Chapter 43

Bruno: "My Hitmonlee and I aren't *that* bad, are we?"

Bruno: "Whether you're bad or not, just keep watching and you'll find out."

【On the arena.】

【"Kid, your Lucario has quite the talent for fighting. If you're willing to hand him over to me to take care of, I guarantee I'll lead him to win countless championship gold belts." Before the battle began, Bruno suddenly spoke to Ash.】

【"Something like the P1 Grand Prix championship?" Ash frowned and asked.】

【"That's right." Bruno nodded. "Trust me, under my training, your Lucario will become the King of Fighting!!!"】

【Bruno had expected his pitch to make Ash and his Lucario fired up, but to his surprise, the scene he imagined didn't happen at all. Instead, Ash looked at him with the eyes one would use for an idiot.】

【"Is there something wrong with that?" Was there something wrong with his speech?】

【"Mister, if you want a Pokémon, why don't you just go catch one yourself? Begging others for their Pokémon is just too lame," Ash said with disdain.】

Steven: "Good. Black Ash said it well. Actually, I've wanted to say that for a long time; the behavior of begging others for Pokémon is really too lame. If you want a Pokémon, why not just go catch one yourself?"

Wallace: "That's why I say Ash in our world is still too young and too naive; he actually really handed over his Primeape to Bruno."

Bruno: "Don't slander me, you guys. I'm not coveting Ash's Pokémon; I just don't want to see Primeape's potential buried."

As luck would have it, the Bruno in the video said the exact same thing.

【"Don't misunderstand, I'm not coveting your Lucario; I just don't want its talent to be buried," Bruno explained.】

【"Mister, following you is exactly how Lucario's talent would be buried. The world in your eyes is simply too small. The P1 Grand Prix? So what if you win a bunch of championships in that kind of entertainment tournament? My and Lucario's goal is the sea of stars," Ash retorted bluntly.】

【"The sea of stars?" Bruno was a bit confused.】

【Ash nodded. "That's right, my and Lucario's goal is to stand on the World Coronation Series stage, defeat the Champions of every region, and become the strongest Pokémon Trainer in the world."】

【"This?" Bruno was shocked by Ash's ambition.】

【Compared to Ash's grand ambition, his own goal was as tiny as an ant.】

【Ash also realized that this man named Bruno wasn't a bad person, just too short-sighted. He kindly advised: "Mister, having a dream isn't a bad thing. But you have to weigh the balance between your dream and your family. You have to remember, you're an adult who already has a daughter."】

【"Daddy."】

【The call of his daughter, Aimi, came from under the arena. Looking at his daughter's concerned eyes, Bruno finally woke up.】

【"Thank you for your guidance." Bruno bowed solemnly to Ash. "Let's have a battle without regrets!"】

Maylene: "Mister Bruno didn't manage to hold on for ten seconds in the end."

Brawly: "Isn't that obvious? The two of them aren't even in the same weight class anymore."

Bruno: "Ash! When you get to the Pokémon Center, I'll have Primeape transferred to you! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have begged you for Primeape."

Black Ash's scolding didn't just wake up the Bruno in the video; it also woke up the Bruno in the real world.

Yes, Black Ash was right. He had been too obsessed with his own dream, neglecting his family for it, and taking Primeape away from Ash's side for it. He really was a bad person.

Ash: "Mister, I've always believed in you; you're not a bad person. Let Primeape stay with you for now. When I need it, you can just send it to me then."

Bruno: "Ash."

It would be a lie to say he wasn't moved.

Many people in the chat room misunderstood him, thinking he was greedy for Ash's Primeape, but in reality, that wasn't the case. His original intention really was just to ensure Primeape's talent wasn't buried.

He wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes.

Bruno: "Don't worry, I'll install a Pokémon transfer machine at home tomorrow. As long as you need it, Ash, I'll send Primeape to your hands the very first moment."

Ash: "Mm, Mister!"

Kalos Region, Vaniville Town.

"Ash is really so gentle."

"Yes." This time, Grace also agreed with Serena's view. "If Ash had really taken Primeape back immediately, Mr. Bruno would never have been able to recover. Public opinion is very scary."

Hoenn Region, Petalburg Gym.

"Ash is so kind."

If she went to the Sea Temple with Ash, she would definitely be treated gently too, right?

Max: "Sis, wake up, stop daydreaming. Have you actually decided who you're taking to the Water Temple yet?"

May: "Hmph, anyway, I'm not taking you."

