Pokémon: Newborn Ash Ketchum – Starting from Hoenn region

"It's finally time to set off, May. Did you forget to bring anything?" Caroline looked at May with concern and asked.

"I'm fine!" May assured her by patting her chest.

May decided to travel with Ash, and Norman and his wife also expressed their support.

"Wait for me! My sister doesn't know anything about Pokémon, so I want to go with them. Besides, I also understand what Dad said—I want to go out and see the world!" At this time, Max ran over with his backpack on.

"Well, it's okay to let Max go out for a walk; it will give him a lot of experience! And Max is very knowledgeable about Pokémon, so we can feel more at ease!" Norman thought for a moment and said.

"Yes!" Caroline agreed.

"Ash, I'm sorry to trouble you, but I hope you can take our Max with you on the trip," Norman requested.

"No problem! After all, traveling is more lively and fun when there are more people!" Ash had already anticipated traveling with May and Max. Besides, with Max around, he could serve as a distraction for Brock—otherwise, whenever Brock became love-struck, Ash would have to intervene himself!

"Okay! Max, be sure to behave."

"Great! Please take care of me!"

"Then, I'll give this to you." Norman took out two gray-blue boxes and handed them to Ash and May, respectively. "These are badge collection boxes for collecting Gym Badges."

Ash and May accepted the badge collection boxes and thanked him.

"Also, take this with you as well." Norman took out another small device.

"Ah! This is..." Max's eyes sparkled as he grabbed the device excitedly.

"This is the Pokémon Navigator. With this, you can determine your current location," Norman explained.

"I'll take this with me!" Max quickly stored it away.

"By the way, the closest Gym to here is in Rustboro City. The three of you can head there first," Norman suggested.

The three of them said their goodbyes and set off toward Rustboro City, their next Gym destination!

"Great! The kids have gone on their journey, and now we can enjoy our time together."

"Yes!"

As the three of them walked away, Norman and Caroline spoke in hushed tones.

After awakening his Aura powers, Ash's hearing had become sharper than that of ordinary people, so he barely caught those two sentences. Ash's mouth twitched. So parents are the real love story, and children are just accidents!

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Petalburg Woods

"It's strange, I can't see any Pokémon at all," Max said in disappointment as he looked around with his binoculars.

"We're walking on a man-made path. There are very few Pokémon here—most of them are deeper inside the forest," Ash explained.

"Besides that, I'm so hungry! How about we have lunch first?" May was already exhausted from walking and only wanted to rest and eat.

Ash nodded. "Alright! Let's eat first! Let's release all the Pokémon!"

He then took out the pre-prepared lunch boxes from his backpack. The Pokémon food had just the right amount of energy cubes mixed in, making it both nutritious and delicious!

Pikachu and the other Pokémon happily started eating.

Meanwhile, May and Max...

"What's the matter?" Ash noticed that neither May nor Max had touched their lunch. Instead, they just stared at their empty lunch boxes.

"Uh… you didn't prepare lunch, did you?"

"Well… I thought my sister would handle it," Max said awkwardly.

"I didn't expect this… I just forgot." May looked at Ash with pitiful eyes.

"Sigh... I have only two extra portions left. Here, take these. If we don't find a Pokémon Center before dark, we'll go hungry." Thankfully, Ash had expected these siblings to be unreliable and had prepared two extra portions. As for dinner, he wasn't worried—Brock should be arriving soon.

"Ah! Thank you, Ash! You're the best!" May and Max cheered as they started eating.

"Swellow~"

"Pika~ Pika~"

Bang!

At that moment, there was a commotion among the Pokémon.

The three of them turned to look and saw a swallow-like Pokémon snatching energy cubes from Eevee's food. But Eevee wasn't having it—it immediately countered with Swift!

May quickly pulled out her Pokédex:

Swellow – The Proud Pokémon.

Swellow is known for its pride and determination. It is often referred to as the "Proud Swallow" by trainers.

Type: Normal/Flying

Ability: Guts (When afflicted by a status condition, its Attack increases by 50%, and it ignores the Attack-lowering effect of burns.)

Strength: Early Elite Stage

Moves: Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Double Team, Protect, Supersonic

Hidden Attribute: Flying

"Swellow!" The bird Pokémon stared at Eevee without any fear.

"Do you want to have a battle with me? If you win, you can have these energy cubes!" Ash took out some Flying-type energy cubes from his backpack.

"Swellow!" Seeing the energy cubes, Swellow immediately nodded in agreement.

"Go! Eevee, let's catch it!"

"Eevee!" Eevee charged forward eagerly.

Whoosh! Swellow's wings glowed white as it launched a Wing Attack at Eevee.

"Eevee, dodge with Quick Attack!"

Although Swellow was at the early Elite stage, Eevee was no slouch either.

"Eevee, use Swift!" Eevee's tail glowed as it launched a barrage of star-shaped projectiles toward Swellow.

The battle continued, with Eevee skillfully dodging and countering Swellow's attacks. Eventually, Swellow became visibly exhausted, panting heavily.

"Now's our chance! Eevee, deliver the finishing blow!" Ash activated the Z-Ring on his wrist.

Max was confused. Finishing blow? How can Eevee defeat Swellow in one hit when it's still standing?

Ash and Eevee moved in sync. "Go, Eevee! Ultimate Invincible Collision!"

"Eevee!" A bright white light enveloped Eevee as it charged toward Swellow with full force.

"Swellow!"

"Go! Poké Ball!"

The Poké Ball flew through the air, hitting Swellow and absorbing it in a flash of red light.

Shake… Shake… Shake…

Ding!

The Poké Ball stopped moving, signaling a successful capture!

Ash was relieved that Swellow was a wild Pokémon—if it had already belonged to a trainer, it wouldn't have been this easy to catch.

"Eevee!" Eevee happily brought the Poké Ball to Ash.

Ash smiled and took it. "Great! I caught a Swellow!"

"Pika~Pikachu!"

"I'm so jealous! I want to catch a new Pokémon too!"

"I want a Pokémon too!!" May and Max looked at Ash with envy.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

"Long time no see, Ash! I didn't expect you to become so strong!"

To be continued…

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