Chapter 76: Orange City

Maki and his companions were currently in a dense forest, where the move generated by Nature Power manifested as Energy Ball.

However, as a move with variable effects, its fundamental nature remained unchanged. Cottonee still executed it with impressive speed.

"Cottonee, see if you can try—"

Just as Maki was about to give instructions, he noticed Cottonee's slightly weary yet cheerful expression. He realized he might have been pushing too hard.

"Let's take a break first. We can practice moves in the morning."

Maki reached out and gently picked up Cottonee, speaking softly.

"Cotton~"

Cottonee nuzzled into Maki's arms, letting out a small, affectionate sound.

After returning Cottonee to its Poké Ball—a Luxury Ball Maki had specially purchased at the department store—he considered how it provided comfort rather than any special effects.

Maki had also switched Charmander's original Poké Ball for a Luxury Ball, though the little Fire-type rarely stayed inside it.

He had even bought a few extra Luxury Balls, thinking he might come across a Pokémon he wanted to catch. It wouldn't feel right if Charmander and Cottonee had luxurious accommodations while a new team member was stuck in a standard Poké Ball.

People often assumed that Pokémon disliked being in Poké Balls just because Pikachu in the anime refused to stay in one. However, that wasn't entirely true.

Poké Balls weren't based on some special spatial technology; rather, Pokémon inherently possessed the ability to shrink in size. The Poké Ball simply triggered this ability, making it easier for them to enter a dormant state.

In this state, Pokémon experienced minimal energy loss, and if they wished, they could even enter a state akin to hibernation.

Dragonite's love for coming out to eat Pokéblocks was simply due to its gluttonous nature. Otherwise, given its size and strength, it could go ten days or more without food without any problem.

Additionally, when a Pokémon was seriously injured and there were no available healing items or Pokémon with recovery abilities, the first course of action should be to return them to their Poké Ball.

In this form, their energy depletion would be drastically reduced, buying enough time to reach a Pokémon Center for treatment.

Since the ability to shrink was intrinsic to Pokémon, most of them enjoyed being in Poké Balls or, at the very least, didn't mind it.

Pokémon like Maki's Charmander, who preferred staying outside, were rare, and ones like Pikachu, who outright rejected Poké Balls, were even rarer.

That night, Maki set up his tent and camping gear before quickly settling in for the night.

"Come on out, Cottonee."

Rather than rushing into battle practice, Maki first offered his Pokémon some Pokéblocks to fill their stomachs.

Once their energy was replenished, he could focus on what intrigued him most.

"Cottonee, do you have any moves that you haven't demonstrated yet?"

Though Nature Power was the primary focus, inherited moves were always a great advantage—the more, the better. If Cottonee could inherit all the moves listed in the Day Care records, that would be ideal.

After testing, the results were slightly below his best expectations, but still impressive. Including Nature Power, Cottonee had inherited four moves: Nature Power, Encore, Grass Whistle, and Attract.

The moves it didn't inherit were Fake Tears and Tickle.

The sheer variety of inherited moves startled Maki. His Charmander, which was already considered top-tier among the starter Pokémon distributed by Professor Oak, had only inherited two moves.

Of course, Dragon Dance alone was more valuable than all four of Cottonee's inherited moves combined, but in terms of sheer quantity, Cottonee had the advantage.

"Looks like my luck isn't too bad after all."

Maki muttered to himself as he observed the energetic Cottonee.

"Alright, now that we know your moves, let's continue our journey."

Although he had a clear understanding of Cottonee's move set, Maki didn't plan on training just yet—it was still too early for that.

However, during Charmander's battles with wild Pokémon, Cottonee could assist by using Helping Hand or Attract as part of its early training.

"Use Dragon Breath! Helping Hand!"

Though their coordination was still a bit rough, Charmander's raw strength was enough to defeat ordinary wild Pokémon.

After knocking out a Pidgey, Maki threw a Poké Ball and successfully captured it. Including the two Pokémon he had caught earlier, he now had three, which was enough to complete his task.

Picking up the Poké Ball, Maki looked ahead. The presence of a well-maintained road indicated that a nearby town wasn't far off.

"See? I told you following me would get us out of the forest! There's the road ahead!"

Maki pointed confidently toward the path, speaking to Cottonee and Charmander.

"Cotton!"

Cottonee chirped happily. Though she enjoyed the fresh air of the forest, if given a choice, she preferred snuggling in a warm bed with a bottle of fresh Moomoo Milk.

"Let's go. According to the map, the next town should have a Pokémon Center."

Three hours later…

"Cotton!"

Cottonee, seemingly exhausted from floating, flopped onto Maki's shoulder and puffed up her cheeks in frustration.

[You said we were almost there!]

"We are! Look up ahead."

"Cotton?"

Cottonee turned her head and noticed a signpost not far away.

"Orange City."

After another half-hour of walking, Maki and his team finally arrived at their destination.

Orange City sat between two major metropolitan hubs, Saffron City and Celadon City. Due to the overwhelming prominence of these two major cities, Orange City often remained obscure.

However, the city was far from underdeveloped. Its economic strength stemmed from a nearby mountain that was rich in Fire Stones and Thunder Stones, providing valuable resources to the Pokémon League.

Nearly a third of all Fire Stones and Thunder Stones in the Kanto region originated from this area.

Of course, given its proximity to Saffron City, Silph Co. had a major influence in these industries. And naturally, Team Rocket wouldn't ignore such a valuable resource.

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