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

Chapter 176 A Slight Progress in Relationships, Back in Kuba, Professor Sakuragi's Shock!

Ash silently prayed and then asked Professor Oak to keep the two gems safe until he returned them in a couple of days.

Professor Oak nodded, then put the Key Stone back, and his expression became serious.

"Your next gym is going to challenge the Viridian Gym, right?"

"Yes, didn't I just tell you?"

"Do you want me to stand in for you?" Professor Oak's question seemed very strange. Even when challenging the strongest Viridian Gym, it shouldn't be necessary for Professor Oak to stand in for you.

After all, it's just a gym challenge. If you lose, you lose. What else can you do?
However, in reality, Giovanni, the Gym Leader of Viridian City, is the leader of Team Rocket. If Ash reveals something and is defeated, he might actually be eliminated.

Professor Oak already knew about Mewtwo from Blaine, and also knew that Ash possessed something Mewtwo was eyeing (Gardedoll), which is why Professor Oak proposed to go to the scene to oversee things.

If he were there, no matter how much Giovanni desired it, he wouldn't dare to act recklessly. Even though Professor Oak was old, his combat strength was still among the best in the entire League.

Wood may be old, but that doesn't mean his spirits are old!
After Ash made such a splash, Professor Oak warned Giovanni once, saying that if Ash didn't continue to show anything special, Giovanni wouldn't do anything because of his intimidating presence.

However, things are different now. The Pokémon that Ash has is enough to make Giovanni ignore his threats and warnings. Even if he were to arrive at the scene, it would be uncertain whether Giovanni would stop.

No matter what, he's determined to protect Ash; no one can lay a hand on him!

As for the Mewtwo that Blaine had described as incredibly powerful, Professor Oak said he'd have to try it out to find out. Unless it's at the God-level, it's not invincible.

Ash was taken aback by Professor Oak's kindness, but then a warm feeling washed over him. Professor Oak really cared about him! However, he was unaware that Giovanni was the leader of Team Rocket.

Of course, he couldn't just agree to Professor Oak's sudden request, and he also had a powerful trump card up his sleeve, so he wasn't worried at all even if he faced Giovanni.

"Come on, I'm just challenging a gym. What are you doing here, Professor Oak? Even if Viridian Gym is the strongest gym in Kanto, I'm the strongest Kanto rookie ever. I won't lose!" Ash smiled and gave Professor Oak a thumbs up, vowing never to fail.

Professor Oak looked at Ash's infectious smile and was slightly moved. He moved his lips and finally smiled back: "Alright, I'll be waiting for your triumphant return, Ash. I'll have your mom cook a feast to celebrate you getting eight badges!"

"What?! That's my mom! Why do you need Professor Oak to ask her to cook a good meal? You just want to come to our house for a free meal, don't you?" Ash rolled his eyes, exposing Professor Oak's intentions.

Professor Oak gave an awkward laugh, exchanged a few more pleasantries with Ash, and then hung up the phone.

After the call ended, Professor Oak's comical smile vanished. He pondered for a moment with a serious expression, then dialed a number…

"Hello? This is Oki... You've been keeping an eye on him in Viridian City lately, right?... Yes, I need you to protect someone for me..."

……

After Ash put the video call back, he checked the time. It was still early, so he thought for a moment and then took Pikachu and the rest of his Pokémon to train.

Pikachu, who had thought it could take a nap, rolled its eyes and expressed strong dissatisfaction with Ash.

"You can go back to sleep if you want, but Riolu and I are going to train. If Riolu catches up with you, where will you put your face?" Ash said nonchalantly, indicating that Pikachu could go back to rest if it wanted, and he wouldn't force it.

Upon hearing this, Pikachu instantly became anxious. He was already being caught up by his underlings because of his bottleneck, and if even his youngest underling caught up with him, where would he put his face!

Riolu's strength has now reached the peak of its advanced stage, just one step away from reaching the elite level, but it shows no sign of evolving.

For Riolu to evolve into Lucario, it only needs to reach a certain level of its own Aura and achieve the required level of friendship with its Trainer.

