After lunch, the afternoon became relatively relaxed.
Ash took a cold shower, changed into a light summer outfit—just a sleeveless vest and shorts—and settled into his upstairs room with a stack of books, quietly studying.
In his previous life, Ash had been born in a country renowned for its massive population and rigorous education system—nine years of compulsory education, followed by fiercely competitive high school and college entrance exams. Through nothing but effort, intelligence, and knowledge, he had changed his own destiny.
Because of that, he had long developed a learning method uniquely suited to himself.
Just as he structured Pokémon move sets based on attack, defense, control, interference, recovery, and other roles, Ash applied the same philosophy to his own studies—deliberately and methodically building a complete knowledge system.
The Pokémon world was one where two high-intelligence lifeforms—humans and Pokémon—coexisted and intertwined. Its civilization had been jointly created by both.
Whether it was technological development or academic research, nearly everything in this world revolved around Pokémon—often treating them as the very core.
As a result, there were countless Pokémon-related professions:
Trainers, Breeders, Coordinators, Performers, Scholars, Researchers, Observers… and many more.
Among all these careers, those who possessed the most comprehensive theoretical understanding of Pokémon were undoubtedly Pokémon Researchers and Scholars.
Ash knew very clearly that if he wanted to systematically learn Pokémon theory, randomly reading books without structure or direction would be largely ineffective.
Reading countless books like that would only result in one thing:
Useless knowledge increasing—without ever forming a complete system.
To avoid that pitfall, Ash approached learning with strict planning.
Instead of reading aimlessly, he borrowed Primary Pokémon Researcher Examination textbooks from the electronic library in a nearby city.
The curriculum for the Primary Researcher Exam covered an extremely wide range of topics, making it perfect for someone like Ash, who needed to rapidly strengthen his theoretical foundations in Pokémon studies.
Ash had no intention of actually becoming a Pokémon Researcher.
But mastering the contents of the Primary Researcher textbooks was already more than sufficient for his current needs.
If he later found a particular field especially interesting, he could always seek out specialized books and dive deeper.
…
After completing the Primary Researcher material, Ash had already mapped out the next phase of his learning plan, dividing it into 3 major sections:
Caring for Pokémon
Training Pokémon
Commanding Pokémon in Battle
These three areas corresponded directly to three Pokémon-related professions:
Breeder
Trainer
Battle Theory Researcher
For caring for Pokémon, Ash planned to follow the same approach as before—simply study the Primary Breeder Examination textbooks in a systematic manner.
But when it came to training Pokémon and commanding Pokémon in battle, these were areas that demanded far deeper study and long-term research.
They couldn't be treated superficially like the others.
So Ash summarized his learning path into three clear stages:
Stage One – Laying the Foundation
Pokémon basic theory
(Primary Researcher Examination textbooks)
Stage Two – Gradual Deepening
Caring for Pokémon (Primary Breeder Examination textbooks)
Training Pokémon (Trainer-related theory books)
Commanding Pokémon battles (Battle theory research texts)
Stage Three – Integration and Elevation
Broad reading, absorbing the strengths of many schools of thought.
Any book that could improve a Trainer's overall knowledge and literacy—Ash would read whenever he had spare time.
…
Of course, no matter how perfect a plan looked on paper, it still required consistent effort and real-world practice.
You couldn't eat a whole Snorlax in a single bite.
Right now, Ash was still working through the Primary Researcher textbooks—the later stages were still far off.
But Ash wasn't in a hurry.
After all, he still had plenty of time.
And compared to the crushing academic pressure of his previous life, this was ridiculously easy.
The best part?
There was no math, no physics—everything he studied now was related to Pokémon.
For Ash, this wasn't just easy.
It was pure joy.
-----
Of course, while Ash was happily studying, he didn't forget about Pichu and Frogadier.
Since they didn't need training in the afternoon, Ash asked Rotom to search online for battle videos from past League Conferences across various regions.
He had Pichu and Frogadier watch and learn.
Ash didn't want—nor did he need—his Pokémon to fight like puppets on strings, blindly following every command from their Trainer.
He wanted them to have independent thinking, judgment, and the ability to make decisions on their own during battle.
In real combat, unexpected situations could arise at any moment—times when the Trainer might not be able to issue commands quickly enough.
In those moments, Pokémon needed to assess the battlefield themselves and respond appropriately.
Other Trainers might have different standards for their Pokémon.
But this—was Ash's standard.
Every Pokémon under his command had to possess this level of battle literacy.
And because of that belief, whenever Ash studied theory in the afternoons, he made Pichu and Frogadier study as well—watching battle footage, learning how other Pokémon reacted under various combat conditions.
Demanding that Pokémon train hard and study diligently…
A Trainer like Ash was exceedingly rare—even within the entire Trainer community.
Was this kind of behavior considered too harsh on Pokémon?
No one knew how others might judge it.
But after Ash made this decision and started having Pichu and Frogadier watch battle videos every afternoon, both little Pokémon actually seemed quite happy.
…
What Ash didn't know was that—
Above Pallet Town, circling silently like a hawk, the special Pidgey that had been secretly observing him was watching this scene as well.
Seeing the way Pichu and Frogadier were treated, even that sharp-eyed Pidgey couldn't help but feel a trace of envy.
-----
A little after five in the afternoon, feeling mentally tired from studying, Ash went back out.
He headed to the Stone Bridge and Dashiwan Valley, treating Pokémon that had arrived after receiving his earlier broadcasts.
The two free-clinic locations—
One connected to the vast ocean.
The other linked to the boundless Viridian Forest.
Although the news of free treatment hadn't fully spread yet, after the morning's surge, both clinics combined still received over 40 injured Pokémon in the afternoon alone.
Ash worked for more than half an hour, treating all of them.
And after having already surged five levels in the morning to reach Viridian Blessing LV.22, his power rose another two levels—
Reaching LV.24.
The road of strength, compassion, and knowledge—
Ash was walking it steadily, step by step, without pause.
--------------
Recommended Pokémon Fanfics:
1. Pokémon: Gamer's Training System and
2. Pokemon: The Legacy of Dragons
T/N:
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P@treon: [email protected]/PokePals