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Seven days after leaving Celadon City—
"Riolu, use Bullet Punch!"
"Rio!" The small blue Pokémon leapt out, unleashing a punch at the massive creature in front of him!
Charizard casually blocked the Bullet Punch with his wing.
Then, with a shake of his wing, Riolu was sent flying, performing several backflips on the ground before finally stopping.
"Rio…" Riolu looked at his fist with a hint of dejection. That punch was the strongest he could deliver, yet it couldn't even scratch Charizard.
"It's alright, Charizard is a Superior High-Level now, and a Flying-type Pokémon. If he could be injured by you, he'd probably go find a place to bury himself," Ash said, coming up behind Riolu and rubbing his head to comfort him.
Not far away, Charizard let out a soft roar, agreeing with Ash's words.
If a Superior High-Level, Flying-type Pokémon like him could be injured by a Rookie-Level Riolu, there would be no justice in the world. What's the point then?
"Time to eat! Go wash your hands quickly!" Misty's clear voice rang out, making Ash and Riolu, who were preparing to continue their battle, abandon their training plans.
Nothing is more important than eating!
After washing their hands with water from a kettle, Ash and his Pokémon gathered around the small dining table.
"We're eating so well today?" Ash was slightly surprised by the variety of dishes on the table. Usually, lunch consisted of about two or three dishes, but today there were a full six.
"These were all made by Misty. I helped out next to her. After learning for so long, it was time to put it into practice, so she made a bit extra," Brock said, taking off his apron and smiling.
Although Misty hadn't cooked on the journey, she had actually been learning all along. She had already mastered basic dishes, just lacking real practice.
Today, with Ash training Riolu, Misty bravely volunteered to cook for once, realizing she couldn't always rely on Brock and Ash!
"Oh~ Misty made them, they look pretty good!" Ash first praised her, then served lunch to his Pokémon before sitting down to eat.
"Hmm… this scrambled eggs with tomatoes has a bit too much salt, next time can be less. And this fish-flavored eggplant is a bit overcooked. This Mapo Tofu is good, just the right amount of spice…" Ash commented as he ate.
Although these dishes all had their flaws, for a beginner, they were already quite good.
Misty's initially anxious heart settled down when she saw Ash devouring the food like a wolf, despite his critiques.
Regardless of the comments, at least he seemed to enjoy eating it, which meant her first attempt at cooking was quite successful!
All six dishes were completely eaten. Ash's appetite could be large or small; if there was more food, he could eat more. Anyway, for the energy he expended in training, this amount of food was nothing.
After eating their fill, it was Ash's turn to wash the dishes and clean up. The three members of the team prioritized fair division of labor. Previously, Ash and Brock cooked, and Misty was responsible for gathering firewood, pouring water, and cleaning dishes.
Now that Misty and Brock cooked, it was naturally Ash's turn.
However, washing dishes didn't stop Ash from thinking about his Pokémon's training content.
After a period of recovery, Riolu finally made a full recovery three days ago. He could not only train, but his progress was also fast, going from zero foundation to the peak of Rookie-Level in three days.
This was incomparable to Ralts back then. Ralts reached Rookie High-Level just by eating an eggshell, while Riolu still needed to train step by step.
But this speed was still extremely fast. After all, Riolu also had to maximize his ability values to their limit. Under these circumstances, reaching Rookie-Level peak in three days was even a bit faster than Caterpie back then.
Bug-type Pokémon's level-up speed is unparalleled. For Riolu to reach this level, it fully demonstrated his effort and his talent.
This also included Ash's massages, Viridian Power, Aura Power, and the dozens of additional Strange Incense concoctions made in Celadon City.
As the journey progressed, Ash's methods for improving his Pokémon also continued to increase. This led to the fact that even though his Pokémon's levels were already vastly different from before, their leveling speed hadn't slowed down much.
Aside from four days of no training after challenging the Gym, in the seven days since leaving, there was only one day of rest. The rest of the time was spent either in wild battles or training in the wild.
The record of wild battles goes without saying: undefeated, and Ash earned another seventy to eighty thousand in pocket money. However, his reputation had also gradually spread. Most people who saw a Trainer with a Pikachu would ask if it was Ash.
This was not only due to his reputation in wild battles but also his fame from defeating five Gyms. Looking at the entire Kanto region, Ash was now a somewhat famous new Trainer.
Therefore, the plan of earning money through wild battles was practically abandoned. Who would be foolish enough to engage in a wild battle with a Trainer who had five Gym Badges?
Ash was also very grateful that Erika had asked him to mix some perfume, which by chance led him to find a way to make money. Otherwise, he would have been truly troubled about how to fund his future travels.
'Richest Ash' in the group certainly had a way to make money, but that path might require him to personally act, personally promote, and slowly grow it before he could let go and do what he wanted to do.
Wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse? He earned money to become a powerful Trainer, a top breeder, a future Pokémon Master. But now, he was putting those things aside to make money. What a joke.
Therefore, meeting Erika that day was truly very important to Ash. Thanks to Erika, he was now about to become a rich man!
The perfume began selling three days ago, and its effects, once released, coupled with widespread publicity, instantly ignited the entire Celadon City, and even the entire Kanto region!
Not to mention the wealthy Trainers, according to Erika, even some of the Elite Four came to her to purchase this perfume.
As soon as the perfume hit the market, it was already in short supply.
Since the perfume was handmade and the formula could not be disclosed to untrustworthy people, there were relatively few people making it. Coupled with the perfume's good product rate, not a particularly large amount of perfume could be made in a day.
Not everyone had Ash's Aura Power to fully see the energy within and achieve perfect blending.
