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"Knock, knock, knock."
Ash gently knocked on his front door. The door opened, but instead of Delia, a pink, clown-like Pokémon appeared!
Ash was stunned for a moment, then looked up at the house.
"That's right, it's my house, isn't it? When did my house get a Mr. Mime?"
"Mimey?"
The Mr. Mime also tilted its head, as if wondering who Ash was.
"Mr. Mime, who is it?"
As the human and Pokémon stood at the doorway in a stalemate, a loud voice came from inside the house. Ash immediately recognized it as his mother's voice.
"Mom, it's me, Ash!"
"Huh? Ash!!"
After Delia's response, a commotion came from inside the house. Soon, Ash saw Delia's figure, and then he felt himself enveloped in a warm embrace.
"You child, you finally remembered to come home! Do you know how long your mom hasn't seen you?!" Delia's voice was slightly choked, showing how much she missed Ash.
This was normal; since childhood, Ash had never left home for so long. He had been gone for several months, and besides one brief encounter at the beach, they hadn't met in person since.
It had mostly been video calls.
But for Ash, there wasn't much of a substantial feeling, because his daily travels were very fulfilling. When he occasionally had free time, he could see his mother on video or talk to her on the phone, so he didn't have the same intense longing as Delia.
If it were before, Ash would definitely think his mom was making a mountain out of a molehill. How long had he even been gone?
But the seniors in the group had taught Ash not only about battles but also about everyday personal conduct.
Ash could understand that it was normal for his mother to react this way after being home alone for so long.
However, he still said helplessly, "Didn't I call you often? Although video calls were less frequent, I made one at least once a week, right?"
"You have the nerve to say that? I told you to video call Mom when you reached the next city, but you forgot all day long! What kind of memory is that?!" When Delia mentioned this, she got a little angry. If she hadn't said anything, it would be one thing.
But she had clearly called Ash's phone, reminding him to video call her back from the next city. Yet, Ash let it go in one ear and out the other, only calling back more than a week later, and then there was another long period without calls.
If Delia hadn't checked her phone and known Ash was fine, she probably would have died of worry.
"Ahem, I just forgot. Traveling outside is very busy!"
"No matter how busy you are, you still have to call! Look at Gary, he even comes back to see his grandfather Oak from time to time. And look at you, you haven't been home once in over three months!"
Facing Delia's scolding, Ash rolled his eyes this time. He could crush Gary in everything else, but when it came to the number of times he came home… "He drives a sports car everywhere every day. I rely on my two legs; how can I come home from time to time?!"
"Can't you take a taxi?!"
"That would defeat the purpose of traveling!"
"Hey, you child!" Delia was so exasperated by Ash that she was speechless for a moment. However, this daily bickering actually brought warmth to Delia's heart. This was what it felt like to have her child at home – bickering, but full of life.
"This is Misty and Brock. Mom, you should have met them before. They've been sleeping at our house during this time, training with me for the upcoming Indigo Plateau Conference." After bickering with his mother, Ash also slightly stepped aside, making room for Misty and Brock and introducing them.
Delia had already met them in Laramie, so they weren't completely strangers.
Seeing the two, Delia also showed a bright smile and invited them into the house.
Ash's house was quite simple, completely lacking any hint of a wealthy Family. It was from such an ordinary Family that a Trainer prodigy like Ash was born, which somewhat surprised Misty and Brock.
Although they knew Ash wasn't some rich second-generation, they didn't expect him to be so ordinary.
"Make yourselves at home~ Mr. Mime, go buy some groceries. I need pork, beef, river shrimp…" Delia said to the Mr. Mime who was wearing an apron and mopping the floor nearby.
Upon hearing this, the Mr. Mime obediently put down the broom, took some money, and went out to buy groceries.
Delia, meanwhile, brewed and poured tea for Misty and Brock at the tea table.
"Here, have some tea."
"You're too kind, Auntie!"
"Yes, yes, how can we let you do this?"
The two hurriedly took the tea from Delia's hands while politely declining.
Ash, on the other hand, sat casually on the sofa, picked up a cup of water, and gulped it down. Pikachu followed suit, chugging it down, only to stick out his tongue from the heat.
Togepi, beside him, also imitated, sticking out her tongue and taking a lick. Immediately, her small face contorted into a bitter expression; the bitter taste of tea was a bit too much for her.
"Slow down, Pikachu, and Ash, why are you drinking so fast? Don't you feel the heat?" Delia's eyebrows furrowed slightly as she spoke to Ash with a mix of displeasure and concern.
This was freshly brewed tea; drinking it so fast was dangerous!
"No, it feels just right. Hey, it's fine, Mom, your son is a Superhuman."
Misty and the others: …Honestly, Auntie, your son really is a Superhuman. This temperature is indeed nothing to him.
"More importantly, Mom, what's with that Mr. Mime? Is it a Pokémon you caught?" Ash asked with a curious expression.
His mother was a rare person who didn't even have a single Pokémon. She said she used to have Pokémon, but because of certain events, she now didn't have any. Now, a Mr. Mime had inexplicably appeared in her home. Could it be a new Pokémon Delia had caught?
"You mean Mimey? He suddenly appeared at our doorstep, and I picked him up."
"At the time, that child had many injuries and was extremely hungry, so I brought him into the house and made him some food."
"Later, he recovered a lot, so I took him to Oak's Laboratory to have Professor Oak treat him. Afterward, he just stayed with us. He usually helps me with housework and grocery shopping. He's a very capable little helper, just like having another son~"
Delia said with a smile, showing how pleased she was with the Mr. Mime. After all, it not only helped with housework, grocery shopping, and cooking, but it also added some life to the quiet, empty house.
It was also thanks to the Mr. Mime that Delia could be more relaxed and at ease at home.
