[Caitlin: My maiden heart—! Chloe, I misunderstood you! So you were the most formidable one all along!]
[Elesa: A kiss to seal the deal! No matter how clueless Ash is about romance, he'll definitely remember this scene!]
[Misty: First kiss! Ash's first kiss is just gone like that! Aaaaah! Ash, where are you?! I'm coming to find you!]
[Brock: Misty, want my secret handbook on romance?]
[Flint: Get me one too! I've wanted to fall in love for ages! Too bad no one appreciates my perfect explosive hairstyle!]
[Lucian: You're probably going to be single for life.]
[Flint: Lucian, you're just jealous of my thick, gorgeous hair! You bald Lucian!]
[Lucian: You're dead.]
[Aaron: Huh? Is Lucian really bald? You really can't tell—could it be a wig with amazing quality?]
[Caitlin: Wait! That's not important! What matters is that Ash was forcefully kissed by Chloe! Doesn't that mean my Ash×Hilda ship is BE?! No! I can't accept this!]
[Cynthia: Whip warning!]
[Lusamine: Candle warning!]
[Diantha: You guys really know how to play~]
[Caitlin: Waaah!!! I'm not playing with you anymore!]
Imagining Caitlin crying behind the light screen, Cynthia's mood instantly improved.
...
On screen—
Chloe's heart was filled with sweetness.
She believed she had stolen Ash's first kiss.
Little did she know that Ash's first kiss had already been taken long ago by Serena.
(Serena: If a single kiss were enough to win Ash, I'd have become his one and only a long time ago!)
Still, Chloe's bold move genuinely left Ash a little dazed.
Just now, a strange and wonderful feeling had risen in his heart.
It even stirred memories of that kiss from Serena years ago.
Fifteen-year-old Ash was no longer a complete greenhorn.
Although he was still hazy about romantic feelings between boys and girls, Chloe's action was more than enough to make him feel shy.
"Remember this, Ash! Your first kiss belongs to me now!"
Ash really wanted to say that wasn't true.
But Chloe had already walked far away.
"Pika pika~"
Pikachu nudged Ash with its arm, wearing an expression that clearly said you've finally grown up.
For the sake of its own foolish trainer, Pikachu had truly exhausted itself with worry.
Judging from today's situation, at the very least, Chloe had already carved out a place in Ash's heart.
That night, Ash still couldn't shake off that strange feeling.
At midnight, moonlight spilled across Ash's face through the window.
Ash suddenly sat upright.
No—what did Chloe mean by that today?!
Weren't they already friends?!
After thinking for ages without reaching any conclusion, Ash chose to lie there and rot.
The next morning—
Pidgey's chirping woke Ash up.
With dark circles like heavy makeup hanging under his eyes, Ash yawned and pushed the door open.
He'd spent the whole night thinking and still couldn't understand what Chloe's words really meant.
"Good morning, Ash!"
"Morning, Chloe!"
Ash yawned again, looking utterly listless.
Outside the door, Chloe was full of energy and already neatly dressed.
"Today I'm going to school. Want to come with me, Ash?"
"School?"
Rubbing his eyes, Ash finally noticed that Chloe wasn't wearing her usual casual outfit.
Instead, she was dressed in a blue sailor-style uniform.
She looked youthful and radiant.
Clearly, after yesterday's confession, Chloe hadn't spent the night tossing and turning like Ash.
She was brimming with vitality.
"Yeah! Our school has lots of really interesting Pokémon," Chloe said with a bright smile.
Since choosing to travel with Ash, Chloe had taken a leave of absence from the Trainer School.
But that didn't mean she couldn't attend classes.
Today happened to be the school's annual open day.
She planned to relive a bit of her campus life.
More importantly—
Bringing Ash to her school was basically a roundabout way of making things official, wasn't it?
Hearing Chloe's words, Ash immediately perked up.
Bang! The door slammed shut.
Chloe froze.
Then—bang!—the door opened again.
Three seconds!
In just three seconds, Ash had changed out of his pajamas and into his adventure gear.
"Let's go, Chloe! I can't wait anymore!"
As he spoke, Ash reached out to grab Chloe's hand.
Clearly, the moment he heard about Pokémon, all those confusing thoughts were tossed straight out of his head.
"W-wait! Eat breakfast first!"
After a pleasant breakfast, Ash and Chloe finally set off.
Before leaving, Ash even made sure to bring out his other Pokémon.
