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The perfume formula given by Rich Ash required about ten different perfume ingredients. Ash had originally thought that if this small room didn't have them, he would ask Erika to help find them. He didn't expect that even though the place was small, the materials were quite complete.
"Cheri Berry juice... Gloom's liquid..." Ash took each ingredient one by one and placed them in front of him. Erika, who was watching nearby, didn't feel anything at first, but slowly she began to feel that something was amiss.
The materials Ash was taking didn't seem to be from the formula she had given him...
"Okay, that should do it, and then..." After gathering all the materials, a faint azure light glowed around Ash. Aura was activated. Under the observation of Aura, Ash could precisely measure the quantities of various materials without using any instruments.
Ten minutes later, a bottle of perfume gradually took shape under Ash's careful blending, while Misty, who was nearby, had already failed at making perfume. Let alone making perfume for the first time, even some veterans couldn't guarantee success every time they made perfume.
After all, perfume is a mixture of various scented liquids, which, after special blending, ultimately form a unique fragrance.
If one of those scents is even slightly off, or a little too much, the entire bottle of perfume's scent could change dramatically.
Therefore, perfume blending requires precise instruments for assistance, and even with instruments, the accuracy of the fusion cannot be guaranteed. There are also many other factors that can affect the formation of the perfume.
So, Misty's failure was a normal phenomenon, but the other side was not so normal.
At this moment, Erika could no longer sit still. As an experienced perfume blender, she naturally saw that Ash was creating a brand new perfume!
This perfume was a formula she had never seen before, and judging by the faintly forming scent, its fragrance was no less impressive than her shop's ace perfume!
How was this done? Had Ash made perfume before?
After a few more minutes, Ash completed the perfume. The process of making perfume for the first time was quite difficult, but with the assistance of Aura and Insight Eye, it was a perfect success!
He let out a soft breath, looking at the formed red perfume in his hand, a sense of satisfaction rising in his heart.
He didn't really have any feelings for perfume, but being able to personally complete a bottle of perfume with auxiliary training effects on his first try gave Ash a great sense of accomplishment.
After making the perfume, Ash remembered that Misty was nearby, and Erika was watching from not far away. However, when he came to his senses and looked for the two girls, he found their pretty faces right in front of him, which startled Ash.
"Wow! What are you doing?! Why are you so close? You scared me to death!" Ash yelled as he took two steps back, his hand shaking from the fright the two girls gave him. If his hand hadn't been steady, the perfume in his hand would probably have been thrown out of fright.
"Ash, have you blended perfume before? How did you succeed on your first try?"
"This isn't the formula I gave you, is it?"
The two girls spoke almost simultaneously. The former, upon hearing Erika say that, widened her emerald green eyes.
What did Erika say? This wasn't Erika's formula? Then how did Ash succeed?
After getting closer, Misty could smell the perfume. The scent gave her a slightly dreamy feeling, making her feel ethereal, as if even the cells in her body were opening up at that moment.
She had originally thought this was the magical effect of Erika's perfume, but Erika actually said this was a formula Ash invented himself? She must be joking!
When did Ash learn to make perfume?
"I haven't blended perfume before, but Misty, have you forgotten who I am? Using Aura to control the measurements is quite easy and precise. As for this perfume... I did blend it on a whim. How about it, doesn't it look pretty good?"
Ash shook the red liquid in his hand with a smile. When he made this perfume, Ash confirmed that it indeed had the effect of improving training efficiency.
Because just by smelling it, he could feel the cells in his body cheering. If he were to spray it directly, his body cells would enter a fully activated state, and his mind would clear, maximizing training efficiency!
Fantasy Fragrance — Successfully created!
"Not bad... This is more than just 'not bad.' If I'm not mistaken, this perfume of yours should have the effect of helping Pokémon improve their training results, right? Not only is the scent top-tier, but it also has special effects. Where did you get this formula?"
