“If anything happens, call me, okay, Little Chi. I’m going to continue my patrol now. There have been quite a few Pokémon theft cases recently. Be careful yourself!”
Watching Officer Jenny ride off on her motorcycle, Ash smiled and then entered the Pokémon Center. Joy greeted Ash with a smile, “Ash, you’ve started your journey?”
“Yeah, I’m finally old enough. Please check up on my Pokémon, and get me a set of meals.”
“Okay.”
Meowth and Pikachu obediently went to Joy for a checkup, but Gardevoir refused to leave Ash’s side. Ash could only laugh awkwardly at Joy, “This kid’s a bit clingy. I’ll bring her over for a checkup later.”
Looking at Ash’s Gardevoir clinging to him, Joy chuckled, “No problem. It’s actually good to see this kid so attached to you.”
After that, Ash hugged Gardevoir and called his mother, Hana, to report his safety. Just as he was about to video call Professor Oak, the Pokémon Center TV aired a news bulletin.
“According to reports, Ms. Kamizure, the Gym Leader of Rayquaza Town in the Unova region and well-known model, seems to be engaged. She has a diamond ring on her ring finger…”
Then, Iris appeared on the TV.
“Ms. Kamizure, is it true that you’re engaged?!”
“Who is the man?!”
“Will you continue your modeling career?”
On TV, Iris answered each question calmly, “To be precise, I’ve accepted his proposal, but the details of the engagement still need to be discussed with our families. I’m not going to disclose who the man is because it would cause him inconvenience. As for modeling, I’ll discuss it with my fiancé depending on the situation. But my main job is Gym Leader, isn’t it?”
This news only aired for a short time before Hana contacted Ash, but her smile was a little terrifying.
“Ash, can you tell your mother about this?”
Under his mother’s intimidating gaze, Ash found a quiet place and admitted it was him, along with the fact about Cynthia. After learning about it, Hana was both angry and amused. Finally, she just said, “You really did it. You suddenly tell me about your future daughter-in-law, and I’m not even prepared. Oh well, I know you’re smart, Ash, and you can take care of yourself. But don’t bully anyone, okay? We’ll meet up with the other families sometime.”
“Okay.” After all, it was his own mother, so Hana wouldn’t scold him too much. Ash was currently behaving like a good boy.
After ending the call with Hana, Ash finally video-connected with Professor Oak. Upon seeing Ash, the Professor took a sip of ramen and said, “Ash, I saw the news. That person is definitely you, right? Nana said she wants to give you a good beating!”
Seeing Professor Oak acting like this, Ash couldn’t help but be exasperated. After all, Professor Oak had always been very good to him, treating him like another grandson. Ash could only allow the Professor to tease him, but as he looked at the Professor, Ash remembered something. He sent the photo he took with the Pokémon and the Ho-Oh to Professor Oak.
“Professor Oak, I got pretty lucky. I met something amazing right after I left. Look at our photo with it.”
Professor Oak clicked on the photo Ash sent, sipping tea while saying, “Let me see… Wow, you’re all so lively. That girl next to you is a new friend, huh? She’s great. Wait! The one in the back is! Ash!!!”
With the Professor’s loud roar, everyone in the Pokémon Center looked over. Ash apologized awkwardly, then looked at Professor Oak, “Professor Oak, why are you so dramatic?”
“Dramatic? Do you know how important this is? Is this photo real?”
“Ah? Of course, it’s real. Why do you think we all took a picture with it? This is a rare opportunity.”
“You! Ash, you’re my lucky star! These photos are incredible! By the way, how did you take them?!”
“Meowth built the machine, Meowth’s very talented.”
Professor Oak’s eyes lit up upon hearing it was Meowth’s machine. “So, that means you have…”
“Yeah, I have a bigger version, and it’s very clear. What do you think, Professor Oak, do you want it?”
At this moment, Ash was like a devil tempting Professor Oak. And Professor Oak fell for it. After all, it was Ho-Oh, a legendary Pokémon! It hadn’t appeared since the Bell Tower burned down!
“Yes! Of course, I do!”
“Then, I have a little favor to ask you, Professor Oak. Can you do it?”
“No problem, no problem! Just send me the magnified image, and anything else is fine!”
Seeing Professor Oak like this, Ash could understand his thoughts. So, he didn’t tease him anymore and told him his so-called ‘needs’.
“Professor Oak, please help me prepare a good gold coin for Meowth because he was the hero in this situation, and also, please comfort Nana! This is a life-saving thing!”
Professor Oak was stunned when he heard Ash’s ‘needs’. He then asked, “That’s it? Nothing else?”
“Yeah, that’s it.”
“You’ve thought this through, right? This photo of yours is very valuable. Even getting a ‘quasi-divine’ legendary Pokémon isn’t a problem.”
Looking at Professor Oak, Ash shook his head with a smile. “No need. Compared to those so-called ‘quasi-divine’ Pokémon, Nana is more important. Besides, when the time is right, companions will definitely meet. So, I’ll leave this to you, Professor Oak. I’ve already sent the photo to you.”
After that, Ash ended the call. Professor Oak clicked on the photo Ash sent him, looking at the incredibly clear image of Ho-Oh. The Professor smiled and said to Nana, who was beside him, “With this photo alone, an ordinary person could live a comfortable life with the rewards from the league. After all, this is the very first clear photo of a legendary Pokémon. Are you calmed down now?”
Nana looked at the incredibly clear image of Ho-Oh, and as a student of Professor Oak, she naturally understood the value of this photo. Then, thinking about Ash’s so-called needs, a faint smile appeared on her lips, but she still turned around and said, “That two-timing guy needs to be given a good beating.”
Professor Oak watched Nana leave, chuckling, “Youth is truly amazing.”