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

This appointment is quite powerful; it's equivalent to the League sending an inspector to travel around. In the towns and villages Ash passes through, all the police forces must cooperate with him to uphold justice and fight crime.

By the way, Lance's current official title is Senior Investigator. The only difference between him and Ash is Rika.

That's right, Rika, as the leader of the Kanto Gym, is Ash's direct superior.

This is precisely why the League wanted Rika to evaluate Ash; they would be working together in the future.

"Miss Rika, should I call you 'Commander'?" Ash asked jokingly after putting away the letter of appointment.

“Mr. Xiaozhi, you’re making fun of me. I just hope I won’t hold you back,” Rika said, shaking her head immediately.

After this incident, Rika completely acknowledged Ash's strength and even felt that she was not qualified to lead him at all.

"How could that be?" Xiao Zhi said half-jokingly. "It would be my honor to work with a talented and beautiful woman like Miss Rika."

"Hmm..." The unexpected teasing made Lijia's heart flutter.

Unfortunately, someone was busy sorting through their spoils again, and unfortunately missed the beautiful sight of the young lady's blushing cheeks~

When Ash looked up again, Rika had already composed herself and solemnly presented him with a beautiful seven-colored badge.

"Mr. Ash, please accept this Rainbow Badge. Although the battle isn't over yet, but..."

"But there's no need to say anything more, I won't accept the badge." Ash immediately shook his head and refused.

"Why?" Lijia was taken aback.

In her opinion, Ash's skill level was fully deserving of the badge, and she also wanted to express her gratitude in this way...

"I am very grateful for Miss Lijia's recognition, but I still hope that we can officially receive this badge after we have determined the winner."

Although passing the level only requires the gym leader's approval, Ash felt something was missing since the gym battle wasn't over.

Riolu is also looking forward to this. Wouldn't it dampen its enthusiasm if it didn't finish this round?

"But... I might not be able to satisfy Mr. Ash," Rika said apologetically and with self-reproach. "With Gloom in this state, I can no longer use it in battle..."

"But I believe that Ms. Irika's love for Grass-type Pokémon will surely help Gloom resolve its inner conflict as soon as possible."

“Mr. Ash…” Rika paused for a moment. In Ash’s eyes, she saw sincere hope and encouragement.

In that instant, she seemed to no longer worry about herself and the stinky flower.

She didn't know why Ash's words carried so much weight in her heart, but she was now willing to pull herself together and get out of the slump with Gloom!

"Mr. Xiaozhi... if this is what you expect, I will do my best!"

Chapter Ninety-Eight: Return Journey, Departure... and Gifts

Rika undoubtedly knows Gloom best, and naturally she can understand why it has developed a grudge.

Its stench has always made people keep their distance, but only Rika doesn't find it bothersome.

But today, when Lijia needed its protection the most, it was so nervous that it involuntarily sprayed out a large amount of pollen, which choked Lijia so much that she lost her ability to move and was almost captured by the bad guys!

Having made such a mistake, Chouchou Hana could never forgive herself, and she was even more ashamed to face Rika!

"It seems... I should make up my mind to solve the pollen problem with Gloom." Rika hugged her Poké Ball, seemingly having made up her mind.

Gloom has been by her side for a long time. The pair didn't initially pay attention to the pollen issue, but some trainers who came to challenge them had some complaints.

Rika always directed Stinky Flower to do everything in her power to get rid of these people.

Stink Pollen is also one of Gloom's weapons and a trial in gym challenges. If you can't even accept this, it only shows that the trainer lacks awareness!

Rika and Gloom were always so confident, and they never thought about the issue of evolution.

But now, pollen has become an obstacle for them, so they have no choice but to make changes!

"Hmm... I should contact Miss Ami." Rika muttered to herself, resting her chin on her hand, but her gaze remained fixed on Satoshi with a dreamy look, as if she were having a casual chat with him.

If this scene were witnessed by Lijia's shop assistants and apprentices, they would be astonished beyond words.

It should be noted that although Lijia has a gentle personality, she is also dignified and meticulous.

She only reveals this completely unguarded and languid state when she's with people she approves of and is particularly close to...

"The reason for contacting Miss Ami in the capital is probably because of this stone."

"This is... the Sun Stone?" Rika's expression immediately turned to one of utter astonishment. She stared blankly at Ash, wondering how he could suddenly conjure up the very thing she needed most right now.

"This was a reward from the League before. I didn't need it myself, so it's been sitting in my bag," Ash explained with a smile. "Miss Rika, please take it if you need it."

