After leaving the Pokémon Academy, Paul went all the way down the road, and finally came to a fork.
* Hmm~ To the left or to the right? * Paul rubbed his chin in consideration. In fact, there were dense forests wherever he went. But Paul upheld the idea of walking Ash's path and letting Ash love to go wherever he wanted, deciding to take the route Ash walked.
After all, Paul vaguely remembered that there was a valuable find on Ash's route. * If you want to talk to me about this, then I won't be sleepy * Paul thought.
He remembered a powerful, flame wreathed Pokémon, roaring and seemingly invincible.
* Ah! That Infernape is mine! Mine!! * Paul shook his head, dispelling the weird thoughts in his mind. In a word, it must be right to choose a path that he thinks is correct, and then decisively take the other one.
Because Paul believed that his level of recognition and the performance of Ash, that navigationally challenged trainer, must run counter to each other!
So, looking at the fork in the road, Paul decisively turned left!
He walked through the dense forest and across the steep wooden suspension bridges spanning cliffs. Paul didn't stop all the way, walking forward.
As he was walking, Paul suddenly felt the soil loosen under his feet.
* There is a situation! *
In a flash, Paul stepped on the ground suddenly and jumped up to the other side of the path with his strength. The road he was originally traveling on had become a huge pit.
* Tsk tsk, it looks like I'm on the right track * Paul smiled, not minding the traps along the way. Until two people hanging from a tree appeared before Paul's eyes.
"Hey!! Boy over there, look here, look here, come help me!!"
Hearing this domineering tone, Paul frowned. He came under the tree.
A man and a woman in black Team Rocket uniforms were hanging upside down from a tree.
"What are you looking at!! Put me down!" the woman with yellow hair shouted loudly.
"Cassidy~ You need to be a little gentler!" the green haired man whispered to his companion.
"Team Rocket?" Paul smiled, folded his hands, and looked at the two.
"Since you are sincere~..."
"If you dare to finish reciting that, I'll let you hang here to dry!" Paul plucked his ears angrily.
"Don't, don't, don't! Little brother, we know we are wrong, so please show kindness and save us," the green haired man folded his hands together, begging in a pleading voice.
"Hey! Butch! You are too spineless! Why are you so humble!" Cassidy retorted, flailing slightly.
"My name is Butch!! And your finger is inserted into my nostril, can you not move around in such a small space!!" Butch said desperately.
"Well~ since you all begged me so humbly~ then I'll give you a ride."
"Thank you~ eh?!" Butch felt a chill behind his back. * What do you mean give us a ride? *
"Hey, kid, don't mess around!!" Cassidy also reacted.
"Tsk tsk tsk, don't be afraid, it won't hurt, Jessie and James often fly like this." Paul took out his Poké Balls and released all his Pokémon.
Cassidy, Butch looked distressed. * I have a bad feeling... *
"Come on everyone, special skills training. Aim at these two evil individuals and go all out! Prinplup use Bubble Beam, Cottonee use Razor Leaf, Pidgeotto use Gust, and Electabuzz use Thunderbolt!"
All kinds of special effects spread out brilliantly, and in the vibrant streamer, Butch and Cassidy successfully turned into shooting stars in the sky.
"It's done~" Clapping his hands, Paul admired his masterpiece with satisfaction.
There should be a village for abandoned Pokémon here, and if Team Rocket focused on this place, it would probably never be peaceful.
Fortunately, there were a lot of traps around here, and Cassidy and Butch, the elite cannon fodder of Team Rocket, probably hadn't had time to find the Pokémon village here.
Sending these two flying in advance was a good deed for the day.
After repelling Team Rocket, Paul walked forward for a while, and finally saw a simple wooden house.
A girl with long blue hair came out of the room wearing a huge bow, just in time to see Paul.
The girl was carrying a small bucket, and seemed to be preparing to feed the Pokémon.
"Hi, may I ask who you are?" Putting down the things in her hands, the girl looked at Paul.
