Seven days after leaving Celadon City.
"Riolu, use Bullet Punch!"
"Rio!"
The small blue Pokémon darted forward, fist glowing silver as it struck at the towering creature before him.
Charizard raised a single wing and effortlessly blocked the blow. With a casual flick, the dragon sent Riolu flying backward. The little Pokémon tumbled several times before landing on his feet, panting softly.
"Rio…" Riolu looked down at his trembling fist, frustration written all over his face. That had been his strongest punch, yet it hadn't even scratched Charizard.
"It's alright," Ash said, walking over and rubbing Riolu's head reassuringly. "Charizard's a High-Tier now, and a Flying-type. If he actually got hurt by that, he'd probably go bury himself somewhere out of shame."
Charizard gave a proud snort that almost sounded like agreement.
If a high level Charizard could be injured by a Rookie-Level Riolu, the world would've turned upside down.
"Dinner time! Go wash your hands first!" Misty's cheerful voice rang out, breaking the tension instantly.
Ash and Riolu, who had been gearing up for another round of training, immediately dropped everything.
Nothing was more important than food!
After washing up with water from the kettle, Ash and his Pokémon gathered around the small camp table.
"Whoa, we're eating like nobels today," Ash said, raising his eyebrows at the spread before him. Normally lunch was two or three simple dishes, but today there were six.
"These are all Misty's work," Brock said with a grin as he untied his apron. "I helped a little. She's been learning for a while, so I figured it was time for some hands-on practice. She might've gotten a bit… enthusiastic."
Though Misty had rarely cooked during their travels, she'd been quietly learning the whole time. Now that she'd grasped the basics, she decided to finally give it a try, especially since she didn't want to rely on Brock and Ash forever.
"Oh~ so Misty made these, huh? They look great," Ash said approvingly as he started serving food for his Pokémon before sitting down himself.
He took a bite, chewed thoughtfully, then began his critique with all the seriousness of a food judge.
"Hmm… this scrambled egg with tomato, too much salt. The fish-flavored eggplant's a little overdone. But this one, perfect! Just the right amount of spice."
Though each dish had its flaws, they were still surprisingly good for a beginner.
Misty, who'd been anxiously watching his expression, finally relaxed when she saw him eating heartily despite his nitpicking.
If he was eating that fast, then it couldn't be bad. Her first real attempt at cooking was a success!
In no time, the six dishes were completely cleaned out. Ash could eat endlessly if he wanted to, his training burned through calories like crazy, so finishing everything was no challenge.
After everyone was full, it was Ash's turn to do the dishes. The group had a fair system of dividing chores: when Brock and Ash cooked, Misty handled the cleaning and gathering firewood; now that she'd cooked, dish duty was his.
Even while washing dishes, Ash's mind was still half on his Pokémon's training schedule.
Riolu had fully recovered three days ago, and since then his growth had been incredible, going from a total beginner to the peak of Rookie-Level in just three days.
It wasn't as absurd as when Ralts had jumped to Rookie-High after eating a single eggshell, but the progress was still astonishing.
That speed was a testament to both Riolu's tireless effort and his natural talent.
Of course, he'd also had plenty of help, from Ash's massages, the combined support of his Tokiwa and Aura powers, and the dozens of bottles of Strange perfume Ash had mixed back in Celadon.
As their journey went on, Ash's methods for strengthening his team had only grown more refined. Even though his Pokémon were now at far higher levels than before, their growth rate hadn't slowed at all.
In the seven days since leaving Celadon, they'd rested for only one day. The other six were filled with wild battles and intense outdoor training.
The wild battles, as always, were one-sided victories. Ash hadn't lost a single match and had earned another seventy or eighty thousand in prize money. But more importantly, his name was spreading fast.
Trainers who saw a boy with a Pikachu on his shoulder would now stop and ask, "Hey, are you that Ash?"
Between his undefeated wild battle record and his five Gym Badges, Ash had already become a minor celebrity among Kanto's new Trainers.
As a result, his plan to earn money through casual wild battles was basically over, no one was foolish enough to pick a fight with a Trainer holding five Badges.
Ash couldn't help feeling deeply grateful to Erika. If she hadn't asked him to mix that perfume, he never would've stumbled upon such a convenient way to make money. Without it, he might've been racking his brain right now, worrying about how to fund his future travels.
"Rich Ash" in the group chat definitely knew plenty of ways to make a fortune, but most of those required hands-on work, personal promotion, and careful business expansion. In short, it would've meant diverting his focus entirely to running a company before he could even think about training again.
And that, in Ash's eyes, was completely backward.
He didn't train to earn money; he earned money to train, to become a powerful Trainer, a top Breeder, and eventually, a Pokémon Master. Putting those dreams on hold just to chase profits would've been ridiculous.
That's why meeting Erika that day had been so important. Thanks to her, he was now on the verge of becoming rich beyond his imagination.
The perfume had launched three days ago, and the moment its effects became public knowledge, combined with Erika's wide-reaching influence, it took the entire Celadon market by storm. In less than a week, it had become the hottest item not just in Celadon City, but across all of Kanto.
According to Erika, even members of the Elite Four had come to personally place orders for it.
The demand was so intense that the perfume instantly went into short supply.
Because the formula couldn't be shared freely and every batch required manual blending, there were only a handful of qualified workers. And since most didn't have Ash's Aura to perfectly sense the balance of energy in the ingredients, the success rate wasn't high.
