In short, Ash possessed advantages that other Trainers—and even the strongest Trainers in the current Pokémon world—simply didn't have.
And since he was determined to climb to the very pinnacle of the Trainer profession, capturing and raising new Pokémon whenever he had the spare time and energy was absolutely necessary.
After all, capturing and raising Pokémon was itself a form of cultivation for a Trainer.
And if someone wanted to become a true Pokémon Master, they would inevitably need to capture and raise all kinds of different Pokémon.
At present, Ash already had six Pokémon under his command.
But that was still far from enough.
Even if he wasn't blindly pursuing a huge number of Pokémon, simply looking at their types, his current team still needed to be expanded.
As of now, eighteen Pokémon types had been discovered.
Ash's six Pokémon, including the unhatched Weedle Egg, meant that he had seven Pokémon in total.
Yet they covered only eight types:
Normal, Flying, Water, Bug, Electric, Grass, Dark, and Poison.
That was still less than half of all existing types.
Even Greninja, which possessed the Protean Ability, had mastered quite a few moves belonging to different types with Ash's assistance.
However, there were still five types whose moves it couldn't learn:
Fire, Electric, Steel, Dragon, and Fairy.
Therefore, setting aside considerations such as individual roles, team composition, and tactical arrangements, even if Ash simply wanted to complete his coverage of all eighteen types, he would still need to capture more Pokémon with different typings.
~
"It really is necessary for me to capture some new Pokémon and raise them."
"But I haven't decided exactly what kind of Pokémon I want to capture yet, so I'll think about it after some more time."
"And there's no need to restrict my future Pokémon captures to the Kanto region either."
"We're about to head to Kalos, after all. Once we arrive there, I can consider capturing a new Pokémon in the Kalos region."
Ash turned his head and glanced at the Pokémon playing and frolicking around the garden.
His expression was relaxed and carefree as he spoke.
"Speaking of which, you should probably capture a new Pokémon and raise it too."
Ash looked at the girl beside him.
Clarissa was pursuing a career path as both a Pokémon doctor and Pokémon Breeder, but she currently had only two Pokémon.
Her Blissey could use Heal Pulse to treat external injuries, while Life Dew was also a healing and restorative move that was particularly effective for treating burns.
Healing Wish was another healing move and was especially effective at removing negative status conditions.
In addition, Soft-Boiled could restore a Pokémon's stamina and replenish nutrients its body was lacking.
Bellossom possessed the Healer Ability, which could heal and remove negative status conditions.
With Ash's help, it had also learned the Grass-type healing move Aromatherapy.
It could be said that the two Pokémon currently under Clarissa's command had already grown into highly capable assistants.
They had become excellent partners for her work as a Pokémon doctor.
Of course, she could continue raising these two Pokémon and further improve their healing abilities.
But Clarissa wasn't a professional battle-focused Trainer.
Continuing to pour all her resources into improving the same two Pokémon wouldn't offer particularly good returns.
Rather than doing that, it would be better to raise another Pokémon with a different set of healing and support capabilities.
"Mm-hmm."
"Blissey and Bellossom have both already grown up, so I suppose it really is time for me to capture a new Pokémon."
Clarissa nodded, agreeing with Ash's suggestion.
"That's good."
"So, what do you think about your next Pokémon?"
Ash asked.
"Mm..."
Clarissa pondered for a moment after hearing his question.
"Ash, you've recommended quite a few Pokémon with healing abilities to me before."
"But now that I already have Blissey and Bellossom, I have enough healing support for the short term."
"Besides being a Pokémon doctor, I'm also specializing in nutrition and health as a Pokémon Breeder."
"So, for my third Pokémon, I'm thinking about capturing one that can help me in the fields of nutrition and health."
"For now, I'm considering Paras and Miltank."
"But I haven't decided which one I want to capture yet."
Clarissa shared her thoughts honestly.
"Mm-hmm."
Hearing that, Ash didn't casually give her another recommendation.
After all, this concerned the direction of her professional career.
Clarissa needed to carefully think it through and make the decision herself.
...
The afternoon passed peacefully and leisurely in the garden.
At around five o'clock, Ash and Clarissa called their driver and traveled to Saffron City's high-speed rail station to pick up Misty.
Their flight to the Kalos region was scheduled for 7:40 the following morning.
Their visit to Saffron City had only been a stopover along the way.
After Ash and Clarissa picked up Misty that evening, the three of them returned to Joy Manor and spent the night there.
Early the next morning, after having breakfast, the three of them got into the car and headed toward the airport.
Because they had timed their departure carefully, they arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare.
Inside the terminal, Ash, Misty, and Clarissa didn't have to wait long before it was time for them to board.
"Latias Airlines, Flight H9527 will soon be closing boarding. Passengers who have not yet boarded are requested to proceed to the gate as soon as possible."
"Let's go."
Hearing the boarding announcement, the three of them stood up from their seats.
They had been waiting for the flight while holding cups of hot cocoa, and now they headed toward the boarding gate together.
"Whoosh..."
At 7:40 AM, once all passengers had boarded, the aircraft accelerated along the runway.
The engine turbines roared with a high-pitched whine.
Then, with a powerful burst of thrust, the aircraft lifted directly into the blue sky.
The sky stretched endlessly in every direction.
It was even more vast than the deep-blue ocean.
Snow-white clouds drifted lazily through the azure heavens.
Kanto and Kalos were separated by an enormous distance.
Even by plane, traveling from Saffron City to Lumiose City would take nearly ten hours.
After transmigrating into the Pokémon world, this was Ash's first time flying on an airplane.
It was also his first time traveling such a long distance.
And, most importantly...
He would soon be able to see Serena.
His girlfriend, whom he had been separated from for more than half a year.
Thinking about finally seeing her again, Ash couldn't help feeling both excited and happy.
Meanwhile, the two girls sitting by the windows on his right were happily admiring the sea of clouds outside.
"Clarissa, look at that cloud! Doesn't it look like a Dewgong?"
"Mm-hmm! And that huge patch of clouds beside it looks a little like a whole flock of Mareep!"
"..."
Looking down at the clouds from an airplane felt completely different from looking at them from the ground, a grassy hillside, or a mountain ridge.
As the aircraft gradually climbed higher and higher, it seemed as though his body itself were slowly approaching the heavens.
Closer...
And closer...
Under the radiance of the sun, the endless sea of clouds was dyed with a layer of golden light.
The scene looked hazy and ethereal, almost unreal.
It was so breathtakingly beautiful that even someone who had absolutely no skill at photography could simply raise a camera and take a random picture, and the resulting image would still be good enough to use as a phone wallpaper or screensaver.
As far as the eye could see, layers upon layers of clouds stretched across the horizon.
Some rolled and drifted gently.
Others twisted into strange and magnificent shapes.
At times, they looked like a flock of Mareep lowering their heads to graze.
At other times, they resembled a herd of pure-white Rapidash galloping forward with their front legs raised.
And sometimes, a gigantic Wailord seemed to take shape from the clouds.
It appeared to flip over and leap out from the sea of clouds, freely swimming through the vast blue sky.
Then, as though raising its head toward the heavens, it seemed to release a deep yet ethereal whale song that struck directly at the soul.
"..."
"..."
Looking at this magnificent sea of clouds, the excitement and restless anxiety Ash had been feeling because he was about to see his girlfriend again after more than half a year apart gradually faded away.
His heart became peaceful once more.
The journey to Kalos had only just begun.
But the moment he thought of the person waiting for him at the end of this nearly ten-hour flight, the anticipation in his heart grew stronger.
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T/N:
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