Pokémon: Starting with Ash's Mom

After Kazuki finished getting dressed, he walked over with Misty to stand in front of Cassandra, giving her a sincere word of thanks. 

"Cassandra, thank you so much for everything this time," Kazuki said earnestly.

Misty also chimed in with a cheerful grin, "Yeah, Cassandra! If you hadn't helped us..."

Faced with their gratitude, Cassandra was still a bit lost in the afterglow of what had just happened. After Kazuki and Misty finished speaking, Cassandra dazed out for a moment before quickly waving her hands. "No need to thank me, really! You guys promised you'd help me train Paras next, right?"

Cassandra looked Kazuki up and down again, blinking in surprise. "Kazuki, your physical strength is really something!"

"You bounced back so quickly with full energy — that's honestly amazing."

"Good stamina, huh?" As soon as Cassandra said that, a light chuckle came from the side room.

Cassandra's grandmother came shuffling out slowly with her cane, a sly smile on her face. "Little girl," she teased, narrowing her eyes meaningfully, "weren't you just saying yesterday that you wouldn't even dare get on him yourself?"

The old lady's tone was playful but tinged with mischief. "So? You're already praising his good constitution after just one round?"

"Did you see some priceless treasure and change your mind?"

Cassandra flushed crimson on the spot, stammering in panic. "Grandma! I was talking about Kazuki's physical recovery! Not… not… you know!"

She nearly blurted out Kazuki's private details, but luckily she stopped herself just in time — otherwise she might have had to hop on a train and flee town that very night.

But her grandmother just laughed even harder, hobbling over to pat Kazuki on the shoulder. "Recovering fast is a good thing! The more rounds you go, the higher the chance of hitting the jackpot, you know!"

"Grandma!" Cassandra was so mortified she almost jumped up on the spot, frantically waving off her grandmother's words for fear Kazuki might hear.

"A-anyway… Kazuki, come on, let's head over to do a Pokémon battle!" she blurted out, cutting her grandmother short in panic. "I also want to check out your Pokémon!"

Without waiting for Kazuki to answer, she grabbed his arm. "Grandma, I'm going to go battle with your grandson-in-law now! Let's go!"

Kazuki politely bid farewell to Cassandra's grandmother, then followed Cassandra outside with Misty and Suzie tagging along.

As they left, the two girls recalled what had just been said and couldn't help giggling to themselves.

Cassandra ran a good distance before finally stopping in an open clearing. She let out a long breath, patting her chest in an effort to calm down.

"Whew… Grandma is unbelievable — she's even scarier than when she's pushing me to brew miracle potions!" Cassandra muttered under her breath, cheeks still pink.

"Let's battle right here! The field is nice and open!"

Misty nodded happily, pulling out a Poké Ball. "Okay! Let's get started!"

Cassandra also carefully drew a Poké Ball from her waist and gave it a gentle toss. "Come on out, Paras!"

With a flash of white light, a small Paras appeared on the field. As soon as it landed, it glanced around warily, visibly nervous.

Misty, seeing its timid look, quickly chose her own Pokémon with an excited smile. "All right! I'll go with this one! Go, Staryu!"

As soon as Staryu materialized, Paras shrank back, its neck retracting, and turned tail to hide in a distant clump of grass.

Misty froze, scratching her head. "Huh? What's up with that? Is my Staryu really that scary?"

Cassandra let out an awkward laugh, explaining, "Sorry, my Paras is extremely timid. It's never dared battle, so it hasn't had enough experience to evolve yet."

Misty finally understood, letting out an "Ah" of realization before recalling Staryu. Then she pulled out another Poké Ball. "Come on out, Psyduck!"

Psyduck appeared on the field with its usual wobbly gait, tilting its head in clueless confusion as it looked around, its dopey cuteness on full display.

But even after seeing Psyduck, Paras still refused to come out of the grass.

"Huh? This little guy's scared of Psyduck too?" Misty couldn't help complaining. "Seriously?"

Psyduck let out a confused "Psy?" and blinked blankly at Misty, completely clueless.

"If it won't battle, it won't gain any experience… I guess we'll have to coach it a bit."

Kazuki slowly walked toward Paras. "Let me try talking to it."

Kazuki began channeling his Aura Power, attempting to resonate with Paras's feelings.

