Chapter 13: Fellow Countrymen Don't Lie!

The shop was sparsely furnished, with only a few scattered shelves. Aside from being densely packed with Clefairy dolls, there was nothing else to be seen.

It looked quite desolate.

"Hey, hey, hey."

Seeing that the girl in the hat was on the verge of falling fast asleep, Ash reached out and tapped her hat.

"Whoa!"

The girl’s body jolted, and she sprang up abruptly, only then realizing that someone had come to visit.

A wave of emotion surged in her heart, nearly turning into tears that threatened to spill from her eyes.

When she looked again and recognized the boy in the red-and-white baseball cap, she couldn't help but cover her cheeks, her mouth forming a large "O."

"Oh my, isn't this a fellow countryman!?"

Ash was startled by her sudden outburst. When he looked closely, he realized it really was a familiar face.

Long brown hair, bangs curled to the sides, and a pretty, cute, round "steamed bun" face.

Her lively eyes were currently flashing with a look of pure bewilderment.

She wore a light blue vest over a red pleated skirt, looking youthful and bright, and she made a move as if to pounce on Ash.

She hadn't seen a living person in nearly a week.

She would have hugged a dog if one had walked in.

Ash quickly reached out, pressed his palm against her head, and kept her stuck on the other side of the counter.

"Is it... is it Blue?"

He remembered that when he and Gary used to play happily as children, a girl from the village was always trying to butt in and ruin the friendship between men.

Sure enough, women were truly troublesome.

"Na, na, na, Ash! My name is Blue!?"

With her head being pressed down, Blue couldn't help but wave her arms wildly. A flurry of "turtle punches" successfully struck Ash on the nose. The latter quickly crouched down, clutching his nose, his eyes watering—it was clearly a not-so-insignificant blow.

Encounters between fellow countrymen in foreign lands are always so enthusiastic and warm.

After the cordial meeting, Blue took off her sun hat and began to introduce herself to the two people behind him.

"Um, hello everyone! My name is Blue, and I'm Ash's cutest fellow countryman!"

"Oh, oh, I'm Misty, and I'm also the cutest beautiful girl."

"Oh, oh, I'm Brock, and I'm also the strongest tough guy. By the way, why are you running a shop here?"

Hearing this, Blue frowned and rubbed her temples, her face twisting.

Clearly, this experience had been very frustrating for her.

"The story starts with a group of Zubat..."

It turned out that six days ago, she was passing through Mt. Moon and heard that Clefairy, those magical and cute Pokémon, lived there. She wanted to catch one, but after searching for a long time, she couldn't find any.

"That's when I met another fellow countryman passing by, Gary."

Hearing this, Ash instantly lost his cool. He stood up with a "whoosh," looking full of fighting spirit, as if he were ready to strip off his shirt.

"Ah! That jerk Gary is at Mt. Moon too? Where is he? I want to duel him!"

"Na, na, don't be in such a hurry, Gary has already run off."

Blue pushed Ash back down, then stood up herself, full of fighting spirit, clenching her small fists.

"Next time I run into him, I'm going to duel him first!"

Ash: "?"

Blue explained indignantly

"He said Clefairy are kind-hearted Pokémon, and as long as I sincerely fasted and prayed at Mt. Moon for seven days, they would respond to the heavens' call and come out to see me..."

"And I believed him."

"He also told me to stay put, saying he was going to the neighboring Pewter City to help me buy a bag of oranges."

"And I believed him again."

"..."

Brock and Misty looked at Ash, speechless.

This fellow countryman of yours doesn't seem to have a very good brain.

She's on par with you.

At this moment, Blue suddenly grabbed Ash's hand, looking righteous and stern

"Ash, let's ambush Gary next time. Forget about dueling; you put a sack over him, and I'll smash his head with a rock. Then we run away going 'Ooh, ooh, ooh!'"

"Is this the kind of idea you women come up with? It's truly ridiculous."

Ash brushed her hand away and retorted

"Of course *you* put the sack over him, and *I* do the smashing!"

