For example, if a Pokémon has a power reserve of 10 and a certain move costs 1 power per use, it can perform that move 10 times at most under normal conditions.
As the Pokémon levels up and its internal energy reaches 100, the same move's power cost might rise to 10 per use. So even with greater reserves, it can still only perform it 10 times.
That's why a move's PP (Power Points) is relatively fixed. Of course, that's just the base value. Through specific training, the PP can be increased.
And that "fixed" value only holds within a certain power range. Once a Pokémon breaks through that tier, the old truth becomes obsolete—what once was an accepted fact becomes invalid.
Naturally, there's a lot of nuance here. Since Ash had only recently transmigrated into this world, he hadn't had time for formal learning yet. Everything he knew so far was just what he'd browsed through on the home computer back in his past life.
The PP for Quick Attack is 30, and with training, it can be boosted to 48—that's not the absolute maximum, just the highest record any Trainer has achieved so far.
Aqua Ring's base PP is 20, with the current record being 32. Froakie was only just beginning to train these two moves, so its control was still weak, and its energy consumption was heavy.
Once a Pokémon expends all its internal energy, it needs to rest and recover slowly.
So after a full hour of morning training, it was understandable that Froakie hadn't raised both "Aqua Ring" and "Quick Attack" to the [Skilled] level.
Still, Ash wasn't disappointed. He had personally supervised Froakie throughout the training—there hadn't been a shred of laziness. If anything, Ash blamed himself for aiming too high in setting the goal.
In the games of his past life, moves had PP values. It turns out that wasn't just a game mechanic—it existed in the real Pokémon world too.
Researchers specializing in Pokémon move studies had conducted large-scale tests. When different Pokémon of the same level repeatedly used the same move without specific training, they eventually arrived at a stable average number of uses.
That number, in perfect condition, was referred to as the PP—essentially, the max number of times a move could be performed before exhaustion.
And as a Pokémon's level increases, the move's power increases too, but so does its energy cost.
So Ash made a mental note: in the future, when setting training targets for his Pokémon, he'd aim for more reasonable and attainable goals.
Because even if the Trainer can rationalize failure, for the Pokémon, repeated failure can create a sense of defeat. Too much of that can erode their confidence in both themselves and their Trainer.
Even though this was just a small detail, Ash reminded himself not to overlook it again.
After wrapping up training, Ash brought Froakie to the camp's temporary Pokémon Center for recovery.
Though Nurse Joy was already on duty, she was visibly startled to see Ash arrive this early with Froakie. For a moment, she thought he had overworked Froakie and caused it to fall ill.
But after hearing that Ash had only taken it for early morning training, she was relieved.
"Ash, you're very diligent," Nurse Joy smiled. "But since you've only just received your Pokémon, and don't have much training experience yet, don't go overboard with the training, okay? Otherwise Froakie might get hurt."
Because of Ash's five consecutive wins in the battle trials yesterday—and that bold statement he made during the meet-and-greet about becoming the world's strongest Trainer—not only had all the campers remembered him, but even the staff had taken note.
"Mhm, I understand. I'll be careful," Ash nodded. He didn't argue—he knew Nurse Joy meant well.
After Froakie was treated, Ash joined the others for breakfast in the mess hall, where Gary, Green, and the others had already arrived.
"Ash, where'd you vanish to so early in the morning?" Gary looked at him curiously.
"I went out to do some morning training with Froakie."
After answering Gary's question, Ash returned the Clefairy he had borrowed from Serena last night. Through Aura-powered telepathy, he passed on a message to her:
[Last night, I used my powers to help Clefairy learn a Fairy-type ranged special move called "Disarming Voice." Be sure to train it more with that move—it'll be useful later.]
Serena blinked, both surprised and delighted. But since this involved Ash's mysterious psychic powers, she simply offered a silent thank-you in her heart, choosing not to draw attention.
Gary, on the other hand, seemed puzzled. "But why train Froakie so hard? It's only a temporary Pokémon the camp issued us. It's not really yours."
"That's true," Green chimed in. "Unless you end up as one of the top performers and earn the 'Outstanding Camper' honor, only then can you apply to keep it as your official starter."
"Right, Ash?" All eyes turned to him as Green voiced the group's unspoken question.
Ash didn't say much—he just nodded, and that was answer enough.
"Camp-issued Pokémon usually have lower potential, but Froakie's one of Kalos' starters, so it's not a bad pull at all," someone added.
"I'm so jealous, Ash! You actually got a starter Pokémon," one of the campers sighed. "If I had one of the starters, I could get a head start on training too…"
"That's not really the point, though," another student replied. "The key is to start gaining experience with your Pokémon now. If you finish in the top three, the League will authorize an early official starter anyway."
"Yeah, that's true!"
"Speaking of which—if you guys do make it to the top three and get to pick a starter, which one will you choose?"
Gary: "Squirtle."
Tierno: "I like Squirtle too."
Trevor: "I'm going with Charmander."
Shauna: "I want Bulbasaur!"
Green: "Even though my favorite is Pikachu, if I can only choose from the starters, then I'll pick Bulbasaur too."
"Hey, what about you, Serena?"
Green turned toward Serena with a playful smile. "Would you pick a starter from Kanto or one from your home region, Kalos?"
"Me?" Serena hesitated.
Up until recently, she never believed she could become an 'Outstanding Camper.' Shy and uncertain, she hadn't even considered the possibility.
But because of Ash, she had slowly begun to gain confidence—and she had even taken first place in yesterday's trial battle.
Still, when it came to choosing a starter now or in the future, she found herself conflicted.
She hadn't thought about it seriously before—unlike the others, who already had their dream picks lined up.
"Do you have any suggestions, Ash?" she asked, turning to him with hopeful eyes.
…
…
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T/N:
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