This chapter is similar to JN006 where Goh caught a lot of Pokémon in Kanto, but Goh actually battles and struggles here unlike the episode. He even gets a new rival.
I also updated my profile with all the information you need to know for The Next Journey. Goh has a lot of Pokémon so far.
Chapter 9: Hoenn Catching Spree! New Rival!?
Ash, Goh, and Chloe were currently having a lunch break in Route 104 in the Hoenn region. Their goal was to make their way to the Sky Pillar by passing through Petalburg and Slateport City, and they hoped to learn more about Mega Evolution and Rayquaza.
"Interesting," Goh spoke as he looked at his phone. The others were still eating, but he had finished early. "It says here that we're in Petalburg Woods and that there's a lot of Pokémon here!" he exclaimed as he pulled out a Pokéball. "Cinderace! Come out and help me catch Pokémon!"
"Cinder!" Cinderace stated as he exited the Pokéball and joined his trainer. He was also happy with the idea of catching more Pokémon.
Goh and Cinderace ran into the trees and shouted, "We'll be back after catching more Pokémon!" to Ash and Chloe.
"Goh!" Chloe said as he stood up. They were supposed to continue their journey after their short break, but Goh was already rushing off.
"Let him go!" Ash remarked as he wiped the crumbs off his face with his hand. "It'll be a good opportunity for Goh to catch and battle Wild Pokémon."
"Pika!" Pikachu agreed as he ate the Pokémon food from his bowl. Sadly, the trio were out of ketchup, and Pikachu had no choice but to eat stale food. He hoped that they will restock their ketchup supply when they reach Petalburg City at the end of the day.
"Alright," Chloe sighed as she looked into the forest. She hoped that Goh wouldn't take too long. They were so close to the city, and she didn't like spending too much time in the wilderness. She preferred sleeping and eating in a Pokémon Center.
Goh and Cinderace were hunched behind a bush. There was a small brown Pokémon in front of them eating a Berry. Goh recognized the Pokémon as a Zigzagoon, and now was his chance to catch it.
"Cinderace!" Goh whispered as he gestured in front of them. "Use Double Kick!"
Cinderace jumped from the bush and quickly kicked Zigzagoon twice with its hind feet. "Zigzaaa!" Zigzagoon cried as the super effective attacks hit it.
"Pokéball! Go!" Goh yelled as he threw the ball. The Pokéball slammed into Zigzagoon's side, and Zigzagoon was sucked inside. After the ball fell onto the ground and dinged, Goh's Rotom Phone proclaimed:
"Zizagoon's data will be added to the Pokédex!"
"Alright!" Goh triumphally yelled as he raised the Pokéball in the air. "I caught Zizagoon!"
"Cinderace!" Cinderace happily exclaimed as it jumped up in the air and high-fived Goh.
Goh laughed at his capture, but he stopped when he saw another Pokémon in the distance. "Let's check it out!" Goh said as he and Cinderace began crawling toward the Pokémon.
As Goh approached the Pokémon, he saw that it was a Shroomish. "Perfect," Goh thought as he looked at the Mushroom Pokémon. "Shroomish is a Grass type, while Cinderace is a Fire type. This is going to be easy!" He was about to issue a command to Cinderace, until a voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Goh!"
Goh turned around and saw Ash and Chloe running toward him. The element of surprise was ruined, and Shroomish saw Goh and Cinderace.
"Shroom!" Shroomish yelled as it used Headbutt at Cinderace. It saw the gleam in the boy's eyes and knew that he wanted to catch itself.
"Cinderace!" Goh frantically yelled as he saw the attack. "Blaze Kick!"
Cinderace recovered from the attack and charged toward Shroomish with one of his feet engulfed in orange flames. He swung the flaming feet at Shroomish, and Shroomish was thrown backwards by the attack.
Goh hurriedly grabbed a Pokéball and threw it at the injured Shroomish. "Nice!" his Rotom Phone rang as the Shroomish entered the Pokéball.
"Shroomish's data will be added to the Pokédex!"
"Nice catch!" Chloe spoke as she was holding Eevee in her hands. "We just finished eating. It's time to continue our way to Petalburg City!"
Eevee nodded and squealed, "Eevee!" She was also eager to return to the human civilization.
