S.S. Anne, Central Hall!
As a world-famous luxury liner, the S.S. Anne's central hall offered an all-day, 24-hour buffet. It was now 11:30 a.m.—right on time for lunch.
Ash and his two companions normally couldn't afford tickets for the S.S. Anne—not even standard class. If they spent all their travel money, the rest of their journey would become difficult, and none of them had the nerve to ask their families for more.
Fortunately, just before boarding, a kind young couple claimed they had urgent business and unexpectedly gave their three tickets to Ash's group—for free. As for why two people had bought three tickets in the first place, the trio didn't bother digging into it. With a bargain this good, why overthink it?
The three of them crowded around a table piled high with food. Each held an already-overloaded plate, yet their other hands still wielded forks, relentlessly sweeping dishes from the buffet. Their starved, almost feral eating style made nearby passengers too embarrassed to share a table with them.
"So good! This is amazing!"
Even with his mouth completely full, Ash continued shoveling food in enthusiastically.
"Enjoying yourselves here?"
At that moment, the gentleman Ash had battled earlier approached with his cane, arm-in-arm with his elegant companion.
"Allow me to introduce myself," the man said with a courteous smile. "My name is Ron, from the ancient Heidelberg family of the Kanto region. And this is my girlfriend, Madame Magelle."
Ash paused mid-bite. What made the scene unintentionally hilarious was that he was still holding a chicken leg in each hand.
"Oh, you're that guy who admitted defeat earlier!"
"Cough—cough…"
The gentleman's smile stiffened slightly. Glancing around, he lowered his voice. "It was only a draw."
"A draw's a draw. If we fought again, my Butterfree would still win!"
Ash shrugged casually, though his words were undeniably infuriating.
Thankfully, Ron maintained impeccable gentlemanly composure and didn't show open displeasure. Instead, he smiled warmly.
"To be honest, your Butterfree is truly impressive."
"Indeed," Magelle added gently. "Absolutely beautiful."
Brock, standing nearby, was completely captivated by the mature woman's elegance. His face flushed bright red, and the sandwich in his hand slipped to the floor without him noticing. With his naturally squinted eyes, no one could quite tell what kind of thoughts were swirling behind them.
"Hey—hey! Wake up!"
Misty waved a hand in front of Brock's face, but he showed no reaction at all, mumbling only, "So beautiful… so beautiful…"
"Tch. I seriously can't deal with this."
Misty muttered irritably. She couldn't help wondering how she'd ever ended up traveling with a hot-blooded idiot and a guy hopelessly obsessed with older women—especially when she herself was clearly a perfect young lady.
"Well, I worked really hard training it!"
Being praised instantly energized Ash.
"Back when I was making Butterfree this strong, I went through tons of tough training—"
"What do you think of my Raticate?"
Ron interrupted, smoothly changing the subject.
Ash nodded. "It's pretty good. I think it's solid."
"Excellent. That makes things easier to discuss."
Ron bent slightly, leaning closer.
"How about we trade?"
"Trade?"
Ash blinked, clearly unfamiliar with the concept.
"When two Pokémon Trainers encounter Pokémon they like, they can trade them. That's common knowledge," Ron explained patiently.
Seeing Ash still confused, he placed a hand on Ash's shoulder.
"Through trading with friends, then trading again, bonds grow deeper and wider. That's the friendship shared among Pokémon Trainers—a nationwide network of connections. It's a wonderful thing."
Madame Magelle also stepped forward, gently patting Ash's shoulder.
"Making more friends is always a joy."
"Brock, what do you think?"
Whenever Ash felt unsure, he instinctively turned to the more mature Brock.
But Brock had long since lost all rational thought, eyes glazed as he murmured dreamily,
"This must be traded… definitely traded…"
"Someone who treats Pokémon like collectibles dares talk about friendship?"
The harmonious atmosphere shattered instantly as a cold voice cut in.
Arms crossed, Kael looked at the hesitant Ash and spoke loudly,
"Kid, that Butterfree of yours—you raised it step by step from a Caterpie, didn't you? To Butterfree, you're family. You're its brother. You've fought side by side. And now what—are you planning to hand it over to a complete stranger?"
"From the moment you caught it, Butterfree has had only one family—you."
Those words struck Ash like a thunderbolt.
He clenched his fists, then shook his head firmly.
"That's right. Butterfree isn't something to trade for friendship. It's my friend—and my family."
Stepping back, Ash spoke decisively,
"I'm sorry, Mr. Ron. I will never trade my Butterfree."
"What a shame."
Ron didn't appear particularly upset. To him, trading Pokémon was merely a hobby.
Turning to the one who had interrupted him, his voice dropped.
"Young man, Pokémon are social instruments for humans. Trading them strengthens bonds between people. Isn't that a good thing?"
"And that's exactly why you'll always be terrible at Pokémon battles,"
Kael replied bluntly.
"What did you say?"
Such open contempt broke Ron's composure. Even his refined upbringing couldn't restrain his irritation.
"If that's the case, why don't we settle this with a battle—using a Trainer's method to determine whose words hold true?"
Kael rolled his neck once and let out a cold chuckle.
"Heh. I'll beat you so badly you'll never dare say that again."