In the Pokémon world, forests are often named somewhat casually, usually after the nearest city. Examples include Viridian Forest in Kanto, Petalburg Woods in Hoenn, and now, Eterna Forest where Ash, Dawn, and Brock are traveling.
As a large forest, it's primarily home to Bug- and Grass-type Pokémon. The most famous resident is the Sinnoh-native, honey-producing Pokémon, Combee. Their status in Sinnoh is similar to Beedrill's status in Kanto: they are an iconic Bug-type. However, unlike the aggressive Beedrill, Combee are generally quite docile. Even if you linger in their territory, as long as you're not there for an unreasonable amount of time or show aggression, Combee will usually ignore your presence.
Just like the Combee in front of them, which has three honeycomb compartments, each with a face, an antenna, and a wing. Even as Ash observed them at close range, they continued to diligently collect nectar with their companions, showing no reaction.
"They look so hardworking!" Dawn crouched down in front of the Combee, her hand instinctively reaching out to poke one of their cheek-like faces.
"Bee!" The Combee merely glared at Dawn, as if questioning why she was interrupting their work, and then ignored her. It fluttered its three sets of wings and moved to a different spot to continue collecting nectar.
"Dawn, you shouldn't bother them while they're working. They're hardworking, but they're also quite pathetic little guys," Brock said, standing nearby.
"Huh?" Dawn looked confused. "Why do you say that?"
"Because their strength is generally weak. They are often chased away by the nectar-loving Beautifly," Brock explained, remembering the Pokédex entry. "And the honey they hide in their nests is easily stolen by thieving Teddiursa."
"Evenings are even worse; Mothim will fly around while the Combee are asleep and sneak into their nests to steal the honey." Brock sighed, feeling a pang of sympathy as he recalled the details. Combee work tirelessly, but they rarely get to enjoy the fruits of their labor, constantly facing thieves and bandits. They have a much harder life than the Beedrill in Kanto, who are aggressive bullies with poisonous stingers.
"Not only that, Combee also use the nectar they collect to please their Vespiquen, which is just another part of their life," Brock added, as if sensing the moment was right.
"Oh..." This explanation left the kind-hearted Dawn feeling slightly down. She looked at the hardworking Combee and felt a quiet sadness she couldn't express.
Ash, Dawn, and Brock continued their journey through Eterna Forest in this somewhat subdued atmosphere. Along the way, they met a girl named Cheryl (芽米) who was looking for a rare honey called the "Sweet Honey of Terror" with her Mothim. Mothim, with its keen sense of smell, could detect the sweetness of the honey from far away.
"Well then, Miss Cheryl, we'll see you later!" Dawn tugged on Ash's sleeve. After hearing about the Combee, her sympathy for them had overflowed, and she wanted to get away from the woman who intended to steal their honey.
Understanding Dawn's reaction, the thoughtful Ash quickly dragged away a smitten Brock, who was staring at Cheryl, and led Dawn toward the exit of the Eterna Forest. Unfortunately, Dawn couldn't shake off her sadness about the Combee tribe and lacked her usual upbeat attitude.
To cheer her up, Ash and Brock decided to make camp in a spacious clearing so Dawn could rest.
"Come on out, everyone!" Ash shouted, tossing five Poké Balls into the air.
Five Pokémon instantly appeared: Sceptile, who was still chewing on a twig and resting its arm on its hip, Swellow, who was flying mid-air, a still-sleeping Snorlax, and the two little ones, Turtwig and Aipom.
"Everyone, training starts now!"
"Pika!"
"Chaa!"
...
"Snor..."
All six Pokémon, including Snorlax, responded enthusiastically and got ready for their respective training.
Swellow, being a new team member, was immediately tasked with learning the new move Bulk Up. As a "Regional Bird" Pokémon, Swellow is incredibly fast, boasting a base Speed stat of . However, its attack power is somewhat lacking. The Fighting-type move Bulk Up will effectively address this weakness.
Snorlax was training to learn Ground-type moves like High Horsepower to increase its coverage. Of course, it also needed to learn moves like Endure and Amnesia. Ash was determined to have Snorlax learn any move that would increase its battle strength.
Pikachu was assigned to train the move Flash. Ash realized during the last cave adventure that he needed a giant electric lightbulb, and Pikachu was the perfect candidate for the job.
The cheerful Aipom was sent out to "grind" by battling wild Pokémon to level up its strength and eventually learn Double Hit and evolve, keeping the little monkey busy.
With four Pokémon scattered, only the Grass-type veteran Sceptile and the high-potential rookie Turtwig remained.
"Sceptile, I'm entrusting you with teaching Turtwig the move Bullet Seed!" Ash said, gesturing to the veteran with the twig in its mouth.
"Chaa! (You're entrusting me? Boss, you haven't forgotten that I learned Bullet Seed from you, have you?)" Sceptile looked at Ash with a shocked expression, speaking clearly in the language Ash could understand thanks to his Aura.
"Turtwig! (Really?)" Turtwig's face was instantly full of big question marks. His powerful senior learned that move from Ash?
"Uh... well, you got me there!" Ash couldn't really argue, as it was the truth. He even had a future encounter with a Rowlet in the Alola region that would also need teaching.
"Chaa! (Boss, he's your problem now. I need to train.)" Without waiting for Ash's reply, Sceptile started practicing a new move Ash had transferred to its mind yesterday, which it finally had time to work on.
"This is annoying!" Ash rubbed his forehead, watching the Sceptile disappear. Would he have to teach it himself?
"Turtwig!" Turtwig looked at Ash with a serious expression, as if seeking confirmation of Sceptile's words.
"Ugh, you guys always get me..." Ash sighed and began preparing to demonstrate the proper way to use Bullet Seed.