23. Special Training

"Don't take it to heart," Ash responded while taking Pikachu's towel and helping it wipe its body.

"Well, I'm Misty from Cerulean City. What's your name?"

"Ash, from Pallet Town. This is Pikachu!" Ash said as he continued to help Pikachu dry off. Pikachu lay down in the tent with a look of enjoyment, and Ash introduced him as well.

In fact I recognized her long ago, but my journey started differently from the original one. I thought we would never meet, but despite the changes in the process, the result remained the same. It seems we are truly destined.

"Aren't you taking Pikachu back to the Poké Ball?"

Misty looked a little surprised. It would be much easier to keep Pikachu safe in the Poké Ball than to save him from the rain.

"No... my Pikachu doesn't like being in the Poké Ball." After hearing Misty's words, Ash felt Pikachu tremble slightly, but Pikachu relaxed after hearing his response.

"Is that so? Then your Pikachu is special." Misty had never encountered this kind of situation before and found it a bit special, but she didn't say much more. After all, it was Ash and Pikachu's business.

After helping Pikachu dry off, Ash wiped the water on his body. This scene in Misty's eyes made her like Ash even more.

Two towels—one given to her, and then he used the other one with Pikachu, cleaning Pikachu first. This showed that Ash loved Pokémon very much.

It was completely dark, and the sound of rain could be clearly heard inside the tent, indicating that it was quite heavily raining.

Ash turned on a small desk lamp, took out some Pokémon food from his backpack, put it in a bowl for Pikachu, and then took out some emergency food.

They were simple dry foods. Although he could cook, the necessary items weren't complete, and it was raining. He had brought some emergency dry food with him, not expecting to need it on the first day.

"Here!" He handed Misty some emergency cookies.

Although it was just a few biscuits, in this world, trainers often encounter emergencies. Due to their high energy consumption, trainers specially researched emergency food reserves. A small piece of compressed biscuit was enough to keep an adult full for some time.

"Thank you!" Misty looked at the food in front of her and felt a little moved. She thought to herself, It seems my luck isn't bad. I met a very nice boy.

She had almost forgotten Ash's straightforward personality during their earlier quarrel.

With not much entertainment and due to the bad weather, Ash went to bed early.

Misty was a little nervous at first. Although Ash had saved her and she knew he was a good person, she was still a bit anxious being alone with a boy in the same tent.

Huddled on the other side of the tent, Misty carefully watched Ash under the dim light. Pikachu curled up in his arms, breathing evenly as if he had already fallen asleep.

Slowly, Misty also felt relieved. Looking at Ash's face illuminated by the light, her cheeks flushed slightly without her realizing it.

The thrilling day had made Misty so tired that she fell asleep unconsciously.

Ash's first day of travel went by like this...

The next morning, Ash got up very early. According to the time, it should have been around 5:00 in the morning. The rain had stopped, but the sky was not completely bright yet. However, Ash did not continue to sleep, as he had gone to bed early .

Glancing at Misty, who was still soundly asleep, he carefully unzipped the tent without disturbing her. Pikachu's senses were so keen that it woke up when Ash did.

After walking to the river to brush his teeth and wash his face, Ash released Magikarp as well. There happened to be a river nearby, allowing Magikarp to move around.

At the same time, he prepared breakfast for Pikachu and Magikarp to fill their stomachs, and then walked up the river to the jungle next to the campsite.

"Let's have some special training while it's still early!" Ash looked at Pikachu and Magikarp in the water and said.

"Pika!"(Magikarp) Pikachu and Magikarp responded simultaneously.

Then Ash found a wooden stake about one meter long and weighing about ten kilograms. He used a vine to tie the stake and attached the other end to Magikarp's tail.

Because Magikarp can't learn many moves, the only way to improve its strength is to enhance its performance. Letting it swim with a weight is one way to improve, and tying the stake would increase its strength and endurance, possibly leading to it learning Tackle.

"Magikarp, you might be a little tired, but I'll be with you," Ash said gently, patting Magikarp's head after securing the stake.

Magikarp's round eyes became determined, and then Ash turned to Pikachu.

"Pikachu, let's train Iron Tail next. The first step is to improve the flexibility and strength of your tail. Today's goal is 10 kilometers. Use your tail as a spring to move."

According to the anime, Pikachu's tail and Iron Tail moves are crucial, so this skill must be honed, no matter how difficult it is.

"Pika!" Pikachu clenched his fists in response and began training with Magikarp, jogging up the river.

Pikachu used its tail as a spring to bounce forward step by step, while Magikarp swam upstream in the water, making the stake create more resistance.

Originally only weighing a dozen pounds, facing the upstream river increased the resistance by thirty or forty pounds. Ash accompanied them, not slacking off.

While Ash was training with Pikachu and Magikarp, Misty woke up at the camp, rubbing her eyes and getting up in a daze.

"Morning!" she greeted groggily, but no one responded. When she opened her eyes, she realized there was no one in the tent. Panicking, she wondered if they had already left.

However, she soon saw that Ash's backpack was still there. At the same time, she felt something slip from her body. Looking down, she found it was a blanket. Feeling the warmth of the blanket, she was touched.

In fact, she had her own sleeping bag, but she had fallen asleep from exhaustion the previous night and hadn't had time to use it.