After leaving the Pokémon Center in Lavaridge Town, Ash first handed over his Pokémon to Nurse Joy for treatment, and then he swapped some of them with Professor Oak. His current team now consists of Pikachu, Eevee, Quilava, Ralts, Mudkip, Electrike, Beautifly, and Jigglypuff.
Since Beautifly is still a relatively low level, Jigglypuff will naturally participate in the next Pokémon Contest. As for Quilava, Ash just received the notebook on training Fire-type Pokémon from the former Elite Four member, Grandpa Moore, which is perfect for helping Quilava improve!
Afterward, Ash met up with Brock, May, and Max in the Pokémon Center lobby to discuss their next steps.
"From here, the closest Gym is the Fortree City Gym! However, we'll have to cross a huge desert in between," Brock analyzed and suggested. "How about we go back to Mauville City first and then head to Petalburg City?"
The proposal was unanimously approved. For Ash, since he had a win and a loss in his previous practice battles with Norman, this time he wanted to defeat Norman and get the Balance Badge. As for May and Max, since they had been traveling for so long, they were excited to finally go home and visit!
"Who will win in a real battle between Ash and Dad?" Max wondered excitedly. Before, he wouldn't have had to think about it; Norman would have won. But after traveling with Ash for so long and seeing Ash defeat a former Elite Four member and even a Champion, Max was having a hard time deciding!
With their plans set, Ash and his friends packed their bags and headed toward Mauville City!
After leaving Lavaridge Town, they walked into a forest and soon climbed a large mountain!
"Huh?" Ash and his friends were stopped on their path by a Spinda!
May took out her Pokédex and scanned it:
Spinda, the Spot Panda Pokémon. It's said that every Spinda has a unique spot pattern. Its unsteady movements are used to confuse enemies.
At that moment, a large group of Spinda appeared in front of Ash and his friends!
"It's true, every one of them is different!" Max said as he observed the group of Spinda.
"So many Spinda live on this mountain!" Brock exclaimed.
(???) May's eyes suddenly lit up, and she pointed behind them. "Look, that Spinda has a heart-shaped spot on its forehead! It's so cute!"
Among the large number of Spinda, the one with the heart-shaped spot really stood out and was quite endearing!
"Spinda!" While everyone was looking at the Spinda, a voice called out from behind them. Ash turned around and saw a young woman dressed in fancy clothes, followed by a butler. "So you're here! I've been looking for you for a long time!"
But the heart-shaped Spinda, upon seeing the woman, scampered away in an instant!
"The Spinda that brings happiness..." The young woman said helplessly upon seeing the Spinda escape.
Everyone went up to learn about the situation. The young woman's name was Ariana, and the butler's name was Roy. They learned that this Spinda was entrusted to her by a friend, and after being with the Spinda, countless good things happened to Ariana. However, today she was supposed to return the Spinda, but it had suddenly run away!
Brock's horn of charging for love sounded again. "No problem! Leave it to me! I will definitely find that Spinda that brings happiness!"
Ash shook his head helplessly. It was obvious to anyone that when Ariana mentioned her "friend," her eyes were filled with love. So, Brock was bound to be left empty-handed!
However, Ash and his friends still decided to help Ariana find the heart-shaped Spinda!
As everyone searched, they found many Spinda on the mountain, but unfortunately, none of them were the heart-shaped one!
"I found it!" Brock exclaimed. Everyone looked over and saw a Spinda standing sideways, but from the arc on its forehead, it did indeed look like a heart!
Thinking that happiness was coming to him, Brock immediately ran over and hugged the Spinda, dreaming of a happy life with Ms. Ariana!
"You got it!" May and Max cheered. Ash, however, shook his head. This Spinda was clearly different from the heart-shaped one; it wasn't the right one!
Brock gently held the Spinda, but when the Spinda lifted its head, Brock was stunned as if he had been struck by lightning!
Everyone looked over and saw that the spot on the Spinda's head was not a heart but a broken heart!
"This is so unlucky..." Brock froze in place and let go of his hands. The Spinda wobbled away. Everyone sighed helplessly!
At that moment, Ariana had also successfully found the heart-shaped Spinda, but the Spinda noticed her and wobbled away. As Ariana chased it, she met up with Ash and his friends, and they all chased it to a beautiful flower field!
Ariana finally understood the Spinda's intention. This was the place where she first met the Spinda's owner. At that moment, the Spinda's owner also arrived. He was a handsome young man, and Ariana looked at him happily while holding the Spinda. An atmosphere of romance filled the air around them!
After the butler Roy's introduction, they learned that the man was an adventurer and also Ms. Ariana's fiancé!
"Fiancé!" Brock's heart was immediately shattered, and the broken-hearted Spinda appeared in front of Brock again, happily hugging him!
Brock's face froze as he looked at the Spinda. "The spot of misfortune..."
He immediately began his self-hypnosis to get over his broken heart and managed to stand up with renewed vigor. However, an empty Poké Ball fell out of his hand!
The broken-hearted Spinda looked at the Poké Ball on the ground, then looked at Brock, and immediately pressed the button on the Poké Ball!
"Wait! No!" By the time Brock realized it, it was too late. The Poké Ball sucked in the broken-hearted Spinda and didn't even wobble. With a pop, the capture was successful!
"NOOOO—the spot of misfortune!" Brock immediately knelt on the ground with his hands on his head, shouting toward the sky!
After saying goodbye to Ariana, everyone headed toward Mauville City and walked into a forest. However, Brock was staring blankly at the Spinda's Poké Ball!
"Brock, don't be sad!" Ash comforted him. "It willingly followed you, which means you have a high compatibility! Look at Misty's Psyduck. Misty was so annoyed by it at the time, but now it's her precious Pokémon!"
"Pika~" Pikachu nodded in agreement.
With Ash's encouragement, Brock finally put away the Spinda's Poké Ball with a complicated expression. After all, since he had caught it, he had to take responsibility for it!
"If we get out of this forest, we should see the streets of Mauville City!" Brock said confidently, having regained his composure.
However, when Ash and his friends walked out of the forest, it wasn't the streets of Mauville City but a valley full of rocks.
Sure enough, Ash and his friends weren't suited to taking shortcuts. Shortcuts only ended up wasting more time than the normal route because Ash and his friends were either lost or on their way to getting lost!
May and Max looked at Brock sideways...
Max asked, "How come we can't see the city anywhere?"
Brock scratched his head helplessly. "Could it be?! I took the wrong turn again!"
"This is so annoying! Why do you always want to take shortcuts! If I knew it would turn out like this, I would have stuck to the normal route!" May complained, sitting on the ground.
Just then, a few figures caught the attention of Ash and the others.