"Professor Oak, I've discovered a new formula. It should have a much better recovery effect for Pokémon."
When Oak heard Ash's voice, he turned around with a smile. "Another new discovery? What did you accidentally eat this time to stumble upon it?"
Looking at the Professor, Ash gave a look of utter speechlessness. "Professor, I've told you, I'm not just eating random things. The Pokémon bring them to me. Their survival instincts in the wild are much stronger than ours."
"I see, I see. But humans and Pokémon are different, after all. Well, let me see your formula. If it works, your family will have another sizable chunk of funding coming in."
Oak didn't underestimate Ash. Over time, Ash had used materials provided by Pokémon to create several excellent medicinal formulas that made life much easier for both Trainers and their partners. While the Professor found it hard to imagine how a child like Ash could come up with such things, he was certain of one thing: Ash was an absolute genius.
If Ash knew what the Professor was thinking, he'd probably laugh out loud. A genius? Hardly. He was simply borrowing the medical knowledge from his previous life and adapting it. Many plants and minerals in the Pokémon world were similar to those on Earth, just with more potent effects. With his deep background in medicine and nutrition, mixing remedies was second nature to him—just like his cooking.
The reason Ash gave his formulas to Oak was strategic. By leveraging the Professor's connections, Ash and Delia could easily secure patents. While the Pokémon world was beautiful, it still had its fair share of human scum and greedy vultures.
After observing him for a while, Ash confirmed that Oak was just as good a man as he was in the anime. Thus, Ash accidentally let the Professor discover his knack for compounding medicine, using Oak's influence to handle the patents and distribution.
Of course, Ash didn't let the Professor work for free. After securing a patent, he would explain which Pokémon provided the materials and why they used them, giving the Professor a constant stream of new research topics.
If you asked why Ash was working so hard, the answer was simple: Money.
It sounds cliché, but Ash's primary goal was wealth. In his past life as a Chinese man, he loved stockpiling resources. Now that he was reborn, he wanted to ensure his future journey would be as comfortable as possible.
His plan was wildly successful. Because his formulas worked on both Pokémon and humans, he caught the attention of the Joy's family. They were so impressed that they even considered arranging a marriage between Ash and one of the Joys to keep him tied to their family.
It's worth noting that in this world, polygyny is legal. Given the royalties from his medicinal patents alone, Ash could already afford to support many wives.
This wasn't a joke. The pharmaceutical industry in the Pokémon world was almost a total monopoly. Since the Joys handled nearly all medical care, they also controlled drug development.
Ash's appearance was a pleasant surprise for the Joys. Doctors were the primary users of his formulas, and his inventions helped them earn significantly more. Furthermore, Ash was still young. The Joys knew that the earlier they bonded with a genius, the better. Even if he never produced another formula, his current contributions were enough. Thus, they became his second major backing family. The first? The Oak family, of course.
Ash was a man who understood gratitude. He didn't keep all the patent royalties for himself; he shared a portion with his best friend, Gary.
While it seemed like an odd move to some, it won him the deep respect of the Oak family. Capable, brilliant, and grateful—Professor Oak grew to love Ash more every day, treating him like a second grandson. He simply couldn't get enough of how sensible and mature Ash had become.