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"They are Misty and Brock, Gym Leaders of Cerulean City and Pewter City, and also my companions on my journey. They've helped me a lot since I started my travels!" Ash introduced Misty and Brock.
Chloe bowed to the two of them, then introduced herself as well, and the two parties got to know each other.
Afterward, Chloe invited Ash and the others to come home for dinner. It was just a matter of three extra pairs of chopsticks, and Chloe also wanted to chat with Ash about how he had been doing these past few years.
So, the group left the laboratory and returned to Professor Cerise's home.
At Professor Cerise's home, the group met Professor Cerise's wife, Yoshino.
Chloe resembled Yoshino by eighty percent; both had emerald green eyes. Yoshino wore glasses, and her long reddish-brown hair was tied into a braid that hung down one side, giving her a very wifely appearance.
Besides Yoshino, there was also Chloe's younger brother, Sota, who was ten years old and not yet old enough to travel. However, under Professor Cerise's influence, he had already learned a lot about Pokémon.
After Ash and the others arrived, he quickly blended in and started chatting with everyone.
Laughter and joy filled the dinner table. Professor Cerise's family and Ash's group were like relatives who had known each other for many years, without any sense of unfamiliarity.
Ash recounted his journey over the past month. The events he experienced in one month were more exciting than what most people experienced in a year.
Aside from Ho-Oh and the chat group, Ash didn't hide anything and told everything.
Professor Cerise and the others were astonished. Ash's journey seemed a bit different from others'; it was simply too exciting.
First, he encountered a Shinny Ralts, then he met the Royal Three Families, and two of them were even unwanted by others.
Professor Cerise couldn't help but exclaim that his luck was simply too outrageous.
As a professor, he knew how low the probability of a Shinny Ralts appearing was. Not to mention in the wild, even among all the Trainers and the Alliance worldwide, it would be difficult to find a handful.
What's more, Ash's Ralts hatched from a Pokémon egg that fell from the sky. This can no longer be described as luck; it's as if their encounter was destined.
And judging by the current level of Ralts that Ash mentioned, the aptitude of this Ralts would definitely not be too low.
His luck was truly unparalleled!
After eating their fill, everyone moved to the living room sofa. Yoshino was clearing the dishes, and Brock was helping. Ash and Misty also wanted to help, but Chloe sent them to the living room, citing that there wasn't enough space in the kitchen for so many people.
..."Professor Cerise, what exactly happened with Riolu? Why did the Pokémon egg turn out that way?" After sitting on the sofa, Ash finally had time to ask the question that had been bothering him.
Generally speaking, Pokémon eggs, whether in human hands or Pokémon hands, are carefully protected. Moreover, Pokémon eggs are not like chicken eggs; they have some hardness.
An ordinary fall, such as rolling off a table, would not break them.
Ash could be 100% certain that the cracks on Riolu's Pokémon egg were caused by a relatively severe impact.
If the Pokémon egg was in Professor Cerise's hands, he shouldn't have made such a low-level mistake.
Speaking of the Pokémon egg, Professor Cerise and Chloe's expressions instantly darkened, as if Ash's words had touched on some unpleasant memories in their hearts.
Seeing this, Misty quietly poked Ash's waist. Having experienced many things, Ash now had some emotional intelligence. Upon seeing their expressions and Misty's reminder, he immediately shut his mouth, deciding not to ask about it anymore.
However, Professor Cerise spoke at this moment: "It's shameful to say, but I trusted the wrong person, which led to the Pokémon egg becoming that way."
"Uh... it's okay. If it's something you want to forget, then it's better not to talk about it."
"No, Ash, you should now be considered Riolu's Trainer, so you have the right to know about this matter." Professor Cerise shook his head and then began to recount the reason for the Pokémon egg's cracking.
Five years ago, he organized a summer camp event. Summer camps usually involve taking children aged 8-12 out for recreation and to deepen their understanding of Pokémon.