At the Trainer School, Chloe headed to her classroom.
Ash, meanwhile, went straight to the school's park.
Since it was class time, there weren't many people in the park.
Instead, quite a few Pokémon were playing around.
Seeing this, Ash took out his Poké Balls and released his Pokémon as well.
Farfetch'd, Lucario, Cinderace—and Gengar hiding in Ash's shadow.
At that moment, Gengar pulled a picnic cloth out of its four-dimensional pocket.
It spread the cloth on the grass, then took out plenty of snacks and drinks.
After that, it even tied a bow tie around its nonexistent neck.
"Gengar~"
"Thanks, Gengar," Ash said.
[Sabrina: Honestly, Gastly and Gengar are still the cutest!]
[Leon: If Gengar weren't a little scary, it could totally apply to be a butler.]
[Allister: How can there be such an adorable little ghost Pokémon?!]
Gengar's superb skills instantly won over a large number of fans.
Because of its past experience of being abandoned, Gengar was afraid of separation.
Ever since being caught, it had lived in Ash's shadow, acting as his personal butler.
And clearly—
It did an outstanding job.
...
On screen—
After Gengar finished preparing the picnic, Ash comfortably lay down on the cloth.
Looking at the sunlight filtering down from above and the Pokémon running around freely, Ash started to feel drowsy.
Just then—
A red light shot out from his pocket.
Next, a massive Pokémon—like an ancient sauropod—appeared in Ash's view.
It was Bayleef, the Pokémon Ash had caught back in the Johto region.
Bayleef's body was yellow. Around its neck were curled, round leaves, each sprouting a small bud.
A large, sickle-shaped leaf extended from its head, with an oval notch in the middle.
It had red eyes, four legs each with a large claw, and a small tail.
It looked incredibly cute.
The moment Bayleef appeared, it shoved its head right next to Ash and started rubbing against him frantically.
"Bay!"
"Sorry, Bayleef… I forgot to let you out earlier," Ash muttered groggily.
Only then did he recall that Professor Oak had sent him a Pokémon that morning.
From what the professor said, Bayleef had missed him terribly and wanted to come see him.
But because Ash had stayed up all night, his mind was still foggy—
So he forgot to release Bayleef.
Realizing this, Bayleef puffed its face up like a little bun.
Cute, but clearly sulking.
When Ash first caught it, Bayleef had still been a Chikorita.
It was one of the few Pokémon Ash had actively hoped wouldn't evolve.
The reason was simple—
Once it evolved, he wouldn't be able to hold it in his arms anymore.
But due to various circumstances, Chikorita eventually evolved into Bayleef anyway.
Now, Bayleef grew angrier and angrier, Rei—using its little head to nudge Ash.
Ash had no choice.
He gently stroked Bayleef's head with both hands, doing his best to soothe it.
Thankfully, this worked extremely well.
After being comforted for a while, Bayleef finally calmed down completely.
Seeing how exhausted Ash was, Bayleef even released a soothing fragrance from the spices around its neck.
The scent gradually lulled Ash into sleep.
Once Ash had fallen asleep, Bayleef quietly lifted its head.
After looking around and confirming no one was watching, it kissed Ash on the cheek—
Then rubbed vigorously against his chest.
Even through the screen, it was obvious how much Bayleef loved Ash.
Pikachu, already long used to this, simply turned its head away.
As expected—
Compared to humans, Ash was far more popular with Pokémon.
Seeing Ash asleep, Gengar thoughtfully covered him with a blanket.
Then it walked aside, poured itself a cup of tea, and leisurely enjoyed it alone.
Normally playful, Bayleef didn't go join the others this time.
Instead, it knelt quietly beside Ash, guarding him.
[Steven: Why do I feel like Bayleef's feelings for Ash have gone beyond the normal bond between Pokémon and Trainer…]
[Wallace: That's love, Steven! Pokémon's love for humans is this pure and unfiltered—Bayleef just expresses it more boldly!]
[Diantha: So compared to human girls, Ash might actually be more popular with Pokémon—and the feeling's mutual.]
[Norman: Watching this makes me want Ash as my son-in-law… but the competition isn't just girls, it's Pokémon too.]
[Delia: Oh my~ my Ash likes cute girls! Ash, say something already!]
For her son's sake, Delia was truly worried.
She absolutely couldn't let people misunderstand and think Ash liked Pokémon that way.
Sure, such things had happened before—
There were even children born of humans and Pokémon.