Erika looked at the perfume in Ash's hand, her face showing an expression of utter astonishment. Clearly, the perfume Ash created had completely shocked Erika.
Only an expert would know the value of the perfume in Ash's hand.
Facing Erika's question, Ash thought for a moment, but couldn't come up with a suitable reason. So he simply replied evasively: "This formula came to mind after seeing the formula you gave me, Erika. Because my Aura is sensitive to energy mixtures, in my Aura perception, these materials seem to create incredible effects when combined."
Don't ask, just say it's Aura. Anyway, just attribute everything to Aura. He's already shown quite a few miraculous abilities with his Aura, so one more won't hurt.
"What is Aura?" Erika froze for a moment, then asked with a somewhat bewildered look on her face.
She had heard the term Aura from Ash earlier, but she hadn't paid much attention to it because all her thoughts were focused on the perfume Ash had made and its formula. It wasn't until Ash mentioned it a second time that she reacted.
"It's a special power of mine. This afternoon, the reason Charmeleon was able to grow enough to barely contend with Venusaur in one go was because it received the blessing of my Aura."
"The blessing of Aura... It's a special ability like Psychic, isn't it?" Hearing the secret of Charmeleon being able to contend with Venusaur, Erika was slightly surprised but not entirely unexpected.
Because she had already guessed it during the battle.
Since Ash could defeat Sabrina, a Psychic, it was highly probable that he himself was a Psychic. And Charmeleon's sudden increase in strength during the battle definitely had something fishy about it.
Erika had already suspected this, but she hadn't expected this power, different from Psychic, to have such a great effect outside of battle!
The most important thing was that it could be effective in perfume!
The new perfume Ash developed, if it could truly be effective for Pokémon, then the formula would be a priceless treasure!
Erika also had perfumes that could improve Pokémon training efficiency, but of course, she couldn't give those to Ash to practice with, as they were the shop's top-secret ace products.
The reason her shop became Celadon City's largest perfume shop, besides her being the Celadon Gym Leader, was also because their shop's perfumes could be effective on Pokémon. Although expensive, for Trainers who wanted their Pokémon to have a head start, such a price was completely acceptable.
Even their shop only had two types of perfume that could improve training efficiency. One perfume could make a Pokémon's mental focus more concentrated, increasing training efficiency by about ten percent.
Another perfume could increase a Pokémon's brain activity, allowing the Pokémon to improve in learning and mastering skills, though the effect was only about five percent.
Even so, these two perfumes could sell for prices of 48,888 and 38,888 respectively, because only their perfume shop in all of Celadon City could make such perfumes. This was the power of monopoly!
And now, Ash had actually invented a perfume that could directly improve Pokémon training efficiency. Even if she didn't know how much it could improve, anything related to Pokémon wouldn't be cheap.
"Ash, can you temporarily give me this perfume? I feel that this perfume of yours should have an effect on Pokémon. If it's true, we can cooperate."
"Cooperate?"
"That's right. If I'm not mistaken, you must be very short on money, right?" Erika said, hitting the nail on the head.
Ash wasn't surprised to have his lack of money seen through. After all, ever since he arrived at the perfume shop, his every action screamed one word—poor!
If one couldn't see that, then they were simply blind.
Ash nodded without hiding anything. He was indeed very short on money, lacking it everywhere!
Whether it was for Pokémon training, growth, nutrition, travel expenses... these were all real money!
After leaving Celadon City and heading to Fuchsia City, Ash would have to start wild battles again. Without wild battles, he wouldn't be able to earn any money!
"If this perfume of yours can really be effective for Pokémon, then you can have it sold under our name. As long as you trust me, you can give me the formula. We'll provide the materials, and the profit split will be 2/8, with you getting 8 and us 2. All you have to do is collect the money."
Erika expressed her terms to Ash with an expectant look, though she felt a bit nervous as she stated them.
Although the value of this perfume was still unclear, from preliminary contact, it was highly likely that this perfume would be effective for Pokémon, and then the price would not be cheap.
