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"I caught a Lapras!"
"Pi-Pikachu!!"
Ash held the Poké Ball high, striking his trademark pose with Pikachu. By this time, Lapras had already entered his Poké Ball.
Afterward, Ash used his Pokédex to transfer the Pidgeot and Blastoise he had on hand back to the Oaks Laboratory.
Although Poké Balls couldn't appear out of thin air by his side, they could be sent to the Oaks Laboratory without the use of any external device. That was the Poké Ball's built-in transfer function, which only allowed for one-way targeted transfers.
If Trainers and backyards could ever achieve mutual transfers, exchanging Pokémon would become much more convenient.
Now that Smartphones had appeared, that kind of transfer function would likely show up soon. According to Professor Oak, it was already under development.
The reason Ash sent Pidgeot and Blastoise back was simple. After arriving in the Orange Islands, he only needed Charizard to act as a temporary flying Pokémon; he didn't need a dedicated one. Pidgeot was better suited for cross-regional travel.
Therefore, Ash chose to send Pidgeot back. As for Blastoise, now that he had Lapras, he no longer needed Blastoise to serve as a "maritime transport tool."
If Squirtle had the time, he should stay in the backyard and figure out how to further his Aura. Although he had found his own path and barely kept up with Charizard and the others, it still wasn't enough.
The power of the gods was meant to be superior. Just finding one's path wasn't enough; Squirtle needed to study this path desperately to barely keep up with the pace of Charizard and the others.
On the other hand, if he could find a divine power suitable for Squirtle, then Squirtle would leap across the middle ranks in one breath and catch up to Charizard and the rest at light speed.
But that was a matter for the future. For now, Squirtle should honestly focus on researching Aura.
After sending the Pokémon back, Ash returned to the Trovita Island Pokémon Center with Misty and Serena. Although Ash had already treated Lapras once, it was safer to take it to the Pokémon Center for another check-up.
At this time, Ash had once again asked Mewtwo to use its Psychic powers to cover them, but this time he did not block Serena.
Serena sat in her seat, looking left and right with great curiosity. The people around them really couldn't recognize Ash at all, as if his appearance had changed. To her, however, Ash still looked the same. According to Ash, this was the result of one of his Pokémon using Psychic power.
This Pokémon was simply too amazing.
"By the way, Serena, how did you recognize me? At that time, I should have looked like a complete stranger you'd never met before, right?" Ash asked curiously. Mewtwo, inside its Poké Ball, also pricked up its ears, wanting to know the reason.
"Because Ash's back looks just like Ash~ And with such a powerful Pikachu, I felt that only your Pikachu could reach that level. So at that moment, I felt that you were Ash!" Ash's back looking like Ash seemed like a redundant sentence, but that was exactly the situation at the time.
At that time, Ash didn't look like Ash at all. Being able to see Ash's shadow from his back alone was enough to show how exaggeratedly familiar Serena was with him.
Even though they hadn't seen each other for five years, Serena had judged Ash's identity based solely on her initial impression and his appearance on television. Although Pikachu was also a factor, this didn't deny that Serena's impression of Ash was incredibly deep.
Almost in that instant, Misty was certain: this girl, just like her, liked Ash!
If she didn't like Ash, it would be impossible to go to such lengths.
It was truly mysterious. Just as she had gotten together with Ash, a girl appeared who had liked him since childhood, and her level of obsession with him was far from ordinary.
On their journey, quite a few girls actually had good feelings for Ash. Even with the Sinnoh Champion Cynthia, whom they had only met once, Misty could feel that she had a good impression of him.
But if you were talking about love, there was actually no one besides herself. Having a good impression didn't mean love; they were two different concepts.
And Serena was the first person Misty had seen who clearly had feelings for Ash, and this clarity was almost overflowing. Even Ash should be able to see it—
Ash Shocked Face.jpg.
He didn't see it at all!!
Misty curled her lips speechlessly. Looking at Ash, he hadn't noticed Serena's feelings at all; instead, he was shocked that Serena could recognize his true identity.
Perhaps in Ash's eyes, Serena being able to recognize him was because Serena herself was very capable—yes, that was definitely a thought Ash would have.
This blockhead. If she hadn't taken the initiative to confess, who knows when he would have finally understood.
If someone who didn't know Ash saw his various behaviors, they might think he was a scumbag leading people on, but in reality, his brain was just too dense.
"That's amazing, Serena! Your observation skills are so strong, you'll definitely become a very powerful Pokémon Trainer!" Ash praised Serena with a thumbs up.
Serena, who was originally a bit embarrassed, had her facial expression freeze for a moment after hearing Ash's praise. No, can't you hear the underlying meaning in my words?
Seeing Ash's expression, which didn't seem faked, Serena was sure: Ash really didn't hear her feelings of admiration for him!
But it didn't matter. She didn't actually want to expose the feelings in her heart; she was just too excited when she first saw Ash, so she had blurted out what she was thinking.
Additionally, the female companion by Ash's side—Serena looked at Misty, who was also sitting opposite and was almost pressed against Ash, and she already had a conclusion in her heart.
This kind of distance was definitely not as simple as ordinary partners. If they weren't close relatives, then she was his girlfriend.
It made sense. Ash was so outstanding now, it was normal to have a girlfriend. But as long as he wasn't a married man, there was room for fair competition!
Furthermore, having multiple wives and concubines was very common in this era. She saw on the news that the person named Gary, who came out of Pallet Town with Ash, already had six girlfriends. And he was only fifteen; who knew how many more he would find when he grew up.
The fact that Ash only had one now was considered unexpected. Where else could you find such a clean-living man?.jpg.
However, Serena wasn't the type of person who would destroy someone else's relationship. If she really couldn't step into this relationship, and Ash was truly the type of person who was devoted to one, then she would naturally back out gracefully.
