Pokémon: The Strongest Trainer (Ash SI)

"Bulba! Bulbasaur!"

Just as Brock was tending to Scyther's wounds, the call of a Bulbasaur rang out. Moments later, a strong-looking Bulbasaur stepped into view, catching both Ash and Brock's attention.

"Scy!"

Hearing Bulbasaur's call, Scyther responded with a sharp cry of its own. From the tone and energy, it seemed to mean, "I'm just like you!"—or so Ash interpreted it.

"Bulbasaur, where are you?"

A clear, pleasant voice followed, and a girl with long, dark blue hair appeared, wearing a red suspender dress and a green bow tied neatly behind her. She had a quiet, yet lively air about her.

"Bulba! Bulbasaur!"

Bulbasaur perked up at the sound of the voice and called out excitedly in reply. The girl was none other than Melanie, the caretaker of this Pokémon sanctuary—and currently the only one tending it.

This was a special kind of place: a Pokémon nursing home, created for those that had been abandoned, seriously injured, or mistreated. It was a thankless job. Not many people would go through the trouble of opening such a sanctuary, especially in such a remote location.

"Huh? Who are you two?"

Melanie looked at Ash and Brock with suspicion. It was rare for people to stumble upon this place, and she'd deliberately chosen this remote area to avoid human interference. She didn't want the Pokémon disturbed.

Though many of the Pokémon here were common species, there were a lot of them. Occasionally, greedy trainers would try to capture them without a second thought—throwing Poké Balls indiscriminately without any care for the Pokémon themselves.

"Hi there, I'm Ash, a traveling trainer from Pallet Town!"

"And I'm Brock, a Pokémon Breeder from Pewter City!"

Hearing their introductions, Melanie relaxed a little. Ash and Brock couldn't help but admire her compassion. While her appearance was above average, she had a quiet charm. Brock, of course, was already gazing at her with stars in his eyes.

Ash knew that look. His idiot friend was in love again. Ash didn't really care who Brock flirted with—he himself had always been indifferent toward romance. Besides, Melanie wasn't remotely his type.

As they chatted, Ash and Brock learned more about Melanie's background. She was an orphan, and after leaving the orphanage, she came here and built this sanctuary on her own.

Because feeding Pokémon was so costly, she had no choice but to gather wild fruits from the nearby forest to make nutritious meals. Thankfully, the environment here was lush and fertile, and food was never in short supply.

The Bulbasaur that had just appeared arrived three years ago. Moved by Melanie's kindness, it had stayed and helped her take care of the other Pokémon ever since.

Ding~!

Pokémon: Bulbasaur

Level: Early Elite

Ability: Overgrow

Type: Grass/Poison

Potential: 100% (32% developed)

Ash's eyes lit up as he read Bulbasaur's data.

He currently lacked a powerful Grass-type Pokémon, and in his view, Grass-types had the fastest growth curve. Even if they had to leap through levels, they could still catch up quickly!

Just think about the Wood Release from Naruto—that was a power of nature itself! And now Ash had access to a meridian map specially tailored for Bulbasaur. With this, plus a unique adaptation of Wood Release-like techniques, Ash was confident. If he nurtured a high-potential Bulbasaur from the beginning, he could bring it up to a pseudo-champion level—or even champion tier—within just six months!

And that wasn't an exaggeration.

As long as a Pokémon mastered new moves efficiently, its potential would rapidly expand. Ash had already tested countless methods back at Professor Oak's lab. He had even developed comprehensive Pokémon meridian diagrams!

With the right Pokémon, Ash could mass-produce pseudo-champions. Actual champions, of course, depended on natural potential limits. But this Bulbasaur in front of him—this one—had what it took.

After applying medicine to Scyther's injuries, Ash and Brock followed Melanie back to the sanctuary—a large wooden cabin she had built herself. While it was quite spacious, it lacked the advanced medical facilities of a formal Pokémon Center. But that was understandable; high-end medical equipment was expensive.

"Melanie, would it be okay if Brock and I stayed here overnight?"

Ash looked toward her sincerely. "I plan to challenge Scyther, but since he's still injured, I'd rather wait until he's fully healed tomorrow."

"Of course," Melanie said with a gentle smile. "As long as you're not here to cause trouble."

"Cause trouble? Not a chance!"

Brock exclaimed dramatically. "Even the air, the grass, the trees here—it all feels like paradise!"

Ash gave him a side-eye. That sounded so cheesy it was almost painful.

"Scy!"

Scyther let out another cry, standing proudly behind them. It seemed confident in its strength and was clearly looking forward to tomorrow's battle with Ash.

As evening fell, Brock busied himself helping Melanie with all sorts of little chores, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. He looked so eager and attentive that Ash couldn't help but feel exasperated.

Seriously… is getting a girlfriend that damn hard? he thought, nearly speechless at Brock's antics.

Later, lying on his bed, Ash closed his eyes in meditation.

"System, I want to draw."

With those words, he entered the system space. A familiar sight awaited him: a new model of the slot machine had appeared before him. However, just like last time, there were no glowing green slots—no sign of rare luck—because he hadn't used the attribute points from his previous draw. Slightly disappointed, Ash frowned.

"I've got 16 attribute points now. That means I can draw 16 times… I'll do 6 pulls first and save the rest just in case."

With that decision made, Ash gripped the joystick and yanked it down six times in rapid succession.

Ding~!

[Congratulations, host! You received a white-tier item. Better luck next time!]

[Congratulations, host! You received a white-tier item. Better luck next time!]

[Congratulations, host! You received a black-tier item: Skill Disc! You can record a custom move onto this disc and instantly teach it to a Pokémon.]

[Congratulations, host! You received a red-tier item: 100-square-meter Storage Ring!]

[Congratulations, host! You received a gold-tier item: Hierarchical Differentiation Profile! Allows a Quasi-Elite Pokémon to begin advanced tier differentiation!]

Ash jolted upright on the bed, his eyes shining. This time, the items he drew were genuinely useful!

...

TN:

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