novelnext Chapter 309 The starkly different outcomes of the two summer camps: How could a childhood sweetheart
Chapter 309 The starkly different outcomes of the two summer camps: How could a childhood sweetheart
Chapter 309 The starkly different outcomes of the two summer camps: How could a childhood sweetheart lose?!
When Ash was ten years old, he and a boy named Goh encountered an accident at summer camp. If Ash hadn't gone to another summer camp, the one run by Professor Oak, the accident might not have happened.
Ash's summer camp also encountered some unexpected events.
At that time, the summer camp was held in Kanto, but the participants were not only from the Kanto region, but also from other regions.
They were all brought over by professors from various regions and then handed over to Professor Oak for his care.
Among the group of people was a little girl with flaxen hair, wearing a sun hat and with delicate, rosy hair. At first, Xiao Zhi didn't notice her, as he was filled with longing and joy for the summer camp.
Girls are nothing to him, they won't attract his attention, no matter how pretty they are.
But if that pretty girl gets lost, then it's a different story.
Summer camp has free time, and it was during this free time that Xiaochun and Xiaohao had their accident, as did Xiaozhi.
During free time, they can play and observe the Pokémon brought by Professor Oak. Since the Pokémon brought by Professor Oak are extremely docile, there is no way they will hurt anyone.
So even a ten-year-old child without a fairy can still play with fairies.
This can also be seen as giving them a head start on getting used to interacting with elves.
However, when they gathered together, Professor Oak discovered that a little girl was missing, and another Pokémon was missing!
He certainly didn't think the little girl had stolen the Pokémon. Putting aside the fact that the little girl looked timid, there was absolutely no need to steal a Pokémon. The girl's family wasn't poor, and she would naturally be able to receive one of the three starter Pokémon from the Kalos region when she turned fifteen.
Why would anyone bother stealing a mosquito coil tadpole? So it's highly likely that the little girl and the elf accidentally wandered into the forest while playing and got lost.
Seeing this, Professor Oak quickly told the children to stay put while he went into the forest to search. As for why he didn't let the children come with him—well, just kidding! Letting them search together would only increase the number of missing persons!
Although this forest is not as large as Viridian Forest, it is still quite extensive. Once you enter, if you wander too far, you will probably need to call a rescue team.
However, Ash couldn't sit still after Professor Oak left. As a child, Ash was someone who liked to show off, but he also knew what was important and what was not. What was happening now was clearly not the time for him to show off.
The best thing he should do is listen to Professor Oak and wait for him to return.
But besides liking to show off, he is also a kind-hearted person. He can't just sit here and wait for Professor Oak to find the missing Pokémon and the little girl. He also wants to do his part!
Even though he's only ten years old, his strength is in no way inferior to that of an adult, and may even be stronger! This is one of the reasons why Ash is so confident.
So Ash quietly slipped out of the party and into the forest to look for the missing little girl and Poliwag.
With his extraordinary intuition, Ash found the Poliwag under a tree in the forest, but he still couldn't find any trace of the little girl.
As he wandered aimlessly through the forest, he heard faint sobbing. When he stepped through the grass and came to a clearing, he saw the flaxen-haired girl wearing a sun hat, who was so frightened that she sat down on the ground, with tears welling up in her large eyes.
"Hey! Are you alright?" Ash rushed over to the girl with his Poliwag and asked with concern.
"N-nothing...you...you are..." The little girl shrank her neck and asked timidly.
"My name is Ash, and I'm also from summer camp. You're the girl who went missing, right? Professor Oak has been looking for you. Let's go back!" Ash said, reaching out his hand to the little girl. The little girl hesitated for a moment, then placed her fair but somewhat dirty hand in Ash's palm.
Xiao Zhi grabbed the little girl and pulled her up, but she cried out in pain.
"What's wrong?"
"My knee hit it—"
Xiao Zhi glanced at the little girl's knees. There were abrasions on one knee and some scratches on the edge of the other foot. Perhaps she had fallen, or perhaps she had been scratched by grass or something.
"It's okay, it's just a few superficial wounds. We'll put some ointment on it when we get back and it'll be fine in no time. Poliwag, can you walk by yourself?" Ash asked, looking at the Poliwag in his arms.
Poliwag nodded and jumped from Ash's arms to the ground. Ash squatted down and said without turning his head, "Let's go, I'll carry you back."
"Huh?" The little girl was a bit stunned by Ash's decisive appearance. When she realized what Ash meant, her face turned bright red.
The ten-year-old girl already understood some knowledge and common sense about relationships between men and women, and she was at the age when she was just beginning to experience romantic feelings. Xiao Zhi's actions directly elevated his status in her heart.
Despite feeling very shy, the little girl slowly walked behind Ash and climbed onto his back.
"Will it be heavy?" The little girl's voice was barely audible.
"No, you're as light as paper. You can't be like this. You need to eat more to grow! I've always been able to eat a lot, which is why I'm so strong. With strength, I won't be afraid of any danger." As Xiaozhi spoke, he lifted the little girl's two fair legs and walked towards the summer camp.
A broad back, strong arms, powerful wrists, and warm palms—everything about him made the little girl feel completely at ease. The fear she had felt from getting lost and getting scrapes all over her body had vanished.
The little girl's name is Serena. She didn't actually want to come to this summer camp, but her mother insisted that she come to train herself. She's already ten years old and still doesn't have any independence. It's time for her to see the outside world and get along with the wild creatures.
So her mother forced her to sign up for this summer camp, which even spanned two regions, arriving in the most remote Kanto region. If anything happened, there would be no one to turn to for help.
