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Facing Misty's angry roar, Brock and Ash responded with cheerful smiles that they were going to the hot springs. Misty rolled her eyes, her face showing strong displeasure. They went to the hot springs without calling her? That was too much!
She hadn't even been to a hot spring since arriving at Cinnabar Island, which was famous for them!
Yet Ash and the others had gone to enjoy themselves, while she was foolishly looking for them after her shower.
"Sorry, sorry, it's just that you went straight to shower! It's okay, we'll be staying on Cinnabar Island for a while longer. We can relax during this time, after all, there's only one stop left, so we don't have to rush so much." Ash comforted Misty with a big smile.
It actually wouldn't take too long to get back to Viridian City from Cinnabar Island, because Cinnabar Island had a ship that could go directly to Vermilion City, and from Vermilion City, it would be much simpler to return to Viridian City.
As long as they didn't get lost, they could be back in Viridian City in at most half a month. And they still had about two and a half months to prepare, so time was completely sufficient. Staying here to play for a bit longer was perfectly fine.
Misty, who had been somewhat angry, instantly broke into a joyful smile. If they could stay here longer, then that was a different matter. She had originally thought Ash would be setting off again tomorrow.
After all, there was only one Gym Badge left. Anyone with a collecting habit or who played games knew that, generally, at the final step, they would be very anxious to complete it quickly, even more anxious than at the beginning.
So, Ash's sudden change from his previous hurried travel behavior still surprised Misty greatly.
"In that case, I'll forgive you, but you have to pay for all the expenses on Cinnabar Island. This place is very expensive, and I'm not as rich as you are~" Misty said with a sly smile, leaning close to Ash.
Smelling the fragrance so close, Ash subconsciously took a step back, and then he was strangely puzzled… Why did he step back?
This thought only flashed in Ash's mind for a moment before disappearing. He smiled and nodded, indicating that all of Misty and Brock's expenses on this island would be covered by him!
For Ash, money was just a number now. Although he couldn't say he was rich enough to rival the entire League, ensuring financial freedom for himself and his companions was definitely not a problem.
The prerequisite was not to get involved with any top-tier items, otherwise, with Ash's current wealth, he could at most buy one or two. After all, that perfume only sold for a month, and earning so much money in a month was almost like picking up money.
Without buying those expensive items, the money Ash had was enough for Misty and Brock to stay on this island for a lifetime, and spend freely.
After getting Ash's approval, Misty's mood was clearly even more joyful. She thanked Ash with a radiant smile, then ran back to her bed to sleep. It was already late, and if it weren't for Ash's Gym battle, she would have been asleep long ago.
"Then I'm going to sleep too. Ash, aren't you tired? How do you still look so energetic?" Brock said, getting into his own bed while curiously looking at Ash.
He and Misty were almost getting dark circles under their eyes, but Ash still looked full of vigor. One should know that Ash should be the most tired one!
Battling Blaine, not to mention boosting and commanding his Pokémon, he even personally fought against an Elite-level Pokémon. To still be so energetic under these circumstances, what kind of medicine did he take?
"Hey, it's all minor stuff. You guys go to sleep first, I'll review today's battle again." Ash waved his hand, then jumped onto the bed, leaning against it. Togepi and Pikachu were sleeping on either side of Ash.
Brock looked at the two drowsy Pokémon, then at Ash, sighed, "It's good to be young," and then pulled up his blanket, turning over to sleep.
Ash clasped his hands behind his head, his eyes slightly closed. He was going to check the new ability he had drawn in his mind.
One-time exclusive S-rank ability: Limit Break.
For Ash's Pikachu only, it can unconditionally break Pikachu's limit once, allowing Pikachu to evolve in all aspects.
This time, the S-rank description was just this much, similar to the one-time S-rank ability, Chosen Radiance. It seemed to give a sense of confusion, but after Breeder Ash's explanation, Ash completely understood what this ability was all about.
Although he really wanted to use this ability on Pikachu right now, he didn't know what would happen to Pikachu when the limit was broken, so he temporarily held back the power and decided to wait until he woke up tomorrow morning.
Afterward, Ash entered the chat group and continued to immerse himself in the ocean of knowledge.
Trainer knowledge, on-the-spot command, and experience in spotting weaknesses—these couldn't be learned in a short time. But after several months of Ash's nightly study, he was becoming more and more proficient in battles.
Moreover, Ash was no longer just learning and memorizing knowledge; he was truly becoming more and more interested in Pokémon theoretical knowledge, genuinely wanting to understand it.
When learning becomes an interest, it will no longer be tedious and boring, and learning will be much lighter.
Mainly, learning some incredibly dirty tactics from Tactical Ash was interesting just to hear about. And no matter what tactic, it required a large amount of knowledge to support it. Therefore, in order to become the second person to bring a smile to the opponent through a duel, we are naturally duty-bound!
...Early the next morning, Ash woke up early, took the still-sleepy Pikachu out of the room, and placed the half-asleep Togepi by Misty's bed.
Besides him, Togepi was closest to Misty. With Misty around, Togepi could sleep a bit longer. Otherwise, if he left for not long, Togepi would wake up and start running around looking for him.
If it accidentally used Metronome and blew up the hotel, that would be a big problem… After coming outside, the sky hadn't fully brightened yet. Pikachu rubbed its eyes, asking Ash why he brought him out so early. Hadn't they agreed to relax these past few days? Why was he running around training so early again?
