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

"Thank you!" Lila was overjoyed and immediately knelt down in front of Eevee. "Let's search together from now on, and we'll definitely find the path that's meant for us!"

"Bee!" Ibu suddenly jumped into Lila's arms, unable to contain his excitement.

...

(What do you think?) Ash silently asked himself as he watched the girl interact with Eevee.

(I watched with disdain.) The management sprite said disdainfully, (That little blue girl just said that the Eevee family is the standard for the female lead, and your adopted sister is already rushing to put it into practice. You must be overjoyed right now~)

(Hey, I was talking about the exclusive path!) Ash rolled his deadpan eyes in exasperation. (Is it even possible for this Eevee to be like Pikachu?)

In the original travel story, this Eevee was captured by Haru. They are similar in that they are both confused and do not know what to do in the future.

After the World Championships were over, they were still confused. Xiaochun took it to see all kinds of evolved forms, but Ibu didn't choose any of them.

Its move list looks long, but they are actually all imitations of other people's moves. The only move that is truly original is an impact.

Ash kept wondering, does this Eevee have no chance of evolving into a partner Eevee?

(There are opportunities, of course, but it's much more difficult than with Pikachu... After all, Pikachu only needs to learn four partner moves.) That's what the Pokémon Manager said.

That means there's potential!

It is indeed tedious. Eevee has nine unique moves of different types, and it is undoubtedly a huge project to collect them one by one.

But Ash believes Lyra can do it!

Lila won't always be seen as someone who imitates her; she and Eevee will definitely forge their own unique path!

Chapter 747 Visiting Xiaochun's Home

After concluding their trip to the Eevee Evolution Research Institute, the group lingered in the city for a while while waiting for the cruise ship that was about to dock at Vermilion Harbor.

Xiaozhi took this opportunity to send Xiaochun home, fulfilling his earlier invitation to visit her.

“Dad is currently in Johto, and it’s just Mom and Sota at home… Oh right, I haven’t told Sota yet. He’ll be so excited if he finds out you’re here.”

On their way home together, Xiaochun was secretly delighted while also telling Xiaozhi about her home.

However, she was actually repeating the guest reception process to herself, afraid that any step might go wrong.

Xiao Zhi could understand this. Xiao Chun was a meticulous and honest girl, and she would become particularly rigid when she was nervous.

Actually, she's quite cute~

"Mom, I'm home!" After arriving home, Xiaochun went to knock on the door first, and her mother quickly came out to greet her upon hearing her voice.

"Hello, Aunt Yoshino, I apologize for bothering you." Xiao Zhi immediately stepped forward to greet her.

"Come on in, Ash, welcome!" Yoshino immediately and warmly welcomed the two into the house.

Xiaochun's mother is a young woman with a refined demeanor. She looks very much like Xiaochun, except that she wears glasses and appears more intellectual.

She is an illustrator, a very artistic job.

After a brief chat, she told Xiaozhi not to be shy here, and then she went to the kitchen to get busy.

Xiaochun took Xiaozhi to her younger brother Souta's room. According to her, this child, who is not yet eight years old, is Xiaozhi's biggest fan.

“He especially loves watching your match replays; he’s watched them many times from the previous Silver Tournament,” Xiaochun explained. “Listen, it’s being replayed again.”

Through the door, Ash could indeed hear cheers and applause... but it didn't seem to be the battle part that Chloe had mentioned.

"This is the final battle to eliminate Team Rocket, and I hope everyone here can contribute their share!"

"Trains who have made it to the main tournament, if you are willing to uphold justice and fight evil, please raise your arms!"

...

Someone's impassioned shouts echoed in the room, and the boy in front of the TV seemed to be imitating him, repeating it several times in his slightly childish voice.

"Sigh... It's so embarrassing." Xiaochun covered her face with her hands in distress. "Every time I put it here, he does this, and I can't stop him."

"Actually, it's not so bad..."

Seriously, isn't it embarrassing for Xiao Zhi to be picking his toes like this now?

During the Silver Mobilization segment, he was purely filled with enthusiasm and didn't feel anything else.

Looking back now, and hearing those words from someone else, it's just incredibly childish.

"Sis, is that you back?" Hearing the noise outside, Cang Tai casually opened the door. "Honestly, what are you muttering about?!"

Bang!

Upon seeing the person following Xiaochun, the eight-year-old boy was stunned for a moment, then immediately slammed the door shut.

After listening to the thumping and splashing inside for a while, the door reopened and a little boy, who had tidied his hair and put on a formal suit, appeared in front of Ash looking brand new.

Ash noticed that he seemed to be wearing the uniform of the Trainer Academy Preparatory Class.