"Fine," Goh groaned with a sad expression on his face. He only caught two Pokémon, and he really wanted to catch more. He was about to return Cinderace when he spotted a figure in the tree above.
"What's that!?" he asked as he looked up to see a Pokémon. He pulled out his Rotom Phone to scan it:
"Vigoroth, the Wild Monkey Pokémon. A Normal Type. Vigoroth is only comfortable going berserk, will destroy anything in its path by spinning both arms, and goes more berserk when done."
"Cinder!" Cinderace declared as he prepared a battle stance, but Vigoroth appeared to be sleeping in the tree.
"I wonder," Goh muttered as he pulled out a Pokéball. "Go!" He tossed the Pokéball at the sleeping Vigoroth, but the Vigoroth opened its eyes and swung its arm at the Pokéball, sending it back right at Goh's face.
"Ow!" Goh shouted in pain as he pried the Pokéball off his face. He saw that Vigoroth was getting away from him. "Cinderace! Let's go!" Goh exclaimed as he ran toward the Vigoroth.
"Goh! Wait!" Chloe moaned as she and Ash rushed to catch their friend. Once again, Goh was distracted by another Pokémon.
"Where did it go?" Goh asked as he and Cinderace looked at the trees. Vigoroth was here somewhere, and they desperately wanted to find it.
"Vig!" a voice from above cried out. Goh and Cinderace looked up to see Vigoroth taunting them from a tree. Vigoroth also sticked its tongue out at the trainer and Pokémon.
"Quick Attack on the tree!" Goh ordered as he glared at Vigoroth.
Cinderace charged toward the tree, causing it to shake and Vigoroth to fall toward the ground.
"Double Kick!" Goh said as he pointed at the falling Vigoroth. As Cinderance jumped toward Vigoroth with his feet, Vigoroth quickly turned and attacked the Striker Pokémon with its sharp and long claws.
Cinderace tumbled onto the ground, groaning "Cinder!" He failed to use Double Kick, and Vigortoh was standing on the ground, laughing at the fallen rabbit Pokémon.
"That was Slash," Goh spoke as he watched Cinderace get up. "Pyro Ball! Then, use Double Kick!"
Cinderace kicked a pebble on the ground, and a ball of flame surrounded it. Then, he launched the ball at Vigoroth. Vigoroth dodged the flaming ball at the last second and laughed, but the ball was a distraction, and Cinderace slammed his feet onto the Wild Monkey Pokémon's face.
"Vigoroth!" Vigoroth wailed as it collapsed onto the ground from the attack.
"Pokéball!" Goh began to say as he grabbed an empty Pokéball. "Go!"
"Vig!" Vigoroth cried out before it entered the Pokéball. The ball began to shake on the ground, and it continued doing so, until a ding was heard.
"Vigoroth's data will be added to the Pokédex!" Goh's Rotom Phone announced.
Ash and Chloe finally found Goh, and they caught up to him. "You caught Vigoroth!" Ash praised as he looked at Goh's phone. "Cool!"
"Goh?" Chloe sternly questioned as she tugged her friend's arm. "Can we please get going now!?"
However, Goh wasn't listening. He was crawling on the floor toward an unsuspecting Wurmple. The Wurmple was scavenging the ground for food, and Goh was getting closer and closer to the Worm Pokémon.
"Cinderace! Quick Attack!" he ordered as he pointed at Wurmple's back. Cinderace slammed into the Wurmple, and Goh threw a Pokéball at it. The ball began to shake after it fell onto the ground. Soon, the ball stopped shaking, and Rotom Phone declared:
"Wurmple's data will be added to the Pokédex!"
"Yes!" Goh spoke as he looked at the Pokéball. "Hopefully, this one evolves into a Silcoon!" He remembered catching three Wurmple when he first visited Hoenn with Ash, but all of them evolved into Dustox. He also wanted a Silcoon, so he had to catch anther Wurmple.
Chloe sighed while Ash just chuckled. Goh was working on his goal to catch all Pokémon, and it appeared that he wasn't going to stop for a while. "Sorry, guys," Goh nervously laughed as he faced his friends. "The woods have a lot of Pokémon that I don't have, but we should get going."
Once again, the trio continued their way to Petalburg City. Ash and Chloe were talking with one another about their plans, while Goh and Cinderace were still hunting for any Pokémon close to the path they were taking.
