Chapter 13: Pokémon Hunter! First Alone Time with Serena!

Ding ding ding……

The ringtone of his cell phone sounded, Ash took out his phone and glanced at the caller ID—Professor Bulatano,

He pressed the answer key,

The professor's enthusiastic voice came from the earpiece,

"Ash, have you finished checking in? Come eat quickly."

He hung up the phone,

He called out to Clemont and Yurie,

To avoid keeping the professor waiting, the four of them left the Pokémon Center and took a taxi straight to the address he gave.

The meal was enjoyed by host and guest alike, letting everyone eat to their heart's content.

On the way back to the Pokémon Center,

This time they didn't take a taxi,

Partly because they weren't in a hurry, partly to aid digestion.

Under the dark night, neon lights flickered,

Walking along the city streets, it was as if they were walking in broad daylight,

Their feet stepped on the wide blue-stone-paved avenue,

Just thinking about what might happen tonight, Serena fell again into a reverie of inner turmoil,

She seemed somewhat absent-minded,

She even nearly got hit by an off-road vehicle wrapped in black cloth, its interior loaded with various weapons, at the corner,

Fortunately Ash acted in time, pulling Serena back,

"Are you okay?"

Clemont and Yurie also gathered around, concerned,

"I'm fine, sorry, I just got lost in thought earlier, so..."

While Serena was apologizing,

Ash's attention, however, was on the rear of that unusual off-road vehicle,

Although they had done only the most basic disguise, it was naturally impossible to hide from Ash, who is an Aura Guardian,

Weapons plus off-road vehicle, plus the driver's attire,

A man wearing a hat, sunglasses, and mask, almost completely covering his face,

"A poacher?"

The reason he's unsure is that Ash didn't sense any other creature's aura inside the vehicle,

Of course, a greater possibility is that they had just set out,

Poachers committing illegal acts at night indeed fits their habit of avoiding the light.

"Latias… forget it, Mewtwo, you go follow and check."

Ash originally wanted Latias to follow, but thinking the other party might be poachers,

He simply sent out Mewtwo, whose mind is capable of acting independently.

"Ash, what are you doing…"

Ash didn't hide it, directly telling his discovery to the three,

"The driver of that car just now is suspected to be a poacher."

"What?! A poacher!"

Clemont widened his eyes in surprise, "Then what are we waiting for? Call the police quickly."

Ash: "Huh?"

"Is the problem with me, or with you?"

"You, a Gym Leader responsible for maintaining local security, when something happens you think of reporting to a junior officer,

instead of notifying them to cooperate in action— is that reasonable?"

While inwardly complaining,

He glanced sideways without changing expression toward a rooftop,

There were two aura signals there, one very strong, roughly at Elite Four level,

the other somewhat close to Clemont's and Yurie's aura frequencies,

Without lingering,

The two auras instantly appeared on another rooftop dozens of meters away, then pursued in the direction the off-road vehicle had gone,

If nothing unexpected, that should be Clemont's father,

who rides a Mega Blaziken, running through the night in Lumiose City to maintain public order, known as the Masked Superman of the Blaziken Mask.

What Ash found somewhat concerning was the way he moved through the air……

He had thought it was a superhero flying back and forth,

Who would have expected the art style to be so realistic,

Clemont's dad was like a shy little princess, hugged by the Mega Blaziken princess,

Fortunately it was only what the aura sensed, not actually seen,

Otherwise, seeing a bearded uncle being embraced by a princess, Ash would probably not be able to sleep tonight.

Back at the Pokémon Center,

Ash and Serena then parted ways with Clemont and Yurie,

Thinking of the reminder his mother had secretly left for him,

Simei's blushing face began to heat up at the same time, she made an excuse to look for Miss Joy, and sneaked away from the room,

After a long while,

She returned to the room with a small umbrella tucked in her bag, just in case,

Their eyes met, looking at Simei whose face was red as an apple,

Ash, who had not used Waveguide Power to probe Simei's secret, naturally subconsciously attributed it to the shyness of being alone together,

He spoke up to ease the awkwardness, pointing to the half-bed next to him separated by the blanket,

"We'll each take one side."

