Chapter 160 Return to Pallet Town
One day later.
Ash looked at the town not far away and said excitedly, "I'm finally back, Pallet Town!"
Serena looked at Pallet Town, which had barely changed since she attended Summer Camp, and sighed, "Pallet Town seems to be the same as before, with no major changes, huh~"
"Is that the town where Professor Oak's Laboratory is located? I'm so excited! I really want to see Professor Oak soon. I want to show him all the observation data I've collected since my journey, but wouldn't that be too much of a waste of his time? Should I pick one? Is it this one, or this one?"
Tracy pulled out all of his observation data and pondered which one to give to Professor Oak.
"Actually, all the observation reports you've written, Tracy, are quite good. If you're willing, the Professor will definitely take the time to read all of them," Ash reminded him.
He had actually read many of Tracy's observation notes. Except for the first few entries, which might have been written when he first started traveling and were just average, the rest were very high quality. In Ash's personal opinion, Tracy's skill level was at least that of a Level 2 researcher, more than enough to be Professor Oak's student.
"Really?" Tracy looked at Ash with some excitement.
"No problem, Professor Oak is actually quite easy to talk to."
"Ash is right, Professor Oak seems to be friendly to everyone, especially to those in the field of Pokémon academia," Misty echoed.
"Everyone must be hungry. Let's go to my house for dinner first, then go to the Professor's laboratory."
Ash didn't want to eat instant noodles at Professor Oak's Laboratory, nor did he want to cook himself. If he remembered correctly, Brock should be at his house right now, competing with Mr. Mime for housework.
"I'm home!"
Ash excitedly pushed open the door.
Hmm... his mom wasn't home.
"Welcome home!"
Welcoming them was Brock, dressed like a nanny.
"Brock? Why are you here?" Misty was also startled.
"Oh, it's Misty!" Brock greeted with a smile.
"Hello, Brock, this is the gift I prepared for you last time, but I heard from Ash and the others that you stayed at Profesor Ivy's Research Institute, so..."
Serena hadn't finished speaking yet.
Brock's entire demeanor became extremely dejected. He curled up in a corner, and even the background color turned a bleak gray.
"Eh?"
The group looked at Brock in surprise.
What on earth happened?
"I say, Brock, what exactly did you go through? Profesor Ivy..." Misty still wanted to ask more.
Hearing the two words 'Profesor Ivy', Brock kept repeating the same sentence: "Please, don't say anymore!"
"It seems he was dumped again, and quite badly too," Misty had already guessed something.
"Dumped? What does that mean?" Serena and Tracy were puzzled.
"Actually, Brock likes older, more mature women, and he'll actively approach them whenever he sees them. Maybe something happened to him on Daikan Island, so it's best not to mention Profesor Ivy's name," Ash explained.
He was actually quite curious about what happened to Brock at Professor Ivy's Lab. After all, on Shamouti Island, Brock was still quite normal, and it had only been less than twenty days for him to become like this.
Ash remembered that Profesor Ivy didn't seem to have a boyfriend, only a male friend with whom she had a good relationship, so what kind of critical hit did Brock suffer? This gossip must be quite explosive, but unfortunately, Brock wouldn't willingly talk about it.
With a "creak!" sound.
The door opened again. This time, Ash's mother, Delia, returned with Mr. Mime.
"Welcome home, Ash, Pikachu, Gardevoir..."
Delia saw her son return, gave a simple greeting, and then pulled Serena and Misty to the living room to exchange pleasantries.
Ash didn't even have time to speak.
"You're Tracy, right? I've heard Ash and the others mention you."
At this moment, Brock had also recovered.
"Mr. Brock, I often hear Ash and the others mention you. They say you are an excellent Pokémon Breeder..."
In just a short while, Brock and Tracy were chatting enthusiastically.
Just like that, Ash seemed to become an outsider, and even his Pokémon left him, running to Delia's side.
"Auntie, why is Brock at your house?" Misty asked curiously.
"You mean him! Well, a few evenings ago, Mr. Mime and I went to the market to buy groceries, and on the way back, I stepped on something soft...
After bringing him back, he remained silent. When I asked him what happened, he would become like you just saw. It wasn't until he started helping with chores that he slowly recovered, but now he's competing with Mr. Mime for housework," Delia briefly explained how she found Brock.
"Alright, since Serena is here today, I must make a grand feast. Mr. Mime, let's begin!"
Delia was happy to see Ash return, but that happiness was less than her joy at having Serena and Misty visit, especially Serena, who was a future daughter-in-law who had traveled a long way to visit.
After enjoying the elaborate feast prepared by Delia, Ash led the others to Professor Oak's Laboratory.
"Professor, are you home?"
Ash pushed open the laboratory door and, seeing no one, called out.
"Ash, isn't that a bit impolite? What if we disturb Professor Oak at work?" Tracy said with some concern.
"Don't worry, Professor Oak won't mind such small things."
Having stayed in this laboratory for eight or nine years, Ash understood Professor Oak very well. How could he be doing research right now? He was probably entangled with some Pokémon and couldn't get away.
Going up to the second floor of the laboratory, Ash saw a slightly ajar door.
"Muk, don't... stick... to me"
Only Professor Oak's intermittent voice could be heard from inside the room.
Ash pushed open the door and saw Muk clinging to Professor Oak. "Professor, so you're here!"
"Ah, Ash, you've returned just in time," Professor Oak said, as if seeing a savior. "Muk, your Trainer is back, go find him."
"Nieduo~"
Muk looked up at Ash, confirmed with its eyes that it was its scumbag Trainer, decisively let go of Professor Oak, pretending not to be familiar with this old man, and turned to lean towards Ash.
"Bui~"
Eevee, Ash's partner on his shoulder, decisively jumped down and stood in front of Ash, not giving Muk a chance to get close.
"Oh, this little Eevee has nice fur! Ash, is it a new Pokémon you caught?"
Professor Oak immediately noticed the uniqueness of the partner Eevee.
"Yes, I bought it at a breeding house on Kumquat Island, along with a few other Pokémon. I was just about to ask you, Professor, to examine them for me."
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