//------------------------------//
// His True Appeal. Nothing much to it 
// Story: My Little Pokémon: Grander World 
// by Amarvax 
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Kanto. Pallet Town. Day.

During the second day of the 4-Day Pallet Town Yard Sale, Melony and her family from Galar's Circhestor have arrived at Pallet Town. Melony and Delia were Pen Pals and now they have finally met. They had some sweet banter but now it's transformed into a competition between Mothers.

Instead of selling those exclusive items to Melony and her family, Delia was competing with her. And instead of giving out the gifts to her Pen Pal, Melony challenged Mrs. Ketchum while also using one of these gifts in the competition. The first one was a contest of food. The gift that Melony brought involved some food that was already premade. Deliciously hot pie. Delia stuck with spaghetti who she knew her Son loved oh so very much.

"Let's try a different branch of food then. These were already made for today." Delia declared, throwing the plate of spaghetti in the air. Immediately, this prompted Pikachu to jump in the air, consuming all of the spaghetti in one go with his mouth wide open.

"But of course. Even when away from home, I can cook anything that comes to mind." Melony smirked. "Name it and it's done."

"You know...To move all that bias away..." Appearing in front of them, rubbing his hands so that he could take advantage of this was none other than Hilbert. "Why not let everyone else take a crack at your food? I mean, if you're gonna try and beat each other in a contest of food, there's gonna be too much bias if Family tries."

"He's right. We should feed everyone else here." Delia glared at Melony.

"I agree, my Pen Pal. No better judge than the crowd. They can have something to eat while getting whatever they can at this Yard Sale."

"Then it's settled!" Hilbert snickered as he suddenly slammed a flag onto the ground in between the two of them. He already wrote down their names on the flag, titling it Delia vs. Melony. "I hereby declare this Mom Competition on!"

"Hilbert, you instigator!" Ethan roared at Hilbert. In response, Hilbert would turn his head, showing a smug expression. He knew what he was doing.

"How good are you at cooking buffet?" Delia questioned, leaning forward.

"Over at Bob's Your Uncle, I sometimes volunteer to cook for the little ones." Melony did the same as both of their heads pressed against each other. They would stick to cooking for now, but there was a fact that they would do more than that. Immediately, the two of them went over to the Ketchum Household, preparing to cook.

"This might be pretty fun, actually." Ash was interested, feeling the excitement around the air.

"You're getting into this too?!" Gordie gasped. He already lost Ash. So much for leaving with him. Facepalming, Gordie realized that he wasn't standing out there at all. No semblance of fame whatsoever. Not here at Pallet Town anyway.

The two mothers got to work, cooking up something that would entice the crowd. The scent was all that it would take to allure and excite them. The two mothers were making their own specialities. The people, ponies and Pokemon of the Yard Sale were pleased by these aromatic scents. Something delicious was coming.

"What's going on?" Showing up here at Yard Sale was Fluttershy along with Applejack. "Ooh, something smells good. Is that Delia?"

"Delia and Melony. Unfortunately, both of them are going through a 'Mom Contest'." Brendan explained, putting on quotation marks with his fingers. "It started out simple but their love for both of their sons went against each other.

"This wouldn't have happened if Hilbert just refrained from getting involved. Maybe." Ethna sighed "But what can do you do? At least we'll get good food out of this. I'm just afraid of what might come next."

Speaking of Hilbert, he was already making a profit from this. After making that flag, he would then use one of the tables in this Yard Sale, putting up a betting station. The names of Delia and Melony were written on two boxes which were obviously meant to take money.

"You can choose who you think is gonna win this," Hilbert said, sitting back and waiting for the money fly in. People and ponies were pondering on who to choose. Delia was rather popular, even over at Ponyville. But they had to see what Melony could do before they decided. Either way, Hilbert was going to win.

