Early the next morning, the trio of the original series protagonists sat in the Pokémon Center enjoying a luxurious breakfast before setting off on the road again.
From now on, their team finally had a cook.
Which meant they would no longer have to eat Misty's "dark cuisine."
Ash was extremely happy that Brock had joined the team.
Especially since Brock was perfect as a logistics teammate. Aside from being a little too flirtatious—confessing to every pretty girl he saw—he was practically flawless in every other aspect.
After all, Brock had raised his many younger siblings, which gave him excellent cooking skills. Ash desperately needed a teammate like him—someone who could take care of the team and cook delicious meals.
As for Misty's cooking…
Let's just say it was hit-or-miss.
Back in Viridian Forest, Ash had nearly experienced a chemical reaction in his stomach after eating Misty's cooking. It was only thanks to his unusually strong constitution that he survived it.
Ash's Pokémon had tried it once as well.
After just a single meal, they suddenly realized the plain travel rations they usually ate were actually gourmet food.
Ash was completely speechless about Misty's cooking process.
Even when following a recipe, she still managed to mess it up.
First she added a huge spoonful of sugar—only to realize it was salt.
Then she added more sugar to fix it, but added too much.
To balance the sweetness, she added more salt, and then various other seasonings.
In the end, it became a culinary catastrophe.
Even the Rattata that loved stealing food avoided it like the plague.
It was absolutely terrifying.
Ash felt fortunate he hadn't bought too many condiments earlier—otherwise someone would definitely have ended up vomiting.
After that incident, Ash and his Pokémon held a vote and unanimously decided:
Misty was banned from cooking.
Other people pursued delicious flavors when cooking.
Misty pursued innovation—experimenting with different ingredient combinations and cooking methods in hopes of creating something "new."
Ash's own cooking skills weren't much better.
But that couldn't be helped. His talent points were probably all invested in Pokémon battling.
As for Brock, he had talked with his father all night before finally deciding to pursue his dream.
He would no longer be tied down by Pewter Gym.
Taking care of his siblings and managing the Gym would now be left to his father, Flint.
Fortunately, Flint had finally come to his senses. Continuing to hide away in that wooden hut would never have solved anything.
"Ash, did you bring everything?" Brock reminded him.
When traveling, preparation was important. They would often spend several nights outdoors, and forgetting supplies would make things miserable.
"I brought everything."
Ash had gone on a shopping spree yesterday, buying a large number of Pokémon supplies.
He even bought small gifts for Misty and Brock.
After all, he had just earned 130,000 PokéDollars. When buying gifts for friends, it was only right to be generous.
"Let's go."
The three Trainers and one Pikachu set off on their journey again.
Their next destination:
Cerulean Gym.
They headed east out of Pewter City, eventually reaching Route 3.
Ash immediately released his Pokémon to start training and gaining experience.
First up was Pidgeotto, which hadn't yet reached the Standard Tier.
The wild Pokémon along the roadside were about to experience Pidgeotto's strength.
Misty simply sat on a nearby rock and waited.
By now, she was already used to Ash's routine.
Brock, however, watched with great interest.
He wanted to see how Ash trained his Pokémon.
By noon, Ash had battled Pokémon along the way nonstop.
All of his Pokémon had leveled up.
Although the wild Pokémon on Route 3 weren't very strong, they were still good enough for training.
Pikachu barely reached Level 25
Pidgeotto reached Level 21
As for the Shiny Gyarados, it had already gained plenty of battle experience during the Pewter Gym battle.
Combined with fighting wild Pokémon and holding the Lucky Egg, it leveled up to Level 23.
Since Ash had already released all his Pokémon, they decided to have a picnic.
Brock and Misty also released their Pokémon so they could play and interact together.
This helped increase their Friendship.
"Ash, your Metapod should evolve soon, right?" Brock asked while calculating the timing.
It would probably evolve in about one more day.
"Yeah, about a day left."
Ash knew that Metapod needed roughly a week to evolve into Butterfree.
Right now, Metapod was constantly rebuilding its internal cells in preparation for evolution.
Brock soon finished preparing lunch.
The delicious aroma made all the Pokémon extremely excited.
"Brock, your cooking is amazing!" Misty praised after taking a bite.
"Top-notch!" Ash agreed.
It was rare to eat fresh hot food in the wild.
For the Pokémon, it was their first time eating something this delicious.
Compared to the "dark cuisine" they had eaten earlier, this was on an entirely different level.
As expected of a Pokémon Breeder—Brock could take excellent care of both people and Pokémon.
Ash silently declared:
I hereby recognize Brock as the world's greatest Pokémon Breeder!!!
After packing up their supplies, the group decided to pick up the pace.
Battling random Pokémon on the roadside now gave very little experience, so continuing would just waste time.
Fortunately, Brock knew the routes well.
He led them through a shortcut, while explaining the history of Mt. Moon along the way.
"Pika?"
Pikachu suddenly raised its ears.
It heard something unusual.
A scream.
Ash, Misty, and Brock exchanged glances before heading toward the sound.
"Wow… that sounds awful," Misty said worriedly as the screams grew louder.
"Could it be some vicious Pokémon?"
"Probably not," Brock replied, though he wasn't completely sure.
While Pokémon ecosystems were usually stable, sometimes certain Pokémon would settle in new territory and aggressively defend their nests.
Soon they reached the source of the scream.
At the entrance of a cave, a researcher in a white lab coat and glasses was lying on the ground while being attacked by a swarm of Zubat.
When he saw Ash's group, his eyes filled with desperate hope.
Pokémon: Zubat — Lv.17
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
Pikachu leapt forward as intense electricity erupted from its body.
The attack struck the Zubat swarm, knocking them all to the ground.
After a while, the Zubat recovered and fled back into the cave in embarrassment.
Meanwhile, the poor researcher—who had been thoroughly battered by the Zubat—immediately rushed over and hugged Ash tightly, crying with relief.
"You guys are amazing!"
"Thank you for saving my life!"
"What are you doing?!" Misty shouted, seeing Ash trapped in the man's embrace.
Ash struggled but couldn't break free.
Brock silently watched the scene unfold.
"…Please don't do that."
Ash awkwardly pried the researcher's arms off and stepped back to create some safe distance.
"Hehe, sorry about that."
"I was just a little too excited."
The researcher scratched his head sheepishly.
"By the way," Brock asked, "why were you being attacked by a group of Zubat?"
"Well… it's a long story."
The researcher introduced himself.
"My name is Luke."
"I'm a researcher from the Pewter City Science Museum, devoted to love and justice."
Ash and his companions fell silent.
For some reason…
This researcher sounded like he would fit in perfectly with Team Rocket.