Chapter 40: Kind-hearted people!

"This is the starting point of the speed run, Smiru Village……"

"Ash and his friends were fortunate to ride Miss Junsha's fast car, arriving at the source of the speed run."

'"The speed run starts from the village central plaza, goes around one lap and returns to the starting point."'

"Thanks to Miss Junsha's introduction, everyone came to the village square and watched the broadcast on the big screen."

"The venue was noisy, and the audience was excited one by one,"

"Just seeing them was enough to feel their enthusiasm."

"Yurie exclaimed in shock, 'This is the first time I've seen a unicorn rhinoceros speed run!'"

"Miss Junsha smiled and said, 'Unicorn rhinoceros speed runs are very popular in Kalos! By the way, tomorrow are all self‑registered amateur races—how about it? Ash, want to give it a try?'"

"As Miss Junsha, who holds the authority to check others' identities, she naturally couldn't miss Ash's identity."

"Ash's face showed interest as he said, 'Sounds fun, Clemont, want to have a match?'"

'"Huh? Me?"'

"Clemont, hearing that, instinctively wanted to refuse, but Ash directly interrupted him."

'"Don't always be so lazy, otherwise when will your physique improve? If your physique can't keep up, your future significant other will look down on you."'

"Although it sounds a bit suggestive,"

"But even a tech‑savvy otaku who hasn't had much contact with the opposite sex feels a bit insecure, afraid of losing face in front of his future significant other."

"Clemont felt somewhat guilty and was moved,"

'"Come on, come on, Miss Xiaojuer wouldn't like her fans to be weaklings."'

'"I've decided—I'm entering the race!!!"'

"Upon hearing Ash mention his idol,"

"Clemont instantly became fervent, determined to outdo Ash."

"It seemed that holding his head up in front of his future significant other was less important than preserving the image of Miss Xiaojuer's fans."

"Seeing this, Serena couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh lightly."

"Who would have thought that the scientific genius, Clemont with his sharp intellect, also has a side of being a brainless fan?"

"Human joys and sorrows differ; Yurie merely found Clemont a bit noisy,"

'"Detestable Miss Xiaojuer—although she's beautiful and has a great personality… but she turned my older brother into Feiyangyang, which is utterly despicable."'

"In the shadows,"

'"Did you hear? The little brat is going to enter the unicorn rhinoceros speed run."'

'"Unicorn rhinoceros—looks really powerful!"'

"……"

"After registering, Ash finally understood why Miss Junsha had urged him to enter the race,"

"Because registration requires a fee,"

"Although winning would also bring prize money, the organizers surely still made a profit."

"It's just to boost local consumption—how childish!"

"But Ash didn't get angry either,"

"After all, guiding consumption is just guidance; the choice remains in their hands, and if they're not interested, there will be no loss."

"Immediately afterward, the four followed Miss Junsha to a ranch run by an elderly grandmother."

"Afterward, Miss Junsha said she had official duties to attend to and left."

"As expected,"

"Ranch training also requires money,"

"Seeing that the ranch had only the old lady and her granddaughter, Ash couldn't help but ask about the other family members."

"The answer he got was that the boy's grandfather and parents had been brutally killed by poachers while guarding the nearby forest."

"Now only the two of them survive by relying on this ranch and the customers Miss Junsha brings in."

"No wonder……"

"Ash now understands why Miss Junsha invited them to enter the race,"

"He estimates that entering the race is secondary; the main goal is to help this family,"

"The family's experience, together with Miss Junsha's kindness, made Ash feel deep respect for both sides."

"They're all good people!"

"Especially the fact that the parents and grandfather were killed by poachers awakened Ash's memories from his past life,"

"In his past life, Ash's family lived next to an uninhabited island where a ranger station had been established,"

"Ash had even gone to play on the island at the invitation of a ranger uncle who came to purchase supplies,"

"There he saw many highly valuable rare birds, which he befriended,"

"But later poachers came to capture those precious birds, and in the process also killed some low‑value birds, roasting and eating them, leaving feathers and corpses scattered everywhere—a scene extremely brutal and bloody,"

"leaving a significant psychological scar on the young Ash of that time."

"Ash loathes poachers intensely, while he holds rangers in high esteem,"

"Although Ash himself will not become a ranger, he will never stint in helping the rangers' families."

"Ash intends to help the pitiful old lady and her little granddaughter,"

"After apologizing to the grandmother for bringing up the matter, Ash instead received comfort from her."

"Especially after learning that Ash had captured a poacher a few days earlier,"

"she became even more excited, clapping and cheering."

