Pokémon: Releasing Them? Not a Chance!

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Night.

Misty wasn't very good at cooking, but Ash was. However, he didn't bring a complete set of cooking utensils, so he couldn't make much, just some wild berries paired with dried food. The Pokémon had Pokémon food, which Nurse Joy had given them as thanks when they left Viridian City. Although it wasn't a feast, it was quite good for the wilderness.

"Are you going to rest now?" After eating and resting for a while, Misty asked, sitting by the campfire.

"No, I plan to train a bit more. If you're scared, don't run around. By the campfire, Bug-type Pokémon won't approach easily." Ash shook his head slightly upon hearing this, stood up, and stretched out his hands. Pikachu and Caterpie respectively moved from Ash's hands to his shoulders. He also reminded Misty.

"Got it! Don't tire yourself out!" Hearing Ash still care about her at this time, Misty was also touched and responded with concern.

Saying this, Ash walked into the forest along the river with Pikachu, Caterpie, and Magikarp. There were fewer trees by the river, and the moonlight shone down, so it wasn't too dark, and they could still see the path clearly.

"Caterpie, I'm counting on you!" Ash shouted to Caterpie by the river.

Maomao~~~

Caterpie chirped and spat out white silk. Caterpie's silk was stronger than ordinary ropes, and it would become even tougher as it got stronger. Ash found another tree stump and had Caterpie use String Shot to tie itself and Magikarp together, continuing to train Magikarp with weighted swimming.

Then Ash also arranged a training plan for Caterpie, but his main focus was on training Pikachu. Its Iron Tail was almost complete, and Ash wanted to continue training it. Neither Caterpie nor Magikarp were currently suitable for challenging the Pewter City Gym. Pikachu's Iron Tail would be key.

"Alright, Pikachu, remember how you felt this morning? Maintain that feeling, and do it again!" After assigning training tasks to Magikarp and Caterpie, Ash began to instruct Pikachu's training again.

"Pika!"

Pikachu, hearing this, wasted no time. Following Ash's morning instructions and its body's muscle memory, it charged forward, leaped high, and again lunged towards the large tree in front of it.

"Pika... chu!!!"

Pikachu seemed to adapt to this state. When it leaped into the air, its tail strength also improved. This time, when it tried again, its tail emitted light. But it was just simple white light; the metallic sheen of Iron Tail hadn't appeared yet.

"Great!!" Although not yet perfect, it seemed to be making great progress. Seeing the light, he also saw hope. Pikachu dropped from the air, falling towards the tree in front of it. But just before its tail was about to touch the tree, the light on its tail suddenly disappeared, and Pikachu itself was startled. Its tail hit the tree and bounced back. Ash saw this and quickly ran up to catch it.

"Are you okay?" Ash held Pikachu, relieved, and asked.

"Pika..." Pikachu shook its head slightly, but its ears drooped a little in disappointment. It had thought it was going to succeed.

"It's okay, you've made great progress. Don't be discouraged, keep going!" Ash said again, comforting the disheartened Pikachu.

Honestly, it was already faster than he expected. Besides, cultivation was inherently a long and arduous process. The only thing he could do was encourage them.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu quickly cheered up after hearing this, and jumped out of Ash's embrace again.

Trying again, sounds continuously echoed from the jungle. Such a night, and in an eerie forest, these occasional sounds were quite terrifying.

Whoosh...

"Try again... huh??" As he was trying, he heard sounds from the surrounding bushes. He subconsciously turned his head to look around, but it was pitch black, and there was nothing there.

"Pika??" Pikachu was waiting for Ash's command. Seeing Ash not speak for a long time, it turned its head in confusion.

"Pikachu, did you hear anything?" Ash couldn't help but ask.

This wasn't the first time he had felt like he was being watched. Although he didn't possess Psychic abilities or anything like that, Ash had been continuously training himself to enhance an unknown power over the years. This power also enhanced his senses. One or two times, it might have been him being overly nervous, but it wasn't a coincidence this time.

"Pika??" Pikachu sounded a little strange. It pricked up its ears and subtly twitched them, listening carefully. Pikachu's hearing was very strong, but it had been focused on training and hadn't been disturbed by other things before.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Just as Ash was looking around, a night breeze suddenly blew, and the surrounding leaves swayed with the wind. Pikachu couldn't hear anything, and Ash couldn't sense anything either. And he didn't find anything around. Ash wasn't sure if it was Team Rocket, but if it was Team Rocket, there wasn't much to worry about anyway.

"Never mind, it must be the wind or some Pokémon in the forest! Let's continue."

"Pika!" Pikachu didn't dwell on it and continued its training.

He trained diligently until late at night. Ash recalled Caterpie, then waited by the river for Magikarp to swim back. Afterward, he returned to the campsite. When he came back, Misty hadn't rested yet and was sitting alone by the campfire, propping up her chin with her hand. She occasionally dozed off, looking like she might fall to the ground at any moment from exhaustion. Ash saw this and walked over.

"It's dangerous to doze off in front of a campfire!" Ash walked up and reminded her.

"Ah!! That... I..." She wanted to say that in the forest, she would be afraid of Bug-type Pokémon approaching at any moment while she was asleep. Although she was in the tent, she was still scared, but she was too embarrassed to say it, especially since Caterpie was still on Ash's shoulder.

"Go to bed early! We have to wake up early tomorrow!" Ash saw this, smiled, and said nothing more. He took Pikachu and Caterpie into the tent with him.

Misty also breathed a sigh of relief, but for some reason, she always felt that Ash could guess her thoughts.