Ash couldn't help but marvel at Delia's incredible luck. In Kanto, Psychic-type Pokémon were extremely rare. He had traveled for several months and hadn't encountered a single Mr. Mime, yet Delia found one while sitting at home, as if it fell from the sky.
Moreover, this Mr. Mime's talent was quite good, with two A-grade aptitudes, and the rest were either B or C. It should be quite outstanding within the Mr. Mime Family.
The saying "like mother, like son" isn't without reason. Perhaps it's because Delia's luck is so strong that he has the chance to surpass her.
"Then when Mr. Mime comes back, I'll have to thank him for keeping my mom company at home and helping her with the housework."
"Yes, Mimey is much more capable than you, Ash."
Ash rolled his eyes at Delia's comparison. You can praise him, but why slander your son?
However, what Delia said wasn't wrong. After all, he never did housework at home and was nowhere near as capable as Mr. Mime.
Half an hour later, Mr. Mime returned with groceries. Delia and Brock went to cook. Ash originally wanted to help, but the kitchen was already too crowded for him, so he could only sit in the living room with Misty and watch TV.
At this time, the TV was broadcasting news about the Viridian Gym.
To summarize, the Viridian Gym Leader, Giovanni, was exposed as the leader of Team Rockets. After the Kanto Elite Four discovered this, they immediately launched an operation to encircle and suppress Giovanni. Although Giovanni ultimately escaped, they had obtained many Team Rockets coordinates from him and would soon proceed to annihilate the exposed Team Rockets bases one by one.
"This news will probably be a huge blow to the entire Kanto Region, especially to the people in Viridian City," Misty said with a sigh, looking at the eloquent TV host.
Giovanni was an idol to many Gym Leaders and one of Kanto's prides, as well as an object of admiration for many people in Viridian City.
But now that his true identity was exposed, all his previous images would be completely shattered, which would be a fatal blow to those who admired and worshipped Giovanni.
"There's nothing we can do. Giovanni was never a good person from the start, and this day was bound to come. It's better that it's exposed now than later, when his influence would be more deeply entrenched," Ash also sighed and shook his head, saying somewhat helplessly.
In his opinion, the League should not have concealed Giovanni's identity from the beginning. Why let the dignified leader of Team Rockets serve as a Kanto Gym Leader? And even develop into Kanto's strongest Gym Leader!
Although it was indeed good for Kanto initially, increasing both Kanto's morale and the combat power of Kanto's Gym Leaders.
But look at the consequences after the exposure now: the morale of the entire Kanto Region has been completely shattered. Unless someone capable of replacing Giovanni emerges, someone who can dispel all the negative effects Giovanni brought, and transfer Giovanni's fame to themselves, becoming Kanto's new pillar, only then can Kanto's decline be halted.
However, how difficult it is for such a person to emerge. This person must not only be powerful but also highly renowned, have impeccable character, no scandals, and demonstrate the potential to lead Kanto through the gloom.
In short, an all-rounder!
If such a person truly existed, they wouldn't just halt Kanto's decline; they would lead Kanto to soar, directly becoming the strongest League!
Currently, there is only one such person in the world who, by his own strength, drove the development of an entire League, elevating an entire regional League from the bottom to the top!
This person is Leon from the Galar Region, widely recognized as the strongest Trainer in the world!
"Forget it, that's the League's concern. Let's think about how to tackle the Indigo Plateau Conference instead." Misty shook her head, deciding not to think about Giovanni anymore. That guy had already been defeated by Ash, so what was the point of thinking so much? It was better to think more about Ash's matters.
"How to tackle the Indigo Plateau Conference? Just win it! I'm definitely going to win the Champion title this Indigo Plateau Conference!" Ash said as if it was a given, as if the Champion title was already his for the taking.
His confidence wasn't without reason. After all, with his strength, unless he faced an Elite Trainer, it was basically impossible for anything unexpected to happen.
And if someone who had traveled for two years and reached Elite level truly appeared, Ash would concede! He could only say that even with his cheat, he couldn't compare to such a monster. Such a situation was theoretically almost impossible.
"Don't be too careless, though. Gary said that some Trainers with over a year and a half of experience are participating in this Indigo Plateau Conference," Misty gently reminded him.
Trainers who had traveled for a year and a half usually wouldn't participate in the Indigo Plateau Conference, because such a competition held little meaning for them.
Unless they were coming back to stomp on rookies, it was basically impossible for it to offer them any improvement.
However, this Indigo Plateau Conference seemed a bit different. For some unknown reason, there were five Trainers with a year and a half of experience participating in this Indigo Plateau Conference, and this was just Gary's current information. The number could only be more, not less.
Although Ash's strength was absolutely leagues ahead of the other Trainers, he couldn't afford to be careless!
"Don't worry, I won't be careless. By the time I participate in the Indigo Plateau Conference, my strength will definitely be beyond its current level. Just watch me win the Indigo Plateau Conference Champion title, and that's that!"
Seeing Ash's confident demeanor, Misty's heart rippled slightly. Compared to when she first met Ash, he had truly changed a lot. He had become stronger, more confident, and more attractive… "Training starts tomorrow, Misty. You and Brock will battle me, and I've prepared a training plan. See if there's anything that needs to be modified." Ash didn't know what Misty was thinking at the moment. He quickly entered a state of readiness, beginning to prepare his training plan.
Ash picked up a pen, and crooked words appeared on the white paper. Although the handwriting was a bit messy, Misty could still understand it.
"This won't work. The intervals are too short. You need to rest longer here. And here, it would be better to have Lucario and Primeape train as a team…"
In the kitchen, Delia and Brock were cooking. In the living room, Ash and Misty leaned their heads together, continuously revising the training plan for the next two months. The entire house exuded a very harmonious atmosphere.