"Kazuki, it's really timid, be careful," Cassandra tried to remind him, but before she could finish, Kazuki was already standing by Paras's side.

Cassandra's eyes went wide with surprise, and after a moment she sighed in wonder. "How is this possible? That's amazing!"

"My Paras is usually terrified even of Grandma!"

"This is Kazuki's first time meeting Paras, and he's already communicating with it?"

Kazuki's gift for nurturing Pokémon might really be something beyond her imagination.

"With Kazuki's help, I'm sure Paras will evolve smoothly!"

Cassandra nodded with a bright, trusting smile as she watched Kazuki's back.

Kazuki started praising Paras, hyping it up so much he practically made it sound like Paras could knock out Arceus with a single move.

Paras finally seemed to gain a little confidence, puffing itself up, crawling out of the grass, and slowly moving onto the open field.

Seeing that, Cassandra felt an emotional surge. "Is this… really my Paras?!"

Paras looked determined now, completely different from just moments ago.

"Kazuki! You're amazing! What exactly did you tell Paras? I've tried to encourage it so many times, but it never dared come out to battle!"

"Uh, well! Just a bit of simple motivational talk!" Kazuki laughed awkwardly, deciding not to reveal the rather… colorful language he'd actually used. He figured Cassandra might faint if she heard it.

After giving Paras one more round of encouragement, Kazuki then drew out the lowest-level Poké Ball in his party.

"Come on out, Dratini! Let Paras have some practice!"

With a flash of white light, Dratini elegantly appeared on the field.

The moment it showed up, Misty and Suzie couldn't help exclaiming in delight.

"Wow! It's Dratini again! It's so cute!"

Misty's eyes sparkled as she pleaded, "Kazuki, can you let Dratini stay out for a while after the battle?"

Cassandra was also amazed. "Kazuki, you even caught a Dratini?"

"That's one of the rarest Pokémon in all of Kanto!"

"I haven't heard of any sightings in ages!"

Kazuki shrugged modestly. "Just got lucky, that's all." There was no need to act overly humble in front of Cassandra.

Off to the side, Cassandra's grandmother, who had been quietly watching from afar, chuckled softly. "A Dratini, huh? Who'd have thought this kid, so young, could catch a Dratini already?"

"Maybe one day his achievements will rival those of the Flying-type Elite Four!"

Cassandra's grandmother, who had been about to leave, decided to stick around to watch the battle unfold.

Kazuki had already finished communicating with Dratini.

"Paras, don't be afraid. Go ahead and use your moves boldly!"

"Your potential is at least ten thousand!"

Paras glanced at Dratini, then looked back at Kazuki, and finally nodded, raising its claws and charging straight toward Dratini. 

Once the battle began, Dratini carefully circled around Paras. 

Paras was still a little tense at first, but under Kazuki's guidance, it gradually relaxed and found its rhythm.

It was Kazuki's first time commanding another person's Pokémon in a battle, which felt a bit strange.

After a few exchanges, Paras's confidence clearly grew. It was no longer so timid as before, but instead faced Dratini head-on, even starting to test out its own moves.

Cassandra's eyes were full of relief seeing Paras's progress. "Kazuki! Paras is using its moves!"

"You're incredible!"

At just the right moment, Kazuki gave Dratini a subtle signal, and Dratini dropped to the ground as planned.

When Paras saw that it had defeated Dratini, it immediately leapt up in excitement.

Kazuki smiled. "Nice job, Paras! You've made huge progress!"

"Keep up that momentum, because you'll be facing an even stronger opponent next!"

He then recalled Dratini back to Misty's side.

Step by step, Kazuki sent out the second strongest Pokémon he had prepared.

"Come on out, Gastly!"

As soon as Gastly appeared, a cold, eerie aura instantly spread across the battlefield.

Floating in midair, it let out a strange laugh, giving off a thoroughly mysterious vibe.

Kazuki cleared his throat — Gastly today seemed more interested in mischief than a proper fight. But just one word from Kazuki, and Gastly instantly understood, pulling back its ominous presence and cheerfully floating over toward Paras.

At that moment, however, Cassandra's grandmother, who had been secretly peeking from a distance, suddenly thumped her cane hard against the floor.

"Gastly! So this kid has a Gastly too! Hmph…"

Her expression turned dark, and a strange greenish vapor seemed to rise from her cane, as if she held some deep grudge against Gastly.

