Pokemon: Trait Master

At first, Ash thought that a school built in the middle of nowhere would probably have no students at all. 

But to his surprise, the place was actually full of people. 

And apparently, this wasn't just any school—it was an elite academy. 

Graduates from this academy were automatically eligible to participate in the Indigo League! 

Even Ash, Misty, and Serena found this utterly ridiculous. 

You can enter the Indigo League just by studying theory?! 

Then what about all those Trainers who worked so hard to earn eight Gym Badges? 

How were they supposed to feel about this? 

Sure, not every Gym Leader went all out in battles, 

but even when using test Pokémon against normal Trainers, they weren't pushovers. 

Except for Cerulean Gym, which had lost all of its former strength, 

every other Gym had at least one powerful Pokémon to represent them. 

Most of those were Professional-tier and above. 

Only the top-tier Gym Leaders had Pokémon that surpassed the Gym-tier threshold. 

Otherwise, why do you think it's called Gym-tier in the first place? 

With Gym, Elite Four, and Champion already used as names for different levels, 

it was obvious that people in those positions had Pokémon matching those power levels. 

Take Brock, for example. Even his beginner-level test Pokémon were already Advanced-tier. 

Meanwhile, the so-called "two-Gym Badge trainers" from this academy could barely muster Normal-tier Pokémon for battle. 

Did graduates from this place really deserve a spot in the Indigo League? 

— 

After arriving at the academy, Ash quickly defeated one of its so-called "two-Gym Badge" Trainers. 

In response, the academy's top student was called out to face him. 

Her name was Sunday, 

and she was said to have the strength of a six-Gym Badge Trainer. 

Ash sent out Butterfree against her Marowak. 

And in just one turn, a combination of Sleep Powder, Gust, and Bug Bite completely wiped it out. 

…Seriously? 

This was the best student in the academy? 

Apologize to every real six-Badge Trainer right now. 

After crushing Sunday, 

Ash and the others spent the night at the academy before continuing toward Vermilion City. 

To say that the distance between Cerulean City and Vermilion City was long would be an understatement. 

Ash's entire journey from Pallet Town to Viridian, Pewter, and Cerulean— 

all three cities combined—was still shorter than the trip from Cerulean to Vermilion. 

Of course… there was also another possibility. 

"Um… did we get lost?" 

On the third day after leaving the Pokémon Academy, 

Misty hesitantly voiced her concern. 

Ash and Serena immediately froze in place. 

There was a real chance that they were completely lost. 

Surrounded by dense forest on all sides, 

there was no clear path in sight. 

Ash pulled out his map to compare their surroundings. 

He also tried using his Aura powers to scan the area, 

but everything looked too similar. 

Unless they found someone familiar with this forest, 

they might have to spend days trying to find their way out. 

"Ahem, well… as the saying goes, 'the boat will straighten itself when it reaches the bridge.'" 

"We've got plenty of food and supplies, so it's not a big deal." 

Ash cleared his throat and tried to reassure the girls. 

Misty and Serena exchanged glances— 

then suddenly burst into laughter. 

"…What's so funny?" 

"Hehe, we always thought Ash was invincible." 

"Turns out even you have things you're bad at~" 

"Haha, Ash is a walking GPS failure!" 

Ash: … 

With black lines forming on his forehead, Ash glared at the two of them. 

"Are you seriously enjoying the fact that we're lost?!" 

"It's not that bad~" 

"Other than not having a comfy bed to sleep in, 

it's pretty much the same as being in a city." 

Neither Misty nor Serena were spoiled. 

Misty had been trained since childhood to become a Gym Leader, 

and Serena, after being influenced by Ash, had become much more adaptable to harsh conditions. 

More importantly, Ash was doing way more than either of them. 

He was the one cooking, scouting routes, 

and whenever wild Pokémon attacked, he was the first to shield them. 

On top of that, Ash still had to train his Pokémon and maintain his own physical training. 

Even though he was constantly on the move, working to the point where sparks could practically form under his feet, 

he still took time every night to heat up water for their baths. 

He had even set up a makeshift bathhouse using cloth sheets for privacy. 

His boyfriend-material and maturity levels were absolutely off the charts! 

That was why neither of them ever complained about roughing it outdoors. 

In fact, whenever Ash took a break, 

they would massage his shoulders, pour him tea, and help in any way they could. 

At first, Ash had refused their help. 

But Misty had firmly rebutted him— 

"If we can't even pour a cup of tea, 

then what can we do?!" 

Neither of them were the type to sit back and enjoy the benefits of someone else's hard work. 

And so, even now— 

despite knowing that Ash had gotten them lost, 

they felt no frustration at all. 

In fact, they were laughing about it. 

At this point, it really felt like the two of them were serving Ash as their shared husband. 

Except… the actual workload made it seem like it was one husband serving two wives instead. 

Ahem. 

Seeing their cheerful smiles, 

even Ash couldn't help but grin. 

"…Alright, fine. We're lost. Whatever." 

"Let's just treat it as an opportunity to enjoy the fresh air of nature." 

And with that, the three of them set up a campfire to prepare for lunch. 

With Serena and Misty's help, Ash was able to finish cooking in just twenty minutes. 

There was a full feast ready for them, along with specially prepared Pokémon food. 

As Serena's Oddish happily ate its meal, 

a green vine suddenly tapped its back. 

Oddish turned around— 

and instantly screamed in terror! 

"What's wrong?!" 

Startled by Oddish's cry, 

Ash immediately dashed over. 

And then— 

he saw what had scared it. 

It was a Pokémon with a large green bulb on its back, 

resembling a small toad-like creature. 

A vine extended from beneath its bulb, 

slowly retracting. 

"That's… Bulbasaur?!" 

Misty and Serena arrived soon after. 

The moment Misty saw the frog-like Pokémon, 

she instantly recognized it! 

Bulbasaur—one of the starter Pokémon available to new Trainers in Kanto! 

Even within the entire Kanto region, 

Bulbasaur was extremely rare. 

And today, they had stumbled upon one in the wild! 

What kind of insane luck was this?! 

Meanwhile, as soon as Ash laid eyes on it, 

he immediately activated his system scan. 

And then— 

his eyes widened in shock. 

Because this Bulbasaur… 

had a Gold trait!