Leaving the online shop entirely in Rotom's hands followed the same logic.
As long as Ash could "forget" that he was doing business, then when he interacted with Pokémon, that pure, untainted affection in his heart would never be polluted by profit.
And only then—
when he used Healing Grace or infused Source Cleansing—
would he truly gain experience to advance his Viridian Power.
However, adjusting one's mindset and earning the recognition of the Natural Will hidden within Viridian Power was far from easy.
No matter how good one's acting was, acting was still acting—and sooner or later, flaws would show.
At present, with Rotom handling all shop matters, Ash could only gain Viridian Power experience at one specific moment:
After a Pokémon finished learning its skills, right before it was sent back to its Trainer.
Only during that brief farewell—
when Ash sincerely infused Source Cleansing with genuine emotion—
would the Natural Will acknowledge him, allowing Viridian Power experience to be gained.
As for whether it was "a loss" to infuse customers' Pokémon with Source Cleansing that could improve their potential…
Ash honestly didn't think so.
Yes, Source Cleansing could increase a Pokémon's potential—
but it required long-term, consistent accumulation.
A single infusion was practically negligible.
White-rank: +1% per infusion → 0.27 years to rank upGreen-rank: +0.7% → 0.39 yearsRed-rank: +0.5% → 0.54 yearsBlue-rank: +0.3% → 0.91 yearsPurple-rank: +0.1% → 2.73 yearsGold-rank: +0.03% → 9.13 yearsBlack-rank: +0.01% → 27.3 years
Even for the lowest White-rank (Ordinary) Pokémon, a single infusion only raised potential by 1%.
To go from White → Green, it would take 100 infusions, or 0.27 years.
Would a customer really place 100 orders with him?
If someone truly supported his business that loyally, then Ash would gladly infuse their Pokémon with Source Cleansing every single time.
Loyal customers deserved perks, didn't they?
Other online shops offered coupons, freebies, or 1–5 Poké Dollar cashback for good reviews.
Helping Pokémon slightly improve their potential was no different.
And besides—
the biggest beneficiary wasn't the customer.
It was Ash himself.
It was like handing out red packets.
With Viridian Power, Ash was essentially giving out countless tiny "red packets" for free.
The recipients wouldn't become rich from them—but when all those tiny returns flowed back, the total gain became enormous.
If Ash gave 1 Poké Dollar to 1.3 billion people, none of them would get rich.
But if all 1.3 billion returned 1 Poké Dollar to him—
he would gain 1.3 billion.
The same principle applied here.
Each customer's Pokémon gained almost nothing tangible.
But the accumulated experience feedback from all of them together could push Ash's Viridian Power forward at high speed.
"Still… the number of Pokémon sent in for skill training is limited," Ash thought.
"And I can only harvest experience at the moment they're sent back."
"For Viridian Power at its current stage, this is nothing more than a drop in the bucket."
"Looks like opening a 'Free Clinic' section in the online shop really needs to be put on the agenda as soon as possible."
With that thought, Ash clapped his hands lightly.
"Alright everyone, I'm about to send you back to your Trainers!"
"Splash—"
"Splish—"
He had Frogadier help feed the remaining Pokémon, then activated the Poké Ball Transfer Machine on his desk and switched it to batch transfer mode.
Crackling sparks flashed.
Two batches of 20 Magikarp were instantly transmitted back to the League and the Tsuchihara Family.
Among all partners under contract, the Kanto League and the Tsuchihara Family held the highest priority.
As for the rest, Rotom had already arranged everything according to Ash's preset priorities—
who would be completed first, who would wait.
Ash didn't need to worry about any of that.
[Ding! Pidgeotto learned Air Slash!]
[Ding! Charmeleon learned Flamethrower!]
[Ding! Golbat learned Confuse Ray!]
[Poke Coin Pay: Payment received 6,600Poké Dollar]
[Poke Coin Pay: Payment received 33,000Poké Dollar]
[Poke Coin Pay: Payment received 3,500Poké Dollar]
"Rotom," Ash said,
"the three regular shop Pokémon—Pidgeotto, Charmeleon, and Golbat—have completed skill learning. @Notify them in the fan group. I'll send them back now so their Trainers can pick them up at their local Pokémon Center."
After finishing the skill training, Ash infused each of them with a bit of Source Cleansing, returned them to their Poké Balls, and sent them back through the transfer machine.
"OK~ Roto!"
Rotom replied cheerfully, its screen flashing a happy yellow face.
Rotom wasn't built for combat, and its talent was average at best—but when it came to managing the online shop, it was remarkably gifted.
At first, Ash had needed to teach it everything.
Now, Rotom handled backend operations and customer inquiries with effortless fluency.
As Ash's fame grew and shop business expanded, life naturally became busier.
Yet because of Rotom's help, Ash's daily routine remained orderly—and he still had plenty of time to study and train Pokémon.
More than once, Ash thought to himself:
Capturing Rotom back then was one of the smartest decisions I ever made.
"System," Ash said,
"help these two Magikarp learn Tackle."
After sending away Pidgeotto, Charmeleon, and Golbat, he released the remaining two Magikarp from regular orders.
[Ding! Magikarp learned Tackle!]
[Ding! Tackle learning failed!!!]
"…Huh?! Failed?!"
Ash froze.
He was so used to success that this was the first time a Virtual Skill Disc had failed.
For a moment, he even wondered if he'd misheard.
But when he checked the system log—
it was clear.
One Magikarp had successfully learned Tackle.
The other… had not.
"What's going on?" Ash muttered.
"Is this Magikarp's aptitude so terrible that even the system can't make it learn a skill?"
Frowning, Ash issued another command.
"System, display this Magikarp's data."
The system responded instantly.
Ash glanced at the information—
—and his expression changed completely.
Shock flickered across his face.
--------------
T/N:
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