A moment later, Ash had arrived at Professor Oak's lab.
"Hello Professor Oak, where is Pikachu?"
Ash went straight to the point, stating his reason for coming.
"Ah, Ash, Pikachu is in the incubator. When we rescued him, he was already unconscious."
Professor Oak quickly put down what he was doing and explained to Ash.
"Unconscious? How could that be? Wasn't Pikachu fine?"
Ash was a bit confused now. Pikachu had just taken a nap, so how could there be another problem?
Professor Oak took out Pikachu. "This Pikachu must have fought something; there were signs of a struggle nearby."
"When we arrived, this Pikachu was barely holding on. Do you two know each other?"
Pikachu immediately ran to Ash, jumping onto his shoulder, "Pika, Pika~"
It was clear that Pikachu had fully recovered and was full of energy.
"Thank you, Professor Oak. This Pikachu was trapped in a swamp, and I rescued him."
Seeing the energetic Pikachu, the weight on Ash's mind was lifted.
"Ash, next time you go into unfamiliar places, you must be more careful. After all, some Pokémon don't have very good dispositions."
Professor Oak looked at Ash with a smile, showing no blame, only offering a few reminders.
After all, everyone is impulsive in their youth, and it's understandable for someone Ash's age to be curious about Pokémon.
Ash scratched his head. "Sorry, Professor Oak, for making you worry. I'll definitely be careful next time."
"Professor Oak, if there's nothing else, I'll take Pikachu home now."
At this moment, Ash was eager to share his Pikachu; this was his first Pokémon.
"Wait a moment, Ash. Do you need Poké Balls? I can give you a few."
Looking at Ash's joyful face, Professor Oak was certain and trusted Ash's character.
"Poké Balls? Really? Is that okay, Professor Oak?" Ash was a bit doubtful if he had heard correctly. Was he really going to get Poké Balls?
Professor Oak smiled slightly. "Of course. Although I don't have any Pokémon to give away here, I do have Poké Balls."
"Ash, you and Gary will be graduating in a few days, right? You really need to work hard!"
Ash nodded. "Yes, Professor Oak, I will work hard and definitely live up to everyone's expectations!"
At this moment, Ash's eyes were incredibly firm, as if there was light in them, giving people a very reliable feeling.
Seeing Ash like this, Professor Oak also felt relieved.
A moment later, Professor Oak rummaged around and finally found a few Poké Balls.
"Here, take them. I hope you and Gary can all become excellent Trainers."
Ash took the Poké Balls with both hands. "Don't worry, Professor Oak, one day I will stand at the pinnacle of Trainers!"
After thanking Professor Oak, Ash went straight to Xiao Mu's house.
It wasn't late yet, and along the way, a gentle breeze blew as Ash and Pikachu played together.
Soon, Ash arrived at Xiao Mu's house.
"Ash! It's so good that you're okay!"
Xiao Mu hugged Ash tightly, squeezing him. It was clear this was true friendship.
"Alright, Xiao Mu, I'm going to become the top Trainer, so how could I fall so easily?"
"Pika~ Pika." Pikachu echoed his words with great joy.
Xiao Mu was startled. He hadn't noticed that there was a Pikachu just now.
Xiao Mu said with some confusion, "Ash, how is this Pikachu with you?"
When they found Ash, this Pikachu was also by his side, but he wasn't in very good condition.
Ash smiled slightly. "This Pikachu? He's my partner now, and he's going to travel with me from now on!"
After explaining his experiences with Pikachu, Xiao Mu finally understood the whole story.
"So that's how it is! Congratulations, Ash!" Xiao Mu offered his sincere blessings, his eyes showing a hint of envy.
One Pikachu already surpassed many of his peers, as buying a Pokémon required a lot of money.
And while Pokémon could be sold, the buyer had to register their identity and ensure they wouldn't harm the Pokémon.
Health data for the Pokémon had to be sent every year, and if a buyer was found to have maliciously harmed a Pokémon, they would be permanently stripped of the opportunity to raise Pokémon!
It had to be said that such regulations could effectively Protect Pokémon and create a beautiful world for humans and Pokémon.
Xiao Mu looked at the Pikachu in front of him and chuckled somewhat lewdly, "Little Pikachu, let big brother give you a hug, hehehe..."
With that, Xiao Mu reached out to hug Pikachu.
"Pikachu!!"
Zzzzz, Xiao Mu and Ash were both hit by Thunder Shock, glowing like light bulbs.
A moment later, both of them had explosive hair, exhaled a puff of black smoke, and their bodies were still twitching slightly.
This was a case of collateral damage. Because Pikachu was on Ash's shoulder, the Thunder Shock attack also hit Ash.
Ash, dumbfounded, slowly uttered a sentence: "X-Xiao Mu, it's all because your expression was too... lewd."
At this moment, Xiao Mu seemed to have been shocked silly, laughing foolishly, "That... that was so exhilarating."
After this incident, Xiao Mu no longer dared to carelessly touch Pikachu. Although it was exhilarating to an extent, he didn't want to experience it again.
"Ash, I know you have a picture of Gardevoir tucked in your history book. I understand everything, hehehe..."
At this moment, Xiao Mu again showed a lewd expression, looking as if he understood everything.
"No, Xiao Mu, what do you mean? That's just a hobby of mine, it's definitely not what you're thinking!"
Seeing Xiao Mu's expression, Ash felt like he couldn't clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River, so he quickly tried to explain.
Watching Ash desperately explain, Xiao Mu just chuckled and chose not to believe him.
After all, who knows where the saying came from: explanation is concealment, and concealment is the truth!
Ash shook his head helplessly. It seemed his image as a good, upstanding citizen was now completely shattered.
Xiao Mu patted Ash's shoulder. "You can't completely blame yourself. After all, what young man can resist a Gardevoir?"
From his words, it seemed Xiao Mu was also a man of similar tastes.
Xiao Mu said somewhat mysteriously, "Ash, I'll show you something good. I'm sure you'll absolutely love it."