Ash, with his invincible physical body, wants to become a Pokémon Master...

Sigh, that's how teenage boys are.

Just then, Professor Birch turned around and blocked Ash's view.

"I forgot to introduce you, Ash. This is May, who came to pick up her Pokémon today."

Pokémon!

As expected, the new Pokémon were more likely to pique Ash's interest than the cute girls.

He immediately snapped out of his gentlemanly demeanor and flashed his signature sunny smile.

"Hello May, I'm Ash from Pallet Town, and this is my most important partner, Pikachu."

"Pikachu!"

Since they're said to be destined to be together, Xiao Zhi decided to make a good impression on them first.

Although Ash left a very wild first impression on May, he was, after all, her savior, so May smiled and shook hands with Ash.

"I know, Professor Birch just introduced you. I'm Haruka from Petalburg City. It's nice to meet you."

However, after Xiaoyao greeted Pikachu with a smile, she immediately remembered her bicycle that had been electrocuted by Pikachu.

She immediately turned her head with teary eyes to look at the pile of ashes.

"Waaaaah, the travel gift Mom gave me... turned to ashes on the very first day..."

"Pika~" Pikachu scratched its little head shyly.

"It's nothing, it's just a bicycle..." Ash can just buy a better one from the system store and return it to May.

Ultimately, it was all his fault for accidentally pushing his triangular organ out of the system space, and he would make up for the damage seriously.

After all, Ash has always been an upright and passionate young man in the League! (Seriously)

[Ding! Host detected to have arrived in a new region. System shop is upgrading...]

[Update countdown... 10, 9, 8, 7, ... 1, 0, Upgrade complete]

[Ding! New Hoenn region-specific items and Pokémon supplies added to the shop; all Energy Cube related items unlocked...]

These little geniuses didn't even look at the screen; they simply used their minds to open the page about bicycles.

[Ding! Bicycle (Standard Model): 1000000/unit]

"?!" Ash was stunned. He rubbed his eyes, thinking he must have seen wrong.

"Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands... Are you kidding me!"

"You did this on purpose, didn't you? What kind of bicycle could sell for a million?!"

This is the most basic model; the later ones are more expensive.

It's heartbreaking, absolutely heartbreaking. A first-class ticket on a luxury cruise ship only costs 50,000.

Forget about the rest, a completely unremarkable bicycle for a million!

The stingy Xiao Zhi would never pay that money.

"Xiao Zhi, what's wrong? Did you get sand in your eyes?"

Seeing that Ash kept rubbing his eyes while he was speaking, May went up to him worriedly and asked him what was wrong.

It seemed like they might be offering a cute girl's eye-blowing service, but unfortunately, Xiao Zhi wasn't in the mood to enjoy it right now.

"Cough! Cough!"

"Oh dear, May, I'm so sorry to have kept you so long. Let's hurry back to Professor Birch's lab to get your Pokémon!"

Xiao Zhi abruptly changed the subject; he needed to quickly gloss over the bicycle issue with her.

"Hahaha... (awkward laugh), the night before I went to get my Pokémon, I was so excited that I couldn't sleep."

"Yao, you must be really looking forward to it too! Let's go right now!"

"Uh, actually I wasn't that excited about it..."

At that moment, May suddenly realized that she was about to become a Pokémon Trainer, so it might be inappropriate to say that she was afraid of Pokémon.

"Hehehehe... (same awkward laugh), yeah, yeah, let's go!"

"Hmm, young people these days are really strange."

Seeing Ash and May's nonsensical yet inexplicably harmonious conversation, Professor Birch couldn't help but scratch his head.

—A Glimmer of Hope in Despair—

After calling Officer Jenny to report the situation, the three of them immediately returned to Dr. Birch's research institute together.

"Alright, May, now choose your first Pokémon!"

The professor's assistant brought over the Poké Balls that had been prepared beforehand, and Ash and May both looked at Professor Birch with curiosity.

Ash was even more excited than May.

"Pikachu is a brand new starter Pokémon."

"Pikachu".

The professor picked up the first Poké Ball and released the Pokémon inside.

"These are all Pokémon that we have carefully selected for beginners, starting with Treecko."

A flash of light revealed a large green gecko walking upright on two legs. Its chin and belly were red, while its plump tail was dark green.

Wow, is this a water system?

"No, this is a grass-type."

"Squeak~"

Treecko glanced at the new trainer who had arrived, and May was immediately startled and took a step back.

"It's staring at me!"

"What are you talking about? Treecko's eyes are so cute." Ash gently reached out and patted Treecko's head.

Seeing this, Professor Birch picked up another Poké Ball.

"The second one is a Mudkip."

"Crack~"

This time it was a little blue creature, with its prominent fins on its head, striking orange gills on both sides, and huge tail fin leaving a deep impression.

"This one doesn't seem to be very well-behaved."

"How could that be, Xiaoyao? Look how healthy it is."

"Its strength must be quite good too. May, why don't you let Mudkip use Water Gun to test it out?" Ash immediately suggested as a senior.

Xiaoyao simply gave the order.

"Muttofly, water gun."

wow~

"what!"

Mudkip fired a water gun directly at Haruka's face.

"Look how obedient and cute it is! It executed your command perfectly!"

"There's no way it sprays directly in my face! It's not obeying my commands at all!"

"Ash, you really love Pokémon."

Poor Haruka made everyone laugh; now it's really hard to understand who's going to choose the starter Pokémon.

The professor quickly took out the last Poké Ball.

"Then the last one is Torchic, which is a Fire-type Pokémon."

The turkey looks like a cute little orange chick, covered in fluffy feathers, with its two small wings almost invisible.

The child's appearance, however, was much more normal.

As soon as it came out of the Poké Ball, it happily ran to May's feet and gently rubbed its fluffy little head against her.

"Chama~, Chama~"

"Ah, this is so cute, I want it!" Xiaoyao made her decision quickly, without any hesitation.

"Alright, now that you have a choice, these Poké Balls and Pokédex are yours."

Professor Birch took out the standard set for novice trainers and handed it to May along with Torchic's Poké Ball.

"Keep up the good work, May! I believe you can become a Pokémon Trainer who surpasses your father!"

Xiao Zhi also encouraged her, saying, "Let's cheer each other on!"

Ash still has the air of a senior.

Xiaoyao just forced a smile and said yes.

"That's what I say, but actually I don't really want to be a Pokémon Trainer..." (very quietly)

"Huh? What did you just say?"

"No, no, I will definitely do my best!"

May's journey as a trainer has finally officially begun today.

Because of the previous delay, it was already quite late, so Haruka decided to stay at Professor Birch's research institute for the night.

Ash and Pikachu were both seriously injured in their previous battle with Rayquaza, but unfortunately there was no Pokémon Center in Littleroot Town, so they couldn't get free treatment.

Fortunately, Professor Birch's research institute also offered treatment, so Ash accepted the professor's invitation and stayed there without hesitation.

The next morning, Ash and May set off at the same time.

"The nearest town with a Pokémon Center is Old Town. You two need to go to the Pokémon Center and log into the Hoenn League first."

Professor Birch, who came out to see them off, reminded them of the things he had told them the day before he left.

Ash and May naturally nodded in response.

But then, Xiaoyao suddenly sighed.