"Ash!!"
"Ash, you're here!"
The moment the boy carrying Pikachu walked into the lobby of the Pokémon Center, a cheerful voice rang out from the front reception desk.
The girl calling out to him was about the same age as Ash, though nearly half a head shorter. Her name was Clarissa, a member of the Joy family.
"Sorry I'm late," Ash said apologetically as he approached the desk.
"Today was the grand opening of the flower shop my mom and Gary's mom opened together. There were a lot of customers, so I stayed to help for a while during lunch."
Ash suddenly brought his hands from behind his back and revealed two bouquets of flowers.
"I brought flowers for the two beautiful ladies here."
He handed the bouquets to the two Joy girls at the reception desk.
The bouquet he gave Elena was a cluster of pure white lilies, elegant and fragrant.
The one he handed to Clarissa was a bouquet of yellow roses.
"Lilies and yellow roses both symbolize friendship," Ash explained with a smile.
"And yellow roses also carry the meaning of good fortune and blessings. I hope you'll always be happy, Clarissa."
"Thank you!"
"Thank you!"
Most girls loved flowers—especially when they were given by a boy.
Both girls' faces lit up with joy.
Elena simply looked pleasantly surprised and happy.
But Clarissa's cheeks turned bright red, and it was impossible to tell what thoughts were running through her mind.
Even if yellow roses symbolize friendship… they're still roses… right?
And besides representing friendship and well-wishes, yellow roses can also symbolize waiting for love…
Does that mean Ash likes me?
Does he hope our relationship will grow from friends into something more?
Ahhh!! That's so embarrassing!
After imagining all sorts of hidden meanings behind Ash's gift, Clarissa's delicate doll-like face flushed crimson.
Her cheeks looked soft and rosy—like a ripe peach that someone might be tempted to take a bite from.
"Clarissa, let's go," Ash said with a gentle smile when he noticed her shy expression.
"Head Nurse Amelie is probably already waiting for us in the classroom in the back."
Compared to Serena when Ash first met her at the Pokémon Summer Camp, Clarissa's shyness was much more composed.
Serena's shyness had been mixed with timidity and insecurity, which had triggered Ash's instinct to protect and care for her.
Clarissa's shyness, however, was different.
Seeing her blushing face made Ash feel an inexplicable urge to tease her a little.
Looking at her slightly chubby cheeks, he almost had the impulse to reach out and pinch them playfully.
Of course, even if the thought crossed his mind, he wouldn't actually do something like that.
He wasn't some kind of beast.
…
The afternoon passed quickly.
Ash and Clarissa first attended two hours of theoretical medical training in a temporary classroom behind the Pokémon Center.
Afterward, they moved to the emergency room for practical internship training.
One moment they were students in a classroom.
The next moment they were acting as attending physician and nurse in the emergency ward.
Both the theory lessons and the ER internship lasted two hours.
With someone as lively and adorable as Clarissa by his side, Ash didn't feel tired at all—even during the hectic rescue work in the emergency room.
Not physically.
And certainly not mentally.
For the first time, Ash truly experienced the meaning of the phrase:
"When men and women work together, even exhausting tasks become effortless."
"Ash, are you heading to the City Arena now?"
After changing out of her pink nurse uniform and into a casual dress in the locker room, Clarissa looked at him curiously.
Ash adjusted the folds of his light gray knitted cardigan, then opened his arms and scooped Pikachu up.
"Want to come along?"
Unlike the Ash of the original timeline—who stubbornly wore the same black T-shirt, blue jeans, blue-and-white jacket, sneakers, and red-and-white cap until traveling to a new region—this Ash paid much more attention to his appearance.
After all, inside the body of a six-year-old boy was the soul of an adult man.
He naturally cared about his personal image.
Autumn had gradually arrived, and the weather had turned cooler.
Clothing now had to focus on warmth rather than the simple summer combination of shorts and a T-shirt.
Ash's outfit today consisted of:
A white T-shirt as a base layerA light gray hooded knitted cardigan for warmthLight brown casual trousers, with the pant legs rolled slightly to reveal the anklesA pair of white Adidas sneakers
Compared to the childish appearance of the original Ash, this Ash gave off an aura of maturity and steadiness without appearing stiff or boring.
With his short black hair, sharp eyebrows, and bright, intelligent eyes, he looked handsome and refined.
His gaze was clear yet full of wisdom.
His smile was warm and reassuring.
Combined with his excellent sense of fashion, even Clarissa—who came from a noble family like the Joy lineage—could not find a single flaw in him.
In fact, from every angle she looked at him, the boy seemed to possess an inexplicable charm that quietly captured her attention.
"Sure!" Clarissa said happily after hearing his invitation.
Over the past weeks, as classmates, friends, and colleagues, she had learned many things from Ash and had been deeply influenced by him.
In the past, Clarissa had no interest in Pokémon battles.
But because of Ash, she had gradually become fascinated by them.
Previously, she had never cared much about becoming stronger.
Yet after hearing Ash say something once—
"The stronger you are, the more effective your healing abilities become."
"For example, the same move—Heal Pulse—used repeatedly by a beginner Pokémon can never match the effect of one used by an Elite-tier Pokémon."
Those words had changed her perspective.
Of course, there was another reason she now desired to become stronger.
It was something Ash had said before:
"Strong girls are the most charming."
In short, after spending so much time with Ash, Clarissa had begun to develop her own desire to grow stronger.
For the past few weeks, every day at 5:30 PM, after finishing work in the emergency room, Clarissa would accompany Ash to the City Arena to participate in battles.
Since she only owned one Pokémon—Happiny—most of the time she would join Ash in a 2v1 double battle during his first warm-up match.
For the rest of the matches, Ash would participate in 1v1 battles alone.
Clarissa herself lost more battles than she won.
But thanks to Ash's guidance and the constant battle experience, Happiny's strength had been increasing rapidly.
Just one week ago, when Clarissa first accompanied Ash to the City Arena, Happiny had only been LV.15.
Now it had already reached LV.20.
And Clarissa knew very clearly—
All of that progress was because of Ash.
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