At this moment, Alex Carter and his companions had finished the Gym battle in Golden City and were preparing to head towards Rainbow City.
While taking a short break on the road, Ash suddenly wanted to call Professor Oak to update him on his progress.
Meanwhile, Alex was calculating his points in his mind. He had received a substantial number of points for helping Natsume resolve her inner turmoil and regain her humanity. This hidden quest had yielded many rewards.
From the point mall, he exchanged his points for a device he had long wanted, one that would allow Haunter to evolve into Gengar without needing to be traded. To avoid attracting attention, the device was designed to look like an ornament, and Haunter looked quite fitting and handsome wearing it.
"Hello, Professor Oak, how are you?" Ash said as he dialed the number.
"Ah? It's Ash! I was just guessing you'd be calling with good news. How are things going?" Professor Oak responded with a smile.
"Look! I've already earned four badges," Ash said, proudly displaying his collection.
"How about that? Four badges is still too few," Professor Oak replied, taking a sip of tea.
Ash heard this and nearly fell out of the phone booth. "Hey, hey, Ash, are you still alive? Gary and your other rivals have already earned five badges and passed through Rainbow City. They just called me. Not only that, but even Alex has five badges!"
"That Gary…" Ash muttered through gritted teeth.
"I might as well tell you, Gary's performance is excellent, second only to Alex. The number of Pokémon he has caught has reached 30. If Alex didn't have his own plans, he would have caught even more by now and is just helping me collect information on Pokémon."
"Ash, how about your situation? Is everything going smoothly? My Pokémon Box here is still waiting for the next Pokémon you send over!"
At that moment, Ash's Krabby appeared on the screen.
"Huh? Is that a Krabby? It's quite cute," Alex said, pointing at the crab on the screen.
"Krabby, are you doing well?" Ash asked with concern.
"He's my good friend now. From now on, I'm going to have some fun activities with Krabby. Eating yokan with Pokémon, wow, delicious! How about that?" Professor Oak said with a smile.
"I don't understand art anymore, Professor," Ash said, looking crestfallen.
"Pfft! Professor, I think this is great for you. You could even launch a new series where you use Krabby's claws to help you make food, and then eat it together. That would be even better—more artistic!" Alex suggested, chuckling.
"Hmm, Xiao Chen is more refined, hahaha. For a young man, whether it's literature or Pokémon, the most important thing is the basics. To become the world's number one Trainer, you naturally have to lay a good foundation. When you have nothing to do, you should learn more from Xiao Chen. Well then, I'll wait for your next call," Professor Oak said before hanging up.
Afterward, Ash dejectedly walked over to where Brock and Misty were resting.
At this time, Misty, Brock, Pikachu, and Haunter were enjoying rice balls.
"Ash, don't be so sad! Come and eat the rice balls Brock made; they're really delicious! Xiao Chen, you should try them too."
"The round ones are plum, and the triangular ones are nori rice balls. We got some really good nori this time," Brock explained, pulling out a tray filled with different kinds of sushi.
Alex took a bite. "Wow, it's really delicious! Brock, your cooking is amazing!"
He never expected Brock to be such a good cook. Following them meant good food, which saved him a lot of expenses.
"I heard Gary got five badges," Ash said, lowering his head.
"Ah, so that's it. You've been outpaced by Gary again," Misty said after finishing a pickled plum.
"Xiao Chen, you said this road leads to Rainbow City, right?" Brock asked.
"That's right. Just keep going straight along this road, and you'll reach Rainbow City," Alex confirmed, nodding.
"I think everyone still has a day's journey ahead," Brock added, pointing down the road.
Ash then turned his hat backward. "I won't lose to them!"
"Don't rush, don't rush. Don't you remember you once told me that you have your own way of doing things?" Misty said with a smile.
"Exactly! Like convincing Haunter last time. Collecting all sorts of different types of Pokémon will definitely come in handy," Brock said, finishing his rice ball.
"Yes, Ash, you can't be impatient. Nothing happens overnight. Just take your time," Alex advised, picking up another rice ball to eat.
"And I'll tell you a secret: if a Pokémon's strength increases too quickly, they might lose control. That's because your strength isn't on par with theirs yet."
"I've experienced something like that before, so now I'm working hard to build the bond between me and my Pokémon while striving to improve myself," Alex added.
"Oh? There's something like that? Then I really need to work hard!" Ash's fighting spirit was rekindled.
Suddenly, the grass in front of them rustled, and a white monkey with a pig-like snout appeared.
Alex took out his Pokédex. "Mankey, the Pig Monkey Pokémon, Fighting-type. It punches with extreme speed and moves with light steps. Mankey has a very short temper and is easily angered. Their anger can be completely baseless. If someone makes it angry, it will chase them relentlessly."
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