Because the Bo-do Power had extended too far and covered too many Pokémon earlier, Ash hadn't noticed it at first.
Now, with his Bo-do Power focused in one direction, Ash finally discovered that faint Aura Pokémon.
Judging by the faintness of that Aura, the Pokémon was not far from losing its combat ability, which meant losing consciousness.
It was precisely because of this that Ash cried out in surprise.
The moment he shouted, Ash's body had already moved.
Brock and Xiao Xia could only follow helplessly, and after running for about a minute with Ash, Ash stopped, and they also saw the Pokémon with the weak Aura that Ash had mentioned.
Sharp claws, an orange-red body, and a small flame burning on its tail—this was Charmander, one of the Kanto region's starter Pokémon!
"Char—Charmander?!"
A surprised voice came from Xiao Xia's mouth.
What kind of luck was this? First, they met a Bulbasaur not long ago, and now they met a Charmander?!
Were all the wild starter Pokémon being encountered by Ash?!
Starter Pokémon were not common roadside Pokémon like Pikachu; although the Alliance had special breeding programs for them and they weren't particularly rare, in the wild, they were definitely extremely rare!
And it had only been a few days? To encounter another one was just too absurd!
For a moment, Brock and Xiao Xia looked at Ash with increasingly strange eyes. Was this guy the legendary King of Luck?
Ash didn't notice Brock and Xiao Xia's gazes. After seeing the Charmander, his face was also full of pleasant surprise.
During the Aura detection just now, he had already guessed from the Pokémon's approximate appearance that it might be a Charmander, but he only truly confirmed it after actually seeing it.
He never expected his luck to be so good, first encountering a Bulbasaur, and then a Charmander. Could it be that the previous S-rank ability was still exerting its residual heat?
Species: Charmander
Gender: Male
Attribute: Fire
Level: Novice Peak
Trait: Blaze
Skills: Tackle, Growl, Ember, Smokescreen, Scary Face, Flamethrower, Belly Drum.
Six-dimensional abilities: Physical Attack D (S) Special Attack D (S) Defense E (A) Special Defense E (A) Stamina E (A) Speed D (S)
Ash: !!!
This one was even more important than Bulbasaur! With triple-S potential and so many skills at Novice Peak, it was absolutely a top-tier Pokémon!
This Charmander's potential was second only to his Ralts. Ralts was met due to that one-time S-rank ability, so what was going on with this Charmander?
Was it really that the S-rank ability from before was still exerting its residual heat? Or was it just his pure good luck?
Speaking of which, since he debuted, he had encountered many lucky things, whether it was drawing prizes in the group or encountering Pokémon in the wild, he was the luckiest of the lucky.
Someone in the group would probably shed tears of hatred upon seeing this, wishing they could tear him apart. "Why is there a Charmander here?" Brock looked around; the area could only be described as desolate. For a Charmander to be docilely lying on a rock in such a place, something felt off.
"Who cares, I'm going to catch him!" Ash looked at Charmander with burning eyes, but quickly, the flame in his eyes was extinguished.
He had been briefly carried away by Charmander's potential, but he quickly sobered up. Charmander was currently very weak; forget about battling, even walking would probably be difficult.
He longed to catch this Charmander, but he couldn't battle him without considering his physical condition. What would be the difference between such a capture and Team Rockets' outright snatching?
"We'll talk about catching him later, Brock, give me some universal Pokémon food."
Brock paused, a look of relief on his face, and took a bag of universal Pokémon food from his backpack, handing it to Ash.
Ash took the food, then took out a small bowl from his backpack and gently placed it in front of Charmander. Charmander looked up at Ash, his face full of weakness.
When Ash poured the Pokémon food into the bowl and gently pushed the bowl towards Charmander, Charmander's originally forced fierce gaze instantly disappeared, replaced by a strange expression.
"Eat up. You won't be so weak after you're full. When you're better, I want to have a battle with you, a battle with the goal of catching you!" Ash wanted to touch Charmander's head, but he avoided it.
