Under the repeated requests from Misty and her three sisters, Ash finally agreed to let Misty join the team.
Here, Ash wants to clarify that his agreement had absolutely nothing to do with Misty being a cute girl with three beautiful sisters.
Uh… absolutely nothing.
Unlike Brock's reluctance when he left his family, Misty showed no hesitation leaving her three sisters.
Reluctance? What was there to be reluctant about? She couldn't wait to leave those three troublemakers! Now she was going on an adventure.
Just wait—when she returned, she would definitely revitalize the Cerulean Gym.
Since she planned to restore the Cerulean Gym's glory, she needed Pokémon.
Misty immediately decided to take the Gym's most talented Staryu.
It was for Staryu's own good—if it stayed, it would only be dragged down by her sisters. It was better to travel with her.
"Wow, that's amazing! Weepinbell is no match for your Pidgeot!" the boy said admiringly.
"Razor Leaf's release speed is too slow, and Stun Spore's accuracy is too low. If you want your Weepinbell to get stronger, focus on these two areas first," Ash casually advised.
"Thank you! By the way, do you want to challenge A.J.?" the boy suggested.
"A.J.?"
"Yes! He built a personal Gym not far from here and has already won thirty consecutive battles. If it's you, maybe you can defeat him."
"Okay, I'll check it out."
After walking another three kilometers, Ash finally found the Trainer called A.J..
Upon learning Ash was a challenger, A.J. accepted immediately.
A.J. originally thought Ash would be just another challenger added to his streak.
But the moment the battle began, his Sandshrew couldn't withstand even a few attacks from Ash's Riolu.
One minute later, Sandshrew was already unconscious.
A.J. recalled his fainted Pokémon and sighed.
"I lost…"
"What's this? He's not that amazing. Ash defeated him so easily." Misty looked unimpressed.
She had expected some powerhouse, but he seemed ordinary—other than cracking a whip, he wasn't special at all.
"No," Brock said fairly. "A.J. and his Sandshrew are strong. They were just unlucky to run into Ash."
From a Breeder's perspective, A.J. had raised Sandshrew extremely well. Many Trainers in Pewter City specialized in Sandshrew, but none had one as powerful as A.J.'s.
Ash was also intrigued by Sandshrew. Instead of leaving right away, he chatted with A.J. about training techniques.
Their conversation grew lively, and A.J. even brought Ash to his secret training base.
The base had all kinds of equipment, but what shocked Ash most was a specially made training vest.
"My Sandshrew wears this vest every day. I tested it—training with the vest is three times more effective!" A.J. said proudly.
Three times?
Ash was tempted.
At Ash's request, A.J. custom-made training vests for all their Pokémon. In return, Ash created a more scientific training plan for Sandshrew.
Both sides were satisfied.
After saying goodbye to A.J., Ash took Brock and Misty into a nearby forest to begin special training.
Misty sighed, "Brock, have you noticed that we in the Parallel World are much happier than we are in this world?"
Brock nodded, "In the Parallel World, we're students and Ash trains us. In this world, we're teachers constantly worrying about Ash's training. When you think about it… we're miserable."
"I can train you guys too!" Ash offered.
Misty and Brock responded instantly:
"No thank you."
What could Ash train them in?
Training their stubbornness?
Training type-disadvantage battles?
Heh. Better not—they still wanted to live a few more years.
"It's truly amazing!" After putting on a training vest and following Ash's plan for a week, Misty discovered her Staryu's strength had doubled.
"Doubled in one week? If I train like this for a year, won't my Staryu become invincible?!" Misty exclaimed excitedly.
"Don't dream," Ash replied bluntly. "The effect only stays this good for a few days. Once Staryu gets stronger, the effect decreases a lot."
"It's still better than training blindly!" Misty grinned. Begging Ash to let her join the team had been the smartest decision of her life.
"It's time to catch new Pokémon," Ash murmured.
Riolu and Pidgeot were training steadily now; he no longer needed to supervise them daily. It was time for new recruits.
Deep in the mountains, Ash and his friends stumbled across a Pokémon research class and met a girl named Daisy.
Daisy looked sweet and cute, but her temper was… difficult.
She and Misty immediately clashed. After Staryu taught Daisy's Cubone a painful lesson, Misty walked out triumphant.
Soon after leaving the academy, Ash's luck returned—he encountered a very combative Bulbasaur.
After a battle, Ash successfully caught Bulbasaur.
When luck arrives, it arrives fast—soon afterward, he found a Charmander near Route 24.
Just as Ash was about to make a move, an annoying voice sounded behind him.
"Kid, I saw that Charmander first."
The speaker had blue hair, sunglasses on his head, and a scarf around his neck in the middle of summer—apparently unbothered by heatstroke.
"If you know what's good for you, get lost. This Charmander belongs to me—Damian!" he said arrogantly.
Ash originally wanted to ignore him, but the guy wouldn't shut up. His words grew more and more unpleasant until Ash finally had enough.
"Pikachu, give him a taste of his own medicine."
Too lazy to use Pidgeot or Riolu, Ash sent Pikachu forward.
"Oh-ho! Want to battle? Then you picked the wrong opponent! In these ten miles and eight villages, I—Damian—am the strongest Trainer!"
He grabbed a Poké Ball dramatically.
"Go, Cloyster! Teach this Pikachu a good lesson!"
[Comparison Livestream: Footage Detected]
[Steven: Cloyster? Is Damian also a master of type-disadvantage battles?]
[Lance: Master of type-disadvantage? Heh, don't joke. If his Cloyster lasts one second against Ash's Pikachu, I'll count it as a win.]
[Bruno: One second? It won't even last half a second.]
Facts proved Lance and Bruno were correct.
Pikachu barely used any power—yet Damian's Cloyster collapsed instantly.
Damian went berserk.
"Useless! Useless! You're useless!" he screamed while stomping on his fainted Cloyster.
He perfectly demonstrated the meaning of being a petty villain.
[Lance: President, when are we apprehending this Damian? I volunteer!]
[Lorelei: Heh. A dog can't change its nature.]
[Bruno: I really want to give this Trainer named Damian a good beating!]