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"Crack!"
With a crisp sound, the Life Branch snapped into two!
Venusaur, who had been observing Ash's actions, instantly froze.
"Bana!!" What are you doing!!
"Ash, this..." Misty's face showed an unreadable expression as she saw Ash rashly break the Life Branch in half.
What was Ash doing? Was this how one split half of its life force? What a joke! Wouldn't doing this just destroy the item? Brock had the same thought.
It wasn't surprising that Misty, Brock, and Venusaur thought that way. Typically, if a Pokémon item were broken in half like that, it would completely lose its function. Wasn't this just pure destruction of an item?
"Ahem, didn't I say? I'd only take half. See, isn't this half?" Ash held up the half-branch of the Life Branch in his hand.
Upon hearing this, all the Pokémon present, as well as Misty and Brock, had lines of exasperation on their foreheads. "Look at what you're saying, is that even a human thing to say?"
Is that how you split half of a life? You just snapped that branch in half like that, are you sure it can still have that effect?
"Don't worry, if you don't believe me, feel it," Ash said, handing the branches in his hand to Venusaur and Misty, respectively.
The former suspiciously extended a Vine Whip, coiled it around the branch in Ash's hand, and carefully felt it. Immediately, an incredibly astonished expression appeared on Venusaur's face.
All this time, Venusaur had enjoyed the effects brought by the Life Branch, so no one knew better than he what the complete Life Branch was like.
Now, the half-branch of the Life Branch he felt on his Vine Whip indeed contained half the life force found in a normal Life Branch.
Moreover, this life force was not currently dissipating.
In other words, Ash's crude method actually worked... How was this possible? Was it that simple?
"See, no problem, right? This is a method I carefully deduced through Aura Power. How could there be any mistake? In short, splitting it in half like this makes everything perfect! Just wait two or three years, and this branch will return to its original state... However, splitting it once is already the limit, so don't break it in half again."
Ash still used the clever excuse of Aura Power to cover up the information he had obtained from the chat group.
In short, for anything difficult to explain, Professor Oak took the blame for the first pot, and Aura Power for the second; they could basically cover everything.
If even these two reasons couldn't cover the blame, then it must be something immeasurably huge.
And after Venusaur heard Ash's words, it instantly abandoned the idea of breaking the branch in half again after it recovered.
If it could be split infinitely, he would certainly want to break it open one more time and place half of the Life Branch on himself.
This way, he could continue to assist those Bulbasaur in evolving in the future, and also have ample improvement for himself. Why wouldn't he?
But Ash's statement directly shattered his expectations. Regardless of whether Ash's words were true, from his interactions with Ash, Venusaur didn't think Ash was someone who spoke idly.
Secondly, he also had no way to gamble on the possibility of the Life Branch splitting again, so it was better to honestly continue doing what he had been doing with this half of the Life Branch.
Ash did not take back the Life Branch on Venusaur's Vine Whip; it was originally for Venusaur.
As for the remaining half of the Life Branch, Ash placed it directly on Bulbasaur's bulb. In less than a second, the Life Branch completely merged into Bulbasaur's bulb.
And Bulbasaur, at this moment, burst forth with a brilliant light—this was the light of evolution!
"Is Bulbasaur evolving?" Misty said, stating an obvious fact that anyone could see.
However, encountering such a situation, asking a rhetorical question is a basic human reaction.
Misty had always known that Ash was searching for the Mysterious Garden to find a way for Bulbasaur to evolve perfectly.
Because Bulbasaur had already missed the optimal time for evolution, if it evolved, it was very likely to be a double evolution.
After evolution, its strength would be greatly enhanced, but this was not necessarily a good thing.
If the boost from evolution was too great, its ability values might not keep up, which would have a significant impact on Bulbasaur's future.
Champion Ash had told Ash to look for the Mysterious Garden for this very reason.