"Mr... Mr. Ash, hello..." The little boy stammered as he greeted her, then approached Xiaochun with a reproachful look on his face. "Sis, what's going on? Why is Mr. Ash here? I was almost scared to death!"

"Xiao Zhi is someone I invited to my home, didn't I tell you that?" For once, the honest girl had a sly look on her face.

She was clearly in a good mood, able to use Xiaozhi to prank her younger brother.

"You're lying! Neither you nor Mom told me!" Cang Tai immediately shouted in dissatisfaction.

When it came to Ash, he became reserved again: "If I had known Mr. Ash was coming, I would have prepared much better..."

"There's no need to prepare anything special. Besides, your sister and I are friends, so you don't need to address me so formally. Just call me by my name."

Ash wanted to be easygoing, but the little boy shook his head seriously.

"That won't do! Not only will I use the formal title, but I'll also call you 'Sir' from now on!" Sota said earnestly, as if giving a report. "I've already decided to learn all the relevant knowledge in advance. Once I officially become a trainer, I'll take the certification exam and I'm determined to become a League investigator!"

"Wow, that's a really tough goal. You'd better do your best!" Ash encouraged with a smile.

Wanting to become an investigator... After Ash saved Haru at the Indigo League, five-year-old Sota said something similar, and now he is truly putting it into practice.

Xiao Zhi is very pleased with this development. A young child doesn't idolize him simply because he's strong, but rather truly recognizes his work.

This made Ash feel that he might have had some positive impact on the future of Kanto...

After playing with the little boy for a while, Yoshino had finished preparing dinner.

Seeing the Sakuragi family together except for Dr. Agasa, a curiosity that he hadn't paid much attention to before arose in Ash's heart.

How did they manage to have the same hair and eye color as the whole family?

Ash remembered that Lillie's family seemed to be in the same situation.

Putting aside their children, it seems these two couples already looked like husband and wife when they were dating!

...

I had a meal at Xiaochun's house. Perhaps because of her identity, Xiaochun's mother didn't talk much with Xiaozhi. On the contrary, Sota kept talking excitedly.

When Ash was about to leave, he still looked reluctant to part.

"I don't know when I'll be able to see Mr. Ash again..."

"If you want to see me, that's easy. I left you my phone number, so if you want to invite me over, just give me a call," Xiao Zhi said with a smile.

"Really?" The little boy's eyes lit up instantly.

"Of course, and it's not just about visiting. If there's anything else, or anything you can't tell Mom and my sister, you can tell me." Xiao Zhi nodded, leaned down and whispered in the little boy's ear, "I'll also secretly tell you a secret... then you won't have to worry anymore."

He spoke something to Sota in a voice that only the two of them could hear, and the latter immediately stared in surprise.

"Mr. Ash, you really... um!" The little boy nervously covered his mouth, barely managing to swallow his words.

He glanced at Xiaochun with a hint of disbelief, seemingly trying to figure out where his older sister got her charm...

"What's with that weird look you're giving me?" Xiaochun asked suspiciously.

"It's nothing!" The little boy shook his head vigorously. "I didn't realize you were so capable, sis!"

"This praise is strange too... Never mind, I'll see Ash off." No longer dwelling on her younger brother's odd behavior, Haru saw Ash off to the gate alone.

As they were about to part, she seemed hesitant to say something.

"Xiao Zhi, what do you think... I should do in the future?"

"Why are you asking this all of a sudden?"

“Yeah, I feel like we shouldn’t continue like this…” Koharu said softly, “Everyone has things they like, even Sota has decided to become an investigator, but as the older sister, I still don’t know what to do…”

"Because you are the professor's daughter, everyone naturally assumes that you will become a Pokémon researcher or focus on catching and battling in the future, is that right?"

"Huh?" Xiaozhi's sudden interpretation surprised Xiaochun.

This is exactly her current predicament, and many people at school think so too... But how did Xiaozhi know that?

“I’ve heard some things from Blue, but you don’t need to care too much about what other people think,” Ash advised. “You have a long future ahead of you, so there’s no need to rush. Besides, what you want to do is your own choice, even if it has nothing to do with Pokémon.”

"That's true, but I just realized that becoming a trainer wouldn't be bad..." the girl muttered to herself, a little embarrassed.

"If I become a trainer, I can catch Jolteon, right?"

"Ah, this..." The unexpected teasing made the girl blush instantly.

"That's an option, but you need to make sure you genuinely want to be partners with Pokémon, and not just because of Blue's joke," Ash advised finally. "Anyway, just take your time thinking about it, and you'll eventually figure it out."

"Oh...wait a minute!" Xiaochun nodded blankly, and seeing Xiaozhi about to leave, she quickly called him back, "What exactly did you say to Sōta earlier? Why is he acting so strangely?"