Since transmigrating into this world, Ash had been looking forward to traveling with Pokémon for a full ten years.
So far, his first Journey has lasted nearly two months. Ash has already gathered his held Pokémon and obtained a Gray Badge.
Whether this progress compares to the original story is irrelevant for now; what matters is that he has caused quite a bit of trouble.
For instance, at Pewter Gym and Cerulean Gym, Ash chose to call the police. While this is his usual style of handling things, it also served as a way to vent his dissatisfaction.
The Gym Leaders' lack of strength, failing to meet Ash's expectations, inevitably made him feel that his efforts were wasted and that all his previous changes had been for nothing.
That's why, at Cerulean Gym, he refused to accept the badge, refused Misty's challenge, and ultimately created the subplot of Misty challenging the Kanto League.
Objectively speaking, of course, this was a good thing for Misty.
For many Pokémon enthusiasts, the heroine of the Original Series, Misty, is undoubtedly their first love, and Ash is no exception.
However much he favored the character, it couldn't change the fact that early Original Series Misty had poor combat ability and was loud and headstrong.
Furthermore, she constantly claimed she wanted to become the world's number one Water-type Pokémon Master, yet all she did during her Journeys was follow Ash.
Misty's true substantial improvement in strength occurred only after the Original Series concluded and she returned home to take over as Gym Leader.
From Hoenn through Alola, her strength steadily increased. She not only mastered Gyarados's Mega Evolution but even Psyduck could genuinely use Water-type moves.
This clearly indicates that Misty needs experience to become stronger.
And participating in the League Conference is undoubtedly the best training!
If she could truly achieve her grand ambitions and successfully reach the top eight in the conference, what harm would there be in Ash apologizing to her?
In any case, the matter of the Cerulean Gym had come to an end. After reflecting, Ash gradually understood some things.
He had indeed set his expectations too high before. During his journey after leaving Cerulean City, Ash realized that he needed to face the imperfections of his travels.
Not everything would unfold as he expected... like the Cerulean Sisters completely slacking off.
Or, for example, many students at the Pokémon Research School were still just rote learning.
Furthermore, there were those scumbags who abandoned their Pokémon... Admittedly, games released by Silph Co. had become popular throughout Kanto, and most Trainers knew that some young Pokémon could become very powerful after evolving. Logically, abandonment should have greatly decreased.
But the truth was, this phenomenon hadn't improved much.
Along the way, Ash had seen the little ones abandoned in Pokémon Village, and he had also seen the Water-type gangs causing trouble in towns... These Pokémon could all become stronger through evolution, and some were already very strong at their current stage, but their former Trainers were unwilling to spend time and effort to properly train them.
Compared to growing together with their companions, they always preferred to take shortcuts, thinking they could achieve their goal in one step and directly acquire the most powerful Pokémon... However, it was precisely because of this that Ash had the opportunity to 'reunite' with them... "Everyone, roll call! First up... Pikachu!" "Pika!"
"Kangaskhan!" "Karoo!"
"Charmander!" "Lee!"
"Heracross!" "Hah!"
"Golbat!" "Hoh!"
"Bulbasaur!" "Danai!"
There is an illustration here, which can be viewed after the updated version.
"Finally, Squirtle!" "Squirtle!"
There is an illustration here, which can be viewed after the updated version.
On the soft white sand beach, seven Pokémon lined up in a row, each responding cheerfully after Ash called their name.
Except for Heracross, whose head was still wrapped in bandages, all the Pokémon were in excellent spirits.
"Very good, now go train. Heracross, remember to take your medicine first."
At Ash's command, the seven Pokémon dispersed simultaneously and began training enthusiastically on the beach.
Pikachu and Golbat trained together on long-range moves, refining their move power while also focusing on flexible mobility; Charmander and Kangaskhan engaged in close combat, exchanging blows back and forth; the two newly caught Pokémon were getting familiar with their moves and would have a lot of basic practice afterward.
As for Heracross, whose horns had not yet regrown, after taking a special nutritional medicine, it began to train its overall body strength while continuously receiving treatment from Ash's Viridian Power.
"Excellent~" Watching the scene of his Pokémon diligently working hard, Ash couldn't help but smile, very satisfied with his achievements during this period.
Things like Beast Tamer Xiao Ming or the elite prodigies of the research school were all plot points that could be directly ignored. Ash's greatest gains were naturally the fated Bulbasaur and Squirtle~
Their capture methods were similar to the original story, so there's no need to elaborate further here.
By the way, Ash didn't encounter the guy named Dayou during his journey, nor did he find another abandoned Charmander.
Charizard's identity should now be confirmed.
Counting this, Ash now owned eight Pokémon. He also, as promised, sent the Giant Onix back to the laboratory for Nanami to look after... and also to satisfy Oak's research desires.
And to ensure he could carry all his other companions with him, Ash temporarily entrusted Pikachu's Poké Ball to Brock.
However, Brock himself had four Pokémon, and now with Pikachu, there was only one empty slot left.
If they caught one more, both of their handheld slots would be full, and they would have to send a batch of companions back to the laboratory.
"Handheld limit, troublesome..." Ash fiddled with the pokédex in his hand, pondering.
The limit of only being able to carry six Pokémon at a time was very inconvenient, especially when Ash needed to oversee the training of all his companions.
At this stage, Poké Ball transfer machines were not yet as ubiquitous as ATMs. Once he encountered a situation where he wanted to swap but couldn't, he could only stare helplessly.
As far as Ash knew, there were precedents for the League to lift the handheld limit for ordinary Trainers, but that required making outstanding contributions to the League.
Ash had previously defeated a dozen Team Rockets grunts, and the reward he received was nothing more than a set of six evolution stones (Water, Fire, Thunder, Leaf, Sun, Moon), plus a paltry bonus... and it was specifically stated that it was mainly for Brock!
Too much... Ash could tell with his feet who was meddling and withholding the reward!
It seems that relying on the League to proactively lift the handheld restriction is unlikely in the short term.
Then he could only rely on himself... Ash silently examined the pokédex in his hand. If he used the power of the management spirit Porygon, he could actually block the network interconnection between the Poké Ball and the pokédex, which would not only lift the handheld limit but also allow him to use the pokédex as a portable transfer machine.
But of course, this also carried risks, such as being difficult to explain if discovered.
However, occasionally bending the rules should be fine... "Ash, hurry back for dinner. Aren't we waiting with Professor Masaki tonight for the mysterious Phantom Pokémon?" At this moment, Brock's call came from the lighthouse not far away.
I forgot to mention earlier, their current location is White Cape... which is Masaki's Lighthouse!