Pokémon: The Strongest Trainer (Ash SI)

"Then let's go. If that Gyarados wakes up, it's going to be a problem!" Ash said, responding to Misty's comment that the Gyarados wasn't hers, and walked straight toward his tent.

"You're not going to catch it?" Misty asked, puzzled, as she noticed Ash didn't even glance at the unconscious Gyarados. It was rare to see one this strong in the wild!

"Forget it," Ash shook his head. "Its strength is decent, sure—but it doesn't meet my standards."

While the Gyarados had a high level, Ash could already tell it had hit a potential bottleneck.

Even with his system cheats, Ash felt there was no point in keeping it. From their brief battle, he'd realized it was overly emotional and lashed out too easily. It lacked discipline and would only evolve further once it broke through into the elite stage through proper training.

In the wild, this Gyarados might be considered powerful. But under the care of a capable trainer? It had already peaked.

"You don't have any camping gear?" Ash asked when they reached his tent. Misty stood there with nothing but a few Poké Balls at her waist.

"I did bring some," she replied with a sigh, "but it got wrecked by that damn Magikarp's splash. My bike too!"

She looked disappointed—and understandably so. Most people feared Gyarados, but at least they didn't panic. Misty, however, had a deep-rooted trauma involving the species.

As a child, she'd once fallen into the mouth of a Gyarados due to a mistake—and nearly got swallowed whole. Since then, she'd been terrified of them.

"You and Pikachu can sleep in the tent. I'll make do with a sleeping bag."

Ash handed over the tent without hesitation. At this point, he hadn't yet recognized Misty as the same girl who'd travel with him in the original timeline.

Not that you could blame him. With his past life included, it had been decades. And since he hadn't been chased by a flock of Spearow this time, his fateful encounter with Misty had never properly triggered. She was just a stranger to him now.

When it came to emotional matters, Ash was cautious. After growing up as an orphan and being scammed emotionally in the past, he'd built up a strong resistance to any approach that seemed to come with an ulterior motive.

"Not bad," Misty thought. She felt Ash was being gentlemanly—but still, this was a boy's tent. It was hard to say what message that might send.

"It's fine," Ash reassured her. "I only started my journey today. That tent hasn't even been used for a few hours."

He could guess what she might be thinking from her expression, though it was hard to tell exactly.

In the end, Misty stayed in Ash's tent. Pikachu also went inside and quickly fell asleep. The battle hadn't been too intense, but it was nighttime—and everyone was tired.

—

The next morning, Ash woke up early from his sleeping bag. He had trained like this for the last seven or eight years, always rising by 5 a.m. Whether it was preparation or training, early mornings were routine for him.

"System, bring up the lottery. I'm using all five attribute points this time."

While Misty and Pikachu still slept, Ash busied himself with breakfast and activated the system.

Ding~!

[Lottery ready. Host, please select to begin!]

Just like last time, a slot machine appeared with golden, black, red, blue, and white tiles. But this time, something new was added—a green tile.

"System, what's the green one?" Ash paused his cooking and stared at the new color.

Ding~!

[The slot machine is modeled after those from the host's previous world. This version includes an 'explosive jackpot' function. Landing on the green tile will cause a triple reward explosion—three random prizes.]

"So it's a bonus jackpot," Ash nodded. "Looks like my luck's pretty good today."

Hearing the system's reply, a small smile appeared at the corner of Ash's lips. His luck today seemed pretty solid—at least he had a shot at doubling his rewards. With that thought, he closed his eyes and entered the system space with his consciousness. Without hesitation, he pulled the lever five times in a row!

These five attribute points were the biggest reward he'd earned in eight years. Just think about it—only five attribute points over eight whole years! That kind of drop rate was downright cruel.

Ding~!

[Congratulations to the host. Blue item acquired: 10 Mental Recovery Potions. Can be used to support mental exertion when transitioning a novice Pokémon to a higher tier. Restores 50% mental energy.]

[Congratulations to the host. Red item acquired: Five Revival Elixirs—restores any Pokémon from novice to champion level to peak condition!]

[Congratulations to the host. White item acquired: Please try again!]

[Congratulations to the host. White item acquired: Please try again!]

[Congratulations to the host. Green item acquired—triggering random double rewards! ~~~Bang! Bang! Bang!]

[Congratulations to the host. Black item acquired: Three Grand Restoration Elixirs—fully restores the human body to peak condition!]

[Congratulations to the host. Red item acquired: Five Purification Pills—can completely repair internal injuries caused by forced evolution in Pokémon.]

[Congratulations to the host. White item acquired: Please try again!]

The rewards weren't bad at all. With just five attribute points, Ash had earned four high-quality items—already an excellent haul. Without that lucky green tile, he probably would've only gotten two!

As the details of the items flooded into his mind, Ash couldn't help but furrow his brows. The sudden data influx was intense, and it gave him a splitting headache.

"Pretty good haul," he muttered to himself. "The Mental Recovery Potions can be mass-produced, but the materials for the Revival Elixirs, Purification Pills, and Grand Restoration Elixirs are way too rare. Their success rate isn't high either. Better not use them unless it's absolutely necessary."

After fully digesting the information, Ash grinned. In this world, medicine (like sprays or standard healing items) and elixirs (directly consumed restorative pills) were treated as entirely different classes of products.

During his eight years of training, Ash had also gained solid knowledge of herbology and pharmacology. At this point, he could identify most known medicinal ingredients used in the Pokémon world.

"When I reach Viridian City, I'll contact Grandpa. I'll leave the Mental Recovery Potion formula with Uncle Masaki. And when we go to market, I'll give all the shares to Gary."

With Gary's natural talent—plus Ash, Professor Oak, and Masaki Oak backing him—he'd have no problem becoming the next stable head of the Oak family.

The Oak clan was tightly knit, sure—but even a strong family could be ruined under poor leadership. A good patriarch could uplift generations, while a bad one could lead the family into ruin. The patriarch wasn't just a leader—they were the family's reputation, its symbol.

If Gary wanted to inherit the title, he'd have to earn it—through visible contributions that the whole clan could acknowledge. And right now, many of the affiliated families were already circling like vultures, waiting for the Oak family to falter.

...

TN:

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