Forest... forest... and more forest.
The vegetation in the Johto region was incredibly lush, and they had passed through so many forests on their journey.
After bidding farewell to Miki and traveling for three days, Ash and his friends arrived at another dark, shadowed forest.
"Pika?"
As they walked, Pikachu, perched on Ash's head, seemed to have discovered something new.
"What is it, Pikachu?"
Following the direction Pikachu was pointing, Misty noticed a birdhouse box. It was a nesting box made for bird Pokémon; similar to fishing, this was a technique used to capture bird Pokémon that flew high in the sky.
"It definitely looks like a birdhouse," Brock remarked, estimating the size. "But it's too big for a Pidgey and too small for a Pidgeot!"
Brock's thinking was still limited to the Kanto region, forgetting that Johto had its own local bird species the Hoothoot they had seen with Gary Oak before.
And the evolved form of Hoothoot was none other than Noctowl!
Sure enough, a Noctowl landed in front of the box. It tilted its head, finding the birdhouse a bit too small for its liking. There seemed to be a significant number of Noctowl living in this forest. Usually, Noctowl were nocturnal, but the forest was so dim that these Pokémon were flying around even during the day.
Suddenly, a branch extended from the trunk below the birdhouse and drove the Noctowl away.
"Did that branch just chase the Noctowl off?" Misty couldn't believe her eyes. Had the tree itself become a Pokémon?
Ash scanned with his Aura Power and realized it was actually a person camouflaged against the tree. It was a meticulous disguise; the birdhouse must have been set up by him.
"Hey, look at that!"
Brock, who had been keeping his eyes on the birdhouse, made a new discovery. A strikingly colored Noctowl appeared in front of the box.
It was a Shiny Noctowl!
Normally, Noctowl were brown to better hide themselves at night. However, this one had such vibrant colors that it stood out like a flame even in the darkness. Usually, normal individuals would reject a Shiny one. For such a Pokémon to live so freely in this forest while evading trainers like the man in the tree, its strength and wisdom had to be exceptional.
This beautiful Noctowl was a size smaller than the average member of its species, making it the perfect fit for that birdhouse! The box had clearly been prepared specifically for it.
The person camouflaged on the trunk extended a batch of Berries, trying to lure the beautiful bird. But the Shiny Noctowl simply tilted its head and kicked the Berries away before slamming its head into the tree trunk.
The trunk shuddered violently, and the man tumbled out of the tree.
Ash shook his head and stepped forward. "Noctowl, let's have a capture battle!"
As a Pokémon Trainer, one should earn a Pokémon's recognition through a fair, one-on-one fight. A capture battle was the process of proving oneself to the Pokémon!
"Hoo!"
As expected of a direct challenge, the Noctowl had no reason to refuse. It perched on a branch, tilting its head as it waited for Ash to send out his Pokémon.
"I'm counting on you, Houndour!"
Ash sent out Houndour. After these days of training, this battle-hardened king of hounds was close to evolving!
"A Houndour? Who are you?"
The man who had fallen from the tree finally regained consciousness, his head spinning. When he saw Ash send out a Houndour, he cried out in shock.
Ash's group didn't have the patience to ask what he meant; the battle was already underway!
Ash understood the situation immediately. The Noctowl dove from the tree, its large eyes glowing with a red light as it activated a move!
"It's Hypnosis!"
Brock recognized the skill instantly. A red light enveloped Houndour, but it shattered almost immediately. Hypnosis was a Psychic move, and it was completely ineffective against a Dark-type like Houndour!
"That specially colored Noctowl has an incredibly powerful Hypnosis; it can make people hallucinate! I've suffered too many losses to that move." The trainer who fell from the tree stood by Brock and Misty, explaining the situation.
He didn't know that Ash, as a transmigrator, might have forgotten many things, but he had a deep impression of this Shiny Noctowl!
"Houndour, Faint Attack!"
Seeing its usually infallible Hypnosis fail against Houndour, even the Noctowl panicked for a moment. it hurriedly flapped its wings to pull away.
But Ash seized that split second and commanded the attack! Houndour vanished instantly and struck it down with a paw. However, the Noctowl reacted quickly. Just as it was about to hit the ground, it flapped its wings and slammed into Houndour, sending him flying!
"Aerial Ace?"
"Houndour, you okay?"
The king of hounds was knocked back over three meters but maintained his balance, his crimson eyes fixed on the Noctowl. He shook his head, signaling he was fine.
The Noctowl regained its composure and returned to the treetops. It tilted its head at an angle much sharper than a normal Noctowl a sign that it was thinking! This bird was highly intelligent.
In the next second, it flapped its wings violently, sending down a barrage of Air Slashes like a torrential rain.
"Air Slash?"
Realizing Psychic moves wouldn't work on the black dog, the Noctowl had switched to Flying moves!
Ash grinned. "Use Quick Attack to dodge, then Flamethrower!"
Houndour let out a roar, his body turning into a bolt of light as he vanished from his spot. Battle-hardened as he was, his intuition and instincts were top-tier. He narrowly evaded the Air Slashes and seized the opening to leap up. Once he was as close to the Noctowl as possible, a massive pillar of fire erupted.
Only a Houndour with a very high bond could execute such a maneuver in response to Ash's command.
Boom!
The Flamethrower swept aside the Air Slashes and scored a direct hit on the Noctowl!
"Now!"
Ash seized the moment. Even as the Noctowl was shrouded in the smoke of the explosion, he accurately threw the Fast Ball gifted to him by Kurt. This ball was perfect for Pokémon with high speed.
The Fast Ball pulled the Noctowl inside and fell to the ground in front of Ash.
Ding!
Ding!
It shook twice, and then the light faded.
"I caught the Shiny Noctowl!"
Noctowl: Level 120/190
Houndour: Level 175/210
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