Under Clarissa's guidance, Ash took a proper tour of the enormous estate.
There was no denying that the Joy family was one of the most prestigious families in existence, with an extraordinarily deep foundation and heritage.
Even just by touring this estate, one could glimpse a small part of the immense wealth and influence accumulated by the Joy family over generations.
As lunchtime approached, Clarissa's father also returned home from work.
Ash finally met his cheap father-in-law.
The Joy family was a neutral family, and the husbands of its female members were generally selected from ordinary civilian backgrounds. Most of them joined the Joy family through marriage.
Clarissa's father, Jakob, was one such Trainer who had been born into an ordinary civilian family.
However, for him to have been chosen by Clarissa's mother—the current head of the Kanto Joy family—he naturally had to be an outstanding individual himself.
He was currently serving as the Minister of the Kanto Alliance's Medical and Public Health Department.
When he was young, Jakob had also been a professional Pokémon Trainer.
He had traveled through several regions and participated in their respective Pokémon League Conferences, achieving excellent results along the way.
Only after growing older and becoming more mature and settled in his temperament had he eventually joined the Kanto Alliance.
Both Jakob and Ash had been born into ordinary civilian families.
Both were Pokémon Trainers.
They had also previously crossed paths through Ash's online medical clinic.
And on top of all that, Ash himself was a celebrity prodigy Trainer famous throughout Kanto.
All these similarities and connections made Jakob increasingly satisfied with Ash as his son-in-law.
During lunch, his attitude toward Ash was particularly warm and familiar.
Joy Rong: "..."
Elena Joy: "..."
Jakob: "..."
Ash: "..."
Clarissa: "..."
"..."
"..."
Clarissa: "..."
"..."
"..."
Because Ash and Clarissa were currently only boyfriend and girlfriend, they weren't engaged, much less married.
This visit was simply a stopover in Saffron City while they were passing through.
Therefore, the lunch wasn't particularly extravagant or ceremonial.
It was simply a family meal attended by Clarissa's closest relatives.
After lunch, Jakob hurried back to work because he had a mountain of Alliance affairs to deal with.
Ash, meanwhile, stayed behind and chatted with Clarissa's mother and grandmother for a while.
Seeing that the weather outside was beautiful, the young man and woman eventually went out into the garden to enjoy the afternoon sunshine.
"Pikachu, Greninja, Pidgeot, Fearow, Gyarados, Milotic, Venusaur—everyone, come out and get some fresh air."
Ash looked up at the blue sky dotted with drifting white clouds.
The brilliant afternoon sunlight shone down brightly, painting golden edges around the clouds.
A gentle breeze swept through the garden.
The gorgeous flowers blooming everywhere swayed gracefully in the wind, while their rich floral fragrance drifted through the air.
Seeing that the garden lawn was extremely spacious, Ash released his Pokémon so they could stretch their legs and relax.
"Pi-ka~!"
"Froakie~!"
"Gaah~!"
"Pidgeot~!"
"Roar~!"
"Venu~!"
The Poké Balls opened, and Ash's Pokémon appeared together across the expansive lawn.
"Hah~"
The commotion naturally attracted the attention of the gardeners working throughout the estate.
One by one, they secretly looked over from the flowerbeds and gardens.
Gardener A: "Who is that young man? Which family's young master is he? He looks really familiar."
Gardener B: "You're kidding, right? You don't even recognize him? Didn't you say before that you were a huge fan of Mr. Ash?"
Gardener A: "What?! You're saying that's Mr. Ash?!"
Gardener C: "Who else could it be? Didn't you see him standing together with Miss Clarissa? If that isn't Mr. Ash, then who else could be close enough to stand beside Miss Clarissa like that?"
Gardener D: "That's right. I vaguely heard our driver, Oda, talking this morning. He said he was going to the high-speed rail station to pick up Miss Clarissa and her husband-to-be. And look at how busy the Master normally is—he even came home for lunch today."
Gardener A: "Wow!! I can't believe it's really Mr. Ash! This is the first time I've ever been this close to him!"
"Those are Mr. Ash's Pokémon, right? They feel so powerful..."
"..."
"..."
With his Aura, Ash could immediately sense any gaze or conversation around him as long as it was directed toward him.
Naturally, he noticed the gardeners quietly observing and discussing him.
But Ash didn't pay any attention to it.
His gaze simply returned to the group of Pokémon standing on the lawn in front of him.
"Alright, everyone, go play. Just remember not to wander too far."
"Pi-ka~!"
"Fearow~!"
"..."
"..."
The Pokémon responded one after another before scattering across the garden to explore and play.
Pidgeot and Fearow spread their wings and soared into the sky.
Pikachu climbed up Ash's arm and settled comfortably on his shoulder.
Greninja walked beneath the shade of a nearby tree, leaned casually against its trunk, and assumed its usual cool and aloof posture.
Gyarados and Milotic went into the fountain pool in the garden and soaked in the water.
Venusaur simply lay down on the lawn and began enjoying the warm sunlight.
"Chansey, Bellossom, you two come out as well."
Seeing Ash release his Pokémon, Clarissa also took out her own Poké Balls and released her Pokémon.
This was actually something she had learned from Ash.
After being influenced by her boyfriend and listening to his suggestions, Clarissa had begun following his example.
Whenever she had free time, she would release her Pokémon instead of keeping them inside their Poké Balls.
This gave her more opportunities to spend time with them, communicate with them, and deepen the emotional bond between Trainer and Pokémon.
It was precisely because of this that Chansey had successfully evolved into its final form, Blissey, during the past six months.
Likewise, the Oddish that Clarissa had caught together with Ash's Bulbasaur had evolved into Gloom.
Then, over the past six months, it had used a Sun Stone to evolve once again into Bellossom.
Although Clarissa was following the career path of a Pokémon doctor and Pokémon Breeder, under Ash's influence, her own strength was by no means weak.
After the two Pokémon were released, they affectionately acted spoiled in front of their Trainer, Clarissa.
Then the two gentle "girls" happily ran off into the garden to pick flowers.
Soon, only Ash, who was carrying the Weedle egg, and Clarissa, who was carrying Pikachu for him, remained in the small garden.
The two walked leisurely toward the garden swing while chatting happily and enjoying their peaceful afternoon together.
"Ash, your Weedle egg really is unusual."
Clarissa tilted her head and examined the egg in Ash's arms, her eyes filled with curiosity.
"When we tested its vitality before, based on the data detected by the equipment, we estimated that it would take at most about two years to hatch."
"But I didn't expect the latest test results to show that its estimated hatching time has actually been extended to three years."
Ash glanced down at the Weedle egg in his arms.
The unusual egg had indeed become increasingly mysterious.
A Pokémon's innate potential was primarily evaluated from two dimensions.
The first was its species.
The second was its individual quality.
And the former accounted for the overwhelming majority of the difference.
In other words, even the weakest member of a pseudo-legendary species would generally possess greater innate talent than an exceptionally gifted individual belonging to most ordinary Pokémon species.
Take Weedle, for example.
Its base stat total was only 195, making it one of the weakest Pokémon species in existence.
No matter how outstanding an individual Weedle might be, it would still be extremely difficult for it to compare with a pseudo-legendary Pokémon in terms of innate potential.
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