"I'm Paul from Veilstone City, and I'm on a journey through the Kanto region for the Indigo League. I think I got lost." Paul took out his Pokédex to prove that he wasn't a bad person.
"So that's how it is~ Hello, my name is Melanie." Seeing Paul's Pokédex, the little girl breathed a sigh of relief, and greeted Paul with a smile.
After greeting each other and confirming that Paul was not a bad person, Melanie picked up the small bucket and continued to feed the Pokémon around the wooden house.
There were Caterpie, Rattata, Paras, and other little ones, and quite a few of them.
"Are these all your Pokémon?" Paul took the keg and helped feed the Pokémon.
"No, I'm not that powerful." Melanie replied with a gentle smile, "This is the Hidden Village, a place where Pokémon recuperate."
"Recuperation?" Paul looked at Melanie, "Does it mean a place where Pokémon abandoned or suffering psychological trauma from battles are treated for psychological problems?"
Melanie nodded: "That's right. Those Pokémon who are physically or mentally injured come here to recuperate. There is no need to fight here, and they can encourage each other and live together with partners who have had the same experience."
"I see~" Paul touched the little Rattata who was eating by his hand. The little guy trembled, then narrowed his eyes to enjoy Paul's touch.
Melanie watched Paul interact with the Pokémon, and said with some emotion, "Paul, you are really a trainer with a soft heart~"
Paul froze for a moment: "Me~", then smiled wryly.
"I shouldn't be considered one. In the eyes of my Pokémon, I should be quite strict."
Melanie shook her head: "No, I can tell that Paul likes Pokémon from the bottom of his heart."
Even if Paul was thick skinned enough, he blushed slightly and said, "It's not that good~"
"But~ can I ask you, Paul, not to capture the Pokémon in our village? They don't want to go back to the battlefield again." Melanie seemed to remember something, and said to Paul seriously.
"I thought so, so many traps around the village must be to prevent trainers from approaching." Paul shrugged, "No problem, I promise you."
"Thank you~" Melanie said gratefully.
Paul waved his hand, signaling that he didn't mind. After all, in this village, apart from the Bulbasaur that hadn't shown up yet, there wasn't any powerful Pokémon worthy of Paul's attention.
Speaking of the devil, as soon as he thought of the Bulbasaur, Paul felt a chill behind his back, murderous intent!!
Paul dodged with a backflip, and a stern looking Bulbasaur just flew past with a Tackle attack.
"Oh, a sneak attack?" Paul waved his hand, and Pidgeotto appeared beside him.
"Wait a minute!" Melanie saw it and ran over immediately. She got in between Bulbasaur and Paul.
"Bulbasaur, Paul is not a bad person, he has already promised not to capture any Pokémon in the village." Melanie first explained to Bulbasaur that Paul did not have any malicious intentions, then turned to apologize to Paul, "This little one isn't bad, it's just protecting the rest of the village. We've always been protected by Bulbasaur."
"Pidgeotto~ Stand down, go fly around twice to relax." He signaled that Pidgeotto could go to the forest for a flight, and Paul also put down his guard.
Looking down at Bulbasaur, "Little guy, I won't do anything to your companions, so don't attack me."
Seeing the Bulbasaur silently come to his feet, pushing his leg hard trying to drive him out, Paul smiled helplessly: "This kid is really irritating~"
After pushing hard for a while, seeing that Paul was indifferent, Bulbasaur gritted his teeth and turned his head away from Paul.
Paul pulled Melanie over, and quietly chatted with her. One could vaguely see Paul take out a photo of his elder brother Reggie, and after a few minutes, Melanie, who blushed slightly, nodded as if making up her mind. Then Melanie brought all the Pokémon back to the small room.
Paul came to the Bulbasaur and said, "Shall we chat for a while? I'm leaving after the chat."
Bulbasaur looked at Paul vigilantly, then stopped two steps away from Paul, raising his head to look at him.
