Leaving behind the bustling Leaf Forest Carnival, Ash and his friends arrived at a tranquil place known for its traditional herbal medicine Mossgreen Town.
They needed to restock some essential medicines and food for their journey.
Meanwhile, Team Rocket, who had been stealthily tailing them, found themselves in a heap of trouble.
For reasons unknown, Meowth had suddenly come down with a high fever. He lay slumped on the ground, his body limp and devoid of strength, struggling even to stand.
"Meow... I feel terrible, meow..." Meowth groaned weakly.
Jessie frowned and gave Meowth a light kick with her foot. "Hey, Meowth, quit playing dead! Get up!"
"Exactly. Without you to translate, tracking the twerp is a real pain," James added, his voice laced with impatience.
Seeing that his two companions seemed genuinely prepared to abandon him, Meowth's eyes filled with despair and sorrow.
Just then, a gentle and kind-hearted young girl carrying a basket of medicinal herbs happened to pass by. Seeing the scene, she immediately knelt down. Disregarding the fact that Meowth was a "wild" Pokémon (as she assumed), she began a careful examination.
"He has a high fever and needs treatment immediately!" the girl, named Cassandra, said firmly. Ignoring Jessie and James's half-hearted attempts to stop her though the two were actually quite happy to have someone take the burden off their hands she carefully picked up Meowth and hurried toward the town.
Cassandra brought Meowth back to her family's herbal medicine shop. Using her ancestral knowledge of herbs, she patiently brewed medicine and applied cold compresses to his forehead, caring for him with utmost devotion. A few hours later, Meowth's fever finally broke, and his spirits returned.
Meowth watched Cassandra as she busied herself for his sake. Recalling the cold indifference of Jessie and James, his heart swelled with an unprecedented sense of gratitude.
"Miss Cassandra... thank you for saving me, meow... I will surely repay your kindness!" he said in human speech, leaving Cassandra utterly stunned.
At that same time, Ash's group happened to arrive at Cassandra's shop to make their purchases.
They had just finished buying what they needed when they saw Cassandra emerge from the back room, cradling the recovered Meowth.
Upon seeing Ash and the others, Meowth gave them a complicated look before quickly jumping down and running away. He intended to repay Cassandra in his own way and didn't want to interrupt her meeting with her "benefactors" just yet.
Ash, of course, noticed Meowth, but he was discerning enough not to expose him. After all, everyone falls on hard times eventually.
After seeing Meowth off, Cassandra noticed Ash's group browsing the medicines. Seeing the Poké Balls on Ash's belt and the Pikachu following by his side, she realized he was a passing Trainer.
She hesitated for a moment before gathering her courage and stepping forward.
"Excuse me, sir. I see you are a Pokémon Trainer. I wonder if I could ask a favor?"
Ash turned around, looking at the gentle girl with some confusion. "Yes, I'm Ash, a Trainer. How can I help you?"
Cassandra explained that her partner, Paras, had accumulated enough strength but was struggling to evolve into Parasect.
She had heard that Pokémon sometimes find it easier to break through the bottleneck of evolution during a well-matched battle. She hoped Ash could have a match with her to help Paras find the spark it needed to evolve.
Ash looked into Cassandra's sincere eyes and sensed the energy level of the Paras beside her. It was indeed at the threshold of evolution, but compared to his main team, the gap in strength was significant. He readily agreed. "No problem, Cassandra! Let's have a battle!"
However, before the battle began, Ash quietly whispered instructions to his Pokémon. "Listen up, everyone. The goal of this battle isn't victory; it's to help Paras evolve. So... you have to 'act' a little. Don't take it too seriously. Hold back a lot and just 'lose' to it in the end."
And so, a performance-level exhibition match began.
Ash sent out Bulbasaur first. Bulbasaur "feebly" used Razor Leaf, which Paras "struggled" to dodge before "hitting" Bulbasaur with a "fierce" Scratch. Bulbasaur stumbled back, and Ash "helplessly" recalled him.
Next was Squirtle. Squirtle's Water Gun "accidentally" veered off target. Then, "dazed" by Paras's Spore, Squirtle spun in circles until he "unexpectedly" fell into a bucket at the edge of the field, losing his ability to battle.
Even Pikachu took the field. He let out a few symbolic sparks before being "frightened" by Paras's Dig, eventually tripping over his own tail and falling down...
Cassandra watched the obviously bizarre battle with a slight furrow in her brow, seemingly sensing that something was off. Paras also looked confused; it wasn't feeling the pressure or the breakthrough needed for evolution.
Ash massaged his temples helplessly. It seemed Paras wasn't stupid; it knew this was all an act.
To put it bluntly, his team's acting was just too over-the-top!
Just then, it happened to be mealtime. Ash was about to take out the Pokémon food when his Charmeleon and Cassandra's Paras both set their eyes on the same large Pokéblock! The two Pokémon immediately began a tense standoff over the food.
Charmeleon initially just wanted to snatch the food away, but seeing the subtle wink Ash gave him, he understood instantly. He pretended to engage in a fierce "food war" with Paras, pushing and shoving with no intention of backing down.
Charmeleon "angrily" spat out a small burst of flame, and Paras fought back vigorously with its claws.
In the midst of the "intense" struggle, Charmeleon saw his opening. He pretended to be struck squarely in the chest by Paras's [X-Scissor]. Letting out a "cry of pain," he stumbled back a few steps,
the Pokéblock "accidentally" falling from his grip. He then "weakly" dropped to one knee, panting heavily, the flame on his tail dimming by several degrees. (It was a truly convincing performance, worthy of an award.)
It was at this exact moment when the sense of achievement from "defeating" a powerful opponent like Charmeleon and the feeling of strength from successfully protecting its food reached its peak that a brilliant light of evolution finally erupted from Paras!
Its body grew larger within the light. The mushrooms on its back surged in growth until they covered its entire dorsal side, and its eyes became sharper, taking on a more predatory look!
Evolution Parasect!
"It worked! Paras evolved!" Cassandra hugged the newly evolved Parasect excitedly, weeping with joy. She looked toward Ash and Charmeleon, her eyes filled with endless gratitude.
She understood now that the final "food war" was the most authentic evolution opportunity that Charmeleon and his Trainer had painstakingly created for her.
That night, to thank Ash for his selfless help (and Charmeleon for his award-winning sacrifice), Cassandra prepared a lavish dinner for the group. In the dead of night, she came to Ash's room alone. With the characteristic gentleness and directness of an Eastern woman, she expressed her deepest thanks to Ash...
The moonlight filtered through the window frame, casting overlapping shadows in the room. The air was thick with the fragrance of herbal medicine and a lingering hint of ambiguity.
[Ding! The host has successfully helped Cassandra's Paras evolve, gaining Cassandra's deep favor and gratitude. Reward: 400 World Origin Points.]
[Current World Origin Points: 19,000.]
Carrying another unforgettable memory and a special "thank-you gift," Ash and his friends quietly left Mossgreen Town in the early morning mist, continuing toward the location of the next Gym.
---
She's actually quite a beauty.
In the next chapter, they'll encounter Jigglypuff. Should Ash catch it now, or let it train outside and catch it later during the Johto Arc?
Also, one more thing should Bulbasaur evolve?
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