With his left hand, Ash gently stroked the Eternatus coiled around his neck. With his right, he patted Mewtwo on the shoulder.
As for why he didn't pat its head—
Well, Mewtwo was nearly two meters tall. Ash simply couldn't reach.
"Mewtwo, you're family to me too. If you're willing, you can also come live together with us in the backyard."
Ash spoke earnestly, his words filled with sincerity.
Lies couldn't deceive anyone—especially not Mewtwo.
No falsehood could hide from it!
Ash truly wanted to become family with Mewtwo.
Mewtwo's gaze flickered, hesitation flashing through its eyes.
If it went to the backyard, the same situation as now would surely happen again.
Ash wouldn't belong to it alone.
So—
'Sorry. I can't go back with you. I still have something I must accomplish.'
'If you ever want to find me, just call my name.'
As it spoke, Mewtwo extended a finger and gently pressed it against Ash's forehead.
Ash, forgive me this once.
[Lt. Surge: Is it just me, or does this scene—and these lines—feel really familiar? I swear I've seen this somewhere before.]
[Diantha: It's not your imagination. Zacian once said the exact same thing to Ash.]
[Lance: I remember that Darkrai in Alamos Town said something similar too.]
[Professor Birch: This is strange… what kind of charm does Ash have, to make so many deities willing to help him?]
[Lance: I've realized something terrifying. If Ash wanted to, he could pull together a full roster of Legendary Pokémon and fight a full battle.]
[Tobias: Interesting. So Legendary Pokémon are allowed to participate in full battles.]
[Brandon: What do you mean by that? Don't tell me you want to use that Darkrai in a League battle?]
[Tobias: Since it's not forbidden, why not?]
Audience: Go ahead, fight then—one battle and everyone goes silent.
Even if your Darkrai isn't on the level of the one from Alamos Town, entering a tournament would still be a complete steamroll.
Who knows which poor soul will run into him!
This Legendary Pokémon guy really isn't human!
...
On the screen—
A stream of light-blue psychic energy flowed into Ash's mind.
This was Mewtwo, recalling how it had read Ash's memories and seen other deities leave behind the same words.
If Ash ever chose to call for help, he would definitely call for it first.
Leaving its own mark in Ash's mind—so long as Ash called its name, Mewtwo could arrive by his side instantly.
Moreover, Mewtwo's psychic power would allow Ash's brain to become immune to all forms of attack!
'Take it. This is my gift.'
Watching the interactions between Ash, Mewtwo, and Eternatus—and seeing Ash's bright smile—
Chloe, standing just a few steps away, bit her lip tightly.
Compared to humans, Ash seemed to like Pokémon much more.
If she were a Pokémon… would she get more of Ash's attention?
The moment that thought appeared—
Chloe hurriedly patted her burning cheeks.
What am I thinking?!
If I turned into a Pokémon, I wouldn't be able to marry Ash!
The moment the topic of marriage came up—
Visible steam practically rose from Chloe's head.
Steam… Steam Girl!
Thankfully, neither Ash nor Mewtwo noticed Chloe's odd behavior.
That was the only reason she wasn't utterly mortified.
However, Chloe had clearly forgotten one thing.
There was still a Pikachu on her shoulder.
Seeing Chloe like this, Pikachu spread its paws and shook its head helplessly.
No helping it—its Trainer's charm was just too great.
The journey to Mirage Island had come to an end.
Somewhat regretfully, Ash still hadn't been able to give Mewtwo a home.
Under Mewtwo's reluctant gaze, Ash and Chloe left the island.
The purpose of their trip had been successfully fulfilled.
Eternatus was now able to communicate through the residual psychic power left behind by Mew.
For Ash, this had been a perfect journey.
But for Chloe—
It was suffering.
All the way back to Professor Cerise's Laboratory in Vermilion City, Chloe had dark circles under her eyes.
Am I being too reserved? Should I be more proactive?
These two questions haunted her constantly.
She felt that if she didn't take initiative soon, Ash would be stolen away by some random person—or Pokémon—from who-knows-where!
Absolutely not!
No way!
"Chloe, why is your face so red?"
In the backyard, Professor Cerise's voice suddenly sounded behind her.
Chloe, lost in her own thoughts, jumped in fright.
"Dad! I'm fine!"
Startled awake, Chloe's eyes darted around, as if her thoughts had been exposed.
"Did you catch a cold? It's getting colder—remember to dress warmly."
Seeing her strong reaction, Professor Cerise asked with concern.
The temperature had been dropping recently. He couldn't let his precious daughter catch a cold.
