I have added this story to my Patreon. You can support me and read the 50 latest and advanced chapters there. It also fed and motivated me to write more chapters!
Free Members will get 10 Chapters Ahead of the schedule on Patreon!!!
Link: Patreon.com/AVRKingsTL
—------------------—
The reform of the Silver Conference might have begun a long time ago. The expansion of the venue began not long after the Silver Conference concluded, leading many at the time to wonder why the Silver Venue needed to be expanded.
The original Silver Venue was already large enough; the central arena could easily accommodate thousands of spectators, and there were five smaller arenas around it, each capable of holding hundreds of people.
Why expand under these circumstances? How many spectators do they intend to hold? Will there really be that many people coming to watch and compete?
At the time, there were many such voices, but judging by the current rule changes, this expansion is clearly aimed at the new regulations. If people from all regions across the world are allowed to participate in this League Tournament without badge restrictions, the number of participants will undoubtedly reach an unprecedented level.
Perhaps the number of competitors will exceed the number of spectators. In that case, the venue naturally needs to be expanded, otherwise, just the Preliminary Rounds of the Silver Conference alone would take an unknown amount of time.
Ash and Gary chatted as they walked back to Pallet Town. At the fork in the road, the two said their goodbyes. One was heading to Oaks Laboratory, and the other was heading home, so they parted ways there.
When he arrived at his doorstep, before Ash could open the door, it swung open directly. The first thing Ash saw was Misty's beautiful face: "Welcome back, Ash~"
"How did you know I was here?" He hadn't even been knocked down yet, and Misty had already opened the door, acting as if she knew he would be returning.
"Just a feeling~" Misty blinked and tilted her head, saying playfully.
"Actually, she's been standing by the door all afternoon, waiting for you to come back," Brock, wearing an apron and holding a spatula, immediately exposed Misty's lie.
There was no intuition, only persistence.
"Misty, you—"
"Hehe, I just couldn't sit still knowing you were coming back! Come on in, dinner's almost ready!" Misty laughed happily and pulled Ash into the house.
Just as she said, she couldn't sit still thinking about Ash's return, because they had only been together for less than a week before Ash left due to the Dragon Island matter.
To be honest, since the start of their journey, this was the longest they had ever been separated. At other times, she was almost inseparable from Ash, yet after becoming boyfriend and girlfriend, they were apart for a full three days. It was quite funny, really.
This was one of the reasons why Misty was so eager to stand by the door all afternoon waiting for Ash.
"How was the trip to Dragon Island? What kind of Pokémon did you catch?" Misty asked Ash curiously after they sat down together on the sofa.
"It's a Dragonair! I'm telling you, this Dragonair—" Ash gestured wildly, recounting every single detail of what happened on Dragon Island to Misty. For some reason, when facing Misty, Ash always wanted to tell her everything.
When Misty heard that Ash had actually received a Dragonite's mega stone from the Dragonite, she couldn't help but look astonished. His luck was truly unparalleled.
First, he found a Dragonair on Dragon Island that seemed useless but was actually being watched over by a God Domain Level Dragonite. This Dragonair's talent must be extraordinary.
Furthermore, Dragonair later received the true heritage of the Dragonite Ancestor, learning the Dragon's Breath technique, which constantly enhances the Dragon Power within its body. Finally, Ash also obtained the Dragonite's mega stone. This was essentially getting the entire Dragonite set all at once!
While it was called luck, it was actually closely related to Ash's own character. If Ash hadn't proactively offered help to that Dragonair, even if the Dragonite Ancestor had been watching Ash, it probably wouldn't have taught him so many things.
Because Ash helped and caught that Dragonair, this result was ultimately achieved. Simply put, wasn't this all due to Ash's kind heart?
While Ash was narrating, dinner was ready. At the dinner table, Ash recounted the events he had just told Misty, simplifying them for his mother and Brock, and also announced that he would be heading to the Orange Islands tomorrow.
