Chapter 216: Shocking Mother-in-Law for a Whole Year!

Having the skill of riding a unicorn rhinoceros before,

Ash found riding the little goat mount to be very handy, quickly mastering the technique and controlling it like an arm.

"Not bad, Ash, you really learned quickly!"

"Thanks to Teacher Serena's guidance!"

Teacher?

Saqi rolled her eyes at Ash, showing off a little marital flirtation in front of her mother-in-law, right?

However,

Saqi still ended up smiling,

"Is it Similu Village? I've been there before—I have to say, Ash, you did a really great job."

"How's the situation over there?"

"Business there is now somewhat worse than when it just started fermenting, but it's improved tremendously compared to before you went!"

Saqi explained:

"By the way, you two have already done that, right?"

"Ah?"

Serena, who had been silent all along, was startled, her pretty face turning completely red.

"Mom, what nonsense are you spouting?!"

The girl kept being stubborn, but Ash just blurted it out,

"Yes, Mom!"

"Ah!"

Saqi stared for a moment, then her face quickly broke into a warm smile, like a flower blooming in spring.

One could tell at a glance that she was very happy.

At the same time, seeing Serena's clueless look, she immediately frowned and retorted coldly,

"You kid, you're already an adult—what's there to be shy about? This sort of thing is definitely something you should experience, and yet you're lying to Mom!"

"Wuu… I got it!"

With her scallion-white fingers clutching the hem of her clothes, Serena kept her head lowered, her face red, not daring to look at her mother.

"But you're still too young right now—remember to take proper safety measures!"

"Okay!"

"Okay..."

Giving the same answer, Ash nodded calmly, but Serena was too shy to bear it.

"By the way, with so many girlfriends, you must have some troubles, right?"

"Ah?"

Saqi gave Ash a sideways glance,

"Don't be shy, Mom isn't unhappy that you have so many girlfriends—just if you feel unable to keep up, you should promptly supplement your nutrition accordingly!"

Is this questioning whether I'm incapable?

Ash and Serena finally understood Saqi's meaning; thinking of Ash's performance, Serena's mouth twitched.

"Mom, Ash actually..."

Suddenly,

Clemont mounted the little goat mount; the mount, sensing Clemont's inner fear, also became frightened and lost control, charging into the crowd.

"Watch out!"

Ash immediately drove the little goat mount to sprint ahead of Clemont,

"Don't go over, Ash."

Saqi immediately worried and mounted a nearby little goat mount, intending to overtake and stop this disaster.

The result was that it seemed Ash thought the little goat mount was running too slow,

so he actually jumped off the ground, sprinted with long strides toward Clemont and the little goat mount ahead, and reached out to grab the out-of-control little goat mount.

During this process, the little goat mount evolved into a goat mount, its attack species value rising from 65 to 100! Its power surged dramatically!

However……

In the struggle with Ash, however, the outcome ended with the charging goat mount being pushed backward.

Saqi, along with everyone else present, was completely dumbfounded by this sight.

"This this this……"

Serena then softly said,

"That's right, Mom—Ash is just like that; even in that regard, he's so strong he doesn't seem human."

"Not human? That evaluation is too exaggerated."

Saqi thought, you little girl who hasn't seen the world, do you even have a standard in your heart for measuring that kind of strength?

Since everything's been laid out, Serena simply didn't hide anything from Saqi anymore,

"Ash can actually keep going for several hours."

"Ah?!"

Saqi was dazed, looking at Serena in disbelief.

"Several hours? Do you even know what you're saying? Even taking drugs would hardly reach that level."

But seeing her daughter's serious expression,

the smile on Saqi's face gradually faded, replaced by envy and heartache.

"It seems this medicine really does need to be given, but only for you to use, and now I finally understand why Ash has so many girlfriends."

He looked at Ash, who had successfully subdued the riding goat,

Saqi's face showed a hint of relief.

"He really thought of you; now the pressure you bear is much lighter, leaving only joy."

While sighing, a trace of envy also appeared on his face.

At dusk,

Saqi, who already understood that her daughter's heart was never in the unicorn rhino race, formally issued an ultimatum to Serena,

using the riding goat sprint as a test,

if Serena could cross the finish line first, she would be allowed to devote herself entirely to a career as a Pokemon performer.

The whole process was roughly as follows,

Serena started poorly → Serena gradually fell behind → Serena made frequent blunders → Serena's defeat was sealed → Serena proclaimed a victory statement.

At the finish stage, they saw the daughter spare no effort to stay true to her path.

Saqi still held back,

the riding goat, sensing its rider's intention, naturally slowed its pace.

……

After parting from mother‑in‑law Saqi,

Ash and his party arrived at a forest beneath the mountains, where wild Pokemon could be seen everywhere along the path.

"Those are berries; let's pick some to eat!"

While they were picking the berries,

Yurie was startled by a suddenly appearing figure.

"Ah!!! O… Octopus King?!"

The Octopus King looked like an octopus, yet it had two legs and could walk upright; its head bore eight tentacles like hair, and on both sides it had fin‑like limbs resembling arms,

at the tips of those fins were razor‑sharp, blade‑like structures capable of easily tearing prey.

Clemont hurried over, "Come out, Lechonk."

"Wait…"

Ash rushed to shout at Clemont, who was about to act.

"He doesn't intend to attack you."

As Ash stepped in to stop Clemont from attacking the Octopus King, the Octopus King, which had been ready to strike back, also withdrew its attack.

"What's going on?"

Clemont and Yurie still based their understanding of the Octopus King on that incident at the radio observatory.

They thought all Octopus Kings were evil.

"Pokemon aren't judged good or evil by species; even Dark Type Pokemon can have kind personalities, though they're rarer."

"Is that so?"

"We'll see once we go and look."

With that, Ash took the lead and followed the direction the Octopus King had fled.

Soon the group saw a swarm of Dark Psychic Octopus Kings, using their psychic powers to kindly help other Pokemon in the forest gather berries.

The heartwarming scene instantly reshaped everyone's perception.

Ash explained, "It's probably because the ecosystem here is excellent and food is abundant,

plus the Octopus King, being a Psychic‑type spirit, has a clever mind and knows food never runs out, so it tends to look after the inhabitants of its territory."

"I see!"

The others' faces showed sudden understanding.

As they spoke, the Octopus Kings that had followed Ash's party enthusiastically offered various delicious berries.

After giving thanks,

the group immediately tasted the food the Octopus King had brought.

Meanwhile,

accompanied by a crimson flash on a distant peak and a booming sound, Ash, who had fully activated his waveguide perception out of curiosity, instantly grew pale.

The proper lady Serena, who was lightly sampling the berries, asked puzzled, "What's wrong?"

Ash shook his head,

He released Serperior, then gave a mysterious smile to the Serperior soaring in the air, its face puzzled.

"It's your turn to act!"