Max: "Sis!"

Kanto Town.

"Mm, Mr. Bruno is a good person; leaving Primeape in his care for a while isn't bad either." Misty also thought Ash's approach this time was fine.

If Ash took Primeape back now, he wouldn't be able to take care of it, and in the end, he'd just have to send it to Professor Oak's lab.

In that case, it was better to leave Primeape with Mr. Bruno.

With Mr. Bruno, he could even help train Primeape.

"I didn't think that much; I just felt that Mr. Bruno is a good person and shouldn't be speculated about like that by everyone."

That's right, that was Ash's most honest inner thought.

"You guy."

Misty and Brock smiled at each other.

This was the Ash they knew.

The black-bordered screen dimmed, and the white-bordered screen lit up.

【After Ash entrusted Primeape to Mr. Shidou's care, they arrived in a new city. Here, they helped the power plant employees solve the Grimer problem, and Ash even caught a new Pokémon, Muk.】

【However, Muk was just too smelly, and even Ash, who loved Pokémon, couldn't quite handle it, so he ultimately chose to transfer Muk to Professor Oak's lab.】

Diantha: "Hilarious, in the end, Professor Oak still bore everything."

Cynthia: "No choice, such situations happen at the Professor's lab sometimes."

Professor Oak: "Haha, actually it's nothing; I'm already used to Muk's smell now. Hey, wait, Muk, I'm still working, don't eat me!!!"

【After leaving Gringey City, Ash and his friends arrived in the deep mountains near Fuchsia City, where they met construction workers who had come to build a reservoir.】

【However, the construction workers were quite troubled now because the Diglett were causing trouble, and their project couldn't be completed.】

【To drive away the Diglett, they issued a wide call for heroes, posting a quest for trainers to subjugate the Diglett.】

【In the gathering place for trainers, Ash even saw his rival, Gary.】

【Gary didn't take the Diglett seriously at first, thinking he could solve all the Diglett by himself, but the result shocked him. No matter how hard he tried, the Pokémon in his Poké Balls refused to come out to battle. With no other choice, Gary had to give up on this commission.】

【Other trainers also gave up on the commission; after all, without their Pokémon, they couldn't deal with the swarms of Diglett.】

【At night, Ash and his friends, who were enjoying the hot springs, suddenly discovered swarms of Diglett running up the mountain. Thus, they saw a shocking scene: the Diglett were tilling the soil for trees in the night.】

【At this moment, the reservoir workers also appeared.】

【He understood what was going on. If the reservoir were built, the entire forest would be washed away, and all the Pokémon in the forest would be homeless. The Pokémon all knew this, which is why they refused to come out of their Poké Balls even when the trainers gave orders.】

Chairman Goodshow: "Humans always infringe upon the homes of Pokémon for their own desires."

The biggest dream of Chairman Goodshow's life was for humans and Pokémon to live together in harmony in the world, so he had always been working hard to maintain the balance between humans and Pokémon.

But after all, he wasn't a god; there were always places he couldn't pay attention to.

Even just in Kanto, he couldn't do his best.

Lance: "Chairman, don't be discouraged, we will help you too."

Steven: "That's right, exactly. Letting humans and Pokémon live together beautifully in the world is not just your ideal, it's our ideal too."

Cynthia: "So Chairman, let's work hard together!!"

Maxie: "Hmph, it's completely impossible for humans and Pokémon to coexist. I advise you all to join my Groudon cult and work together for the future of humanity!"

Archie: "Humans are the pests on Earth. Everyone should join my Kyogre cult and let Pokémon rule the world to create a better world!"

Wallace: "You two guys, that's enough!!!"

【After leaving the forest, Ash and his friends finally arrived at the Fuchsia Gym. After going through many dangers, Ash finally met the Fuchsia Gym Leader, Koga.】

【Venonat, Golbat—after defeating Koga's two Pokémon, Ash successfully won the Soul Badge of the Fuchsia Gym.】

Lance: "Koga, you went way too easy on him!"

Venonat, Golbat—it's a shame Koga could even bring those out.

Bruno: "That's right, that's right, are you worthy of your status as an Elite Four reserve?!"

Lorelei: "This is already Ash's sixth badge; at least bring out some real skills."

Lorelei also couldn't bear to watch anymore.

Koga: "Hmph, mind your own business."

He was the Fuchsia Gym Leader; he could fight however he wanted when facing a challenger.

So what if he went easy?

He wanted to.