Dusclops saw Ash looking at it, it stretched out its hands, intending to scare Ash, but the clueless Ash wasn't afraid at all. Instead, he started playing with the bandages on Dusclops's arms.
This made the Dusclops feel extremely bored; this person wasn't afraid of him at all?
However, he also sensed a sense of fear coming from behind Ash, from the blond-haired boy.
Just as Gary was thinking of getting away from the confusion, he turned around and found a big fat man with green tattoos on his face staring at him from his shadow, making "hehehe" laugh sounds.
Although it is thousands of years old, the Ancient Gengar, as a Ghost type Pokémon, still likes to scare people, even though it will not absorb the fear energy generated by Gary.
Abbreviation: Too full to be anything but.
"Ah! A ghost!"
The cool and collected Gary could no longer maintain his persona. He screamed and quickly hid behind Roy, who was closest to him.
However, he forgot that the Dusclops was right next to Roy.
Gary closed his eyes and clung to Roy's thigh, too afraid to look at his own reflection. But... were Roy's legs really that thick? He couldn't even wrap his arms around them!
And wasn't Roy wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts today?
The first thing Gary saw when he opened his eyes was a white thigh covered in bandages.
Could it be...? Gary looked up and saw a one-eyed Mummy staring at him, while also extending its two large, bandaged hands.
"Ah!!"
Seeing Gary running and screaming in fright, the Dusclops became interested. He liked to scare children like Gary, but he didn't devour Gary to generate fear energy. He just found it amusing to see Gary so scared.
After seeing Roy clearly, Gary quickly hid next to Roy and grabbed Roy's arm tightly with both hands.
Roy: "Dusclops?"
"Night!"
Roy tackled the Dusclops to the ground. After being reprimanded by Roy, the Dusclops calmed down and went to rest under the shade of a tree.
But the red one-eyed creature continued to stare in Gary's direction, making Gary feel uneasy and afraid to leave Roy's side.
The Annihilape realized that none of the animals it had encountered in the past two days—whether it was Giovanni's Persian, Beedrill, or Professor Oak's Dragonite —were strong enough to be challenged by him. It was time to train!
Watching the summer camp kids all circling around Palossand, Slowpoke, and Psyduck.
Roy was happy to have some peace and quiet. He hadn't slept all night and was feeling exhausted, Roy he lay down on the grass, used two leaves to shield his eyes, and started to catch up on sleep.
The Snorunt, still in Roy's arms, imitated Roy by picking up a leaf and covering his eyes.
The Ancient Gengar in the shadows stopped scaring Gary and instead looked at the research institute in front of it, filled with curiosity.
However, since the Dragonite at the research institute was still there, he didn't dare to sneak in.
Just as Roy was about to fall asleep, he felt something shaking his shoulder.
He opened his eyes and saw that it was Ash beside him.
Roy was Ash Palossand but had come to find him instead.
"Roy, please teach me how to become a champion!"
Although Ash wanted to play with everyone, he couldn't forget what Serena had told him yesterday about Roy winning the Edge Cup.
Roy looked at Ash he was actually asking such a question.
"First of all, you should call me uncle."
Ash:??? How did he suddenly get an uncle out of nowhere?
"But... but why does Serena call you brother?"
"Because your mom calls me 'little brother'."
"Ah?"
When Gary saw Ash move closer to Roy, he followed suit.
"Uncle Roy...?"
Seeing that Ash had agreed, Roy began to think about the question Ash had just raised: how could he become the champion?
To be honest, Roy is only a junior league champion right now, and he can't compare to strong players like Professor Oak Drake Agatha.
After some thought, Roy came up with his own answer, but instead of stating it aloud, he asked:
Ash, why do you want to become the champion?
Because... because...
After stammering and thinking for a long time, Ash gave his answer:
"Because the champion is amazing, I want to become the champion."
That's definitely Ash's style.
Roy stood up, reached out and ruffled Ash's hair until it became a mess.
Gary, who was standing nearby, wanted to make fun of Ash, but Roy didn't let him off the hook either, giving him the same messy, unkempt hairstyle as Ash.
Then Roy pulled Ash and Gary to lie down on the grass again, looking at the blue sky, and gave his answer:
"Being a champion isn't as simple as you imagine. You only see the glory of being a champion, but you don't see the responsibility behind it, like the current champion of the Galar region Leon..."
The champion is indeed amazing, but you'll only understand the bond between Pokémon and Pokémon Trainer when you truly become a champion; it carries far more weight than Pokémon League trophy.
Roy told the story of the most responsible champion, Leon, to the two little ones lying beside him.
Ash was a little confused. There was nothing he could do; after all, he was still just a child and couldn't understand what Roy meant by bonds and responsibilities.
He just wondered, "Wow, being a champion is really that hard?"
Gary, on the other hand, seemed to be deep in thought.
Roy didn't expect Ash to understand right now, since some things can't be understood without experiencing them. Once Ash has experienced everything, he will naturally become the champion.
Even though winning the championship is so difficult, Ash still clenched his fists, as if he had made up his mind.
"I want to be a champion someday!"
"Naive! You think you can become a champion? You think you can just become a champion whenever you want?"
As Ash rival, Gary, acting like a straight man, timely mocked him.
For some reason, whenever Ash is interested in something, he can't help but want to go up and mock him.
Roy then placed his hand on Gary's head.
"Gary, what is your dream?"
"My dream?"
Gary was stumped by Roy's question.
Yeah, even silly Ash has a dream, so what is mine?
Do you also want to become a champion like Ash?
However, it seems I don't have much interest in winning the championship.
"Then... I... want to become a champion too?"
"Gary, living like this will be exhausting. Why don't you try something you truly enjoy?"
Things I like?
Gary didn't understand why Roy said he was tired.
Roy didn't continue. Some things are better left unsaid. He was afraid that if he kept going, Ash would lose a formidable rival on his path to growth.
"By the way, Ash, stay here and don't move."
Roy got up again, wanting to verify something he had wanted to do for a long time.
Ash didn't understand what Roy was up to, but surely someone who's Pokémon Trainer can't be a bad guy?
Ash obediently stood still, and then he saw Roy take out Poké Ball and gently tap it on his head.
Seeing that the Poké Balls didn't react at all, Roy didn't give up and took out Luxury Balls and Safari Balls... and tried them all on Ash's head.
Ash didn't understand what Roy was doing. Why was Roy touching him with Poké Ball?
Aren't Poké Balls for Pokémon?
After placing the last Luxury Ball, the experiment ended. Roy had tried almost everything except for the Master Ball and the ancient Poké Ball.
He seemed to understand why Agatha had hit him with Poké Ball back then.
Is it because it's afraid of Pokémon itself?