Serena's gaze fell on the half-bed beside the side-lying Ash,

Just thinking that tonight the two of them might possibly experience something momentous,

Her whole body instantly resembled a boiling kettle, skin flushed red, with large amounts of white steam rising from her head,

She lightly pursed her lips, and Serena's gaze subconsciously avoided looking at him,

Her body stiffened as she moved hands and feet together to the bedside,

"Too close… it's really too close… a foul!"

Serena roared wildly in her mind,

Externally, at this moment Simei's pupils had completely lost their shine, like a spirit that had lost its fighting ability,

Instinctively she kicked off her shoes,

She shifted her body sideways onto the bed, about to start taking off her black stockings, and even further, her clothing,

This left Ash and Pikachu beside her stunned,

A glance aside showed Pikachu next to her raising its two little paws to cover its ears in the 'covering ears while stealing a bell' pose, and covering its eyes,

Ash angrily knocked the little guy's head,

He hurriedly spoke up to stop Simei's outrageous behavior before she truly began to take off her clothes,

"Cough cough! Serena… the blanket…"

Having reacted, Serena immediately sprang like a startled bird, frantically pulling the blanket over her body,

"Ah! Sorry."

Only her head peeking out, Simei's cute face turned red as an apple, with wisps of white vapor rising,

She quietly removed all her clothing under the blanket,

Just like Simei, Ash usually sleeps without clothes,

This way he avoids restriction, and upon waking he doesn't feel tired,

Of course, he does all this while covered by the blanket,

As for the things Simei imagined in her mind, nothing even more indescribable occurred,

First, they had just reunited and hadn't accumulated enough foundation,

Acting rashly further might not be stopped by Serena, but for Simei's subsequent mindset, it would be a test,

Second, Mewtwo will be coming back later,

Plus, that little rascal Pikachu is still present,

Although Ash felt strong anticipation and impulse when he personally witnessed Simei taking off her black stockings,

but the presence of these factors ultimately forced Ash to calm his inner agitation,

At the same time, Pikachu's gossiping behavior also made Ash make up his mind,

Normally it's fine, but if something really happens in the future, even if Pikachu is unwilling, he must be recalled into its Poké Ball,

I've been understanding of Pikachu for all these years; it's time for Pikachu to be understanding of his old father as well,

He gathered his thoughts,

He noticed that the girl beside him was so tense she dared not raise her voice,

He turned his head, and Ash initiated conversation,

By recounting interesting past events that happened in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova, he eased Serena's inner tension,

One spoke with great sincerity, the other listened very attentively,

Gradually, the atmosphere was no longer as constraining as at first, and the girl's breathing gradually steadied,

Ash's voice grew ever softer, sweeping away the girl's tension and restlessness,

Until Serena fell into a deep sleep, Ash only then stopped speaking,

Moonlight streamed through the window, casting a cool glow onto Serena's perfect visage, forming a beautiful picture,

He turned his head, quietly admiring his first love's face, the corners of his mouth unconsciously turning up slightly,

……

At 2 a. m., Mewtwo returned,

Via the Psychic-type move Instant Teleportation, it appeared inside the room,

The overbearing Waveguide Power approached, instantly waking Ash,

He opened his eyes,

Ash first glanced at the sleeping Serena, who wore a smile as if she were having a pleasant dream,

Seeing that she hadn't been woken, he then turned his gaze to Mewtwo and noticed, besides Mewtwo's return,

that there were two additional faint Waveguide emanations beside it,

He looked over,

Two small figures resembling little loli came into view, each with a horn-like protrusion resembling an oval card in front of their foreheads,

What is noteworthy is,

The hair and horn colors of the two little guys are not the same; one is green with red, the other is blue with orange.