Professor Cerise was worrying about Chloe's health—
Completely unaware that her heart had already been stolen.
After finally brushing her father off, Chloe let out a sigh of relief.
That was close! Almost got found out!
But after that scare—
Chloe finally confirmed her own feelings!
She couldn't let Ash be ruined by those flashy temptresses!
She had to—
"Chloe, what's wrong? You've been standing here for ages."
Another voice suddenly sounded beside her!
A familiar voice!
It was Ash!
Chloe hurriedly turned around—only to crash straight into his chest!
Ash's body was solid as steel. The impact sent Chloe stumbling backward, about to fall.
Fortunately, Ash reacted quickly.
He wrapped an arm around her waist and caught her.
"Are you okay?"
[Lusamine: So handsome! Ash is like a knight—always appearing at just the right moment.]
[Professor Oak: Cerise, you're a bit slow. Can't you see Chloe's fallen in love? You even asked if she caught a cold. As a father, that's a bit unqualified.]
[Professor Cerise: Do you think I don't want to say it? I can't! If I directly asked, 'Chloe, are you blushing because you like Ash?' I guarantee she wouldn't talk to me for a year.]
[Diantha: Thankfully I don't have that problem. If I like someone, I go straight in! No regrets!]
[Chloe: Don't talk nonsense! I don't like Ash at all!]
[Caitlin: Oh~ 'I don't like Ash at all.' Do you even believe that yourself?]
[Norman: I think my May could give it a shot too. Ash would make a fine son-in-law.]
[Johanna: That means my Dawn has a chance too~ Ash is wonderful. If you meet him in the future, make sure you cherish him!]
[Dawn, May: Mom! Dad!]
[Ash: Um… I actually like Pokémon more! I'll be with Pikachu forever!]
[Sonia: Forget it. What you're discussing right now is something Ash, as the person involved, can't possibly understand.]
In her bedroom, Chloe twisted her fingers together.
Why… why was her heart racing like this?
She clearly didn't know Ash that well.
Yet everything about her future self five years later felt vividly real to her now.
Especially the face on the screen, looking down at her.
Ash… so handsome!
Her face was burning!
She felt like she could barely breathe!
…
On the screen—
"I… I'm fine."
Chloe steadied herself against Ash's arm and stood up.
She awkwardly brushed dust from her clothes, even though she hadn't touched the ground at all.
Say it!
Chloe, say it already!
Didn't you rehearse what you wanted to say when you saw him?!
Why are you mute now?!
"Chloe, I heard there's an Eevee that keeps imitating other Eevee. It sounds interesting—want to go take a look together?"
In the end, Ash spoke first.
He didn't know what was wrong with Chloe, but her nervousness was obvious.
To ease the awkward atmosphere, Ash started the conversation.
To avoid embarrassing her further, he even walked a few steps ahead.
Only after walking several meters did Ash lower his voice and ask Pikachu on his shoulder,
"Do you know what's going on with Chloe? Ever since we got back from Mirage Island, she's been kind of absent-minded."
"Pika~"
Pikachu shot Ash a sideways glance.
Sigh… you really don't understand your own charm at all.
"Ash, wait."
Chloe's shy voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Um, I wasn't talking bad about you just now~"
Ash turned around awkwardly.
Crap—caught talking behind someone's back!
Chloe froze, momentarily at a loss for words.
"That's not it! I have something to tell you!"
"Huh? What is it? Don't tell me you don't want to see that Eevee? We could go to Galar to see fossils instead! I heard they unearthed a new batch recently—really well preserved, and you can revive new fossil Pokémon!"
Seeing that Chloe hadn't stopped him because of overhearing him, Ash relaxed.
He launched into an enthusiastic recounting of what he'd heard at the lab.
But as he spoke, something felt off.
Chloe… was crying?
Why was she crying?
Ash stopped talking.
"Chloe… why are you crying?"
He hurried over.
Seeing Chloe with tears like tiny pearls rolling down her cheeks, Ash panicked.
So… how do you even comfort a crying girl?!
This is way harder than dealing with Pokémon!
Professor Oak! I don't know this one!
Just as Ash stood there helplessly—
Even the hand he'd raised to wipe away her tears froze in midair.
Why?
Because Chloe suddenly threw her arms around him.
Ash froze.
Pikachu on his shoulder froze.
The audience froze.
Even Professor Cerise, who had been secretly watching from behind a tree, turned to stone on the spot!
[Professor Cerise: Ah! No—this fast?! Chloe, how did you fall this hard already?! Restraint! A girl's most important virtue is restraint!]
