Sitting inside the Oak Laboratory alongside Professor Cerise to watch the broadcast, the real-world Chloe had her entire face turn bright red.
Upon reading Ash's dense reply on the screen, a fleeting hint of disappointment crossed her face, but it was quickly replaced by a massive wave of relief.
It was honestly a blessing that Ash was a total stone; otherwise… how on earth would she be able to face him right now? In the video footage, she looked mature, practically a young adult, but in the real world, she was still only ten years old!
Even if she understood the concept of romance theoretically, acting on it at such a young age felt completely inappropriate.
Misty, watching from a distance, let out a collective sigh of relief, but her internal tension immediately spiked again. The current real-world Ash was completely oblivious to romance, a total dense wall, but what about the Ash shown in the video? He was practically an adult!
In the footage—
Facing Chloe, who had suddenly wrapped her arms around him, Ash looked completely at a loss.
"Chloe, what's wrong? Did someone bully you while I was away? Tell me who it is, and I'll go throw some punches for you!"
"..."
"Uh… can you say something…"
Ash stood perfectly still with his arms awkwardly extended, too embarrassed to move. Having absolutely no idea what had brought about this emotional state in Chloe, he felt his best option was to remain completely stationary.
A moment later, Chloe's slightly sobbing voice echoed right against his chest. "It was too dangerous…"
"Huh?"
"I said, Ash, what you did out there was far too dangerous!"
Only then did Ash finally connect the pieces as to why Chloe was acting this way. Her current demeanor was a mirror image of how his mother had greeted him!
Chloe's entire frame was trembling out of sheer, lingering terror for his life, and the damp sensation spreading across his shirt meant… she was actively crying.
"It's okay… it's all over now… everything has been completely settled." Ash held Galar's regional treats in one hand while gently patting Chloe's back with the other.
Compared to simply watching him face down Eternatus on a television screen, Chloe seemed significantly more shaken up now during the aftermath than he had been during the actual battle!
He recalled that whenever he plunged into danger, his traveling companions always displayed deeply worried expressions, but no one had ever had an emotional outburst quite like this. Perhaps it was because…
Chloe hadn't actually participated in this crisis alongside him! The immense anxiety that had been steadily building up in her heart while waiting at home had finally culminated in this sudden release.
Click—
At that exact moment, the front door of the Cerise Laboratory swung open.
"Man, I am absolutely exhausted. So, has Chloe or Ash managed to get back yet—" Professor Cerise called out loudly into the foyer while stretching his arms.
But his words cut off abruptly mid-sentence because he spotted a young man and a girl standing right at the entrance, locked in a tight embrace.
In an instant, an incredibly complex expression flashed across his face—a mixture of relief, the classic protective instinct of a father watching his precious daughter get swept away, and a sense that things were finally progressing as they should have a long time ago.
He immediately spun on his heel and bolted back out the door, slamming it shut behind him while shouting at the top of his lungs:
"I just suddenly remembered I need to see an eye doctor immediately! Come to think of it, my vision has been absolutely terrible lately! I couldn't even see the front entrance just now! I must get this examined at the hospital right away!"
Ash had a massive question mark floating over his head. "Uh, Chloe… is Professor Cerise's eyesight broken or something?"
By now, Chloe's face was completely flushed crimson against Ash's chest. Thanks to her father's loud, abrupt interruption, she had finally processed exactly what she had just done!
This was practically the equivalent of a direct, proactive confession! And what an incredibly clumsy, ridiculous excuse her father had used! No sane person would ever believe that!
...No, wait, the dense guy she was currently holding would absolutely believe it!
The current situation was intensely embarrassing. Chloe didn't even know how to find her voice; pulling away felt awkward, but remaining in this position felt impossible.
"Chloe? Are you still feeling sad? Don't be sad! Didn't I return completely safe and sound? Look, I promised I'd bring you Galar souvenirs! These are special waffles baked fresh in the Galar region! They're absolutely delicious!"
Pfft~
Chloe couldn't help but burst into a sudden smile while still in Ash's arms, swiftly using the lighthearted moment to step back and break the embrace.
Although she secretly wished she could linger a bit longer, her girlish modesty and restored composure made it impossible to continue.
"Hmph! Just because you actually remembered to bring me souvenirs, I'll forgive you this time! But… I'm going to join you for things like this in the future!"
"I don't want to… I don't want to leave Ash all alone to face such terrifying, dangerous things ever again!"
Despite her bright red face and her slight stuttering, Chloe forced out the words with absolute determination. She never wanted to experience that feeling again—sitting helplessly at home, consumed by sheer, paralyzing anxiety.
Compared to that… she would much rather go on adventures right alongside Ash! She also possessed… things that she was capable of doing to help!
"Eh… But this time I wasn't alone at all! Miss Cynthia, Leon, and Gary were there to help me! Oh, right, Gary is my childhood friend, the one with the crazy spiky hair!"
Chloe: ...
Pikachu: ...
"Pika, pika! Pikachu!"
Pikachu, standing on the floor, couldn't take it a second longer. As the absolute anchor of all of Ash's potential pairings, he had remained perfectly quiet until now to avoid disrupting the moment.
