"Clarissa~"
As he walked into the Pokémon Center, Ash greeted the girl with a warm smile.
Then, as if performing a magic trick, he took out a bouquet of pink roses from his System Inventory and handed it to her.
"These are for you. I hope today will be as beautiful and radiant as these flowers," Ash said with a smile.
Ever since his mother had opened her flower shop and he and Clarissa had become lovers, Ash had made it a habit to give her a bouquet of flowers almost every day.
At first, he would carefully consider the language of flowers each bouquet represented, but over time, he gradually stopped paying too much attention to such things. No matter what flowers he chose, they all conveyed the same heartfelt sentiment—love.
When he gifted her sunflowers, he was wishing for her smile and mood to shine as brightly as the sun that day.
When he gave her lilies, he was saying, The white pleated dress you're wearing today is beautiful—I love it.
And when he presented her with baby's breath flowers, he was telling her that even the stars filling tonight's sky couldn't compare to the brilliance of her sparkling eyes.
Likewise, Clarissa possessed both beauty and wisdom. She could always understand the feelings Ash wished to convey through his gifts, and every bouquet she received brought her genuine happiness.
As time passed, her feelings for him grew deeper and deeper. Nearly every afternoon, she would wait for him in the lobby or by the entrance of the Pokémon Center.
Sometimes, when she wasn't particularly busy, she would even ride her bicycle to Pallet Town in the morning to watch Ash train his Pokémon or train alongside him.
Ash wasn't her only love rival—he had other girlfriends as well—but she alone could monopolize so much of his time every single day.
That alone made her feel incredibly happy.
She knew that once Ash officially began his journey four years later, she would no longer be able to enjoy his exclusive company as she did now.
And because of that, she cherished every moment they spent together all the more.
"Thank you, Ash~"
Receiving the flowers, Clarissa thanked him sweetly.
"Ash, you seem even happier than usual today. Did something good happen?" the girl asked as she wrapped her arm around his.
Under the envious gazes of the young female Trainers throughout the Pokémon Center's lobby, the two made their way toward the consultation room they regularly used for their live-streamed diagnosis sessions.
"Haha, so you noticed that too, Clarissa?"
"Quite a few good things happened today. First, Ivysaur finally evolved into Venusaur."
"Then, when I went to the Viridian Gym this afternoon, I discovered that Teacher Giovanni had accepted another disciple, so I suddenly gained a new junior fellow disciple."
"And lastly, Teacher Giovanni gifted me a Pokémon Egg. You could say my team has gained another future member."
Ash smiled as he explained.
Although the origins of the Beedrill Egg needed to remain confidential from outsiders as much as possible, Ash had no intention of hiding the truth from Clarissa.
After all, he trusted her completely.
"Ivysaur evolved, and Gym Leader Giovanni gifted you a Pokémon Egg? Those really are wonderful things worth celebrating."
Compared to Venusaur's evolution and Ash obtaining a new Pokémon, Giovanni accepting another disciple wasn't something Clarissa cared much about. After all, it had little to do with either her or Ash.
"Oh, that's right! I just remembered that our usual consultation room doesn't have a Pokémon Egg diagnostic scanner."
"Let's use one of the other examination rooms and run some tests on the Pokémon Egg to see how long it'll take before it hatches."
Ash gently squeezed the girl's soft hand as he spoke.
"Mhm~"
Clarissa obediently nodded her head.
After all, her afternoons practically belonged to Ash.
As they chatted, the two arrived at one of the consultation rooms equipped with the necessary diagnostic instruments. Ash took out the Pokémon Egg while Clarissa operated the equipment, and together they conducted a thorough examination of its vitality and health.
As expected of the offspring of Giovanni's ace Beedrill, the Pokémon Egg was in exceptional condition. Its vitality was astonishingly vigorous and abundant.
However, judging by both the Egg's life force and the developmental progress of the embryo within, it had only recently been laid.
It would still require at least another two to three years before hatching.
A Beedrill Egg that required two or three entire years to hatch was something that greatly surprised even Clarissa.
At that moment, she gained a far more objective understanding of what Ash had casually described as having "pretty good Potential."
Realizing just how extraordinary the Beedrill Egg truly was, Clarissa didn't even require Ash's reminder before promising herself that she would never reveal any information regarding its Potential to anyone else.
"You don't need to make any promises," Ash said as he gently patted her head. "The Beedrill Egg is indeed extraordinary, and its origins are somewhat sensitive. But I trust you completely, Clarissa. Otherwise, I wouldn't have told you about it in the first place."
"Mhm! (^▽^)"
Hearing his words, the girl's smile blossomed like a flower, her heart overflowing with happiness and emotion.
After completing the examination and learning that the Beedrill Egg would require another two or three years before hatching, Ash wasn't disappointed in the slightest.
He infused the Egg with a portion of Source Cleansing before nourishing it with some of the life force from Healing Grace, then carefully returned it to its incubation chamber and stored it away.
Although his team wouldn't immediately gain another member, that certainly didn't mean he lacked things to do.
Pikachu and Pidgeot had already become fully capable of standing on their own and no longer required him to constantly oversee their training.
Greninja, on the other hand, was about to begin its Bond Evolution research and training.
Fearow still had one final item remaining to be fused with it. Once that process was complete, its future training would largely be left to itself.
Without items that could rapidly increase its strength, possessing inferior Potential compared to its companions in the same echelon, and pursuing a far more dangerous and extreme path than the others, Fearow would have to work much harder than any of its teammates to obtain truly overwhelming combat power.
Meanwhile, Gyarados had been advancing by leaps and bounds throughout the past half year.
Although Ash had previously stated that Milotic was more suitable than Gyarados as an independently capable ace Pokémon, he had also mentioned one significant advantage that Gyarados possessed—
Its potential for Mega Evolution.
Throughout these past six months, while helping train Gyarados, Ash had also been quietly searching through various channels for information regarding Gyarados's Mega Stone.
And it wasn't just Gyarados.
Venusaur, who had now joined his third echelon of Pokémon, and even the newly acquired Beedrill Egg would all eventually require Mega Stones of their own.
Fortunately, Ash now possessed a steady stream of income generated by his Skill Disc online store. Coupled with the royalties from the publication and sales of Ash's Feebas Beauty Guide half a year ago, as well as the gradual licensing fees from his five patents concerning Pokémon Remote Capture...
Although he was still quite young, money was one thing he certainly didn't lack.
And in Ash's eyes, money that wasn't spent held no value whatsoever.
The Z-Ring and Z-Crystals could eventually be obtained by completing the Island Challenge in the Alola Region.
Mega Stones, however...
Those could only be acquired through his own efforts.
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