The first facility of the Battle Frontier, the Battle Tower, stood before them.
Beside the facility was a young man and his collection of mysterious Pokémon.
As Articuno descended, the man approached it, appearing quite close.
Because Ye Feng had once eaten an Articuno, he left on Rayquaza.
They flew over forests and lakes,
arriving at Pewter City.
Upon arriving in Pewter City,
Ye Feng, along with May and Max, headed for the Pewter Gym.
"Hmm? Brock? He's already set off on a journey with Ash."
At the Pewter Gym,
Ye Feng met Brock's mother, Forrest.
She was attractive, with curly brown hair.
She seemed to have a cheerful disposition.
Forrest's return also brought great joy to Brock's father, Flint.
Ye Feng could tell this family was living happily.
Since Ash wasn't here,
Ye Feng didn't linger.
Next, they went to Cerulean City.
Ash had already left there as well.
Finally, Ye Feng, May, and Max encountered Ash in Saffron City.
The group reunited in a restaurant.
"Alright, since the mission is complete, I'll be going now."
Ash, seeing Ye Feng about to leave, asked, "Brother Ye Feng, where are you going?"
Ye Feng replied, "I'll head to Sinnoh and wait there."
"Even though the gym isn't open, I'll go ahead and get acquainted."
Actually, Ye Feng remembered that Nanami Okido was in Sinnoh.
He wanted to spend some happy days with her...
Thus, Ye Feng went to the Sinnoh region.
Meanwhile, Ash and the others embarked on their journey,
challenging the Battle Frontier.
Three days later.
In a forest outside Lavender Town.
Huge green thorns were everywhere.
Ash and the others arrived,
looking at the sight before them, they said, "Let's take another path."
But as Ash intended to change course, his Pikachu suddenly seemed to discover something and charged forward.
With no other choice, Ash and the others quickly followed.
As they rushed into the forest and were about to head deeper, they suddenly encountered someone.
"Halt! Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter!"
It was a young woman wearing a distinctive uniform,
blocking Ash and the others.
"I am a Pokémon Ranger, Hinata."
A Ranger is essentially a forest guardian.
"There's been an emergency here. For your safety, you are not permitted to enter."
Ash protested, "But my Pikachu went in. I need to go in and find it."
Hinata asked, "Is that so?"
Then, Hinata took out a mobile device and contacted someone.
"Oh, so a Pikachu did run in just now. In that case, you may enter."
"Wow, beautiful Miss Hinata, you're so kind."
At this moment, Brock suddenly stepped forward and took Hinata's hand.
Hinata felt awkward.
The group thus entered the depths of the forest.
Inside the deep forest, giant thorns were entangled everywhere.
Ranger Miss Hinata summoned her constantly, clearing a path through the thorns.
Seeing this, Ash asked, "Miss Hinata, what exactly happened here?"
Hinata shook her head, "I'm here to investigate this matter. If I'm not mistaken..."
As she finished speaking,
they saw a yellow rodent in front of them baring its teeth aggressively. But upon seeing Ash,
the yellow rodent showed a smile.
"Pikachu!"
Ash and Pikachu embraced.
"That is..."
After Pikachu had gone,
the others saw what had been next to Pikachu.
It was a very cute Pokémon.
A small green body, like an elf.
"Celebi! It's Celebi!"
Miss Hinata exclaimed excitedly.
"Celebi?!"
Brock was also stunned, "That's a legendary Pokémon!"
Although May and Max had been in low spirits, their eyes lit up upon seeing Celebi.
As for Ash, he pulled out his Pokédex.
He aimed it at Celebi.
[Celebi, the legendary Pokémon. It loves nature and peace.]
[It is said to possess mysterious powers to travel through time and bring the deceased back to life.]
"Wow, I never expected to actually encounter Celebi."
Ash's face broke into a radiant smile.
At this moment,
they also noticed.
This Celebi seemed very weak.
Lying on the ground, its eyes open, covered in wounds.
"This has happened before. It is said that when Celebi is in danger, it releases these giant thorns to protect itself."
"Alright, let me heal you now."
Miss Hinata reached for a Poké Ball at her waist, intending to release a Pokémon to treat Celebi.
But just then,
from across from them, a large torrent of flame suddenly appeared, engulfing the giant green thorns.
Within the flames,
two enormous Pokémon emerged.
The appearance of these two Pokémon
instantly cast a somber atmosphere over the entire scene.
A terrifying pressure made breathing extremely difficult.
And these two Pokémon...
"Ho-Oh! Lugia!!!"
Ash, everyone knew this person.
He had a knack for legendary Pokémon, but not the destiny to possess them.
If one were to talk about encountering the most legendary Pokémon and having deep friendships with them, it would undoubtedly be this individual.
At this moment, he of course recognized the two Pokémon before him.
Ho-Oh!
And Lugia!
However, the two before them had red eyes, looking terrifying.
"Their condition seems a bit off,"
Hinata remarked.
*Thump!*
At this moment,
three figures emerged from the flames.
Leading them was an old man wearing a mask.
Beside him,
a man and a woman.
"Drake! Kanna!!!"
Brock recognized the identities of the man and woman; they were Elite Four members from the Johto region.
"You guys?!"
Seeing them like this, Ash and the others knew without asking.
Why this Celebi was so severely injured.
It was being pursued by Ho-Oh and Lugia...
At this moment, the masked man waved his hand.
Lugia lunged forward, attempting to capture the heavily injured Celebi.
Ash commanded his Pikachu,
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt! Save Celebi!"
"Pika!"
Pikachu unleashed a powerful Thunderbolt.
But before legendary deities,
it was like a child's play.
Lugia, with a wave of its hand, blew out a strong gust of wind,
deflecting the Thunderbolt. With its other hand, it directly grabbed Celebi.
It was brought back to the masked man's side.
"You! Drake and Kanna! How can you capture Celebi?!"
Drake remained silent.
Kanna chuckled, "Children, who says Elite Four members cannot capture Celebi?"
"We're not doing anything wrong. We just need Celebi's help to accomplish something."
Ho-Oh then spat flames from its mouth.
Powerful, scorching golden flames instantly blinded the eyes of Ash and the others.
When Ash and the others summoned water-type Pokémon to extinguish the flames,
those people had already vanished.