Professor Oak's Laboratory.
Professor Oak held Ash's and Gary's Pokédexes, entering their data while a satisfied smile stayed on his face the whole time.
Gary's Pokédex had recorded information on over sixty Pokémon, while Ash's had already surpassed one hundred.
Professor Oak couldn't help but sigh with emotion. His own grandson really wasn't trying hard enough. The Pokémon data Ash had collected was almost twice as much as Gary's.
Gary spent all day driving flashy cars and dating girls, hardly paying attention to the task his grandfather gave him. Just look at Ash—he managed both collecting Pokémon data and maintaining a relationship perfectly.
Ash used to look a bit slow and absent-minded, but who would've thought he'd become the best-performing trainer among the four who set out from Pallet Town?
He even had the most Gym Badges among them. The other two trainers had started out well, but later their progress slowed down.
"Ahem."
"You've both done a very good job collecting Pokémon data for your Pokédexes."
Professor Oak still tried to save his grandson some face. Gary always bragged about being the number one trainer from Pallet Town, and with so many familiar faces around, even Oak felt embarrassed.
Especially after that beauty contest incident last time.
"So Ash collected fewer Pokémon data entries than me, right?" Gary crossed his arms, his competitive spirit toward Ash never fading.
"Not necessarily. Ash encountered a lot of Pokémon along the way," Brock said after a moment of silence.
"Well… it's true that Ash recorded the most Pokémon data," Professor Oak admitted when he saw everyone looking at him expectantly.
Anyway, it wasn't the first time his grandson had been embarrassed.
He was used to it.
"But Gary caught the most Pokémon."
…Could you say that all at once next time?
Gary's mouth twitched. For a moment he thought Ash had actually captured more Pokémon than him.
"Ash, aren't you celebrating a little too early?" Gary scoffed, fiddling with his spiky hair.
"You haven't even caught as many Pokémon as I have. Instead of recording data, you should've just thrown more Poké Balls."
"Yeah, sure," Ash replied lazily.
He couldn't be bothered arguing. Instead of wasting time fighting, he'd rather spend it with his girlfriend.
Seeing Ash ignore him only made Gary more irritated. It felt like punching cotton—no reaction at all.
That annoying Ash!
"Hold on," Professor Oak quickly interrupted, sensing tension building.
"You've both collected eight Gym Badges, which means you've qualified to challenge the Pokémon League."
"The Indigo Plateau Conference will be held in two months at the Indigo Plateau."
"You should train hard before then and prepare well for the tournament."
Professor Oak explained the details of the Indigo Conference. After all, Ash and Gary were Pallet Town's greatest hopes. The other two trainers from their hometown hadn't even collected eight badges yet.
"Got it," Ash nodded.
But what he really wanted was to see the Pokémon living in Professor Oak's backyard.
"Professor Oak, we're going to check on the Pokémon first," Ash said before leading everyone toward the backyard.
Professor Oak's backyard was enormous.
There were roughly two hundred Pokémon living there—some flying in the sky, some walking or crawling on the ground, some swimming in ponds, and even some burrowing underground.
The moment Ash stepped inside, Butterfree flew straight toward him with its partner.
Having not seen Ash for so long, Butterfree fluttered around him excitedly, brushing against him as it circled.
Its partner did the same. After spending so much time with Butterfree, it had come to understand the story of this trainer as well.
"Butterfree, how have you been?"
Ash gently stroked Butterfree. The environment in Professor Oak's backyard was excellent—good food, plenty of companions, and lots of space.
Butterfree and its partner continued circling around Ash and the others happily.
"Muuk!"
Ash noticed Muk—the one that used to cling to Professor Oak. Surprisingly, it didn't smell as terrible as before.
Looks like Professor Oak had been working very hard.
Instead of wrapping around Oak, Muk bounced toward Ash and Pikachu, its body soft and squishy.
"Ash, do you know how awful Muk smelled when it was first sent back?" Professor Oak complained.
"I had just made a cup of instant noodles, and Muk ruined it so badly even a dog wouldn't eat it. The whole lab smelled for an entire week!"
Soon, the Pokémon learned that Ash had returned.
They rushed over in a massive wave.
"Gyarados, Pidgeot, Wartortle, Bulbasaur, Primeape, Dragonair, Tauros…"
Watching them run toward him, memories of meeting each one surfaced in Ash's mind.
"Everyone, come on out!"
Ash released all the Pokémon he was carrying, letting them reunite with the others.
It was a full-blown reunion.
"Let's all make dumplings together!" 🍥
"Ash really has a great bond with his Pokémon," Delia Ketchum said with a warm smile as Misty held onto her arm.
"Yeah… Ash really treats Pokémon well…" Misty replied.
Sometimes too well, to the point where she almost got jealous.
At that moment, the Togepi in her arms waddled over on its tiny legs, eager to join the fun.
"A shiny Gyarados?!" Gary shouted in shock.
He had never seen Ash's Gyarados before.
"Oh, I forgot to mention," Professor Oak said.
"The Pokémon Ash catches tend to be very high quality."
Oak secretly worried this might ignite Gary's competitive spirit again—he might even go try fishing for a shiny Magikarp himself.
But that would waste a huge amount of time, and the odds were extremely low.
"High quality?"
Gary didn't quite believe it.
He looked at Ash's tiny Krabby skeptically. Was that supposed to be high quality? The one he caught was several times bigger.
"Jigglypuff, don't start singing at your own people," Ash said quickly, placing Jigglypuff on his shoulder.
He had to stop it from suddenly bursting into song again.
It had almost formed a singing and dancing trio with Gastly and its prankster friends earlier.
Meanwhile, the fossil Pokémon Ash had obtained in Big Sand Valley were also living here, calm and well-behaved.
Nearby, Dratini and its mother Dragonair were happily reunited.
Dratini had evolved during Ash's training in Viridian Forest.
Dragonair had been enjoying a peaceful life in Oak's backyard retirement paradise. Seeing her son evolve made her even happier.
"Ash, there's something else I forgot to tell you," Professor Oak said seriously, pointing at Butterfree and its partner flying together.
"Butterfree and its partner laid an egg."
Well… it would be strange if they hadn't.
Ash had intentionally avoided calling Butterfree back so it could spend more time happily with its partner.
"You two should take these two months to train hard," Professor Oak continued.
"Try to achieve good results at the Indigo Conference."
After giving his instructions, Professor Oak headed back to the lab to continue his experiments.
Ash casually acknowledged him and began checking the condition of his Pokémon with Brock.
Misty and Delia gathered together, saying they were going home to prepare dinner.
Looking at Ash's powerful Pokémon lineup, Gary suddenly felt a little uneasy.
Ash usually kept a low profile, but behind the scenes he had been secretly raising such strong Pokémon.
The pressure was suddenly overwhelming.
No way… I need to work harder too.
I can't let Ash surpass me.
PS: I've been releasing chapters daily . Honestly, it hurts seeing almost no support on Patreon after all that work.If you're enjoying the fic, even a little, supporting me would mean a lot. It helps a student stay independent .
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