"Polliwhirl is unable to battle! Ash is the winner!"
"That was awesome, Pikachu! We won!!" Ash immediately rushed over and hugged Pikachu, rubbing its head.
"Pika?" Pikachu looked a little strange. Its tail was glowing slightly, and even though it was a flash, Ash still saw a metallic shine.
"Is that... Iron Tail?!" Ash wasn't sure.
"It looks like Pikachu will be able to master Iron Tail very soon," Professor Oak said, walking over with a smile. "That was a great battle, Ash. Knowing how to use every part of your body is a skill that many high-level trainers use."
Ash grinned. He was about to say something when Red walked over: "Let's battle again next time, Ash!"
"Okay!"
Professor Oak watched them from the side and nodded to himself.
While the battle at the lab was in full swing, Delia was at the sewing shop where she worked, handing in her resignation.
This was Ash's idea. Before, he was her son, so it was understandable for Delia to take care of him. But now that his identity had changed and he had officially become a trainer, there was no need for her to work.
The berries he had picked with Ayumi had already been converted into cash and given to Delia, which was enough for the two of them to live on for a while.
According to Ash's plan, all he had to do was earn more money during his journey, and he would soon be able to get rid of poverty and become rich.
But Ash could never have imagined that this arrangement would make things easier for a certain overly curious person.
After learning about Delia's schedule for the day, Tsukiko pretended to be very tired and went back to the room to rest. As soon as Delia left the house, Tsukiko snuck into Ash's room and started rummaging around.
She needed to find evidence that her best friend was being threatened and harassed by her son. Then she would use that to blackmail Ash in reverse and forbid him from ever harming Delia again!
As a good friend, she knew Delia's doting affection for her son all too well. It made her sad that something like this would happen.
In her eyes, a change in affection from a child was something that a traditional woman like Delia couldn't handle.
So she had to pull her best friend out of this mess as soon as possible!
Soon, she found a wet, shredded piece of cloth in a corner.
"This thing..." Tsukiko looked at the vaguely visible triangular piece of cloth and the familiar slippery texture in her hand. Her mind immediately filled with a series of images.
"Could it be... forced?!" Tsukiko covered her mouth, her eyes wide: "Ash is that violent?"
For a moment, she remembered the loud, continuous screams she heard from the room last night while listening at the wall. Her face gradually turned pink.
But soon, she shook her head and pushed the seductive thoughts away. If this was really what happened, then Delia was too pitiful.
She had to pretend to be a loving mother during the day and endure the humiliation of being "beaten" by Ash at night.
A look of determination flashed in Tsukiko's eyes.
Ash asked Professor Oak about his latest research, such as the special evolution methods of Eevee and the discovery of the Fairy-type.
The results were similar to what Ash had expected.
Perhaps due to a lack of technology, the communication between the different regions wasn't good, and information was not connected, which led to many people still thinking there were only 151 kinds of Pokémon.
If he were to write a paper on everything in the encyclopedia and publish it, Ash could easily become the youngest professor.
But he just thought about it. Ash had no intention of doing that.
After all, doing so would surely attract unwanted attention.
Many evil organizations needed research talent. Ash didn't know if the Pokémon League and the noble families were truly pure.
If he was captured and experimented on for their own benefit, it would be "game over."
Furthermore, writing a paper wasn't just about writing conclusions. You needed to have the process data, research basis, experimental results, and so on. Otherwise, it wasn't a paper; it was just nonsense.
To be honest, if he had an Eevee, Ash wouldn't want to use it for experiments.
Even though all of its evolutions had a base stat total of around 535, Eevee's evolutions were much cuter than most starter Pokémon.
Looking at the Eevee in Ayumi's arms, Ash was a little envious.
Hmm, I can hug it openly, all day long.
"Ash, are you going to start your journey?" Ayumi's voice interrupted Ash's thoughts.
"Yeah, probably in the next couple of days. Gary and the others are planning to leave tomorrow. I don't want to be too far behind them..."
Ayumi hugged the Eevee in her arms: "Okay! Then let's go on a journey, too, Eevee~"
"Eevee~" The little fox responded cutely.
"Aww~ so cute..." Ayumi rubbed her cheek against the little guy: "I've made up my mind! My goal is to become the new generation's Cute-type Master!"
"Hey, hey... there's no such thing as a Master like that..." Ash's forehead was covered in black lines.
"I say there is, so there is!" Ayumi glanced at him: "Ash~ I choose you! Take me with you on your journey~"
"?" Ash was confused: "Why should I take you with me...?"
"Tsk, tsk... Of course, it's to be the bodyguard for the future Cute Queen~"
"I refuse unless you pay me," Ash said blandly. That girl ate a lot, and he didn't have enough money to support her.
"No way... I let you see me naked! You cheapskate..." The girl pouted, and then a thought came to her mind: "Are you sure you won't take me with you?"
Ash glanced at her: "I'm not."
"Oh~ then it seems I need to have a good talk with Auntie Delia about a certain golden ring..."
"???" Ash was a little panicked: "What are you going to do?"
"Why, demand compensation, of course. A certain person forced me to... perform a certain act..."
"I!!!" Ash almost passed out from anger: "You're the one who started it, you know?! I'll accuse you of molesting a minor!"
A sinister expression appeared on the girl's face: "Which of those two stories do you think a normal person would believe?"
Ash looked at the beautiful girl in front of him: her slender waist, round rear, slim legs, and a budding chest. He fell silent.
Although he was a handsome, good-looking guy, he wasn't handsome enough to make someone fall in love at first sight. So, no one would believe him.
"So, what do you think~" The girl smiled smugly.
Ash forced a smile through gritted teeth: "Then, Your Majesty, when shall we set off?"
"Hmm~" Ayumi nodded in satisfaction: "It depends on my mood!"
"Okay..." Ash's eyes gleamed with a strange smile: "Since I can't get out of it, I might as well collect some interest..."
"What... are you going to do?"
"Smack!" The next moment, Ash's hand landed on her pert rear.
Ayumi frowned: "Ow!"
But the response she got was another hard slap.
To be precise, it was a series of slaps.
He had to admit that even though the girl's chest wasn't big, her butt was quite pert. It was full of meat, so slapping it wasn't hard on his hand.
For a moment, Ash got a little addicted to slapping her.
Luckily, the two of them had walked to a remote part of town where there weren't many people. Otherwise, Ash would really have been found guilty of molesting a girl.
By the time they got home, Ayumi had already put Eevee away.
She had no choice. She needed both hands to protect her rear.
Upon closer inspection, the already pert part was now even bigger.
It had been completely swollen from the slapping.
The girl's face was now as red as her butt.
She didn't know if it was her imagination, but she felt that the more he slapped her, the more something felt like it was trying to come out of her body. It was a very strange feeling. The look in her eyes towards Ash was also a little lustful.
Ash didn't notice this. He had just learned a simple truth: there was a lingering scent on his hand after he slapped her butt.