While Misty and Brock knew that Ash was searching for the Mysterious Garden under Professor Oak's guidance, they didn't know exactly what Ash was looking for within the Mysterious Garden.
Nor did they know what method he would use to achieve a perfect evolution for Bulbasaur once he found it.
Until Ash broke off a colorful branch from that giant tree.
After finding the colorful tree, Ash used a completely unconventional method to split the branch's power in half, leaving one half with Venusaur and giving the other half to Bulbasaur.
Up to this point, it was barely considered normal. The abnormal part was... Bulbasaur began evolving immediately upon absorbing the Life Branch!
So fast? It didn't even need time to absorb it; it just evolved directly? Could this achieve the so-called perfect evolution?
These questions were the true meaning behind Misty's statement.
"Don't worry, since Ash and Bulbasaur chose to evolve at this time, they must be absolutely confident. They wouldn't have wasted nearly a month searching for something just for it to be for nothing, would they?" Brock said, trying to reassure her.
Ash remained silent, simply watching Bulbasaur's body slowly grow larger.
A moment later, Bulbasaur's body became several times larger than the Venusaur next to it!
The light slowly dissipated, revealing its true form: a robust physique, a massive flower, and sturdy limbs. This was Bulbasaur's final evolution, Venusaur!
This time, Bulbasaur underwent a double evolution directly, just as Champion Ash had predicted. However, under the influence of the Life Branch, this evolution did not affect its ability values.
In fact, all of its ability values were still at their maximum!
[Species: Venusaur]
...[Level: Professional Level Mid-Grade]
...[Six-Dimensional Abilities: Physical Attack A (A) Special Attack S (S) Defense S (S) Special Defense A (A) Stamina S (S) Speed A (A)]
With a maximum potential of three S's and three A's, compared to before, its Defense had also reached S-rank. This also meant that Venusaur now had one of the tickets to enter the God-Tier.
However, it was merely a ticket.
Although Pokémon with three S-rank ability limits are extremely rare in the world, with billions of Pokémon worldwide, the proportion is still somewhat significant.
Yet, the world has never seen or heard of any Pokémon reaching god-like realms with the body of an ordinary Pokémon.
Currently, the closest to that realm should be Leon.
Leon's Charizard is said to be unbeatable even by a Champion at its peak. No one can discern its true level, not even Champion Trainers.
So, it's highly possible that Leon has reached that legendary realm, but since no one has ever forced Leon to use his full power, this rumor remains unconfirmed.
As for Ash, while Pokémon with triple S aptitude are extremely rare, he now possesses a total of four Pokémon with triple S aptitude or higher, including Bulbasaur.
However, the God-Tier is still a distant goal for him, so it's better not to overthink it. Being overly ambitious would only lead to self-destruction, which is why many of the seniors in the group don't tell him everything.
The more one knows, the more one thinks, which can be paralyzing. It's better not to think at all and just move forward without hesitation.
This time, Venusaur's gains were immense. Originally, his level was Superior Level Peak, but now he directly leaped two stages, entering Professional Level Mid-Grade, and his ability values were not wasted at all, going straight to max.
Although evolution has the effect of increasing levels, evolving at this level doesn't actually have a very significant effect.
When it entered the Mysterious Garden, Bulbasaur had already absorbed the life energy of the Life Branch, raising its Superior Level High-Grade to Superior Level Peak.
Then, after raising one level and merging with the Life Branch, relying on the remaining life force and the boost from the double evolution, it successfully broke into the Professional Level, becoming a Pokémon second only to Charizard in the team, and even Gardevoir could only barely match Venusaur now.
Ash now had four Professional Level Pokémon, ranging from Professional Level Peak to Professional Level Beginner. It was hard to imagine this was a Trainer who had only been traveling for three months.
The Garden Venusaur looked at Ash's Venusaur with a complex expression, a hint of envy in his eyes.
He had actually tried to merge with the Life Branch, but it had no reaction to him at all. Even if he wanted to integrate it into his body, he simply couldn't.
