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"Excuse me, but who is this child you're talking about?" Brock asked after listening to the conversation between the troupe members.
"...Come with me!" After a moment's hesitation, Stella led the group to an RV and gestured for them to look through the window.
Inside, they found a figure lying on the sofa, munching on snacks.
It looked completely unmotivated, and its body was noticeably rounder than the Mr. Mime they had just encountered.
"It's a Mr. Mime? Wow... it looks really lazy!" Seeing this, Brock couldn't help but comment.
"Yes! Because this Mr. Mime is like this, there's no way it can participate in our shows!"
"So, Miss Stella, you want to catch a new Mr. Mime to replace it? Isn't that a bit unfair to this one?" Misty couldn't help but speak up.
While this Mr. Mime did seem extremely lazy, as a Trainer, it seemed wrong not to train it properly and instead look for a replacement Pokémon.
"We are a circus, after all. I don't want to find another Mr. Mime to replace this one. I just want to try to motivate it and reignite its spirit. Only if that's truly impossible would I let a newly caught Mr. Mime perform instead!"
After hearing Misty's words, Stella worried they might misunderstand and quickly explained.
"I see! Competing with others of its own species can definitely stimulate its competitive spirit!" Brock expressed his understanding.
Just like humans—when Trainers meet each other, they naturally want to compete.
"This seems like a training issue. Why did the Mr. Mime lose its motivation? The root cause probably isn't its own fault!"
Ash looked at the Mr. Mime and noticed something telling.
As a Trainer, he had always been disciplined with his Pokémon, but he maintained a good balance, and his Pokémon's condition had always stayed excellent.
Looking at this Mr. Mime, though, it didn't seem spoiled—it looked more like it had given up on itself.
Stella fell silent after hearing Ash's words, and her expression darkened. Seeing this reaction, Ash knew he'd hit the mark.
"Ash, that's a bit harsh!" Brock couldn't help but say upon seeing the situation.
"Pretend I didn't say anything!" Ash shrugged indifferently.
"Now that this Mr. Mime is like this, and I haven't managed to catch another one, I really don't know what to do!" Stella sighed deeply.
"Don't worry! If you want to motivate your Mr. Mime, I have an excellent idea!" At that moment, Brock's eyes blazed with determination.
"Really? Mr. Brock, do you have a plan?" Stella looked at him like he was a lifeline.
"Of course! We just need to let Miss Stella's Mr. Mime see another Mr. Mime performing. Even if we can't catch one, we can always create one."
"Create one?" Hearing Brock's words, Misty looked completely confused. You can't just create Pokémon!
Ash felt a bad premonition rising, and sure enough, when he turned around, he saw Brock looking at him with an ingratiating expression.
"This will require Ash's help in dressing up as a Mr. Mime! Don't worry, I'll make the costume perfect."
Brock gestured with his hands in an exaggerated manner.
"Absolutely not!" Ash didn't even consider it and calmly stated three words.
There was no way he was dressing up as a Mr. Mime. The original Ash might have had no choice but to agree, but he didn't have the time or inclination to play the clown.
"Uh..." Brock had been counting on this plan, but seeing Ash's reaction, he was stunned.
The current Ash wasn't the same as before. Now he was someone even the Team Rocket boss and the Elite Four paid attention to when he demonstrated his abilities.
Brock was immediately intimidated and couldn't help but swallow nervously. Since the direct approach didn't work, he could only try pleading.
"Ash, please just help me out here!"
"Since you want to help so badly, why don't you dress up as one yourself?" Ash responded calmly.
Ash had no intention of getting involved with this bad idea, and he could tell that the situation between Stella and her Mr. Mime wasn't as simple as it seemed. Brock was just asking for trouble with this plan.
"Uh..." Brock didn't know what to say for a moment.
Brock had thought that by having Ash dress up, he could stay close to Stella, but if he had to dress up himself, that defeated the purpose.
He was caught in a dilemma, but looking at Ash's eyes, he knew Ash would never agree. When he glanced at Stella, she had such a pleading expression on her face.
"Fine...!"
In the end, Brock couldn't help but give in. He was the one who had made the promise, after all. Now that the young woman was looking at him like that, he couldn't very well say he couldn't do it.
"That's wonderful! Thank you so much, Mr. Brock!"
Stella spoke excitedly, and seeing this, Brock regained his energy. Soon he asked Stella to help him find props that could be used to make a Mr. Mime costume.
"Ash, why didn't you help him?" Misty asked in confusion after watching them leave.
"You want me to dress up like that while he tries to impress her? Not a chance! Besides, Miss Stella is hiding something!" Ash responded immediately.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Misty nodded slightly. It was true that Brock's behavior was a bit annoying, but she hadn't noticed anything Stella was hiding.
"That Mr. Mime doesn't look spoiled at all. I think Stella must have been too strict with it before."
"It probably feels like it can't do anything right, so it's given up on itself." From a Trainer's perspective, Ash could see the signs.
Training and practice don't always require strict discipline. Obviously Stella hadn't realized this, which was why the Mr. Mime had changed so drastically.
Overall, discipline is important, but necessary encouragement and praise are equally vital. Otherwise, if such strictness continues for too long, the Pokémon will start to feel it can't do anything well, and over time it will become demoralized.
"Really? Should we tell Brock?"
"Hmph! It's better to let him learn his lesson, so he won't lose his head every time he meets a pretty woman!" Ash dismissed the idea, treating it as a learning experience for Brock.
"You're right about that!" Misty had long been fed up with Brock's tendency to become infatuated every time he encountered an attractive woman.