"If I turn back now, I could maybe avoid this," Gordie said to himself, wanting no part in this and only pursuing fame. He was going straight for Ponyville while no one was looking. But right as he went for Ponyville, the scent pulled him back in. It was absolutely amazing, captivating the Galar Gym Leader. His stomach started grumbling as he was feeling rather peckish. "I haven't eaten since we got here so...I guess it wouldn't hurt to stick around a bit longer."



Afterwards, the two mothers had finished making what they needed to make. Delia created Sugar-dusted cookies, chocolate stuffed doughnuts alongside pink waffle ice creams as a snack. As a bonus, she made a Cake Shake with vanilla as the chosen liquid. Definitely went for that sweet side of food. And the way they were decorated was sublime and pleasing to the eyes. It made the stomach tremble and the body shudder. Delia chose satisfying colours indeed.

"Voila! For such an energetic day, I figured that you would all need something to raise that energy. I went for a sweeter option." Delia introduced.

"Way to go, Mom!" Ash and everyone looked over at the selection of food.

"Oooh.." Pinkie Pie drooled. "This reminds me of that cooking contest we had with Opal from Galar. Wonderful."

"Opal certainly didn't teach you any of this then!" Melony exclaimed, showing her food. A fabulous mix of crushed meringue, cream, and strawberries on the side. But the main dish was sausages, wrapped Slowpoke Tail Beef, bread, cheese and onions "This is some of Galar's Finest. And my sweet Gordie loves this in the afternoon but it works well in the morning too."

"Mom..." Gordie grumbled.

"You'll just hurt your teeth with all of those sweets. Try something that won't have you curling on the ground later." Melony smirked.

"Hoh? I think you must not know Equestria's preferences. I don't just have Pallet Town on my side, Melony."

"Oh yeah. This was the right approach..." Hilbert cackled as the money came flooding in. The people and ponies got to look t the food options and decided which looked more enticing to them. Both mothers succeeded in creating dishes that smelled good and looked good. But all that mattered was the taste.

Everyone gathered around the different dishes, each taking a bite out of it since Delia and Melony made large portions for everyone. Their taste buds were satisfied and their faces spoke with joy. Both foods were absolutely blissful. For the most part, both sides created excellent dishes that made everyone happy.

"Looks like a tie to me." Hilbert shrugged. "You're both great cooks, so that's a stalemate right there.
"
"Hmph. That's only natural. I saw images of your food when we talked to each other as Pen Pals." Delia side-eyed Melony. "Of course you would have amazing food that others would love."

"Same to you, my dear Pen Pal. Your cooking was always so varied and unique. How could it possibly fail" Melony said. The two of them complimented each other despite the stares they gave. "But it isn't over yet. There's more that I can excel at."

"Agreed. Until the end of the day, let's see who can emerge as the winner here. Whatever challenge we take, I'll assure you that I'll be the victor by the end of it all!" Delia declared.

"Well, it's settled." Hilbert's pupils lit up, showing money signs as this was one heck of an opportunity. He would raise the boxes into the air, encouraging this competition some more.."Anyone eager to place more bets, fill in! We'll be here until the Sun sets!"

"Alright, now it's time to get out of here as soon as possible, Ash." Gordie felt satisfied with the food he had. He would bring Ash along with him, wanting to avoid the rest of the contest as soon as possible. Now it was truly off to Equestria before they get dragged in again.



Equestria. Ponyville. Day.

At last, they arrived at Ponyville. Considered a perfect counterpart to Pallet Town, this small town was the most adjusted to the Strange and Wonderful Creatures known as Pokemon. Canterlot was equal to it, however. Now that they were here, Gordie might be able to find the logic behind Ash's fame. If possible.

"Ooh, this place is bright...!" Gordie squinted his eyes, blown away by Ponyville's appearance. It was a rather saturated place with a ton of colour.

"Isn't it? You're gonna love it here."

