"Dana! Dana Dana!!"
Bulbasaur ate the freshly prepared grass-type Pokémon rations made by Ash.
There was an expression of astonishment on his face!
How could there be such delicious food in the world?!
After taking the first bite, Bulbasaur was immediately conquered.
Later on, he devoured huge portions like crazy.
Pikachu even came over and patted Bulbasaur's seed, signaling that he didn't need to eat so fast.
Bulbasaur paused for a moment, then didn't reject Pikachu's kindness.
If another unfamiliar Pokémon had come so close, or even touched the bulb on his back,
He would have already used Vine Whip to send the intruder flying.
But the Pokémon food he was eating now was made by the Trainer whose Pokémon had just approached him.
How could he do something so rude?
Even though he was a wild Bulbasaur, he was also a polite one.
After eating and drinking his fill, Bulbasaur nodded slightly to Ash to express his gratitude.
He then asked Ash if there was anything he could do to repay him.
He would definitely do it.
"Repay me? Then how about becoming my Pokémon? That way, you can eat this kind of food every day~"
Ash said in an inviting tone.
Bulbasaur's face showed hesitation.
But in the end, he shook his head.
"Dana Dana... Dana!"
I have something important to protect... so I can't go with you!
"I see..."
Ash didn't expect that even his cooking couldn't sway Bulbasaur's resolve.
It seemed that in Bulbasaur's heart, the thing he wanted to protect was more important than anything else.
That only made Ash admire and want this Pokémon even more!
He didn't want to give up so easily.
So Ash proposed that he could follow Bulbasaur to see what he was protecting.
If it was something he could help with, maybe Bulbasaur would agree to come with him afterward.
Bulbasaur hesitated briefly, but finally nodded and agreed to Ash's request, then led them toward his home.
After packing up their things, Ash and the others followed behind Bulbasaur.
As they walked, Serena finally asked the question that had been on her mind.
"Ash... can you really understand Pokémon language?"
At first, Bulbasaur had only used his vines to gesture toward Oddish's food.
That could still be explained as simple body language.
But the way Ash and Bulbasaur talked afterward—
It really looked like Ash could understand what he was saying!
Misty, who had also been silent, looked over curiously, wanting to know too.
She had actually wondered the same thing in her heart.
Could Ash really understand Pokémon speech?
If that were true... then Ash was practically omnipotent!
Was there anything in the world he couldn't do?
Ash nodded slightly, confirming Serena's guess.
"I understand a little. Mainly because I have the power of Wave and the power of Viridian. Those two powers let me communicate with Pokémon."
"Although it's not a perfect one-to-one translation, I can understand about 99% of what they mean."
"The power of Waveguide?!"
"The power of Viridian?!"
Both girls exclaimed in shock.
In truth, they had never heard of such powers before.
But they knew enough to realize that few people in the world possessed extraordinary abilities.
Like psychics, for example.
Ash's two powers clearly fell under that category.
And he actually had two of them!
That was too unbelievable!
They had been traveling with Ash for a while now.
Yet every time they thought they knew him, he revealed something even more mysterious.
Ash's secrets were like a bottomless pit—no matter how deep you looked, you could never see the end.
The more they learned about him, the more they felt he was like a black hole that couldn't be fully understood.
At that moment, Serena secretly felt relieved that she had decided to join Ash on his journey early.
Otherwise, with his looks, talents, and gentle nature,
Who knew how many other girls would be drawn to him in the future?
If she had waited until he traveled to Kalos or met her again after a year,
It might have already been too late.
Misty was also quietly pleased.
Who would have thought that in less than a month after leaving home,
She would meet someone with such immense potential?
Even though they were only ten years old, she could still make her move early!
After all, people matured early all around the world.
It wasn't strange for a ten-year-old to have a boyfriend or girlfriend.
And for someone with Ash's potential,
Forget ten years old—even a six-year-old might have tried to reserve him already!
Thinking this, Misty glanced at Serena from the corner of her eye.
Wasn't she the one who had liked Ash since she was six?
Did Misty still have a chance? Maybe...
Ahem, what was she thinking? She was supposed to be Ash's apprentice now!
She couldn't betray her master like that!
Ash had no idea that the two girls beside him were having such strange thoughts.
The powers of Wave and Viridian weren't something he needed to hide.
Besides, Misty and Serena were likely to travel with him for a long time,
So it was only natural they'd find out eventually.
He had actually used the power of Viridian several times already.
The two girls had even noticed some oddities before.
After all, several of the Pokémon he fought had recovered without using Potions.
Even the ones they trained with him healed quickly after just a touch.
Anyone could tell he had a special ability.
They had just been subconsciously ignoring it.
At first, Ash used Potions on purpose to avoid suspicion.
But later, he didn't bother to hide it anymore.
As they followed Bulbasaur, Ash took the chance to explain how both powers worked.
Misty and Serena listened, their eyes wide in astonishment.
By the time Ash finished explaining, the three of them had arrived in front of a small wooden house.
A girl was kneeling in front of the house, surrounded by several Pokémon.
She was carefully grinding herbs and applying medicine to some injured Pokémon.
Hearing footsteps, she looked up and saw Bulbasaur, Ash, the two girls, and Pikachu.
"Bulbasaur, you're back! And these three are...?"
(End of the chapter)