After their victory in the battle challenge, Ash and Serena took Froakie and Clefairy to the Pokémon Center for recovery.
Their part in the day's events was over—but for the rest of the campers, the battles were just beginning.
The buzz around the camp hadn't faded yet. As other matches kicked off one after another in the central field, the atmosphere quickly reignited with cheers and excitement.
But none of that concerned Ash anymore.
Today marked the final day of the summer camp. With the conclusion of the tenth assessment activity, Ash had officially earned a perfect score—10 out of 10.
According to the Overall Camp Leaderboard, Ash now stood tall at the top, firmly securing his place as the undisputed number one camper.
Finally… he could breathe.
Despite already having a lead and performing exceptionally during camp—especially after revealing his [Viridian Power: Healing Grace], which he'd used time and time again to help both campers and their Pokémon—there had always been that nagging doubt.
Even with a 99.99% chance of winning the title of "Top Camper" and qualifying for the rare reward of early ownership of a starter Pokémon, it still wasn't 100%.
Until now.
Now, Ash had clinched it all—every activity completed with full marks. He was, without question, the best in the entire camp.
Still worried about Serena possibly catching a cold, Ash personally escorted her back to the cabin before heading off on his own.
After briefly greeting Gary and the others by the camp field, Ash and Froakie quietly slipped away into the forest outside the summer camp.
Over the past two weeks, Ash had used [Healing Grace] as an excuse to interact with many Pokémon and, through it, secretly copied the skills of all the temporary Pokémon issued to campers, as well as the 100 Drone Rotoms brought in from Saffron City for remote training support.
On top of that, during every bit of free time he had—whether in the morning before drills or in the evening after activities—Ash ventured out into the surrounding forest to meet and interact with wild Pokémon, copying their skills while also blessing them with [Source Cleansing].
He was busy every single day, but the results were well worth it.
Ash had now completed his skill-copying mission for all camp-issued Pokémon, every single Drone Rotom, and nearly all the wild Pokémon in the residential forest area.
Nearly all—except one small unexplored section at the valley's edge.
And today… was his last chance.
The camp officially closed tomorrow morning. If he wanted to finish what he started, now was the time.
Ash trekked through the forest and emerged onto a lush, green grassland—the final area he had yet to visit.
It was the outermost ring of the valley—where the foothills met wide fields and patches of bushes.
It took him nearly 30 minutes to reach this unmarked area, but once he stepped out of the trees, a beautiful sight spread before him: rolling open grasslands, dotted with patches of wildflowers in soft blue, violet, pink, and yellow. It looked like a carpet of color draped across the earth.
Ash spotted a few Pokémon like Oddish and Bellsprout sunbathing lazily on the field.
As he and Froakie approached, [Viridian Power: Natural Affinity] kicked in—enhanced by Ash's already strong bond with Pokémon.
The wild Pokémon on the field didn't flee. Even the more timid ones simply stood still, tilting their heads and curiously observing him.
Some, like Butterfree and Cubone, even approached him proactively.
This, too, was thanks to the constant strengthening of his Viridian Power. His passive ability, Natural Affinity, had grown much stronger.
They could feel it—Ash's warm aura, his honesty, his kindness, and his deep, genuine love for Pokémon. The wild Pokémon felt no fear… only trust.
[Pokémon: Butterfree]
Level: 10
Type: Bug / Flying
Nature: Gentle
Ability: Compound Eyes
Potential: [White]
Copyable Moves:
[Skilled]: Tackle, String Shot, Bug Bite, Harden
[Novice]: Confusion, Gust, Supersonic
[Pokémon: Cubone]
Level: 8
Type: Ground
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Rock Head
Potential: [Green]
Copyable Moves:
[Skilled]: Mud-Slap, Growl
[Novice]: False Swipe, Tail Whip
…
For the safety of campers, the camp organizers didn't allow wild Pokémon above a certain level to remain in the area.
Aside from rare stragglers, most of the wild Pokémon in the valley were below LV.10—and Butterfree was a rare exception due to its naturally docile nature. Even when provoked, it tended to flee instead of retaliate.
So far, aside from Butterfree and a few "slip-throughs," Ash had never encountered any wild Pokémon above LV.10 during camp.
Ash took some time to finish copying all the skills of Pokémon in this last patch of meadow.
When he glanced at the sky to check the time and prepared to say goodbye to the adorable Pokémon around him, something suddenly broke the calm.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!
"…Huh?"
Ash's ears perked up at the sound of battle from deeper in the field.
He was startled.
No one else was supposed to be here. All the other campers were still back in the challenge matches.
And wild Pokémon in the valley never fought each other—not with the abundant food, peaceful coexistence, and no need for territorial fights.
"What's going on…? There's fighting out here?!"
Ash called out to Froakie and quickly ran toward the noise.
He climbed a small rise in the terrain and finally caught sight of the clash.
Two Pokémon were engaged in a heated fight—one purple, one pink.
The purple one was unmistakably a Nidoking.
But Ash didn't have time to be surprised by Nidoking's presence.
Because what really captured his attention…
Was the other one.
A mysterious Pokémon, entirely pink, radiating an aura unlike anything he'd seen before.
"This is…!"
Ash's eyes widened in awe and disbelief as he stared at the beautiful, powerful pink Pokémon battling before him.
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