"Ring, ring, ring!"
The moment the alarm clock blared, Ash jumped out of bed as if by reflex.
Even though he hadn't been hit by Pikachu's Thunderbolt, he still felt a tingling sensation.
Clearly, the days of special training had already ingrained these reactions into his body.
He quickly got up and brushed his teeth. By the time he was ready, Gu Yuan and the others were also prepared.
"Not bad. Let's head out!"
Gu Yuan nodded with a smile and took the lead.
Facing the morning sun, the group began their run around Pallet Town.
After this period of exercise, an hour of movement was no longer enough to make Ash feel exhausted, though it did make his hunger much more apparent.
After enjoying a delicious breakfast, the group arrived at Professor Oak's Laboratory to begin their training.
In terms of move mastery, Pikachu and the others had made new breakthroughs.
Coupled with the practical combat drills in the afternoon, even their overall strength had seen an improvement.
"Gu Yuan, based on Ash's current strength, what kind of results do you think he can achieve at the Indigo League?"
Watching Ash and Pikachu training hard, Professor Oak smiled and asked Gu Yuan.
Hearing this, Brock and Misty also became interested.
They wanted to know how Gu Yuan—who had won the Indigo League championship on his first try—would evaluate Ash.
"Based on Ash's strength, he should be able to reach the top eight or even higher."
"However, as you know, Ash's biggest trait, or rather his advantage, is his ability to adapt and perform on the spot."
"While this can certainly help him defeat strong enemies, it also gives opponents a chance to seize an opening, potentially leading to his defeat."
"So, I can't give a specific rank. But at the very least, he'll make the top sixteen. How far he goes after that depends on Ash himself."
After thinking for a moment, Gu Yuan gave his guess. In reality, he was simply citing the results from the anime.
"Top sixteen?"
"That's already quite good. After all, it's Ash's first time participating in the Indigo League. Such a result would be excellent."
"By the way, Gu Yuan, didn't you see Gary earlier? Based on his strength, how far do you think he can go?"
After asking about Ash, Professor Oak became curious about his own grandson.
"You probably know the two of them better than I do."
"Comparing pure strength, there isn't a massive gap between Ash and Gary."
"The only difference is that Gary is a bit too proud and hasn't found his true goal yet."
Facing Professor Oak's inquiry, Gu Yuan once again used the development shown in the anime, which actually aligned perfectly with the Professor's current thoughts.
"You're right."
"Gary's journey has indeed been a bit too smooth. I hope he encounters some setbacks at the Indigo League. That might help him grow better."
As they spoke, Ash's morning training officially came to an end.
Instead of going home, the group enjoyed a lunch at Professor Oak's place prepared by Brock.
To be honest.
Even though Gu Yuan's cooking skills had been honed over a long time, there was still a huge gap between him and Brock.
At least after tasting Brock's cooking once, Gu Yuan lost the desire to cook himself.
Of course, being very experienced, Gu Yuan immediately asked Brock to prepare a recipe for him, intending to learn it slowly in the future.
As evening approached, three suspicious figures slowly neared Professor Oak's Laboratory.
"If we go in from here, it's the laboratory's backyard. There are tons of Pokémon waiting for us to catch!"
An excited voice rang out. Meowth's eyes were flashing with greed.
"Let's catch every single Pokémon here in one go!"
"Exactly! Exactly!"
Accompanying the voices of Jessie and James, the trio prepared to take action.
During Ash's special training, the trio had attempted many operations.
Unfortunately, before they could implement their plans, Gu Yuan would always discover them first, leading to mission failure.
The trio had learned their lesson and carefully studied the group's schedule. Knowing that Gu Yuan and the others would be heading to Ash's house at this time, they prepared to strike the Pokémon within the laboratory.
Relying on their exquisite Dig skills, the trio entered the laboratory from underground like Diglett.
I really didn't expect the three of them to be able to infiltrate even this place, Gu Yuan thought to himself while eating.
He couldn't help it; the Meowth in the trio was simply too conspicuous.
If Gu Yuan couldn't guess the identity of a Meowth whose data couldn't be detected, that would be truly strange.
Come to think of it, Pikachu had a nickname like "electric mouse." Combined with Meowth, it felt like a modified version of Tom and Jerry.
"You guys keep eating. I'm going out for a moment."
To prevent the trio from ruining the gathering, Gu Yuan prepared to deal with them quietly.
This was also the reason why the group had not left the laboratory yet.
Truthfully, it was simply Team Rocket's bad luck.
"What are the three of you doing here?"
A familiar voice came from behind them.
To the Team Rocket trio, however, it sounded like the whisper of a demon.
"Well, you see, we got lost and accidentally ended up here, Meowth!"
In the moment of crisis, a cold-sweat-drenched Meowth could only come up with that excuse.
"That's right! That's right! We're leaving right now!" the other two chimed in.
As if finding a lifesaver, Jessie and James hurriedly agreed.
"Oh, so that's how it is. In that case, let me see you out and point you in the right direction, shall we?"
Gu Yuan nodded and played along with their act, if one ignored the Alakazam standing behind him.
"No need! We can find our own way out!"
With that, the trio scrambled back toward the hole they had dug.
Before they could get very far, Alakazam's psychic power bound them in place.
Just like Ash's fluctuating strength, the Team Rocket trio was also a group with inconsistent power levels.
The most crucial thing was that, like Ash, they would swap their Pokémon every time they reached a new region, appearing like dual protagonists.
Psychic power condensed, and Alakazam threw them away with force.
"We're blasting off again!"
The familiar exit line echoed as the Team Rocket trio turned into stars and disappeared into the sky.
By the time Gu Yuan returned to the dining room, everyone except for that "dummy" Ash had guessed why Gu Yuan had suddenly left, but no one said anything.
Looking at Ash lying in his chair with a bulging stomach, Gu Yuan felt that sometimes, not knowing too much was a blessing.