After the stay at the hotel for a night, Ash and Alice decide to move on to Vermilion City as they bid farewell to the Gym Leader Glinda. While on their way to Vermilion City, Ash and Alice are walking on the plains until they find a Parasect passing by. Ash says, "Alice, do you know about the Pokemon in front of you, Parasect?"

Alice says, "I know it is a Bug and Grass Type Pokemon, what about the Pokemon?" Ash says, "You know, it is actually a horror for this Pokemon, you see, the main host of this Pokemon is actually the mushroom itself, as for the bug underneath...let's just say that it becomes a host..."

"Ash, did you make that up?" Alice says, feeling a little terrified at the thought.

"Nope...this is what the Pokedex says." Ash says as he shows her the phone. "But these Pokemon have spores that can provide medicine, which is also a good thing in this place."

"Is that so?" Alice says, "Now that you make it less scarier, how about we capture this Pokemon?"

Ash looks at the Parasect and then he takes out the Fearow, telling him to use Drill Peck on the Pokemon, but the Parasect rebels by using Spore, causing Fearow to fall asleep.

"Spores also make the Pokemon fall asleep, which is why it is hard to capture..." Ash mutters. Then after Parasect attacks the Fearow for a while, Fearow wakes up and uses Crush Claw, defeating it and letting Ash capture the Pokemon.

"Now that's how we get it." Ash says as he turns to Alice, who is looking at the Pokedex, she mutters, "This is so wrong for the Parasect..."

"Alice, don't worry about what the Pokedex says, I know for sure that some of the entries are only assumptions of the Professors."

"If you say so." Alice says as they continue to move on the road, but Alice gets a little terrified after seeing the dead Parasect on the road without a mushroom. Ash gives her a hug and says, "Alice, it's fine, Pokemon are mysterious creatures and it is just nature. We don't need to keep that in mind."

"But..." Alice says, "That Parasect..."

"Pokemon will also die in old age, just think like that and you're be able to get used to it." Alice nods, and they quickly go away.

While on the way, they see a Venonat hiding in the tree, it starts to glow as it evolves into a Venomoth. "You know, I remember that Tracy used a Venomoth back at the Pallet Town Gym, right?"

"Of course, this Pokemon is not only a Bug Type, but also a Poison Type. But there is something that intrigues me." Ash says.

"And what is it?" Alice asks in confusion, and Ash says, "Did you notice the eyes of the Venonat looking different from Venomoth?"

"Well, Venonat has red eyes, while Venomoth has black eyes." Alice says. Ash says, "And if you think of it, Caterpie and Metapod have black eyes and Butterfree has Red eyes. Don't you think that maybe Butterfree and Venomoth should switch their appearances?"

"Come to think of it, I think you were right. But I wonder why it becomes like this...it isn't like Escavalier and Accelgor that they change because of trade..."

"Maybe Pokemon are mysterious." Ash says, "Or maybe I should ask Mew about it once we arrive at the Pokemon Center."

Alice decides to do the honors to catch this Bug Type Pokemon. She uses Charizard to help out. Venomoth flies out of his hiding spot and uses Stun Spore, but Charizard dodges and uses the Wing Attack, but the Disable is able to prevent the attack from using again.

"Disable sure is a problem." Ash mutters. Then Alice tells Charizard to use Flamethrower, and it hits Venomoth, and Venomoth is slammed into the tree. But it gets back up again and uses Confusion, but the Dragon Tail sends it back again and this time Venomoth is unable to battle.

"Now I'll catch you." Alice says as she throws the Pokeball, eventually capturing the Pokemon. "Now I caught it."

"Good, Alice." Ash says with a smile. "Though we have to be careful of their Poison scales, it will be hard to remove them."

"I know." Alice says. "But we did capture a lot of Bug Type Pokemon, don't you think?"

"You're right. We sure are making good progress." Ash says as they continue on their road.

While they are continuing, they feel an Earthquake as they quickly hold the ground, Alice asks, "Where did that Earthquake come from?"

Ash says, "It must be a work of a Ground Type Pokemon. But what is it?"

Just then, three heads pop out of the ground, and Ash says, "Oh, so it is only a Dugtrio. No wonder we would feel the Earthquake."

"Why are you so calm with this? Ash?" Alice asks in confusion, and Ash bends down and pats the Pokemon, saying, "You know, Dugtrio is a friendly Pokemon. As you can see, the first time I met Diglett, people have been trying to capture it, but the Pokemon refuse to battle them because all they want is to protect nature."

"That sounds interesting." Alice says. "So we can't use the actual way to catch this Pokemon?"

"I think so. But thinking of another thing, this Pokemon has the ability known as the Arena Trap, which prevents the opponent from escaping the battle. We should find a way to capture this Pokemon." Ash says.

