The next morning, Ash and his two companions, who were continuing their journey, found a grassy area near a river to set up camp for a simple night. They woke up to the aroma of Brock's breakfast.
"Wow, I didn't expect Brock's cooking to be this good. Even though I had some yesterday, it's still so good today."
Dawn gently turned her white ceramic bowl, tasting the rich soup. She was full of praise. No wonder Ash was so excited when he first met Brock. It must have been because of his incredible cooking skills. She took another sip of the soup, its color, aroma, and taste blending perfectly. She couldn't help but praise it in her heart.
"That's right. Brock is very reliable. On our journeys through several regions, he was in charge of all the meals."
Before Brock could reply, Ash also praised him endlessly. As the companion who had been with Ash the longest, Brock's reliability was unquestionable. Even for Ash, who had been reincarnated into this world, his first taste of Brock's cooking made him a fan. He truly is the head chef of Ash's logistical team. His skills are out of the ordinary.
"Haha, it's not that great. You're just exaggerating."
Hearing their praise, Brock was quite modest. After all, he had been personally taking care of his siblings since childhood, and his cooking skills were developed back then. He didn't think it was anything to be proud of.
"Pikachu~"
"Piplup~"
"Pidgeot~"
"Aipom~"
But from the Pokémon's enthusiastic eating, it was clear Brock was being humble. To satisfy the appetites of several Pokémon at once, Brock's skills as a Pokémon breeder are truly top-notch. He probably doesn't even realize how amazing his cooking is.
"Should I find a chance to learn from Brock? After all, he will eventually leave. It's best to be self-sufficient."
While enjoying the delicious food, Ash was also planning for the future. It's not good to always rely on others. He needed to learn some skills himself. He knew a bit of cooking, so he didn't particularly need to learn that, it just wasn't as good as Brock's. But Pokémon food was different. As a daily meal, it was different from PokéBlocks. Although both provide energy, Pokémon food is more like a regular meal, while PokéBlocks are like human nutritional supplements. There is a difference between the two. PokéBlocks could be provided by the backpack system, but he needed to make Pokémon food himself. He couldn't always rely on Brock, the breeder. After all, he'd eventually leave, and Ash needed to be prepared for that day.
"I'll find a chance to learn from Brock in a few days."
Having made up his mind, Ash took a big gulp of the soup, his decision firm. The three of them chatted while enjoying their delicious breakfast, and time passed quickly. But they didn't immediately set off for Jubilife City. Mainly, Ash wanted to use the morning for his Pokémon to train. Because of the official battle yesterday, he realized his Pokémon had some weaknesses that he wanted to fix through training, which led to this plan.
Brock and Dawn naturally agreed. After yesterday's battle, Dawn was also full of passion and wanted to do some daily training with Piplup. As for Brock, he could use the time to wash the breakfast dishes.
"Alright, Pikachu, this time we're going to learn a new move."
He led his Pokémon to another open area and started assigning them tasks. Pikachu was first on the list. As one of the Pokémon who had been with him the longest, improving Pikachu's strength was his top priority. He didn't want a day to come where, for some reason, Pikachu would lose to a beginner's Pokémon. That would be an embarrassment to all transmigrators like him. So when training his Pokémon, he would habitually put Pikachu first, to prevent that day from ever coming. At the same time, Pikachu was also the main force against the legendary Pokémon trainer and his Latios. As a Pokémon that could defeat a legendary Pokémon, Pikachu's potential was unquestionable. And what he needed to do was unleash that potential. All of that had to start with learning a good number of moves.
"Pika Pi~"
Hearing Ash call his name before all the other Pokémon, Pikachu confidently stepped forward, obediently waiting for Ash's command.
"Here. This is a TM for the new move, 'Electroweb.' You know how to use it, right?"
He was holding something like a disc, which was a TM he had redeemed from the backpack system.
"Pika Pi~"
Pikachu nodded repeatedly and gently took the TM from Ash with both hands. It had used one before in Viridian Forest and recalled what Ash had done. Pikachu held the TM in its right hand, then lightly patted it on its head. The disc miraculously vanished, vaporizing into fragments that went into Pikachu's brain.
"Pika~"
After doing that, Pikachu sighed with satisfaction. A new move called "Electroweb" had suddenly appeared in its mind. This was what the disc had done. As long as it followed the instructions in its mind, it would quickly master a new move.
"Pidgeot, for today, you'll take Starly on flying practice. Teach Starly all the flying techniques you know to improve its speed. I'll do some specific move training with you later!"
Watching Pikachu happily run off to practice its new move, Ash smiled with relief. He then gave instructions to the huge raptor, Pidgeot, and its little brother, Starly.
"Pidgeot~"
Hearing this, Pidgeot nodded its large head and gently flapped its wings to take off.
"Starly~"
Seeing its "big brother" Pidgeot move, Starly quickly followed.
"Mhm!"
Seeing this, Ash nodded in satisfaction. As both were Flying-type Pokémon, he decided to use a "veteran-mentor" approach, having Pidgeot help Starly improve its speed first. This was the fastest way to increase Starly's battle power right now. For bird Pokémon, speed is their greatest advantage, and so it was the most important focus of Starly's training. Of course, that wasn't all. The strength of its wings and talons were also key points of Starly's training, but that would be in the next phase.
As for the remaining Scyther and Aipom, he had them go and find wild Pokémon to train against. The main reason was that Scyther's stat-boosting move, "Swords Dance," could be learned as it leveled up, so he didn't want to spend an extra TM on it. Having Scyther level up by fighting on its own was the most economical and efficient way. The same went for Aipom.