After Misty pulled Brock aside, Ash placed Riolu on the ground and then gave Rebecca an awkward yet polite smile, "Um, can I ask about what happened between you and your father?"
Looking at Ash's slightly youthful face, Rebecca's earlier fear slowly subsided, and she began to speak, "Actually, it's like this…"
She and her father lived near this road, but her father, Anthony, was always away training for a tournament called the P1 Fighting Tournament, unwilling to come home.
Her father claimed he absolutely wouldn't return until he won the championship and left her and her mother to manage the household, even making them self-sufficient for living expenses.
"Such a man is too much, unworthy of being a father!" After Rebecca finished narrating the situation, Brock appeared out of nowhere and roared.
Brock was the most qualified to say such things because compared to Rebecca's father, his father was even more excessive.
Rebecca only needed to take care of herself and her mother, but Brock had to not only care for himself but also support ten younger siblings, manage the Gym, face Gym challengers, and still find time to train Pokemon daily.
He endured all those years because his will was as unbreakable as a rock!
However, once he was outside, this rock-solid resolve melted under the fiery passion of the young ladies.
"He gives up his family for a championship. How could any father be so irresponsible... ahem, never mind." Misty also loudly criticized, but suddenly, she remembered something and stopped abruptly.
Because wasn't Brock's father also traveling far away to become the Celestial King Champion, leaving Brock at home?
If Rebecca's father was irresponsible, then to put it bluntly, Brock's father was no different from being dead…
Rebecca heard this and also showed a look of disappointment but said nothing, seeming gradually accustomed to her father's behavior.
Ash thought of his father, whom he hadn't seen for many years, and couldn't help but feel a bit indignant. What's with fathers these days? Do they ignore their children and wives after marriage and childbirth? It's truly irresponsible!
"Rebecca, what kind of tournament is that called the Fighting Tournament?" Ash asked.
He needed Anthony to return home, and if so, the approach had to start with the tournament. First, he needed to understand what kind of tournament it was.
Upon hearing this, Rebecca explained the so-called P1 Fighting Tournament as they returned to her home.
It was actually a small-scale event, but the champion could win a pure gold belt, and with proper promotion, it became known as an honorable competition within the fighting world!
In reality, anyone with some standing in the fighting community looked down on this tournament.
Anthony was completely bewitched by the promotion, wanting desperately to win the so-called honor, and citing the golden belt as the reason for going.
He claimed that once he won the belt, he could provide a better life for Rebecca and her mother, but in reality, since leaving home, the household lost its main source of income, and now both she and her mother had to go out to work.
Whether they would ever live well in the future was uncertain, but their current life was much worse than before.
The tournament had been held for three years on a nearby vacant lot, and this year marked the third year. Rebecca's father, Anthony, failed the first two times despite reaching second place.
However, compared to the Champion, being the runner-up was just a title without any prizes. Only the Champion could win the golden belt.
This year, her father was determined to win the championship because he had always been so close before and surely wouldn't fail again this time.
"So in the end, it's just about that championship title?" Ash pointed out sharply.
The claim of helping the family was false; the only real matter was the championship title to him.
According to the tournament promotion, winning the Fighting Tournament not only grants the golden belt but also the title of Kanto's first Fighting Master.
Hearing this title made Ash almost laugh, "Did you ask Bruno, the Elite, if you're the first?"
Such a small-time tournament shamelessly claiming the title of first Fighting Master was laughable!
And frankly, if someone of Anthony's caliber could take second place, the participants must be quite poor!
Riolu, even at the newbie level, managed to beat Anthony easily!
Though a small trick was used, Riolu, after leveling up, was only at the Advanced Junior Level, winning against a peak performer due to Aura Power being a cheat and the opponent being mediocre.
The Pokemon was fine, but their command level was average. If such fighters could be called the first Fighting Master, then Kanto would be done for.
Rebecca sighed, poured a cup of tea for Ash and the others, and said, "Both mom and I think that the tournament doesn't really have much merit since it's just an outdoor contest, but dad is convinced it's an officially certified competition with the title of first Fighting Master."
"So, we have no choice but to either have dad win the championship or come to a harsh realization during the tournament, otherwise, he probably won't come back."
There were only two ways to get Anthony to come back. One was to let him win the championship and fulfill his wish, but human desires are endless, and if he won this time and lost next, he might repeat the whole cycle.
The other way was to completely crush Anthony's self-confidence, making him realize what a frog in the well he was, which would be a permanent solution, though it might damage his spirit as a Trainer.
But that was better than having him abandon his wife and daughter.
Ash thought for a while and suddenly asked, "When does the Fighting Tournament start?"
"The starting time is ten o'clock tomorrow morning."
"Ten in the morning? Then it should be too late to register now, right?"
"No, you still can. Registration is open until five this afternoon, so there's time," Rebecca said, looking at the clock, which showed three in the afternoon—still time to register.
"Ash, do you plan to enter that tournament?" Misty sensed Ash's intention.
"Yes, as long as Anthony realizes reality, he'll return home." Ash nodded in acknowledgment.
"But can Riolu really do it alone? The tournament finishes in one day, meaning it's not just one fight a day—it requires continuous winning, all the way until the Championship!" Misty voiced her concern.
Riolu's strength, especially after merging Aura with Ash, was substantial, but his weakness was endurance.
Just facing a Hitmonchan almost drained him even without getting hit by any moves.
If he fought all day, could Riolu hold up?
"Who said I'd use Riolu?" Ash retorted, then drank his tea and stepped out of the house.
"I'll be back soon." With that, Ash released Pidgeot, jumped onto its back, and as it flapped its wings, a strong wind rose, and they soared into the sky swiftly.
"Where is Ash going?"
"No idea."
Misty and Brock exchanged puzzled looks, uncertain of Ash's sudden flight on Pidgeot to somewhere...