But Ash's unparalleled ability to utterly obliterate a romantic atmosphere forced him to speak up! What kind of mental wiring did this guy have!
Even an Electric-type mouse like him could see right through it—the girl clearly liked him and wanted to face any danger right by his side, no matter what! What kind of dense, hyper-oblivious response was that!
"Huh? What's wrong, Pikachu? Is there something wrong with what I said?"
"Pika, pika~" Pikachu looked completely exhausted, throwing his paws up. His trainer was truly beyond all saving!!
[Professor Cerise: … If I hadn't been watching the broadcast continuously, I would genuinely think Ash was a total player! Our Chloe made a direct, emotional move! And he completely deflected the topic with local pastries!!]
[Norman: Good grief, what brand of dense stone is this boy made of? Can even an emotional moment like that not break through his armor?]
[Caitlin: Unbelievable! I really want to know who will be the very first person to successfully shake that dense heart of his! If standard emotional appeals are useless… should someone just kiss him directly?]
(Serena noted that if kissing actually worked, she would have secured the position of the main heroine a long time ago!)
[Serena: It looks like the ultimate outcome is still entirely undecided. With Ash's personality, we either have to wait for him to grow up to see if his emotional intelligence naturally improves, or see who is brave enough to completely cast aside their modesty and confess to him directly first!]
Pallet Town Laboratory Division:
Ash stared at the floating text logs, particularly the comment regarding a direct confession made by Serena, and felt a strange, subtle flutter in his chest.
A confession? To who? Me? Probably not… How could a girl actually harbor romantic feelings for someone like me? Everyone clearly just cares about me as a close traveling companion!
His singular, burning focus was becoming a Pokémon Master. Before becoming the world's number one Pokémon Master, absolutely nothing else could ever make him halt his steps!
Right now, Ash's inner intuition might have faintly picked up on something, but his grand dream completely suppressed any romantic emotions attempting to rise in his heart.
After all, if his inkling was actually true… he couldn't even begin to imagine how many people would end up becoming emotional obstacles on his path to achieving his ultimate goal! Women will only slow down the speed at which I draw my blade .jpg!
That being said, when true feelings inevitably arrive… no one can truly evade them. Even a legendary dense stone trainer...…
In the footage—
Once Chloe managed to calm her racing emotions, she led Ash back inside the main research facility. She wanted to hear every single detail of what Ash had gone through in Galar during this time.
Throughout the morning, Ash repeated the exact narrative he had given his mother, naturally omitting the life-threatening, heart-stopping sequences, but Chloe still listened with an underlying sense of profound worry.
Next time, no matter what… she would definitely follow Ash! For that exact reason… she needed to become much stronger! If she encountered danger alongside Ash right now, she would only end up dragging him down as a burden.
Therefore, she wasn't just striving to grow stronger for the sake of Pokémon Contests anymore; she was determined to gain power so she could stand confidently right by Ash's side!
Speaking of recent events… her Feebas had been acting a bit unusual lately. Could it be on the verge of evolution? If only it could successfully evolve into a Milotic...…
In the afternoon, Chloe headed off to school. The only reason she had skipped the morning session was to wait at home for Ash's safe return. Now that he was back, she naturally needed to fulfill her academic responsibilities; after all, a student's primary job is to attend school!
Ash found himself with a completely free afternoon. He spent his time continually projecting his Aura to communicate with the Eternatus resting inside the Poké Ball.
However, no matter how much emotional data he transmitted, it felt like throwing a stone into a bottomless ocean.
He realized he would eventually need to find an open area to release Eternatus temporarily; otherwise, they would never be able to establish a proper dialogue.
Before doing that, though… he needed to secure a powerful assistant to help manage the perimeter. But there was no rush; he could handle that tomorrow.
Since Chloe was away at school, Ash decided it would be fun to visit the local Pokémon academy to look around, as he heard quite a few unique Pokémon were residing there!
Upon arriving at the academy, Chloe headed straight to her classroom while Ash went to relax in the school's dedicated Pokémon park. The area was filled with exceptionally gentle Pokémon, so Ash simply released his current roster to let them play freely in the fields.
Gengar, Dragonite, Lucario, Sirfetch'd, Pikachu, and the one that had just been transferred over to his team… Bayleef!
According to Professor Oak, Bayleef had been on the absolute verge of staging a full-scale riot back in the fields of the Pallet Town laboratory! The Professor noted that if she wasn't allowed to see Ash immediately, she would continue to cause endless chaos for the staff.
Ash could only accept the Poké Ball with a helpless, affectionate smile. This Pokémon had been deeply attached to him ever since she was a tiny Chikorita, and she hadn't changed that intense habit even after growing up.
Sure enough, the absolute second Bayleef emerged from her Poké Ball, she completely ignored the surrounding play area and lunged straight at Ash, executing a flawless Body Slam! In an instant, she pinned Ash flat onto the grass beneath her massive frame, her scarlet tongue relentlessly licking his cheeks.
"Hahaha, stop, that tickles so much, Bayleef~ It's been so long!"
"Bay-bay! Bayleef!!"
Bayleef looked absolutely ecstatic to finally be reunited with her beloved trainer after such a long separation; she had practically been growing lovesick back at the Oak Laboratory!
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