Pokémon, Ash is going to become a perfect man from now on.

Twinleaf Town is located in the southwest of Sinnoh. Not many people live here, and the overall atmosphere is similar to Pallet Town, peaceful and leisurely.

Walking through the streets of the town, it feels as if you can really smell the scent of tender buds in the air.

The three of them quickly found their destination by following the address provided in the email.

After ringing the doorbell, a woman dressed as a housewife but still possessing outstanding temperament opened the door.

"You are…"

"You must be Ms. Ayako. I apologize for bothering you." Ash quickly introduced himself. "I'm Ash, and these two are Serena and Lillie. We sent you an email before, hoping to come here to study."

"Oh, you're Serena from the email," Ayako confirmed the three's identities. "Wait... Ash, isn't that the one from Kanto..."

"I'm here on a business trip, so I'm bringing Serena over," Ash explained.

"Please come in quickly."

Ayako invited the three of them into the house, and after chatting for a while, she asked the question she was curious about.

"Logically speaking, with someone like you around, she shouldn't need to specifically seek out outsiders to learn from, right?"

"Ash has been helping me practice, but I'd also like to see more of the different Coordinators' styles... so I'm asking you for help during this time," Serena said earnestly.

She probably anticipated being asked this question, and clearly had prepared an answer in advance.

"I see..." Ayako's eyes darted around, and a smile appeared on her face. "I understand. You can stay here for now."

She's a smart woman; she can confirm something just from that answer.

"Experiencing different styles" means that this girl must have been deeply influenced by Ash and wants to seek some breakthroughs.

Moreover, Xiao Zhi said he was here on a business trip, so he clearly treated this place as a short-term daycare.

Having figured all this out, Ayako readily agreed.

This is a lucrative quick-money opportunity, why not take it?

"Mom...do we have guests?" Just then, a girl in pajamas ran down from the second floor.

She looked to be just over ten years old, with long, flowing blue hair, radiating youthful energy.

"Hey...you're that person!" Upon seeing Ash, the girl immediately looked like she'd met a celebrity. "Mom, let me tell you, this guy is amazing! It was just reported on the midday news that he solved a hijacking incident at the airport...it seems he used a Dragonite to catch up with the plane!"

"So there was this little story behind it. Ash is indeed a very skilled trainer," Ayako said with a smile, while introducing Ash and the others, "This is my daughter, Dawn, who is nine years old this year."

"I'm already over nine years old, and in less than a year, I'll be going on a trip!" the girl declared energetically, then turned into a curious child, "Hey, did you capture that criminal? I heard it was a Togepi, is it really powerful enough to control the whole plane?"

"Chaka, Chaka!" As soon as she finished speaking, Ash's newly captured Evil Egg launched a Poké Ball on its own.

The adorable baby's appearance instantly made Xiao Guang's face turn pale, and he quickly hugged it in his arms.

"You're kidding, it's so cute!"

"Hikari, stop fooling around and give the Pokémon back to its owner."

"Oh..." Hearing Ayako's voice to stop her, the girl reluctantly handed Togepi back...

Their fingertips touched unexpectedly, and both of them felt a jolt throughout their bodies!

Xiao Guang didn't know how to describe that feeling. She had just met the person in front of her, but she felt that the other person was very familiar, as if many things were destined to happen between them.

Ash's senses were even clearer, but he was certain that it wasn't some kind of predestined fate, but rather the influence of the remaining red chains!

But Xiao Guang shouldn’t have a red chain on him!

The management wizard can also confirm this.

The situation was somewhat confusing, so Ash kept quiet for the time being and calmly took Togepi.

At this moment, Ayako challenged Serena to a match.

"Let's play a practice match. I want to check on your current situation."

“Okay!” the girl immediately agreed seriously.

The group moved to the outdoor training area, where Ayako now had two more Pokémon by her side.

One is the mysterious Moon Elf, and the other is the adorable Charming Cat.

"Salina, is a doubles match okay?" Ayako asked.

“Okay… I’ll use Fire Fox and Togekiss!” Serena considered for a moment and sent out the combination of the sixth-generation Fire Master and the aircraft.

She didn't know anything about Charming Cat, only that the opponent was a Normal type, but Umbreon would definitely limit Cotton's performance, so it would be better to send out Fennekin, which the opponent was unlikely to know.

"The match has begun!" Xiao Guang, acting as the referee, announced excitedly.

"Togekiss, Extreme Speed! Fire Fox, Flame Vortex!"

"Charming Meow, high five! Moon Elf, Iron Tail!"

Serena chose to launch a preemptive attack at the start, and Togekiss immediately charged forward at lightning speed. However, Ayako's Charming Cat was even more agile and skillfully passed by Togekiss while charging forward, interrupting the Flame Fox's skill with a preemptive Coil!