As a result, daily production hovered at only about a hundred bottles, a quantity that vanished the moment it hit the shelves.
And since the perfume was a consumable product used in training, every buyer needed multiple bottles at once.
Even with limited output, Ash's income had already surpassed five million per day.
Now, three days later, production had expanded slightly but was still nowhere near meeting demand. Erika estimated that, even at full efficiency, they'd only be able to produce around two hundred bottles a day, still a goldmine.
Ash didn't care about the limits. For him, this was already a fortune beyond belief.
The first payment would arrive in three days, and once it did, he'd never have to worry about travel expenses again, not for himself, not for Misty, and not for Brock.
He could finally fund his journey freely.
Meanwhile, his Pokémon had also made tremendous progress.
Riolu, of course, had recovered completely and reached the peak of Rookie-Level.
Bulbasaur, on the other hand, still refused to evolve. His stubbornness hadn't changed, but lately, Ash noticed a subtle shift in his attitude.
After all, Squirtle who evolved into Wartortle had already advanced to the peak of Advanced-Level, closing in on the elite tier. If he evolved soon, Bulbasaur would officially fall behind.
The thought clearly weighed on Bulbasaur's mind.
Ash, however, never pressured him to evolve. He simply told Bulbasaur, "Don't compare yourself to others. Compare yourself to who you were yesterday."
There was no rule saying a Pokémon had to evolve to reach the top. Staying in his current form would only make Bulbasaur's path harder, but not impossible.
Those words struck a deep chord in Bulbasaur's heart. Any other Trainer would've pushed him to evolve immediately. But Ash's understanding and patience made him even more conflicted.
He knew evolution would make him stronger, and the battles ahead were only getting tougher. If his power lagged too far behind, he might no longer be able to fight by Ash's side.
Bulbasaur didn't know how long he could hold out, but perhaps all he needed was the right moment, the right reason, to finally change.
And then there was Pidgeotto, who, after relentless effort, had finally evolved into Pidgeot just yesterday!
His strength had jumped to mid-Level.
As one of Ash's earliest partners, it was ironic that Pidgeot's final evolution came after Charizard and Gardevoir. But considering those two had both a "cheat" and extraordinary talent, not to mention the fact that most key battles involved them and Pikachu, it was only natural that Pidgeot's progress had been slower.
Next were two of Ash's current main powerhouses, Charizard and Gardevoir.
Both stood at the Elite-Level, each pushing themselves to the limit, silently competing to see who would be the first to break through.
And then there was Pikachu.
He'd done it.
He had become Professional-Level.
Yes, Pikachu reached Professional Level.
When Misty and Brock first heard the news, their expressions were beyond description.
Just over two months ago, Pikachu had been only at Normal Level, and now, Professional? If someone had written that in a sci-fi novel, it would've been rejected for being too unrealistic!
Pokémon growth depends on several factors: form, species, talent, battle experience, and daily effort.
Pikachu was indeed hardworking, but compared to Charizard and Gardevoir, he wasn't the most disciplined.
His talent, while solid, was merely six A-rank, impressive, but not extraordinary.
His battle experience was far less than those two relentless combatants, and in terms of species potential… well, he was a Pikachu. A stage that technically belonged on the same rung as Butterfree.
And yet, somehow, this Pikachu had outpaced even Charizard and Gardevoir.
Not even Ash could make sense of it.
He turned to the experts in the group chat for advice, asking if Pikachu perhaps had some hidden ability, or a secret resonance beyond his fluctuating ability values and "Partner Form."
The response was unanimous:
"This is perfectly normal. You'll understand it later."
If the experts said it was normal, that meant it must have happened in other parallel worlds too.
So Ash simply let it go for now, though the mystery stayed at the back of his mind.
Those were the major breakthroughs among Ash's own Pokémon.But Misty's and Brock's teams had also made remarkable progress, thanks in no small part to Ash's relentless training methods and the resources he shared with them.
While the two didn't participate in wild battles as frequently as Ash, they still trained daily and occasionally sparred to keep their Pokémon sharp. After all, training without real battle experience would eventually dull a Pokémon's instincts.
Misty's Starmie and Staryu had both reached Professional Level.It was a milestone she'd once dreamed of, proof that she'd finally caught up to her parents' legacy.
And to think she achieved it so effortlessly after just two months of traveling with Ash.
Her Starmie had even advanced to Professional Mid-Level, something she once thought was decades away.
Her Squirtle had evolved into Wartortle, reaching Advanced Mid-Level. While it still lagged behind Ash's , that was only natural, hers was much younger and hadn't seen as many battles.
Her Horsea had recently climbed to Advanced Low-Level, steadily improving as well.
Brock's team was also advancing at a healthy pace.
His Onix had reached Superior Low-Level, Graveler was at the brink of Advanced Peak, Zubat had risen to Advanced Low-Level, and his Wartortle had also reached Advanced Mid-Level.
On paper, these gains might not look dramatic, but in reality, steady progress was one of the greatest blessings a Trainer could hope for.
Not every ounce of effort yields visible results. Some Gym Leaders had been training their Pokémon for decades, yet their teams never surpassed Professional Level.
Effort doesn't always guarantee reward, it's the exception, not the rule.
Most Trainers give their all for years and only manage to reap a fraction of what they've sown.
That's why both Misty and Brock understood one thing very clearly:The reason their Pokémon were improving so quickly, the reason every bit of effort produced results, was Ash.
They didn't know how he did it, but one thing was certain: Every step forward they took was made possible because of him.