Chapter 3: Tricky Tasks and Props
Ash ignored Gary and continued to look through other people's information. Soon, he saw the information of the dog… no, of Goh.
Dogs are loyal companions to humans, so calling him Dog Hao would be an insult to dogs, and Growlithe and other Pokemon would have an opinion about it too.
"Ding! Detecting extreme dissatisfaction from the host and countless viewers towards Goh. Host, please prank Goh as much as possible during the Summer Camp. The mission reward will be determined by the extent of the pranks, and there are no restrictions on the means used. (Detection shows the mission target has great luck. During the mission, the system will conceal the host's Aura. Host, please feel free to deliver a heavy blow!)"
"Ah, well… Goh, if you want to blame someone, blame your scriptwriter. I'm just following the system's arrangements, not acting on my own will."
Ash was secretly delighted.
He would do this mission even without a reward. It was perfectly timed. He could annoy Goh, vent some frustration, and still get a reward. It was simply perfect.
"Ding! Detecting that the mission accepted by the host is quite special. Limited-time items have been refreshed. The host can purchase them as desired."
"Oh my, this Goh really is hated by gods and dogs alike! The mission was triggered, and the shop was refreshed. Alright, I've decided: if I see Goh again during my journey, I will definitely give him extra 'care'!"
Ash opened the system's shop and immediately saw five limited-time items.
The first was naturally the most common item—Curse Talisman. One talisman lasts for seven days, works regardless of distance, and its effects are stackable. It's also very convenient to use; you just need to hold the talisman and silently recite the name of the person you want to Curse. The price is quite affordable, only 100,000 League Coins per talisman, just requiring a silent read.
Seeing this, Ash immediately bought ten talismans. He wanted to buy more, but the system had a purchase limit.
The second item was a tool called Stone of Hatred. Its effect was that when worn, it could emit special waves that mocked all surrounding creatures for a certain period, with a time limit of half an hour.
The third item was a tool called Social Death Sticker. Its effect was that once bound to the prank target, all their socially embarrassing moments would be seen and spread by others, intentionally or unintentionally, for a duration of 1 year.
The fourth item was called Mind Voice Transmitter. Its effect was that once bound to the target, their wicked thoughts would automatically transmit to the minds of people around them, and those receiving the information would automatically fill in the blanks, for a duration of 10 days.
The last item was called Disgust Enhancer. Its effect was just as its name suggested: once a prank target was selected, other creatures would unconsciously feel disgust when they saw that person.
All five items were single-use consumables. The latter four were limited to one purchase each. Except for the Stone of Hatred and Social Death Sticker, which needed to be placed on the prank target, the others could be used simply by saying the name.
Ash didn't think much and directly spent over eighty million League Coins to buy all these items. Of course, he wasn't in a hurry to use them immediately. The Summer Camp hadn't even started yet. If the Curse Talisman was too effective and Goh was sent away directly, wouldn't the two items that needed to be placed on him to take effect become useless?
Soon, Dr. Oak led the two to the Summer Camp's base.
As soon as they got out of the car, the three became the focus of everyone's attention. To be precise, Dr. Oak became the focus of the crowd. Almost all the children looked at Dr. Oak with admiration.
"Children, welcome to this Pokemon Summer Camp. I am the initiator of this event—Dr. Oak. This Summer Camp will last for 10 days.
These 10 days are a rare opportunity for you to interact with Pokemon in the wild before becoming Trainers. You must cherish this opportunity. Before officially announcing the start of the activities, you must abide by the rules that have already been laid out.
You absolutely, absolutely must not leave the camp without permission, and even more so, do not venture rashly into Viridian Forest. There are countless wild Pokemon in there, and many of them are aggressive. It's very dangerous in there, do you understand?"
"Understood, Doctor!"
"Hmm, good, obedient children are good children."
Saying this, Dr. Oak specifically scanned Ash with his gaze.
He didn't know if others would enter Viridian Forest, but as for Ash, he was certain that this kid would definitely find an opportunity to sneak in.
Ash had Aura protecting him, so Dr. Oak wasn't afraid of him being in danger. However, he was afraid that other children would follow Ash and sneak in. Even though he had already instructed his Dragonite to go into Viridian Forest and greet the wild Pokemon, it's better to be safe than sorry.
Especially the most dangerous Pokemon group in Viridian Forest—Beedrill. They are not only highly territorial but also extremely protective of their young. Provoking one is like provoking a whole swarm, and getting stung would leave one miserable for a long time, if not fatal.
Ash, quite understandingly, gave Dr. Oak a reassuring look.
Dr. Oak no longer paid attention to Ash but instead led a group of children to an open space and began the first lesson of the Summer Camp: pitching tents. During this time, Dr. Oak also told these children many precautions for camping in the wild.
After the camp was mostly set up, Dr. Oak began the first lesson of the Summer Camp.
"Children, Viridian Forest is the largest forest in the Kanto region. There are many Pokemon in the forest, the most common of which are Bug-type Caterpie..."
Listening to Dr. Oak introduce everything from common Pokemon in Viridian Forest to the First Generation Starters of the Kanto region, Ash only felt extremely bored. After all, he was a Level 1 Researcher and had stayed in Dr. Oak's laboratory for so long. Let alone the First Generation Starters of the Kanto region, he had even encountered those from other regions. As for Viridian Forest, there was no need to mention it; he snuck in at least once a week, alright?
Ash looked around and found that the other children were listening to the lesson with great interest. He had the idea of secretly slipping away.
What he didn't know was that several people had already left the group much earlier.
Ash moved quickly, and soon he entered the bounds of Viridian Forest.
"Could Dr. Oak's mouth have been blessed? Why do all the Pokemon I've seen along the way look like low-spec 'Rayquaza'? Could it be that Dr. Oak had his Dragonite clear the area?"
Ash was a bit puzzled. Normally, when he snuck in, the types of Pokemon on the outskirts of the forest were quite diverse. Caterpie, Pidgey, Nidoran, Oddish, and so on were everywhere, but now, it was all Caterpie.
As he was thinking, Ash suddenly sensed two rather familiar Auras. "This Aura is... the dog... no, it's Goh's. So, the one with him should be Professor Cerise's daughter, Koharu."
"Wait, Goh seemingly encountered the rogue Mew during the Summer Camp. Could it be that..."
Thinking of this, Ash took out an instrument from his system space that resembled a Pokedex. This instrument was a recording device provided by the Pokemon League for researchers. It could record videos, look up data, and also be used as a Pokedex.
Then, Ash took out three prank items one by one to buff Goh. After applying the buffs, he quietly moved towards Goh's direction.