Reuniting with Brock after winning his Cascade Badge, Ash and his friends made their way to Vermillion City. On the road, Misty was still grumpy since the parting with her sisters. Ash didn't ponder over it further and based it on the siblings' estranged relationship and her sisters getting under her skin. And for the life of him he did not see a deeper reason than that for his friend's displeasure.
Stumbling into a fog within a forest, the group decided to take a break to relax.
Brock took out a table and cooking utensils that when put together could not feasibly fit into his backpack.
"Don't you get that feeling that sometimes what you're seeing shouldn't be physically possible?" Ash asked.
"You mean what I feel all the time when seeing you battle, encounter legends, and have a body that's clearly superhuman?" Misty asked back with an even tone.
"Maybe?" He certainly didn't feel like anything he did was out of place. "Do you have the urge to call out what Brock's doing?"
"Nope!" Misty cheerfully answered.
Ash nodded with a satisfied smile.
"Who's gonna gather firewood? We'll need it to make tea and crepes." Brock threw out the question.
"As they say, 'the old man goes to the mountain to gather wood, the old lady goes to the river to do laundry,' so finding firewood is a man's job!" Misty raised a finger and said in a singsong voice.
"So I'm doing it?" Ash said in a disgruntled tone.
Not like the boy had many complaints since he was the most fit person in the group. Together with Pikachu he set off deeper into the fog in search of firewood.
Thinking any time was a good time to do some training, Ash wanted Pikachu to cut wood off from some dead trees with his tail to gather wood and train the appendage to become stronger for possible moves to learn.
"Pidgeotto, you come out as well!"
Ash's Flying-type came out and perched herself on his shoulder. She had a displeased look on her face.
"Are you… possibly mad that I didn't send you out during the Cerulean Gym battle?" He asked and she nodded. "Urk, sorry, even though I said It'd be your debut, Capsakid turned out to be much stronger than I thought and took out half of their team." He said apologetically.
Pidgeotto made a few exasperated chirps and made Ash promise he'd send her out in the next Gym battle. She soared into the air and flapped her wings to disperse the fog with Defog.
When the fog was cleared a person appeared afterwards and Ash blinked in surprise.
It was a girl whose appearance suggested she'd be in high school. She looked extremely haggard with her makeup falling apart, unseemly hair, and heavy bags under her eyes. She spotted Ash, life returned to her face, and immediately dashed like a devil and clung to him.
"Thank Mew! Someone came to my rescue!" She yelled out with relief.
"What's going on!?" Ash yelled back.
Her actions startled Pikachu and he reflexively let out electricity that shocked both her and Ash to the ground.
Time passed for them to recover from the shock, though Ash wasn't nearly as affected as her, and the girl turned to Ash.
"I'm Risa and I got lost in the forest when the fog came. I don't have any Pokemon, so I was out on my own. Guess I was just that unlucky today." Risa laughed.
"I'm Ash Ketchum. I'm curious, why would someone who doesn't have any Pokemon be walking out here?" He asked.
"Let's see…" Risa looked around and spotted a familiar path she then pointed to. "Over there. There's a school I go to. Wanna come see?" She offered.
"Sure." Ash was about to walk when a hand rested on his shoulder.
"And where are you going without us?" Misty said with Brock in tow.
"Your friends I'm guessing? They can come along too." Risa said.
Risa introduced herself briefly to Misty and Brock. Everyone reached an agreement and strutted forward with Risa guiding them.
"So the school I'm a part of is called Pokemon Tech. Here, this'll explain it enough." She handed out a flier and Brock received it.
"Hmm, Pokemon Tech, short for Pokemon Technical Institute, a boarding school that educates students who want to become Pokemon Trainers. Upon graduation they are guaranteed to enter the Pokemon League without having to take on Badge-collecting journeys." Brock explained as he read the flier.
"What is this nonsense!? Entering the Pokemon League without Badges!?" Ash exclaimed.
"There's more." Brock spoke as if to say it only got worse. "Their entrance fees and tuition are also at the highest standards set by Pokemon Tech."
"You know what that means, it's one of those snobby private schools only millionaires kids can go to." Misty provided.
"Hey! The school is not that snobby!" Risa took offense to that.
