Pokemon: This Trainer is Too Cautious!

"Miss, this is what we found in his backpack."

After Ash and Ace's battle ended, the head maid handed a camera with photos to Misty.

"Hmm... This looks like a first-generation Energy Block production machine. Although the price has come down, it's still extremely expensive. It seems I was overthinking things."

Misty looked at the photos of Ace's backpack and saw the Pokémon egg. She shook her head and handed the photos back to the head maid. "How's the investigation at Mt. Moon going?"

"No bodies have been found yet, but we discovered several bloodstains in one area. In the center of the bloodstains, there were signs of impact. Combining this with Ace's statement, it's likely the bodies were recovered, but the scene is consistent with Ace's account."

"Okay, I understand. It really seems I was overthinking it."

Misty nodded, and the last remnants of suspicion she had towards Ace finally disappeared.

Thinking about her suspicions and her actions, Misty felt a little embarrassed.

"Forget it, I'll put in more effort and teach him well then."

Having made up her mind, Misty composed herself and returned to the courtyard.

She was also startled to see Ash's Bulbasaur injured.

After asking the maid and learning the full story, Misty reprimanded Ace a few times, but inwardly, she thought highly of him.

Battles with Team Rocket weren't just simple Pokémon battles.

Once cornered, there was no telling what those people might do.

Abandoning naive ideas and facing reality was cruel, but if it increased the chances of survival, then such naivety was best avoided.

Next, Misty began guiding Ace and Ash.

She was unreserved; whenever Ace and Ash had questions, Misty would battle them, using the most direct method to help them understand the crux of the problem.

Misty was a Water-type Pokémon expert, with her own unique insights into Water-type Pokémon.

It could be said that under her guidance, the Pokémon that improved the most for Ace and Ash were Lapras and Poliwhirl.

Coupled with Ace's Lapras breeding manual, Lapras's strength improved significantly. Even without mastering the Ice-type ultimate move Blizzard, Lapras was the first to learn the Water-type area-of-effect move Surf.

Ace could only smile wryly at this, while also sighing inwardly at Misty's remarkably high talent in raising Water-type Pokémon!

Of course, what Ace found even more incomprehensible was Ash's growth rate.

Perhaps it was because he was the main character, or truly, as Professor Oak said, Ash was a born fighter.

Under Misty's guidance, with the same conditions, and Ace even having a dedicated Pokémon breeding manual as a foundation—after five days of special training—Ash's strength was already on par with Ace's.

According to the system's classification, in five days, Ace's trainer level jumped from level nine to level thirteen.

Ash was even more terrifying, going from an initial level five directly to level twelve, just one level behind Ace!

When Ace learned this information from the system, he instantly felt a bit dejected.

Ash was like God force-feeding him, and sometimes this guy wasn't even willing to eat properly.

Ace, on the other hand, was begging God for scraps, and only then would God give him some leftovers.

This comparison would make anyone feel a bit dejected, wouldn't it?

Fortunately, Ace wasn't defeated but became even more determined.

Later, Ace even bought the Pokémon Skill Appreciation Encyclopedia and the Pokémon Ecological Habits Encyclopedia from the system.

One was to allow Ace to understand various Pokémon, their habits, and better judge their abilities or predict their moves.

The other was to help Ace understand the signs a Pokémon displayed when using a move, allowing him to better identify the move being used.

These two books were extremely expensive, costing Ace a total of five thousand gold coins.

But if Ace could thoroughly understand these two books, the benefits would be far greater than just five thousand gold coins!

Misty's special training for Ace and Ash wasn't just about improving their individual strength; it also included two-person and three-person coordinated battles.

Ace understood clearly that Misty was thinking about how the three of them would need to cooperate to break through an encirclement if they were cornered, or how they could cooperate to hold out for longer and defeat their opponents.

Two days later, after a week of special training, Misty nodded, declaring that both of them had graduated.

But this was not the end; rather, Misty had simply led Ace and Ash to a certain height, and the path ahead was only just beginning.

To commemorate their graduation, Misty revealed her identity as a gym leader to Ace and Ash, and also gifted them a blue badge as a symbol of their graduation.

Bidding farewell to Misty, Ash and Ace left Cerulean City. The next time they met would likely be when they faced Team Rocket.

"Ace, I'm heading to Vermilion City. How about you?"

Outside Cerulean City, Ash asked Ace, the guy he had trained with for a week. During this time, they were both rivals and comrades, so their relationship was quite close.

"I'm not planning to go to Vermilion City."

Ace released Aerodactyl. Aerodactyl grabbed Ace's shoulders with its feet, and then Ace spoke to Ash, "Ash, we're not on the same path after all. Remember to let go of your naivety. I'll become stronger in my own way, and you should work hard too."

With that, Aerodactyl flapped its wings powerfully, carrying Ace soaring into the sky towards the direction of Mt. Moon Cave.

Ash listened to Ace's inexplicable words, scratched his head, looked at the three Pokémon beside him, and said with a smile, "Never mind, if we're not going together, then let's go. Poli, Bulba, Pikachu, let's go!"

On Ace's side, now far from Ash, Ace checked his current status.

Ace: Level 14

Zubat: Level 28

Weepinbell: Level 30

Lapras: Level 34

Aerodactyl: Level 34

Three of his Pokémon had reached the standard for the side quest, and Ace's own strength had also increased significantly, giving him ample confidence for his trip to Mt. Moon Cave.

"However..."

Ace glanced at Zubat's impressive level 28, but it showed no signs of evolving.

He recalled how Weepinbell had wanted to evolve as soon as it reached its evolution level.

If Ace hadn't wanted it to learn "Three Powders Combined" first, Weepinbell would have evolved long ago.

Zubat, on the other hand, was the opposite; it had long surpassed its evolution level but still showed no intention of evolving.

Ace was a bit frustrated, but for now, he could only leave it to fate and see when Zubat decided to evolve.