"Maybe. But I wonder what my fans think? Now is a good time to start recording." By using his phone, Gordie was going to make sure that he got every bit of Ponyville, observing it through his phone for his fans to witness. "You'll be on as well, Ash. Raihan and not even Nessa's thought of this."

"Eh? Really?" Ash blinked as his face was soon captured by the phone. Gordie would then let go of his Rotomphone as it would start floating. It was still a Rotom in there after all.

"Hey! This'll be an exclusive look at Ponyville," Gordie spoke, referring to his fans. This was Ash's first time being in something like this and he wasn't sure what was going on just yet. "This town's pretty famous at the moment. Some would call it the cornerstone of the Next Generation Pokemon Trainers. And I have here the one who taught a majority of the ponies here. Ash."

"Hm?" Ash looked over at the camera. "Wait, are they actually watching me?"

"It's all live, Ash. Everything's in real-time."

"Awesome!" Ash would suddenly get super close to the camera, startling Gordie and potentially everyone else watching it. His face was so close that only his eyes and nose could be seen. "I've heard of stuff like this but this is a first for me!"

"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu would do the same, slamming his own face into the phone. All the viewers were getting were close-ups of this dynamic duo.

"You'll ruin it, man!" Gordie pulled the phone away. "Hah...You're obviously not that type of celebrity. You've gotta be the ancient kind."

"Well, you can ask everyone around!" Ash skipped along. "The town's always changing because of the world we live in so come and check it all out with us, Gordie!"

"Pika-Pikachu!"

"Well, he'll be giving me the tour," Gordie spoke to his audience. "I'll get to see what makes everyone here at Ponyville click with Ash."

Ponyville at this time was simply getting ready for the Pokemon Festival happening in a few weeks. It was now an annual thing and very much enjoyable. Of course, the Pokemon Festival always leads to something serious happening later on. But this year, everyone had high hopes. With the Dread League defeated, they had very little to worry about.

They were going to make the absolute most of this Pokemon Festival. The 4th Pokemon Festival was looking to be its best one yet as Ponyville was already starting to map out what could be done for this year's festival. There was Mayor Mare, instructing the builders with blueprints. Of course. a majority of this was BigTime Ben's idea.

As for how they reacted to Ash, the Trainer from Pallet Town showed up at the Ponyville Day Spa, feeling that this was a good place to start. Upon entering, the two Spa Ponies, Lotus and Aloe greeted Ash and Pikachu. But they would do more than just that. Now that these two were here, with sly smiles on their faces, they were already itching to interact with their hair and now Gordie was a shining new target for them.

Ash wasn't usually all for getting his hair done but after what Arezu did, he wouldn't mind taking a shot at it. It would be his first time having his hair done by the Spa Ponies. Gordie wasn't exactly making videos for beauty but he would take a swing at it as well, believing this had something to do with Ash's appeal.

Lotus and Aloe have been waiting for this day for the longest. The day they could do Ash's hair. They've always seen Ash with his hat on and rarely does it ever come off. They've even forgotten what it looks like off. Until now. When removing his hat, they saw it at last and it was certainly something. No other hairstyle matched Ash's hair as it was rather out there.

All the more reason they get to meddle with it. Wasting no time, the Spa Ponies would whip up something that spoke to them. Much like how Arezu kept in line with Ash's taste, Lotus and Aloe would do the same. And the result was Ash having spiked up hair that stood upwards. Gordie received a smoother version of his which was already smooth and all Pikachu received was a fluffier body. To the Spa Ponies, this was an obvious success and Ash very much enjoyed the spiked-up hair that stood up. He was missing out until now.

Gordie observed that the Spa Ponies didn't give any signs to the appeal of Ash. At best, all he gathered was that they were waiting to do his hair for the longest. On the bright side, he saw that his viewer count went up after that moment at the spa, surprising him.

