At this moment, Misty was already feeling a bit confused. She had thought that the god's-perspective livestream could help Ash understand certain things, but now it seemed... with Ash's emotional intelligence, unless things were spelled out clearly for him, no amount of hinting or using a god's perspective would be of any use at all!
What Misty didn't see was the subtle, complicated look hidden within Ash's seemingly bewildered eyes.
Did they really think he'd been watching the livestream in vain all this time? Did they truly believe he hadn't learned anything from Black Ash?
Since he said he wanted to learn from Black Ash, he was studying with all his heart and 100% of his fighting spirit. Naturally, this included some of Black Ash's emotional intelligence.
Those people always thought he was a blockhead... Well, yes, he had been a blockhead! But that was him before watching the livestream! Now, he had completed half of his evolution! At the very least, his emotional intelligence wouldn't be as utterly clueless as before.
It's just... he still couldn't quite believe it. He couldn't believe that Misty, who always yelled at him and often scolded him, actually liked him... That notion was as incredible to him as becoming a world champion. Therefore, Ash chose to continue playing dumb. Perhaps he... still needed time to accept it.
...
In the White World —
After Misty's indirect confession, other events unfolded. In the end, Larvitar and the young trainer Mary recognized their bond and even developed feelings for each other (they were both less than ten years old!). Meanwhile, Nidoran♂ and Nidoran♀ completed their evolution during a kiss!
Subsequently, Ash and his group experienced many incidents and finally arrived at the third Gym: the Cinnabar Island Gym!
Before entering the Gym, Ash and Misty rescued a little girl who had fallen into the water. This girl was named Melody, the younger sister of the Gym Leader, Blaine. When Blaine saw Misty for the first time, he claimed to have fallen deeply in love with her. He confessed to Misty several times, but Misty only responded with hesitation and perfunctory answers. In the end, Blaine proposed to Misty that if he defeated Ash in the match the next day, Misty would stay on the island and spend the rest of her life with him!! Misty did not agree to this.
But during the match on the second day, when Ash was at an absolute disadvantage, Misty's shouts from the sidelines—meant to cheer Ash on—helped him find a chance to turn the tide in the face of adversity. Squirtle successfully learned Hydro Pump and defeated the opponent's Starmie! Thus, Ash earned his third badge.
Although Blaine was unwilling, he still offered his blessings to Ash and Misty. However... when faced with Blaine's blessing, Ash tilted his head with a puzzled expression.
The White World image slowly faded out on Ash's confused face.
...
[Caitlin: Sugar! It's all sugar! But paired with Ash's silly goose expression, it's like bitter sugar. It's truly worrying!]
[Elesa: Well, we misunderstood Misty before. We originally thought it was Misty's tsundere attitude that kept Ash in the dark, but now it seems... it has nothing to do with being tsundere or not. A blockhead is just a blockhead.]
[Ash: ...]
[Lance: Ash, you really should learn a thing or two from Gary.]
[Blaine: Indeed. If you had even a fraction of Gary's romantic acuity, you wouldn't make Miss Misty so sad!]
[Gary: Although I'm very happy you praise me so much, when it comes to this Ash... I'm really not confident I could teach him well.]
[Ash: What! I am learning!]
[Gary: You've learned nothing! Go learn more about Black Ash's emotional intelligence!]
Ash curled his lips in dissatisfaction. Fine, let them mock him a few more times now. When he makes great strides in both emotional intelligence and battle strategy, they'll all be shocked!
At that moment, the Black World screen slowly brightened. Everyone stopped their discussion and looked at the screen expectantly. Was the showdown between Black Ash and Elite Four member Lorelei... about to begin?
...
In the Black World —
After Ash and his group of four obtained their second badge, they continued toward their next destination. Along the way, they came to Seven Grapefruit Island and met a Snorlax, the King of Gluttons. Generally, Snorlax are indeed big eaters, but this was the first time Ash had seen a Snorlax that ate half an island without stopping. So... even though he had a soft spot for Snorlax, he was considering whether to catch it. Could a normal person even afford to raise this? He had finally made some money by selling crystals. If he raised such a huge eater, he'd probably be in a financial crisis again soon!
However, Ash's hesitation allowed Snorlax to loot the remaining half of the island! Immediately after, Snorlax used a butterfly stroke and swam to the next island! In the past, it was Ash who shocked others, but this time, Ash was the one shocked by Snorlax! This Snorlax was probably the only one in the world that could swim butterfly! Catch it! He must catch it!
