Ash, who was in the group, stood at the pinnacle of various fields; each person was an extraordinary individual in their own world.
However, this also meant that they had already been shaped, standing at the peak of various fields, and could only stand at the peak of one such field.
If they wanted to transition or learn knowledge and skills in other areas, unless there was commonality between the two, such as Tactician Xiao Zhi and Champion Xiao Zhi, they would not learn knowledge from other fields, and even if they did, they would not be able to stand at the peak of that field like the other Ashs.
But the new Ash was different; he knew nothing, but he was also at a stage where he could learn anything.
The Ashs in the group represented the possibilities for Ash from various parallel worlds to develop in other directions, which meant that, theoretically, Mengxin Xiaozhi possessed the potential of Ash from all parallel worlds.
He had the potential to become a Breeder, a tactical master, a top Trainer, a top fisherman, a mechanic, a chef, and so on.
Therefore, the various Ashs in the group discussed and unanimously agreed on one thing: to cultivate the new Ash into an unprecedented, all-around Ash!
If this could truly be achieved, the impact on the new Ash and his world would be extremely terrifying. Perhaps… he could accomplish what all other Ashs had failed to do: defeat the creator god of the Pokémon world—Arceus!
However, these were all just conjectures; whether it could be achieved would depend on how much of his potential Mengxin Xiaozhi could unleash and whether he was willing to learn from the people in the group.
Fortunately, even though there was a lot to learn in the group, Mengxin Xiaozhi had no intention of giving up. To become a Pokémon Master, he was indeed willing to give his all.
The people in the group also did not tell him their expectations or the goals they wanted Mengxin Xiaozhi to achieve, as doing so would put too much pressure on Mengxin Xiaozhi.
Currently, Mengxin Xiaozhi was making steady progress, and everything was moving in a good direction.
...
After Ash prepared food for Metapod and Pikachu, he also had Xiao Xia release her Pokémon.
Among the Pokémon Xiao Xia carried, besides a Goldeen, the other two were Pokémon that could survive on land, though not for long periods, as they would dehydrate. But letting them out to eat was not a problem.
"Come out, my darlings~~" Xiao Xia sweetly called out as she released her two Pokémon: a brown Staryu with a small gem in the center, and a sky-blue Starmie with a brilliant red gem in the center.
Starmie is the evolved form of Staryu; this was new knowledge Ash had just learned from the group, so Ash was also a bit puzzled. How did Xiao Xia capture two Pokémon of the same species?
However, these were irrelevant matters. This was the first time Xiao Xia had released her Pokémon in three days. Pokémon in a Poké Ball maintain minimal energy consumption, so it didn't matter if they didn't eat for a week.
Ash also saw the level of Xiao Xia's Pokémon for the first time—Superior level!
Starmie, Superior Peak.
Staryu, Superior High.
One was just a step away from the Professional level, and the other was also Superior High. No wonder Xiao Xia had said what she did back then.
If Pikachu's strength at that time were to battle these two Pokémon of Xiao Xia's, the chances of winning could be said to be infinitely close to zero.
As for now… who knew?
Xiao Xia had special Pokémon food for Starmie and them, but she didn't bring much, and the brand was one Ash had never seen before.
"Xiao Xia, where did you buy this? This food's logo… why is it a droplet-like symbol?" Ash asked curiously, looking at the droplet symbol on the Starmie-specific food packaging.
Pokémon food in shopping malls and supermarkets all had manufacturer logos, but Ash knew the logos of those big brands. He had never seen Xiao Xia's.
"Uh… ha, this is produced by a small Water-type Pokémon food supplier. It's not well-known, so it's normal that you don't know it."
"Is that so? Xiao Xia, are you hiding something from me?"
"What could I be hiding from you? Are you being too sensitive?"
"Really?" Ash's face gradually drew closer to Xiao Xia, making her break out in a cold sweat. Just as Ash's face was less than five centimeters from Xiao Xia's, he suddenly pulled away.
"Never mind, after all, we've only been together for a few days, so it's normal that some things can't be said. But I believe that the longer we are together, you will definitely trust me," Ash said, hands on his hips, a smile on his face.
"Together… together? You mean traveling together!!"
"Hmm? Isn't that the same?"
"No, it's not!!"
...
After a small interlude, the two and their Pokémon enjoyed a pleasant lunch.
After eating their fill, the two tidied up, planning to rest a bit and then continue their journey. Just then, a flash of light streaked past, aiming directly at Metapod next to Ash.
Ash, quick-witted, grabbed the figure that was trying to attack Metapod, seizing the opponent by the scruff of its neck.
"What is this? Pidgeotto?" After Ash caught the opponent, he finally saw its appearance clearly. It was Pidgeotto, the evolved form of Pidgey, the Kanto region's common bird Pokémon.
Pidgey is a common Flying-type Pokémon found everywhere in the Kanto region. Like Spearow, it is called a common bird, but Pidgey has a gentle temperament and is more suitable for a Rookie Trainer.
However, once Pidgey evolves into Pidgeotto, it's different. Pidgeotto's temperament is no less fierce than Spearow's, making it a Pokémon difficult for a Rookie Trainer to control.
But no matter how fierce its temperament, if it's caught by the scruff of its neck by a human during a high-speed dive, and has no power to resist, its temperament will become docile.
Is this even a human?
"I say, what were you trying to do to my Metapod?" Ash held Pidgeotto in front of him, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
This guy looked like he wanted to eat his Metapod!
"Pidge… Pidge…" Pidgeotto's forehead dripped with sweat, and it mumbled that it hadn't done anything, just felt a kinship with Metapod and came over to say hello.
"Is that so?"
"Pidge!!"
"Then I'll take you at your word. Let's have a battle. If you win, I'll let you go. If you lose, you'll become my Pokémon."
"Pidge?"
"What?" Not just Pidgeotto, even Xiao Xia was baffled. Why was he suddenly going to have a capture battle?
In the past few days, Ash had encountered many Pokémon, but besides Caterpie, Ash hadn't made a move again. He had also encountered Spearow and Pidgey along the way, but he hadn't captured them either.
Why would Ash want to capture this Pidgeotto? Didn't he want to train one from a Pidgey?
The answer, of course, was not what Xiao Xia guessed.
The reason Ash wanted to capture this Pidgeotto was because… of the advice from the big shots in the group and this Pidgeotto's sufficiently strong potential.