By the way, the idea that Rika's Gloom wants to evolve into Bellossom is actually a tired trope.

But it's still okay to play around with it, and Ash just happens to have a Sun Stone.

"This isn't a good idea..." Lijia was clearly still hesitant.

"Please accept this. The sooner we resolve the Gloom issue, the faster you can readjust yourselves." Ash forcefully shoved the Sun Stone into Rika's hand. "Or, Ms. Rika, you can just consider it my way of currying favor with my new boss."

"Ha~" Seeing that Ash was actually making a joke in a serious manner, Rika couldn't help but laugh out loud.

However, she eventually accepted Ash's kindness.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Xiaozhi."

"You're welcome... If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave and head back to Goldenrod City." Seeing that Rika seemed to have cleared up her confusion, Ash decided to leave as well.

He happened to stumble upon the incident in Yuhong City and managed to save Lijia.

But this matter can't be left like this; he definitely needs to go back and investigate.

Let's investigate what role Nazha played in this whole affair...

"Saffron City... Oh, right!" Rika suddenly realized, "The mysterious person in the fire also mentioned Saffron City. Mr. Ash, you must be extra careful!"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Ash smiled reassuringly. "Rika, you can focus on preparing for the gym battle... When I come to challenge you again, I hope to see you looking radiant and your Gloom blooming anew."

"Definitely!" Rika replied firmly, extending her hand to Ash.

At this moment, Rika was staring intently at Ash's face, her beautiful eyes sparkling as if she wanted to carefully imprint the boy's features in her heart...

The series of events that had happened before, along with the encouragement and guidance she received, made Lijia feel as if she had found a kindred spirit.

She was so grateful to have met Xiaozhi, who shared a similar personality with her and was willing to empathize with her thoughts, helping her to get back on her feet during her low points...

...

After returning to Saffron City, Ash first went to the street and found Blue, who was still taking a stroll.

He realized that his previous worries were completely unnecessary; when it comes to shopping, women's stamina is simply bottomless.

After wandering around for so long, from day to night, Ditto was completely exhausted, but Blue was perfectly fine, and even had the leisure to ask whether the girls in Celadon City were pretty or not~

Uh… the perfume shops and the dojos each have their own merits, but neither can compare to Miss Rika… cough cough!

Setting aside some random thoughts, what Ash really wanted to talk to Blue about was the incident that had happened in Celadon City.

"So... you went to Yuhong City not to get the badge, but to play the hero and save a damsel in distress; and now you're going to confront another girl who's always been kind to you because of a new girl you met?"

After hearing the whole story, Xiao Lan made an extremely powerful summary.

"Honey, this is definitely the behavior of a jerk!"

However, just as Xiaozhi's expression fell, she quickly put on a serious face again.

“Naza definitely has a problem, but I don’t recommend you bring it up directly. She needs your help anyway, so just use that as a starting point to subtly probe her.”

"I'll give it a try..."

Blue's words hit the nail on the head; Ash really didn't want to pressure Sabrina too much...

"As for Yuhong City, leave it to me to investigate. Anyway, Xiaobai's disguise won't work anymore, so we might as well split up."

Actually, Blue could have left Goldenrod City after the Silver Company incident, but she stayed because she wanted to provide more support for Ash.

Now that this incident has occurred, she plans to set off again.

Xiao Lan has always been a girl with her own opinions; she won't always put herself under Xiao Zhi's protection.

The Rockets are their common enemy, and to deal with these guys, Xiao Lan naturally has to go into battle himself!

"Since that's the case, here you go... I didn't expect it to turn into a farewell gift." Seeing that Xiaolan had decided to leave, Xiaozhi gave her the perfume he bought in Celadon City, as well as the item reward he had just received.

"Hey, there's a gift~" Blue immediately put on a happy face, but then squinted and grinned at Ash, counting on her fingers.

"Let's forget about the props for now, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who has perfume..."

Let me think, Lila and Serena definitely have it.

The same goes for Nanami-neechan.

You might have brought Xiaoxia along too...

"And what if you bought a bottle for the little girl in Kurenai City too?"

"Uh..." Xiao Zhi twitched his lips speechlessly, but his heart was pounding more and more as he listened.

Xiao Lan is practically a genius; she guessed everything correctly except for the last one!

Furthermore, although Ash didn't prepare one for Haru, he bought a bottle for someone else...

"It doesn't matter, I'm happy as long as I get a gift." Little Blue resumed her giggling laughter and suddenly leaned close to Little Ash's ear…

"Next time we meet, I can spray some on myself, bye-bye~"