Although Ash had a clear reference point from the martial arts master who had taught him in his previous life, by the time he finally finished organizing and refining his Jujutsu training plan, it was already midnight.
After greeting the companions who had stayed up late with him—Greninja, Pikachu, and Rotom—Ash climbed into bed and quickly fell asleep.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning...
The moment the alarm on his bedside phone rang, Ash sat up with Pikachu in his arms and immediately began waking the other Pokémon in the room.
After getting dressed and washing up, he led his team outside for their morning training session.
When he had first looked out the window after waking, the distant mountains had still been shrouded in mist and clouds, their outlines vague and indistinct.
Now that they were officially outside, the dawn light had grown brighter and clearer.
The mountains that had seemed blurry moments ago suddenly became sharp and vivid against the horizon.
The residents of Pallet Town generally lived according to the rhythm of sunrise and sunset.
Even so, at this early hour, almost no one was outside yet.
Ash walked along the broad dirt roads of town with his Pokémon.
The fresh morning air carried the scent of damp earth and wild grass.
Both Ash and his Pokémon felt refreshed.
Their minds became clearer.
Their spirits lifted.
...
...
Before they even reached their usual training grounds outside town, Ash had already begun assigning training tasks.
After all, beginning today, the morning sessions and daytime training were no longer solely for his Pokémon.
From now on, he, as a Trainer, would also begin training his Aura combat abilities.
Fortunately, his Pokémon's current training routines required relatively little supervision.
Pikachu was the easiest example.
Ash only needed to provide a general direction, and Pikachu would immediately know how to proceed.
Greninja was much the same.
Until the time came to focus specifically on Bond Evolution training, its main objective remained learning as many off-type moves as possible.
Once a move reached Mastered proficiency, Greninja would simply come to Ash and learn another one.
Pidgeot had likewise reached a mature stage in its development.
It could largely stand on its own.
Its future training only needed to focus on three key areas:
Speed.
Special Attack.
Stamina.
Occasionally, Ash would also help correct weaknesses that had been exposed during matches at the City Battle Arena.
For example, regarding Pidgeot's current training, Ash had specifically instructed it to master Substitute and Sand Attack.
Substitute would make Pidgeot's Double Team tactics even more deceptive.
Whether used offensively, for harassment, or as cover while landing to use Roost and recover stamina, it was an extremely useful move.
As for Sand Attack—
That was more of a supplemental choice.
Pidgeot had already learned the move naturally long ago.
Previously, Ash had prioritized essential core moves and newly acquired techniques in order to complete Pidgeot's combat framework as quickly as possible.
Now that its skill framework was largely complete, it was finally time to polish some of the other useful techniques in its move pool.
Sand Attack might be a bit underhanded.
But it was undeniably effective.
Fearow's situation was similar.
Its combat framework was already mostly complete.
The remaining task was simply refining details and patching weaknesses where necessary.
In fact, among all the first-echelon Pokémon, Fearow possessed the simplest combat system.
Unlike Pikachu or Greninja, it didn't need to master a huge variety of moves.
As long as its Speed and Attack continued increasing, it only needed to get close enough to an opponent.
Once it closed the distance, even a basic Peck could become devastating.
Of course, against opponents with high durability and strong defenses, scoring an instant knockout wasn't always easy.
Therefore, while Speed remained Fearow's core focus, Ash placed enormous importance on improving its offensive power.
To improve Fearow's damage output, Ash divided training into two categories.
First:
Increase its raw physical attack capabilities.
Improve the hardware.
Second:
Master powerful moves with excellent compatibility, such as Sky Attack, Drill Run, and Drill Peck.
Improve the software.
Fearow was, fundamentally, a bird Pokémon.
Its wings represented a significant vulnerability.
Under normal circumstances, a Pokémon like that shouldn't specialize in close-range physical combat.
Unfortunately, its species stat distribution practically forced it down that path.
Furthermore, Fearow had access to very few strong ranged attacks.
To prevent its high-speed assaults from becoming suicidal charges, Ash emphasized both Speed and Evasion training.
Fearow needed to reliably reach its target.
And then safely disengage afterward.
At the same time, increasing its offensive power would reduce the number of times it needed to dive into danger.
The faster it could eliminate opponents, the lower its overall risk became.
There was another approach as well.
If you couldn't widen the gap solely by strengthening yourself, you could also weaken your opponent.
That was why Ash had recently started teaching Fearow moves such as Scary Face and Feather Dance.
One reduced the opponent's Speed.
The other reduced their Attack.
Once those techniques were fully mastered, Ash already had plans for Fearow to learn additional utility moves such as Mean Look, Glare, and Chatter.
Of course, Fearow had only fused with the Scope Lens last night.
Its power had increased dramatically.
For the next few days, its primary task would be stabilizing that newfound strength through intensive training.
Overall, the four members of the first echelon certainly weren't finished training.
Far from it.
But they no longer required Ash's constant supervision.
The same was largely true for the second-echelon Pokémon, Gyarados and Milotic.
Although they required somewhat more attention, the difference wasn't nearly as dramatic as outsiders might imagine.
The Pokémon that truly required Ash's focus was the newest team member—
Bulbasaur.
Because of its past experiences and its canon tendency to resist evolution, Ash kept it with him almost constantly.
On one hand, he was building trust and increasing their bond.
On the other hand, he was subtly and gradually reshaping Bulbasaur's perspective.
Helping it accept the reality that one day it would evolve.
"Alright."
"Everyone knows their training assignments."
"Let's get started."
Upon arriving at the training grounds outside Pallet Town, Ash waved to his Pokémon.
"Pika!"
"Croak!"
"GAAAH!"
The Pokémon responded enthusiastically.
They immediately rushed toward the open rocky shoreline nearby and began training.
Especially Pikachu.
Greninja.
And Pidgeot.
After seeing Fearow's massive increase in strength following yesterday's item fusion, the three first-echelon teammates had all felt an enormous sense of urgency.
None of them intended to be left behind.