The Lake of Dragonair!

The Silver Town Contest has ended. Although Mr. Jeremy missed the victory, he felt a deep sense of satisfaction.

Today, he expressed many things he had never said before. He, along with his Pokémon, had given it their all, and even though he lost, it was fine—it was the experience that mattered.

As he left the competition area, he saw his wife and son waiting for him.

"Let's go home. Looks like we need a big dinner tonight to reward you three, especially Butterfree and Venusaur," his wife said.

"Yeah, Dad, your Venusaur was really impressive!" his son added.

Seeing his family finally recognize his efforts, Mr. Jeremy was taken aback for a moment. He scratched his head and laughed, "Haha, yeah! But tomorrow, I'm back to the daily grind."

The family of three walked home together, chatting and laughing. Not far off, Ash, Misty, May, and Brock watched them.

"This is what family is like, and it's also reality. If you don't make it big in Pokémon, you end up working 9-to-5 every day," Brock said insightfully.

Ash pondered this as well, while Misty and May, upon hearing the word "family," both thought of Ash. Without realizing it, they turned to look at him—only to catch each other doing the same.

They realized they shared the same thoughts.

"Ash, you're really getting better and better," they thought, feeling their affection for him deepen.

After leaving Silver Town, Ash and his friends arrived at a beautiful lake but oddly abandoned where they began Pokémon training.

"Pika! Pika-pika-pika…" Pikachu was practicing Volt Tackle. This powerful move took considerable time to master, even for Pikachu. But with Ash's new training techniques, Pikachu was progressing quickly. In fact, Pikachu had successfully performed the move three times just now.

"Alright, Pikachu, you've nearly mastered Volt Tackle. That's enough for today—come here, and I'll apply some medicine," Ash said.

"Pika, Pikachu!" Pikachu nodded, happy with its progress.

While Ash was training, Misty and May were also practicing with their Pokémon.

"Ralts, since you haven't participated in a contest yet, we need to practice hard. You know Confusion, Double Team, Teleport, Disarming Voice, Magical Leaf, and Draining Kiss—all great moves. Now, watch me train with Squirtle and Combusken, okay?"

"Ralts~~" Ralts nodded its little head and watched Squirtle and Combusken.

"Squirtle, Squirt!" ("You'll do great—it's simple!") Squirtle cheered.

Meanwhile, Misty was training her Azurill, Starmie, and Goldeen to work on their speed by the lake.

"Starmie, use Swift!"

"Goldeen, use Bubble!"

Misty held Azurill in her arms as she trained the others.

Brock, in the meantime, was reading about the lake and caring for two Pokémon eggs.

"Ah, I found info on this lake!" Brock exclaimed, gathering Ash, Misty, and May.

"This lake is called the Lake of Dragonair. It's said to be protected by a Dragonair that guards the Water Pokémon here, giving the lake its name. Many Pokémon trainers come here hoping to see or even catch it, but none have succeeded. Over time, the lake's reputation faded. However, it seems like there are no Water Pokémon left here. What could have happened?"

Hearing this, Misty spotted some fishing rods next to a nearby wooden cabin.

"Hey, there are fishing rods here, and they're free to use! We'll know if there are any Pokémon in the lake if we fish for a bit!" she said excitedly.

Misty quickly handed each of them a rod, and they decided to have a contest to see who could catch a Water Pokémon first.

Knowing the lake's secret, Ash called out his Corphish. "Come on out, Corphish! Hang out by the shore—you might get a chance to help!"

Ash's Corphish was more than ready to evolve, but for some reason, it hadn't yet. He hoped a showdown with the lake's Crawdaunt, as in the original storyline, might help it evolve.

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