The order is important!

Misty and Brock: "..."

The vibe had somehow become harmoniously strange.

After that, Blue stayed temporarily at this Clefairy shop, sincerely fasting and praying, begging for the Clefairy to hurry up and appear.

The owner of the Clefairy shop was a mountain climber from out of town.

Taking advantage of the peak tourist season, he had invested his entire fortune into buying a truckload of Clefairy dolls, planning to make a killing.

He happened to be short of someone to sell the goods, so he agreed to let Blue stay there to fast and pray.

As it turned out, the Zubat swarm riot occurred.

The number wasn't just the dozen or so from before; you had to add a zero to that.

In an instant, the situation turned dire. The peak tourist season became a major crisis, and not a single tourist dared to come up to Mt. Moon.

The owner lost everything, even his underwear had been sold off.

"So the owner said he was going into the mountains to dig for fossils to pay off his debts and asked me to watch the shop for a few days."

"And I believed him again."

The three of them: "..."

This girl would probably help someone count the money while they were selling her off, wouldn't she?

A total loser.

Ash was still hesitating whether to just leave. He had heard that the aura of a loser could radiate outward.

He was still a "Chosen One," so he didn't want to end up becoming a loser himself.

"So, why are you still staying here?"

Brock couldn't help but ask.

When the debt collectors came, they would just assume she was the mountain climber's daughter and drag her away to pay the debt.

"Because tomorrow is the seventh day!"

Blue stood up abruptly again, clenching her small fists. Her delicate, cute face held a look of unyielding defiance against her tragic fate, and tears were faintly welling up in the corners of her eyes.

"I've fasted for six days already. If I leave before the seventh day, I won't accept it!"

The three of them: "..."

Is this the spirit of a craftsman?

"However, what Gary said might actually be true."

At this point, Brock suddenly opened his eyes and spoke

"Tomorrow is Monday, right? I heard when I was a kid that every Monday night, Mt. Moon glows with a strange light. Perhaps that's when Clefairy appear."

He had battled Gary once; the other boy was quite mature in both his Pokémon training and his battle style, completely different from Ash, who relied on wild, imaginative tactics.

As the grandson of the most famous Professor Oak in the Kanto region, his family background was deep; surely he wouldn't be speaking nonsense, right?

"So, Blue, you arrived on a Tuesday, right? You missed Monday night, which is why Gary told you to wait seven days."

Misty chimed in with her own deduction.

Hearing this, Blue nodded frantically, her eyes instantly filling with hot tears.

Sure enough, fellow countrymen wouldn't lie!

Gary, your life has been extended.

Cerulean City, a high-end café.

A boy with spiky hair was enjoying his coffee while reading the newspaper.

Winning the Cerulean Gym battle without a scratch made him quite happy.

Suddenly, Gary sneezed.

"Tsk, tsk, can a guy like me catch a cold?"

He shook his head. For some reason, he suddenly remembered what happened a few days ago and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"I wonder when that stupid girl Blue will realize I was lying to her. Haha, a woman's IQ is just like that!"

They thought Gary was on the fifth floor.

In reality, he was only on the first floor!

Hahaha!!

Just then, a word suddenly surfaced in his mind.

"Idiot..."

"Hey, hey, hey, Green, did you smear honey on your little mouth today?"

Gary quickly straightened up and retorted.

The fluid conversation between the two clearly showed this wasn't their first time communicating.

"I'm just reminding you, if you want to mess with someone, mess with that boy named Ash. Blue... hmm, don't have any more contact with that girl."

Green's voice sounded again, carrying a hint of subtle fluctuation within its calmness.

"Blue? That stupid girl?"

Gary was stunned. Green, who was an invincible existence in his eyes—listening to that tone...

He seemed a bit afraid of Blue?

"I'm really not afraid, but from our contact that day, I could feel it. That woman, Blue, has probably come to this world too. That woman is not someone you can afford to provoke."

"Hmm, although I'm not afraid of that woman either."

Green repeated.