Pokémon, Ash's art style is off!

"Hehe, Miss Joey... so many Miss Joeys..."

"Joey from Evergreen City, Joey from Cerulean City, Joey from Cinnabar Island... and Joey from other places... hehe... hehehe..."

Xiaoxia: "......"

Ash: "......"

Pikachu: "......"

Imetti: "......"

"Cough cough!"

She cleared her throat, forcefully bringing the situation back on track.

"You can go in that direction, but be sure to come back next time you pass by!"

"must!"

Ash, supporting Brock, and the three of them, along with the mouse, continued south along the path outside the canyon.

Ditto watched Ash walk away.

He looked at Imetti with a serious expression.

I've been thinking about it, let's go challenge the gym!

"Eh?"

......

After leaving the canyon, the terrain gradually changed.

The mountain walls on both sides gradually decrease in height until they disappear completely, replaced by a plain.

The path meandered forward through the grass.

Occasionally, you can see a few wild Rattatas or Oddish scurrying past the roadside. They'll glance at you curiously, then quickly run away.

After walking on this plain for two days, the terrain began to rise again.

The grass is getting shorter, but the trees are getting more and more numerous.

By the third day, the plains had completely disappeared, replaced by a dense forest.

The trees weren't very tall, but they grew very densely, their canopies overlapping and intertwining to completely block out the sky.

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

The air became humid, carrying the scent of earth and decaying leaves.

Xiaoxia took a deep breath.

"Hmm...this smell...it's the scent of water!"

Her experience growing up at the Cerulean Dojo was not in vain.

Xiao Zhi nodded as well.

"Judging from the sound, there is indeed a stream ahead."

Xiao Zhi led the way.

After walking for about ten minutes, we indeed heard the sound of flowing water ahead.

After passing through a thicket of bushes, a clear stream came into view.

The stream is not wide, only about two or three meters wide, but the current is very rapid. The water is so clear that you can see the smooth pebbles on the bottom and the occasional carp swimming by.

"Let's set up camp here!"

Xiaoxia put her backpack on the ground and stretched out a big yawn.

Xiao Gang, who had already recovered, looked around and chose a flat open space near the stream.

"This place is nice; it's sheltered from the wind, close to a water source, and the ground is dry."

As he spoke, he began taking things out of his backpack.

Tents, sleeping bags, cooking utensils—everything was neatly arranged.

"I'm going to fetch water!" Xiaoxia picked up the bucket and ran towards the stream.

"Then I'll gather firewood." Ash patted Pikachu's head. "Let's go, Pikachu."

"Pikachu!"

The two divided the work, while Xiao Gang stayed at the camp to prepare cooking utensils.

As darkness fell, the light in the forest changed from golden yellow to orange-red, and then quickly sank into gray-blue.

Using bioenergy, Xiao Gang set up a small pot and started cooking dinner.

Tonight's dinner is wild vegetable and dried meat soup with rice balls—simple but filling.

While stirring the soup in the pot, Xiao Gang observed the tail of the fire-breathing dragon below.

"Speaking of which..." he said thoughtfully, "Although Charizard's black flames aren't very bright, the food cooked with them does have a unique flavor."

He scooped up a spoonful of soup and savored it carefully.

"The flavor is richer than that produced by ordinary fire, with a... how to say it... smoky aroma? But it's not entirely smoky."

"But to be honest, although the black fire makes the food taste good, the brightness is indeed a problem."

"We can't afford to have an empty fire at night," Xiao Gang sighed. "What if some Pokémon gets close at night and we can't see them?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhi gulped down the soup in one go.

"That's easy! I can just start a fire by rubbing sticks together!"

"what?"

Before Xiaoxia could react, she saw Xiaozhi pick up a dry twig from the ground and hold it in his hand.

Then--

He just started rubbing his hands together.

The speed, the force—the hissing sound of the hand rubbing against the branch, a few seconds later, a wisp of smoke rose, and then—

"call!"

Flames broke out.

Ash held up the burning branch, looking completely calm.

“Pikachu…”

Pikachu looked on in amazement.

"It's just simple friction generating heat." Ash stuck the branch into the campfire and patted the ash off his hands.

Xiaoxia: "?"

Simple???

The tools may be simple, but the people involved are not.

Making fire by rubbing sticks together—isn't that just two pieces of wood rubbing against each other?

Last time in Viridian Forest, Ash was rubbing two pieces of wood together, but now he's evolved to rubbing with his hands!

This is anything but simple!

171. I really need to control you better!

Compared to Xiaoxia, Xiaogang remained as calm as ever.

He didn't stop using the rice spoon in his hand, continuing to serve rice to the Pokémon with the same movements.

After all, this person is Ash Ketchum.

It's just a simple hand-made flame.

He really didn't understand what Xiaoxia had to be so surprised about.

If outsiders knew this, they would think they were all unreliable people!

Just as he was serving food to the Pokémon.

A bright flash suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

It's just that he has squinty eyes, so less light gets in; otherwise, that spoonful of food would probably have landed directly on Pikachu's head.

Everyone instinctively looked toward the source of the light.

On the ground, a figure burst forth with dazzling white light, illuminating the dim sky with extraordinary brightness.

Xiaoxia quickly glanced at the group of Pokémon.

By using the process of elimination, they were able to conclude that the one emitting light was indeed Bulbasaur.

"Hey, Ash." She nudged Ash, who was standing to the side looking a bit dazed. "When did your Bulbasaur learn Flash? It's pretty bright."

It involves one's own professional field.

Xiao Zhi said it subconsciously.

"While Bulbasaur can indeed learn Flash, the brightness, the frequency, and that—"

He paused for a moment.

"—That feeling of life energy surging outwards is clearly the light of evolution."

"Pikachu?"

Pikachu was holding its little bowl, waiting for its meal, when it heard this, its ears perked up immediately.

It leaned closer, tilted its head, and examined Bulbasaur from head to toe, its eyes filled with shock.

Unexpectedly, after Charizard, Captain Seed is also going to evolve.

It seems the seed captain is feeling the pressure and is determined to catch up.

It curiously stretched out its paw, wanting to touch the ball of light.