So, Ash and the others rode Blastoise and Lapras to the next island. Before Snorlax could start eating, Ash immediately sent out Venusaur to battle it! At first, Snorlax didn't pay much attention to Venusaur, but when it caught the scent of nectar from Venusaur's flower, its two narrowed eyes instantly shone with brilliant light! Venusaur couldn't help but feel a chill... and then without hesitation unleashed the Grass-type's ultimate move: Frenzy Plant!
Snorlax was suppressed by countless thick vines! However, this Snorlax was truly powerful. Facing the Frenzy Plant, it spat out a Hyper Beam, sweeping away a large number of plants! An ordinary Venusaur might have been stuck here, locked in a stalemate, but Ash's Venusaur could continue controlling the vines to sprout from the ground even after the Frenzy Plant was destroyed! The thick vines bound Snorlax once more and kept attacking! Finally, after over ten minutes of fighting, Snorlax finally lost the ability to battle! Ash threw a Poké Ball without hesitation and caught it.
Immediately after, Ash teleported Dragonair back, keeping Snorlax on his team. Dragonair was currently shedding its skin more due to increased energy from the Silver Wing than from daily training. Therefore, Dragonair didn't need Ash's personal training for a short while; it was a good time to swap it out to raise Snorlax.
A minor note: The shed skin from Dragonair and Dratini was also an extremely high-grade material! In the past, besides relying on odd jobs during their journey, Ash also sold the shed skins to make ends meet. This family would have fallen apart without Dratini!
After catching Snorlax, Ash's team bid farewell to everyone on Seven Grapefruit Island and arrived at their next destination—Mandarin Island. Here, Tracey caught an old Scyther. After a short rest, the group set off again and finally arrived at the central and largest island of the Orange Archipelago: Kumquat Island.
Pokémon battles seemed incredibly popular on this island. Within less than an hour of landing, five Trainers had already come to challenge Ash! Ash naturally accepted all comers! But... the people here were of varying skill levels and were no match for him. So, Ash simply set a condition when accepting later challenges: It was fine to battle, but... if he won, the opponent had to pay to let his Snorlax eat its fill!
In this regard, those kids, unfamiliar with the ways of the world, were completely unaware of how terrifying it was to let Ash's Snorlax eat its fill! By the end of the day, Ash was battling with Snorlax, and Snorlax went from being uninterested at the start to incredibly motivated! Why? Because winning meant it could eat like crazy! This was even better than its time on Seven Grapefruit Island!
Poor those who challenged Ash—most of their saved-up allowance and even travel funds were directly "robbed" by Ash, some completely wiped out. In response, Ash could only smile apologetically each time he defeated an opponent. As for what happened next... nothing happened next. Snorlax had to eat and drink well; otherwise, wouldn't all that hard fighting be for nothing?
...
[Lance: Wow, Ash's mischievous side is online!]
[Caitlin: Hmm, I don't seem to have ever worried about money... Does raising Pokémon really require that much money?]
[Cynthia: Of course! Pokémon nutrition, items, training equipment, specialty food, etc... all require a lot of money.]
[Ash: Professor Oak took care of all that for me here... I'm sorry, Professor Oak, I'll pay you back as soon as I make money!]
[Professor Oak: Haha, you'd better find a way to compensate for Misty's bicycle first. I don't lack that little money here.]
[Misty: That's right! I almost forgot! My bike!!]
[Ash: Uh... Okay, okay! I'll compensate you! When I win the Silver Conference, I'll buy you a new one with the prize money!]
[Gary: 'When I win'? What kind of champion are you? A champion in your dreams, right?]
[Gary: However, I don't care much for the champion's prize money. If I win, I can give you the bonus. All you have to do is say ten times in front of me, 'Ash is not as good as Gary.']
[Ash: In your dreams!]
The two boys started bickering again.~
...
In the Black World —
After a day of battling, Ash let the well-fed Snorlax, Charizard, and the other Pokémon who had trained all day go to the Pokémon Center to recover. In the evening, Misty, Sabrina, and the others went to the night market. Tracey went to gather information about Kumquat Island; he wanted to find out why this place was so obsessed with battling.
When they regrouped in the evening, Tracey told Ash and the others the truth. It turned out... Lorelei, one of the Kanto Elite Four, had come to Kumquat Island! That's why everyone here was inspired to battle and started frequently seeking out fights.
Upon hearing news about Lorelei, Ash instantly became excited! He couldn't battle Bruno last time, so this time... he should be able to battle Lorelei, right?!
