Sunlight cleaved through the heavy canopy of Viridian Forest, casting fragmented spots of gold upon the winding dirt road.
The scent of green grass and damp earth floated in the air, occasionally interspersed with the cooing calls of a few Pidgey.
Ash walked at the very front. The Boulder Badge was pinned to the inside of his chest pocket, transmitting a subtle, imperceptible warmth through the fabric.
His steps were brisk, as if treading on clouds; even Pikachu on his shoulder swayed along, squinting comfortably.
The Boulder Badge directly reinforced Ash's physical constitution. He felt damn good right now.
Absolutely explosive!
The three of them chatted as they walked.
They were getting to know each other's situations better to complete the team's integration.
"So, Brock." Ash suddenly spread his hand, palm open.
👋
"You said earlier that you wanted to become a Pokémon Breeder?"
✋
"Let me tell you, there is no one in the whole world who understands how to raise Pokémon better than I do!"
👉
Ash turned sideways, gesturing at the youth beside him who was as steady as a mountain rock.
👆
"No one understands more than me!"
It was time for Ash's habitual bragging again.
In a sense, this could also be considered a form of looking toward the future.
It could boost his own self-confidence and the confidence of those around him.
Commonly known as 'painting a big pie'~~
Misty rode her bicycle, her orange ponytail flicking with the motion of her rolling eyes.
Seeming unable to stand Ash starting to blow hot air, Pikachu jumped from Ash's body onto Misty's bicycle. Its small ears twitched, and its bright black eyes blinked helplessly as a faint sound came from its throat: "Pika..."
Pikachu: I've had too much of this pie, I really can't eat anymore.
After getting along for this long, Pikachu could be said to understand Ash's personality.
How to put it?
It left one speechless... but indeed made one trust him.
Daring to fight, daring to struggle, daring to think, daring to speak... this was so-called leadership charisma.
Brock appeared to have a steady pace, his rock-like face struggling to maintain a polite expression of listening, but a layer of fine sweat beads had quietly oozed from his forehead.
He had originally thought Ash would be the very serious type.
He didn't expect him to be so unreliable!
He was struggling to hold it together.
Just as Brock wanted to open his mouth to say something, Ash's "flood of knowledge" was already surging endlessly:
"First of all, you have to understand the core!"
Ash held up a finger, his eyes burning:
"Pokémon's base stats are the foundation! The gap between different individuals of the same species is huge."
"This is just like laying a foundation for a house. If the foundation isn't firm, whatever fancy things you build on top are useless!"
"It is very difficult to make up for early-stage defects in the later stages."
Ash got more excited as he spoke.
The use of body language was essentially part of public speaking and communication skills.
It could reinforce expression and make viewpoints more infectious.
Natural gestures could display composure or determination, enhancing the audience's trust. This was especially important in political speeches, public debates, and other scenarios.
Of course, Ash just habitually wanted to play with memes right now.
"Pokémon's effort potential is infinite!"
"To realize this infinite potential, the method is very particular, and it requires an extreme amount of time."
"But whether it's a Trainer or a Pokémon, the peak period of energy is limited."
"Considering that quite a few Pokémon don't actually like fighting."
"For a Trainer, stepping onto the road to the Champion is essentially a two-way choice between the Pokémon and the Trainer."
Ash spoke rapidly: "As a Trainer challenging the League, one needs to filter out the portion of Pokémon with warlike personalities."
"A typical example is my Gyarados!"
Actually, Pokémon with irritable personalities were all fond of fighting.
"And as a Breeder, one focuses more on communication with Pokémon, understanding the Pokémon's needs."
"For a rookie Breeder, the smarter the Pokémon, the easier it is to communicate."
"Look at my Pikachu!" Ash suddenly pointed at the yellow-skinned mouse lying innocently in Misty's arms, catching a stray bullet.
"Pika?!" Pikachu shuddered.
——You guys talk all you want, why bring it to me?
——Don't do this! Don't use me as an example!
Pikachu's thoughts were originally very simple, but now it was forced by Ash to have a lot of inner drama.
"See, isn't Pikachu's reaction very sharp?" Ash wore a face that said 'Praise me quickly'.
Misty finally couldn't take it anymore and stopped her bicycle.
She held Pikachu, heaving a long, deep sigh. That sigh was full of the helplessness of 'here we go again' and the despair of 'this guy is hopeless'.
Misty buried her face into Pikachu's soft, fluffy fur and rubbed against it, a muffled voice coming out: "Pikachu, you've worked hard... listening to him nag about this every day..."
"Pika pi..." Pikachu patted Misty's arm with a small paw in deep empathy, expressing comfort.
Pikachu now felt it was more mature than Ash.
Could it be that it had to take care of its Trainer?
Pikachu fell into confusion... wasn't this identity reversed?
Moreover, Pikachu had been learning moves from Brock these past two days—such as Protect, Foresight, Haze, etc.
These moves belonged to the type where one didn't need to be masterful, but must know them.
Brock listened and just felt his head swelling.
How to put it?
Brock had just very humbly said he was a rookie Breeder.
But he himself had done a lot of research on the care of Pokémon.
It was just that because of his part-time job as a Gym Trainer, he hadn't passed any assessments.
"...What you said regarding these aspects really makes sense." Brock subconsciously touched the notebook he carried with him, which recorded his rearing insights on Rock-type Pokémon.
"Especially regarding Pokémon lifespan."
"Long-lived Pokémon are more suitable for Gym Trainers like us to pass down."
Brock's experience raising Onix and Golem was more based on understanding the characteristics of the rock itself, long-term observation of Pokémon habits, and the establishment of emotional bonds.
Among them was the Pokémon's adaptation to the environment and lifespan.
Most Rock-type Pokémon did not need oxygen; it could be said their environmental adaptability was extremely strong.
And their theoretical maximum lifespan was also very long.
It was just a pity that most Rock-type Pokémon were dead-brained and had stubborn personalities.
Especially since they generally learned moves like Explosion.
Sometimes they would dig into a dead end, couldn't think it through, and would just explode directly.
Self-Destruct was a very dangerous move; it wasn't absolutely fatal, but one really might die.
Emm... Pokémon ecology was indeed a great field of study.
Rock-type Pokémon had long lifespans and a high floor for strength; was this why not many Trainers chose them?
Because they might just Self-Destruct if they couldn't figure something out.
Brock opened his mouth, wanting to ask for advice on the specific application of "ecological niches" in rock field battles, but found that Ash had already seamlessly transitioned to the next topic.
"Right! Also the composition of Pokéblocks! The mutual generation and inhibition of Berries... I've seen the data from Professor Oak's Laboratory... it says to balance the Berry nature, then supplement with trace amounts of..."
Hearing Ash speak more and more outrageously, even bringing out the "Professor Oak's Laboratory database", Misty couldn't help but roll a huge eye again and started speeding up on her bicycle, just wanting to be a bit further away from this "Know-It-All".
Pikachu lay on Misty's shoulder.
It looked back at Ash, who was still spouting an endless stream, then looked at Brock beside him, shook its small head, and let out a "Pika... Chu..." that saw through the ways of the world.
"Um... they've already left." Brock had to interrupt Ash's rambling nonsense.
Although Brock thought there was a lot of content in there that actually made sense, he still needed to wait until he studied it again.
"Ah... really... Misty." Ash looked at the departing Misty. "Let's catch up."
____
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