"So why are you a part of Pokemon Tech?" Ash asked.
Risa puffed her chest and placed her hands on her hips with a proud look on her face. "I may not look like it, but I was the regional champion running track back in my old school." She then turned downcast. "But I quit since my leg got injured. It's healed up since, but I can't get back into it now that I'm afraid of running. That's when my friend suggested that I transfer to this school with her to get my mind off it."
"You're not here because you want to become a Pokemon Trainer?" That disappointed Ash a little.
"Kinda, yeah. My little brother insisted I go because he wanted me to get along with Pokemon. I've been so focused at running track I've never interacted or learned much about Pokemon. I ended up at the bottom of the beginners class and haven't climbed higher for an entire semester." Risa sighed.
"If you ask me, the quickest way is to catch a Pokemon yourself and befriend it." Ash suggested.
"But I've never faced one in a battle or caught one. I don't even know how to take care of a Pokemon." Risa grimaced.
The group reached the school grounds and Ash recognized two people there.
"Gary? Leaf?" Ash called out and ran towards them. His childhood friends turned around and were pleasantly surprised to see him too.
"Well if it isn't Ash, the fourth in line." Gary greeted him.
"Hiya, Ash." Leaf waved at him.
The trio caught up with each other. Ash's newest friends approached.
"What's the Pewter Gym's Leader doing here?" Gary asked.
"And who are these two girls with you?" Leaf looked at them from top to bottom.
"Ash, mind introducing us?" Misty asked.
Ash promptly did as asked. "Gary, Leaf, these are my traveling companions. Risa over here is a student from Pokemon Tech. Misty, Brock, these two are my childhood friends from Pallet Town."
Everyone then exchanged pleasantries. The topic moved on to the reason for why they happened to be at the school.
"I was curious to see what kind of Trainers who don't have to travel to collect Badges are like." Leaf said.
"Likewise." Gary simply repeated her reason.
"We just stumbled into Risa who invited us over. Can you believe this? Trainers who get to be in the Pokemon League without Badges! It's totally bogus!" Ash vehemently declared his opinion.
Leaf huffed in agreement. "I know, it's unbelievable. If staying in one place and studying all the time makes you the best, the Professor would be the greatest Trainer in the world!"
"There's no need to throw strays at my grandpa." An annoyed Gary said. "But yeah, it dissatisfies me that people like that can be considered to be as good as I am."
"I find it distasteful for uneducated strangers to make such accusations not based on proof." A pompous voice interjected.
Everyone's eyes turned to a girl in a sailor uniform walking towards them with another girl following behind her.
"And who are you?" Leaf quirked an eyebrow at the girl's attitude.
The girl smirked and struck a bunch of dramatic poses as she introduced herself. "At this illustrious prep school, Pokemon Tech, I'm the beginners class's brightest star. Some people even call me Andromeda, after the star whose shining light can reach the edge of the galaxy and even farther! This entity is… Giselle Yuto!"
"She certainly has a flair to her." Gary deadpanned.
"She's even more conceited than you are." Leaf sarcastically replied.
"Given another eight years, she might…" Brock was in his own world by that point, starstruck from her beauty.
"Are you being serious right now, Brock?" Misty's eye twitched from her friend's reaction.
"Verity, I missed you!" Risa went towards the other girl who was with Giselle.
"Where the heck were you, Risa!?" The aforementioned Verity was both worried and relieved to see her friend again.
"She's right, what have you been doing while shrinking away from your studies?" Giselle sternly said to her.
Risa wryly smiled and explained to her friends how she got lost during their school's special training in the fog.
"Good grief, not only have you failed today's classes spectacularly, you're mingling with some random Trainers not from our school. Spending time with them isn't going to help your studies." Giselle's arrogant words held warmth directed to Risa, but they also served to rankle the group of traveling Trainers since they undermined their abilities.
"What's your deal!?" Misty exclaimed. "Where do you get off saying we're inferior to you students from Pokemon Tech!?"
"That's right, I may be a novice but I've also studied hard to become a Trainer myself and raised my Pokemon to be strong for the Indigo League!" Leaf indignantly told her.
Gary and Brock wisely chose not to intervene in a catfight and deigned to observe the ensuing drama.
