Pokémon: Newborn Ash Ketchum – Starting from Hoenn region

Ash was accompanying Max on his search for Pokémon. Max eagerly scanned his surroundings, looking left and right, when he suddenly spotted a small Mushroom Pokémon in a narrow alleyway.

"Wow! I actually found a Shroomish in the city!" Max exclaimed excitedly, about to rush toward it.

But before he could, Ash grabbed his shoulder, stopping him.

"Wait a minute, Max! You can't just run up to a Pokémon like that. If you approach too suddenly, it might get startled and attack you!" Ash warned. "Besides, Shroomish usually live in forests. Isn't it a little strange to find one wandering around in the city?"

"Oh… yeah, you're right!" Max nodded in understanding.

"Pika~" Pikachu agreed, standing beside Ash.

Looking at the little Shroomish, Ash noticed it was visibly tense, eyeing them with caution. He reached into his bag, pulled out some Grass-type Pokéblocks, and gently placed them on the ground.

"Here, little guy! These are really tasty!" Ash said with a warm smile.

"Pika~" Pikachu chirped, trying to reassure the Shroomish as well.

For a moment, the Pokémon hesitated, its tiny body still on guard. But the tempting aroma of the Pokéblocks was too much to resist. Slowly, it stepped forward, sniffed one, then took a small bite.

"Shroomish~!" (≧w≦)/

Its eyes lit up, and it happily munched on the treat.

Seeing this, Ash carefully reached out and picked it up, holding it gently in his arms. Surprisingly, the little Pokémon didn't resist.

"That's amazing…" Max muttered, watching Ash with admiration.

Before long, Max also started interacting with the Shroomish, and the two quickly became friends.

"Alright, Max, we should return it to where it belongs. Shroomish don't live in cities, so it's best if we take it back to the forest." Ash said.

"Yeah, that makes sense!" Max agreed eagerly.

"Pika~" Pikachu chimed in.

"Shroom~!" The little Pokémon happily gestured with its stubby arms, showing them the way.

---

Meanwhile…

Brock and May had finished their shopping and arrived at the Pokémon Center when they overheard some locals talking about the curse of the Green Hall.

May, always up for an adventure, immediately perked up. "A curse, huh? Sounds like something an explorer like me should investigate!" she declared confidently.

Brock sighed, but knowing May, he had no choice but to follow her.

---

Green Hall

Just as Ash and Max were following Shroomish, they unexpectedly ran into May and Brock at the entrance of the so-called cursed Green Hall.

"Huh?! Ash, Max! What are you guys doing here?" May asked in surprise.

"Sister? What are you doing here?" Max shot back, equally puzzled.

"We heard this place was cursed, so we came to investigate!" May said, crossing her arms. "What about you two? Are you here for the mystery too?"

"Nope. We're just bringing this little guy home," Max explained, holding up Shroomish.

Ash suddenly had a realization. "Wait a minute… If this place is rumored to be cursed, maybe it's because of Shroomish's Spore attack! It probably used it to defend itself, and people misunderstood it as a curse."

"That makes sense!" May, Max, and Brock all nodded in agreement.

Just then, a young man in green overalls approached them.

"Hey! You kids, what are you doing here? This is private property!" he called out, his tone strict.

Ash turned to him. "Sorry, we didn't mean to intrude. We're just trying to return this Shroomish to its home."

The man's expression softened as he looked at the Pokémon. "A Shroomish? That's strange… There shouldn't be any Shroomish in the city."

"Were there more in the past?" Ash asked curiously.

The man, who introduced himself as Yajin, nodded. "Yeah, when I was a kid, this area was full of Shroomish. I loved them! But over time, as more buildings went up and the forests disappeared, they vanished too… I never thought some might still be living here."

Max's eyes widened. "Wait, if there are Shroomish here, doesn't that mean they don't have anywhere else to go?"

"That's a good point," Brock said. "Let's follow this one and see where it leads us."

Shroomish happily guided them deeper into Green Hall, where they discovered an entire colony of Shroomish living in the abandoned garden. The Pokémon looked wary at first, but after seeing their friend with Ash, they relaxed.

"I can't believe they've been living here all this time…" Yajin sighed.

"They must have had no choice after losing their forest," May added sadly.

Suddenly—

Boom!

Their heartfelt moment was interrupted by an all-too-familiar voice.

"Wahahahaha! We'll be taking these Shroomish for ourselves!"

Ash groaned. "Oh no… not them again."

From the shadows, Team Rocket emerged dramatically.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double!"

Before they could finish their motto, Ash cut them off.

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before. Pikachu, Thunderbolt! Tyranitar, Hyper Beam!"

"Wha—?! Wait, hold on, that's not fair—!"

BOOM!

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

"Wobbuffet~!"

Ash turned back to Yajin. "So… about this place. You mentioned you were planning to demolish it?"

Yajin hesitated, then sighed. "Yeah, I was… but seeing these Pokémon, I've changed my mind. I'll replant trees here instead so they can have a proper home."

"That's great!" Max cheered.

At that moment, the Shroomish that had led them here stepped forward and offered Ash a strange glowing stone.

"This is… a Mega Stone?" Ash's eyes widened.

Checking with his system, the answer was confirmed:

[Ding! Identified as Sceptilite – Mega Evolution stone for Sceptile.]

"Nice! This saves me 10,000 points!" Ash thought, grinning.

May peeked over his shoulder. "What is that, Ash? You seem really happy about it."

Ash smirked. "Oh, just something very useful for the future!"

After saying their goodbyes to Yajin and the Shroomish, the group left the city and continued their journey.

---

A Few Days Later – Another City

While walking through town, Max suddenly pointed excitedly at a notice board.

"Ash, look! It says 'Gym of the World's Strongest Pokémon'!"

Ash raised an eyebrow. "World's strongest, huh? Sounds interesting."

Max's eyes sparkled. "Could it be a Legendary Pokémon?!"

Ash chuckled internally. "Oh, Max… you have so much to learn."

When they arrived, they found the so-called strongest Pokémon—a Pelipper.

Max, May, and Brock all looked disappointed.

"Wait… That's it?"

The gym leader, Anthony, boasted about his unbeatable Pokémon, but Ash saw through his trick immediately.

The battle began, and when Pelipper used Vine Whip, Ash smirked.

"Tyranitar, grab the vines and pull!"

Everyone gasped as a Bellsprout was yanked from Pelipper's mouth.

"He was hiding Pokémon inside Pelipper?!"

Anthony, caught red-handed, could only apologize. Ash gave him a stern talk about true strength before leaving the gym behind.

May and Max looked at Ash in admiration.

"Ash, that was so cool!"

"Eh, just another day," he replied with a smirk.

And with that, their journey continued.

To be continued…

---------------------------

Give me power stone guys