"Goh," Ash asked as he saw Goh and Cinderace look up at the sky. "I think that's enough searching. You already caught four Pokémon, and that's a lot."
"It still isn't enough! If I want to catch all Pokémon, I'll need to keep working on my goal," Goh responded as he was climbing on a nearby tree. He thought he saw something on the tree, and he was going up to investigate. As he was sifting through the leaves on the tree with his left hand, he spotted a small black Pokémon resting on one of the branches.
"Cinderace!" Goh yelled as he pointed at the branch. Cinderace, who was below, also saw the small Pokémon and nodded.
"Use Pyro Ball!" Goh commanded as the black Pokémon slowly got up due to the noise. The Pyro Ball collided with the poor Pokémon, and Goh tossed a Pokéball before it fell onto the grass. "Great!" his Rotom Phone exclaimed as the Pokémon entered the Pokéball.
"Murkrow's data will be added to the Pokédex!" it later said.
"Good job!" Goh shouted at Cinderace as he slowly descended the tree. Once he was back on the ground, he noticed that Ash and Chloe were standing near a Pokémon. As he ran over to them, he could hear Chloe exclaim, "Look, Eevee! It's so cute!" Goh observed the Pokémon and noted that it had large orange eyes and two green leaves as its wings.
"I wonder what it is," Goh remarked as he scanned the strange Pokémon with his phone:
"Cottonee, the Cotton Puff Pokémon. A Grass and Fairy Type. Cottonee shoots cotton to distract its opponent when attacked and travels around wherever the blowing wind carries it."
Goh was about to pull out his Pokéball to catch it, but the Cottonee squeaked in fear as it saw the Pokéball in the boy's hand and quickly floated away. It didn't like the two boys, but the girl and her Eevee was nice to it.
"Wait!" Goh said as he was about to chase the Cottonee, but Chloe stopped him.
"We need to get going," she spoke as she and Ash dragged Goh away. "We're so close to Petalburg City. Let's try and get there without any distractions!"
"But but…" Goh stammered as he was being pulled away. Even Cinderace betrayed him by shrugging and following Ash and Chloe. Eventually, Goh gave up and continued the rest of his journey on foot after convincing the duo that he will not get distracted again.
The trio were taking another quick break. They were even closer to Petalburg City, and Goh estimated from his map that they have to walk about fifteen to twenty more minutes before they reached the Petalburg Pokémon Center. Goh was about to get ready to leave, until he saw movement behind the bushes. Secretly, he gestured toward Cinderace, and the both of them crawled and took a peek at the movement.
It was a Pokémon, and Goh recognized what it was. "A Poochyena!" he whispered in awe to Cinderace. He remembered wanting to catch a Mightyena, but he didn't get a chance to. Mightyena was the evolved form of Poochyena, and he could finally have one if he caught it.
"Ready, Cinderace?" Goh quietly said. "Use Double Kick!"
"Goh!" Chloe angrily interjected from behind. "I thought you were done catching Pokémon for today!"
Poochyena heard Chloe's voice and turned as it saw Cinderace charging toward it with his feet. The Poochyena quickly dodged Cinderace's attack and growled at the Striker Pokémon.
"Not now Chloe!" Goh replied with an annoyed expression. "Pyro Ball!"
The Poochyena howled and lunged at Cinderace with a headbutt before Cinderace could issue the attack. "That's Sucker Punch!" Goh exclaimed, remembering how Hodge used it in his battle against Ash during the Battle Frontier Flute Cup.
Goh was about to order another command to Cinderace when he heard someone yell:
"Venusaur! Razor Leaf!"
A stream of green leaves came flying toward the Poochyena, and it hurled Poochyena onto the ground.
"What?" Goh asked in confusion as he and Cinderace saw a girl and Venusaur approaching the fallen Poochyena. The girl tossed a Pokéball at the Poochyena, and Goh heard her Rotom Phone yell:
"Poochyena's data will be added to the Pokédex!"
"I finally caught you, Poochyena!" the girl jumped in the air with a grin on her face. "I am one step closer to filling the Pokédex!"
"Hey!" Goh shouted with a tint of anger in his voice. "What's the meaning of this? How dare you stole my and Cinderace's catch?"