"Is that Fennekin your starter Pokémon, Serena?" Ash suddenly changed the subject.
"Yes, I just got Fennekin and then came here to Kanto. But I heard the Gyms in Kanto are very difficult, so I wanted to come to the Orange Islands for a vacation and to train a bit."
"Eh! Are you going to participate in the Orange League?" Ash's eyes almost lit up upon hearing this. It was rare to meet a girl who actually wanted to challenge a League, and since she was an acquaintance, he was naturally very interested.
"No, no, I don't have that kind of ability yet!" Serena waved her hands repeatedly, her small head shaking like a rattle.
Before coming to the Orange Islands, Serena knew about the existence of the Orange League, but she had no intention of challenging it. That wasn't something a rookie Trainer like her could touch.
The Gyms in Kanto at least had a beginner difficulty, but here in the Orange League, all of them were normal difficulty battles. That meant the weakest were Professional Level Pokémon, and the powerful ones were even Gym Leader Level.
For a beginner like her to challenge the Orange League—wasn't that just a pipe dream!
"Right now, I only have Fennekin as my only Pokémon. I thought I'd come to the Orange Islands to travel and vacation, and catch some Pokémon along the way. To challenge a Gym, one Pokémon isn't enough, right?"
"It's not impossible; if that one Pokémon is strong enough, it can be done. However, for a beginner, it's better to catch a few more Pokémon. That way, you can better make counter-strategies against Pokémon of different types. After all, the Gym Leader's Pokémon information is known, which is one of the challenger's advantages."
Ash explained the details to Serena, his heart filled with a sense of satisfaction.
Thinking back—actually, it hadn't been long, only half a year ago—he was still a rookie, and now he could already be a senior to others!
This shift in status made Ash feel very pleasant in both body and mind. It also allowed him to personally feel his lightning-fast growth rate. After being constantly taught by so many seniors in the group, he could finally be a senior for once!
And Serena also obediently listened to Ash's explanations. Ash enjoyed his status as a senior, and Serena enjoyed Ash's teaching. Just being able to talk to Ash here made her feel very satisfied.
So this was what it felt like when dreams became reality!
Misty, on the other hand, chimed in from time to time. Although Serena gave her a slight sense of crisis, she wouldn't reject Serena just because of that. Ultimately, it was because Serena's first impression was too good.
Even when her own strength was insufficient, she still chose to stand up against injustice. This kind of character made Misty unable to feel like rejecting her.
After a round of chatting, Lapras's check-up was over. Ash took Lapras back from Nurse Joy and then asked Serena: "Serena, is there anywhere you're going next?"
"Um—I don't have a specific goal."
Serena's pure blue eyes were full of confusion. She didn't know what she was going to do next because her purpose for coming to the Orange Islands, or rather her purpose for coming to Kanto, had been achieved from the start—
Originally, she was thinking of coming to the Orange Islands to first make herself stronger, then collect Badges, and finally participate in the Johto League's Silver Conference. She would definitely be able to meet Ash there!
As for whether she could do it—who knows until they try? However, her plan had ended before it even began. Who could have imagined that she would meet Ash directly in the Orange Islands?
And she had even recognized Ash while he was in disguise. She didn't know whether to call it a coincidence or destiny.
But in any case, her goal was considered two-thirds achieved, which was to meet Ash. She wanted to stand in front of Ash and tell him that the little girl from back then had grown up.
Of course, that last sentence had been completely forgotten in her nervousness when she actually saw Ash.
Now she felt she had achieved her goal, but she really felt a bit lost about which way to go next.
"If you don't mind, come with us. I'll take you to see the world!" Ash grinned and invited Serena.
Misty wasn't surprised. If Ash didn't say that, he wouldn't be Ash. She was already used to his warm-heartedness. As for her own thoughts—although she didn't reject Serena, if you asked if she wanted Serena to join the team, she naturally didn't want to a little bit.
This was equivalent to your boyfriend inviting his childhood friend to travel together, and you weren't familiar with this friend at all—this metaphor was a bit much, but it was actually not far off.
What woman could be so magnanimous as to agree to the other party joining the team? If there were truly no reservations, it would seem unrealistic instead.
But she wouldn't say anything to object; everything would be decided by Ash. Besides the fact that the guy didn't have those kinds of thoughts, even if he did—forget it, don't think too much.
Serena's eyes lit up, her cheeks flushed a light red, and she subconsciously tightened her grip on her backpack straps: "Is, is it really okay? Won't I be bothering you—"
"Of course not!" Ash patted his chest. "Traveling is only interesting if you make more friends!"
Serena didn't speak but instead looked at Misty, her beautiful eyes carrying a bit of nervousness and expectation.
Although she really wanted to agree on the spot, if Misty didn't agree, she couldn't join. That would only cause conflict between them. Ash was a blockhead, but she wasn't!
This team was a team of two. Since Ash agreed, she still had to see what the other person thought.
"Don't look at me; if Ash agrees, it's fine. After all, he's the one in charge of the food~" Misty said with a look of indifference while holding Togepi, shrugging her shoulders. These words were actually a disguised agreement to Serena's joining.
Seeing that Serena looked for her opinion before joining the team, the bit of dissatisfaction in Misty's heart was thrown straight into the Pacific Ocean. Having such an obedient sister in the team was better than that shining black third wheel. (Brock crying.jpg)
Ahem, just kidding. Mainly, putting aside love rivals, having another girl to travel with meant she could have many common topics to chat about. Topics between sisters and between couples were two different things.
"Yoshi! It's decided then, the new trio is formed!" Ash raised his arm and shouted. In an instant, all the surrounding eyes were drawn over. Misty and Serena looked at each other and both revealed a helpless smile. The upcoming journey should be very interesting.