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"Dinner's ready!" Delia's voice reached the living room, and Ash and Misty, who had been discussing for more than ten minutes, put down their papers and went to the dining room.
Perhaps because Ash had finally returned today, or maybe because they had guests, the dishes today were incredibly rich: there was meat, shrimp, vegetables, crab, and even stewed old hen soup.
After everyone sat down, with a simple 'Let's eat,' they immediately began to feast.
During the meal, Delia also inquired about Ash's experiences during his travels.
Misty and Brock also took turns sharing interesting stories from their journey with Delia. Although they had traveled on foot, they hadn't encountered any dangerous situations and had an easy time of it.
The most dangerous incident was probably the battle against Giovanni in Viridian City yesterday, which was genuinely a situation where one mistake could have been fatal.
However, Misty and Brock naturally wouldn't mention yesterday's events to Delia. In fact, they omitted some adventurous parts of their journey, fearing that Delia would worry about Ash.
Even if everything turned out fine in the end, as a mother, she would naturally be concerned for her son.
And since there were no real dangers, there was no need to mention them.
Listening to Ash and his friends' interesting stories from their journey, Delia's face was constantly smiling. From Misty and Brock's accounts, Delia could clearly feel Ash's growth along the way; her son truly seemed to have grown up.
This gave Delia a sense of accomplishment, but also a touch of loss. When children grow up and no longer need their parents' protection, a mother naturally feels a sense of not being needed.
However, seeing Ash's satisfied expression as he ate, Delia suddenly felt that her child still needed her—at least she could ensure Ash had a warm meal when he returned home.
"Eat slowly, don't choke."
"Got it (I know)."
...After eating their fill, Ash and Misty cleared the dishes and washed them in the kitchen, while Mr. Mime was already playing with Pikachu. Delia and Brock were in the living room exchanging thoughts on cooking.
Delia's cooking skills were certainly good, but Brock's culinary expertise was even more refined through countless trials. Both had their unique understanding of cuisine and many insights into cooking, making it a perfect opportunity to exchange ideas.
After washing the dishes, Misty and Ash went to the living room and continued their previous conversation about their journey.
Upon learning that Ash would be staying in Pallet Town for the foreseeable future and training in the vicinity, Delia couldn't be happier. At least for the next few months, Ash wouldn't be traveling far.
Moreover, Misty and Brock would also be staying there. Although Ash's house wasn't large, it was a two-story house, so making a room available was not an issue. One of them, Brock or Misty, could stay in the empty room, and the other could sleep on the bottom bunk of Ash's bed.
Ash's bed was a bunk bed, and the bottom bunk had always been empty.
Finally, after some discussion, they decided that Misty would sleep on Ash's bottom bunk. This was mainly because Misty wanted to sleep with Togepi, but Togepi needed Ash to be nearby. If Misty held Togepi but Ash wasn't present, Togepi would cause a fuss.
Therefore, after discussing it, Misty eventually blushed and agreed to sleep on Ash's bottom bunk.
Actually, they often slept in bunk beds at Pokémon Centers before, but this time Delia was present—and she was Ash's mother!
If she slept in a bunk bed with Ash, what would Delia think?
However, in the end, her desire to sleep with Togepi outweighed her embarrassment, at least on the surface.
When Delia heard that Misty was willing to sleep in a bunk bed with Ash, her gaze towards Misty changed slightly.
'This girl... I see, I hadn't noticed before. It seems my son's charm isn't small!'
Delia secretly sighed, then smiled at Misty and said, "Then I'm sorry to make you share a bed with my son. I'll go get some blankets and pillows for you in a bit."
"A… a bed?! Auntie, don't say things that could be misunderstood!" Misty retorted, her face flushed with embarrassment.
"Hehe, Auntie isn't wrong. Isn't a bunk bed still one bed?" Brock also chuckled, teasing her.
