At this moment, Brock, his face as red as a tomato, hesitantly walked over from behind.
"Miss... Miss Yuki!" Brock shouted loudly.
"Yes?" Yuki turned her head and looked when she heard the shout.
"You, you, you... Hello! I... My name is Brock. My dream is to become a Breeder like you," Brock said, standing ramrod straight.
"Haha, pleased to meet you, Brock," Yuki replied with a warm smile.
"Knowing that you aspire to be like me truly delights me," she added.
"Right now, I... I'm so touched."
"To think I can see Vulpix up close!" Brock exclaimed, his excitement palpable.
"I've decided, Miss Yuki. Please... please take me as your apprentice!" Brock's face reddened even further after he finished speaking.
"No way, Brock, are you serious?" Alex asked, looking at Brock's earnest expression. He didn't want to end up starving on their future journey.
"This is my only path, Miss Yuki! Please, you must agree!" Brock said, bowing deeply.
"But I'm not very mature yet; how could I possibly teach others?" Yuki replied, perplexed.
"Is Miss Yuki really such an amazing person, Brock?" Ash asked, gazing at Yuki with a starry-eyed expression.
"You annoying guy!" Brock suddenly yelled at Ash.
"Speaking of Miss Yuki in the beauty industry, she's practically a household name! Let me tell you, she's been the Champion of the Beauty Street Breeder competition for three consecutive years. Not only that, but last year she also received recognition from the Pokémon Trainer Alliance, and she's been voted the most popular Breeder by readers of Pokémon Friends Magazine. She's an outstanding Breeder, taking first place for four consecutive years—did you know that?" Brock introduced her with an adoring expression.
"Wow, that's really amazing!" Misty said, looking at Yuki in awe.
"To achieve that, it means reaching a top-tier level in one's field, I suppose," Alex murmured to himself.
"Hmph, now you know!" Brock glared at Ash, clearly displeased.
"I fully understand that she is indeed very impressive," Ash admitted awkwardly, a cold sweat trickling down his brow.
"So, has this Vulpix won many competitions?" Misty asked, crouching down to admire Vulpix.
"Good question! That's an excellent question! This Vulpix is a supermodel in the Pokémon world!" Brock said, half-kneeling and pointing at Vulpix.
"With its beautifully curled tail, it's a star who's won all the grand prizes in beauty contests!" Brock grew more excited as he spoke.
"Alright, alright, I get it! Calm down, Brock," Ash said, pulling on Brock's arm to settle him.
"Alex, you come over and hold him too. I think if this continues, Brock will have a nervous breakdown."
Afterward, Alex and his companions sat down in the lounge area of Yuki's shop.
Yuki poured tea and said, "Ah~ So you four are on a journey."
"That Pikachu's fur is a beautiful color," Yuki remarked, watching Pikachu happily munching on the Pokémon food Brock had prepared.
"And that Haunter looks very energetic too," she added with a smile.
"Do you prepare all of their meals, Brock?" Yuki asked, turning to look at him.
"Ah... Yes, yes, yes, yes, it's me!" Brock exclaimed nervously when called out by name.
"They're all custom-made," Misty said proudly, confident in Brock's cooking skills.
"I initially started my research into Pokémon food too."
At this moment, Vulpix suddenly jumped out and rubbed against Pikachu and Haunter. Pikachu reached out and offered some food from his bowl to Vulpix, who eagerly devoured it.
Vulpix looked incredibly pleased, gobbling down Brock's food in large mouthfuls.
"He's eating the food I made! That's fantastic!" Brock exclaimed, beaming with joy.
"Let me tell you, this Vulpix is eating food prepared by someone else for the first time!" he added proudly.
"Oh, so that means this Vulpix accepts Brock, then," Alex said, sipping his hot cocoa.
"Miss Yuki, I'm truly grateful to you," Brock said, bowing deeply again. He accidentally bumped into a cup on the table with too much force, clutching his head in pain.
"By the way, Miss Yuki, earlier I saw some very flashy and dazzling Pokémon. Is that a recent trend?" Misty asked, puzzled.
"On your way here, you must have seen a very flashy shop, right?" Yuki inquired.
"We did; the taste was really low-class," Ash said gleefully.
"Ever since that shop appeared, there's been a trend of competing in flashiness here," Yuki explained helplessly.
"So that means that shop is indeed the source!" Alex said thoughtfully.
"The value of a Breeder lies in how much charm they can bring out in Pokémon, but looking at the current situation, it seems to be diminishing their charm instead," Yuki said, worry etched on her face.
"I feel that way too," Ash agreed. "They seem to be trying to outdo each other."
"These are Pokémon; they should also enjoy dressing up like humans, right? Pikachu, what do you think of this?" Misty said, pointing to a princess dress.
"Pika?" Pikachu looked confused.
"Pikachu is already cute as he is! Just changing his appearance isn't enough; his inner self should also improve!" Ash said with a laugh.
"What kind of twisted logic is that? The outer appearance should also change!" Misty shot back angrily.
"Inner self is most important—inner self!" Ash retorted.
"Outer self!"
"Inner self!"
"I said outer self is outer self!" Misty argued.
"I said inner self is inner self!" Ash countered.
Alex couldn't help but rub his throbbing forehead in frustration. Yuki and Brock exchanged exasperated glances.
"Aren't you going to stop them?" Yuki asked, unable to endure the noise.
"Those two are always like that," Alex sighed helplessly.
"Since you're so persistent, you can use your adorable Psyduck to experiment!" Ash suggested angrily.
"Okay, that's a good idea! Come out, Psyduck!" Misty called, releasing Psyduck.
"Quack, quack."
"Hahahaha! In that case, why don't you two just go to that shop?" Ash laughed heartily.
"Of course! I'm already very cute; no matter how I dress up, I'll always be adorable!" Misty declared defiantly.
"Who are you calling cute?" Ash shot back sarcastically.
"It's me! It's me!" Misty yelled fiercely at Ash.
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