It was clear that Charmander was still wary of Ash.
However, being weak, he ultimately couldn't resist the temptation of food and quickly devoured the food in front of him.
In a short while, he finished the entire bowl of Pokémon food.
"It seems he's really hungry. But one thing is strange: if he were a wild Pokémon, he should be looking for food himself when hungry. Why is this Charmander always lying on this rock?" Brock stroked his smooth chin, speaking thoughtfully.
"Maybe he's too tired to look for food—Charmander, do you want us to take you to the Elf Center to recover first? Don't worry, I will absolutely not take advantage of your weakness to catch you. If I'm going to catch you, I'll do it honorably in a battle!"
"Lee~ Leelee~" Charmander shook his head and let out a Growl.
Upon hearing this, Ash's expression instantly froze, and then he wilted like a frosted eggplant.
"What's wrong, Ash? What did Charmander say?" Xiao Xia asked curiously.
"He said he already has a Trainer, and he's just waiting here for his Trainer to come back."
Brock's face showed a look of realization. No wonder Charmander was unwilling to leave this rock; it seemed his Trainer had told him to wait here.
And this Charmander was very obedient, staying here, even if he was so hungry his front stuck to his back, and the flame on his tail was almost extinguished, he still chose to wait here.
"Since he has a Trainer, there's nothing we can do. There really aren't such good things in the world~" Xiao Xia spread her hands, saying with a look of regret.
It seemed Ash's luck only went so far. Even though he met a Charmander in the wild, it was a pity it was already owned.
"Yeah, if he has a Trainer, there's nothing we can do. Brock, put another bag of food here for Charmander. If his Trainer hasn't come back yet, it can at least fill his stomach."
"Mhm." A portion of Pokémon food didn't cost much, so leaving it here for Charmander in case of need was fine.
It's just that they didn't know what was going on with his Trainer. Looking at Charmander, he must have been waiting for more than just a short while. Did that guy fall into a latrine or off a cliff? He hadn't returned after so long.
Finally, Ash left a portion of Pokémon food in front of Charmander and bid him a somewhat dashing farewell.
But no one knew that his heart was actually bleeding; this was a triple-S rank Charmander!
The big shots in the group said that an S-rank potential Pokémon was one in a million; triple-S had already reached the basic threshold for advancing to the divine realm.
A Pokémon with such potential could no longer be described as rare in the context of ordinary Pokémon.
So even Ash was briefly carried away at first, but he was able to recover in less than a second because of his heartfelt love for Pokémon.
If others knew Charmander had such potential, let alone his current weak state, even if he were on the verge of death, they would use any means necessary, expending all their strength to capture him.
Even if he were someone else's Pokémon, he would attract countless covetous eyes and attempts at snatching him.
This was the kind of treatment a Pokémon with triple-S potential could cause.
Even Ash felt very upset after learning Charmander had a Trainer. This might be the only Charmander in the world with triple-S potential. To say his heart wasn't bleeding would certainly be a lie.
But what could be done? This Charmander already had a Trainer. Unless his Trainer was crazy and abandoned this Charmander, Ash had no chance at all.
However, how could such a person exist in the world? Setting aside Charmander's potential, considering Charmander's rarity and growth potential alone, he couldn't possibly be abandoned.
As the three left Charmander and walked along the normal road, the sky suddenly darkened, and pouring rain fell, enveloping the entire world in a hazy curtain of water.
Facing the waterfall-like rain, the three quickly followed the normal road and arrived at the Elf Center not far ahead.
Fortunately, they were already close to the Elf Center at that time, so they didn't get too wet.
However, the three of them were still a bit drenched, including Ralts and Pikachu.
Ash borrowed three towels from Joy, gave one each to Brock and Xiao Xia, then used his own to first wipe Pikachu and Ralts before using it to dry his own hair.
With his current physical condition, even if he stayed in the rain for a day and a night, he wouldn't catch a cold; it was just uncomfortable to have wet hair.
