"Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur?"
Misty was stunned. She had only gone back to catch up on some sleep—how had Ash already managed to catch a Squirtle?
Brock crouched down and carefully examined Squirtle. Then he lightly tapped Squirtle on the head.
The sound was surprisingly crisp.
"Squirtle?!"
Clutching its head, Squirtle let out a pained cry and glared at Brock with an unfriendly look. It had only just stepped down from being the leader of a delinquent gang, and now it was already getting bullied. If its former subordinates were still around, this guy would definitely end up tied to a tree begging for mercy.
"Bulba~!"
"Pika-Pika!"
"Char~!"
Bulbasaur, Pikachu, and Charmander all spoke up for Squirtle, accusing Brock of bullying it.
"Sorry, I was just curious," Brock said quickly, sensing the situation turning bad.
Ash had somehow gathered all three Kanto starters—and every one of them had been abandoned by previous Trainers.
The unbelievable part was that each of them was incredibly strong. With proper training, any of them could become a core member of the team.
Bulbasaur and Squirtle possessed Elite Four Tier Potential, while Charmander even had Champion Tier Potential.
Each of the starters also carried a signature held item:
Bulbasaur — Miracle Seed
Squirtle — Mystic Water
Charmander — Charcoal
For now, Ash intended to let them keep using these items in battles, since they boosted the power of their same-type moves. When the Indigo League came around, he would start switching their held items according to battle strategy.
Charmander's level was still a bit low—only Level 14. It would need big brother Pikachu to take it out for some training. Bulbasaur also needed to reach the Elite Tier soon.
"Ash, we should restock some supplies," Brock said after calculating their remaining resources. "We're running a bit low."
"Alright. Then I'll leave Misty to watch things here," Ash said as he slung his backpack over his shoulder and headed straight for the shop.
Fortunately, Professor Oak had sponsored him with over 100,000 PokéDollars. Otherwise, he really wouldn't dare buy much.
Potions, Moomoo Milk, Full Heals, and all kinds of Berries…
Ash planned to raise Charmander to at least the Standard Tier before reaching Vermilion City.
The tricky part was that these three starters didn't seem like ordinary Pokémon that evolved simply by reaching a certain level. It felt like they needed some kind of special trigger.
Once again, Ash stuffed his backpack until it was bulging.
Brock even started wondering whether Ash's family owned a mine somewhere. Every time Ash entered a shop, it looked like he was stocking inventory—he didn't even glance at the price tags.
"We're finally back!"
Misty eagerly accepted the ice cream Ash handed her and immediately began enjoying it. The cool sweetness instantly lifted her mood.
Seeing how happily she was eating, Ash couldn't help smiling. Misty had always loved ice cream, so he made sure to bring her one this time.
At the same time, he prepared a bowl of icy shaved ice for each of his Pokémon, tailored to Pikachu's tastes.
Pikachu excitedly grabbed its portion, rubbing its little paws together before eagerly digging in.
"Once you're done eating, get ready to rest," Ash said. "We're setting out early tomorrow morning."
The Next Morning
Ash and his companions packed up and set off.
Their destination was Bill's Lighthouse, where they would meet an old friend of Professor Oak.
It was both Oak's request and somewhere Ash planned to visit anyway—after all, the place was famous for sightings of an Ancient Dragonite.
That Ancient Dragonite was incredibly powerful. In the original events, Team Rocket had harassed it, causing it to casually destroy Bill's Lighthouse.
Its enormous size was terrifying. Even Ash's Gyarados would probably only be about as big as one of its whiskers.
Frankly, Ash didn't want to get involved in this mess.
But the System had issued a mission requiring him to at least get acquainted with the Ancient Dragonite.
After all, ancient Pokémon were completely different from normal Pokémon.
There had never been a confirmed case of one being captured with a Poké Ball.
Many ancient Pokémon existed—like Gengar, Alakazam, and Jigglypuff—but those ancient forms could only be sealed using special artifacts. There were no records of anyone defeating one either.
Meanwhile, big brother Pikachu had already become a mature and reliable Pokémon. It was leading the others in battling wild Pokémon along the roadside.
Taking advantage of the moment, Ash checked his System's current mission.
[Mission: Negotiate with the Ancient Dragonite]
(Battle is not prohibited as a method of negotiation)
PS: It is recommended that the host does not stubbornly attempt to attack the Ancient Dragonite. Of course, this is only a suggestion.
Reward: Ancient Dragonite's Scale
(Keep it safe. It might be useful someday.)
Ash couldn't help muttering:
"System… you're actually pretty nice. Even giving me a friendly reminder not to attack Ancient Dragonite."
If he wanted a peaceful negotiation with the Ancient Dragonite, he would first have to deal with the Team Rocket members secretly stirring up trouble.
It would be best if things could be resolved peacefully. There was no need to fight if it could be avoided.
Ash also wondered whether his Pokémon Affinity Reputation might work on Ancient Dragonite.
What if that reputation made Ancient Dragonite willing to give him some face and talk things out peacefully?
The "Central Heating" reputation only worked on humans—it made people easily develop goodwill toward him, but only to a moderate extent.
The Nemesis of Evil Reputation was even easier to understand. It increased whenever Ash stopped Team Rocket's destructive schemes.
Unfortunately, with the current Team Rocket trio being so harmless, gaining more of that reputation had become difficult.
After sorting through his chaotic thoughts, Ash made thorough preparations.
If Ancient Dragonite showed even the slightest sign of hostility—
He would run.
After all, as the System had warned:
Don't stubbornly try to fight Ancient Dragonite.
Ash opened his System Status Panel again.
Name: Ash
Abilities: None
Identity: Rookie Trainer
Main Quest: Become the world's greatest Pokémon Master
Regional Quest – Kanto:
Win the Indigo League Championship
Current Mission:
Negotiate with Ancient Dragonite
(Battle is not prohibited as a method)
Reward: Ancient Dragonite's Scale
A translucent screen appeared in Ash's vision.
The System panel looked mostly the same as before, except for the addition of the Current Mission, likely displayed to prevent him from forgetting about it.
However, something caught Ash's attention.
What exactly was the "Abilities" category on the attribute page?
He had completed many missions already, yet none had rewarded actual abilities—only Reputation, which was loosely related.
Each reputation could only be raised to 10 points, and most of his were still stuck at 1 point.
Could reaching 10 points unlock a special ability?
For example, Pokémon Affinity Reputation.
Just 1 point already made wild Pokémon feel noticeably friendly toward him.
If it were maxed out…
Would even Legendary Pokémon react the same way?
If that were the case, maybe he could even talk Pokémon into cooperation with pure persuasion alone.
Ash then checked on Pikachu and the others.
Pikachu, Butterfree, and Pidgeotto had already reached maximum Friendship with him.
The Kanto starters, meanwhile, had all reached 180 Friendship.
Part of that high friendship level was probably thanks to his Pokémon Affinity Reputation.
Normally, a newly captured Pokémon started with about 70 Friendship, while Pokémon hatched from Eggs started with 120.
The higher the friendship between a Pokémon and its Trainer, the deeper the trust between them.
At high levels, Trainers could convey commands and emotions through subtle body language and expressions.
For some special Pokémon, extremely high friendship could even allow them to communicate telepathically with their Trainers.
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