Ash knew about that summer camp, but he happened to go to another one, so he didn't attend.
And an accident occurred during that summer camp.
Chloe also participated in that summer camp, and with Chloe was their neighbor, a boy named Goh, whom Chloe got along with quite well.
Goh's personality was quite arrogant; he often felt that his intelligence and behavior were on a different level from his peers, and he loved to do things that would attract attention.
Like demonstrating some Pokémon knowledge he learned from Professor Cerise in front of the other teenagers, thereby eliciting cheers from the boys and girls.
In reality, as Professor Cerise's daughter, Chloe knew much more than Goh, so Goh's behavior seemed a bit childish to Chloe, but a ten-year-old child is indeed at a childish age.
This kind of behavior at most only made people feel a little uncomfortable, but not quite disgusted.
However, precisely because Professor Cerise didn't take Goh's personality to heart, he did something that he regretted for five years.
On the day of the summer camp, he happened to receive a Pokémon egg mailed from Rota City.
The Pokémon egg was sent from Aurant Town, the main city of Rota City, and it was the Pokémon egg of the current Queen of Aurant Town!
This Pokémon egg was extremely important, related to a legend of Aurant Town. However, the Pokémon egg had not hatched for a long time. No matter if it was soaked in nutrient solution, carried around, or various other methods, nothing had any effect on the Pokémon egg.
So, the high-ranking officials of Aurant Town discussed it and finally decided to give the Pokémon egg to external professors for research.
Since Professor Cerise was relatively close to them, and also a well-known professor with some connections to them, plus Professor Cerise's master was Professor Oak, if Professor Cerise couldn't figure it out, he could also give the Pokémon egg to Professor Oak for research.
So they chose to entrust the Pokémon egg to Professor Cerise.
At that time, Queen Ilene left a message in her letter saying that the Pokémon egg had been in their hands for several months, and they had never seen a Pokémon egg that failed to hatch after several months.
After receiving the Pokémon egg, Professor Cerise researched it every day, even when going to the summer camp.
However, just as he was researching the Pokémon egg, one of the teenagers in the camp seemed to have gone missing. Just as Professor Cerise wanted to take the Pokémon egg to look for that teenager, Goh volunteered to watch over the Pokémon egg, telling Professor Cerise to go find the person without worry.
Professor Cerise thought about it, figuring that there were no Pokémon in the camp, and generally no danger would be encountered. Coupled with Goh's relatively mature demeanor, he handed the Pokémon egg to Goh.
However, when Professor Cerise returned after finding the person, he couldn't find Goh and Chloe!
This made Professor Cerise extremely anxious. How could he find one person only to lose two more?
This summer camp trip was truly fraught with difficulties.
So he repeatedly emphasized that the remaining people must not move, and then he ran off to find Chloe and Goh again.
Finally, Professor Cerise found Chloe and Goh about a kilometer away from the camp, and they were actually being chased by a flock of Spearow.
Professor Cerise quickly released the Pokémon he carried with him to rescue them, and then an unexpected scene occurred... When Goh was about to be pecked by a Spearow, he actually took out the Pokémon egg in his hand to block the attack!
The Spearow's sharp beak directly pecked the Pokémon egg, and under the strong impact, a crack appeared at the tip of the Pokémon egg!
..."...This is the reason why that Pokémon egg cracked. I can only say it's all my fault; I shouldn't have left the Pokémon egg there, and I shouldn't have trusted... Alas." Professor Cerise's face was full of sorrow and regret.
Now, he occasionally dreams of that incident at night, then wakes up with a start, the feeling of regret clinging to his heart like a maggot.
Ash and the others also fell silent upon hearing this. No wonder Professor Cerise's face showed such an expression when talking about this, and even Chloe's.
It turned out Chloe was also involved in this incident.
"Why did that person named Goh go to that place?" After a long while, Ash still couldn't help but ask.