"Do you want to protect this village for the rest of your life?" Paul asked Bulbasaur seriously.
"Bulba!" Bulbasaur nodded without hesitation.
"But, can you really protect it?" Paul released his remaining Pokémon.
Feeling the powerful pressure from Prinplup and Electabuzz, Bulbasaur clenched his teeth.
"This world is very wide. If you stay here all the time, not only you, but all the Pokémon will become like frogs in a well. Except for a few Pokémon, most of you have already finished your recovery, right?" Paul looked at Bulbasaur.
"It's very comfortable to live here, but if they stay here all the time, can they go back to nature in the future? It's impossible for Miss Melanie to take care of you forever."
Bulbasaur bowed his head silently. He never thought about the future, he just wanted to protect everyone.
"If it wasn't me who came today, but a bad guy who is equally powerful or stronger than me, wouldn't it be the same for you? Couldn't you protect anything?"
Bulbasaur suddenly raised its head. This question hit home. * Can I really protect the village for a lifetime if I am not strong enough? *
"I discussed it with Miss Melanie. After this, she will take the Pokémon here to the Sinnoh region. My brother is a very good breeder. He will help Melanie release everyone back to nature step by step. And those who want to stay will also live comfortably in his ranch. They will no longer have to worry about being captured."
Bulbasaur was stunned. * If you just wanted to capture a few Pokémon, I, Bulbasaur, would respect you as a tough trainer. Isn't it too much for you to take the whole village away like this? *
"Well~ don't look at me like that. Now is my exclusive invitation to you. How about it, do you want to see the outside world with me? Let's become stronger together." Paul stretched out his hand and said seriously.
Bulbasaur bowed his head in silence for a long time, then suddenly raised his head. "Bulba! Bulba, saur!" * If you want to subdue me, let's talk about it after a battle! *
"Okay ~ come on!"
Prinplup walked up silently. As one of the senior members of the team, Prinplup had become more charismatic after his evolution.
Bulbasaur jumped up, and its Vine Whip clashed with Prinplup's Steel Wing in the air!
Boom~
With Prinplup using Swallow, Bulbasaur was captured into Paul's Poké Ball, seemingly relieved.
Paul then released Bulbasaur again.
"Bulba!" Bulbasaur stretched out a Vine Whip and looked at Paul. * I want to become stronger! *
Paul understood, "Okay, that's it, I look forward to working with you!" He reached out and solemnly shook hands with Bulbasaur's vine, and the agreement between Paul and Bulbasaur was reached!
Melanie also came out. "Great, Bulbasaur."
Bulbasaur looked at Melanie. "Bulba~"
Melanie was moved to tears, wiped the corners of her eyes, and hugged Bulbasaur tightly. "Thank you for protecting everyone all this time. It's great that you'll be able to follow Paul and see a wider world. Be sure to become the most powerful Pokémon."
Bulbasaur bowed his head and murmured softly. At this moment, the friendship between humans and Pokémon was shining~
"Then~ Miss Melanie, pack your luggage. Let's go together before we arrive at Vermilion City." Paul looked at Melanie.
"Sinnoh~ It really makes one look forward to it~" Melanie smiled and nodded in agreement.
* This should be the best ending * Paul thought.
* Should I say it or not, my brother, Reggie~ he's so handsome~ * Melanie thought privately.
After packing up her luggage, Melanie temporarily placed the dozen or so Pokémon in Poké Balls, followed Paul, and set off on the road again. A brand new life was waiting for her.
At this time, Reggie, who was far away in Sinnoh, had no idea that soon, his breeding center would welcome a new assistant and future manager.
Paul felt satisfied. * Bro, you don't have to thank me, I should do everything! *
That's it, the Hidden Village chapter came to an end. Paul not only harvested the main grass type Bulbasaur, but also took away the lovely Melanie and a dozen recuperating Pokémon in one go, packing them up and sending them to his elder brother Reggie~
* Life is wonderful~ * Paul thought contentedly.