"Wow!! You really caught Pidgey?"
After parting ways at the crossroads and returning home, Delia Ketchum—who was in the courtyard using a bamboo rake to turn and sun-dry the grain—looked up with a pleasantly surprised expression.
August was the height of the autumn harvest season. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't have had a moment's rest until at least mid-month. But after finishing the corn harvest on the hillside, the rice paddies were handled differently this year—at Ash's strong insistence, they spent some money to hire a harvester, and in just two days all the rice had been collected.
Now, every morning after breakfast and before heading out, Ash helped his mother spread the grain out in the yard to dry. The rest of the time, Delia stayed home revising for her horticulturist certification exams and practicing flower arrangement.
Overall, life felt far less pressured than before. With stress eased and old hobbies revived, Delia's face carried a relaxed, contented smile every day.
"Mm-hmm. Today Pidgey agreed to battle me, and now it's officially been captured and has become my Pokémon."
Pushing open the white-painted wooden gate, Ash reached up and gently stroked the feathers at the back of Pidgey's neck as he spoke with a smile.
"That's wonderful," Delia said warmly. "You can tell this little one has suffered a lot in the past. Ash, from now on you have to treat it well."
"Don't worry, Mom. You know how I treat my Pokémon—I'll definitely take good care of Pidgey."
"Pichu~ Pichu~ (^.^)/ I'll share my snacks with Pidgey!"
"Gua— (n_n) I'll train together with it too."
Pichu and Frogadier chimed in with their own promises.
Although Pidgey's expression remained cool and reserved, the faint upward curve at the corner of its beak—just 0.02 of a lift—and the cheerful, pleasant Aura radiating from its body made it very clear to Ash how happy it felt inside.
"Mom, I'll take Pidgey upstairs first and get it something to eat."
"Alright. I'll flip the grain again here, then go make lunch for you."
Since Pidgey had been caught in the rain during the battle earlier, its feathers were still damp.
After heading inside, Ash originally planned to grab a dry towel and wipe Pidgey down. But after a moment's thought, he decided to do things properly—he took the showerhead, adjusted the temperature, and gently rinsed Pidgey's feathers with warm water.
Though it disliked having its feathers soaked, Pidgey didn't resist at all, calmly letting Ash help it take a bath.
Soaked through like a drenched chick, Pidgey was then carefully towel-dried to absorb the excess water, and finally Ash used a hair dryer to completely dry and fluff its feathers.
"…!"
Standing on the sink and turning its head to look at its reflection in the mirror, Pidgey's usually indifferent face showed a flicker of surprise—almost disbelief—at how clean, neat, and good it now looked.
"Pidgey, I don't know what you went through in the past," Ash said gently, "but it's obvious your body's been lacking nutrition. Your development's a bit off."
"Your feathers are rough, muscle mass is insufficient, and your bone density is on the low side. This afternoon we'll go to Professor Oak's lab and have someone design a specialized diet for you. Overall, you'll need more calcium and protein."
"…?"
"Yeah. Normally, you should've been able to evolve around LV.18. The reason you're already LV.20 and still haven't evolved is because of poor physical development."
"Once we get you a proper meal plan and improve your diet, after your body recovers and stabilizes, evolution should come naturally."
After cleaning Pidgey up, Ash led all three Pokémon upstairs.
"Good afternoon, Ash!"
On the desk, Rotom's face appeared on the large computer screen, its voice coming through the speakers.
"Good afternoon, Rotom," Ash replied cheerfully.
At first, Ash had captured Rotom with a purely utilitarian mindset—a tool Pokémon. But over time, Rotom had helped him tremendously.
The skill shop business was booming and incredibly busy. If Ash had to manage everything himself, he wouldn't have had time to train Pokémon or study at all.
Because Rotom handled shop operations and the fan groups, Ash could comfortably step back as a hands-off manager—focusing fully on training his Pokémon and studying in peace.
To put it plainly, Ash's current relaxed lifestyle owed a great deal to Rotom's help. In his heart, Ash was deeply grateful. Even though Rotom didn't train for combat like Pichu and Frogadier, Ash valued it no less than them.
Pichu, Frogadier, Rotom—and now Pidgey as well—were all Ash's Pokémon. All of them were his closest companions.
"Ash, is this Pidgey the Pokémon you caught today?" Rotom asked curiously.
"Yep. Pidgey's my newest Pokémon. From now on, we're all friends and teammates. Rotom, come say hello too."
"Pidgey, this is Rotom. Just like Pichu and Frogadier, it's one of my closest partners. Right now it's helping me manage the skill shop. Make sure you get along well, okay?"
"Pidgey—"
"Rotom!"
"Oh right, Pidgey. I didn't specifically buy food for you before. Right now I only have some standard-quality food meant for shop customers' Pokémon. You'll have to make do for now."
"This afternoon after we get your custom diet set up at the lab, I'll buy food that suits your taste. For now, just bear with it."
As he spoke, Ash grabbed a food tray, mixed together Normal-type and Flying-type Pokémon food, and placed it in front of Pidgey.
"…?"
Though Ash spoke with a hint of apology, for Pidgey—who had lived in the wild, often going hungry and suffering from malnutrition—this food was already incredibly delicious.
Tentatively pecking at one piece, Pidgey's verdict was simple: absolutely tasty.
"Pichu, Frogadier—you two come eat as well."
"Pichu~"
"Gua~"
Food always tasted better together. With a new companion present—and with Pidgey eating so enthusiastically—even the usually less-motivated Pichu and Frogadier found their appetites soaring.
The three little Pokémon quickly polished off the entire tray, almost as if competing.
After his own Pokémon finished lunch, Ash released the shop customers' Pokémon and let them eat as well.
To avoid exposing the secret of his system—copying and using skills—Ash usually kept customer Pokémon inside their Poké Balls, pretending to channel psychic power into them.
If anyone asked why he didn't let the Pokémon out, he could simply explain that his ability temporarily enhanced skill comprehension, and staying inside the Poké Ball without distractions helped them learn faster.
Even if trainers later asked their Pokémon how they learned the skill, the answer would be vague—"I was in the Poké Ball and suddenly understood it."
In short, as long as Ash didn't reveal the truth, no one would ever know what was really happening.
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T/N:
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