But Ash was so popular with girls.
If possible, Delia still hoped her future daughter-in-law would be human.
[Ash: But Pokémon are really cute too.]
[Delia: ...]
[Red: Ash is right. Pokémon are the cutest beings in the world.]
[Blue: Tsk, tsk. As expected of brothers—even your thinking is the same.]
[Brock: No wonder I always felt something was off about Chikorita's feelings for Ash back then—so that's how it was!]
Kanto, Professor Oak's backyard.
Ash, who had been discussing Pokémon strategies with Red, was suddenly attacked.
A massive figure dropped from above, pinning him to the ground.
Then, a tongue started furiously licking his face.
At the same time, a captivating fragrance spread through the air.
Who else could it be but Bayleef?
As a Pokémon, Bayleef could also understand the content shown on the light screen.
When it saw that Ash's first kiss had been taken—
Bayleef puffed its face up in anger!
But once it realized that was a future event, it decided to strike first.
"D-don't pull Bayleef! It tickles!"
While Red and Ash weren't paying attention—
Bayleef secretly licked Ash's lips.
Heehee—now Ash's first kiss belongs to me~
At that moment, the excitement in Bayleef's eyes was impossible to hide.
I really want to lay an egg with Ash!
...
On screen—
"Ding-ding-dang~"
To the sound of a gentle bell, Ash was startled awake.
He lifted his head in confusion, only to find himself in an unfamiliar area.
After a while, when he saw Bayleef beside him, Ash finally came back to his senses.
Nearby, Chloe—already returned—was drinking tea with Gengar.
Everything around them looked peaceful and serene.
Seeing this, Ash smiled in relief.
What a wonderful day.
He stretched and stood up, just about to go grab something to eat—
When a gray shadow flashed past his eyes and dove into the nearby bushes.
What was that?
Not just Ash—
Everyone present, including Chloe, saw the gray figure.
It wasn't particularly fast, but it was very nimble.
Logically speaking, this was the Trainer School's park.
There shouldn't be any dangerous Pokémon.
But just in case—
Ash decided to test it out.
Aura power, activate!
In an instant, Ash locked onto the target.
The figure darted across the picnic setup and snatched a small piece of pizza.
Now—
It was crouched in the bushes, happily munching away.
Seeing this, Ash directly shut off his aura.
There was no need.
From that Pokémon, Ash sensed no threat whatsoever.
One look was enough—diagnosis complete: harmless newbie.
"Chloe, want to go take a look together?"
Since it wasn't dangerous, Ash wanted to see what kind of Pokémon it was.
The bushes in front of them rustled continuously.
Clearly, the owner of that shadow hadn't left.
Ash and Chloe tiptoed closer.
Chloe directly parted the grass, revealing what was underneath.
Eevee.
A small Eevee sat there, eating pizza.
When the grass above was suddenly pulled aside—
The pizza in its mouth dropped straight to the ground.
Instantly, Eevee's face scrunched up into a teary mess.
"Vee~"
"Hey, don't cry! If you want food, we've got plenty!"
Seeing the adorable little thing cry, Chloe's maiden heart exploded.
She immediately picked Eevee up, brought it to the picnic cloth, and handed it an entire box of pizza.
Only then did the tears in Eevee's eyes finally stop.
This time, Ash wasn't as proactive.
Mainly because Eevee's tears reminded him of yesterday's scene.
He was practically traumatized by Chloe at this point.
The moment someone cried, Ash had only one thought—
This is troublesome…
As Chloe fed Eevee, she found it more and more adorable.
She even started thinking about catching it.
Gently stroking the fur behind Eevee's head, she asked in a coaxing tone:
"Eevee, do you have a Trainer?"
"Vee~"
Eevee turned its head and let out a sweet cry.
"If you don't have one, would you like to become my Pokémon?"
Ever since mastering the art of the straight ball!
Chloe had gone into full-on aggressive mode.
If a straight approach worked on Ash, there was no way it wouldn't work on a Pokémon!
Hearing Chloe's invitation, Eevee clearly froze.
Just as it hesitated—
A voice approached from afar.
"Eevee! Where are you? Come back with us!"
Following the sound, two young men in white lab coats appeared, holding nets and searching around the park.
Judging by their words, they were looking for an Eevee!
Could the Eevee in Chloe's arms be the one they were searching for?
But that didn't make sense!
Wasn't Eevee already about to go home with Chloe?!
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