This led to the current daily output of perfume being only about a hundred bottles, but this quantity was completely insufficient, selling out in the blink of an eye.
After all, this stuff was a consumable, and a consumable used in huge quantities!
So, even in this initial stage, Ash's daily income already exceeded five million!
When Ash heard this number, his latest developed mobile phone directly dropped to the ground. If Pikachu hadn't caught it with lightning speed, this newly bought phone would probably have been scrapped.
Three days have passed now. Although production has increased, it's not by much. Furthermore, some production staff will later be allocated to other perfumes, and considering material supply and other factors, Erika estimates that the daily output should increase to a maximum of two hundred bottles.
But this was already a huge sum for Ash!
The first payment would be transferred in three days, and by then, Ash would be able to spend money without any worries!
Even covering Misty and Brock's expenses!
In addition to solving financial matters, all of Ash's Pokémon also showed pleasing improvements during this period.
Riolu, needless to say, not only recovered to normal but also advanced to the Rookie-Level peak.
Bulbasaur stubbornly refused to evolve, but his attitude seemed to have softened. The reason was that Wartortle had already reached the Advanced-Level peak, while he had only just reached that level.
In other words, Bulbasaur was about to be surpassed by Wartortle.
Once Wartortle advanced to Superior Level and evolved, Bulbasaur would likely be left far behind by Wartortle.
At that time, Bulbasaur's psychological gap would be even greater.
Ash also noticed Bulbasaur's psychological issue, but he didn't persuade Bulbasaur to evolve. Instead, he advised Bulbasaur to calm down, not to compare himself with other Pokémon, but only with himself.
There are no rules in the world that say one must evolve to reach the peak. Not evolving simply means the path is a bit harder.
Bulbasaur was deeply moved by Ash's words. If it were another Trainer, they would 100% persuade him to evolve immediately!
It was precisely Ash's attitude that made Bulbasaur even more conflicted about whether to evolve.
Evolving would allow him to become stronger faster. The enemies Ash was facing now were getting stronger and stronger. If his level and form were inferior to theirs… he probably wouldn't be able to help at all.
Even Bulbasaur didn't know how long his persistence could last, perhaps it just needed a catalyst.
After unremitting efforts, Pidgeotto finally evolved into Pidgeot yesterday!
His level also reached Superior Mid-Level. As one of the veteran members of the team, his final evolution was actually later than Charizard and Gardevoir.
But there was no helping it; those two had a cheat and an inverse talent, plus most battles involved them and Pikachu, so Pidgeot's level increase was very difficult before.
Next were two of Ash's three main powerhouses, Charizard and Gardevoir. Both are currently at Superior High-Level, both holding their breath, waiting to see who can reach Superior Peak first.
And Teacher Pikachu… he became Professional.
Yes, Pikachu reached Professional Level.
Upon learning that Pikachu had advanced to Professional Level, Misty and Brock's expressions were simply indescribable. In just over two months, from Normal Level to Professional Level, and it was a Pikachu – even sci-fi stories wouldn't dare to write something like that!
Pokémon's level advancement is inextricably linked to several factors: form, species, talent, battle experience, and daily effort.
Pikachu was indeed very diligent in training, but compared to Charizard and Gardevoir, he was actually a bit behind. And his talent… was still the 'unremarkable' six A-rank.
His battle experience was also less than those two hard-working Pokémon, and his species and form… basically could sit at the same table as Butterfree.
It was under these circumstances, where all factors were in the lower-middle range, that Pikachu's leveling speed actually surpassed both Charizard and Gardevoir!
Not to mention Misty and Brock, even Ash couldn't figure it out at all.
He asked the experts in the group what was going on. Did Pikachu have some hidden ability besides the fluctuation of his ability values and partner form?
The experts in the group said that this was all normal, and he would understand what it was all about later.
Since the experts in the group said it was normal, it meant that this might have happened in other parallel worlds, so Ash didn't pursue it further.
These were the improvements of Ash's Pokémon during this period. In addition, Misty and Brock's Pokémon also improved at a good pace with Ash's assistance.
Although they didn't engage in wild battles as frequently as Ash, they sometimes battled to give their Pokémon practice. Otherwise, training without battling would lead to a decline in combat effectiveness.
Misty's Starmie and Staryu both reached Professional Level. This was once the level Misty dreamed of; only by reaching this level could she be considered to have barely kept up with her parents' pace.
But now, after traveling with Ash for two months, she had achieved it so casually.
Starmie had even reached Professional Mid-Level. In the past, Misty couldn't even imagine such a thing.
Additionally, Misty's Squirtle had evolved into Wartortle, reaching Advanced Mid-Level. There was still some distance compared to Ash's Wartortle, but since it was a junior and had experienced fewer battles, it was normal.
Horsea's level was Advanced Low-Level, also recently increased.
Brock's Onix had reached Superior Low-Level, Graveler was stuck at Advanced Peak, Zubat was Advanced Low-Level, and Wartortle was Advanced Mid-Level.
Don't let the seemingly small overall level increases fool you; in reality, being able to steadily improve is a very happy thing for Trainers.
Some things don't yield returns just by putting in effort. For example, some Gym Leaders, after accumulating for decades, their Pokémon can only stop at Professional Level.
So, the idea that effort always yields returns is, after all, a minority in the world. More often, one puts in ten thousand times the effort and ultimately only reaps a single harvest.
Misty and Brock keenly realized that the reason their Pokémon could achieve a harvest for every effort was likely related to Ash.
Although they didn't know what Ash did, this was definitely a miracle created by Ash!
By following Ash, they were taking advantage of who knew how much!