Pokemon: Trait Master

The matter regarding Pidgeotto was ultimately left unresolved.

Brock and Misty simply assumed it was Ash's secret, 

while Serena, on the other hand, genuinely believed what Ash had said. 

But to Ash, whether they believed it or not made no difference to him. 

Looking back on the battle, Ash realized that he had made some miscalculations and acted a bit too overconfident. 

If Pidgeotto had lost and only Froakie was left, 

fighting Onix in a Sandstorm would have been an incredibly difficult challenge. 

He simply hadn't expected Brock to know Sandstorm, 

a move usually reserved for higher-level Pokémon. 

As expected of a Gym Leader— 

even when using lower-level Pokémon, 

he had trained them well enough to learn high-level moves. 

This forced Ash to use Aura Fusion, 

which was technically a cheat-level move… 

but hey, a little cheat doesn't really count as cheating, right? 

After receiving the Boulder Badge, Ash bid farewell to Brock, 

choosing to explore Pewter City a bit before heading to the next destination. 

Unlike in the original timeline, 

Brock did not offer to travel with Ash. 

Maybe it was because Ash seemed too mature, 

or maybe it was because Serena and Misty were already with him, 

but Brock didn't try to join their journey. 

As they wandered around Pewter City, 

Misty made a formal request to continue traveling with Ash. 

She felt that traveling with Ash was an incredible learning opportunity! 

Even just from the small fraction of things Ash had shown, 

she had already gained so much insight! 

Whether it was food, drinks, training methods, or battle strategies— 

there was so much for her to learn! 

Having already traveled with Misty for a while, 

both Ash and Serena had no objections to her joining. 

A journey was always more fun with more people, 

and traveling companions could look out for each other. 

If someone wanted to join the team, why would Ash refuse? 

Though, to be honest, he wasn't exactly sure what Misty's role in the team would be yet… 

Another thing Ash noticed— 

it seemed like his chances of obtaining high-tier traits were significantly higher when battling key characters from the story. 

Be it Team Rocket or Brock, 

their Pokémon's levels weren't particularly high. 

Especially Meowth, 

who might not have even reached the Advanced level, 

yet still dropped a Gold-tier trait. 

That was nothing short of a miracle! 

From this, Ash reached a conclusion— 

battling important characters from the storyline seemed to have a high chance of dropping top-tier traits! 

The only question was whether repeat battles would still yield results. 

Knowing this, Ash became much more eager to challenge the upcoming Gyms. 

It wasn't just about collecting badges for the Indigo League anymore. 

These Gym battles were now an opportunity to power up his Pokémon with insane traits! 

--- 

After spending a day in Pewter City, 

the group set off again. 

Their next destination—Cerulean Gym. 

To reach Cerulean City, they had to cross Mt. Moon. 

Mt. Moon was crawling with Zubat and Rock-type Pokémon— 

making it a perfect grinding spot for Ash! 

Before entering, Ash unequipped the Born Fighter trait 

and replaced it with Viridian Force. 

He had no intention of feeding Born Fighter as EXP, 

since he felt its potential was far greater than it appeared. 

[Viridian Force (Gold): One of the primordial forces of the Pokémon world. The wielder naturally gains the favor of Pokémon, can communicate with them, and possesses the ability to heal Pokémon. This power is so vast that even Legendary Pokémon can be soothed and restored.] 

As expected of a Gold-tier trait, Viridian Force was an absolute game-changer. 

And that was just the basic description. 

The true strength of Viridian Force could only be fully understood through experience. 

High-tier traits couldn't simply be summarized in a few lines. 

With Viridian Force, Ash's survival in the wild became much easier. 

Not only did he save a fortune on medicine, 

but his Pokémon's training efficiency also skyrocketed! 

--- 

After three days of crossing Mt. Moon, 

Ash's Metapod finally evolved into Butterfree! 

[Name: Butterfree] 

[Gender: Male] 

[Trainer: Ash] 

[Type: Bug] 

[Level: Normal High-tier] 

[Ability: Tinted Lens] 

[Moves: Gust, Bug Bite, Psybeam, Sleep Powder, Stun Spore, Poison Powder…] 

[Talent: Elite Four] 

[Special Moves: None] 

[Traits: Breaking Free from the Cocoon (Red), King of All Bugs (Orange), Gigantamax (Purple), Swift (Blue), Precision (Blue)] 

[Breaking Free from the Cocoon (Red): Upon reaching the Elite Four level, there is a 50% chance of upgrading potential to Champion level.] 

[Swift (Blue): Speed increased by 5% when airborne.] 

[Precision (Blue): Accuracy increased by 20% for powder-based moves.] 

This was Butterfree's brand new power set! 

Not only had it jumped to Normal High-tier, 

but Ash had also equipped it with multiple suitable traits, 

making it a fully optimized powerhouse. 

What surprised Ash even more— 

after evolving, the Breaking Free from the Cocoon trait underwent a transformation. 

He hadn't expected it to have a secondary effect! 

Now, he was extremely curious— 

if he upgraded Breaking Free from the Cocoon to Gold, 

what kind of insane power would it grant? 

That said, Ash didn't have extra trait EXP at the moment. 

His next upgrade priority was Pikachu's Master of Acting trait.