All he could do was absorb the life force that dissipated from its annual accumulation to improve himself.
He didn't understand why Ash's Bulbasaur could merge and absorb it so easily. Perhaps this was the choice of this Life Branch.
In other words... perhaps this Life Branch was destined to belong to this human's Bulbasaur?
This strange thought flashed through the Garden Venusaur's mind, then he shook his head, casting the idea aside.
Whether it was true or not, he had already given away half of the Life Branch. He couldn't possibly give away the remaining half, could he? If he did, the Mysterious Garden would truly be completely ruined.
"Bana." Congratulations, my kin.
"Bana!" If I fight you again now, I won't need to borrow my Trainer's strength!
Ash's Venusaur looked at the Garden Venusaur, a hint of battle intent burning in his eyes. With his current power, supported by his triple S aptitude and Ash's command, he could now stand on equal footing with the Garden Venusaur without the aid of Aura Power!
The Garden Venusaur's mouth twitched upon hearing this, then he grumbled in response.
Look at my current state, still fighting? I don't have a habit of seeking abuse.
The Garden Venusaur had long known that the truly strong one wasn't Bulbasaur, but the Trainer behind him. However, a Trainer and his Pokémon are inherently one, so there's no reason for one's own Pokémon to fight alone against wild Pokémon.
"I'm sorry, Venusaur. I took the Life Branch and also injured you. Let me heal you first." Ash said, approaching Venusaur and placing his palm on Venusaur's petals.
Venusaur shifted his foot, but ultimately brought it back, not moving.
This human said he wanted to help him heal. Although he didn't know what specific effect it would have, he shouldn't be lying.
He also didn't know if this healing would be effective, but he might as well let him try.
As Ash's Viridian Power flowed into Venusaur's body, Venusaur's injuries healed at an incredibly rapid pace.
Viridian Power seemed to be even more effective for healing Grass-type Pokémon. In just a minute, Venusaur had already recovered completely.
Not to mention Venusaur, Ash himself was somewhat disbelieving. This was a Professional Level Peak Pokémon, and he healed him so easily?
Even if Grass-type Pokémon were more compatible with Viridian Power, it still wasn't quite normal.
He felt that his Viridian Power seemed to have advanced further... Why was this? Was it because he had been using it frequently recently, so its power increased with repeated use?
Ash thought for a while, and unable to find an answer, he withdrew his hand from Venusaur's body, then smiled and said, "You've recovered."
"Bana..." What a miraculous power... Venusaur felt his body in an even more flourishing state than usual, muttering with a face full of disbelief.
His previous condition could be described as being on the verge of losing his ability to battle, but with Ash's one-minute treatment, he had instantly recovered to his peak condition. This was simply a miracle!
And it wasn't just simple recovery; he vaguely felt that his bottleneck seemed to have loosened. With a little more training, perhaps he could break through the Professional Level bottleneck and reach the Gym Level!
For a wild Pokémon to reach Gym Level, what kind of prestige is that!
Normally, he might have needed several more years to break through. This was truly an unexpected surprise.
At this moment, there was no longer a trace of resentment in Venusaur's heart, and his gaze towards Ash was filled with gratitude.
"Bana!" Human, thank you for your help!
"Hey, all your injuries were caused by me. What's with the 'help'?" Ash waved his hand, a hint of awkwardness still on his face.
His injuries were caused by him, yet Venusaur was thanking him in return. What kind of situation was this!
"Bana, Bana." Let's keep things separate. My loosened bottleneck is entirely thanks to you. The source of life has been taken by you, and I have nothing else good to give you. Take this thing I found somewhere; you humans probably like such gems.
After Venusaur spoke a long string of words, a Vine Whip extended from his body, and on the Vine Whip was a sparkling orb.
Ash waved his hand, about to refuse, but when he clearly saw the appearance of the orb, his waving motion instantly froze. This was...