Togepi just because he wanted to catch many different kinds of Pokémon.
But now, he didn't cling to that idea anymore.
Looking back, he agreed that Togepi really did suit Misty better.
The thought of sending Togepi into battle made his conscience ache.
[Misty: Hmph! Too late to turn wise now!]
[Brock: Yeah, if you'd been more like Black Ash back then, Misty would've been yours already.]
"Staryu—"
[Brock: I mean, Misty wouldn't be arguing with you like this all the time! That's all I meant!]
Only after sending that message did Brock feel the murderous aura fade away.
He let out a long breath.
Man, these days you couldn't even tell the truth safely.
In the dark-screen world—
The Pokémon Egg Ash had given Misty hatched not long after.
Sure enough, it was Togepi.
Togepi's adorable appearance and babyish chirps
instantly captured Misty's heart.
She hugged Ash in excitement, thanking him over and over,
and then devoted herself to doting on her Togepi.
With Togepi around, the rest of the journey felt even more cheerful.
Togepi's constant smiles seemed to infect everyone,
wrapping Ash and Pikachu in a warm, gentle mood.
One day, while the three were camping as usual,
Ash was running daily training drills with his Pokémon
when he suddenly noticed something strange about Ivysaur.
The unopened bud on its back was faintly glowing.
"What's wrong, Ivysaur?"
"Ivy…"
"Are you… feeling like evolving? How's that possible? That shouldn't be happening yet."
Ivysaur's evolution path was actually longer than Charmeleon's.
If Charmeleon were ready to evolve,
it would have done so already with their current training intensity.
As a second-stage evolution, Charmeleon was still steadily polishing its foundation every day,
waiting for the right moment to evolve into Charizard in one big leap and become truly powerful.
That was what Ash had planned for Ivysaur as well.
So in theory, Ivysaur shouldn't be evolving yet.
"Could there be some kind of external factor…?"
Ash immediately suspected there had to be some outside cause.
He quickly took Ivysaur to the nearest Pokémon Center for a checkup.
First, he had to rule out any health issues.
After Nurse Joy examined Ivysaur,
she confirmed that it was in perfect condition.
Which meant the reason for its evolution was some external influence.
At that moment, Nurse Joy also mentioned a legend.
On this forest path,
there was said to be an annual "Evolution Festival" for the Bulbasaur line.
The place where the celebration occurred was called the Miraculous Garden.
But nobody had ever seen it with their own eyes.
Some even doubted it existed at all.
Pensive, Ash decided not to recall Ivysaur to its Poké Ball that night,
but let it sleep outside.
Late that night, it was as if something mysterious called to Ivysaur.
It stood up in a daze and started walking in a single direction.
Ash, who hadn't yet fallen asleep,
immediately got up, woke Misty and Brock, and followed after Ivysaur.
Led by Ivysaur, they emerged into a huge open clearing.
The clearing was filled with Bulbasaur—
and only one Ivysaur.
Ash's Ivysaur.
"This must be the Miraculous Garden Nurse Joy mentioned," Ash murmured.
"I can feel a very powerful Aura coming from that big tree."
In the center of the clearing stood a massive tree—
but it looked withered and dying.
Then, right in front of their eyes,
the dead tree slowly came back to life.
New leaves unfurled, flowers blossomed all over its branches,
and in moments, the withered trunk became a vibrant, living giant.
It was like watching a miracle unfold.
From within the tree, a huge figure stepped out slowly and majestically.
When it fully emerged, it raised its head and let out a thunderous roar.
Teal skin, sturdy limbs, a huge flower bud—
the final evolution of Bulbasaur: Venusaur.
The spectacle they'd just witnessed was clearly Venusaur's doing.
When Venusaur appeared, it scanned the area once,
then its solemn gaze fixed on a single point.
Ash's Ivysaur.
A cluster of Bulbasaur, and just one Ivysaur among them—
there was no way Venusaur would miss it.
"Venu–saur!!"
"Ivy–saur!"
"..."
From the distance, Misty and Brock could only hear croaks and growls.
"What are they saying, Ash?!"
"Venusaur's asking why Ivysaur has already evolved and still came here."
"Ivysaur's saying this place was calling it."
"Venusaur doesn't believe it, so they're arguing."
Ash summarized the exchange as simply as he could.
Judging by Venusaur's attitude,
Ivysaur's presence here seemed to be an accident.
[Lance: Thinking about it now… why is the Miraculous Garden filled with Bulbasaur, but no Ivysaur at all?]
[Cynthia: Going by what Venusaur said, Ivysaur shouldn't have been summoned there. In other words, the power of the Miraculous Garden is meant only for Bulbasaur…]
[Raihan: Then that makes it even weirder. Why was Black Ash's Ivysaur called there?]
[Ash: Maybe my Bulbasaur was special!]
[Misty: It's not impossible. Even without evolving, Ash's Bulbasaur was already surprisingly strong! I can't imagine how powerful it'll be once it fully evolves!]
In the dark-screen world—
Ivysaur and Venusaur continued arguing.
Finally, it seemed Venusaur couldn't win the verbal battle,
so it simply snapped out a Vine Whip to push Ivysaur away.
But Ash's Ivysaur was no pushover.
Its evolution had already massively boosted its strength and skills.
Though it had lost a little agility, its raw power had soared.
Facing Venusaur's attack, Ivysaur retaliated without backing down.
Their twin Vine Whips wrapped around each other,
locked in a dead-even tug-of-war.
"Venu… saur?!"
Venusaur clearly hadn't expected a younger form to match it in strength.
After a brief struggle, Venusaur chose to stop.
"Venusaur! Venusaur!"
I admit you have remarkable power.
That must be why the sacred tree chose to guide you here.
Now that you have the strength and you've arrived,
you should share in the blessing of the tree.
After saying that, Venusaur closed its eyes, as if channeling something.
Standing in the distance, Ash frowned slightly.
The tree god Venusaur mentioned—was that the giant tree?
Focusing his Aura, Ash carefully watched the tree's movements.
In his Aura vision,
countless streams of power flowed out from the huge tree,
drifting toward every Bulbasaur in the clearing.
One by one, the Bulbasaur began to glow,
their bodies wrapped in brilliant light.
The largest surge of energy, however,
flew straight into Ivysaur.
Its entire body shone intensely.
After several moments, every Bulbasaur finished evolving.
Ash's Ivysaur had evolved as well—
into Venusaur.
No one had expected the first fully evolved Kanto starter on Ash's team
would be Bulbasaur's line.
Squirtle hadn't even evolved into Wartortle yet,
and Charmeleon was still grinding hard, holding itself back,
eager to make a dramatic leap forward as Charizard.
And then…
Bulbasaur beat it to the finish line.
Once all the new Venusaur had completed their evolution,
the original elder Venusaur nodded in satisfaction,
then turned its gaze back to Ash's Venusaur.
"Venusaur!"
This is an extra gift from the sacred tree—accept it.
A dazzling emerald light flew out from the giant tree,
falling onto the flower on Venusaur's back.
Instantly, its bloom seemed to swell with life,
radiating an even richer, more vibrant aura…
PS :
Bulbasaur → Ivysaur → Venusaur
Raihan is the Dragon-type Gym Leader for the city of Hammerlocke in the Galar region and is recognized as the strongest of the Galar Gym Leaders.
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