Misty's feelings had probably already been discovered by Delia, and he himself had known for a long time. Only Misty and Ash, the two people involved, remained oblivious.
He had created so many opportunities for these two, yet they still hadn't made any progress. This made Brock a bit sentimental; not only was his own luck with women poor, but he couldn't even help others with their relationships!
However, Brock later realized that it wasn't his problem, but rather that Ash was too dense, and Misty wasn't proactive enough, which was why there had been no progress for so long.
But you couldn't blame Misty; after all, Misty was a girl, and asking a girl to be proactive was a bit much.
The main issue was actually Ash; as long as he didn't catch on, these two would struggle to succeed!
He wondered who could help him open his eyes.
Ash didn't feel there was anything wrong with this. After all, sleeping in bunk beds while traveling wasn't a one-time thing, and Misty was sleeping on his bottom bunk because of Togepi. What was so wrong with that?
Togepi: Feed me peanuts~
...Time flew by to the next day, and Ash was ready to begin his special training plan. He first needed to visit Professor Oak to meet all his Pokémon and plan their coordinated training for this period.
However, when Ash arrived at Oak's Laboratory, he encountered an unexpected guest: Blaine!
"Blaine, why are you here?"
Blaine, wearing a lab coat and with a smooth, bald head, chuckled and said, "Because I couldn't make a living on Cinnabar Island anymore, so I had to come here to Oak's place to pass the time and assist with his research. I heard you defeated Mewtwo. Truly, the younger generation surpasses the old; the old waves die on the beach!"
Blaine's face showed extreme emotion. Mewtwo, whom he feared like a ghost, was actually defeated by a teenager who had debuted just over three months ago. If this news hadn't been confirmed by the Kanto League Elite and Professor Oak, Blaine would never have believed it.
No one understood Mewtwo's terror better than he did. Without a divine realm presence, how could there be anyone capable of defeating Mewtwo?
But Ash won!
Either Ash possessed divine realm-level power, or Mewtwo's power had waned in Team Rockets' hands. Blaine's conclusion was the former.
Ash possessed divine realm-level power!!!
This conclusion was even more incredible to Blaine than the cat defeating Mewtwo.
That was divine realm-level! Divine realm-level!
Why did he create artificial Pokémon? Wasn't it because, in the current world, aside from legendary Pokémon, ordinary Pokémon simply couldn't cross into the divine realm? That's why Blaine tried to break this restriction through scientific means.
But in the end, due to a inexplicable burst of fanaticism, he went astray and created a monster. While this monster indeed possessed the power to break through to the divine realm, this situation could not be replicated, and even the unique specimen created had uncontrollable factors within it.
For the sake of the divine realm, humanity had put in countless efforts, conducted countless experiments, and gone down countless wrong paths, yet ultimately failed to control that power.
Blaine had already resigned himself to fate: divine realm-level power was not something humans could control, nor was it a realm that Pokémon trained by humans could enter.
And then, at that moment, a fifteen-year-old boy reached that realm... Was this a joke?
He had spent an entire night two days ago just to digest this news, and yesterday he waited here for Ash all day, but Ash never showed up.
It wasn't until today that he met Ash, and he finally asked the question he desperately wanted to know: "How exactly did you do it? How could a newly evolved Lucario step into the divine realm?!"
"Uh... let's go inside first and talk slowly." Ash pointed to his feet; they were still blocked by Blaine at the entrance of Oak's Laboratory.
"Oh, oh, sorry, I got too excited and forgot about that." Blaine's face showed a hint of embarrassment, then he quickly led Ash and the others into Oak's Laboratory.
Inside, Professor Oak was wearing gloves, gently stroking Aerodactyl's body. It seemed he was still conducting research related to Aerodactyl.
After all, Ash's Aerodactyl had lived from an unknown era until now, making it more valuable for research than those Aerodactyl revived from amber.
