Chapter 90: Cave Parting Interlude!

Next day,

The sun had not yet risen, and Nana left on her own,

Hovering in midair,

While directing the iron dumbbells and Meowth in monster battles to level up, Nana recalled everything that had happened the previous night, and a rare hint of smugness appeared on her usually icy face.

Psychic Nana used a psychic attack on the wave-guide user Ash, and it was extremely effective!

It's hard to say whether Ash was then under someone's control or simply enjoying the ride……

In short, Nana, as she wished, left Ash an extremely profound parting gift before departing.

However,

Just thinking of Serena already having fallen under my hypnosis and entered deep sleep, while Ash remained anxious and frightened,

Nana's usually unsmiling, iceberg-like face flashed a faint smile,

She extended her scallion-white jade hand to lightly cover her mouth.

………………

Pokemon Center,

Having awakened from sleep, Serena stretched lazily.

"Mmm~ I feel like I slept really well tonight, full of energy! How strange~"

Ash showed a moment of guilt,

In the end, he still felt that this couldn't be hidden from Serena, choosing to confess openly.

The result was shocking Serena for a whole year,

Serena looked left and right, seeing no trace of Nana in the room, she involuntarily sighed in relief, and patted the mountain range that Ash had initially developed to some success.

She rolled her eyes at Ash, "You're definitely just joking with me, right?"

But the response she got was Ash's stern silence, realizing he seemed not to be joking with her,

Serena was momentarily dazed, then sighed,

She straddled Ash, clenched her fists, propped her chin, and looked down with a fierce-cute expression.

"Well, since you did this in front of me, I suppose I have to give you a harsh lesson."

If it weren't for Ash's super rookie physique, today's farce would really not be easy to wrap up.

The cost was that Serena was directly piggybacked by Ash, and they hurried on for a morning.

Of course, before that,

Clemont and Yurie first expressed regret over Nana's departure, and thus everyone's mood was not good for the morning.

Fortunately, after all, it's only a temporary separation, and we'll meet again in the future,

By noon, under the optimism of Keerni, everyone's interactions became harmonious and warm again.

After lunch,

Everyone left the green grass and woods, continuing on the journey,

Finally, as dusk approached, they arrived at a cave entrance filled with yellow earth and rocks.

Clemont glanced at the map in his hand, nodded, and looked at everyone.

"No mistake—if we want to quickly reach the town at the foot of Musuton Mountain, taking this tunnel is the fastest shortcut."

"What are we waiting for? Let's set off quickly."

Keerni took the lead, running ahead first.

"Wait!"

Ash, Serena, and Yurie hurriedly followed,

Clemont quickly took out a searchlight from his backpack, turned it on, shouldered his pack and brought up the rear, "You guys wait for me!"

About two minutes later, a Meowth hot-air balloon landed.

The pursuers who arrived here were none other than the Team Rocket members who had just been blown away by a Flame Chicken yesterday.

"The little brat leaders have already gone in, let's go!"

The trio quick-stepped to catch up, entering the pitch-black cave,

In unison, they somehow produced a pair of green tactical goggles that let them see everything clearly even in darkness.

Xiao Cilang also took out a projection device from his pants pocket; when turned on, it displayed a map, and the next thing shown was the biological distribution of where they were.

"According to the unpublished data we stole from Dr. Bulatano, this place has a large number of Buzzbats nesting."

Wuzang listlessly said, "Buzzbats? What use are they?!"

"Buzzbats are Dragon-type Pokemon, and the strength of their evolved form, Soundwave Dragon, is not to be underestimated."

"Dragon?" Upon hearing that word, Wuzang finally perked up, "I suddenly have a great idea."

"Sounds pretty good."

"An awesome battle plan, meow!"

He rolled his eyes at the person and cat beside him, Wuzang speechlessly said, "But I haven't even said anything yet..."

Just then,

A Buzzbat flew over the heads of the trio,

"It appeared!"

"Alright, I choose you, Haolayou! Use Illusion Light!"

Haolayou's Illusion Light struck the Buzzbat, but its feeble power failed to defeat it, instead enraging the Buzzbat.

The Buzzbat unleashed an ultrasonic wave,

The ultrasonic wave, through the cave's unique structure, spread outward, directly startling all the Buzzbats inside the cave,

In a moment, a large number of Zubat flew out in panic from unknown fear.

Not to mention Team Rocket, even Ash and the others were surrounded by the surging mass of Zubat.

Although Mewtwo could be released and the hidden Latias summoned to help, it had already been remembered that this was an important step in helping Keerni and Lucario fully trust each other.

Ash directly abandoned the idea of using Instant Teleportation to transfer.

Finally, amidst the chaos, the group split into two, each taking a different route to a different exit.

Beside Ash were Pikachu, Serena, and Keerni.

On the other side were Clemont, Yurie, Greninja, Lucario, and Rattata.

"Lucario..."

"Lucario!"

Separated in two places, Keerni and Lucario immediately began to miss each other, wanting to return to the cave to find each other.

But as it grew dark and others dissuaded them, they had to give up the idea of searching for each other.

Both sides orderly set up their tents and began to make dinner.

On Ash's side, Serena acted as head chef, while Ash and Keerni assisted from the side.

On the other side, Clemont's cooking skills were equally good, with Lucario and Greninja assisting from the side.

After dinner,

Under the night sky, Ash, Serena, and Keerni sat around the campfire chatting.

Soon after, the three each entered their tents to rest.

Until the early hours,

Keerni, who tosses and turns unable to sleep, silently crawled out from under the blankets, put on her clothes, and pulled out the tent.

One person came to a large boulder, hugged knees with both arms, and gazed at the moon: "Lucario..."

Inside Ash and Serena's tent,

Serena, who had not yet fallen asleep, lightly extended her scallion-white finger and pushed Ash.

"What's wrong?"

Serena, feeling somewhat conflicted, clenched a corner of the blanket, pouted, and a hint of resentment flashed across her face.

"Go comfort Keerni."

Ash feigned confusion, "What do you mean?"

"In the cave... you didn't let Mewtwo and Latias intervene, but instead stood by as events developed to this point; all of this is in your plan, isn't it!?"

"You've seen through me..."

Ash's eyes no longer held their previous confusion, but were instead perfectly clear.

Serena gave Ash a complicated look.

"What I can't understand is that you actually chose to bring me along; I originally thought you would separate me from you two to conveniently do bad things, which makes me not even able to get angry."

"Then don't be angry."

Ash tightly embraced the beautiful girl's delicate body, lightly patting her fragrant shoulders.

"I didn't intend to do anything to Keerni; I just wanted to help her and Lucario build a bond and resolve the predicament."

"Really?"

"Of course it's true! Of course, even though I'm excellent, I can't stop others from liking me."

Their eyes met, and Ash's gaze showed no hint of evasion or guilt.

Serena, having confirmed this, also understood everything and laughed from the heart.

"I didn't expect you to have such a narcissistic side! Now I understand, no wonder you brought me along—it's to avoid suspicion. Alright, I get it, go quickly."

The girl patted Ash's shoulder.

"Go where? Let her think for herself; after tonight passes, when they meet again their feelings will deepen, but truly building a bond of trust isn't that simple—distance produces beauty, and this is merely one of the more important links."

While speaking, Ash directly took advantage of her lack of preparation, dove into the blankets, causing the beautiful girl to flinch with a bashful, defensive contraction.