Even if they provided labor, materials, and marketing, a twenty percent share would still be quite a lot.
If Ash didn't agree, Erika was already prepared for a nine-one split.
After hearing Erika's words, Ash's eyes widened. Looking at the small amount of red liquid in his hand, the shock in his heart had reached an unprecedented level.
There's such a good thing?!
He didn't have to do anything, just provide the formula, and then he could sit back and collect money, and it would be eighty percent!
Is this for real...? He felt a little uneasy collecting this eighty percent!
After all, even this formula wasn't his... No, strictly speaking, it was his. It was invented by his counterpart in another world, so attributing it to himself was fine.
Even though Ash himself had intended to facilitate this cooperation, he hadn't expected to earn so much. In his estimation, if he didn't have to be fully responsible, getting seventy percent would already be very satisfying. Yet Erika immediately offered eighty percent!
It could only be said that Ash hadn't seen enough of the world. If it were Rich Ash here, an eighty-twenty split would probably only be given out of respect for Erika being a Gym Leader and someone he knew.
If it were anyone else, Rich Ash would definitely cut it down to a ninety-five-five split—I take ninety-five, you take five!
"How about it, Ash? Do you think the share is too low? If you think it's low, we can still discuss it, but you'll have to let me take the perfume for testing first. Once its efficacy is confirmed, we can continue to talk."
Erika saw Ash not speaking and thought he felt the share was too small, so she quickly changed her words.
"No... no, eighty percent is a lot, Miss Erika. You go ahead and test it first. We'll talk after the test results come out. How long will it take?" Ash said, handing the formed perfume in his hand to Erika.
Erika extended her fair, tender hands and slowly took it as if it were a treasure, her eyes fixed on the perfume as she said, "It'll take about half a day. You can come back tomorrow noon."
"Alright... Oh, right, Erika, you said earlier that if I blended perfume, you'd give me some training perfumes."
"I'll have someone bring them to you shortly. Do you want them for skill training or for training Pokémon levels and ability values?"
"Levels and ability values, I guess." Ash decided without a second thought.
When it came to learning skills, who could teach faster than his human-shaped skill learning machine? So, of course, he would choose the latter.
"Alright, you two can sit outside for a bit. They'll be brought to you soon." Erika spoke to Ash while constantly examining the perfume in her hand.
"Oh, and Miss Erika, one more thing. Misty seems to really like your perfumes here. If she fancies any perfume, can it be complimentary?" Ash said, striking while the iron was hot.
"No problem! Take whatever perfume you like, it's free!" Erika waved her small hand, immediately making it complimentary for Ash.
Compared to the value Ash created, what was this level of complimentary service?
"This is great, Misty. You don't have to look at prices when choosing perfume anymore... Why are you looking at me like that?" Ash was still happy about saving money, but when he turned around, he saw Misty staring intently at him.
"Nothing, thanks, Ash. Consider this your treat. I'll treat you next time~" Misty shook her head, indicating it was nothing, then smiled and greeted Erika before pulling Ash out of the perfume laboratory.
Seeing this, Erika couldn't help but shake her head: "Youth is truly wonderful... But I'm not old either."
After Misty pulled Ash out, she continued to drag him around to choose perfumes, asking Ash's opinion on every single one. At first, Ash would offer his thoughts, but eventually, he felt his nose was about to give out, and his answers became numb.
In the end, Misty chose three perfumes, whose combined price was actually less than two thousand Pokedollar. Compared to items used by Pokémon, things used by humans were incredibly cheap.
And the training perfumes Erika mentioned were also given to Ash by a staff member. This time, Ash received twenty bottles directly. According to the perfume shop's official price list, these twenty bottles would be close to a million Pokedollar... However, calculated by raw materials, it was actually only five or six thousand, which made Ash once again lament the high profits of perfume.
Raising Pokémon truly was not for the faint of heart when it came to spending money.