"Alright, Froakie, that's enough morning training for today."
After finishing up its skill drills, Ash had Froakie run two laps around the forest camp with him to cool down before officially ending their session.
"Froaa~"
"You're up early training again, Ash? You're really putting in the work. Could it be that you're planning to officially apply for Froakie as your starter Pokémon after the camp ends?"
"That wouldn't be a bad idea, honestly. Froakie is the Water-type starter from the Kalos region, after all. Compared to the temporary starters most campers received, Froakie's potential is on a whole different level."
"And after these two weeks of bonding, I'm sure you and Froakie have developed a solid connection. That means you'll be starting your journey with a big head start."
"Not to mention, you've scored full marks in all three of the summer camp events so far. You're currently ranked first in the [Camper Performance Leaderboard]. As long as you maintain this lead, the title of Outstanding Camper is practically in the bag."
After just a few days, Ash had already become quite familiar with the camp's Nurse Joy.
She'd taken a real liking to him — this mature, steady, hard-working boy who outshined his peers in both talent and determination. Her eyes practically sparkled with admiration whenever she spoke to him.
"Oh right, Ash, I heard from Professor Oak and some of the other campers… Is it true you have a psychic ability that lets you heal Pokémon injuries?"
As she handed Froakie back into Ash's arms after helping it recover, Nurse Joy looked at him with bright, eager eyes full of hope.
"Mhm!" Ash nodded without hesitation. He'd already decided to make it public knowledge, so it didn't matter if more people found out.
As a transmigrator — an adult soul inside a six-year-old body — Ash had given plenty of thought to more than just how to get his starter Pokémon early.
He also had to consider how to make money.
Early on, Ash had planned to reveal his Viridian Power: Healing Grace, a completely non-offensive supportive ability, for two main reasons:
One, to attract the attention of Professor Oak and the League…
And two, to get a part-time job at Pokémon Centers using Healing Grace to earn some pocket money.
But plans change.
Now that his Aura and Viridian Powers were awakened and trained, and especially after discovering how profitable it was to sell skill-learning services online, Ash had dropped the idea of working at a Pokémon Center altogether.
He didn't need endless wealth — just enough to get by.
If he had spare time, he'd rather use it to train his Pokémon.
"Wow!! So it's true? You really can heal Pokémon injuries?! That's amazing!"
"And Ash… do you have a girlfriend right now?"
"You know, the girls in our Joy family are famous for being gentle and sweet. Want me to introduce you to a few?"
Ash had thought Nurse Joy's warmth was just professional kindness — until she said that.
Only then did he realize… she was trying to recruit him as a donor!
"…Miss Joy, I'm only six years old, you know? Isn't this kind of… way too early?"
Joy's face lit up. "So you mean once you're older, it'll be okay? That's great—!"
Ash: "(;一_一)"
Escaping from Nurse Joy's enthusiastic matchmaking attempts, Ash quickly grabbed Froakie and made his way to the cafeteria for breakfast.
Back in the dorms, when the others had woken up and seen Ash's bed empty, Gary, Tierno, and the rest already figured he'd gone off to train again at the crack of dawn.
Knowing he'd return in time for breakfast, Gary had even saved him a tray and brought it to their table.
"Ash, over here!" Gary waved from across the cafeteria when he saw Ash looking around.
"Hey, did you guys hear? Ash heads out every morning at 6:30 with Froakie to train."
"No way! That early?! It's still dark out by then — we're all still snoozing!"
"Six-thirty?! That's insane! Who told you that — are you sure it's true?"
"Of course it's true. I heard it myself from Nurse Joy yesterday. She said Ash has been taking Froakie out super early every morning."
"Wow… no wonder he's so strong. He even beat that terrifying Gyarados during the fishing event yesterday."
"But what's Ash working so hard for anyway? The camp's only gone through three activities so far, but he's already scored a perfect 10 in all of them. He's sitting comfortably at the top of the overall rankings — even his friends can't keep up with his pace."
"There are still seven events left, but most of us have already given up on competing. Let's be real — the title of 'Outstanding Camper' is basically his already."
"So then… why's he still pushing himself so hard?"
"You're out of the loop. I overheard Goh — you know, the guy who always hangs around with Ash — talking about it. Ash plans to apply to make Froakie his official starter after camp ends."
"What?! He's already made that decision?"
"I thought the Pokémon given out during camp were weaker than the starter Pokémon the League gives to 10-year-olds?"
"Well, normally yeah — for regular Pokémon. But that doesn't apply to starter Pokémon like Froakie, Fennekin, or Chespin. Their potential is way higher."
"Ohhh… So since Ash has already decided Froakie will be his starter, he's basically training it as if it's already his. That makes sense — it's a smart move."
"Man, Ash really is something else. No wonder he's the one who dared to dream of reaching the peak of all Trainers… becoming the strongest in the world."
"Tch. I mean, I admit he's the most talented, hardworking, and powerful Trainer among us right now — but do you guys really believe he can actually become the world's strongest someday?"
"What's that got to do with it?"
"Dreams are dreams because they're hard to achieve. But if Ash does reach the top of the Trainer world one day, then wouldn't it be awesome to say we were the ones who attended Pokémon Summer Camp with him?"
"Yeah, totally!"
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T/N:
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