"Ash thought it over, figuring that Miss Junsha would probably struggle to attract more visitors within a day, so he simply waved his hand and rented the entire ranch for two days."

But the old grandmother directly refused,

The old grandmother bluntly said that Ash would have a match tomorrow, and at most he only needed to book it for one day.

He didn't even need to book the whole place, and no other customers would come.

Her attitude was kind and simple, making Ash feel quite warm.

Shaking his head, Ash still insisted on booking the ranch for a day.

Understanding that this was Ash's good intention, and adding the hardships of life, although she really wanted to decline, for the sake of her granddaughter's growth, the old grandmother still gritted her teeth and decided to accept, and on the spot she was going to kneel down to thank Ash,

Ash quickly helped the old grandmother up,

The excited old grandmother then had her granddaughter kowtow to thank Ash, but Ash likewise stopped her,

Knowing that if they stayed longer, the old grandmother would surely thank them again.

Not wanting to cause the other party more trouble, Ash hurriedly had his granddaughter lead them to the ranch.

Along the way, thanks to the money Ash brought, improving their livelihood, Ash's party received the warm hospitality of the old grandmother's granddaughter.

At the same time, Serena, Clemont, and Yurie, who had witnessed the entire incident, all changed their looks toward Ash.

They felt a solemn respect.

Especially Serena, while admiring Ash's character, also showed a proud expression of shared honor.

This is Serena's boyfriend!

The old grandmother's granddaughter happily hummed a song, bringing Ash and Clemont to the edge of the ranch.

Beyond the fence,

The granddaughter pointed to the unicorn rhinoceroses resting and eating inside the fence.

"First, big brother, you need to choose a unicorn rhinoceros you like as your partner."

"Eh, do we get to choose ourselves?" Clemont said somewhat nervously.

"Don't worry!" Serena smiled sweetly on her pretty face,

"As long as you don't approach the unicorn rhinoceros from behind, it won't be startled and cause a disturbance; approach from the front, keep a smile, and there will definitely be no problem."

Saying that, she went around the fence and squatted in front of a unicorn rhinoceros from the front.

The unicorn rhinoceros really didn't fly into a rage; everything was just as Serena said,

"See?!"

"Really?!" Clemont gained a bit of confidence.

Meanwhile, the granddaughter looked somewhat surprised at this girl whose looks were off the charts, her bearing ladylike, dressed beautifully, like a princess.

She was surprised that the other person also knew how to get along with the unicorn rhinoceros.

The knowledge she had mastered earned praise from others, putting Serena in a very good mood.

Then she reached out and touched the unicorn rhinoceros's horn, saying, "This kid looks pretty steady; Ash, do you want to choose this one?".

"Decided, then we'll choose this one."

Although Ash could see the spirits' attribute panel and knew there were other unicorn rhinoceroses with greater speed,

but how could the outcome of a match be more important than Serena's happiness?

However, even if he didn't need it himself, he could let someone else use it.

Ash decisively pointed out the fastest unicorn rhinoceros to Clemont, who was already having second thoughts in his heart and wanted to pick the slowest unicorn rhinoceros.

And he promised he would not disappoint you.

Ash didn't know Clemont's thoughts; he was merely moved by the fervent aura Clemont burst into when Xiaoju'er was mentioned.

After choosing their partner unicorn rhinoceros,

Under the granddaughter's guidance, Ash and Clemont changed into professional attire and came to the wide training track they usually use.

It is worth mentioning,

Although their livelihood was tight, the ranch's clothing was new and also very clean after washing.

This shows the old grandmother did not have the idea of exploiting others' sympathy to make shoddy money.

Just this alone is worthy of Ash's kind-hearted deed.

The granddaughter quickly put riding gear and reins on the two unicorn rhinoceroses in just a few moves.

Wanting to give Ash pointers, but Ash instead turned his attention to Serena.

"Serena, can you give me some pointers?".

"Of course!".

Serena smiled happily and agreed.

This round of dog food directly made everyone say they were fed up.

While Ash and Clemont were both starting to prepare for tomorrow's match,

A kilometer away,

in the woods at the edge of the ranch's corner,

three sneaky figures holding binoculars quietly poked their heads out.

"We've found them, it's the little troublemaker and Pikachu!".

"Looking at this, the little troublemaker intends to enter the unicorn rhinoceros speed race, meow!".

"Unicorn rhinoceros, it looks quite strong.".

"Alright, decided, we'll take Pikachu, Mewtwo, and the unicorn rhinoceroses all together.".

"At the time of tomorrow's match, we'll catch them all in one go, meow!".

"Hehehe!" x3!