After the new trio was formed, Ash and the others stayed on Trovita Island for a short while before setting off for their next destination aboard Lapras.
The place they were heading to was, naturally, Asia Island in the Orange Islands.
However, traveling from Trovita Island to Asia Island wasn't something that could be done in a short time; they needed to make constant stops along the way to rest and regroup.
Actually, if they were to challenge the Southern Cross, they could have made their way to Asia Island along the route, but Ash had almost no time for challenges, even though challenging the Southern Cross wouldn't take much effort for him now.
Compared to challenging the Southern Cross, the urgent priority was to find Little Lugia's parents, as well as Lapras's Clan and Cynthia's whereabouts.
Regarding the search for Lugia, Ash also told Serena about it. Since Serena had joined the team, he naturally wouldn't hide anything from her; it was the same when Brock was around, and it was the same for Serena.
However, when Brock first joined the team, Ash hadn't told him about the rainbow wing, yet now, just as Serena joined, he told her about Little Lugia's existence and their mission to find Lugia.
This certainly wasn't a case of Ash choosing a girl over his friends; it was because their current goal was to find Lugia, so there was no need to hide it from Serena. Furthermore, Serena's behavior when they first met made both Ash and Misty trust this new girl implicitly.
With such character, she could never harbor any covetous thoughts or ill intentions toward a Legendary Pokémon.
When Serena learned that Ash was looking for Lugia, she was completely dazed at first—not out of shock, but because she really didn't know what kind of Pokémon Lugia was.
She was truly shocked only after learning that Lugia was being on par with the god of life, Xerneas, and the God of Death, Yveltal, from her own Kalos region.
Even though Serena was a rookie Trainer, how could she not know the legends of those two circulating in the Kalos region? And Ash not only had one with him but was also going to find another—was this what Ash's journey was like?
No wonder Ash said he would take her to see some big scenes; wasn't this a huge scene? Who else encounters Legendary Pokémon on their very first journey, or even heads straight for them? (Ash: That's right, it's me.)
After learning the purpose of this trip, Serena felt even more nervous. She was very worried that as a newcomer, she would hold Ash back. If Ash failed to reach his goal because of her, she might feel guilty about it for the rest of her life.
To this, both Ash and Misty said it didn't matter. Who hasn't been a rookie? Don't look at how powerful Ash is now; in reality, he's just a rookie who hasn't even been traveling for a year. Being able to reach this level today was purely due to—purely due to a fast growth rate.
In fact, he was still a rookie, no different from Serena.
These were the words Ash used to comfort Serena. Although it might have been better not to say anything, it did help Serena's tense mood relax slightly.
Three days later, the trio arrived at a new island. This island was called Mandarin Island. Its name was very similar to the island they were on before, but it was a completely different place.
This island was famous for its crystal craftsmanship. The street vendors all displayed lifelike crystal carvings. Although the designs were varied, they were all modeled after Pokémon.
When Misty and Serena saw those crystal carvings by the roadside, they could hardly move. Girls have always had no resistance to shiny things, let alone crystal carvings that were so well-made.
Since they were on this island to rest and resupply anyway, buying some crystals to send back as ornaments was a good choice. They could treat it as buying local specialties for their families, even if these specialties weren't edible~
"Serena, look at this Poliwag sculpture! Look at the pattern; it's exactly like the spiral on its belly!"
"Mm-hmm, it's beautiful. Misty, you really love Water-type Pokémon~"
"That's right, I'm the woman who will become a Water-type Pokémon Master in the future!" Misty said with a face full of confidence, clutching the crystal Poliwag carving.
"It's so nice to have your own goal..." A mysterious light flickered in Serena's beautiful eyes. She envied Misty for having her own life goal, unlike herself, who was still confused about what she wanted to do in the future.
During these past three days, although they were drifting at sea, they stopped at an island as a transit point every day. However, except for Trovita Island, the islands were all uninhabited.
On those uninhabited islands, Ash and Misty would train their Pokémon. Serena naturally participated as well, but she simply couldn't keep up with their training intensity.
Setting Ash aside—his Pokémon's training intensity wasn't something a normal Pokémon could achieve—Ash himself even trained alongside his Pokémon. This was the first time Serena had seen such strange behavior; the Pokémon training explained on TV never mentioned that Trainers should train together with them.
After all, Trainers are just humans! How can humans be compared to Pokémon? But Ash could.
Watching Ash and his Pokémon perform those non-human movements and training, Serena was stunned. Her understanding of Ash only came from their childhood. Back then, Ash's strength was indeed not small, but it wasn't this terrifying!
As for the news about Ash on TV, it always talked about how strong he was at training Pokémon and how incredible his talent was, but it never mentioned how abnormal Ash himself was.
But that was only natural. After all, Ash's physical fitness had never been displayed before the public. The only time it had made a brief appearance, it was overshadowed by the brilliance of Ash's Annihilape.
So, the fact that Ash's physical fitness was superhuman was known to no one except those close to him.
Although Serena couldn't keep up with Ash and Misty's training, Ash still customized a training plan for Fennekin. He was no longer an ignorant rookie; even if he hadn't seen a Fennekin before, the training methods for Fire-type Pokémon were mostly the same.
Combined with the cooking recipes he specifically made for Fire-types to increase their firepower, in just three days, Fennekin's change could be described as a complete transformation.
Not to mention its level rising to the Ordinary level, the most important thing was that it now had some combat capability. Previously, both Fennekin and Serena knew absolutely nothing about Pokémon battles. To put it bluntly, at the same level, Ash commanding Pikachu could easily take down ten Fennekins.
A Pokémon battle depends on the Trainer's command level, the Pokémon's combat literacy, the Pokémon's overall strength, and the most ethereal factor—the bond between the Trainer and the Pokémon.
