Lately, Brock and May had watched Ash catch several new Pokémon, which only fired up their own desire to find more partners. The mysteries of the wild stirred their adventurous spirits!
With Ralts and Pikachu riding on his shoulders, Ash stepped forward and suggested, "Then let's each rely on our own strength—see if we can climb this waterfall using our Pokémon!"
"Agreed!"＼＼\٩( 'ω' )و //／／ x2
"I'll go first!" Brock volunteered, sending out Lotad. Using a rope and Lotad's Water Gun for support, he tied the rope to a tree above and began to climb. As a former Rock-type Gym Leader, scaling heights like this was no problem.
Inspired by Brock, May's eyes sparkled. "Alright, Silcoon, let's go!" She used String Shot to pull herself up.
Max didn't have any Pokémon of his own, so he naturally stuck with Ash.
"Noctowl, let's fly up with Confusion," Ash called. Ralts was still too young to use her powers like that, so Ash used Noctowl to lift both himself and Max.
Just like that, the group made their way to the top of the waterfall.
"Wow, this is what it means to be a Pokémon Trainer!" May cheered, amazed at how everyone worked with their Pokémon to overcome the obstacle.
Above the waterfall, the river was veiled in a light mist. Aquatic plants swayed in the slow current, and the scenery looked almost ethereal—like something out of a fairy tale.
"I never imagined it would look like this up here," Max said, in awe.
"The current's really gentle," Brock observed.
"That's because this is a tributary," Max explained after checking the PokéNav. "The main stream is over there, where the water flows much faster."
As they ventured deeper into the area, the ground beneath their feet turned soft and soggy. The soil was loose and waterlogged.
"Careful, everyone," Brock warned. "The ground here's pretty unstable."
"Got it!" the others nodded.
After walking out of the misty zone, the fog cleared, and they found themselves in a bright clearing—where a group of small, playful Pokémon were splashing around.
"Look over there—Mudkip!" Max pointed excitedly.
"They're tiny," Ash noted. "These must be baby Mudkip."
"When I first saw a Mudkip, I didn't think much of it, but these baby ones are so cute!" May's opinion flipped in an instant. "I'm gonna catch one!"
Excited, May ran toward the group of baby Mudkip.
"Wait, May! The Mudkip here might be—" Ash tried to warn her.
Too late.
Suddenly, an adult Mudkip leapt from the grass and sprayed a Water Gun right into May's face!
[Mudkip]Strength: High-Grade Novice Tier
"Ahh! Why are Mudkip my natural enemy?!"(╥╯﹏╰╥)ง
At that moment, one of the baby Mudkip slipped into the main river channel. The current was much stronger there, and the little one was being swept away!
"Pika!" Pikachu pointed in alarm.
"Ah! That's the main stream—it's way too fast!" Max cried out.
Brock was just about to send Lotad when—
"Noctowl! Use Agility to get close, then Confusion to lift it out of the water!"
In a flash, Noctowl dashed through the air and gently rescued the baby Mudkip with psychic power, floating it safely back to shore.
"Phew~" Everyone let out a sigh of relief.
Ash walked over and patted the soaked baby Mudkip on the head. "You okay, buddy?"
"Gle gle~" it chirped cheerfully.
The adult Mudkip that had sprayed May earlier seemed to relax slightly, though it still watched the group warily.
"You were just trying to protect your babies, weren't you?" Brock said softly.
"Gle~" The adult Mudkip hesitated, then turned and disappeared into the grass.
Ash cradled the baby Mudkip in his arms and walked over to Brock. "Seems like it trusts us now. Can you check if it's hurt?"
"Sure." Brock examined it thoroughly. "Looks like it's just shaken up—no injuries. That's lucky."
Just then, an old man with a hairstyle that weirdly resembled a Mudkip stepped out of the grass.
"Ah! A wild Mudkip elder spirit appears before the May Exploration Team!" May gasped dramatically. "Could it be the legendary ancient Mudkip guardian?"
"May, seriously?" Max sighed, unimpressed. (￢_￢)
"Who are you calling an old monster?!" the man snapped, comically offended.٩(╬ఠдఠ)و
"AH! IT SPEAKS!!" May gasped even louder.
Everyone: (⇀‸↼‶)
"You little brats trying to steal my Mudkip?! Unforgivable!"
Ash quickly explained, "No! We were just trying to save this baby Mudkip."
"Gle gle~" the baby Mudkip in his arms chimed in.
"Oh! My apologies, then," the man said, bowing. "I misunderstood."
"I'm Ash from Pallet Town—nice to meet you!"
"I'm May!"
"I'm Max, pleased to meet you."
"I'm Brock."
"I'm the caretaker of this swamp and these Mudkip," the old man introduced. "Name's Swampy—but you can just call me Grandpa Swampy."
He then asked, "Didn't you kids see the sign outside the swamp? This is a restricted area."
"Well… truth is, we climbed the waterfall for Pokémon training," Brock admitted.
"You climbed that waterfall?" Grandpa Numa blinked. "Unbelievable!"
"We're sorry—we didn't know this was off-limits," they apologized in unison.
"Pika~""Ralts~"
"Haha, never mind. You helped rescue one of my little ones. Come, have some tea before you go."
"Thank you, Grandpa Swampy!" ×4
He led them to a small wooden hut nestled near the swamp.
"Is this where you live?" May asked.
"Sort of. It's a hut I built to watch over the baby Mudkip," Swampy explained.
Inside, Max spotted several Pokémon incubators. Inside were eggs—blue, speckled with orange spots.
"Mudkip eggs!" he exclaimed. "Whoa, I've never seen one up close!"
Even though beginner Trainers get one of the three starters, finding them in the wild is rare. Their final forms are strong enough to serve as core team members. Only someone like Ash—with his protagonist luck—can find starters in every region.
"Yep, Mudkip eggs," Grandpa Swampy nodded.
May and Max pressed closer to examine them. "This is incredible…"
"A new discovery for the May Exploration Team!" May said proudly.
"But where do these eggs come from?" Brock asked curiously.
"My wife always tells me not to ramble," Grandpa Swampy said, clearly about to do just that. "But I can't help it! Let me ask you something: Why do Trainers usually train all three starter Pokémon to the same level?"
Brock replied seriously, "I've definitely wondered about that."
May blinked. "Uh… I haven't, actually."
Ash said nothing.
"What?! May!" Max whined. "Every Trainer thinks about that at least once!"
"Really?!"
"Well, let me tell you the answer," Grandpa Numa said. "It's because people like me are commissioned by the Pokémon League to hatch starter eggs!"
"So that's it…" Brock nodded, finally understanding.
"Wait, does that mean Professor Birch is one too?" May asked.
"Not exactly," Grandpa Swampy chuckled. "Birch raises them himself. I hatch them here and send them off."
"So there are different kinds of breeders out there…" Max said, fascinated.
Brock looked thoughtful. "Still, this isn't quite the path I envisioned as a Pokémon Breeder."
"Oh? You want to become a Breeder?" Grandpa Swampy smiled. "Then how about it—want to see how Mudkip are born?"[1]
"Really?!" Brock's eyes lit up.
"Thank you so much, Grandpa Swampy!" everyone said together.ヾ(≧∇≦)ノ
To be continued…
[1] we are about to see Pokemon sex guys!