Giselle narrowed her eyes and frowned. She finally regarded the outsiders with a graceful demeanor like that of an honor student. "And who are you supposed to be exactly? What have you accomplished to speak as equals with us from our school?"
"I'm Misty, a former Gym Leader from Cerulean Gym!"
"Leaf Green from Pallet Town, a Trainer that's already earned her two Badges!"
A smirk formed on Giselle's face and a deviousness brewed in her head. "Really? I've never heard of a Misty from the Cerulean Gym. The only Gym Leaders from there I know of are the Three Sensational Sisters. I can see why you aren't mentioned or included as part of a group of four. Your lackluster appearance and volatile personality certainly don't measure up to the standards those three set."
"Where do you get the nerve to comment on my appearance and personality!?" Misty's anger hit its boiling point at the comparison with her sisters.
Giselle switched her target to Leaf and daintily giggled into her hand. "You said you earned two Badges? That's the same as the beginners class. By the way, how many days have you been striving as a Pokemon Trainer? How many Pokemon do you have?"
"Huh? A month." Leaf answered, not knowing where this was going. "I have my Bulbasaur as my starter and my Clefairy I caught."
That surprised Giselle. "Nothing else? Pokemon Trainers normally carry six Pokemon with them. That's only two. You must be lucky to have obtained two Badges with them."
"Are you saying my Pokemon are weak!?" Leaf was infuriated by what Giselle was implying.
"Heh, after one month of experience with a novice, Pokemon like that don't suddenly become strong enough to match those raised by Gym Leaders. The only other reason for you to have those Badges is probably because they were given out of compassion and not because of your abilities. That or because the Gym Leaders you fought happened to be some of the weaker ones in the region." Giselle methodically explained which further raised Leaf's anger and even Misty and Brock's for that offhand comment.
"My Pokemon have the power of three! I won my Badges fair and square!" Leaf asserted.
"I wonder about that." Giselle flatly disregarded her logic and claim in a single breath. "I suspect your Bulbasaur did all the heavy lifting for you. As for your second Pokemon, Clefairy are very cute, right? That's why they have popular demand as pets more than fighters. Did you know? Oh, you didn't know? And you have two Badges like that? That's laughable! Ohohohoho!" Giselle laughed like an ojou-sama at Leaf's selection of Pokemon.
Leaf grit her teeth and clenched her fists. "My Clefairy is an admirable Pokemon in battle! She helps lighten the burden for Bulbasaur and carries her own weight just fine!"
"And Brock and my sisters are challenging Gym Leaders for beginners to face!" Misty entered back into the conversation.
Brock nodded, grateful for Misty defending him. Gary… Gary was enjoying every second of this as entertainment while munching on snacks.
"N-Now everyone, let's all calm down." Risa tried to placate the three to stop fighting. A hand rested on her shoulder.
"Leave them to resolve it on their own." Verity shook her head to express that trying was no good.
"What do you have to say, Ash!?" Misty and Leaf said at the time and turned to the only person who hadn't spoken a single word since Giselle appeared.
Likewise, everyone turned their attention to Ash. To any of those who were familiar with Ash, they bore witness to the unimaginable.
"Ash… huh?" Leaf trailed off.
Her closest friend from Pallet Town stood still like a statue not making a single peep. He had his head dipped and his cap pulled down to cover his eyes. However, there were the briefest of moments where he would steal a glance at Giselle before averting away.
And most importantly. There were red streaks across his face indicating that he was flushed.
"Oh. My. Arceus." Gary mouthed off and slowly grinned.
At the same time, two-thirds of the female population in the world sensed a crisis they didn't understand.
Meanwhile in various places in the world
"Is it just me or am I feeling a lot of irrational anger right now?" Lyra asked Maril in her arms.
"Hah!? I felt a shock come over me just now, why does my heart hurt so much?" May said with a hand over her chest.
"No no no, I don't get it, but I feel like something unacceptable is happening in the world!" Dawn said while gnawing at her fingernail.
"Oof! Ow… why am I so distracted that I can't even swing my bat?" Hilda groaned and rubbed her face where the baseball hit her.
"M-My hero, I b-beseech to you… yeah no, I can't act while being this emotionally distraught for no reason." Rosa sighed and dropped the script in her hand.
