Pokémon: Simultaneous time travel, this Ash is too versatile!

Chapter 175 The all-powerful Professor Oak snatches food from Steven's jaws!

Ash thought for a long time but still couldn't figure out what "one turn" meant. Pikachu wasn't in good condition, and since they had sneaked out, he needed to get Pikachu back to health first in order not to arouse suspicion.

The injury would probably take longer to heal at the Pokémon Center than if Ash had handled it himself, so he chose to help Pikachu recover.

After Pikachu recovers, Ash will go to the group chat and ask what the so-called "first turn" means.

The injuries caused by the level drop healed in about ten minutes, but Pikachu will have to train back up the level it lost on its own.

Furthermore, what level Pikachu can reach now depends on what level it gets stuck at next time. At the very least, it should reach the peak of the gym, right?

Ash let Pikachu adjust to its current level, while he went back to the group chat to report his good news to the experts and ask about anything he didn't understand.

[Newbie Ash: Guys, I've already put that one-time exclusive ability on Pikachu. Pikachu was in a lot of pain at first, but after dropping two small stages, it gained stat increases, and its potential should have improved further. But what exactly does "first evolution" mean?]

[Champion Ash: Because every time Pikachu enters a new region, its level decreases and its potential increases, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, we call this behavior "rebirth." And since Pikachu can rebirth multiple times, its current state is an abbreviation for its first rebirth, or simply "first rebirth."]

[Breeder Ash: Because I defined this term in the group chat a long time ago, that's why your Eye of Insight saw the status icon next to Pikachu's name. Before joining the group chat, I didn't really have a defined status for Pikachu. The status bar I saw was just "leveling up a few times." Compared to that, "reincarnation" sounds better.]

"Reincarnation" is just a term that arose because of Pikachu's situation. If Ash wants to call Pikachu a different name, he just needs to think of another word in his mind, and the small print next to Pikachu's name will change.

To put it simply, you don't need to worry about it; just know what state Pikachu is in right now.

[Newbie Ash: Hey pros, what level did your Pikachu reach after its first reincarnation? Gym Leader level?]

[Champion Ash: I'm the pinnacle of the gyms.]

[Raise Ash: Gym Leader (Advanced)]

[Ash the Aura Guardian: High-Level Gym Leader.]

【…】

Some of the seasoned veterans in the group also spoke up. Their Pikachu, after the first evolution, were basically at the intermediate to the peak of the gym level. There wasn't a single one that surpassed the peak of the gym level and reached the Elite Four level.

This basically confirms that the limit for a Pikachu after one evolution is Gym Leader level, but this level should be about the same for Ash as well.

If it can reach the peak of the gym, with Pikachu's power, it would definitely be able to go toe-to-toe with the top Elite Four members.

By then, he should have already reached the capital... By the way, speaking of the capital, the big shots in the group seem to have mentioned something before.

[Newbie Ash: Guys, you guys mentioned before that Pikachu doesn't seem to change when we go to the Johto region, right? Why is that? Isn't the Johto region considered a second region?]

According to Pikachu's logic, if traveling to other regions allows for a reincarnation, then traveling to Johto should also allow Pikachu to reincarnate. Why not Johto? This is discriminatory!
[Ash the breeder: Because the Johto region is quite special, it's almost connected to the Kanto League. Also,... the Kanto League doesn't have a Champion, and half of the Elite Four members are from Johto. Therefore, Kanto and Johto are considered one region.]

[Ash the Breeder: But it's not that the Johto region is completely useless for Pikachu; it does have some effect, just much weaker than a normal reincarnation. It might only raise the upper limit by one or two small stages.]

[Newbie Ash: Hey~ Is Kanto really that weak? The Gym Leaders are so strong.]

[Champion Ash: Hehe, well, there's nothing we can do. Kanto is facing a talent shortage. But if you can become the Champion, you should be able to revitalize the entire Kanto region. The responsibility of revitalizing Kanto will fall on your shoulders!]

[Newbie Ash: Now that you mention it, I'm feeling a bit pressured~]

……

After chatting with everyone in the group, Ash left the group chat and then returned to the hotel with his recovered Pikachu.

Xiaoxia and the others still hadn't gotten up. Compared to the energetic Xiaozhi, Xiaoxia and Xiaogang were the epitome of normal people. They hadn't fallen asleep until the wee hours of the morning, so it would be a miracle if they were up before eight o'clock this morning.

Seeing this, Ash went downstairs and used the hotel's video phone to call Professor Oak's lab.

"Hey, this is Professor Oak... Hmm? Ash, why are you calling so early today?" Professor Oak greeted him before realizing it was Ash calling. He glanced at the time; it was only a little past eight in the morning. Why was he calling him so early?
Good morning, Professor Oak. How's my gem collection coming along?

"Hey, I thought you were coming over early to check on me, but it turns out you're here to look for the jewels. That really hurts my feelings~"

"Alright, alright, I know you're upset, so how many have you collected?" Ash didn't care at all about Professor Oak's crocodile tears.

If he didn't need to talk to you about something this early in the morning, why would he call out of boredom? Is he really just asking Professor Oak if he's had breakfast?

"Tsk, you brat... Here it is, take a look." Professor Oak clicked his tongue and left the video call area. He returned shortly afterward, carrying a rather large box.

When Professor Oak opened the box, the colorful Mega Evolution Stones inside almost blinded Ash!
Inside the box were five enormous gems, identical in appearance to the ones Ash had given to Professor Oak, except for the patterns in the center.

These gems are indeed Mega Evolution Stones, and they are all Mega Evolution Stones that they don't have. It's unknown how many of these stones are usable by them.