"Cinder!" Cinderace shouted as he looked at the large Venusaur.
"Goh, calm down," Ash gently spoke as he looked at him and the girl. "There's no need to get upset."
The girl glared at Goh and responded arrogantly, "For your information, Venusaur and I have been chasing this Poochyena for a while, and we deserve to have it. Besides, a Pokémon like Poochyena would be wasted if it was caught by a trainer like you."
"What!?" Goh seethed at the girl. "What makes you think that you're better than me? Poochyena and I would have been a perfect pair!"
"Really?" the girl questioned while rolling her eyes. "You would have probably left it at a lab and forget about it. I don't think you train and bond with your Pokémon. You just catch and abandon them. That what makes them weak like your Cinderace."
Cinderace snarled upon hearing that. He chose Goh as he trainer because he believed that Goh was worthy. He wasn't going to let that girl continue insulting him and his trainer.
Sensing Cinderace's mood, Goh faced the girl with a determined expression. "Cinderace and I are strong!" Goh hissed as he pointed at the girl. "And we'll prove it with a battle!"
The girl sighed and indifferently said as she twirled her hair, "Fine, but don't come crying to me after you lose. My Venusaur against your Cinderace."
Both trainers stood directly opposite from each other with their Pokémon. Ash was standing in the middle, acting as a referee. "This battle will be between Goh and" Ash started to say.
"Leaf," the girl flatly responded without looking at Ash.
Ash nodded and continued saying, "Battle, begin!" as he thrust his hand in the middle.
Leaf faked a yawn and spoke, "You can make the first move."
"Cinderace! Pyro Ball!" Goh ordered as he pointed at the Seed Pokémon. Venusaur was a Grass type, and he was confident that he would win this battle.
Cinderace bounced a pebble on his foot and kicked it toward Venusaur once it was on fire. The pebble slammed into Venusaur, and Venusaur grunted, "Venusaur!" from the pain.
"Not bad, but let's see if you can handle this!" Leaf responded as she watched her Venusaur. "Use Earthquake!"
The ground shook underneath Cinderace and exploded. Cinderace was thrown backward from the impact and crashed onto the ground. He slowly got up and glared angrily at the Venusaur. He then gave his trainer a reassuring nod.
"Alright! Blaze Kick!" Goh commanded after seeing that his Cinderace was fine. Cinderace charged toward Venusaur with his flaming feet, but Leaf yelled, "Razor Leaf!"
Venusaur sent a stream of powerful leaves at Cinderace, but Cinderace burned them all away with his flaming foot, but Leaf wasn't discouraged that her attack failed.
"Now's our chance when it's dealing with those leaves! Sleep Powder!" Leaf ordered with a grin.
"Get out of there!" Goh warned with worry on his face, but the wind already drifted the powder toward Cinderace. "Cinder," Cinderace groaned as he tried to keep awake for his trainer, but the Sleep Powder made him very tired.
"Forfeit this battle," Leaf spoke as she pointed at Goh's Cinderace. "Your Pokémon can't win. Give up now."
"No way!" Goh retorted with anger. "Cinderace and I came a long way, and we aren't going to give up!"
Leaf raised an eyebrow when she heard Goh's words. "You really are stubborn, aren't you? You're losing yet you won't admit defeat. Why don't you go home after this?" she coolly asked, waiting for Goh's response.
"If I give up now, I'll never be able to achieve my dream of catching Mew!" Goh bitterly replied with a glare. "It's my reality, my future, and I can hold that future in the palm of my hand!"
"Suit yourself," Leaf responded as she pointed at Cinderace, but there was a little bit of worry in her voice. "Finish this with Poison Powder."
"Cinderace! Listen to me!" Goh yelled as he watched the powder slowly made its way to his Pokémon. "Dodge it and use Double Kick!" However, Cinderace was too tired, and it struggled to move. The Poison Powder surrounded Cinderace, and Cinderace became poisoned after breathing it.
"Cinder!" Cinderace groaned as he collapsed onto the ground.
"Cinderace!" Goh screamed as he ran over to hold his Pokémon. Cinderace was in a lot of pain.
"We need to take it to a Pokémon Center," Ash proclaimed as he ran over to Goh. "Let's quickly go to Petalburg City!"