"So soon? Won't you rest at home for a few more days?" Hearing that Ash was leaving home again right after returning from Dragon Island, Delia said with some reluctance.
Mothers are like this: when their children are home, they almost wish they couldn't see them, but when the child is about to leave, they feel intense reluctance.
"I can't help it. We have to go to the Orange Islands to help Little Lugia find its parents, and I also need to deliver a Poké Ball for Professor Oak to someone named Professor Ivy, so we need to set off as soon as possible," Ash replied to his mother while shoveling down his food.
"I see. If that's the case, there's nothing we can do. I'll go help you pack your bags then."
"Okay." Ash didn't stand on ceremony with his mother; after all, if he were polite, would she still be his mother?
While she said she was packing, there wasn't much to pack. Her main task was preparing some lunch boxes for Ash to eat on the road. Since he had a Spatial Backpack, food could be preserved for a relatively long time. Even though Brock and Ash were now excellent cooks, as a mother, she still wanted to personally prepare some meals for her child to eat during his travels.
All parents in the world are like this.
Besides the lunch boxes, there were also clothes, toiletries, a new sleeping set, a tent, and pots and pans—
Ash and Pikachu, who were eating dinner, watched Delia dumbfounded as she dug out a massive pile of things from who knows where, and then stuffed it all into his backpack, whether it was useful or not. The main goal was to be prepared for anything.
Compared to when he first left home, Delia seemed to have packed even more things.
"This—this is a bit exaggerated, Mom?"
"Exaggerated? What did you think I bought you such a large backpack for? Wasn't it precisely to stuff more things into it?" Delia said, her hands never stopping their work.
In the end, Ash's large-capacity Spatial Backpack was completely stuffed by Delia. Fortunately, the space inside the backpack could be categorized, and Delia had already sorted the items for Ash.
"The lunch boxes are in the space in the upper left corner. The right side holds the tent, your sleeping bag, pajamas, pillow, and blanket. If conditions allow, set up the tent and sleep on the pillow, got it? Sleeping in a sleeping bag for too long is bad for your neck."
"The bottom section holds the seasonings, pots, and pans for cooking. Remember to eat well when you're outside. You must eat meat and vegetables with every meal to ensure proper physical development. Also—"
Listening to his mother's nagging, if this were at the beginning of his journey, Ash probably would have replied, "Okay, I know," and then gone upstairs to his room without looking back, just for a moment of peace.
But now, Ash sat properly on the sofa, showing no impatience toward Delia's nagging. Instead, he responded to Delia's instructions word by word, with a mix of helplessness and seriousness.
This made Delia feel a bit surprised while she was still nagging. When did her Ash become so obedient? It seemed that traveling really did allow children to grow up!
In the past, Ash would never have sat here obediently listening to her ramble.
"—Everything that should be brought is packed. The last and most important point: when you're away from home, be careful and don't do anything dangerous, okay?" None of the previous instructions were as important as this final one.
In Delia's view, the biggest concern about traveling was personal safety. While traversing mountains and rivers outside, no one knew what might happen. Fortunately, her Ash was strong and healthy, so she shouldn't have to worry too much about safety, but she still needed to instruct him carefully.
"I know, Mom. Are you done? If you are, I'm going to sleep. We're leaving early tomorrow."
"Go on, go on. Misty, Brock, you two go to sleep too. I'll take care of the rest of the tidying."
"Mime! Mime!" Mr. Mime, standing nearby, patted its chest, indicating that it would help Delia clean up, and Ash and the others should just go to sleep in peace.
"In that case—alright, we'll go to sleep then, Auntie. Thank you for your hard work." Brock originally wanted to help clean up, but seeing Delia's demeanor, it seemed there was no room for him to intervene. So, he apologized to Delia and returned to his room.
Misty did the same, though Misty's room was also Ash's room; they slept in bunk beds.
Before, sleeping in bunk beds was nothing, as they were used to sleeping in the same room while traveling—it was commonplace. But now their relationship was different. Even though they were still sleeping in bunk beds, both felt a strange sensation.