Ash silently memorized the patterns on several Mega Stones, then beamed and said to Professor Oak, "You're really something, Professor Oak! You've collected so many Mega Stones in such a short time... cough cough, so many gems! I'm really impressed!" Professor Oak rolled his eyes, not taking Ash's praise to heart. He put away the Mega Stones in his hand and casually placed them aside, then asked with some curiosity, "What do you want me to collect these stones for? I checked them, and they do indeed contain a unique power, but ordinary methods can't activate it at all."

"Moreover, even if it is activated, the power inside is not particularly strong and cannot be used as an amplification force at all. Even if you go to great lengths to extract it, it will not be of any use."

Out of curiosity, Professor Oak studied the gems that Ash had asked him to collect, but he couldn't figure anything out. Although these gems contained some power, it was basically impossible to activate them.

Even if they are mobilized, these powers seem to be targeted, and unless it is a specific spirit, it is impossible to use these powers. Even if it is a specific spirit, it will not actually receive much of a boost.

Therefore, Professor Oak couldn't understand why Ash was collecting all these things. Was it just for their looks?
"Hey, don't worry about that. I have a great use for these things, and I'll definitely surprise you at the Quartz Conference!"

"Oh wow~ I'm really looking forward to it. Surprising me won't be a simple thing."

"Don't worry, don't worry... By the way, Professor Oak, where did you get so many M... gems? These things must be hard to find, right?"

Ash's numerous near-slips of the tongue did not arouse Professor Oak's suspicion, or rather, Professor Oak did not take it to heart at all. As a professor and a former Kanto champion, he had seen all kinds of storms.

Although Ash had been hiding something, it couldn't have been too far beyond his expectations. If Ash really had something that would shock him so much that he would swear, he would be overjoyed.

So Professor Oak didn't care about Ash's concealment. He directly answered Ash's question, "Where did they come from? Of course, I took them from Steven. I even went to the Hoenn region to find him for you. Steven has quite a lot of stones in his collection. He has quite a few of these gems you want, about ten or so. I took almost half of them."

Professor Oak said nonchalantly.

If you were to ask who has the most gem-related items in the entire league, everyone would immediately think of Hoenn Champion Steven, and Professor Oak is no exception.

Instead of searching slowly on his own, he might as well go directly to Daigo. Although his relationship with Daigo wasn't particularly deep, they were on the same level. If he asked Daigo for something, Daigo wouldn't refuse, as long as it wasn't too valuable.

Moreover, favors are something that are owed and repaid. Since Daigo helped Professor Oak this time, Professor Oak will be happy to help him in the future if needed.

In reality, Steven didn't care about the things Professor Oak wanted at all. In Steven's opinion, those gems only had some collectible value, and as for their practicality... they were practically non-existent.

Therefore, this favor isn't actually that significant, or so both parties believe...

When Ash, who was in the know, heard that he had taken half of Steven's Mega Evolution Stones, his lips twitched slightly.

Good grief, you've emptied out Steven's home base with half of the Mega Evolution Stones!

Moreover, Steven probably gave away these Mega Evolution Stones with a smile. If Steven finds out the true purpose of these Mega Evolution Stones in the future, he will probably regret it to the core.

Especially if one of these evolution stones is useful to him, he would probably want to find Dialga, travel through time and space, and slap him on the head.

"Ahem, I'm only staying on Cinnabar Island for a few days before heading back. After I finish challenging the Viridian Gym, I'll come to you to get those stones... By the way, besides those stones, Professor Oak, have you collected any other gems?"

The gem Ash mentioned is another item needed for Mega Evolution—the Key Stone!
Compared to Key Stones, the number of Evolution Stones can be described as numerous. In other parallel worlds, many people have Mega Evolution Stones but no Key Stones, which prevents them from Mega Evolving.

Although MEGA stones have species restrictions, their numbers are indeed much greater than Key Stones, and in other parallel worlds, there are probably no more than a hundred people who possess Key Stones.

There are at least a billion trainers in the world, if not a billion, and among all of them, less than a hundred possess a Keystone. That's a ratio of one in ten million.

So Ash didn't hold out any hope that Professor Oak could get the Key Stone. Instead, Professor Oak silently walked out of the phone room and came back with two colored stones in his hand.

Ash's pupils constricted and his hand trembled slightly when he saw the Key Stone in Professor Oak's hand.

Wow, Professor Oak, you're really amazing! You've got two Key Stones already, what can't you do?

"Here, these are the other gems you wanted. However, Daigo only has a small collection of these, only five in total. I'll take two. Not only are they more aesthetically pleasing, but the hidden power within them is also stronger than the previous gem."

"There is a powerful life force within these two gems, and Daigo said that he used special methods to extract the life force from them, but it automatically recovered after a short time. It's really amazing. If the extraction method and efficiency were a little higher, this kind of item that can provide life force infinitely would be priceless."

Professor Oak shook his head and sighed, seemingly regretting that he couldn't freely extract the life force from the gems.

Extracting the life force from this gem requires a very special method, and only about one-tenth of the extracted life force can be retained. Therefore, even though this gem can infinitely restore life force, it is not actually of great value.

This is also why Daigo was willing to give him two of these gems. After all, although these things are extremely rare, their practicality is not very good. Compared to the favor he owed him, giving them away was just that.

Ash couldn't hide the strange look on his face after hearing Professor Oak and Steven's bizarre explanation of the Key Stone.

So, in your eyes, the Keystone is just a gem that can repeatedly drain life force? Aren't you curious why it can regenerate after its life force is drained? Aren't you curious about what kind of gem it is that can perfectly utilize the life force within it?
Perhaps they were aware of these questions, but Daigo had kept the gem in his possession for a long time, and after so long without any progress, he simply gave up.

That's why Ash was able to get this lucky break thanks to Professor Oak.

'I'm sorry, Mr. Daigo, please don't hit me again...'

(End of this chapter)