Goh nodded as he picked up Cinderace, but before he and his friends left, he saw Leaf walking over to him.
"Our battle just proved my point," she taunted as she looked at the poisoned Cinderace. "You'll never be able to accomplish your dream if you are horrible at battling. Your bond with your Pokémon is weak, and I'm surprised that Cinderace still chooses you as his trainer."
Goh fumed at Leaf's last remark and was about to respond, but Cinderace's groans slapped him back to reality. "Come on," he anxiously spoke as he ran toward his friends. Together, they hurriedly ran down the path toward Petalburg City. While Goh was running, he heard Leaf speak one last time.
"Why are you catching Pokémon if you don't bother bonding with them?"
"Your Cinderace is all better now! We hope to see you again!" Nurse Joy cheerfully said as she pushed a cart over to Goh. Cinderace jumped off the cart and ran toward his trainer.
"Thanks, Nurse Joy!" Goh happily stated. "I'm glad that you're all better now, Cinderace."
Despite Cinderace's cheery smile and his friends reassuring him, Goh still felt horrible. It reminded him of taking Scorbunny to the Pokémon Center after he ignored Venonat's Poison Powder. "Is Leaf right?" Goh thought to himself as he looked at Cinderace. "Am I a bad trainer for not bonding with all my Pokémon?"
"Goh," Ash spoke as he saw his friend's worried expression. "Don't listen to Leaf. You and your Pokémon have a great bond. Think of Sobble and Cinderace. You also bonded with Aerodactyl."
Chloe nodded at Ash's words and encouraged, "Ash is right. Your Pokémon do like you. Remember how Greedent evolved in the Pokémon Eating Contest? He did it for you."
Goh smiled at his friends after hearing their comforting words. "Thank you all!" he exclaimed as he stood up. "But there's one thing Leaf is right. If I want to catch Mew, I need to form even stronger bonds with my Pokémon and battle more."
Ash, Goh, and Chloe laughed, and the trio left the Pokémon Center and headed toward a restaurant to eat. Goh caught a lot of Pokémon, but he also learned an important lesson about bonding and battling.
Unbeknownst to the three, a Pokémon was spying on them from behind a light pole. It followed them from the woods, but it was only interested in the girl and her Eevee.
"Cottonee!" it said as it watched her. It was curious and continued to quietly trail behind the girl.
Goh finally has a rival when it comes to catching all Pokémon. He lost against Leaf, and he will end up facing her in the Staleport Tournament. Things are getting interesting for Goh. I also plan on bringing back the Shane Seeker, but he most likely won't appear in the Hoenn mini arc.
Leaf is not a "jerk" rival, and their rivalry stems from misunderstanding each other. They both have a bad first impression of the other, and they don't understand each other's goals. Eventually, they will learn to respect each other, and their rivalry will become friendlier.
Who will the two of them get their hands at the Key Stone?
Goh will get a Key Stone for his Aerodactyite, and Ash will get a Lucarionite and a Key Stone.
will Gou be catching Suicune becuz that was just nonsense in the anime
Most likely not, unless Goh receives a lot of proper development to justify the capture and Ash gets his own Legendary.
First, will they eventually go to the Isle of Armor and/or the Crown Tundra, and will they meet People and/or Pokémon from those respective places? Second, will they eventually meet up with rival characters from the games, such as Wally, Hugh, and/or Bede? Third, will Serena return? Fourth, will we get to see the Draconid People, particularly Zinnia, and Meteor Falls eventually? Fifth, will we get to see the Ultra Recon Squad?
They will visit the Isle of Armor and the Crown Tundra in a Galar Arc, and they will meet up with people from those places. I'm still not sure about rival characters from the games, but I do have plans to introduce Marnie and Team Yell. Serena and all the other companions will return. Zinnia will probably make an appearance in this mini arc, but I'm not sure about Meteor Falls. Maybe in the future. I don't think I'll bring the Ultra Recon Squad since Necrozma's light has returned, but I might change my mind.
Will Ash, Goh and Chloe get any new Pokémon while in Hoenn and Do they Know that Ash is also a Champion?
Ash won't get any new Pokémon in Hoenn. Instead, he'll further develop his current team, but Goh and Chloe will. They don't know that he is a Champion, but they will find out in the future.