And sure enough, something did happen. And indeed, there was no response to her calls. When she fell and got hurt, she missed her mother terribly. Before Ash appeared, she didn't know it was a person; she thought it was some kind of wild beast or a fierce Pokémon.
From her perspective, all she could see were rustling bushes. The moment Ash appeared, her restless heart seemed to be soothed by something.
Ash's subsequent actions completely reassured Serena. When she leaned over Ash's back, she was a little embarrassed, and her face even turned red, but she couldn't bear to say anything about getting off.
Serena initially thought that coming to summer camp was the worst day of her life, but now she feels—thankfully, she came to summer camp!
This is the story of Ash and Serena. Although it seems like a trivial matter, it left a very deep impression on Serena.
After Ash carried her back, Serena stayed with him for the entire summer camp, becoming his shadow. This is why Ash remembered Serena.
If it were simply a matter of finding the other person, several years would have passed, and even Ash wouldn't be able to recall it so quickly. But Serena was someone he had played with throughout the entire summer camp, so how could Ash not remember her?
"Your name seems to be—Salina, right?"
"Hmm!!" Serena was incredibly excited to see that Ash still remembered her name. She felt like a fan who had successfully met her idol. The "star" was right in front of her and even recognized her. She had encountered such good fortune on her very first trip. Could she be the legendary lucky girl?
Xiaoxia, standing to the side, looked at the two with surprise and joy on their faces, feeling a mix of emotions. She hadn't expected that the girl who had stood up for justice on the roadside was actually an acquaintance of Xiaozhi. It seemed that the two hadn't seen each other for a long time.
Theoretically speaking, this child shouldn't pose any threat, but the other child's pretty face, shapely figure, and nice clothes still filled Xiaoxia with a sense of crisis.
"I didn't expect to run into you here. It seems like it's been five years since we last met."
"Yes! After that summer camp, I wanted to contact you again, but I didn't have your contact information. Then I saw you on the big screen on TV~" Serena nodded.
Xia, who was eavesdropping, heard the words "summer camp" from five years ago and instantly understood where her bad premonition came from!
It turns out it was a green plum! And now it's a green plum that fell from the sky!
Based on the romance novels she had read before, a woman with this kind of status was practically invincible!
The good news is that Xiaozhi's girlfriend is her now!
Fortunately, she bravely took that step forward at that time; otherwise, if such a formidable enemy had appeared, she probably wouldn't have even had time to drink the soup before it was hot!
Now she's the official girlfriend, and she can stand rightfully by Ash's side. Even if a childhood sweetheart were to fall from the sky, she'd have to take a backseat!
"Ooh~" Lapras, now healed and neglected, let out a cry. Ash turned around, patted Lapras's head, and said, "Your body doesn't hurt anymore, right? Be careful outside in the future. If you encounter a storm or anything like that, just stay away and don't crash into things head-on. By the way, your injuries can't just be from the weather, right? Is there some other reason?"
"Ooh~"
"As expected—" Laplace's brief sentence explained that she had indeed been attacked by poachers. It was because of the attack that she was separated from the Laplace herd and blown to the shore of Penggan Island by the storm.
Poachers' gunfire and the ravages of the storm left Laplace severely wounded, unable even to return to the water to rest and recover while on the shore.
Then she was attacked by some delinquents. Although it was called an attack, those delinquents only poked her with sticks or something, and the damage they caused was negligible.
Finally, Serena and Ash arrived, rescued him, and restored him to his original state.
"So what are you going to do next? Go to sea to look for your family?" There are Lapras groups in the Orange Islands. Lapras are a rare and popular type of Pokémon all over the world.
Putting aside their already cute and pleasant appearance and gentle nature, the fact that Lorelei's ace is Laplace is enough to make the Laplace race incredibly popular.
That's why the poaching gang targeted the Laplace tribe. If they could capture the entire tribe, the poaching gang would be set for life.
However, the Alliance is also cracking down on poaching gangs, and the entire Orange Islands waters are constantly patrolled by maritime police. Ordinary poaching gangs really can't get past Officer Jenny and her group.
The poaching group that the Laplace clan encountered was certainly not a small force. If the Laplace were to encounter them again at sea, then this still-developing Laplace would not be a match for them.
Despite being an advanced Lapras, judging from its size and skin, it's actually just a child of the pack, like a baby Lugia.
Sending a child to drift at sea in search of their parents and tribe is somewhat cruel.
"Ugh~" Laplace looked somewhat hesitant. She knew that although her injuries had healed, if she encountered a poaching gang or a storm again, she would most likely not be able to survive on her own.
But she didn't want to wait here either.
"How about this? We're also looking for a Pokémon in the Orange Islands. You can come with us on the way. If you meet your partner or Pokémon along the way, you can leave, okay?" Ash suggested after thinking for a moment.
Whether you herd one sheep or two, it's all the same. Helping little Lugia find her parents and helping Laplace find her parents aren't mutually exclusive. They're both on the Orange Islands anyway, so it's better than letting Laplace, an elf, wander off on his own.
"Whoa!!" Laplace nodded without thinking, as if she had been waiting for Ash's invitation.
Serena, standing to the side, stared blankly into her beautiful eyes. She had just agreed so easily?
The book says that Lapras, though docile, is very wary of humans, right? Why did this Lapras agree to Ash's invitation so easily? Does Ash have some kind of magic?
And you know what? Ash really does have magic! Putting aside Ash's act of healing Lapras, the power of Viridian on Ash alone is enough to make any unfamiliar, highly vigilant Pokémon lower their guard and have at least a 100% (friendly) initial impression of Ash.
This is both Ash's personal charm and the magic that comes with the power of Viridian!