Upon hearing this, Professor Cerise was slightly surprised. Initially, he thought that the rumors from Orodelon City were just a way to attract people to revive the Poke Egg, and once it was revived, the Pokémon with special significance to Orodelon City would definitely be reclaimed by them.
At most, they would give some compensation to the person who revived the Poke Egg.
Unexpectedly, they were genuinely willing to give the significant Pokémon to Ash. Why was that?
The question lingered in Professor Cerise's mind, but it would be impolite to ask, so he kept silent.
After a brief exchange, Erin asked Professor Cerise to send her Ash's information. With his consent, she bid him farewell and hung up the phone.
In Orodelon City—
After hanging up, Erin walked into the castle of the city. She gazed at a large painting on the wall. In the painting, a handsome man held a tin staff, and next to him was a dog-like Pokémon looking at him with admiration.
This was the legend of Orodelon City, a portrait of Aaron the Aura Guardian, and the dog-like Pokémon beside him was the extremely rare Lucario.
Years ago, Aaron and Lucario put an end to a great war, and their legendary adventures, as well as the painting, were well-known in the city. Every local was aware of Aaron and Lucario.
A few years back, some events led to the appearance of the Poke Egg in their city. After multiple confirmations, they realized it was a Riolu Poke Egg, possibly a descendant of Aaron's Lucario.
If true, the Riolu in the egg was not only significant but highly gifted, and its hatching would be a momentous occasion for Orodelon City.
However, an unexpected incident occurred, and despite several months, the Poke Egg didn't hatch, prompting them to seek external help, eventually reaching the renowned Professor Cerise.
Yet, an accident caused the Poke Egg to crack, almost to the point of life fading away.
At that time, many in the castle blamed the ten-year-old boy, while others criticized Professor Cerise's unreliability. Regardless of what was said, the Poke Egg couldn't be restored.
They initially intended to keep the Poke Egg in Orodelon City, hoping for a miracle. If the legendary Pokémon Mew, who had sent the Poke Egg, appeared, perhaps it could revive the egg.
After all, it was the ancestor of legendary Pokémon, Mew!
Before they could transport the egg back, Mew appeared, showed them several scenes, gave them an instruction via Telepathy, and then vanished.
Mew's instruction was—let the Poke Egg remain in that damaged place.
There were four scenes that Mew left them with.
First, a blurry figure appeared in front of the Poke Egg, then a blue light emerged from the figure's body, resonating with the egg. Next, the Pokémon within the egg, Riolu, appeared in the figure's arms, and finally, a scene of the figure fighting alongside a Pokémon similar to Lucario.
The reason for 'similar to Lucario' was that the Pokémon resembled Lucario by seventy percent but was even more majestic.
It was likely Riolu's evolved form, although why it differed from a regular Lucario was unknown to the people of Orodelon City. Perhaps Aaron's Lucario's descendants had some unique changes.
Ultimately, they decided to leave the Poke Egg with Professor Cerise. After a long five-year wait, good news finally arrived.
Although Riolu's condition was still shaky, the scenes Mew showed indicated that Riolu should fully recover and evolve into a form beyond a typical Lucario, reaching unprecedented heights.
Even surpassing Aaron's Lucario of the past!
Thinking of this, Erin's gaze softened. It was more important than anything that the descendant of Orodelon City's legendary Lucario ended well.
As for who that Trainer was... Erin had a premonition they might be somewhat connected to Aaron. It would have to wait until they met the Trainer. It seemed the Trainer had matters to attend to, so visiting Orodelon City had to wait until those were concluded.
...
Time flew by, and the next day arrived in a flash. The previous night, they had spoken with Professor Oak. Ash asked him to add another Pokémon slot and informed him of Riolu's status.
Professor Oak gladly agreed. Given his standing in the league, he didn't even need to apply for it; he could manage it himself. Now, Ash's Pokémon slot had increased to seven.
Additionally, Professor Oak planned to vacation to Bluepool with Delia, Ash's mom. Ash didn't expect such coincidence, and they arranged to meet at Bluepool.
Early in the morning, Ash, Misty, and Pikachu joined Professor Cerise and Chloe on their journey to Bluepool Resort.
...
Sunshine, sand, seaside, swimwear!
All these elements formed a picturesque scene at Bluepool Resort!
Ash lay on a beach chair, under a parasol, sipping coconut juice, wearing sunglasses, utterly relaxed.
Beside him, Pikachu mirrored Ash's pose, while Ralts sprawled across Ash, with no ladylike demeanor, yet thoroughly comfortable.
Besides Pikachu and Ralts, all of Ash's Pokémon were released, for it was a vacation, and everyone playing together was the most fun.
Charmander and Bulbasaur built sandcastles, Squirtle played at the beach, Pidgeotto soared freely in the sky, while Riolu stood by Ash, its large eyes curiously taking in everything around.
Indeed, Riolu could now use awareness to control its body. Although it couldn't train yet, and was still weak, walking around normally was no longer an issue.
Having recovered slightly, Riolu could finally use its eyes to observe the world, which earlier it had only perceived through Aura, a world devoid of color and only comprised of Auric blobs.
Now, it could finally enjoy this colorful world with its eyes.
Every Pokémon relished this rare leisure time, including Ash.
Since starting his journey, Ash hadn't experienced true relaxation, always either in training or on the way to it.
Pokémon training was tough, but Ash's training was tougher.
Though Ash inherited the strong Aura, his own Aura was undeveloped. However, under its guidance, his Aura began gradually developing, merging with the stronger Aura, making it mightier.
The stronger he became, the greater power Aura Fusion provided. Teaching Pokémon skills became quicker with numerous benefits, leading Ash to never slack off on his training.
More intense than the Pokémon, Ash outdid them!
Today was to let every muscle relax, in preparation for even harsher training.
"Ash, come play! Don't just lie there sunbathing,"
In swimwear, Misty called at Ash.
Her fair skin reflected radiant light under the sun, and the orange-red bikini caught the eye, though not that curvy, her good physique shone through.
Fair skin, lovely face, long legs – her figure only seemed lacking compared to her three sisters. At her age, her development was fairly normal.
Ash glanced at Misty, feeling his heart beat a bit faster, though he paid little attention, turning back to continue resting, saying, "No, it's cozy lying here with the sea breeze, and the parasol shields me from the sun…"
"Zzz~~"
Ash was in the middle of speaking when he was suddenly splashed in the face!