"Is someone out there trying to steal something precious to me!?" Iris yelled out in the middle of a forest.
"The whole world has gone crazy and Ash is in the center of it, I know it!" Serena scratched her hair in desperation.
"For the first time in my life, I feel like wanting to hurt someone…" Selene muttered with a haunting look on her face.
"Huwah!? I sensed danger, but there's nothing near me." Lillie looked around but her anxiety wasn't going away.
"Oh no, I messed up the soup! Stupid heart, why do I suddenly feel so nervous?" Mallow asked but no one had the answer.
"I lost the catch! Ugh, I can't calm down for some reason." Lana bemoaned as her fingers couldn't stop shaking while holding her fishing rod.
"I don't feel like going outside anymore." Gloria moaned into her pillow while laying flat on her bed.
"Come on, Morpeko. We gotta earn every Badge and eventually we'll run into Ash at some point!" Marnie said to Morpeko who sighed as Marnie quickened her steps.
"Hmm, I feel dissatisfied. Know what that means, I have to battle much much more!" Nemona vigorously shouted as she raised the intensity much to the horror of everyone around her.
It wasn't just limited to these few.
Erika accidentally sprayed her perfume into her eyes while lost in thought. Sabrina almost destroyed her Gym when her psychic powers spiked dramatically and ran out of control. Lorelei impulsively crushed her glasses in her hand.
Whitney suddenly burst into tears and wailed, confusing those around her. Jasmine lost all energy and stared out into the ocean. Clair got entangled in her own cape from being too aggressive. Karen slammed her wine glass on the counter, shattering it.
Roxanne was too distracted to even notice her students calling out to her. Flannery tripped and fell into a hot spring and almost drowned. Courtney was muttering something in a rapid fashion with cold eyes that creeped out the Magma Grunts next to her. Lisia lost her brightness and stopped appearing on television that day. Zinnia repeatedly punched an Aqua Grunt in the face to vent her stress. Anabel's Pokemon comforted her when she became depressed out of nowhere.
Zoey became frustrated and couldn't concentrate at her Contest Battle. Maylene lost her appetite and stopped going to the Gym that day. Candice fell and got buried under snow. Caitlin refused to welcome any more Trainers to her Battle Castle as her mood became foul.
Bianca thoughtlessly ran towards a fountain and fell into the water. Elesa canceled her fashion show she planned when she lost the desire to host it. Skyla nearly crashed her plane before she reorientated it. Roxie smashed her guitar to the ground and snapped it in two in a fit of rage. Yancy didn't show up to work, calling that she's leaving sick.
Shauna stayed at her home and was not in the mood to watch Pokemon Performances on TV. Viola messed up the timing of her shot. Korrina tripped on her skates. Valerie ripped the fabric of the cloth she was sewing. Miette screwed up on her Poke Puff mixing.
Acerola boxed herself in her room, creating disturbing dolls as a dark miasma radiated from her. Mina broke the paintbrush in her hand. Kahili used Toucannon like a rocket launcher to shoot at some rock formation.
Nessa demanded her Gym Trainers to get serious and they knew the Gym won't be peaceful for a while. Bea violently beat up a sandbag and it burst with sand flying out.
Penny couldn't write her code properly and slammed her forehead to her keyboard. Iono made an error during a livestream and it was cut off.
And many others who were unmentioned faced their own problems or coped in their own way.
Gary could not stop grinning. It was mind blowing. Just inconceivable. How was this possible? That Ash Ketchum, denser than any star out there in the universe, felt attracted to someone of the opposite sex.
Something was wrong. It must be a glitch in the system. The world must be crying out. There was no way Gary felt like he was living in reality. He had to get all of this on camera and promptly started recording everything.
It had to be said. A girl that could cause Ash to blush and act like a fool was rarer than any Legendary Pokemon!
Leaf and Misty had absolutely hollowed expressions. Giselle on the other hand noticed the way Ash was acting and found it amusing.
"Why hello there, who might you be?" Giselle asked in a playful tone.
"H-Hello, my name, it's Ash… A-Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town." Ash furiously blushed when Giselle directed her attention at him.
He stuttered!?
Everyone had the same roaring thought in their minds.