The gap in the first four basically determines the outcome of a match. The only uncertain factor is the last one. The power of bonds represents the power of miracles; in moments of desperation, this power might become the key move that turns the tide.
However, such things were still too far away for Serena and Fennekin. They were just new partners who had just come together. As for bonds—they had some, but not much.
Misty picked a Poliwag, while Serena wanted a Fennekin sculpture, but there were no such sculptures here.
After all, Fennekin was a Pokémon from the Kalos region. Why would the people living in the Orange Islands make sculptures of Kalos region Pokém—
—on?
But it wasn't a big problem; this place could custom-make them based on a Pokémon's template, it was just a bit more expensive.
For instance, the crystal Poliwag sculpture in Misty's hand only cost fifteen hundred, but if it were custom-made, it would cost at least over two thousand. The more exquisite the sculpture, the more expensive it would be.
These things were called crystal, but in reality, they were just glass, not carved from real crystal.
Thinking about it, one would know how expensive crystal is! A palm-sized piece might cost over ten thousand, and that Poliwag was about as big as two of Ash's palms. If calculated purely by the price of crystal, it would probably exceed fifty thousand.
The larger the size of the crystal, the price increases exponentially.
A glass product being sold for the high price of fifteen hundred was seventy percent for the craftsmanship, twenty-nine percent for the Pokémon's appearance, and the remaining one percent was the value of the glass itself.
Of course, for Ash, this bit of money was nothing at all. Ever since he invented that Sweet Scent for training, he would probably never be short of money in this life.
He had already given the card where the money was collected to Delia for safekeeping. Ash didn't care how much money was in it; anyway, he didn't have to worry about spending it.
The Fennekin Serena wanted needed a place to be carved. Ash originally said he would pay for her, but Serena insisted on paying herself. After all, her relationship with Ash was far from being the same as Misty's.
They had only been traveling together for a few days, and she was going to let Ash spend two thousand on her? And the minimum was two thousand; a well-crafted custom sculpture probably wouldn't even be covered by two thousand. She definitely couldn't let Ash pay.
Ash felt a bit helpless about Serena's stubbornness, but he could more or less understand her thoughts. Two thousand was nothing to him, but in terms of value, it wasn't a small amount—it wasn't just two dollars!
Serena had just joined the team, so of course she wouldn't accept such a gift. She wasn't the type of person who could comfortably spend someone else's money, let alone if that person was Ash.
After deciding what sculptures they wanted, the three began to wander around the town, thinking of finding a sculpture shop with better craftsmanship to make them. Ash also wanted to make a Pikachu.
As the three strolled down the street, an argument broke out ahead.
"Why is your shop still open! You don't sell anything, and you're just taking up space here. You're making it so customers don't even come to my side. How unlucky!" A middle-aged man was shouting at a little girl.
Aside from Ash's group, there was no one else around. Just as the middle-aged man said, there wasn't a single customer here.
Behind the little girl was also a shop stall, which only had some simple glass products: glass bottles, glass bowls, etc.—compared to the glass products made by other shops, the number was pitifully small.
Furthermore, this shop didn't have any Pokémon-themed glass products. In this world where Pokémon are paramount, it was normal to have no business.
But that was no reason for an adult to Intimidate a little girl.
Ash rushed forward in one step and blocked the way in front of the little girl: "Speak properly. What did she do to you? Did she block your business, or did she drive away your customers?"
"Do you know her?" Seeing Ash aggressively shielding the little girl, the middle-aged man thought an acquaintance of the girl had arrived. Although Ash looked ordinary, the aura he carried made the middle-aged man's momentum weaken by thirty percent.
"I don't know her, but you're bullying a little girl like this, so what's wrong with me coming out to help her?" Ash was emboldened despite having no personal stake. His general point was: I'm going to help, I'm going to help, what are you going to do about it!
The middle-aged man rolled his eyes: "You don't even know her, yet you're sticking your nose into other people's business!"
"Did she do something wrong?"
"Look at their family's glass exhibits. With just these few items, they have the nerve to open a shop. It's making my shop's business bad."
Ash:???
"I've heard of someone's business being bad because the shop next door is doing well and taking customers, but this is the first time I've heard the claim that someone's business is bad because the shop next door is doing poorly!"
If the business next door is good and steals your customer flow, making your business bad, that explanation is quite reasonable. But if the business next door is bad, how can you blame others?!
"My side sells glass product repairs and decorations. Their family hardly has any glass products, which leads to me having no business either. Is there anything unreasonable about that?"
Misty and Serena, who caught up later, were stunned. What kind of tyrannical logic was this? There should be a limit to slander!
How could you blame a little girl for something like this?
Ash looked at the middle-aged man with a speechless expression and didn't say a word. Pikachu on his shoulder also glared at the man with dead fish eyes. This kind of person could no longer be communicated with through reason; he simply wouldn't listen.
The middle-aged man felt a bit unnerved by Ash and Pikachu's stares, and he also felt that his explanation indeed didn't make much sense. It was just that his business had been really bad lately, and he had a family to support. Under great pressure, he would subconsciously take out his Frustration on others.
But it was clearly impossible for him to apologize. He could only leave behind a huffy "You guys better move out soon" before returning to his own shop.
"Th—Thank you..." The little girl had her hands behind her back as she timidly thanked Ash and the others.
Serena crouched down, rubbed the little girl's head, and smiled: "No need for thanks. It was the other person who was in the wrong. By the way, why are there so few glass products in your shop? Did you make these?"
This girl looked like she wasn't even ten years old. If she was the shop owner, she was indeed quite independent.
The little girl shook her head: "No..."
"No, these were all made by my brother, Isao."