But she didn't attack or do anything more — she just watched coldly.

Kazuki, Suzie, and Misty continued helping Cassandra train her Paras.

Kazuki kept giving directions while observing Paras's improvement, while Suzie and Misty petted Dratini on the sidelines and cheered for Paras. The atmosphere was warm and friendly.

---

"Paras, now try using Spore!"

Paras reacted swiftly, releasing a cloud of tiny spores. At Kazuki's signal, Wartortle collapsed on cue.

"You did it, Paras!" Cassandra gave Paras one last bit of encouragement before returning it to its Poké Ball.

Then she ran over to Kazuki, her eyes full of gratitude. "Thank you, Kazuki. Paras has grown so much thanks to your guidance."

"It's already late. You all should go get some rest."

"I've prepared some medicinal food for you! It's delicious, too!"

"Delicious?" Misty's ears perked up at the word, and she immediately ran over in excitement.

The four of them laughed and chatted as they headed back.

Because yesterday's training had brought them closer, Cassandra didn't seem the least bit awkward about today's purification. In fact, she'd even dressed up carefully, which made quite an impression.

Since Kazuki was going to handle the detox session first, he waited in the room.

Creak — the door opened.

Kazuki looked up, and Cassandra's outfit instantly caught his eye.

She wore a short, white, cropped T-shirt that revealed her delicate collarbone and a smooth, flat stomach, giving off an unintentional but alluring sexiness.

Paired with that was a bright red ultra-short skirt, in stark contrast to the white top. The hem of the skirt stopped just at mid-thigh, showing off her long, shapely legs — if she moved a bit too much, even her panties might peek out.

Kazuki took a deep breath.

It was a good thing the medicine's effects would wear off soon, or else with Cassandra dressed like this, he might have lost control…

He chuckled and teased, "Cassandra, you look gorgeous today. Really sexy."

"Don't blame me later if there's any… accidental collisions."

Since their relationship had grown closer after last night's dinner, Kazuki dared to joke with her like that.

Cassandra blushed, lowering her head and murmuring softly, "You! If you have the strength for a collision later, then go ahead and collide…"

She only dared to tease him so boldly because she knew he'd be too weak to really act on it for now.

"Okay, enough joking," she continued, "mainly the detox steam gets really hot, so this is easier."

Kazuki nodded. Whatever Cassandra's true intention was, he had to admit her figure was stunning — and if he could appreciate it while soaking, why not?

The detox began, and today Cassandra seemed even more relaxed than before.

However, thanks to the ultra-short skirt, Kazuki could clearly see her thighs shifting and tensing unconsciously as she massaged his pressure points.

Kazuki didn't rush things — he knew he was still weak. He figured he'd wait for the final days to truly pursue her.

After the detox, Suzie helped tidy things up.

Once Kazuki was dressed again, Cassandra boldly sat beside him, her gaze occasionally lingering on his face, a flicker of complicated emotion in her eyes.

Just then, the pharmacy door was suddenly slammed open.

Cassandra's grandmother walked in, leaning on her cane, her already wrinkled face looking even sterner than usual.

Her cold gaze swept over Kazuki and Cassandra, finally settling on Kazuki.

"Kazuki," she called, her voice sharp.

"Grandma, Kazuki hasn't fully recovered his strength yet, could we wait a bit…"

Grandma slammed her cane on the floor with a loud crack. "Cassandra, have you been enjoying yourself too much these past two days?"

"Did you forget your goal?"

Her voice was icy and severe.

"You think dressing like that will help you… get a baby out of him?"

Cassandra sucked in a sharp breath, biting her lip, just about to argue back when Kazuki gently pressed down on her hand to stop her.

"If Grandma wants to talk to me alone, then let's talk."

"Besides, I've been resting too much these days — I could use a bit of activity."

His voice was calm and confident, unfazed by the sudden pressure from Cassandra's grandmother.

Misty looked worried and stood up as if she wanted to speak, but Kazuki waved her off.

"Relax! Listen to Cassandra and finish your detox."

"It's nothing serious! Maybe Grandma just wants to teach me some secret herbal techniques!"

Kazuki reassured Misty, then cracked his neck a bit.

"Let's go, Grandma."

With that, Kazuki followed Cassandra's grandmother out of the pharmacy.