Pokémon, Ash's art style is off!

That feeling was a hundred times more terrifying than the trainer who had just crushed him! No, a thousand times more terrifying!

After all, that trainer at least showed him Pokémon battles, but this woman—she was just standing there, and that was terrifyingly strong!

He even felt that if he said the wrong thing, he might be one step away from death!

Thankfully, the photo of his parents that he always carried around his neck protected him from the attack...

"Oh, right~ right~"

Hanako, who was watching the group discuss what to eat for lunch, naturally chimed in.

She gently clasped her hands together, her eyes shining with anticipation.

"Xiao Zhi must be missing Mom's cooking so much! How about I show off my skills for lunch? I've learned a few new dishes recently!"

"Oh, I didn't actually have much..."

Honest Xiao Zhi was about to speak.

Anticipating what he was about to say, Xiao Gang and Xiao Xia grabbed Xiao Zhi's shoulders.

"Okay!" Xiao Gang responded first, "Then I'll trouble you, Auntie!"

"Yes, yes!" Xiaoxia followed closely behind, smiling especially sweetly, "Auntie came all this way, how could we refuse!"

As they talked, the two of them frantically gestured with their eyes to Lillie beside them.

Lillie paused for a moment, then realized what she meant and quickly nodded, her cheeks slightly flushed.

"I'm so sorry to have troubled you, Auntie!"

"Oh, what's the trouble?" Hanako smiled, her eyes crinkling. "It's more fun with more people!"

Not quite understanding the others' reactions, Xiao Zhi scratched his head, then suddenly remembered something and turned to look at A Hong.

"By the way, Ah Hong, why don't you come with us? It'll save you from having to come alone at noon."

Hiro: "?!"

Not a buddy!

You didn't tell me your mom was this scary yesterday!

Ah Hong's brain worked at high speed for 0.3 seconds.

"I'm sorry, Ash!"

"I... I suddenly remembered I have Pokémon training this noon... cough! And there's the tournament registration... Anyway, I'm skipping lunch!"

They said they were about to leave as soon as possible.

"Um?"

Hanako uttered a soft interjection.

Ah Hong suddenly stopped walking.

His back stiffened for a moment.

Then, extremely slowly and with great difficulty, almost gritting his teeth, he turned around and forced a perfect, radiant, and sunny smile onto his face.

"...But after thinking about it carefully, it doesn't seem like such a rush." ​​He returned, placing his hands neatly at his sides. "After all, how could I miss out on Auntie's cooking, haha!"

Decided.

I just focused on eating lunch today.

I don't look at anything, I don't listen to anything, I don't ask anything.

Eat and run, never stop!

........

At noon, the outdoor dining area next to the Pokémon Center was bustling with activity.

Hanako, who was quite wealthy, rented a shop and began to show off her skills.

Xiao Gang assisted from the side, while Xiao Xia and Lillie helped set the plates.

Only Ash, who had nothing to do, squatted to the side and teased Pikachu.

The dishes were all prepared very quickly.

Imettie also arrived here as promised, bringing Ditto with her.

I've already said hello.

Hanako was stunned when she saw the three identical Ash Ketchums.

One inherited Ash's appearance, and the other inherited some of Ash's physique.

All that's missing is someone who can inherit Ash's personality!

But to be fair, it's really ridiculous to make Ditto look like your own big son...

Are young girls these days so daring?!

256. What? The intelligence was actually true!?

Ditto sat on one side of the table, its face resembling Ash's, its eyes wide with surprise.

It looked at Satoshi over here, then at Hanako over there.

It felt like the whole monster had gone to heaven!

Unlike humans, Ditto is a Pokémon that can copy the strength of its opponents, including some of their abilities.

Its sense of smell for the strong is more sensitive than any instrument, not to mention that it is the best among them!

Ditto thought Ash was invincible.

But in its perception, the woman before it...

This woman is smiling and using a spoon to serve soup to everyone...

Its strength is actually comparable to Ash's!

That's absolutely terrifying!

However, the shocked Ditto did not choose to switch sides because of this.

There are two reasons.

Putting aside the fact that it has a high level of affection for Ash, let's talk about the woman in front of it.

Well, how should I put it? After all, I'm getting on in years.

He's so old, and his strength is only about the same as Ash's, so his potential is just not good!

And this one, Ditto, is a Pokémon that is on the rise!

How can an old woman who may have reached her peak or even begun to decline compare to someone like Ash who is still improving every day?

Ditto nodded to himself and gave himself a thumbs up for his cleverness.

Huh?

Sensing an unfriendly gaze, Ditto turned its head and saw Hanako looking at it with a smile.

Why does this old woman look at me like that?

.......

For some reason, Hanako suddenly became interested in Ditto and expressed her desire to have a match with it on the spot.

Since she was an elder, and given Xiaoxia's persistent hints, Imetti naturally didn't dare to say anything more.

Then Ditto went through what was arguably the most dramatic ten minutes of its short life.

In just ten minutes, Ditto was pinned to the ground and rubbed against the ground seven times by Hanako with one hand.

If Ash hadn't intervened at the last minute, and hadn't distracted Hanako by arm wrestling with her for the first time in a long time.

Once Ditto is reverted to its original form, it probably won't even have a chance to go into the Poké Ball, which it dislikes the most.

After the meal, everyone was thoroughly entertained.

Seeing that Hanako easily subdued Ditto with one hand throughout the entire fight, Hiro and Imetti didn't dare to utter a sound, and didn't even dare to meet Hanako's eyes, for fear that Hanako wouldn't be satisfied and would use them as targets again.

They were completely oblivious to the offensive look in the eyes of the two people.

After confirming that Ash's father was still loyal, Hanako's mood improved considerably.

After refilling everyone's tea, she began to worry about Xiaozhi's problem.

After all, she herself had feelings for Ash's father when she was about the same age.

As for Ash... Hanako's gaze slowly swept over the people around the table.

There are quite a few choices.

But seeing Ash and the others chatting so enthusiastically about Pokémon battles made me subtly realize something—

My eldest son seems to have absolutely no desire to do his homework!

Recalling her dramatic past in her youth, she had knocked Xiaozhi's father unconscious many times to practice confessing her feelings before finally winning him over.

But given Ash's strength... it seems like no one could knock him out, right?

Let alone his peers, you could probably count on your fingers the number of people in Northeast China who could go toe-to-toe with him.

Hanako's gaze lingered on Lillie for a couple more seconds.

As for Lillie... she has a promising future.

Given time, he might catch up with Ash.

But the problem lies in the phrase "given time," because Ash is also constantly improving!

Hanako knows her son all too well.

Lillie is working hard, and Ash is working hard too, and the extent of Ash's efforts... Hanako estimated.

This gap is very difficult to bridge.

What can we do then?