The other abandoned Pokémon living in the Pokémon Day Care had also filled Bulbasaur's head with all sorts of strange ideas, further strengthening its determination not to evolve.
For example—
"Best friend advice #1: If you've just met a man, take your time. Get to know him. Test him. Don't rush into that too early."
"Best friend advice #2: Even if you get swept up in the moment, rush into marriage, get the certificate, and hold the wedding, don't have children too quickly. Otherwise, when you want to leave later, it'll be too late."
Those "lessons learned from experience," those sincere warnings offered with the best of intentions, were exactly what had made Bulbasaur even more resistant to evolution.
But after truly following Ash and becoming his Pokémon, after seeing how genuinely kind Ash was to it, Bulbasaur's attitude toward evolution gradually began to change.
Not only did it stop resisting evolution—
It was now practically eager to evolve.
It wanted to use evolution as a way of repaying Ash's care and nurturing.
It wanted to live up to Ash's expectations.
And recently, Ash had constantly praised its intelligence, talent, and potential.
Those compliments had also given Bulbasaur a deeper understanding of evolution itself.
The Pokémon back at the Pokémon Day Care hadn't blamed evolution because they hated it.
Nor had they truly rejected it.
Quite the opposite.
They had desperately wanted to evolve.
They had longed to grow stronger through evolution and answer the expectations their Trainers once had for them.
The problem was—
They simply couldn't.
Because not every Pokémon in this world was capable of evolving.
Evolution required talent and potential.
Without sufficient aptitude, no amount of desire could make it happen.
Bulbasaur had never understood why those abandoned Pokémon always blamed their Trainers for their misfortune.
Why they often sighed in lonely corners, staring blankly into the distance.
Perhaps...
They also blamed themselves.
Perhaps they felt guilty for being unable to evolve.
Unable to become stronger.
Unable to fulfill their Trainers' expectations.
"If you're fortunate enough to possess the talent to evolve, then you should treasure it."
"Don't deliberately try to be different."
"For many Pokémon, evolution is something they can only dream of."
"It's a gift—a blessing bestowed upon a select few by fate itself."
Looking at Ash as he gently prepared its meal, Bulbasaur silently made a vow.
It would evolve.
It would train harder.
It would become stronger.
It would fight with everything it had and help Ash win every battle.
It would never disappoint the expectations Ash placed upon it.
And one day, it would stand with Ash on an even greater stage.
It wasn't some frog trapped at the bottom of a well.
And Ash would surely reach the pinnacle of the Pokémon Trainer profession.
He would become the world's strongest Pokémon Master.
Bulbasaur believed it.
Pikachu believed it.
Greninja believed it.
Pidgeot, Fearow, Gyarados, and Milotic believed it too.
Ash carried expectations for them.
And they carried expectations for Ash.
Ash worked hard to answer their faith in him.
And they, in turn, would answer his expectations.
It was a promise.
A vow.
A silent understanding between companions that needed no words.
...
"Driver, to Viridian City's Battle Arena, please."
After dinner, Ash and the others hailed a taxi and prepared to head for the arena.
Although Bulbasaur had already fought one battle at the Pokémon Center's Battle Hall earlier that day, Pikachu, Greninja, and the others hadn't battled yet.
Training in the morning.
Resting and recovering in the afternoon.
Then competing in the Battle Arena at night.
That was the schedule Ash had designed for his team.
Hard training needed real battles to verify progress.
It wasn't just Ash's demand.
It was also what Pikachu, Greninja, and the others wanted.
Every single one of them was a battle fanatic.
To be fair, most Pokémon chosen by professional Trainers tended to be battle-loving by nature.
If a Pokémon disliked battling altogether, most Trainers wouldn't even consider catching it.
"Oh? It's Ash!"
"You're heading to the Battle Arena for matches, aren't you?"
"My son and I are huge fans of yours. Could you sign one of my Poké Balls?"
To Ash's surprise, the taxi driver turned out to be a fan.
Still, he wasn't particularly shocked.
Things like this happened all the time nowadays.
After all, being Kanto's national idol wasn't just an empty title.
"Sure."
Ash readily agreed to the small request.
"Thank you, Ash!"
The driver immediately beamed with joy.
His driving speed even increased slightly.
Not because he was flooring the accelerator, though.
Instead, he drove both quickly and steadily.
After all, the recent car accident involving the famous actor Kimura Shingo had dominated the news.
The driver certainly didn't want his idol experiencing anything similar.
...
The restaurant wasn't far from the city-center arena.
After passing several intersections and waiting through a few traffic lights, the taxi arrived outside the arena plaza in less than ten minutes.
The driver absolutely refused to accept payment.
Instead, he begged for a photo with Ash.
Left with no other choice, Ash agreed.
After taking the picture, Ash and his friends crossed the plaza and headed straight into the competitor registration hall.
As always, Gary teamed up with Green to grind experience.
Ash, meanwhile, partnered with Clarissa Joy.
They signed up for a 2-on-1 doubles battle format.
Clarissa would use Chansey.
And Ash would finally send out the Pokémon that had only recently evolved—
Gyarados.
Back when it was still Magikarp, Ash had carefully protected the secret that it knew moves other than Splash.
Combined with the fact that Magikarp couldn't properly battle on land, Ash had never brought it to participate in official arena matches.
Instead, it had spent its time battling wild Pokémon near the river mouth outside Pallet Town.
Now everything was different.
It had evolved into Gyarados.
It could move freely on land.
Naturally, Ash intended to let it compete in the Battle Arena.
"After all..."
"Valor has been looking forward to this day for a very long time."
Looking at the Poké Ball he had just registered, a smile appeared on Ash's face.
"Bulbasaur, come on out."
As they walked toward Arena No. 7, Ash released Bulbasaur from its Poké Ball.
Although Bulbasaur wouldn't be participating in tonight's matches, Ash still brought it along.
His goal was simple:
To help Bulbasaur overcome its nervousness around large crowds and unfamiliar people as quickly as possible.
As the future Grass-type ace of his team, being intimidated by crowds simply wasn't acceptable.
With Ash's current fame and status, he would inevitably appear at countless major tournaments and public events in the future.
If Bulbasaur froze up every time it faced a large audience, people would laugh at it.
For now, Ash would continue helping it build confidence through training and smaller battles at the Pokémon Center.
And once its foundation was solid enough—
He would eventually bring Bulbasaur onto the grand stage of the Battle Arena itself.
One step at a time.
Toward a much bigger future.
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T/N:
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