The twenty Pokémon sent in by customers had already been stored away—first into Poké Balls, and then into Ash's System Backpack.
Now, the room was quiet again, just like at the start. Only Ash, Pichu, Frogadier, and Delia were present.
Seeing Ash sighing and grumbling in frustration, both Pichu and Frogadier couldn't help but chuckle and cover their mouths to stifle their laughter.
After living with Ash for a while, they had always seen him as a bright and cheerful person. This was the first time they'd ever seen their Trainer so worn out and complaining—and to them, it was both funny and oddly refreshing.
Delia, however, stood nearby with concern clearly written across her face.
"My boy, didn't you say the Pokémon League is paying close attention to you now? While they may not give you rare pseudo-legendary hatchlings like Dratini or Larvitar at this stage… but a Rotom? That should be possible, right?"
"Right! Mom, I almost forgot!" Ash's eyes lit up as he suddenly snapped out of his funk. "Rotom may be native to Sinnoh and pretty rare in Kanto, but the League definitely has access to them!"
Yes—when in doubt, ask the League.
As the literal "Chosen One" of the Pokémon World—the protagonist of the anime timeline itself—Ash was destined to be a hero, not a villain.
And as a Pallet Town-born Trainer from the Oak Research Zone, he might've been raised in a civilian household, but to the League? He was absolutely one of their own.
With Professor Oak's backing, Kanto's ongoing investments in him, and a regional talent drought over the past decade, Ash was exactly the kind of passionate youth the League needed.
Even if Ash didn't formally join the Kanto League in the future, he'd still be operating within their sphere of influence. So he wasn't afraid to deepen his connections with them at all.
After all, Ash came from a lawful and righteous family, born under the red flag. He had no interest in becoming some law-breaking villain—especially not in a world as pure and magical as Pokémon.
"Also, sweetie, since your skill shop is officially open now," Delia added, "you'll be getting a lot of messages from customers through the store interface and the fan groups. You really ought to buy a phone."
"Right, right," Ash nodded seriously. "I'll either order one online or go to Viridian City to buy one, along with a batch of Pokémon food."
Getting a phone wasn't just about business. It would also help him stay in touch with his friends—Serena, Tierno, Trevor, Shauna, and Chloe.
Earlier this morning, around 7:20, Serena's flight had landed in Lumiose City, Kalos. By around 9:00, she and the others were already on a shuttle back to Vaniville Town and Aquacorde Town.
They'd messaged Ash the moment they returned home.
But Ash hadn't responded right away. He was waiting for his shop's official launch at noon, and didn't reply until the final ten minutes before it went live.
He didn't want his friendships—or his "friendships"—to grow distant due to delays like this. A phone would ensure he could respond on time.
Of course, what Ash needed most urgently… was a Rotom.
He'd expected his shop to do well—but not this well. Even with the daily order cap filled, tons of customers were still messaging nonstop.
If Ash had to deal with all these messages himself, it would eat into the time he needed for his Pokémon training and studies.
"Mom, could you help me respond to some of the messages in the fan groups?"
Ash sat down with Delia and explained the basic operations of the shop.
"If your Pokémon can learn the move naturally through leveling up, or by TM, I can help them master it."
"Each move takes around 2–3 days to learn. In some cases, up to 5 days max. Success rate is over 95%. If it fails, full refund."
"Food for your Pokémon during the training period is free of charge—though it'll be standard-grade food only.
If you want premium food, you'll need to either pay the market price or send it in along with your Pokémon."
Delia nodded in understanding after hearing the basics.
Once everything was handled for the shop, Ash brought Pichu and Frogadier along with him as he headed out to Professor Oak's Laboratory.
—
"You want to apply for a Rotom through the League?" Oak raised an eyebrow after listening to Ash's request.
"Mhm." Ash nodded earnestly.
"During the summer camp, I aired two weeks of live commercials.
Today, when the store launched at noon, we hit over 120,000 followers on Day One."
"Because I use psychic power to help Pokémon learn skills, each order takes time.
I originally planned to accept just five orders a day… but today, I raised the limit to 20."
"But the business is way hotter than I expected. The order slots filled up in under 30 minutes.
I also started fan groups on PokéPlus and TrainerNet —each one's nearing 10,000 members already."
"Initially, I just wanted a side hustle. Use my psychic talent to help Pokémon and make some pocket change for my journey."
"But now? This is huge. It's way beyond what I expected. Still, it's a good thing, right?"
Ash took a deep breath and looked at Oak seriously.
"But this success comes with a cost. Customer messages alone are eating up my time.
It's starting to interfere with my Pokémon training and my studies."
"That's why I want to apply for a Rotom from the League.
If I can have one to help me manage store messages and reply to fans, I can get back to focusing on what really matters."
"Money's nice—but it's secondary. My real goal is to become stronger, both myself and my Pokémon."
Oak stared at Ash for a moment… and then smiled.
"Well said."
"It's great that your shop is doing well. But I'm even happier to see you've got your priorities straight."
"As for the Rotom… I can help you apply through the League. And they'll likely approve it."
"Actually," Oak added thoughtfully, "I've already got a Rotom here in my lab.
It's mainly used for recording short Pokémon documentaries, and while it's not highly qualified for competitive training…"
"If you're not picky about its potential, and you need one quickly, I can give you that Rotom right away."
Ash's eyes widened in surprise—and then lit up with excitement.
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T/N:
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