The S.S. Anne, Central Hall!
As a world-renowned luxury liner, the Central Hall's buffet was supplied twenty-four hours a day. It was currently 11:30 AM, right in the heart of the lunch hour.
Ash and his two companions originally couldn't have afforded tickets for the S.S. Anne, not even the economy class. If they spent all their travel funds now, the rest of their journey would be grueling, and none of them had the heart to ask their families for more money.
Fortunately, just before they boarded, a kind-hearted young couplewho had to leave in a hurry for urgent businessgave their three tickets to Ash's group for free. As for why two people had three tickets, the trio didn't look a gift horse in the mouth. With such a stroke of good luck, why overthink it?
The three of them sat around a table laden with delicacies. With one hand holding a plate already piled high with food and the other wielding a fork, they were locked in a frantic sweep of the table. Their "starved ghost" style of eating was so intense that other tourists felt too embarrassed to even share the table with them.
"So good! This is so good!" Ash mumbled, his mouth stuffed with food as he continued to gorge himself with gusto.
"Hi there! Are you enjoying yourselves?" At that moment, the gentleman Ash had just dueled walked over to their table, leaning on a cane and accompanied by a beautiful female companion.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ron, and I hail from the ancient Heidelberg Family of the Kanto Region. This is my girlfriend, Mademoiselle."
Ash stopped eating at the sound of his voice, though it was a comical sightthe boy was still holding a chicken drumstick high in each hand.
"Oh, it's the uncle who gave up earlier!"
"Ahem..." Ash's words caused the gentleman's originally pleasant expression to darken. Ron glanced around and whispered through gritted teeth, "It was a draw!"
"A draw is a draw. Anyway, if we did it again, my Butterfree would definitely win!" Ash replied with an air of total indifference, though his words were incredibly provoking.
Fortunately, Ron was determined to maintain his best gentlemanly etiquette. He didn't show his annoyance, instead keeping a strained smile. "In all honesty, your Butterfree is quite impressive!"
"Indeed it is!" The lady Ron called Mademoiselle stepped forward to agree.
"So beautiful!"
Beside them, Brock's face was flushed red, completely mesmerized by the woman's mature beauty. He didn't even notice the sandwich slipping from his hand and hitting the floor. Since he was born with squinting eyes, no one could tell exactly what kind of look was hidden in his gaze.
"Hey, hey... wake up!" Misty waved a hand in front of Brock's face, but he didn't react at all, simply muttering "so beautiful" over and over under his breath.
"Ugh, I can't take this!" Misty groaned. She was a perfect young girl; what had she been thinking, traveling with a hot-blooded idiot and a big-sister-obsessed creep?
"That's because I trained it so hard!" Encouraged by the praise, Ash immediately got excited. "I remember back when I was training Butterfree to be this strong, I had to go through a lot of hardships..."
"What do you think of my Raticate?" Ron interrupted, cutting Ash off before he could ramble further.
Ash nodded. "It's okay. I think it's pretty good!"
"Excellent. That makes this easier to discuss." Ron leaned down, bringing his head closer to Ash. "How about we trade?"
"Exchange? Trade?" Ash heard the word for the first time, looking completely bewildered.
"It's common knowledge among Pokémon owners. If you meet a Pokémon you like, you can exchange them with each other!"
Seeing Ash's confusion, Ron patted him on the shoulder. "It's like this: by trading and trading again with friends, your friendship grows wider and deeper. This is the friendship of Pokémon owners, a circle of Pokémon fellowship that spans the entire country. It's a wonderful thing."
Mademoiselle took a step forward as well, patting Ash's shoulder and saying in a coy voice, "Getting to know more friends is a joyful experience, you know!"
"Brock, what do you think?" Ash, as usual, turned to the more mature Brock whenever he was undecided.
Brock had long since lost his mind to the woman's charms. With a dazed look, he moaned, "You must trade... you absolutely must..."
"Someone who loves constantly trading Pokémondo you even have the right to talk about friendship?" An unexpected voice suddenly shattered the harmonious atmosphere.
Hisoka stood with his arms crossed, looking at the hesitant Ash. He spoke up loudly, "Kid, that Butterfree is something you raised step by step since it was a Caterpie, right? To that Butterfree, you are its family, its older brother. You fought side-by-side. And now, what do you want to do? Hand it over to a total stranger?"
"From the moment it was caught by you, you were the only family that Butterfree had."
These words struck Ash's heart like a bolt of lightning. He shook his head violently and said, "You're right. Butterfree isn't a tool to be traded for friendship. It's my friend and my family."
Ash took a step back, his voice firm and decisive. "I'm sorry, Mr. Ron. I will absolutely not trade my Butterfree."
"Well, that's a pity!" Ron didn't seem too devastated; to him, trading Pokémon was just a hobby. He turned around to face the intruder who had spoiled his fun and said deeply, "Young man, Pokémon are merely social tools for humans. Trading them deepens the bonds between people. Is that not a good thing?"
"And that is why you will always be a rookie when it comes to Pokémon battling!" Hisoka said without the slightest hint of politeness.
"What did you say?" Such direct contempt infuriated Ron. Even his refined family upbringing couldn't keep him calm. He shrieked, "If that's the case, why don't the two of us have a battle? Let's use the way of the Trainer to decide whose words are the absolute truth!"
Hisoka cracked his neck and gave a cold smirk. "Heh. I'll beat you so badly you'll never dare say those words again."
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