[Mallow: If you keep being restrained, your perfect son-in-law will get stolen by some random Pokémon!]
[Norman: This lady's right! Girls need to be decisive! You absolutely can't hand over the one you love!]
[Johanna: Dawn, did you learn that?! If you meet Ash in the future, just go straight in! Take him down for Mom!]
[Ash: Huh? Isn't this just a hug between friends? Why is everyone reacting so strongly? Misty hugs me like this all the time!]
Everyone else: ...
It sounded so reasonable they couldn't even argue back!
[Misty: Ash, you idiot! Don't say things like that so casually!]
[Caitlin: Hahaha~ Friends! So this is what 'friends' mean to Ash! I'm dying laughing. Anyone who wants to date him in the future is facing hell-mode difficulty!]
Kanto — Professor Oak's Laboratory, Backyard!
"Red, don't friends act like this all the time?"
Red pondered for a moment.
"Yeah. No problem at all."
"Exactly, friends interact like this normally."
Ash and Red both fully agreed.
This left Gary and Blue completely speechless.
Did these two trade all their emotional intelligence for battle strength?
Thinking about the girls who might date these two in the future, Gary and Blue silently offered their condolences.
This was truly hell-level difficulty.
…
On the screen—
Being hugged so suddenly, Ash's entire body stiffened.
The hand hovering in the air neither knew whether to pull back nor to rest down.
Ash had no idea what was wrong with Chloe and could only maintain his posture as best he could.
Soft sobbing sounds echoed by his ear.
Only after a long while did the sobs finally fade.
Clearly, Chloe had gathered courage in Ash's arms before lifting her head.
"Ash… do you have someone you like?"
After saying that, it felt as if all the strength had drained from her body.
If she hadn't been in Ash's arms, she would've collapsed.
At that moment, she desperately awaited his answer.
She wanted—no, needed—to hear her name from his lips.
Then—
"I don't really know what level counts as 'liking.' Whether it's Misty, Dawn, May, Miss Cynthia, or Serena… I like all of them."
"I mean… being together makes me happy!"
"When we travel together, we're always happy!"
There was nostalgia and joy on Ash's face.
But Chloe felt only disappointment.
That disappointment, however, didn't last long.
"I also really like Chloe. Every day we traveled together made me happy!"
Ash's smile grew even brighter.
Chloe was different from Misty and the others.
When Ash traveled with Misty, he was only about ten years old.
Back then, he didn't understand emotions at all.
His sole goal was becoming a Pokémon Master.
It wasn't until he won the championship in Alola that he finally took a proper break.
And during that time, Ash matured quite a bit.
At least—he was no longer completely clueless about feelings.
He had some idea of Chloe's affection.
But he didn't understand what that feeling truly meant.
So really—humans were too complicated!
Pokémon were much simpler!
"I really like Chloe."
Those words were devastatingly effective on Chloe.
So much so that she completely ignored everything Ash had said before.
"I really like you too, Ash."
Turning into Steam Girl once more, Chloe's cheeks flushed red.
She looked like a shrimp that had been boiled—
Completely cooked!
"Yeah, I really like you too, Chloe."
"Then! Ash, will you go out with me?! I want to be your girlfriend!"
"Aren't we already friends?"
"Are you an idiot?! I mean girlfriend! I want to be Ash's girlfriend!"
"Huh? What's the difference? Aren't they both friends?!"
A few lines—
And Ash completely drained Chloe's willpower!
So—was she really going to give up halfway like this?!
If words weren't enough—
Then she'd make it real!
Chloe released her hold on Ash and stepped back slowly.
"Ash, I really—really like you! You might not understand now, but someday you will!"
"I like you."
Just as Ash was about to respond—
Chloe suddenly threw herself into his arms again.
Her burning lips pressed against his.
All of Chloe's emotions turned into a blazing, fervent kiss.
Crack.
Something shattered.
Oh—it was Professor Cerise's heart.
Pikachu stared at the scene in disbelief.
Its dog—got kissed again!
Ash… you've finally grown up.
Living up to expectations, Ash finally reacted.
This scene felt familiar.
That chestnut-haired girl had once done the same thing.
But that kiss had been nowhere near as intense as Chloe's.
Back then, there was regret—
Now, it was finally made whole.
After a long time, Chloe finally pulled away.
She stepped back several paces and blinked playfully at Ash.
"Ash, that's what 'liking' means~"
So… this is liking?
Ash raised a hand to touch his still-burning lips, his face flushed crimson before he realized it.
Ash… blushed.
….
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