After finishing breakfast and heading out, the sun had already lifted its round, radiant face above the eastern mountain peaks, scattering countless rays of light across the ridgelines and farmlands surrounding Pallet Town.
Walking along the dirt road that wound through the town toward Professor Oak's Laboratory, Ash Ketchum happened to run into Gary Oak, who was heading out of town to train his Pokémon.
"Ash~"
Gary waved enthusiastically, Eevee cradled in his arms.
"Gary~"
"While Pikachu, Frogadier, Pidgeotto, and the others are training this morning, I'll have to trouble you to keep an eye on them," Ash said, handing over several Poké Balls.
"OK, no problem!!" Gary agreed readily.
After carefully explaining a few key points the Pokémon needed to pay attention to during training, Ash then headed off toward Professor Oak's lab, bringing Rotom along with him.
Although there was no shortage of matters related to the Skill Online Shop, once a large contract was signed, Pokémon were delivered in batches. Before one batch was fully completed, the next batch wouldn't be sent over.
As for regular online orders, Ash had set a fixed schedule and quota for accepting them. When orders were closed, not only did Ash—this controlling shareholder and chairman—have nothing to worry about, even Rotom, the shop's CEO and chief executive, could relax as well.
During these brief downtime windows, Rotom only needed to occasionally reply to customer inquiries in the backend or answer questions in the shop's fan group chats. These minor tasks didn't even require possessing a computer—handling everything through a phone was more than enough.
When there was nothing else to do, Rotom would help Ash take photos and videos, do some light editing or clipping, and then post them online.
Ash had already registered and activated his social media account. With fans spreading the word and the natural amplification of the internet, every time the page refreshed, his follower count jumped by hundreds—sometimes thousands.
Snapshots of Ash during early-morning workouts, sweat glistening over beautifully defined muscles.
Photos of him healing Pokémon from Stone Bridge and Dashiwan Valley.
Quiet moments of Ash reading and studying.
Ash sitting cross-legged on his bed, cultivating.
Ash helping Feebas with grooming and beautification…
Compared to simple selfies, these glimpses into Ash's busy yet fulfilling daily life allowed more and more fans to truly understand him—
to see that behind the handsome exterior was an almost unimaginable level of effort poured into becoming stronger.
Between the Pokémon Summer Camp, the Skill Online Shop, and later the launch of the "Magikarp + Tackle" service, Ash had gradually become a household name across Kanto.
Right now, his popularity was soaring.
Just yesterday evening, Ash's victory in a city arena battle in Viridian City had sparked widespread attention and heated discussion.
A 3v3 match.
His opponent, Harlan, wasn't weak—but Ash still secured a clean 3–0 victory.
Because of the massive buzz, countless text-based media creators, video uploaders chasing trending topics, and even some well-known professional battle analysts within the Trainer community released commentary.
Pidgeotto vs. Machop
Pikachu vs. Hitmonchan
Frogadier vs. Golem
Compared to the wild praise from self-media and most video creators, the evaluations from professional analysts were noticeably more precise and objective.
Pidgeotto vs. Machop — With a clear type advantage, and without a massive level gap, any Trainer with a functioning brain shouldn't realistically lose that matchup.
However, for a debut battle, Ash's on-the-spot decision—ordering Pidgeotto to physically block the recall beam when Harlan tried to switch Machop out—demonstrated remarkable composure and execution.
The analysts' verdict:
"Exceptionally intuitive. A Trainer with extraordinary natural talent."
Pikachu vs. Hitmonchan — There was no clear type advantage on either side. Unlike Pidgeotto, Pikachu couldn't simply take to the skies and stay out of reach.
In theory, Harlan and Hitmonchan should have had plenty of room to perform in the second match.
Yet once the battle began, Ash commanded Pikachu to open with Thunder Wave, forcing Hitmonchan into paralysis.
Then followed a relentless barrage of instant-cast electric attacks, treating moves like basic attacks—completely suppressing Hitmonchan through sheer skill proficiency.
Frogadier vs. Golem — With a quadruple type advantage, Ash and Frogadier held overwhelming superiority.
But what impressed observers wasn't just type matchup.
Whether it was maintaining safe distance to prevent Golem from closing in,
blocking its Self-Destruct,
breaking through the Defense Curl + Rollout combo using continuous Frubbles,
or firing Water Shuriken in rapid succession—using skills like normal attacks, outputting damage like a magical machine gun—
Both Ash and Frogadier displayed rock-solid combat fundamentals.
Ash's battle awareness, strategic vision, adaptability, and knowledge base…
Even many seasoned Trainers admitted they fell short in comparison.
Meanwhile, Pikachu and Frogadier treating skills as normal attacks—their sheer skill proficiency left countless self-proclaimed veteran OG Trainers completely dumbfounded.
Ash had only received his Pokémon one month ago, yet their move mastery had already reached such a terrifying level.
How did he do it?
Was it pure talent?
A deep, unique understanding of skill mechanics?
Or did Ash possess some kind of exclusive training secret?
If Ash knew what the public and analysts were thinking, he would definitely laugh quietly to himself.
A secret method?
Does a system count?
Regardless, what had initially been just an ordinary 3v3 match became something far bigger after professional breakdowns. Ash's reputation surged even further.
Beyond skill proficiency, netizens and analysts also examined the level data Harlan later disclosed for the Pokémon he sent into battle:
Machop — LV.21Hitmonchan — LV.22Golem — LV.26
From this, they reached a startling conclusion—
The Pidgeotto, Pikachu, and Frogadier Ash fielded yesterday were likely already at Advanced Tier (around LV.30).
Six years old.
Only one month since receiving Pokémon.
And already training three Advanced-tier Pokémon.
What kind of monstrous talent was that?
Things escalated even further when curious netizens flooded the social media page of Lance—Champion of the Johto Silver Conference, Dragon-type Elite of the Indigo League, and acting League Champion.
They asked him what the strongest Pokémon he had at age six was.
They asked whether he could train an Advanced-tier Pokémon within a single month at that age.
Lance answered honestly:
"I couldn't."
That single reply caused Ash's fame to explode even further. In an incredibly short time, he was labeled with titles such as—
"A Once-in-a-Generation Prodigy"
"The Light of Kanto"
"Future Indigo League Champion"
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