Chapter Thirteen: A Fellow Villager Would Never Deceive You!
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The little shop was plainly furnished, with just a few scattered shelves. Besides the densely piled Clefairy plush toys, there was nothing else on display. It looked rather desolate.
“Hey, hey, hey.”
Seeing the girl in the hat about to doze off, Ash reached out and tapped her hat.
“Whoa!”
The girl’s body jolted, and she suddenly sat up, realizing someone had come in. A wave of emotion surged in her heart, nearly bringing tears to her eyes.
When she looked closely again and recognized the boy wearing the red and white cap, she couldn’t help but cover her cheeks, her mouth forming a big “O.”
“Oh my, isn’t this a fellow villager!?”
Ash was startled by her sudden reaction, but upon focusing, he indeed saw a familiar face.
Her long brown hair curled at the bangs on both sides of her forehead, her face was pretty and adorable, with a round, cherubic look.
Her lively eyes sparkled with utter bewilderment.
She wore a light blue tank top and a red pleated skirt, looking youthful and radiant, poised as if to pounce on Ash.
She hadn’t seen a living soul for nearly a week...
She would even want to hug a dog at this point.
...
Ash quickly stretched out his hand to hold her head, pinning her firmly on the other side of the counter.
“A...Are you May?”
He recalled that when he was young, while happily playing with Brock, there was a girl in the village who always tried to meddle, disrupting the friendship between boys.
Women were truly troublesome.
“Hey, hey, hey, Ash! My name’s May, okay!?”
The girl, May, wildly flailed her arms and delivered a playful karate chop to Ash’s nose. He immediately crouched down, clutching his nose, which stung—a minor but sharp blow.
Reunions with fellow villagers in foreign lands were always so warm and heartfelt...
...
After this heartfelt meeting, May took off her sunhat and began introducing herself to the two others behind her.
“Hello everyone! I’m May, Ash’s most adorable fellow villager!”
“Oh, I’m Misty, also the cutest girl here.”
“Oh, I’m Brock, the strongest tough guy. By the way, why are you running a shop here?”
Hearing this, May frowned, rubbing her temples with a twisted expression.
Clearly, this encounter had left her feeling quite frustrated.
“The story begins with a swarm of Zubat...”
Six days ago, she had passed by Mt. Moon and heard that Clefairy, a magical and adorable Pokémon, lived there, so she wanted to catch one, but after searching for a long time, she found none.
“At that moment, I met another villager passing by—Brock.”
Upon hearing this, Ash instantly became agitated and sprang to his feet, brimming with fighting spirit, almost tearing off his clothes.
“What? That jerk Brock is at Mt. Moon too? Where is he? I want to challenge him to a duel!”
“Hey, hey, don’t get so worked up, Brock already ran off...”
May pushed Ash back down, then stood up herself, clenching her fists with renewed determination.
“If I meet him next time, I’ll challenge him to a duel first!”
Ash: “?”
May explained indignantly:
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“He said Clefairy are kind-hearted Pokémon, and if you sincerely fast and pray at Mt. Moon for seven days, they will respond to the heavens’ call and come out to see me...”
“And I believed him...”
“He also said I should stay put while he went to nearby Cerulean City to buy me a bag of Oran Berries...”
“And I believed that too...”
“...”
Brock and Misty exchanged a speechless glance at Ash.
Your fellow villager seems a bit... off in the head.
She’s a match for you.
At that moment, May suddenly grasped Ash’s hand with righteous zeal and declared:
“Ash, next time let’s ambush Brock instead of having some silly duel. You tie him up in a sack, I’ll smash his head with a rock, then we run like crazy!”
“Is that the best idea you women can come up with? It’s utterly ridiculous.”
Ash brushed her hand away and retorted:
“Of course you tie him up, and I do the smashing!”
The order matters!
Misty and Brock: “...”
The whole scene somehow turned strangely harmonious...?
...
Afterwards, May stayed temporarily at this Clefairy shop, devoutly fasting and praying, hoping for Clefairy to appear soon.
The shop owner was a mountain climber from out of town.
Taking advantage of the tourist season, he invested all his savings in a large shipment of Clefairy plush toys, intending to make a good profit.
Since he was short a salesperson, he agreed to let May stay and fast here.
Then the Zubat swarm incident happened.
The number wasn’t just a dozen or so; it was ten times that.
Suddenly, the situation turned grim; the tourist season became a major crisis, and not a single visitor dared to climb Mt. Moon.
The owner lost everything and even had to sell his underwear.
“So the owner said he had to go dig up some fossils in the mountains to repay his debts and asked me to watch the shop for a few days...”
“And I believed that too...”
The three of them: “...”
This girl would probably still smile and help count someone else’s money even if she were sold out.
Poor unlucky soul.
Ash hesitated, wondering whether to leave immediately, thinking the aura of bad luck could spread outward.
Since he was still the chosen one, he didn’t want to get caught up in someone else’s misfortune.
“So, why are you still here?”
Brock couldn’t help but ask.
If the debt collectors came, they’d mistake her for the mountain climber and drag her away to pay the debt.
“Because tomorrow is the seventh day!”
May suddenly stood up, clenching her fists, her delicate and lovely face showing a stubborn defiance against her miserable fate, tears glistening at 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 what craftsmanship spirit looks like?
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...
“But what Brock said might actually be true...”
At that moment, Brock suddenly opened his eyes and said:
“Tomorrow is Monday, right? When I was little, I heard that Mt. Moon glows with strange lights every Monday night. Maybe that’s when Clefairy appear.”
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