Ahh… My Ash… Why am I not the one that made him feel that way…
Leaf was in despair as she watched Ash act out of character.
Out of all the people possible, it had to be this hussy!?
Misty grit her teeth and drilled holes into Giselle with her glare.
Giselle approached Ash who took a step back and turned his face away from her. "My, you're cute. You're their friend, right?"
"Y-Yeah." He squeaked out.
"You must be someone really reliable for them to want you involved." She reasoned.
"I-I suppose so…" He slowly nodded.
"This is too good." Gary was having the time of his life. This was prime entertainment right before him.
"Stay away from him!" Misty shouted.
"Don't you realize he's not comfortable around you!?" Leaf shouted.
Misty and Leaf exchanged stares. They immediately understood each other, shook hands, and nodded as a temporary truce was formed between them.
The two girls latched on to each of Ash's arms and pulled him away from Giselle, glaring daggers at her.
The three maintained their standoffish positions with poor Ash in the middle. Verity stepped in to soothe the situation with a wryly smile.
"We're not getting anywhere by staring at each other. Since we both want to prove our respective efforts aren't worthless, let's decide it with a battle!" She suggested.
"Then we'll clobber you and that unwarranted sense of superiority you cling to!" Leaf answered.
"Get ready to get schooled more than you've been from any class taken at this pretentious school!" Misty continued.
"Like I said, this place is not that bad!" Risa complained.
The battle about to take place was moved to a field and pool next to each other.
"I'll show you why my Clefariy is amazing. Who's my opponent?" Leaf asked.
"I'll go first. As for my Pokemon, I'll use this." Risa picked up a Poke Ball from one of the trays. "Machop is a Fighting-type and they're obviously strong against Normal-types. Sorry, but this'll be over quickly."
"Fine. I'll shove that preconception of type matchups being everything out of your immature mind." Leaf smirked with her hands to her hips.
The two sent out their respective Pokemon and Brock, the referee, called for the start of the battle.
"Machop, Karate Chop!" Machop followed Risa's command and struck with a downward chop.
"Minimize!" Leaf's Clefairy shrunk in size and avoided the chop. It followed up with a DoubleSlap after expanding back to its normal size right in front of Machop's face.
Machop received five slaps and cried in pain and shock. While the Fighting-type was stunned, Clefairy used Echoed Voice and the loud sound waves sent it sprawling on the ground.
"Machop is unable to battle, the winner is Leaf!" Brock.
"No way! I used one move while you got to make three in a row!" Risa was deeply shocked.
"Do you think real life is an RPG where your opponent will kindly wait for your turn?" Leaf sarcastically said.
"This is nothing like the simulations…" Risa scratched her head.
Her friend Verity sighed from the sidelines. "As I thought, Risa still hasn't adjusted to live battles yet."
Verity shook her head and came up next. Her opponent, Misty, took position.
"Even though you might be a former Gym Leader, what this school teaches isn't something to scoff at still." Verity said.
"And there are some things you'll never learn from staying in one place and burying your head in textbooks." Misty replied.
Verity sent out her Piplup and Misty did the same with Staryu.
"Even though you're a part of this school, I admit that you have good taste in Pokemon…" Misty reluctantly praised while biting her fingernail.
Piplup and Staryu clashed with Water Guns as they became active on the field.
"Thunderbolt!" Staryu pointed with its top appendage and shot electricity at Piplup.
"Mud Sport!" Piplup slammed its fins to the ground, sending mud flying and protecting it from Thunderbolt.
"She's good…" Misty adjusted her impression of Verity.
"What's the matter, this isn't all you've got? I'd be sorely disappointed if this region's Gym Leaders turn out to be as weak as you." Verity mockingly said.
Misty's eyebrow twitched. "Try not to act too embarrassed when I expose who's the real weakling!"
"Why are they so antagonistic with each other? They have similar tomboy personalities and use Water Pokemon. They should be getting along instead…" Risa sighed.
"Think, Misty, think. You have to come up with an unorthodox strategy she won't see coming…" Misty's eyes lit up. "That's it, I'll just do what Ash does! Staryu, Rapid Spin on the mud and send it back!"
Staryu spun its body and the fresh mud on the ground flew and landed on Piplup, covering it from head to toe.
"What!?" Verity shouted.
