However, recently he has vaguely felt the bottleneck loosening a bit, and perhaps in another ten days or half a month, he will reach the Elite Peak.
The above is the result of Ash and the others' growth during this period.
Additionally, when Ash was exchanging Pokemon with Professor Oak, Professor Oak repeatedly reminded Ash that if he wanted to challenge the Viridian Gym, he should remember to take him along.
Ash was a bit puzzled, what's the deal with taking Professor Oak to challenge a Gym?
Professor Oak's reasoning was that the Gym Leader of the Viridian Gym was an old friend of his, and he wanted to catch up with his old friend while Ash was challenging the Gym.
Ash readily agreed to this, as it was merely to watch the battle and wouldn't have any impact.
...
After a twenty-day journey, Ash and the others arrived at a place called Big Fool's Valley. This place has been very popular lately, as it's said that Fossil Pokemon fossils have been found here.
With the current technology in the Pokemon world, it is now possible to revive near-death Pokemon from fossils or amber.
So if you find a Fossil Pokemon fossil in Big Fool's Valley, it's equivalent to owning an extinct Pokemon!
Whether it's for value, vanity, or satisfaction, countless people have flocked to Big Fool's Valley just to find a Fossil Pokemon!
Ash and the others came here partly for fossils, and also because a one-time ability Ash had acquired finally showed some activity.
The one-time ability, MEGA Guidance, can lead Ash to at least one Evolution Stone and one Evolution Key Stone, though the type of Evolution Stone is unknown.
But having it is better than not having it.
The world hasn't seen MEGA Evolution yet.
Allowing a Pokemon to evolve one more time after its final form—how incredible would that boost be?
As everyone knows, evolution generally promotes level-up, and various stats increase after evolution. This is why a qualitative change occurs after Pokemon evolution.
Moreover, the further a Pokemon evolves, the greater the enhancement. There is a significant difference between first-stage and second-stage evolutions.
MEGA Evolution is equivalent to a third-stage evolution, and its enhancement goes without saying, otherwise, how could it compare to the bug-like Dynamax system?
The strongest aspect of the Dynamax system is that it can double a Pokemon's physical strength and massively enhance their skills!
Every skill is equivalent to a signature move of its type, with additional special effects, like Max Airstream boosting speed, Max Quake boosting special defense…
If this system weren't limited by energy, allowing only three moves and preventing withdrawal into a Pokeball, it might be the strongest system among the Four Major Systems.
However, under the constraints of venue, rounds, and rotation, Dynamax isn't overly bugged. MEGA Evolution, which has no restrictions and can last an entire battle, is quite powerful.
This was all explained to Ash by the bigwigs in the group. Ash, in reality, hasn't even seen a single system, let alone the Four Major Systems.
If he can find Evolution Stones and Evolution Key Stones in Big Fool's Valley, this would be his first system.
Upon reaching Big Fool's Valley, it was already packed with people. As far as the eye could see, there were all heads, with everyone wielding pickaxes, digging tirelessly, trying to unearthed Pokemon Fossils in Big Fool's Valley.
Apart from Trainers who want to revive Fossil Pokemon, there are miners, merchants, and all sorts of people here. After all, fossils are inherently extremely valuable!
Even if you don't need it after unearthing, you can sell it to others. As long as the fossil isn't revived, it's not considered a Pokemon trade, so you don't have to sell it secretly.
So getting rich quick is within reach!
For Ash, money is no longer a concern. He now earns millions daily, and as long as he doesn't buy extremely rare items, he has enough money to train Pokemon for a lifetime.
So, if someone does unearth an ore for sale, Ash has the money to purchase it.
But frankly, the efficiency of those miners finding fossils can't compare to Ash at all.
Fossil Pokemon can be mechanically revived because they didn't fully die when they entered fossil form; life force remains in their bodies. To protect themselves, they turned into fossils.
However, in fossil form, without external assistance for revival, they can't escape the fossil state. Turning into fossils was a last resort for Fossil Pokemon.
But Ash… he has Aura Power!
All things have Aura. As long as there is life, there is Aura's fluctuation. Although Fossil Pokemon are in fossil form, they aren't considered dead, so Ash's Aura Power can detect its presence.
At this moment, Ash and the others wore masks, and Ash even took off his hat. Unless they knew Ash well, people wouldn't recognize him.
Moreover, everyone was diligently digging, so no one noticed Ash had arrived at Big Fool's Valley.
"There are too many people here, let's find a place with fewer people first." Ash looked around and saw that every spot was occupied by people digging. The more people there are, the more Aura there is, making it challenging to search for faint fossil Aura.
So he suggested to Misty and Brock to change locations.
After getting their agreement, Ash released Gardevoir and used Teleport to move to a more open area.
This was already the edge of Big Fool's Valley, and generally, people wouldn't come here because the edge had a low probability of fossil occurrence.
But for Ash, with Aura detection, every place is the same.
"Alright, let's see if there are any Fossil Pokemon here."
Ash closed his eyes, Aura Power seeped downward. Fossils were unearthed, so naturally, Aura Power needed to probe downward. Seconds later, Ash opened his eyes, the power within him slowly withdrawing.
"How is it, Ash?"
"Yes! And there are many!"
"Many!!!"
Misty and Brock exclaimed.
Fossil Pokemon are extinct existences, and it's only in recent years that the League invented machines to revive Fossil Pokemon, allowing them to see the light of day again.
But even fossils are extremely precious, and to revive a Fossil Pokemon, you first need a fossil, which are rarely seen on the market. Each revivable fossil sells for a sky-high price!
Among the three present, probably only Ash could afford to buy such revivable Fossil Pokemon.
And now, Ash says there are many fossils here!
Isn't this hitting the jackpot!
Though they are not in want of money, who would mind having too much money?
Their goal this time was merely for each to obtain one fossil.
The key is not to have many Pokemon, but to have well-trained ones. Finding one Fossil Pokemon and nurturing it well would be great.
So when Ash mentioned discovering many fossils, they could each have one and sell the rest!
This way, they also have the funds for reviving fossils… though Ash isn't short on cash.
But while the two were excited, Ash slowly shook his head: "When I said many, I didn't mean a lot of fossils, I meant a lot of Fossil Pokemon."
Misty & Brock: ?
Is there a difference? Aren't fossils Fossil Pokemon?
Seeing the two still confused, Ash could only helplessly explain in more detail: "The Fossil Pokemon below… are alive."
Misty & Brock: !!!
Alive?!