Meanwhile, the Umbreon, who had been delaying its actions, had already positioned itself in front of Togekiss, bracing itself against a burst of Extreme Speed, and lashing its metallic tail at its opponent.

"Fire Fox, retreat immediately! Togekiss, use Electromagnetic Wave at full power!"

Noisy!

Serena's response was incredibly swift; the Fire Fox immediately leaped backward to dodge, while Togekiss's electric arcs spread across the entire arena, instantly bringing both of Ayako's dogs into its attack range!

"Charming Meow, Hypnosis! Moon Fairy, Healing Bell!"

Seeing Ayako launch such an offensive, Ash couldn't help but worry for Serena.

As expected, although both of Ayako's cats were covered in electric arcs, Charming Cat simply ignored the paralysis and directly used hypnosis to knock out the Fire Fox.

The Moon Elf was affected, but Serena was shocked to find that Togekiss was also paralyzed!

Once the attack was over, the moon elf activated the healing bell, and after a chanting performance, she was full of energy again.

On the other hand, Serena was either paralyzed or asleep, and was completely at a disadvantage.

"Aunt Ayako, you're amazing..." Lillie exclaimed in amazement upon seeing this.

The exchange just now was entirely a matter of superior combat experience.

Glamour has the Soft ability, completely ignoring paralysis; Umbreon has the Synchronize ability, which, when combined with Bell, can trick the opponent into revealing their status.

The reason Ayako was able to launch this offensive was because she was certain that after Togekiss rushed in at lightning speed, it would use electromagnetic waves to cover the entire field!

"Togekiss, Healing Bell! Fox, Sleep Talk!"

"Charming Meow, turn around and use Taunt! Moon Elf, switch defenses!"

Despite being at a disadvantage, Serena did not panic. She tried to get Togekiss to remove the abnormal statuses on her side, and the Fire Fox also used Sleep Talk to unleash a Flamethrower.

However, Ayako's response was clearly more sophisticated. Her Charming Cat abandoned Fennekin and immediately blocked Togekiss's variant moves. At the same time, Umbreon even gave its own double defense to its teammate!

At this moment, Charming Cat's defenses were both broken, and Fox's Flamethrower had no effect whatsoever.

"In that case... Fire Fox, keep using Sleep Talk! Togekiss, Moon Power!"

"Charming Meow, cleave! Moon Elf, switch defenses!"

Serena launched a direct attack, and the Fire Fox surprisingly drew out her ultimate move, greatly enhancing Togekiss's Moonblast!

Boom!

The enhanced energy ball struck the Umbreon head-on, but the Umbreon had just swapped defenses with Togekiss, and managed to survive the attack.

At the same time, Charming Cat's cleave attack was unleashed. Togekiss's defense was now barely thicker than paper, and it was severely injured in the attack!

The outcome of the entire battle was now a foregone conclusion.

Togekiss was unable to break free of the paralysis and lost its ability to fight even before the Fire Fox awoke.

Although the Fire Fox successfully used Flame Vortex and managed to stall for time with Protection and Mental Interference, it only exhausted the Moon Elf's stamina, while Charming Cat remained standing.

"The game is over! Great, Mom won!" Xiao Guang happily announced the final result.

"I lost. Miss Ayako is really amazing." Serena wasn't discouraged. She came here to learn, so losing was perfectly normal.

"I was on edge too! Your two Pokémon are great, and you handled everything very well," Ayako said with a smile, encouragingly. "I know what I need to teach you now, so keep up the good work!"

In Ayako's opinion, Serena has a solid foundation and a strong style; what she lacks is experience and variety, as well as good doubles coordination.

And these are undoubtedly her strengths.

...

After settling Serena in at Ayako's house, Ash left her Alakazam, Gengar, and Steelix in case of emergency.

After that, he said goodbye to Ayako.

"I'll leave Serena to you from now on. We need to head to the Yamanashi Research Institute to meet up with Ms. Cynthia."

Strictly speaking, the Yamanashi Laboratory was Ash's first stop on his business trip to Sinnoh.

This was Professor Oak's idea. Since Ash had come to Sinnoh, he should definitely pay a visit to that senior professor on Ash's behalf. Also, Professor Oak seemed to have something to give Ash.

"Okay, you can go and take care of your business." Knowing that the other party was meeting with the champion, Ayako didn't ask for any more details.

On the contrary, when Dawn heard that Ash was going to meet the champion, her eyes started to dart around.

Masago Town seems to be not far from here...

"Mom, Sister Serina, I'm going out for a walk, bye-bye~" The girl casually greeted her mother and ran out of the house in a hurry.