Ash was very grateful, grateful that Erika had originally asked him to mix some perfume, which led him, by mistake, to find a way to make money. Otherwise, how would he manage the travel expenses later on without a major headache?
The 'Richest Ash' in the group certainly had ways to make money, but those methods might require his personal involvement, personal promotion, slowly growing stronger 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 strong Trainer, a top Breeder, a future Pokemon Master, and now he's putting those things aside for money, what a joke.
Therefore, meeting Erika that day was truly important for Ash, thanks to Erika, he's now preparing to become rich!
The perfume went on sale three days ago, and its effects, coupled with overwhelming publicity, instantly ignited the whole of Celadon City, and even the entire Kanto!
Not to mention those rich Trainers, but according to Erika, even some of the Elite Four came to her to buy this perfume.
The perfume was already in short supply upon its release.
Since the perfume is handmade, and its formula can't be revealed to untrustworthy people, there are only a few people making it, and with the perfume's good rate of production, the number that could be made in a day wasn't particularly high.
Not everyone has Ash's Aura Power to fully see the internal energies, achieving perfect mixture.
This led to a daily output of only about a hundred bottles of perfume, yet even this amount was sold out instantly.
After all, these things are consumables and are used in large quantities!
So, even at this initial stage, Ash's daily income exceeded five million!
Ash was so shocked by the number that the mobile phone he had just developed directly fell to the ground; if it weren't for Pikachu's quick reflexes, the new phone might have been ruined.
Now three days have passed, production increased but not by much, and considering that some producers need to be reassigned to other perfumes, plus the supply of materials, Erika estimated that daily production should most be increased to two hundred bottles.
But even so, for Ash, it would still be a huge fortune!
The first sum of money would be wired in three days, and then Ash could spend without worry!
Covering expenses for Misty and Brock as well, with ease!
Aside from the financial matters resolved, all of Ash's Pokemon have seen notable improvements during this period.
Riolu, without a doubt, not only had its body returned to normal, but it also advanced to Newbie Peak.
Bulbasaur remained stubbornly unwilling to evolve, but its attitude seemed to have softened, as Wartortle had almost surpassed it, just reaching Advanced Peak as well.
This meant Bulbasaur was nearly surpassed by Wartortle.
Once Wartortle advanced to Elite Level and evolved, Bulbasaur would likely fall far behind.
By then, Bulbasaur's psychological gap would be even greater.
Ash noticed Bulbasaur's psychological issues but did not persuade it to evolve. Instead, he encouraged Bulbasaur to keep an even mood, not to compare with other Pokemon, but only with itself.
There are no rules in the world stating one must evolve to reach the peak. Not evolving means the road will just be a bit harder to walk.
Bulbasaur was deeply moved by Ash's words. If it were any other Trainer, they would have urged it to evolve immediately!
It's precisely because of Ash's attitude that Bulbasaur was more conflicted about whether to evolve.
Evolution would allow it to become stronger faster. Ash faces enemies of increasingly higher levels, and if it doesn't match in level and form... it wouldn't be able to help at all.
Even Bulbasaur didn't know how much longer its resolve would last, perhaps it just needed an opportunity.
After relentless effort, Pidgeotto finally evolved into Pidgeot yesterday!
It reached Elite Junior Level, and as the veteran of the team, it eventually evolved after Charizard and Gardevoir.
However, nothing could be done, as those two were park hacks and those with exceptional talents, and they, along with Pikachu, mainly participated in battles, so Pidgeot's leveling up had also been arduous.
Next up were two of Ash's three premier team members, Charizard and Gardevoir, both at Elite Advanced Level, both holding their breath to see who could first reach Elite Peak.
And as for the great Pikachu teacher... it went professional.
Yes, Pikachu reached Professional Level.
After learning that Pikachu advanced to the Professional Level, Misty and Brock's expressions could be summed up as speechless. Over two months, from Ordinary Level to Professional Level, all with a Pikachu, even science fiction wouldn't dare write this!
The leveling of Pokemon is intricately linked with several factors: form, species, talent, combat experience, and ordinary effort.
Pikachu was indeed diligent in its training, but compared to Charizard and Gardevoir, it was somewhat lacking, and its talent... was still an 'unremarkable' six A-level.
Its combat experience was also less compared to those two battle maniacs, and in terms of species and form... it could pretty much sit at the same table as Butterfree.
Yet under these overall mediocre conditions, Pikachu's leveling speed surpassed Charizard and Gardevoir!
Even Brock and Misty were at a loss, as was Ash.
He asked the experts in the group what was going on. Pikachu, besides the fluctuation of ability value and Partner Form, had some hidden ability?
The experts in the group responded that this was normal and that Ash would understand the reason in the future.
Since the experts claimed it was normal, it might have occurred in other parallel worlds too, so Ash did not dig deeper.
This was Ash's Pokemon progress over the period, and additionally, Misty and Brock; their Pokemon also progressed quite rapidly under Ash's assistance.
Though they didn't have as many wild battles as Ash, they occasionally fought to allow their Pokemon some combat practice, since training without fighting would dull their combat abilities.
Misty's Starmie and Staryu both reached Professional Level, a level Misty once dreamed of reaching, one that would've barely allowed her to follow in her parents' footsteps.
But now, just traveling with Ash for two months, she effortlessly reached it.
Starmie even reached Professional Middle Level, which Misty never dared to imagine before.
Additionally, Misty's Squirtle evolved into Wartortle, reaching Advanced Junior Level, although it was a bit behind Ash's Wartortle, it was understandable since it was younger, and had fewer battle experiences.
As for Horsea, its level advanced to Advanced Junior Level, having just improved not long ago.
Brock's Onix was already at Elite Junior Level, while Graveler was stuck at Advanced Peak, Zubat was at Advanced Junior Level, and Wartortle at Advanced Middle Level.
Though the level increases were not high across the board, in reality, a steady improvement made Trainers very happy.
Some things don't offer rewards even if you give your all, such as some Gym Trainers who, after decades, can still only have Pokemon that stagnate at the Professional Level.
So the notion that effort equates to reward is rather rare in the world; it's more common that after putting in ten thousand times the effort, one might only receive a fraction in return.
Misty and Brock were keenly aware that their Pokemon's equivalent efforts to rewards were likely related to Ash.
Though they didn't know what Ash did, this was undoubtedly a miracle he created!
Being around Ash, they've benefited immensely!