"Ash, you're here. Blaine waited for you all day yesterday. I told him you'd go back to chat with Delia and have dinner, and wouldn't come over so quickly, but he didn't believe me."
"Roar!" As Professor Oak spoke to Ash without looking back, Aerodactyl, who had been closing his eyes and letting Professor Oak do as he pleased, sensed a familiar aura. He opened his eyes, discovered it was his long-unseen Trainer, and roared with joy, flapping his wings and flying towards Ash.
Professor Oak, who was standing nearby, was caught off guard and blown directly to the side, lying sprawling on the ground with a bitter smile on his face. The Trainer's arrival certainly brought different treatment.
Who fed you and gave you drinks all this time? The first thing you do when you see your Trainer is forget your roots, isn't it!
Facing the pouncing Aerodactyl, Ash opened his arms to welcome him. Immediately, the body weighing over a hundred pounds pressed directly onto Ash, but it had no effect on him whatsoever.
Ash even hugged Aerodactyl and spun around twice, his face also showing joy: "Long time no see, Aerodactyl. How are you doing at Oak's Laboratory?"
"Roar~~" Very comfortable.
"Hehe, as long as you're comfortable. Just tell Professor Oak whatever you want to eat, don't be shy, I've paid for the food." Ash gave at least one-third of his perfume shop income to Professor Oak.
Although Professor Oak said it wasn't necessary, and that talking about money between him and Delia was too formal, Ash still chose to pay. If he didn't have money, it would be one thing, but since he did, he naturally couldn't freeload.
Regardless of whether Professor Oak valued money, the payment showed his attitude; the money itself wasn't that important.
After putting Aerodactyl down, everyone found a place to sit. Then Ash repeated the excuse he used to appease Misty and Brock to Blaine and Professor Oak.
This excuse was so flawless that even researchers like Blaine and Professor Oak couldn't find any loopholes.
Rather than saying they couldn't find flaws, it was more like there was no way to verify it. What Ash said was truly real. Even in Old Town, one could only learn the fact that the legendary hero Aaron and Lucario suppressed an entire war.
And the so-called reincarnation providing power had no verifiable points. Researching Lucario would yield no conclusive results.
Yet, it was precisely this kind of seemingly impossible explanation that best explained the source of Lucario's power. Otherwise, how did Lucario's divine realm power come about?
Even if a deity possessed him, Lucario's body couldn't withstand such terrifying pressure.
The matter with Lucario was settled, but... "Ash, you need to explain clearly what MEGA Evolution is all about! If Agatha hadn't let it slip, I wouldn't have known you were hiding such a big thing from me! I saw the footage of your battle, and that stone appearing on Venusaur's body, that's the thing you asked me to collect, isn't it! You really are something!"
Professor Oak bombarded Ash with questions, even spitting on Ash and Pikachu's faces.
Professor Oak's tone didn't sound overly angry, but there was still a bit of it. After all, Ash hiding the MEGA Evolution from him was one thing, but he also unknowingly became the person collecting MEGA Evolution ites. That was what made him lose his composure the most.
He couldn't even be a knowledgeable tool!
If Agatha hadn't let slip about MEGA Evolution, he would still be in the dark!
Hearing this, Ash showed an apologetic smile, then respectfully bowed ninety degrees to Professor Oak: "I'm sorry, Professor Oak!!"
At times like this, a sincere apology is all that's needed. Any verbal explanation is less effective than this single apology.
After all, Ash was in the wrong here. He had Professor Oak do things without informing him, and this was a system with epoch-making significance.
So, at this moment, a straightforward apology was the right move, and Professor Oak wouldn't dwell on it too much.
Sure enough, upon seeing Ash bow and apologize, Professor Oak's slightly indignant emotions instantly vanished without a trace. Ash had already done this; what more could he say?
Anyway, it wasn't a major issue, and it was something Ash discovered first.
"Alright, alright, let bygones be bygones. But you need to tell me all the details about MEGA Evolution!"