"Vulpix, Ember."
Three days later, Ace looked at the Exeggutor in front of him and calmly said to Vulpix.
Vulpix let out a low growl, its six tails stood erect, and as they swayed gently, six fireballs materialized at their tips.
Exeggutor's face showed fright. The extensive scorch marks on its body indicated it had taken a significant hit from that move.
With a flick of Vulpix's tails, the six fireballs flew haphazardly towards Exeggutor.
Exeggutor immediately tried to control the fireballs with its psychic power, but even if it could control two or three, what about the rest?
Vulpix's crimson eyes narrowed. The next moment, the fireballs controlled by Exeggutor instantly broke free from its psychic grip, and the six fireballs exploded simultaneously on Exeggutor's body.
Exeggutor roared in pain, unable to withstand Vulpix's damage any longer. It fell to the ground with a thud, incapacitated.
"Alright, that's two caught."
Ace threw a Poké Ball, successfully catching the Exeggutor.
Ace picked up the Poké Ball. He hadn't initially intended to catch non-mainline Pokémon, as catching them meant more mouths to feed and a sudden increase in expenses.
However, Ace was definitely going to visit Meteor Falls later, so who would stay behind to look after the Berry orchard was a big problem.
When Ace discussed this with his Pokémon, they all shook their heads, refusing to stay.
After all, as they put it, they were meant for battling, not for guarding the house!
Victreebel hadn't joined them on their Johto trip and already felt somewhat disconnected from the main group, struggling a bit with subsequent training.
So, this time, Victreebel was absolutely refusing to stay behind.
Seeing that none of his Pokémon wanted to stay, Ace, resigned, decided to catch a few Pokémon specifically to manage the Berry orchard.
Including the Exeggutor he just caught, Ace had now captured two Exeggutor, plus one Tentacruel.
Three Pokémon to guard the Berry orchard, Ace felt, was more than enough.
Moreover, learning from the situation where Victreebel was easily targeted when guarding the house, Ace specifically chose a Tentacruel, which could be used for watering or extinguishing fires.
For this purpose, Ace even dug a small pond in the Berry orchard as Tentacruel's home; otherwise, prolonged dehydration would surely turn Tentacruel into a dried jellyfish.
Returning to his Berry orchard, Ace released the now-healed Exeggutor.
Exeggutor, upon seeing Ace, immediately recoiled a few steps in fear.
Clearly, Ace and Vulpix had left a deep psychological scar on it.
"From now on, this orchard will be under your care."
Ace looked at Exeggutor and said, "There are two seniors here already. I'm too lazy to repeat the details; go ask them. Understood?"
Exeggutor nodded, not showing any dissatisfaction with Ace's attitude.
After all, for it, these were rare berries in the wild!
Now being allowed to manage this area was an exceptionally valuable experience for Exeggutor.
You see, wild berry trees were always controlled by the strongest Pokémon; there was no way it would be their turn to enjoy them.
Exeggutor glanced at the scale of the Berry orchard, secretly pleased. With so many berries, once they bore fruit, it, as the manager, could surely sneak a taste or two.
Thinking of this, Exeggutor drooled a bit.
Vulpix looked at Ace, its expression conveying the message: Doesn't seem very smart, is that okay?
"We'll make do for now. I'll train them for a while later."
Ace also had a bit of a headache. These were the strongest Pokémon he could find nearby, but Ace didn't plan to invest too much effort in them. He'd teach them some basic combination attacks, enough to handle wild Pokémon trying to steal berries.
As for the combination attacks, they were simple.
From a distance, the two Exeggutor would blast with Solar Beam. Up close, Tentacruel would use Toxic, while Exeggutor would use psychic power to control the opponent, feeding it poison, then assisting Tentacruel in dragging it into the water to drown.
Simple and clear, not complicated. As for those who might invade from underground, that wasn't something these three needed to worry about.
The Diglett residing beneath the Berry orchard would let them know what cruelty was!
After briefly training the three Pokémon for five days, Ace didn't linger. He left a pile of Pokémon food for the three Pokémon, showing them where it was.
Then, leaving these three Pokémon to guard the home, Ace immediately set off.
Aerodactyl soared through the high skies. Ace wasn't heading to the nearest airport at this moment, but rather towards the Abandoned Power Plant.
His current main quest was to defeat the Elite Four. Based on Ace's current information, the only Elite Four member he could locate immediately was Lorelei.
If all went as expected, Lorelei would still be cultivating her ghost army at the Abandoned Power Plant.
So, Ace wanted to try his luck at the Abandoned Power Plant. If he could meet Lorelei, great. If not, he would have to change direction, go to the nearest city, catch a plane, and head to Hoenn.
As Ace was thinking this, the Abandoned Power Plant was almost in sight.
Ace glanced at the map on his watch, then patted Aerodactyl's abdomen. Aerodactyl understood, beginning its descent.
Upon reaching the skies above the Abandoned Power Plant, Aerodactyl carried Ace down into the hole left after his previous battle with Zapdos.
Through the hole, Aerodactyl brought Ace inside the Abandoned Power Plant.
Almost immediately upon landing, a bolt of electricity shot directly towards Ace.
"Are there still Electric-type Pokémon? Looks like it hasn't been completely cleared out yet."
Ace remained unfazed. Victreebel had already positioned itself in front of him. The sudden electric shock hit Victreebel, causing no pain. Victreebel, in turn, focused its gaze on a Magnemite in the shadows.
"Whoosh!"
A Vine Whip shot out, fiercely striking Magnemite and sending it flying.
Ace began to scan his surroundings. Aside from being even more dilapidated than his last visit, the entire Abandoned Power Plant remained largely unchanged.
"No, it's not entirely unchanged…"
Ace observed the gradually thickening "mist" around him. He opened a Poké Ball, and Gengar appeared by his side.
Gengar, looking at the familiar surroundings, instantly understood where it was.
Quickly scanning the area, Gengar's hands gathered energy, and a Shadow Ball formed in its grasp. As Gengar quickly hurled it, the "mist" gradually dispersed, revealing a small figure holding a cane before Ace and his Pokémon.
"To break my illusion so quickly, it seems your Gengar is a Pokémon that originated from here."
As the mist cleared, Ace couldn't help but smile slightly. It seemed his luck was good!