Joy also brought three cups of hot ginger tea to Ash and the others. Brock exclaimed how good Joy's service was and enthusiastically asked for Joy's email, but was politely refused.
After the brief interlude, they looked at the rain outside the window, drank ginger tea, and quietly enjoyed the serene environment.
Actually, this situation was quite pleasant, but all three of their faces showed some unease.
"I wonder if Charmander waited for his Trainer." Xiao Xia suddenly said.
"He should have waited, right? After all, so much time has passed." Ash said this, but the unease on his face indicated that he didn't really think so.
Since that guy left Charmander in that spot, making him so hungry his front stuck to his back, it meant he had been gone for more than just a little while. Now, only about an hour had passed since they left Charmander. Could that guy really have returned just in time to pick up Charmander?
At this moment, Ash really hoped his guess and premonition were wrong. If Charmander truly hadn't waited for his Trainer and was still stubbornly waiting on that rock without seeking shelter from the rain, then this rainy weather would definitely be a fatal blow to Charmander!
His body was still in a weak state, and his level was only Novice, making him very afraid of water.
If he endured the rain while waiting there, it could even lead to his death.
Just then, an annoying and arrogant voice rang out.
"See? These are all the Pokémon I've caught! How about it, aren't I great?"
"Dayou is amazing!"
"That must be over a dozen Pokémon! Dayou has caught so many Pokémon!"
Ash and his two companions' gazes were drawn by the voice, and then they saw a fashionably dressed person with over a dozen Poké Balls on the table.
Generally speaking, a person can carry a maximum of six Pokémon. Any extra Pokémon are directly teleported back to the location of the person who issued the Pokédex, or to a pre-set location, such as one's home.
Few people carry so many Pokémon with them because they simply cannot take care of them all.
Six Pokémon is the maximum recommended by the Alliance, and the maximum number of Pokémon in a battle is also six-on-six.
Therefore, generally speaking, the number of Pokémon carried will not exceed six. Carrying more than six is not against the rules, but it is not recommended.
The arrogant words of those people, along with the mountain of Poké Balls, gave Ash and his two companions a very bad initial impression of them.
But the other party was merely a passerby, so they had neither the right nor the need to concern themselves with what those people did.
However, what the other party said next instantly infuriated Ash!
"By the way, Dayou, you don't seem to have a Charmander, do you?"
"Charmander? I do, but that Charmander was too useless. He couldn't even beat a Poliwag, so I just threw him into the mountains."
"But who knew, I've thrown him away four or five times, and he still followed me. So I said, 'You wait here obediently, I'll be back soon,' and he just stood there, wagging his tail and watching me leave. Hahaha, don't you think it's funny?"
"Bastard!!"
The person named Dayou had just finished speaking when he felt himself being lifted directly. His subordinates next to him also looked at this scene with some horror.
They saw a young man, about 1.7 meters tall, who looked thin, actually single-handedly grabbing Dayou's clothes and lifting him off the ground.
What kind of monstrous arm strength was this!
Dayou was also startled by this sudden pull. When he looked closely, he saw a young man wearing a hat, with a Pokémon he had never seen before on his shoulder.
Who was this person? Had he offended this person? No, he didn't even know this guy!
Ash suppressed the urge to punch Dayou and asked him, "I found a Charmander waiting for its Trainer on a rock in the nearby mountains. That Charmander is yours, isn't it?!"
"It—it's mine, so what?! What's it to you?!"
"How long have you abandoned him?"
"Two—two days, I guess—"
Dayou originally wanted to respond forcefully to Ash, but under Ash's eyes, which shimmered with a cerulean glow, he instantly backed down.
This guy didn't seem like a normal person. Whether it was that strange strength or his glowing eyes, he didn't seem easy to provoke, so it was better to hold back for now...
And when Ash heard the word "two days," he finally couldn't help but let go of Dayou, immediately following it with a punch to his face.