"Tri Attack! But only use the fire one!" Staryu formed three orbs and charged energy into them. Two of the orbs remained hovering around it while the third one sprayed flames towards Piplup. It caused some damage and heated up the mud, making it hardened so that Piplup would have difficulty moving around.
"Piplup!" Verity cried out worryingly.
"Hehe." Misty smirked. "Thunderbolt!"
Although the mud did protect Piplup, the power packed behind Staryu's Thunderbolt was too much and fried it.
"Piplup is unable to battle, the winner is Misty!" Brock announced the end of the battle.
"Thank you for your hard work, Piplup." Verity recalled her Pokemon. "I admit that you are strong. But Giselle is at the top of the beginners class of people who have strength equal to Trainers that have two Badges."
"That's nothing to Ash. He's on a higher level than that." Misty smiled.
"That's some confidence you have for your friend. Now I'm curious." Verity widened her eyes.
The two vacated the field. Giselle and Ash took up their positions.
"Crush her, Ash!" Leaf shouted.
"Make her cry for mercy!" Misty shouted.
"What spiteful girls! You should reconsider who you keep as company, Ash." Giselle held her cheek with one hand and said to Ash with a voice steeped in warmth, pissing off the girls further.
"They're not bad people…" Ash just didn't understand why they were so mad. He understood they didn't like being undermined as Trainers, but this was going a little too far in his opinion.
"But I worry for you. It's not good to be around a bunch of savages who have a problem with other people diligently learning to become Trainers in ways that are unlike theirs. It's not like they've got a position to say what's the right way to be a Trainer." Giselle patiently explained to him.
"That still doesn't make it right for you to talk bad about them!" Ash asserted. "Just because you have a pretty face-" Ash was interrupted when two empty Poke Balls were embedded into his face and fell off. "What are you two doing!?" Ash turned to Leaf and Misty in disbelief.
"I'm dying over here!" Gary wheezed.
"Enough, let us settle who's right in battle. Cubone!"
"We'll answer as well! Pikachu!"
The two Pokemon appeared on the field and immediately went on the offensive. Cubone went for a Bone Club, but Pikachu avoided every swing of its club within its range.
"Grass Knot!" Pikachu slammed his paws to the ground and roots sprout out and entangled Cubone's feet.
"Can a Pikachu learn that move!? I thought they were nothing more than pets owned by girls!" Giselle was shocked at the mouse using a move that was unconventional to its species.
"Me and Pikachu practiced in a field of grass and flowers to feel and become one with nature. It took three days, but he was able to learn to control Grass energy." Ash politely explained.
"I had no idea that form of training was possible." Giselle blinked. "Cubone, Flamethrower!"
Cubone spewed a jet of flames from its mouth, burning the roots and then changing targets to Pikachu, hitting him and forcing the mouse back.
Continuing the offense, Cubone threw its club with Bonemerang. Pikachu was quick to react and swatted away the club in the air with his tail. Cubone then had a breakdown from not having its club return to it.
"Hold on a moment, Cubone can't fight at his best without his club!" Giselle lost her cool when her Cubone's club fell from his hand.
"You should always try to expect the unexpected and adapt to the situation. Here's another lesson, keep an eye on your surroundings and make use of them." Ash felt like he had a duty to enlighten her. "Pikachu, pick up Cubone and throw him into the pool."
Pikachu nodded and lifted the distressed Cubone over his head. He was promptly thrown into the water without mercy. Cubone was finished as Pikachu used Thunderbolt on the pool, electrocuting Cubone underwater.
"Cubone is unable to battle, the winner is Ash!" Brock announced.
"Woohoo, you showed her, Ash!" Leaf cheered.
"Did you see that, vixen!? This is the power of a Trainer who explores the world on foot!" Misty hollered.
Giselle collapsed down to her knees and covered her face as tears poured out from her eyes. "My poor Cubone! This isn't how it was supposed to go!"
Risa and Verity rushed to their friend's side. They comforted her and gave Ash a dirty look.
"Look at what you've done! You made her cry, you bully!" Risa shouted with her teeth showing.
"How can you be so cruel!?" Verity was much the same and blamed Ash.
"I'm the villain now!?" Ash was so confused. How did things end up this way?
