"Come here, Grotle, this is your Miracle Seed!"
"Grass~"
"Come here, Buizel, this is your Mystic Water!"
"Buizel~"
"Come here, Staravia, this is your Sharp Beak!"
"Staravia~"
"Come here, Steelix, this is your Metal Coat!"
"Roar~"
...
Having left Hearthome City, Ash and his two companions were walking along the official road, heading toward Solaceon Town.
Near noon, they once again found a flat area to set up camp. Brock was responsible for preparing the meal, while Ash and Dawn conducted their own training.
The situation on Dawn's side was unknown, but on Ash's side, it was a simple and straightforward distribution of gifts.
Every Pokémon received an item that boosted its stats, making the Pokémon that participated in the double battle incredibly happy.
After happily receiving their respective items, they each went off to perform the training Ash had planned for them.
Of course, while it was called training, it was actually Grotle and Steelix taking turns enduring attacks from the other three Pokémon to increase their endurance limits as tanks.
After all, the double battle showed that a tank still needs to farm damage taken—taking hits while healing themselves, then looking for opportunities to dish out damage.
When necessary, find a support to coordinate with; it's just like a MOBA game.
Of course, it would be even better if the tank had a damage-over-time Toxic move, enabling a direct Toxic tank playstyle.
Unfortunately, Grotle wasn't quite up to it, and Bulbasaur refused to evolve.
Otherwise, he really wanted to let his opponents experience the feeling of eating "Nine-Turn Intestines."
"Pika-pi~"
Just as Ash was lost in his malicious thoughts, Pikachu's paw slapped him on the face.
Pikachu pointed toward Chimchar, as if giving some kind of hint.
He looked over and discovered that Chimchar seemed a bit lost and unsure of what to do, and there was a hint of longing as it watched the four Pokémon.
"Come here, Chimchar, I almost forgot about you!"
He hurriedly exchanged a Charcoal from his backpack and waved his hand to signal Chimchar.
"Chim~"
Hearing its Trainer call out, Chimchar turned back in disbelief, pointing at itself with both hands, then pointing at the Charcoal in Ash's hand.
"That's right, it's for you!"
Chimchar's cautious confirmation made Ash nod, feeling both amused and sorry for it. He had to clearly indicate once more that this was indeed its gift.
"Chim Chim"
It immediately dragged its orange body over to quickly take the pitch-black Charcoal, happily dancing a dance that expressed its joy.
Following that, under Pikachu's guidance, Chimchar closed its eyes for a moment, and the Charcoal automatically turned into a red light and disappeared.
"Chim~"
After it was done, Chimchar widened its eyes, its little mouth slightly agape, unable to imagine that the palm-sized Charcoal had disappeared from its hand.
This was actually the standard way to use Pokémon items exchanged from the backpack. It was equivalent to the Pokémon having an internal slot to place various Pokémon items.
In principle, it was similar to the equipment slots in a certain MOBA game, which was great for preventing items from being lost.
Theoretically, as long as you had enough money, a Pokémon could carry a large number of boost items without any limit on the quantity.
Therefore, as long as he had enough economy and developed to a certain point, Sceptile could one-shot Tobias's Darkrai with a single basic attack. After all, levels might lie, but the economy panel never lies!
Of course, while it sounds great, there are limitations.
First, items like mega stone and Z-Crystals cannot be equipped this way. Because these items require resonance with the Trainer, they cannot be stored internally and must be carried externally.
Second, the percentage boosts provided by Pokémon items do not stack. To put it in simpler terms, it's a unique passive.
Finally, and most importantly, being a "jungle king" isn't as easy as one might imagine.
The necessary method to farm gold is to challenge enough Pokémon. Preferably, a group that is large in number and superior in quality.
Unfortunately, such groups are rare, and Charizard and Sceptile have to put in quite a bit of effort when fighting them. Because they must control their strength, they cannot risk using too much power and injuring them.
Otherwise, relying solely on stamina-recovery type energy cubes would make it difficult for the Pokémon to fully recover. After all, the biggest feature of this type of energy cube is restoring health and making the Pokémon feel energized for the day, without needing to go out and forage. They are energy cubes specifically for jungling.
"Alright, Chimchar, let's start training!"
As a new comrade joining the team, Chimchar also had to undergo a certain amount of training.
"Chim~"
Upon hearing this, Chimchar immediately ran over, stood up straight, and looked straight at Ash with its large eyes, ready to receive orders at any moment.
"Uh, Chimchar, you don't have to be so serious!"
He treated his Pokémon quite casually most of the time, except for being strict during training. As long as they didn't Slack Off during the process and strictly completed the training content, that was fine.
"Chim~"
Chimchar was a bit surprised because this was different from what it was used to, and it hadn't gotten accustomed to it yet.
"Alright, let's have a simple practice battle with Pikachu. If you can hit Pikachu with Flamethrower, it counts as a success!"
He rubbed his chin in thought for a while before finally giving Chimchar this task.
"Pika?"
This decision immediately stunned Pikachu, who was on his shoulder. Letting Chimchar hit it—was this reliable? It landed on the ground somewhat reluctantly, its eyes filled with doubt.
"(I'm counting on you, Pikachu. Chimchar is a special case; it needs you, its big brother, to look after it!)"
Regarding this, he could only hint at Pikachu.
It was mainly because Chimchar's strength wasn't low; after all, it was a guy who had successfully endured Paul's hellish training. But this also meant that Chimchar's training content could skip basic training and some skill training.
"Pika~chu (Fine)"
Looking at the expectant Chimchar before it, Pikachu could only silently agree, found an open spot, and trained with Chimchar.
"Whew!"
Pikachu agreeing really made Ash breathe a sigh of relief. After all, when it came to a sparring partner for Chimchar, Pikachu was undoubtedly the most suitable in the team.
Leaving aside Grotle, Buizel, Staravia, and Steelix, who were currently sparring, out of the remaining Pikachu, Scizor, and Aerodactyl, he decisively chose Pikachu.
It wasn't just because Chimchar had very poor compatibility with the naturally aloof Scizor and the terrifying-looking Aerodactyl.
It was that Pikachu had an advantage the other two Pokémon didn't: acting. As a Pikachu with the title of "Best Actor," it would undoubtedly try its best to pretend to be evenly matched for Chimchar's sake. In this way, it could take good care of the newly joined Chimchar, helping it integrate into the team quickly while cultivating the self-confidence that had been ravaged by Paul.
After all, in Paul's team, no matter how hard Chimchar tried, most of the time it would only be met with cold words like "Useless thing"!