The next morning, Ash and the others came to the exhibition arena on Kumquat Island. There seemed to be an exhibition match featuring Lorelei today. Sure enough, Lorelei took the stage! Her burgundy hair was tied up with a Poké Ball hair accessory. Her fair, flawless face wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses, giving Lorelei an intellectual beauty. She wore a red halter top with a blue jacket over it. The lower half was a black skirt that reached mid-thigh. Most importantly... she was so well-endowed! The red halter top revealed a deep, fair cleavage. Master Lorelei, Master Lorelei, this 'Master' is truly well-named!
When Misty saw Lorelei on stage again, she cheered fanatically, her face turning red from shouting. Since Misty's goal was to become a Water Pokémon Master, the Elite Four member who specialized in Water and Ice types was naturally the object of her greatest admiration! And she was a woman! Although there were many powerful female Trainers in this world, the most famous, powerful female Trainer specializing in Water-types was Lorelei!
The competition was extremely one-sided. None of the challengers facing Lorelei could withstand even a single move from her! This made Misty both excited and a little worried.
"Ash, Master Lorelei is so strong. Do you really want to challenge her?"
Misty asked but received no response. She subconsciously looked beside her and found Sabrina looking at her with an innocent face, then pointing downward. Instantly, Misty's expression changed as she looked toward the battlefield and found that Ash had unexpectedly stepped into the arena!
At that moment, the Trainer battling Lorelei had just lost. The referee was about to announce the next challenger when suddenly, a boy dropped from above, landing on the field. Both the referee and even Lorelei were startled.
"Ash, when did he..."
"As soon as the person he was fighting lost, he jumped down... That's very much Ash's style!"
"...True."
Misty helplessly held her forehead. Normally, Ash was calm, cautious, unhurried, and formulated strategies when encountering problems. But after encountering a strong opponent... while he still had the above traits, an urge to challenge strong foes was added! Just like now.
In the Arena —
Ash's Pikachu jumped off his shoulder, while Ash lifted the brim of his hat and showed Lorelei a bright smile.
"Let's battle, Master Lorelei!"
"You are... the Indigo Plateau Conference Champion, Ash, right?"
Ash, who was about to introduce himself, was startled. He hadn't expected Lorelei to recognize him. In response to Ash's stunned expression, Lorelei laughed.
"I'm one of the Kanto Elite Four. If I didn't even recognize the champion of my home region's conference, I'd be laughed at if word got out~"
"In that case... Let's have a battle, Master Lorelei!"
Ash phrased it as a question, but his tone was a statement. The meaning was... Let's fight!
"The Indigo Plateau Conference Champion... Well, let this match be the finale of the exhibition. Referee, is that alright?"
"N-No problem! It's all up to Master Lorelei!"
The referee was a bit excited and supportive of this unexpected turn. He had also heard of the Indigo Plateau Conference—its scale was even larger than their Orange League! Now, the Conference Champion had come to challenge an Elite Four member. For Kumquat Island, this was an extremely hot topic!
At that moment, many spectators recognized Ash, and their faces darkened. It wasn't that they recognized Ash as the Indigo Conference Champion, but that they recognized Ash... as the guy who had swindled their meal money yesterday! So this thick-browed, big-eyed boy was the Indigo Conference Champion! They had been tricked, the fools!
...
[Ash: I'm envious. Is this the benefit of being a champion? Back when I challenged Master Lorelei, she reluctantly ignored me so many times. As soon as Black Ash challenged her, she accepted!]
[Lorelei: Haha, don't blame me, Ash. Your level really needed improvement back then. If I hadn't wanted to correct your mindset, I wouldn't have accepted your challenge.]
Back then, Ash was on a winning streak, and his mindset was rapidly inflating. Most importantly, he attributed all the victories entirely to his commanding skill. Victory in battle should be the combined effort of both Trainer and Pokémon. Ash's thinking at the time was already a bit skewed. That's why Lorelei accepted Ash's challenge.
...
In the Black World —
Facing Lorelei, one of the Elite Four, Ash didn't dare be careless in the slightest. He removed Pikachu's weights and sent it onto the field! Lorelei looked at the red iron ring in Ash's hand, her eyes thoughtful.
"Meteoric Iron... Interesting young man. Go, Jynx!"
A white light flashed, and a female Pokémon wearing a red dress with fluffy blond hair appeared on the field. Jynx, an Ice/Psychic-type Pokémon, was a presence of above-average strength in Lorelei's team! That is... a solid, Champion-level Pokémon!
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