At the same time, while Red and the others were about to wrap up their Pokémon battle, deep within the bushes of Misty Forest, three familiar figures were lurking.
"Meowth, Jessie, James, did you see that?" Meowth lowered his telescope and turned to his two teammates.
"We're not blind, you know," James said with a smirk. "That Charmeleon is a rare find."
"Yeah," Jessie added, her eyes gleaming with ambition. "That dragon is nearly as big as a fully grown Charizard! If we catch it and hand it over to the boss, we'll get a promotion..." She trailed off, a sly smile forming on her face as she imagined the rewards.
"A raise!" James chimed in, eyes sparkling with greed.
"And we'll finally be more important than that cat!" Meowth added, puffing out his chest.
The three fell into a daydream, fantasizing about their inevitable success. If Red were here, he would immediately recognize them—Jessie, James, and Meowth, the infamous Team Rocket trio who appeared throughout the Pokémon world as persistent, albeit incompetent, villains.
"Ahem, snap out of it!" Meowth suddenly shook his head, bringing himself back to reality. "It's not time to be dreaming. We need to figure out how to catch that Charmeleon and Pikachu!"
"You're right," James agreed, nodding. "Fantasizing won't help us. We need a solid plan. If we don't catch them, everything will just be a dream."
"Well then," Jessie crossed her arms. "Do you two have any ideas?"
Meowth and James exchanged nervous glances, both hoping the other had some brilliant strategy. Unfortunately, after spying on the battle, they both realized that Charmeleon was far stronger than expected—even stronger than Ash's Pikachu.
A simple net or trap wouldn't cut it. They needed something more sophisticated.
"Tsk, if you don't have a plan, then start thinking!" Jessie snapped.
The three squatted in the bushes, whispering and plotting, determined to capture their targets.
---
Meanwhile, back with Ash and his friends...
"Red, please have a Pokémon battle with me!" Ash stepped forward, his eyes burning with determination.
"Ash, don't be ridiculous," Misty scoffed, folding her arms. "Didn't you just see how powerful Red's Charmeleon is? You don't stand a chance."
"You—!" Ash gritted his teeth but stopped when he felt something tugging at his leg.
"Pika..."
Pikachu had run over from playing with Pichu and was pulling on Ash's pants. It shook its head, signaling that it had no interest in battling Charmeleon.
"You too, Pikachu?" Ash sighed in defeat, lifting his partner into his arms. "It's just a friendly match! Why is everyone against me?"
His companions, his own Pokémon—everyone was treating him like a joke. And Red, the one person who should have had a say in this, hadn't even spoken yet!
"Haha, you guys really have a great relationship," Red chuckled, watching Ash and Pikachu interact.
"Who's got a great relationship with him?" Misty interjected, glaring at Ash. "If he hadn't destroyed my bicycle, I'd be somewhere else right now, fishing and catching rare Pokémon!"
"Misty!" Ash groaned. "Didn't we agree not to bring up the bicycle anymore? I told you I'd pay you back!"
"Yeah? And when exactly are you going to do that?" Misty shot back. "The cheapest bike costs tens of thousands of PokéCoins. Your travel allowance is what? A few thousand per month? You'd have to go without food for months just to afford one."
Ash winced. She had a point. His mother only sent him enough money to cover basic travel expenses, and even with Brock around cooking free meals, there was no way he could afford a new bicycle anytime soon.
"Hehe, well then," Misty smirked. "Until you pay me back, you're stuck with me."
"..."
Red watched the back-and-forth and held back a laugh. Seeing them bicker in real life was even more amusing than in the anime. But then he thought about something—Ash had a strange track record with bicycles. Every time he met a new female trainer, her bike mysteriously got destroyed. And yet, despite never repaying them, he somehow always ended up gaining a new travel companion.
How did he do it? Red had to admit—Ash's luck with women was unparalleled.
"Ash, let's save our battle for another time," Red said finally, patting his shoulder. "I'd like to battle you, but only after you've gotten stronger."
"Really?!" Ash's face lit up. "Alright! Next time, for sure!" He clenched his fist, already picturing their future match.
"Yeah," Red nodded. "For now, let's say goodbye. Everyone has their own way of traveling. I prefer to go alone."
"What? You're leaving?" Ash, Misty, and Brock looked at him in surprise.
They had only just met—wasn't he going to travel with them?
"Yeah," Red confirmed. "Since I left Pallet Town, I've been traveling solo. I'm used to it."
"Well, in that case, I wish you all the best," Ash said, still a little disappointed.
"Red, let's talk more about Pokémon training next time," Brock added with a smile.
"See you around," Misty said, offering a small wave.
With that, Red turned and walked off into the distance, continuing his own journey.
---
Meanwhile, back in the bushes, Team Rocket had finally come up with a plan.
"Alright," Jessie whispered. "We'll set a pitfall trap and cover it with leaves. Once that Charmeleon and Pikachu step on it—bam! They'll fall right in!"
"And if that doesn't work, we'll use our mechanical arms to grab them!" James added.
"Then we put them in our balloon and escape before those twerps can stop us!" Meowth concluded.
The trio grinned at each other, confident in their latest scheme.
However...
Just as they were about to put their plan into motion, a sudden rustling in the bushes made them freeze.
Before they could react—
WHOOSH!
A fiery blaze erupted in front of them.
"AAAAAHHH!!!"
The trio barely had time to scream before they were blasted into the sky by an enormous Flamethrower.
"Looks like Team Rocket is blasting off agaaaaaiiiiin!"
With a final twinkle in the sky, they disappeared.
Down below, Red's Charmeleon snorted, a satisfied smirk on its face.
"Did... did something just happen?" Ash blinked, looking around.
"Probably just wild Pokémon fighting," Misty shrugged.
Brock nodded. "Yeah, nothing to worry about."
Unaware of the chaos they had unknowingly avoided, the trio continued on their way, leaving behind the smoldering remains of Team Rocket's failed plan.
And thus, their journey continued.
---
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