Ash, with his invincible physical body, wants to become a Pokémon Master.

Chapter 2 Battle with Xiaoxia

It was the early morning of the second day after we left Pallet Town to officially begin our journey.

After another intense sit-up workout, Ash took a bottle of bright red ketchup out of his backpack and handed it to Pikachu in his arms.

"Pikachu, you should know that I firmly chose you from among all the starter Pokémon!"

"Pikachu!"

Xiao Zhi really wasn't lying.

He wasn't late on his way to collect his starter Pokémon.

Early that morning, Ash kicked open Professor Oak's steel door and was the first to arrive at the lab.

He also really likes Charmander, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle.

But how could Ash be without Pikachu?

A journey without Pikachu is incomplete; after all, it's a 'true legendary Pokémon'.

Using the excuse that he wanted an Electric-type Pikachu as his initial Pokémon, he got Professor Oak to give it to him.

These processes are all things that Pikachu can perceive within the Poké Ball.

It turned its cute little head and nodded to Ash, indicating that it agreed with what he said.

[Ding! Pikachu's affection level +10]

"Why is it another increase in favorability? Increase intimacy too."

Since yesterday evening, Ash has been making various attempts to increase his intimacy with Pikachu.

Unfortunately, even with his last trump card, Pikachu's favorite tomato sauce, he only increased Pikachu's affection by 30.

There's absolutely no intimacy level; it didn't even increase this morning when I was holding Pikachu and completing the daily quest.

Ash looked at Pikachu's panel and felt a headache coming on.

Pokémon Name: Pikachu (Destined Partner)

Affection level: 80 (Pikachu will obey your commands without hesitation during battles)

Intimacy level: 10 (Seems somewhat distant towards you)

"If you really want to connect with Pokémon, you still have to battle!"

Ash lifted Pikachu, who was happily sucking on tomato sauce, so that its eyes were level with his own.

"Pikachu, you were my first Pokémon, and you are the most important partner in my heart."

"It's okay if you hate going back into your Poké Ball, I respect that."

"My dream is to become a Pokémon Master, can you help me?"

Pikachu looked at Ash's determined eyes, put down the ketchup bottle in its hand, pondered for a moment, and then nodded.

"Pikachu!"

"Alright, after we finish breakfast, let's set off to find Pokémon and battle them."

—Abducting the latissimus dorsi muscles—

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

A yellow-white lightning bolt was released from Pikachu's tail and struck the Weedle on the other side in an instant.

The unicorn was rendered unable to fight by a single blow.

Thanks to its type advantage, Pikachu is like a war god, winning battle after battle in Viridian Forest, which is full of Bug-type Pokémon.

Of course, these are just the starting Pokémon for novice trainers.

Pikachu's opponents were all baby-type Pokémon such as Caterpie and Weedle.

However, Ash's guess was correct: Pikachu's friendship level would increase by 2 after each battle.

The continuous battles have strengthened the bond between Ash and Pikachu.

Pikachu's friendship level has finally reached 40.

This means that a total of 15 insects fell victim to their cruelty.

Just as Ash was making good progress, an unexpected accident occurred, as expected.

Beedrill from the forests of the Kanto region, just like Ursaring from the forests of the Sinnoh region, are regional specialties that novice trainers should not miss.

After defeating three Weedles in a row, Ash finally faced pursuit from his parents.

"Damn it, run, Pikachu!"

Ash scooped up Pikachu in front of him and sprinted forward.

Closely following them was a swarm of bee-like bees with bloodshot eyes.

There are just too many Beedrills.

Pikachu was so exhausted from using Thunderbolt to defeat several Beedrill queens that she couldn't use any more moves.

In the blink of an eye, Pikachu was struck by the poison stings released by several Beedrill.

Ash defeated the five Beedrill queens with his fists and then decisively chose to run away.

"Is this Viridian Forest still a beginner's village? How come these Beedrill are all so high level?"

I threw several Poké Balls in a row, trying to reduce the number of pursuers behind me, but I failed to catch any of them.

Ash hadn't run far when he realized he had reached a dead end, with a cliff in front of him.

I glanced at the swarm of bees behind me and the great river below the cliff.

Xiao Zhi could only grit his teeth.

"Pikachu, take a deep breath, hold it, and let's jump!"

With a leap, Ash and Pikachu disappeared into the river with a splash.

After losing track of Ash, the Beedrill had no choice but to turn back to the forest.

At this time, on the riverbank downstream.

An orange-haired girl wearing a tank top and shorts is intently fishing.

Seeing the buoy on the river swaying, the girl excitedly lifted her fishing rod.

"The reaction was so intense; it might be one of those legendary big prey!"

The girl increased her strength, and after several attempts, she finally succeeded in throwing her prey from the river onto the bank.

A little Ash was seen leaping out of the water with Pikachu in his arms, only to be flung onto the shore by a fishing rod.

The fishhook used to pull Xiaozhi out of the river by dangling his backpack.

"What the heck? How come it's a person?"

Misty, who had been hoping to catch a rare Water-type Pokémon, was instantly disappointed.

But the kind-hearted girl still ran over to check on Ash's condition.

"You and Pikachu are badly injured, are you alright?"

After struggling to cough up the water from his throat, Xiaozhi finally had the strength to speak.

"Thank you..."

Before he could finish speaking, he stared blankly at the delicate face of the orange-haired girl in front of him.

[Ding! New Legendary Questline Triggered: Cerulean Mermaid: Reach 10 Affinity with Misty. Reward: Increases the chance of catching a Water-type Pokémon by 5%]

"What are you looking at?" Xiaoxia asked, puzzled.

"No, I just think you're so cute."

"ah……!"

Although Xiaoxia claims to be the most beautiful girl in the universe every day.

But actually, she felt somewhat inferior because of her three older sisters who were famous for their beauty.

This is the first time a stranger has complimented her on her cuteness upon meeting her.

Even Xiaoxia blushed slightly.

[Ding! Xiaoxia's favorability +1.]

But she quickly realized what was happening and said to Ash with a hint of anger.

"This is not the time to talk about this. You should have more important things to do right now."

"Look at your Pikachu, it's so badly injured. Take it to get treated right away!"

Upon hearing this, Ash quickly picked up Pikachu beside him.

I was so tempted by her beauty that I almost forgot about my most important partner.

It was Ash's first time traveling, and he lacked experience, so he didn't have enough medicine for his injuries.

I used it hastily in the previous battles, and now I really don't know what to do.

"There's a Pokémon Center nearby in Viridian City, let's go!"

"Yes, there's a hospital there. Where is Tokiwa City located?"

Xiao Zhi, suddenly realizing what was happening, didn't even know where he was.

"Over there," the girl pointed bluntly.

"Thank you so much for saving my life, Xia. I'll take the bicycle now, and I'll repay you properly next time."

Ash quickly ran to the roadside, got on his bicycle, and set off towards Viridian City with Pikachu on the back.

"Hey, wait a minute. This is my only bicycle."

Xiaoxia saw that Xiaozhi was about to ride her bicycle away and quickly spoke up.

"And how did you know my name?"

With a wave of his hand, Ash walked away without looking back.

"I'll borrow it for now, and return it to you next time we meet!"

"Really."

Watching helplessly as Ash walked away, Misty could only grumble.