Meanwhile, Leaf and Misty booed at the girls, sticking their tongues out and pulling one lower eyelid down, and giving them the thumbs down.
Brock was exasperated from everything. Gary fell to the floor clutching his belly in pain.
After everyone had calmed down, it was time for Ash and his group to continue their journey. Seeing them off was Risa with an apologetic face.
"Thanks again for coming by. And don't worry about Giselle, she's gotten over it." Risa said.
"I see. Tell her I hope for the best for her." Ash requested, feeling a bit guilty over what happened.
"Will do." Risa giggled. "And I think she's going to take this loss as a valuable lesson and grow much more from here on out. She said how she's missing out on a ton just for focusing on her studies alone."
"I'm glad I could help open her eyes on that." Ash smiled.
"And not just Giselle. Me and Verity have to thank you and your friends. Verity always thought about dropping off from school to go on a journey of her own and I think you helped her settle on something. I'm going to spend more time with Pokemon and I'll do it by catching an Eevee for myself." Risa told him.
"That's great! I hope to cross paths with you all again someday." Ash said.
"Then, to commemorate this day, say cheese!" Risa wrapped an arm around his shoulder and got him and herself on camera for a selfie shot.
After that, Risa returned to Pokemon Tech. Ash approached Gary from the entrance to the school.
"Well, it seems like my job here is done." Gary said.
"But you didn't do anything." Ash deadpanned.
"Nevermind that, how have you been? Didya see anything interesting since we last met? Went somewhere fun?" Gary asked.
"I sure did! A lot has happened in a single month." Ash puffed his chest out proudly.
"This I gotta hear."
Ash handed Gary his Pokedex for him to see what Pokemon he's met and went to recount his trip to Rota. "So after winning my first Badge, I went to Rota in time for their Festival of Heroes."
Gary's smile froze as he looked further into the Pokemon registered in Ash's Pokedex sorted by date of encounter.
Raikou, Entei, and Suicune on his first day? What the fuck? Mew!?
"That's when I met Aaron's Lucario and he trained me into becoming an Aura Guardian. Well, I'm still green since I can't read the manual written by Aaron yet." Ash continued.
Aaron? THE Aaron from the legends? His Lucario is still alive? Ash is an Aura Guardian!?
Gary slapped the Pokedex closed and turned to Ash with a deathly serious look.
"Ash, you should avoid thoughtlessly showing anyone your Pokedex from now on. Have you gotten a lock for this? Keep the entries of the Legendary Pokemon here out of sight." Gary sternly advised him.
"Professor Oak made a lock to hide the entry for Ho-Oh." Ash said.
Gary felt his mind reeling. Ho-Oh? Dear Arceus, what is happening around his friend.
"Tell me the password and I'll update the lock to automatically hide entries for Legendary Pokemon. Something tells me this won't be the last time for you." Gary shook his head. "And about that manual, you can't read it because it's in ancient Kantonese I'm guessing?"
"Yup." Ash pulled out the manual to show it.
Gary was deep in thought before asking. "Want me to help translate that?"
"You would? Thanks! Professor Oak already sent someone waiting for me at Vermillion City, but having more people involved is okay!" Ash said.
"Is it a good idea to show something this invaluable to others?" Gary asked dubiously.
"Ilene said it was okay. It wouldn't matter much for her." Ash provided.
He's on a first name basis with the Queen of Rota? Wow. He works fast.
"It's not my style to receive something without giving something in return. Let's make a deal. I have my camera, so let me take a picture of every page in there and I'll keep you updated on my translation progress. I don't have much to give, so give me some time to come up with something good in the future." Gary offered.
"Sure, I don't mind!" Ash shook his hand.
"Glad to cooperate with you again." Gary smirked.
Afterword:
I'm thinking about the St. Anne a lot and what will happen. Look forward to the unexpected appearance of a few characters.
UltimateCCC:
Ash having an Armarouge and Ceruledge does sound awesome.
thanhmacu:
Wow, even you want Ash to have a Pokemon from that evolution line.
Wissper0:
Hello, thanks for reading my fic and posting a review!
Okay, I'll come up with something so that Ash can get two Charcadet eventually.
If you have any questions, please add them in the reviews or PM me.