"So, after receiving Ash's treatment just now, did you feel any signs that the Viridian Blessing within your body was stimulated and about to awaken?" Giovanni asked curiously and with genuine concern.
"Th-That..." Ashtwo hesitated for a moment. He hadn't considered that possibility at all earlier.
Closing his eyes, he carefully sensed the changes within his body before opening them once more. Shaking his head somewhat dejectedly, he replied, "Teacher, aside from feeling much more comfortable physically, I didn't sense any signs that my Viridian Blessing was stimulated or on the verge of awakening."
"I see..." Hearing the boy's answer, the concern in Giovanni's eyes dimmed slightly. "It's alright. We still have plenty of time—we'll take things slowly."
"From now on, I'll continue teaching you. Since you started much later than Ash, you'll have to work even harder. Otherwise, you'll never catch up to him—let alone surpass your original self."
Giovanni's tone carried both encouragement and warning as he prepared to give Ashtwo some additional one-on-one instruction.
"Yes, Teacher. I'll work hard," Ashtwo nodded heavily.
Thus, after Ash—their disciple and senior fellow disciple—had departed, master and disciple began another round of lessons.
However, since Ashtwo had only been born recently and possessed absolutely no foundational knowledge of what it meant to be a Pokémon Trainer, Giovanni didn't attempt to teach him anything particularly profound or complicated. Instead, he began from the very basics.
For now, Ashtwo's goal wasn't to surpass Ash.
It was simply to catch up to him.
~
After leaving the Viridian Gym, Ash mounted his bicycle and headed toward the Pokémon Center.
Ring! Ring!
As he rode through the streets while admiring the city's scenery, his thoughts began to wander.
Only half the day had passed, yet three major events had already taken place.
The first was that Ivysaur, whom he had nurtured for more than half a year, had finally evolved into Venusaur.
The second was that Giovanni—his bargain-priced Teacher—had actually accepted another disciple, something that had never happened in the original anime.
Then again, considering that he himself—the protagonist of the original anime—had become the disciple of Giovanni, Team Rocket's final boss, perhaps Giovanni accepting another disciple wasn't particularly surprising after all.
Ever since his transmigration, the butterfly effect had already altered countless events from the original storyline. The greatest change of all was undoubtedly his own growth and excellence.
Although Ash didn't particularly care about Giovanni accepting another disciple, the overwhelming sense of familiarity and closeness he felt toward Steyn left a deep impression on him.
Likewise, his curiosity regarding Steyn's true identity had only grown stronger.
"Steyn... Steyn..."
"Was there ever such a person in the games, manga, anime, or movies?"
Ash couldn't help but feel puzzled.
Aside from Venusaur's evolution and the appearance of his junior fellow disciple, the third event that had occurred today—and undoubtedly the one that would have the greatest impact on him—was receiving one of Giovanni's ace Pokémon Eggs as compensation for treating Steyn's congenital hereditary illness.
Although Ash possessed quite a number of extraordinarily talented Pokémon, and although the Viridian Blessing could improve a Pokémon's Potential over time, he couldn't help but treasure a Beedrill Egg with High Purple Potential.
After all, with such exceptional Potential, as long as it was raised properly, reaching the Champion level was practically guaranteed. There was even a possibility of touching the realm of Legendary Pokémon.
Of course, Beedrill's relatively low base stat total meant that it could only pursue an extreme specialization build similar to Fearow's.
Unlike Greninja or Venusaur, it wouldn't be capable of standing independently against any opponent or adapting to every conceivable situation.
Although Beedrill would undoubtedly become tremendously powerful once fully matured, its strength wasn't invincible. It would still possess weaknesses and struggle to unleash its full power against certain opponents.
Even so, Ash was more than willing to cultivate it as his Bug-type main battle Pokémon.
Although Ash followed an elite-training philosophy and would devote himself wholeheartedly to nurturing every Pokémon he captured, he still couldn't help but think—
Beedrill was absolutely worth it.
"However, the Beedrill Egg hasn't hatched yet, and I have no idea when it will."
"Although Bug-type Pokémon possess exceptionally rapid life cycles and their eggs generally hatch much faster than those of other types, the greater a Pokémon Egg's Potential, the longer its incubation period becomes."
"The Beedrill Egg possesses High Purple Potential. Developing such extraordinary talent and inheriting the genetic moves passed down through its bloodline will undoubtedly require quite some time."
"Still, once I arrive at the Viridian City Pokémon Center, I can simply use their diagnostic equipment to determine the estimated hatching time."
Ash silently pondered to himself.
...
"Ash~!"
Just as Ash finished locking his bicycle and climbed the steps leading into the Pokémon Center, Clarissa Joy—who had long been waiting expectantly at the front desk—greeted him cheerfully.
Since Ash visited the Viridian Gym every afternoon for an hour of training at a fixed time before coming directly to the Pokémon Center, Clarissa naturally knew exactly when he would arrive.
And because she knew his schedule so well, she would always arrive early and wait for him—whether in the lobby, at the front desk, or by the entrance itself.
Although Clarissa Joy officially became his girlfriend later than both Misty and Serena, she was also the only one among the three who could spend every day by his side and share intimate moments with him.
As his exclusive Nurse Assistant, she accompanied him every afternoon during his live-streamed consultations, helping him provide free treatment for Trainers' Pokémon.
They worked together during the day, enjoyed dinner together in the evening, and then participated in battles at the City Arena together afterward.
Having spent more time together than anyone else over the past half year—and considering that they had once nearly become formally engaged—Clarissa occupied an equally special and irreplaceable place within Ash's heart.
Although she had become his girlfriend the latest, she was now the one who shared the deepest emotional bond with him.
Of course, Ash still video-called Serena every single day and frequently took the high-speed rail to Cerulean City to visit Misty.
Nevertheless, Clarissa had gradually overtaken the others in terms of the depth and tacit understanding of their relationship.
That wasn't to say that Ash's feelings for Misty and Serena were shallow.
Far from it.
After all, unlike his original anime counterpart—who was notoriously oblivious when it came to matters of love—Ash wasn't emotionally dense in the slightest. Since he dared to pursue relationships with multiple girlfriends, he naturally possessed both the confidence and ability to manage them properly.
And that ability wasn't simply a matter of being outstanding as an individual.
More importantly, it was reflected in how he handled love and relationships.
How could one maintain a long-term, intimate relationship with one girlfriend while ensuring that the others, who lived far away, neither felt jealous nor insecure?
For most people, such matters would be exceedingly difficult to handle.
Yet somehow—
Ash had managed to do exactly that.