Ash loved sleeping in and lazing about in bed.
Even though he wanted to change, every single morning—after the alarm rang—he still needed Pichu and Frogadier to call him repeatedly before he could finally drag himself out of bed.
Aside from that, Ash disliked eating konjac, okra, blood pudding, animal organs… and similar foods.
He was also a bit directionally challenged—though not seriously so. With Aura Perception and the two Pokémon helping him remember landmarks, Ash hadn't really shown any major symptoms yet.
In short, aside from all the admirable and praiseworthy traits people talked about, Ash also had a few small flaws.
But in the eyes of Pichu and Frogadier, those flaws were completely harmless.
"Ash, stop staring at your phone for now."
Delia urged him gently.
"If customers have questions in the shop's group chat, let Rotom handle the replies."
"Hurry up and eat breakfast. Once you're done, Mom needs to wash the dishes—after that, I still have to go up the slope to harvest corn."
"Mom, you go ahead and work on the hill first," Ash replied.
"I'll wash the dishes later."
"Also… once we finish harvesting the crops from our fields this year, let's not plant so much next year."
"Back then, we grew extra crops to save up money for my Starter Pokémon tax."
"But now I already have my own Starter Pokémon. The League values me highly, and my skill-based online shop is earning quite a bit too."
"So you don't need to live as hard as before."
"Next year, we can just grow enough grain and vegetables for ourselves. As for the rest of the land, we can let the uncles in town farm it—or you could grow Berries or flowers instead, something more profitable."
"Mom, don't you love flowers and plants? You even got a gardening certificate before, and learned flower arrangement too."
"You could pick those hobbies back up."
"Mmua~"
"My son has really grown up," Delia said, her eyes welling with tears.
"You know how to care about Mom now."
She hugged Ash's small head and planted several firm kisses on his forehead and cheeks.
"All right~"
"I'll listen to you. Next year, we won't plant so many crops—just enough for ourselves."
"As for growing flowers… your Aunt Mihoko was talking to me about that just the other day."
"When I studied flower arrangement and got my gardening certificate, I did it together with her. A few days ago, she and Daisy both told me that you're sensible and successful now, and that I don't need to worry so much—or work myself to exhaustion anymore."
"Your Aunt Mihoko has a storefront in Viridian City, right? She's planning to open a flower shop and asked me to partner with her. I've still been thinking it over."
"But since you're encouraging me too… next year we'll plant fewer crops, turn the fields into large flower gardens, and grow fresh-cut flowers."
"Then I'll work with your Aunt Mihoko on the flower shop."
Just like her name, Delia truly loved flowers. Their courtyard was already filled with blooms of every color, and now that she was talking about her passion, her entire expression lit up with excitement.
Seeing his mother like this made Ash genuinely happy.
He liked seeing her no longer burdened with exhausting labor—free to enjoy the things she loved.
"We can hire people in town who are idle to help cultivate the flower fields," Ash added.
"You and Aunt Mihoko can focus on running the shop."
"Mm-hmm."
The mother and son chatted for a while about opening the flower shop. After Ash finished breakfast and Delia washed the dishes, she headed up the slope to harvest corn.
Ash and his Pokémon, after eating, also fed the Pokémon sent in by customers of the online shop.
Although Ash only bought ordinary-quality Pokémon food, none of the Pokémon in this batch were particularly picky, so he didn't need to worry too much.
While the Pokémon were eating, Ash took out his phone and recorded a short video. After making sure every Pokémon appeared on camera, he sent the video to the customer fan group.
Ash did this intentionally.
After all, customers had entrusted their Pokémon to him. While he couldn't livestream like some "cloud pet-raising" services, recording short videos during breakfast, lunch, and dinner let owners know that their Pokémon were eating well and sleeping soundly.
That reassurance greatly reduced anxiety during the separation—and significantly improved customer satisfaction and shop reputation.
Sure enough, the moment Ash posted the video, the Pokémon owners immediately popped up in the group chat, cheerfully thanking the thoughtful shop owner.
The group chat buzzed with lively conversation. After sending the video, Ash didn't speak further—he simply had Rotom keep an eye on things and respond to any questions.
Ash himself opened the shop's backend on his phone.
There were twenty orders.
He selected the first five, located the moves those Pokémon needed to learn, and began teaching them.
Normally, learning a move took two to three days, but Ash clearly had no intention of dragging it out. Pokémon staying with him still needed to be fed—and even ordinary Pokémon food cost money.
[Ding! Pidgeotto learned Air Slash!]
[Ding! Charmeleon learned Flamethrower!]
[Ding! Drowzee learned Confuse Ray!]
[Ding! Gloom learned Sunny Day!]
[Ding! Primeape learned Thunder Punch!]
[Ding! Poké CoinPay received 6,600 Poké Dollars]
[Ding! Poké CoinPay received 33,000 Poké Dollars]
[Ding! Poké CoinPay received 3,500 Poké Dollars]
[Ding! Poké CoinPay received 3,500Poké Dollars]
[Ding! Poké CoinPay received 8,250 Poké Dollars]
As Ash helped Pokémon learn new moves, the "ding ding ding" notifications rang nonstop.
The earlier sounds came from the Ascension Trainer System, confirming successful skill acquisition.
The later series of alerts came from the Poké CoinPay app, notifying him of incoming payments.
On the market, TM pricing followed a clear structure.
For offensive moves, pricing was based on base power:
Base power 15–50 → 200–3,500 Pokedollars
Base power 51–75 → Base power × 100
(For example, Air Slash has a base power of 60, so its TM price is 5,000 Pokedollars)
Base power ≥75(high-tier moves / attribute finishers) →
Prices start at 10,000 Poké Dollars, and the unit shifts from "thousands" to "tens of thousands."
For non-offensive moves, pricing depended on rarity, practicality, and overall value.
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