Pokémon: A New Ash, Starting from Hoenn

Ash and Max were wandering around the city, searching for Pokémon, when Max suddenly spotted something.

"Whoa! A Shroomish! In the city?!" Max gasped, eyes sparkling with excitement.He was about to rush over when Ash held him back.

"Wait—charging in like that might scare it off… or worse, provoke an attack. Besides, it's strange to see a Shroomish here. They usually live in forests."

"You're right…" Max nodded sheepishly."Pikachu~"

The Shroomish eyed them warily, clearly on guard.

Ash crouched down and pulled out some Grass-type energy cubes. Placing them gently on the ground, he smiled warmly."Hey there, these are really tasty."

"Pika pika~" Pikachu chimed in, trying to reassure the Pokémon.

After a long moment of hesitation, Shroomish finally shuffled forward, sniffed a cube, and took a bite.

"Shroo~!" its eyes lit up, and it began munching happily.

Ash slowly reached out and picked up the Shroomish—it didn't resist.

"So cool~" Max looked at Ash in awe as he held the content Shroomish in his arms.

Before long, Max and the Shroomish had become fast friends.

"Alright, Max. Shroomish don't really belong in the city. Let's help it get back home."

"Okay!""Pika!"

"Shroom~!" the Shroomish chirped and led them forward with a happy bounce.

Meanwhile, at the Pokémon Center…

Brock and May had just wrapped up a shopping spree when they overheard some locals whispering about something called The Greenhouse Curse.

May's eyes lit up—her explorer instincts had been triggered."Cursed greenhouse? Brock, let's check it out!"

Reluctantly, Brock followed her lead.

At the Greenhouse…

"Huh?! Ash? Max? What are you two doing here?" May blinked in surprise.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Max raised an eyebrow.

"We heard about some 'Greenhouse Curse' and came to investigate," May explained proudly.

"Well, we're just here to help Shroomish find its home," Max replied and showed her the happy Pokémon.

Ash nodded, "I think that so-called 'curse' is probably just Paralyze Powder from the Shroomish trying to protect themselves."

"Ahh! That makes sense!" the group said together.

"Hey!" a voice suddenly called out. A man in green overalls approached. "What are you doing here without permission? I'm doing maintenance on the garden."

Ash's group quickly introduced themselves and explained everything. They learned the man's name was Ben, and this place had belonged to his late grandfather.

Ben looked stunned when he saw Shroomish."There shouldn't be any of them left in this city..."

"Were there more before?" Ash asked curiously.

"Yeah. Back when I was a kid, the area was full of them. I used to play with Shroomish here all the time. But as the city grew and forests disappeared… the Shroomish vanished. This place is the only bit of green left, and now it's set to be demolished."

"What?! If the Shroomish live here now, where will they go?" Max asked, alarmed.

"Well," Ash said, "Why don't we ask the Shroomish to show us around and see for ourselves?"

Everyone agreed.

Following their new friend, the group reached a quiet section of the greenhouse where a whole colony of Shroomish had made their home. They looked wary at first but relaxed once they saw their friend had brought kind humans.

"I can't believe they've been here all this time…" Ben murmured.

"They had nowhere else to go after the forests disappeared," May said softly.

BOOM!

Right on cue, the peace was shattered by a familiar, obnoxious voice.

"Wahahaha! We're taking all the Shroomish!"

"Who's there?!" Ben shouted.

"Since you asked sincerely…"

"Yeah, yeah—skip the speech," Ash sighed. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt. Tyranitar, Hyper Beam. Go."

"What?! No fair, Ash—you're skipping the fun part again!" Meowth protested.

BOOM!

"What a nasty feeling~"

"Wobbuffet~ (˃ʍ˂)~"

As the dust settled, Ash turned to Ben."Mr. Ben, can I ask you for a favor?"

"Huh? Oh—sure, what is it?"

"You said the place was going to be demolished… Could you not do that?"

"Please!" Brock, May, and Max echoed.

Ben paused. "Hmm… I'm still going to demolish the old house. But instead, I'll plant a new garden here—lots of trees and greenery. That way, the Shroomish can have a home again."

"Awesome!" Max cheered, jumping up.

The group smiled warmly.

At that moment, the Shroomish that had guided them stepped forward and handed Ash a glowing stone.

"Huh? Is this… a Mega Stone?" Ash blinked in surprise. "Is this for me?"

"Shroom~!" the Shroomish nodded happily.

"Thank you!" Ash accepted it gratefully and whispered, "System, appraise."

[Ding~ Appraisal complete: Sceptilite – Mega Stone for Sceptile]

Jackpot! Ash cheered silently. Saved me ten thousand points!

"What is it? Why do you look so happy?" May asked suspiciously.

"Hehe… nothing! Just something really good." Ash grinned, brushing it off.

After saying goodbye to Anthony and the Shroomish, the group returned to the Pokémon Center to rest, before continuing their journey the next day.

Elsewhere, in another city…

"Whoa, Ash! Look!" Max pointed at a billboard.

[Challenge the Gym of the World's Strongest Pokémon!]

"That sounds fun," Ash said casually. "Let's check it out."

"You think it's a legendary Pokémon?!" Max said, nearly bouncing. Ash chuckled internally. This kid's still too green. Stick with me and legendary Pokémon won't stay legends for long.

Soon, they arrived at the Gym. But instead of a legendary Pokémon, they were met by… a Pelipper.

Everyone except Ash was stunned and visibly disappointed.

The Gym Leader, named Anthony, wore a smug grin.

"A Pelipper?" Brock said flatly."You've got to be kidding," May muttered.

Ash didn't say anything—just smiled faintly.

[Pelipper – Strength: Superior Peak Stage]

To be fair, the Pelipper looked like it had some real power. But Ash wasn't impressed.

"Tyranitar, let's go!" Ash released his powerhouse without hesitation.

"Pelipper, Vine Whip!" Anthony commanded.

"…What?" Everyone blinked.

Pelipper opened its mouth—and suddenly, a Vine Whip shot out.

Ash smirked. "Tyranitar, grab the vine and pull."

"Wait! No!" Anthony panicked.

YANK! A Bellsprout flew out of Pelipper's mouth.

The group stood in stunned silence.

"I get it now!" Max shouted. "You were hiding Pokémon inside Pelipper to fake it being stronger than it is!"

"You're cheating!" Brock yelled.

"Totally unfair!" May agreed.

"So this is your 'world's strongest Pokémon'?" Ash stared flatly at Anthony.

"I… I'm sorry!" Anthony dropped to his knees. "I just wanted Pelipper to be the strongest. I didn't mean for it to go this far…"

"Hmph. If you want to become strong, you and your Pokémon need to work together. There's no shortcut," Ash said firmly. "Cheating won't get you anywhere."

Anthony looked at his Pelipper with guilt and regret. "You're right… Thank you."

Ash and his friends turned and left.

"You were amazing, Ash!" May and Max beamed. "That speech was so cool!"

"Nah," Ash scratched his cheek. "I just told him the truth."

And with that, their journey continued.

To be continued…