"Even though one should be content with what they have… once the Third Charity Clinic opens and more Pokémon are brought to me for treatment, my Viridian Power should see another explosive growth."
Just thinking about it made Ash feel excited.
After finishing treatment for the wild Pokémon at Stone Bridge and Dashiwan Valley, Ash noticed it was already noon. Without wasting any time, he hopped onto his bicycle and sped back home.
Since his mother, Delia Ketchum, had only recently opened her flower shop, she needed to stay there to manage the business and usually didn't come home at noon.
That meant Ash had to take care of lunch on his own.
…
Back home, Ash first prepared Pokémon food and energy cubes for his team. Once everyone had eaten their fill, he released the borrowed Pokémon—
The Galvantula he had borrowed earlier that morning from Professor Juniper in Unova,
and the Heliolisk he had borrowed yesterday from Clemont of the Lumiose Gym in Kalos to copy Parabolic Charge.
Now that both Parabolic Charge and Electroweb had been successfully copied, the two Pokémon had fulfilled their purpose.
After lunch, Ash planned to immediately return Heliolisk to Clemont at the Lumiose Gym.
As for Galvantula, since he had only borrowed it that morning, he decided to keep it for one more day before sending it back.
"..."
"Chaha…"
While the two Pokémon were eating, Ash went to start cooking his own meal. By the time he returned, they had already finished.
He recalled Galvantula into its Poké Ball, leaving only Heliolisk outside.
"Chaha?"
Heliolisk looked at Ash with a slightly puzzled expression, unsure of what he wanted.
What it didn't know was that the moment it had arrived, its task had already been completed.
"Heliolisk, you've worked hard these past two days. Pikachu has already learned Parabolic Charge, so I'll be sending you back now. You'll be reunited with your trainer soon—are you happy?"
Ash stepped forward and gently patted Heliolisk's rough neck.
At the same time, he subtly activated his Viridian Power, channeling Source Cleansing into Heliolisk to enhance its potential.
Although Heliolisk hadn't really done anything after arriving, Ash still felt grateful—to both it and Clemont—for helping him obtain the move he needed.
Even if a single infusion of Source Cleansing wouldn't drastically improve its talent, it was still a gesture of appreciation.
"~~Buzz~~"
As the energy flowed into Heliolisk's body, Ash's Viridian Power also stirred and surged slightly, gaining a small boost in the process.
"Chaha~ ^_^"
Though it didn't understand what Ash had done, the feeling of warmth and comfort spreading through its body made Heliolisk visibly happy.
"Alright, back into your Poké Ball for now. I'll send you back to Lumiose Gym right away. And don't forget to say hello to Clemont for me."
"Chaha~ ^_^"
Heliolisk nodded earnestly.
Ash wasted no time.
He first called Clemont, informing him that, thanks to Heliolisk, Pikachu had successfully learned Parabolic Charge. He expressed his gratitude and mentioned that Heliolisk had already been fed and would be sent back shortly.
"OK~"
After receiving Clemont's response, Ash placed Heliolisk's Poké Ball into the portable transfer machine.
"Rotom, I'll leave the rest to you."
Rotom quickly pulled up the destination code for the Lumiose Gym's transfer system and initiated the transmission.
"Zzzzt—!"
Amid a flurry of crackling electric arcs, the Poké Ball vanished—converted into energy and transmitted across more than 8,000 kilometers in under a second.
Moments later—
"Ash, I've received Heliolisk's Poké Ball."
"Great! Clemont, thanks again. Without your help, it would've taken me much longer to teach Pikachu Parabolic Charge."
"No need to be so formal. I should be the one thanking you. Back at Professor Oak's Summer Camp, if it weren't for you, my cousin Trevor wouldn't have earned the Outstanding Student award and received his starter early."
"Haha, let's stop thanking each other. We're friends, aren't we?"
"If I ever need help, I won't hesitate to ask—and I hope you won't either."
"Of course! Let's keep in touch!"
"Definitely!"
After ending the call, Ash considered the matter of Heliolisk settled.
Seeing that lunch still had more than ten minutes left, Ash turned his attention to the Pokémon currently staying at his place through the skill shop.
He released batches of them—along with the numerous Magikarp—and began feeding them.
Fortunately, he didn't have to handle everything himself.
With Pikachu, Greninja, Pidgeot, and the others helping out, the workload was much lighter.
Though, in truth, most of the heavy lifting was done by Greninja.
As a humanoid Pokémon with fully functional limbs, it handled tasks far more efficiently. Pikachu and the others mostly assisted, while Magikarp and Feebas could only watch helplessly from the sidelines.
"Rotom, which Pokémon need move training today?"
As Greninja fed the Pokémon, Ash asked for the day's schedule.
With the shop's business expanding, he now had to handle not only regular trainers from Kanto but also orders from major families and even the League—especially batches of Magikarp needing to learn Tackle.
The demand was constant.
As soon as one batch of Pokémon finished training and was sent back, another batch would arrive.
At any given time, Ash was responsible for around 120 customer Pokémon.
Just feeding them three meals a day consumed a significant amount of time—thankfully, his team helped share the burden.
All scheduling—delivery times, training assignments, and move requirements—was meticulously recorded by Rotom.
It even reminded him during feeding times, because there was no way he could keep track of everything on his own.
"Ash, today you need to complete a batch of Magikarp training for the Yutō family and the Sasaki family. There are also three remaining Magikarp from regular shop orders that need to learn Tackle, and two additional Pokémon requiring move training."
"The two Pokémon are Vileplume and Hitmonchan."
"Vileplume needs to learn Sunny Day, and Hitmonchan needs to learn—"
Rotom paused briefly before continuing.
"—Drain Punch."
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T/N:
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