With that, Ash took the lead and started running.
Seeing his Trainer setting the example by personally exercising alongside them, Pikachu naturally couldn't complain anymore. It immediately followed after him.
Pidgeot and Fearow flew through the sky, while Pikachu, Greninja, Gyarados, Milotic, and Venusaur ran alongside Ash on the ground.
As for the location of their morning training, Ash had already searched for one on his phone the previous night.
There was a small park not far from their hotel, and conveniently, the park even had a proper Pokémon battle court.
At this hour in the early morning, there should hardly be anyone in the park, let alone anyone using the battle court.
Ash figured that using the court to train his Pokémon shouldn't cause any problems.
"Whoo... whoo..."
"Hup!"
The small park Ash had found wasn't far from the hotel.
After maintaining a steady jogging pace, he soon arrived at the park shown on his phone's map.
But what Ash hadn't expected was that despite the extremely early hour and freezing weather, there was actually someone else in the park.
And on the battle court, another Trainer was already training his Pokémon.
"Charmander, use Ember on the wooden post!"
"Char!"
On the snow-covered battle court stood a boy around Ash's age.
Like Ash, he had a rare head of black hair.
He wore a black padded jacket, with a light-blue fur-lined scarf wrapped around his neck.
At that moment, he was seriously training a Charmander.
"Who?!"
Hearing footsteps approaching, the boy suddenly noticed Ash standing outside the court.
The boy immediately turned his head and questioned him in a guarded tone.
"Sorry. I wasn't deliberately watching you train."
"I was actually just about to bring my Pokémon here to do their morning training as well."
"I just didn't expect that this early in the morning, especially with the weather being so cold today, there would already be another Trainer here training his Pokémon."
"So I was curious and ended up looking for a couple of extra seconds."
Seeing the boy's wary expression, Ash hurriedly explained himself, worried that the other Trainer might misunderstand his intentions.
"Oh."
After hearing Ash's explanation, the black-haired boy gave a somewhat indifferent nod.
The guarded look in his eyes faded slightly.
"By the way, I just arrived in Lumiose City and I'm not very familiar with the area."
"I don't know if there are any other suitable places nearby where I can train my Pokémon besides this park near my hotel."
"So, if you don't mind, would it be okay if I also use this court to train my Pokémon?"
Ash asked the somewhat cold-looking boy.
As a household-name celebrity in Kanto, Ash was accustomed to being surrounded and watched everywhere he went.
Now that he had left Kanto and traveled all the way to the distant Kalos region, this was the first time someone had treated him so indifferently.
Rather than feeling unhappy about it, Ash actually found the experience rather novel.
"This park is public property."
"It's not mine."
"If you want to train here, then of course you can."
"You don't need my permission."
The cold-faced boy finished speaking and immediately returned his attention to Charmander.
"Charmander, keep using Ember on the wooden post in front of you."
"Yeah, thanks."
Ash nodded.
Then, after glancing at Charmander, he added:
"By the way, it snowed last night, and the snow still hasn't melted this morning."
"It's pretty cold outside."
"Although Charmander is a Fire-type Pokémon, that doesn't mean it's completely immune to the cold."
"Once the snow melts, it'll turn into water, which Fire-type Pokémon generally don't like getting soaked in."
"And in a cold environment, Charmander will also consume stamina more rapidly because it has to expend energy maintaining its body temperature."
"So, whether it's to prevent Charmander from catching a cold or simply to make sure it has enough energy to train properly, you should remember to give it enough time to warm up before training."
Since the cold-faced boy had allowed him to use the park, and because seeing a Kanto Fire-type starter like Charmander was particularly rare here in distant Kalos, Ash couldn't help but offer a friendly reminder out of gratitude and familiarity.
Fortunately, the cold-faced boy didn't take offense at Ash's unsolicited advice.
After listening carefully, he lowered his gaze toward Charmander.
The little Fire-type was panting heavily.
Its small body was even trembling faintly from the cold.
The boy fell into thought.
After quickly realizing that Ash's words were correct, the cold-faced boy proved to be far less cold-hearted than his appearance suggested.
He immediately crouched down.
He removed the warm fur scarf wrapped around his own neck and gently placed it around Charmander's neck.
"I'm sorry, Charmander."
"It's so cold today, and I didn't even notice how you were feeling..."
After wrapping the scarf around Charmander, the boy gently stroked its smooth head and sincerely apologized.
Ash watched the entire scene.
A faint smile appeared in his eyes.
Earlier, when he'd seen this boy training Charmander in such freezing weather first thing in the morning, Ash had assumed that he was the type of selfish Trainer who cared only about increasing his Pokémon's strength and ignored their wishes and physical condition.
But now it seemed that his judgment had been wrong.
The boy was simply cold on the outside but warm-hearted underneath.
What had happened earlier was merely a momentary oversight.
In reality, he was someone who genuinely cared about and cherished his Pokémon.
"Um... thank you."
While Ash was lost in thought, the boy finished wrapping the scarf around Charmander.
He stood up and turned toward Ash, sincerely expressing his gratitude.
"No need to thank me."
"Just don't mind me sticking my nose into your business."
Ash waved his hand casually.
He didn't take it to heart.
At the same time, Ash didn't continue chatting with the cold-faced boy.
After speaking, he simply turned around and began arranging training tasks for his own Pokémon.
Soon, he was training alongside them.
"..."
"..."
The cold-faced boy continued training Charmander on the opposite side of the battle court.
But while giving Charmander its commands, he repeatedly glanced toward Ash.
Ash was currently doing clap push-ups and jumping jacks.
Without even stopping his exercise, he casually offered the boy another piece of advice.
"As a Trainer, you don't necessarily have to fight alongside your Pokémon personally."
"But if you encounter a difficult opponent or end up in a prolonged battle, you're still the Trainer standing at the side of the battlefield and controlling the overall situation."
"So if you want to become a good Trainer, you also need to maintain a healthy and strong body."
"That'll be especially useful when you're traveling and going on adventures."
"Besides, when Trainers train alongside their Pokémon, it can also increase the Pokémon's enthusiasm for training."
"And it strengthens the emotional bond and connection between the Trainer and Pokémon."
Although Ash was still young, his strength had already reached a level where he possessed every qualification to give advice to other Trainers.
During his battles in the City Arena, other Trainers frequently approached him in the competitors' waiting area to ask questions about Pokémon training and development.
Without even realizing it, Ash had gradually developed the habit of occasionally offering a few pointers whenever he encountered a Trainer he had a good impression of.
He was beginning to develop a somewhat amusing tendency to enjoy playing the mentor.
And perhaps, somewhere along the way, Ash had already grown accustomed to the feeling of helping other Trainers improve.
The cold-faced boy silently listened.
His gaze toward Ash gradually changed.
What kind of Trainer was this?
He was obviously young.
Yet the things he casually said carried a depth of experience that far exceeded his age.
And somehow...
The boy found himself wanting to hear more.