Professor Cerise clearly told Goh to look after the Pokémon egg in the camp, so why did that guy run outside the camp's boundaries? And not only did he run out, but he also took Chloe with him.
Not only that, the most disgusting thing about that guy was that when he was attacked, he actually used the Pokémon egg as a shield!
He didn't take responsibility for the flock of Spearow he provoked, and he even killed an innocent life.
That's right, in Ash's opinion, it was killing an innocent life. Even if it was kept alive by the water of a clear lake, that Pokémon egg was actually no different from death.
If he hadn't come to Cerise Laboratory today, that Pokémon egg would probably have completely lost its life in no time.
And the culprit behind all this was that guy named Goh.
Chloe's expression became even more gloomy and downcast after hearing Ash's words: "It's all my fault for not being able to stop him... Because everyone was once curious why Dad brought a Pokémon egg to the summer camp, and Dad explained the reason."
"After learning the reason, Goh wanted to hatch the Pokémon egg with his own ideas and then shock everyone, including Dad, which is why he volunteered to help Dad take care of the Pokémon egg."
"Then he took the Pokémon egg into the forest, trying to hatch it with some unknown folk remedies. As a result, many methods failed to hatch the Pokémon egg. Finally, he got angry and casually threw a stone into the forest, which happened to hit a Spearow on the head..."
As Chloe recounted, everyone understood the whole story. In short, it was that guy named Goh's vanity at play, wanting to make a big splash by hatching the Pokémon egg, which led to this series of events.
Because of vanity, the Pokémon egg was taken to the forest. Because of his arrogant and narrow-minded psychology, he angrily threw a stone that hit a Spearow on the head, which triggered the Spearow flock's retaliation. And because of his selfish actions, he used the Pokémon egg as a shield in front of him.
If that guy had one less bad quality, the Pokémon egg wouldn't have ended up this way.
"Where is that guy?" Ash asked with a somewhat cold voice.
Whether out of his love for Pokémon or the inexplicable connection with Riolu, Ash couldn't contain his anger.
Even though it was five years ago, Ash still felt extremely indignant. What was the difference between that guy and Damian? They were both human scum!
"He's gone." Professor Cerise's voice was slightly cold, but Ash and the others could still hear the hint of anger in Professor Cerise's tone.
"Why is he gone? Didn't that guy have to take responsibility for doing something like that?!" Misty's delicate brows furrowed slightly, her words filled with strong dissatisfaction.
"It's precisely because he didn't want to take responsibility that he disappeared. He's as if he vanished into thin air; even his parents can't find him." Yoshino came out of the kitchen, still wiping her hands with a tissue, her tone full of exasperation.
It seemed that Professor Cerise's entire family disliked that person named Goh.
"That Pokémon egg was extremely important to the Queen of Aurant Town; it had extraordinary significance. Therefore, even though Goh was only ten years old, he had to receive the punishment he deserved. The Alliance's punishment was to permanently revoke his qualification as a Trainer and forbid him from owning Pokémon for life."
Professor Cerise explained Goh's punishment.
Although he was only ten years old, a ten-year-old already has normal cognitive abilities. He still had to bear responsibility for his mistakes, but due to his young age, he was not imprisoned; he was merely stripped of his qualification as a Trainer for life.
This punishment, for someone who wanted to become a Trainer, was indeed a very severe one, but it was still less severe than imprisonment.
"However, after that guy learned he would receive this punishment, he went crazy, insisting it was the Spearow flock's fault and had nothing to do with him. Such a claim certainly couldn't be accepted, and then not long after... he disappeared." Professor Cerise clenched his fist, the anger on his face finally leaking out a little.
He later thought about this countless times, why he trusted that guy, why he didn't Detect that guy's true nature!
So, when he saw Ash touching the Pokémon egg today, he immediately had PTSD, even hallucinating Ash as Goh.
Fortunately, Ash and Goh were not the same kind of people at all. One saved a Pokémon's life, while the other nearly ruined that Pokémon's entire life.