"Alright~ (≧▽≦) ×3"
"Goodbye, Daisy!"
"Goodbye, Violet!"
"Goodbye, Lily!"
"Take care, everyone. Give us a call when you arrive in Viridian City. And next time you have free time, make sure you come back to Cerulean City to visit!"
"..."
"..."
Outside the high-speed rail station, after saying their farewells to Misty and her three sisters, Ash and the others picked up their luggage, passed through the ticket gates, and boarded the train home.
"Whoooosh—"
At 7:45 AM, the train departed.
The white steel dragon slid out of Cerulean City's station and sped westward.
"Pika~ (n-n)"
Pikachu lay comfortably across Ash's lap, eyes half-closed in bliss as Ash gently stroked its fur.
"By the way, Ash."
Blue suddenly spoke up.
"The publishing house has already completed the printing and binding for Feebas's beauty guidebook."
"The official title has been finalized as Ash's Feebas Beauty Guidebook."
"And the first print run was one million copies."
"Although the promotion period was very short—only two days—Quartz Publishing is the largest publishing company in Kanto and has distribution channels everywhere."
"Combined with your popularity, your social media accounts, your Skill Shop fan communities, and the publicity generated by the Water Pokémon Beauty Contest, the book has already become widely known throughout Kanto's trainer circles."
"The entire first print run of one million copies was fully reserved within half a day."
"The publisher has already contacted the printing factories and started preparing a second print run."
Blue's tone was filled with excitement.
She had invested an enormous amount of effort into this project.
After Ash initially contacted the chief editor at Quartz Publishing, nearly all subsequent negotiations and planning had been handled by her.
If she hadn't brought it up now, Ash wouldn't even have known that the first million copies had already sold out before release.
"The first million copies are gone already?"
"They've already started a second printing?"
Ash was genuinely surprised.
"Not only that."
"The second print run will be three million copies."
"Also, although the first printing has already sold out through pre-orders, the official release is scheduled for noon today."
"Since another three million copies are being printed, the publisher hopes you'll promote the book during your future livestream clinic sessions."
"They'll be sending sample copies and various merchandise over soon."
"You can use them as giveaways for fans during livestreams."
Blue explained.
"Livestream promotion?"
"Sure, no problem."
Ash agreed immediately.
After all, as one of the authors, the better the book sold, the more money he would earn.
Normally, authors received royalties between six and ten percent.
Eight percent was considered standard.
However, Ash was currently one of the hottest young trainers in Kanto.
Feebas and Milotic were still dominating discussions after the Water Pokémon Beauty Contest.
The guidebook itself was also genuinely high quality.
Combined with Ash's influence and active promotion, the book had every advantage possible.
As a result, the contract had been negotiated at a much higher royalty rate:
25%.
For example:
The first printing consisted of 1,000,000 copies.
Each copy retailed for 50 Pokédollars.
With a 25% royalty rate:
1,000,000 × 50 × 25%
= 12.5 million Pokédollars.
Even after honoring the agreement with Blue and splitting profits sixty-forty in favor of Ash, he would still receive:
7.5 million Pokédollars.
And that was only the first printing.
The second printing consisted of three million copies.
Ash had complete confidence that it would sell out as well.
3,000,000 × 50 × 25%
= 37.5 million Pokédollars.
His personal share alone would reach:
22.5 million Pokédollars.
And Ash was convinced the second printing wouldn't be the end.
There would likely be third, fourth, and fifth printings.
By the time everything was over, he and Blue might very well become billionaires solely through this one book.
...
...
The train continued its journey.
Cerulean City → Celadon City.
Celadon City → Pewter City.
Pewter City → Viridian City.
They departed Cerulean City at 7:45 in the morning.
Around 12:17 PM, after roughly five hours of travel, they finally arrived in Viridian City.
"Whew..."
"We're back."
After calling Misty to let her know they had arrived safely, Ash stepped out of the station.
Looking at the towering skyscrapers perfectly integrated with lush greenery, the beautiful ecological smart city felt strangely familiar.
Although he actually lived in Pallet Town, Pallet Town was administratively part of Viridian City.
Besides, he spent most of his daytime hours here anyway.
Calling himself a Viridian City resident wasn't inaccurate.
"Let's get lunch first."
"Then we'll deliver everyone's gifts."
"Okay." ×3
Gary, Green, and Clarissa all agreed.
...
...
After spending several days eating seafood in Cerulean City, everyone was craving something different.
For lunch, they visited a forest-themed restaurant and ordered ten mushroom hotpots.
Once the meal was finished, the group temporarily split up.
Blue returned to Pallet Town.
Clarissa headed back to the Pokémon Center in Viridian City.
Meanwhile, Ash and Gary first visited Delia's flower shop on Lilac Street.
Ash presented the pearl necklace he had purchased to his mother, Delia, and gave the second one to Gary's mother, Mihoko.
After helping around the flower shop for a while and chatting with them, Ash hailed a taxi and headed toward Viridian Gym.
He still needed to deliver a gift to his mentor.
Giovanni.
When Giovanni received the gift, he remained calm and composed as always.
However, from the subtle reaction in his eyes, Ash immediately knew something:
Giovanni had understood.
The gift Ash had given him—
The imitation Silver Wing.
On the surface, it was merely a collectible associated with the legendary Pokémon Lugia.
A fitting souvenir for someone fascinated by power and legendary Pokémon.
But in reality...
It carried a second meaning.
A hidden message.
A silent warning.
Ash was subtly reminding Giovanni of someone.
Someone connected to the silver feather.
Someone Giovanni had lost long ago.
Someone named Silver.
And through that silver feather, Ash was quietly conveying a message to his teacher:
I know more than you think.
And one day...
We will have a very serious conversation.
To outsiders, it looked like a simple gift from a student to his mentor.
But to Giovanni—
It felt suspiciously close to a threat.
--------------
T/N:
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