"Phew…"
The moment their feet touched solid ground again, both Ash and Clarissa let out long sighs of relief.
The situation a moment ago had truly been dangerous.
If Ash hadn't undergone years of training and had his physical abilities strengthened by his psychic powers, his reaction speed would never have been fast enough.
Had he been even a second slower, the two of them would have plunged into the raging stream below the cliff.
"Clarissa, are you alright?"
Ash gently used his Aura to soothe the lingering shock in the girl's heart.
Viridian Power's Healing Grace was effective against illnesses and physical injuries.
Aura, however, was a power born from the heart.
When it came to calming emotions or healing mental and spiritual wounds, it possessed remarkable effectiveness.
In the original timeline, Aura had even been capable of restoring the World Tree when its energy flow fell into chaos.
Calming a frightened girl was honestly an extravagant use of such power.
"Ash, I'm okay now."
"But let's keep chasing that Bulbasaur that stole my Oddish."
"If I don't capture that Oddish today, I don't think I'll be able to accept it."
The more Clarissa thought about it, the more unwilling she felt.
She had already defeated Oddish.
The capture had been seconds away.
Then that Bulbasaur had suddenly appeared and stolen it right out from under her nose.
Now, after enduring such a dangerous incident during the pursuit, her fighting spirit had only grown stronger.
She had already invested so much effort.
If she returned empty-handed after all this, how could she possibly be satisfied?
"Alright."
Seeing the usually gentle and obedient girl display such determination, Ash didn't dislike it in the slightest.
Instead, he found himself admiring her even more.
"Pikachu, Greninja."
"Stay alert."
"We're continuing the pursuit."
With that, he grabbed Clarissa's hand and took off running once again.
While the collapsed suspension bridge had delayed them, giving Bulbasaur time to widen the gap, Ash wasn't worried.
His Aura wasn't for show.
Ever since discovering the correct way to use the Listening to All Things meditation technique in Cerulean City, his Aura cultivation had been advancing at an astonishing pace.
His Aura had already reached Level 32.
He was rapidly approaching the stage where he could begin serious Aura development training.
And as his Aura grew stronger, the range of his sensory abilities expanded dramatically.
Even though Bulbasaur had already run far ahead, it still hadn't escaped his detection range.
Especially with Pidgeot and Fearow serving as aerial trackers overhead.
The moment Ash activated Aura perception, Bulbasaur's location became crystal clear.
Guided by Aura and the two flying scouts, Ash quickly locked onto the target once again.
However—
Just as Ash and Clarissa had run a short distance—
"CRASH!"
The ground ahead suddenly collapsed.
Greninja, who had been leading the way, instantly vanished into a hidden pitfall.
"Gre-ninja—!"
Fortunately, the trap wasn't particularly deep.
A human might have struggled to climb out.
But for a nimble Pokémon like Greninja, it was hardly a challenge.
With a single leap, Greninja sprang out of the pit and landed safely on the path again.
"Ash?"
"What is this?"
Clarissa looked at the hidden trap in confusion.
"I think someone lives around here."
"And the suspension bridge rope breaking earlier probably wasn't an accident either."
Ash stared at the pit and immediately came to a realization.
"Someone lives here?"
Clarissa's eyes widened.
"This is the middle of Viridian Forest!"
"From what we've seen so far, yes."
"Someone definitely lives nearby."
"These traps seem designed to keep outsiders away."
He crouched beside the pit and carefully examined it.
"Notice something?"
"There are no broken bottles."
"No sharpened stakes."
"No lethal hazards."
"The person who built this trap didn't intend to injure anyone."
"They simply wanted to stop people from getting closer."
After a quick inspection, Ash had already pieced together several important clues.
"What should we do then?"
"Should we keep chasing Bulbasaur?"
Clarissa asked hesitantly.
"Hmm…"
Ash looked toward the direction Bulbasaur had fled.
"Now that we know someone lives here, it's possible that neither Oddish nor Bulbasaur is wild."
"They may both belong to whoever lives in this area."
He paused.
"But we've already come this far."
"If we leave now without finding out what's going on, it'll feel like Meowth has been scratching at my curiosity all day."
"I won't be able to let it go."
A grin appeared on his face.
"So we're continuing."
"If the owner of this place turns out to be rude and unreasonable, then they'll owe us an explanation for nearly getting us killed with those traps."
"But if they're a decent person who simply values their privacy, then we'll apologize for intruding and leave peacefully."
Clarissa thought for a moment before nodding.
"Okay."
There was a hint of if you're going, I'm going too in her expression.
"Greninja."
"Continue scouting ahead."
"But be careful."
"There are probably more traps waiting for us."
Greninja nodded seriously.
This time, however, it was far more cautious than before.
Ash wasn't about to act recklessly either.
Although his Viridian Power had reached Level 59 and his Aura had reached Level 32, he still hadn't begun true Aura development training.
At the end of the day, he was still fundamentally human.
A stronger-than-average human, certainly.
But human nonetheless.
So he wisely allowed Greninja to take point.
Meanwhile, as he ran alongside Clarissa, he simultaneously used his Aura for two purposes.
One part tracked Bulbasaur's movements.
The other constantly scanned the terrain ahead, searching for hidden dangers.
A living mine detector.
Suddenly, Aura feedback reached him.
"Greninja!"
"Watch out!"
"There's a hanging net trap hidden beneath that oak tree ahead!"
"Grenija!"
Greninja's eyes sharpened instantly.
Spotting a half-rotten branch near its feet, it kicked the branch toward the suspicious area.
The moment the branch landed—
SNAP!
The mechanism activated.
A large camouflage net hidden beneath the leaves exploded upward.
Its four corners tightened instantly.
The branch was caught as though it were a trapped human.
A second later, the net shot into the air and dangled high from a nearby tree.
"Greninja…"
Looking at the suspended trap, Greninja's face darkened.
First the pitfall.
Now the hanging net.
If Ash hadn't warned it in advance, it would have been caught a second time.
A vein practically bulged on Greninja's forehead.
Its patience was rapidly running out.
Whoever was setting all these traps...
Greninja was starting to get very, very annoyed.
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T/N:
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