When the two of them walked into the room and looked at the familiar space, both felt a sense of unfamiliarity.
"Um—if there's nothing else, I'm going to sleep now~" Misty stammered to Ash while placing Togepi on her bedside table.
Ash stared fixedly at Misty, causing her face to flush: "Why are you looking at me like that!
Haven't you seen me before? I'm going to sleep!"
"I hadn't noticed before, but Misty, you really are quite pretty. When you grow up, you'll definitely be a great beauty, no less than your sisters!"
"Huh? What's going on? How did you get so articulate?" Upon hearing Ash's words, Misty didn't feel happy immediately; instead, she felt strange. Was that something Ash could even say???
Based on Misty's understanding of Ash's emotional intelligence, it was hard to imagine him saying something like that. It was tantamount to the sun rising in the west.
Thus, instead of joy, Misty felt more confusion. Was this still the Ash she knew, the one who needed her help even to confess his feelings?
"What do you mean! I've always been articulate! Good night!" Ash said grumpily, then walked toward his bed. As he passed Misty, he suddenly and unexpectedly kissed her on the cheek, then quickly scrambled onto his own bed and pulled up the blanket.
Misty, having been kissed by Ash, immediately experienced a brain freeze. What was happening—did Ash just proactively kiss her? Kiss her cheek? Did she misfeel it? No, no, that sensation couldn't possibly be mistaken.
Her entire body felt as if it had been electrocuted. Although it wasn't the same feeling of complete physical melting she had when she first kissed Ash, it wasn't far off.
Ash actually kissed her proactively! What was going on? Did even logs of wood have a day when they bloomed?
While Misty was in disbelief, Ash was huddled under his blanket, his face slightly flushed, and his heart beating much faster than usual.
"Does this stuff the Harem King taught me really work? Why does it feel so weird—" Ash thought to himself, questioning the teachings of the "big shot" in the Chat Group for the first time.
In order to improve his relationship with Misty and maintain this first romance well, Ash had consulted the "big shot" with the most relationship experience in the Chat Group: Harem King Ash.
Whether it was the smooth talk just now or the act of kissing Misty before bed, it was all taught by the Harem King. Just as Misty thought, how could the blockhead Ash be so considerate in matters of romance?
Naturally, there was guidance from an expert behind this, but now Ash was starting to question that expert's advice.
Misty stood below for a long time, finally whispering "Good night" before holding Togepi and getting into her own blanket.
Although Togepi was Ash's Pokémon, Misty was the one who held her the most. Ash usually didn't have free hands, so he held Togepi less often. Consequently, Togepi slept with Misty.
However—Togepi's condition seemed somewhat unstable recently, as if she were about to evolve.
After Misty got into bed, Ash nudged Pikachu. Pikachu reluctantly climbed out of the warm blanket, ran to the door to turn off the light, and then jumped back onto the bed, burrowing into the warm blanket.
It was already January, and the temperature had reached its freezing point. If there was nothing urgent, no one wanted to leave the warmth of their blanket.
Ash lays on his back in bed, his eyes gently closed. He looked like he was sleeping, but he was actually entering the Chat Group.
[Ascender Ash: @Harem King Ash Big Shot, is the method you taught me really useful? Does doing that genuinely improve a relationship?]
Because he won the Indigo Plateau Conference Champion, Ash also changed his name from Novice to Ascender. No one is a Novice forever; he has to upgrade too. Jpg.
[Harem King Ash: What, my dating techniques aren't working? That makes no sense. After that whole routine, Misty must have been so shocked by your actions she couldn't move, right?]
[Ascender Ash: Uh, she actually did look like she was frozen in place, scared. Why is that?]
[Harem King Ash: Heh heh, because those words and actions don't resemble what someone with your emotional intelligence could produce. Don't worry, follow this King, and I guarantee you a harem full of beauties!]