There was the costume shop which saw some changes. A prominent increase in Pokemon Costumes were seen and some even fit Ash. These past 4 years have given the Ponyville Costume Shop various new choices. Ash was wearing a costume based on the Storm Behemoth. The 500ft entity of lightning that once stormed through Unova and Equestria back then

Gordie found himself wearing the costume of the Tree Behemoth which was the opposite of the Storm Behemoth. He felt rather silly in this while Ash felt differently. The costume even came with the function of lightning up to mimic the electricity. But to take it a step further, Pikachu hopped on Ash's back, generating electricity to give it that genuine authenticity. It certainly made the costume shine some more while also electrocuting Ash.

Gordie was shocked by such an action but Ash laughed as this was rather common. As for Gordie's outfit, it prompted some mares to giggle at him when passing by. His build made the Tree Behemoth outfit a bit bloated. Naturally, Gordie was embarrassed after being seen in such a way. Not really the first impression he wanted to make when entering Ponyville.

Here, Gordie saw some of that appeal that Ash had. It came in the form of Ash requesting a specific costume. A costume based on Galaxy Master as he was hoping they had such an outfit here. At least in his size or even one meant for a pony. There weren't any in stock just yet, however, the manager and the employees each explained to Ash that they would get to it. Since he was looking for such a thing, they would make sure it would become a reality. Eventually, this store will be filled with Galaxy Master costumes. It was the least they could do for Ash considering what he's done for them. 

Gordie now knew that Ash was involved with saving the lives of others. That was a rather high bar to beat. Saving a town was definitely prone to fame but Gordie knew there was more to it. He knew that Ash along with some humans helped train the Equestrians, helping them grow as trainers.

Up next were the Arcade Machines that could be seen lying around. Ash was already seeing going wild on these machines. Next to the pony Button Mash, the two of them were already going through a competition by playing the same game. Gordie saw Arcade Machines as ancient, nothing compared to the games of the modern day. But there was certainly an appeal and some of his viewers were spouting that appeal out.

Ash was really getting into this competition with Button Mash, only for his mother Cream Heart to pull him away. He had places to be right now as she scolded him for skipping out on school today. A disappointed Button Mash left the scene while Ash was stuck playing on his own.

Not for long though. He nudged his head at Gordie, offering him a spot to play since Button was out of the picture. Gordie would give it a try since some of his fans seemed to be fans of this. Ash would guide Gordie on what to do as all Gordie had to do was get a grasp on the controls.

And it didn't take long for that to happen. The arcade sticks were not a challenge for the rising star as he had some familiarity with them. In his generation, technology was rather easy to manage and it certainly showed when dealing with older technology. But for Equestria, this technology was somewhat new.

Very soon, Gordie was starting to get into the game, beginning to find an appeal to these old machines. And by doing this, he started bonding with Ash at the same time. He was doing this for fun instead of his appeal as a young rising star. This was the key part of it all. Ash's appeal didn't just involve his actions but also who he was. Ash and Pikachu just simply love to have fun and always get involved.

They stopped by the Quills and Sofas shop, trying out the sofas. Absolutely comfortable to the point where Ash, Pikachu and Gordie felt like sinking into it. Bliss in its purest form. They could sit here forever and not even notice how much time has gone by.

Gordie would soon get involved with what Ponyvlle usually does. Stopping by Roseluck's home, Ash could be seen helping grow some new roses. Ash himself wasn't a pro at this by any means and neither did he have the finesse for it. But he was getting there. Gordie certainly didn't have the talent. He would be as careful as he could be while making a rather silly face that represented his struggle, making Roseluck giggle.

The lovely Pokemon House which housed many Pokemon who were under Fluttershy's care. But just as much as they loved Fluttershy, they shared an equal love with Ash and Pikachu The duo were surrounded by Pokemon happy to see them. Ash has taken care of these Pokemon as well as he was one of the first people to help make the Pokemon House a reality.

So much had been done and yet Gordie hasn't gotten that knowledge of Ash's appeal. But he was certainly getting something by the end of this.



