Ding-ling~ Ding-ling~
The bicycles passed between the two hills outside the summer camp, and before long, the familiar cooking smoke of Pallet Town came into view.
Ash didn't head straight home.
Instead, he detoured to Stone Bridge and Dashiwan Valley, entering the wild grasslands to treat the Pokémon that had gathered there.
Stone Bridge: 16 PokémonDashiwan Valley: 18 Pokémon
Viridian Power:LV.36 → LV.37
The two clinics—Stone Bridge and Dashiwan Valley—were strategically positioned.
One connected to the downstream river and coastal waters outside Pallet Town, while the other linked the western and northern edges of Viridian Forest. Together, they covered the two largest wild Pokémon ecosystems surrounding the town.
Naturally, Ash couldn't make every Pokémon in both ecosystems instantly aware of the clinics' existence.
But as healed Pokémon spread the word, more and more injured or sick wild Pokémon arrived each day.
The numbers didn't explode overnight—but the flow was steady, constant, and reliable.
Even now, with Ash's Viridian Power already at LV.37, requiring far more experience to level up, the patient flow from these two clinics still allowed him to gain about one level every two to three days.
That speed was honestly not slow at all.
And once the third clinic channel on the Skill Web Store went live, the growth rate of his Viridian Power would likely surge again.
All in all, while Ash's Pokémon were rapidly growing stronger with the system's help, Ash himself wasn't falling behind either.
His Aura Power, cultivated through daily meditation, grew more slowly—currently only LV.17, a full ten levels lower than his Viridian Power.
But even so, a steady one level every one to two days was perfectly acceptable.
With four full years remaining before his journey began, that was more than enough time to raise Aura Power to a formidable level.
"I'm back~!"
Ash parked his bike in the tool shed, stomped his feet on the stone steps to shake off dust, patted his clothes clean, and pushed open the door.
"Wash your hands—dinner's ready," Delia Ketchum called out.
Ash's afternoon visits to the Viridian City Battle Arena had already become routine, so Delia had a good sense of when he'd be home.
After dinner, Delia sat on the couch watching TV with Flabébé, while Ash stayed in the downstairs living room, feeding his Pokémon.
"Ash, today you still need to complete a batch of Magikarp skill learning for the Tokugawa Family and Toyotomi Family.
Also, there are three remaining Magikarp from regular shop orders that need to learn Tackle, and two other Pokémon that still need skill training—Rotom~!"
Rotom floated over just in time, reporting the day's remaining workload.
"OK~"
"Pidgeotto, help bring down the Poké Balls for the Tokugawa and Toyotomi batches of Magikarp,"
Ash called out to Pidgeotto, who was idle beside Frogadier, while Frogadier was busy feeding the others.
"Pidgeot~!"
Pidgeotto responded and flew upstairs, quickly returning with two bags clearly labeled Tokugawa and Toyotomi.
Because Ash often let his Pokémon help with chores, he'd taught them basic reading long ago.
They were all sharp—most things only needed to be taught once.
…
System Notifications:
Ding! Magikarp learned "Tackle" ×10Ding! Magikarp learned "Tackle" ×10Ding! Bellossom learned "Sunny Day"!!Ding! Primeape learned "Thunder Punch"!!Poke Coin Pay received: 3,500 Poké DollarsPoke Coin Pay received: 8,250 Poké DollarsDing! Slowking learned "Tackle"!!Ding! Magikarp learned "Tackle"!!Ding! Magikarp learned "Tackle"!!Poke Coin Pay received: 250,000Poké DollarsPoke Coin Pay received: 250,000 Poké DollarsPoke Coin Pay received: 250,000Poké Dollars
-----
Ever since the "Magikarp + Tackle" service went live, Ash's workload had increased dramatically.
But with Rotom and his Pokémon helping out, it wasn't exhausting at all.
Frogadier and the others handled feeding customers' Pokémon, while Ash focused on skill teaching.
If Ash had done everything alone, it would've taken 40–60 minutes minimum.
With everyone pitching in, the entire workload was finished in under 15 minutes.
And in those 15 minutes alone, Ash earned 760,000 Poké Dollars.
That was just same-day revenue from regular shop orders.
Including the family contracts—
Earlier, Ash had completed two large Magikarp batches for the Tokugawa and Toyotomi families.
At an average of 300,000 Poké Dollars per Magikarp:
20 × 300,000 = 6,000,000 Poké Dollars
Six million earned in one go.
His shop might look small, but the high-value services meant insane profitability—far beyond what outsiders could imagine.
At this point, Ash didn't even bother counting money anymore.
By his previous life's standards—
he was financially free.
If only Battle Arena accounts allowed transfers, he'd immediately buy thousands of Pokémon items.
After wrapping up shop business, Ash sat with his mother, chatting casually while watching TV.
As Delia often said—
Now that her son was growing up, the time he spent by her side would only grow shorter.
In four years, he'd leave on his journey.
And now that Ash already had a girlfriend…
Well—there'd only be more in the future.
Even if he wanted to, he probably wouldn't have enough time or energy to keep her company as often.
So Delia treasured this time while she still could.
Sigh… I used to wish you'd grow up faster,
and now I wish you'd never grow up at all…
She gently stroked Ash's hair as he lay with his head on her lap, watching TV.
Afterward, Ash bathed his Pokémon, headed upstairs, and returned to his room.
Ding-ding~
The moment he pushed open the white-painted wooden door, his phone—lying on the desk—lit up with a message alert.
"Misty?"
Ash looked at the blinking avatar labeled "Orange-Haired Little Mermaid", surprise flickering across his face.
Misty:Are you there, Ash~?
"Yeah, I'm here,"
Ash replied with a smile.
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T/N:
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