Chapter 272: My Heart May Be Broken into Many Pieces, but Every Piece Is Sincere~

[VIP Chat Group]

[Wallace]: Power, technique, beauty—every aspect was at an exceptionally high level. Truly moving! Letting Pokémon freely display their own charm... this is exactly what Pokémon Contests are supposed to be!

[Fantina]: Wonderful!!! The moves performed by the Pokémon were overflowing with charm, and the bond between Trainer and Pokémon was simply sparkling!

[Ursula]: Hmph. My daughter only lost because she was unlucky. Gabite was already at a disadvantage against a Fairy-type move. If she’d faced a different opponent, the result might’ve been completely different.

[Dawn]: Ursula, why does that sound exactly like what you used to say back then?

[Ursula]: What do you mean, exactly the same?! I’m stating a fact! The only reason you beat me back then was because you got lucky!

[Dawn]: Right, right. I beat you so many times, and every single one was just good luck.

[Ursula]: ...You! Anyway, Andodo will definitely win next time! Parallel-world me can’t possibly keep losing to both you and your daughter forever!

[Valerie]: What Miss Ursula just said is almost exactly what Andodo said after losing the match. They really are mother and daughter.

[Skyla]: Even the way they refuse to admit defeat is identical. Genetics are terrifying.

The video continued playing.

That evening, Hina made a video call home from the Pokémon Center.

The communicator rang twice before the call connected.

Dawn’s face immediately appeared on the screen.

"Hina! Mommy watched your livestream!"

"You won a Ribbon in your very first Pokémon Contest! That’s my daughter!"

Dawn cupped both cheeks in her hands, her eyes curving into crescents from how widely she was smiling.

"Mommy’s first Contest back then didn’t go nearly this smoothly!"

"And after your mom lost, she secretly ran off somewhere to cry."

Asher sat beside her with a cup of tea and casually added that little detail.

"Hey! Hubby, why would you tell Hina that?!"

Dawn’s face turned bright red as she lightly punched Asher.

"Hehe. It just reminded me of the first time we met."

Asher chuckled.

"If that hadn’t happened, maybe we wouldn’t have ended up together."

"Don’t say things like that!"

Dawn puffed out her cheeks.

"No matter what happened, the two of us would’ve ended up together!"

Asher wrapped an arm around Dawn’s waist and replied gently,

"Of course."

"In this life, the person I love most is you, Dawn~"

[VIP Chat Group]

[Kenny]: W-Wah... I knew this day would come eventually, but actually seeing it with my own eyes still hurts so much. Asher, you’d better treat Dawn well. Otherwise, I’ll never forgive you.

[Asher]: Don’t worry.

[Kenny]: W-Wahhh! Hearing you say "don’t worry" somehow makes my heart hurt even MORE! WAAAAH——! Why do Dawn and Asher look so natural together?! It hurts! It hurts so much!

[Brock]: Kenny, wake up. Whether you accept it or not doesn’t matter. Parallel-world you already lost.

[Kenny]: Parallel-world me losing doesn’t mean I lost! I can still win in this world—

[Gary]: Don’t you lack even the qualifications to enter in this world?

[Kenny]: NO! I DON’T BELIEVE IT! I REFUSE TO BELIEVE IT!!!

[Volkner]: Great. Asher broke another one.

[Johanna]: Hmm... I actually quite like the way Asher and Dawn interact in the video. Dawn has always been a bit scatterbrained ever since she was little, so I’ve always hoped she’d find someone a little more dependable.

[Asher]: You can rest assured on that point. I’m very dependable.

[Raihan]: So dependable that you married four wives at the same time.

[Leon]: This is the highest form of dependability—maintaining stability across multiple dimensions simultaneously.

[Lucian]: Full marks for that explanation.

[Asher]: My heart may have shattered into many pieces, but every single piece is sincere~

[Misty]:@Asher, so you’ve stopped pretending now, huh? And what’s this about "the person I love most in this life is you, Dawn"? You’re pretty smooth. If I remember correctly, you told me the exact same thing in those memories. (;一_一)

[Cynthia]: He said it to me too.

[Elesa]:@Asher, are you mass-producing your sweet talk now? (｀Д′)

[Diantha]:@Asher, now that won’t do, hubby. Even if they’re different parallel worlds, saying the exact same romantic line to so many girls is far too careless. Come on, come inside with me~~

[Asher]: ...Wait, no, this—listen to me! I can explain!!

The video continued playing.

"All right, all right. You two should at least restrain yourselves a little in front of your daughter."

Johanna squeezed halfway into view from the edge of the screen.

"Hina, is that fluffy little one a new Pokémon you caught?"

"Ah, this is Shaymin..."

Hina lifted Shaymin off the top of her head and held it carefully in both hands near the screen.

"It said it got separated from its group, so I’m letting it travel with me for now."

"It really is Shaymin!"

Dawn poked her head out from behind Johanna again.

"Hina, where did you meet it?"

"Um..."

"It fell out of the sky..."

Hina gently stroked Shaymin’s head.

"It fell out of the SKY?!"

Dawn planted both hands on the table and leaned toward the screen.

"Hina! What kind of luck is that?! Mommy traveled for so long and never had anything like that happen!"

"Piplup, don’t you agree?!"

Piplup stood on the coffee table with both wings folded across its chest and nodded vigorously.

"Piplup, Piplup!"

"Wifey, doesn’t Piplup have a similar kind of constitution?"

Asher casually chimed in again.

"Back when Ash’s Gible was practicing Draco Meteor, didn’t it somehow hit Piplup every single time?"

"From a certain perspective, that’s also a special kind of attraction."

Piplup’s vigorous nodding instantly stopped.

The entire penguin froze on top of the coffee table as though someone had pressed a pause button.

Dawn blinked.

Then she suddenly clapped her hands.

"That’s right!"

"Back when Ash’s Gible was practicing Draco Meteor, no matter where Piplup hid, Draco Meteor would somehow land right on its head!"

"Now that I think about it, maybe Piplup really does have some kind of special constitution!"

Piplup’s wings began trembling.

Then it let out an extremely aggrieved cry.

"PIPLUP, PIPLUP, PIPLUP!!!" (Who would ever WANT a constitution like that?!)

Dawn picked Piplup up and comforted it for a moment before turning back toward the screen.

"Hina, where are you planning to go next?"

"Do you already have a destination in mind?"

"Um..."

"Not yet..."

Hina shook her head.

"Then why don’t you visit Hearthome City first?"

Asher smiled as he offered a suggestion.

"The Gym Leader there, Fantina, is also a top Coordinator."

"And she’s an old friend of your mom and me."

"Right, right!"

Dawn excitedly raised one finger, her eyes sparkling.

"You’ll definitely be able to learn a lot from Miss Fantina!"

"And I think Hearthome City is preparing to hold a Pokémon Contest soon too!"

Johanna reached out and pulled Dawn backward.

"All right, that’s enough."

"Hina just finished a Contest today. She must be tired, so let her get some rest."

Dawn reluctantly waved at the screen.

"Hina! Mommy will watch your next Contest too!"

"Good luck!"

...

TL: Sorry for the late Chapters I may or may NOT be addicted to Aniimo right now, just got to level 55 hehe.