Ash looked left and right, confirmed no one was around, then squatted down and said to Pikachu with a serious expression: "Pikachu, you must have felt it recently, right? No matter how you train, your strength can't improve."
"Pika? Pikapika!! Pikachu Pika!" Pikachu, who was still a bit sleepy-eyed, instantly became wide awake upon hearing Ash bring up this topic. He gesticulated, telling Ash about his training feelings during this time. He had clearly put in more effort than before, but for some reason, his strength hadn't improved at all.
He had been stuck at the Professional peak for over half a month now, and even after defeating an Elite-level Pokémon, he still felt no improvement at all. This was clearly not normal!
He had originally wanted to tell Ash after the battle, but he forgot because the hot springs were too comfortable. Now that Ash brought it up, Pikachu quickly told Ash all about his physical condition.
"I know, I know. You're stuck at a bottleneck, unable to move. I brought you out this morning to solve this problem. If you feel any discomfort, just shock me hard to vent it, don't hold back."
"Pikachu Pikachu???" What do you want to do???
Hearing Ash say this, Pikachu instantly had a bad premonition. How painful would it be to make him shock Ash so exaggeratedly!
He had experienced a lot of pain during battles, but he had never tried needing to shock Ash to vent the discomfort in his body.
"Ahem, it's just possibly, possibly. I don't know what will happen, but one thing is for sure: your bottleneck problem can definitely be solved. However, you will pay the price of a level decrease, so be mentally prepared."
"Pika…" Level decrease… Pikachu was silent for less than a second, then looked up, his eyes firm. If his level decreased, then so be it. Compared to a level decrease, staying at this realm for a lifetime was what he absolutely could not tolerate!
Since coming to Ash's side, he had basically always been the big brother of the team. There weren't many whose level was higher than his. At most, Gengar counted as one. As for that Aerodactyl, to be honest, if they really fought, it was still uncertain who would win.
So, basically, only Gengar could suppress him in the team.
However, now, his level had gradually begun to be caught up by the later Pokémon. Whether it was Gardevoir or Charizard, they were all rapidly improving, and would soon surpass him.
Now that there was finally a way to solve his level problem, how could Pikachu let go of this opportunity? Even if his level dropped to zero, he had to go for it!
After getting Pikachu's consent, Ash also poured the ability value in his mind into Pikachu's body. Pikachu only saw a white light enter his body, and then… nothing happened.
Just as Pikachu was about to ask Ash what was going on, he suddenly felt a burning sensation rise in his body, followed by a piercing pain that spread from all his limbs and bones.
"Pika!!!" Pikachu shrieked, and the electricity on his body instantly erupted, then all poured onto Ash. Ash did not use Aura, but instead endured the electrical power used by Pikachu.
The pain Pikachu suffered, he also suffered with Pikachu. This was also why Ash told Pikachu to use Thunderbolt on him if he felt uncomfortable.
Pikachu's screams lasted for about tens of seconds, and then slowly stopped. Ash was also shocked for tens of seconds, and his clothes were even charred black and could no longer be worn.
And for a monster like Ash, he could still withstand this level of electricity. Pain was pain, but it wouldn't cause any substantial damage.
The moment Pikachu stopped the electricity, Ash quickly went to Pikachu to check his condition. At this moment, Pikachu's aura appeared very weak, and his whole body had fallen to the ground, listless.
Ash infused Viridian Power into Pikachu's body, and also checked Pikachu's condition.
Internal injuries—very severe internal injuries!
This kind of damage, caused from the inside out, was why Pikachu was so painful and looked like this.
This injury should be related to Pikachu's level decrease. Ordinary Pokémon, after suffering damage that affects their origin, may even experience a level decrease.
However, Pikachu did the opposite. After experiencing a level decrease, it caused severe injuries to its own body.
But with Viridian Power, and since Pikachu wasn't fundamentally injured, he would recover quickly.
Ash activated his Eye of Insight to check Pikachu's status.
[Species: Pikachu (First Evolution)]
[Gender: Male]
[Type: Electric]
[Level: Professional Intermediate]
[Ability: Static]
[Skills: Thunderbolt, Volt Tackle, Thunder, Electric Terrain...]
[Six-dimensional stats: Physical Attack B—A (S) Special Attack S (S) Defense B—A (A) Special Defense B—A (A) HP B—A (A) Speed A—S (S)]
These were Pikachu's brand new stats and status bar.
The six A-rank stats directly advanced to three S-rank and three A-rank, and Special Attack was fixed at S-rank. The other stats' fluctuations also became B—A, with Speed being A—S. The changes were undeniably significant.
Moreover, when Pikachu entered Partner form, in addition to a minor level increase, his stats would also improve.
Previously, Pikachu's stats were at most A-rank, and if they improved further, they could reach S-rank. But now, Pikachu's stats were basically fixed at B, A, and two could even reach S-rank.
In other words, the current Pikachu, when entering Partner form, might even have stats that surpass S-rank!
Surpassing S-rank… Even legendary Pokémon don't reach such stat values!
When they met Ho-Oh, Ho-Oh's all-attributes reached a magnificent six S-rank, but they were still S-rank, with no situation of surpassing S-rank.
If Pikachu's ability surpassed S-rank, then in that particular stat, how many levels could Pikachu fight above?
This would only be known after actual combat.
Additionally, besides the change in stats, Pikachu's level also dropped by two levels, from Professional peak to Professional intermediate, a reverse level-up.
And next to Pikachu's name were two small characters: [First Improvement].
What did these two characters mean?