"Well, that was something," Gordie commented, holding his phone and seeing the viewer count. It was well around his follower count without a doubt. He sat on a bench with Ash as the Afternoon Sun had shown itself a while ago. "You know a lot of names here, Ash. Lots of faces."

"Yep. Everyone here's a friend," said Ash. "There's no one I don't know. Well, unless someone moves in or a baby's born."

"Pikachu."

"You helped all of them?"

"I helped them and they helped me. It's true I taught them a lot and saved their town from some pretty wild stuff. Whenever I dealt with Delayed Aura Ataxia, they were there to help me out. And even now, they're watching my back with the whole Twilight Moonlight thing. It's an awesome feeling for sure..."

"Is that it? That's all?"

"Well, yeah. Nothing else to it, Gordie." There wasn't anything complex about it. The reason for Ash's appeal was simply because of the good nature that comes from him and everyone around him. It was simple as it can be but it was absolutely wonderful to experience a be a part of. "Just like Alola, Ponyville feels like another home for me. Ya know what I mean?"

"Well...there goes my plans." Gordie sighed, lowering his head. "And here I thought there was more to it. You're the most popular Human in this world by a margin after all."

"So, how was Ponyville, Gordie? Pretty great, right?"

"It's a great place. It's simple but fun, I guess." Gordie shared his opinion. "I'd maybe come here if I wanna relax or something. Not regularly though. But I've learned something here and that's the fact that Fun beats all. Wish I could say the same for my Pokemon Battles. I take them pretty seriously, Ash."

"I know what you mean. Some battles just need you to get super serious. But I always love having fun when battling. If my opponent's doing their best, then I gotta do my best to so that we can all have a good time."

"You eager to battle, my mom. She's way higher up in the Pokemon World Championship Rankings than me. I hate to admit it but she's stronger than me. So far. I'm younger so I'll naturally get stronger. And if you're gonna battle her, you're gonna have to be careful."

"How tough is she, really?" Ash questioned.

"Mercilessly tough, Ash. My mom may seem sweet but her Ice Pokemon will put you through the wringer and make things harder for you. I found that out the hard way." Gordie shuddered as the memories were already flooding in. "I was gonna battle you to find that secret to success but...looks like it was something else entirely. I'd rather see you take on my mom. After you go through whatever it is you're doing tomorrow. I'll be wishing you all the luck I can and after your battle, I'll rise up the rankings just so I can battle you."

"Thanks, Gordie. And hey, I might get to see you take on someone else during the World Championships. You're a Rock-Type specialist, right? I know from experience. They're some of the toughest out there."

"We sure are. I've got my own dreams when I become the strongest trainer in the world. I'm already making waves by having so many followers, Ash. I'm popular but I want to go above that. It's the same thing Nessa wants."

"Really?" You and Nessa have the same thing in mind?"

"A lot of Galar's Trainers have fame on their minds. In the Galar Region, we champion popularity and battles over anything else." Gordie explained. "I did the same when I was young. I wanted to be up there in the world, Ash. And while I'm getting there, I'm not sure when it'll slow down. Not everyone reaches the top. What about you?"

"Me? I wanna become a Pokemon Master. Nothing more, nothing less. And beating Leon's gonna get me closer to that goal, for sure." Ash laid out his goal. Simple as it always was. The Road to the Pokemon Master was always the true end goal and nothing was steering him away from that path.

"Well, I'd best be going I only showed up here with my family because my mom made me. We should probably head back and see if both our moms haven't torn each other up yet."

"Gotcha. And tomorrow, I'm gonna see what Celestia's got prepared for us!"

"Pikachu!"

Ash got to know Gordie a bit and Gordie got to see what Ash experiences. However, Ash had a feeling that there was more to Gordie that he didn't know. He just carried that disposition about him. Ash wondered if battling Melony would show more of that. He would have to see for himself as the journey continues.


Chapter 255 End.