Two hours later, Ace and Green returned to Ace's house.
Ace put down the large bags carried by his Aerodactyl and Crobat. Seeing this, his Pokémon also came over to help, moving the ingredients into the house.
"Here, this is for you."
Ace walked over to Green and handed her a wrapped bag.
"What's this?"
Green was a little confused, but as she opened the bag and saw what was inside, she froze, then subconsciously tried to return it to Ace.
"They're women's clothes. You can't give them back to me; I can't wear them," Ace said, rolling his eyes. He pushed the bag back toward her and added, "You might as well dress a little better. You aren't exactly poor, are you?"
With that, Ace went back into his house, walked into the kitchen, and started preparing the ingredients, sorting them before putting them in the fridge.
In the yard, Ash walked over curiously and said to Green, "What did Ace give you? Why didn't he give us anything?"
"None of your business."
Green quickly hugged the bag and hurried back to her room.
"Strange woman," Gary said coolly before turning away.
Inside her room, after locking the door, Green took the clothes out of the bag and carefully spread them on the bed.
It was a full outfit: a sleeveless top, a short skirt, and a hat. The style was the same as Green's attire in the future.
Green picked up the hat, held the brim with both hands, and put it on her head.
Looking at herself in the mirror, her face turned slightly red as she murmured, "Such high-end clothes… But will they suit me?"
After some hesitation, Green took off her very cheap black dress and changed into the new clothes Ace had bought for her.
When she walked back outside, the eyes of Ace and the others, who were talking among themselves, lit up.
Green was already pretty, but the very somber black dress she had been wearing was suppressing her charm. Now, dressed in the Green sleeveless top and red short skirt, that gloomy vibe was gone, and Green's youthful and vibrant aura finally shone through.
"Is it really okay to dress like this?" Green asked, holding her hat tightly with both hands, her face flushed.
"It looks great," Ace said, giving her a thumbs-up. "You've been reborn, after all. Those old clothes aren't for you anymore."
Green heard Ace's words and knew exactly what he was referring to. Having someone who truly understood her was rare and precious. Green smiled at Ace, and the look of bitterness that had long been on her face finally faded a little.
"You changed clothes, and I almost didn't recognize you. Since when did Green get so pretty?" Ash said, scratching his head and making a slightly awkward remark that earned him a glare from Green.
As for Gary, he was indifferent, sitting on the sofa and looking at some research books that Ace had provided.
Just then, the door to Ace's house was pushed open. His Gengar called out to Ace and made a gesture.
Ace's relaxed expression immediately turned cold because Gengar's gesture was telling him there was an enemy.
Ace immediately rushed out, his muscles tensing as he went into battle mode. The sudden change also made Ash and the others nervous; they followed Ace and rushed out of the room.
Outside the yard, a burly, shirtless man with a muscular body squinted at Ace's house.
Seeing Ace rush out, the man calmly said, "Bruno, long time no see."
"Bruno," Ace said, instantly recognizing the newcomer with a cold tone. "I'm surprised you're still alive."
"Ace, who is he?" Ash asked, coming to Ace's side. He felt pressure from Bruno and knew he wouldn't be easy to handle.
"He's Bruno, one of the Elite Four," Green quickly explained to Ash and the others. Ace had asked her to track him down, so of course she had looked up his information.
"You're that girl?" Bruno also recognized Green. While he didn't know what she looked like, he wasn't foolish. Based on Agatha's words at the time and Green revealing his identity so easily, Bruno could guess who she was.
However, Bruno ignored Green and looked at Ace. "The other Elite Four members are missing. It looks like Lance and the others failed. So you don't have to worry about any further retaliation."
"What do you mean?" Ace frowned slightly, genuinely confused by Bruno's words.
"I went to the Indigo Plateau. It was destroyed. A Ground-type expert was the one who ruined the entire place." Bruno sighed. "If I'm not mistaken, Lance and the others were probably defeated by Giovanni. The Elite Four have officially become history. I'm leaving now, and as someone who could defeat me, I just wanted to come and say goodbye."
"???" Ace was completely bewildered. Didn't I get rid of Lance and the others? How did Giovanni get involved?
However, Ace soon realized that, according to the original plot, Giovanni might have gone to the Indigo Plateau to help Ash and his friends take on the Elite Four.
After all, in Giovanni's eyes, the entire Kanto region was his territory, and he wouldn't let any other forces cause trouble there.
It was highly possible that Giovanni had learned about the Elite Four from some source and was preparing to teach them a lesson.
He just didn't expect that Ace had already dealt with Lance and the others. Finding their hideout empty, he decided to destroy it as a warning.
Unbeknownst to Ace, Giovanni's actions had successfully removed him from the list of suspects.
If Giovanni had been there, Ace would have given him a big hug and said thank you, then happily let him take the blame.
Giovanni's timing was simply perfect. He arrived just as Lance and the others had left the Indigo Plateau to attack Ace, leaving the island empty.
Bruno, who had survived, returned to the Indigo Plateau and recognized the destruction as Giovanni's work.
This series of coincidences perfectly cleared Ace's name, allowing him to have some peace and quiet for a while.
"Goodbye, Ace," Bruno said, looking at him. "When I get stronger, I'll come looking for you again."
With that, Bruno released a Crobat and, under its guidance, walked away without looking back, giving Ace and the others no chance to react.
Ace didn't make a move either. Bruno was a very pure trainer. In his life, he would never think of anything other than becoming stronger. Otherwise, Agatha and the others wouldn't have needed to manipulate him; Bruno would have cooperated with them to gang up on Ace.