"Maybe we should try to befriend him?" Alice asks, and they notice the Dugtrio still tilting their heads with confusion. Ash says, "Are you three hungry? I have these." He takes out the Pokefood made for Ground Types, and the three heads start to dig in the food. They like the food and Ash says, "Well, I am really happy that you like it, so what are you doing here?"

The Dugtrio just looks at one another and the one head says, "You seem to be an interesting trainer."

"We are just trying to see what kind of trainers of you two are." The second one says.

"Surely you aren't going to harm us, right?" The third one asks with suspicion.

"Of course not, we treat all Pokemon as friends, you can ask Pikachu and Eevee for proof." Ash says.

Pikachu and Eevee nuzzle their trainers with affection, and the Dugtrio looks convinced. "Then it is confirmed, we are going to join your group. Since we want to find someone who is worthy of us."

"Of course, you won't find your trust being betrayed." Ash says as he puts the Quick Ball on the ground. "But I don't want you to think that I said that because I want you to be my Pokemon. So if you want to join me, just press it yourself."

The Dugtrio is surprised to see the human does something different than other humans, they press it and then Dugtrio is captured. "And that is that." Ash says to Alice, Alice says, "You sure know how to befriend a Pokemon."

"Yeah, I guess it is a natural habit for me." Ash says while rubbing his head.

And as they almost reach Vermilion City, they hear a voice, "Prepare for trouble!" "And make it double."

"To protect the world from devastation." "To unite all people within our nation."

"To denounce the evil with truth and love." "To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie." "James."

"Team Rocket blast off with the speed of light." "Surrender now, or prepare for a fight."

"Meowth, dat's right." "Wobbuffet!"

Ash and Pikachu groan a little as they turn around, seeing Jessie, James, and Meowth standing there and Ash asks, "Really? Even if you leave Team Rocket, you are still going to say that?"

"It is kind of our habit." Jessie says. "But how are you doing?"

"Sure." Ash rolls his eyes and he introduces Alice to them. Alice says, "So those three have been stalking you until Team Rocket is over?"

"Yeah, but we know there is some good inside them." Ash says back, "But what are you doing here and what do you guys want?"

James says, "You see, we have news regarding our former boss Giovanni." This causes them to widen their eyes, Meowth says, "Apparently, he is released from the prison after the International Police rewrite their memories."

"Wait, rewrite his memories? The International Police can do that?" Ash asks in shock.

"That is correct. But we need the help of Mew to do it." Jessie says, "Anyways, I am sure that your mother didn't tell you that our boss was related to you, right?"

"Related to me?" Ash is confused, James says, "Yes, our boss is actually your uncle, when we are working with Team Rocket we were asked to follow you with the boss' orders, one is to keep you safe and the other is that we won't be able to foil his evil plans."

"Okay, I am a little confused. So you mean...Giovanni is my uncle, and he is not that evil. But I didn't know that my mother has a brother..."

"That is because Giovanni is actually your father's brother." Ash widens his eyes as he doesn't know how to respond. "Anyways, the reason we are here is that we are carrying a mission from our boss." Meowth says. "Our boss has a Pokemon that he wishes you to take care of."

"Take care of?" Ash is confused as he is given the Pokeball, Jessie says, "This ball contains the boss' favorite Pokemon: Persian."

"Don't mention that name!" Meowth yells back. James says, "Anyways, he wants you to take care of it as a gift after released from prison, and he also says that he will be waiting for you at his gym located in the Viridian City."

"So he has become the Gym Leader once more..." Ash says. "Tell him not to worry, I will be glad to take care of this Pokemon."

After the trio nod, they immediately rush away as they yell, "Team Rocket, blasting off away!"

After they are gone from their sight, Alice asks, "Is it only me, or do I think those people are really weird?"

"Trust me, when you travel with him ever since I become 10 and now we are 18, then it is going to be used to it. Well, before we go to the gym, how about we go to Professor Cerise's Lab? It sure has been a while since I met him."

"Of course, we can go there." Alice says as they take the path to the lab.

Here is a new chapter, in this chapter I am going to answer some of the questions related to the story: First: Why isn't the number of Gyms 18? Well, the answer is that plus Elite 4 there are 20 battles, and I am really tired of writing 22 gym battles or Elite 4. And the second question, I am not from Japan, and I am not 20 yet, but I can drink wine according to my country's law. So I decide to use mine instead. For the third question: Ash has stopped every evil organization in the world, but I decide to return the Viridian Gym to Giovanni, as I will want Ash to have a battle with him and win against him for a badge. And final question: Will Ash be traveling to the Isle of Armor or Crown Tundra in this story, the answer is yes, since there are Legendary Pokemon only can be found in these areas, so he has to go there and capture them. And the next chapter will be meeting Professor Cerise and the Vermilion Gym.