Ash and Riolu's bond level is so high it was almost maxed out when they were together just now. As for the progress of Aura, with Ash as a powerful Aura user, how could Riolu's Aura be weak?
The reason he leveled up so quickly was because of his frequent aura fusion with Ash. Feeling Ash's aura caused his own aura to improve significantly, which led to his rapid level increase.

In terms of waveguide proficiency, he could have evolved into Lucario long ago.

However, neither he nor Ash planned to evolve at this time. Riolu only has one evolutionary stage, and if this stage is used properly, it might give Riolu a tremendous boost!

Before that, it's better for Riolu to focus on accumulating waveguides and preparing for future upgrades.

If Riolu can reach Elite level, and then through evolution, it might be able to reach Elite Advanced level in one go!

This allowed them to quickly close the gap in level with the main force.

This is why Pikachu is worried about Riolu catching up. Besides, he has already been overtaken by Gardevoir and Charizard. If he doesn't level up his level back, where will he put his big brother's face?

So, Ash, Pikachu, and a group of Pokémon trained for more than two hours in a relatively deserted area of ​​Cinnabar Island before Misty called to ask him where he had been.

Xiaoxia and Xiaogang are both awake, which means training time is over.

Back at the hotel, Xiaoxia and Xiaogang had already washed up and were waiting for Xiaozhi to return. They were going to put aside their training and battles for a while and have some fun!
There are quite a few places to have fun on Cinnabar Island, and many places have very beautiful scenery. Ash and his friends visited them one by one.

Because they were wearing masks, their appearance didn't cause much of a commotion, even though wearing masks looked very strange in such a hot and humid place as Crimson Island, and it was also very stuffy.

However, for Ash's monstrous physique, this level of heat was nothing. Misty and Brock, not being particularly famous, had already been gradually forgotten, so it didn't matter if they weren't wearing masks. That's what fame is all about; after a period of dormancy, even the greatest fame will slowly fade away. Now it's Misty and Brock; next time it will be Ash being forgotten.

As long as Ash doesn't cause any more big commotion.

Time always flies when you're having fun. In the blink of an eye, Ash and his friends had already spent four days on Cinnabar Island. During these four days, they explored almost every corner of Cinnabar Island and tried out all the unique hot springs on the island.

It must be said that the hot springs on Cinnabar Island are indeed not false advertising. Ash observed through his Aura that those hot springs do indeed have the effects they advertise.

It can relieve fatigue, refresh the mind, stimulate cells to increase training effects, etc. However, those effects only take effect if you soak in hot springs for a long time. If you only soak in hot springs for a short period of time, then you will basically only have the comfort of soaking in hot springs.

Another point worth mentioning is that, apart from going to the hot springs, Xiao Gang intentionally left Xiao Zhi and Xiao Xia during these few days of sightseeing. Xiao Zhi was wondering why Xiao Gang always ran off to who-knows-where when they went out to play, while Xiao Xia vaguely understood what Xiao Gang meant. She was both embarrassed and annoyed, but also somewhat grateful.

Gang Ge's emotional intelligence and brotherhood are truly exceptional. He went to great lengths to help his brother find a partner, but his brother, being quite shrewd, didn't appreciate his kindness.

Although Xiaoxia knew what Xiaogang wanted to do, Xiaozhi just didn't get it. There was no reason for a girl like her to take the initiative, right?
So although there has been some progress in these four days, it hasn't been much. But all you can say is that the two of them have been dating on Cinnabar Island for four days. Now, the distance between them when they walk has naturally decreased a lot, and Ash will occasionally hold Misty's hand.

It just came naturally... because Xiaozhi had been leading Xiaoxia around a lot these past few days, and they'd gotten used to it after a while.

After their trip to Cinnabar Island, Ash and his friends took a ship to their last gym, Viridian Gym!

The ferry from Cinnabar Island only goes as far as the dock in Vermilion City. To get to the Viridian City Gym, you have to walk from Vermilion City to Viridian City.

We'll be passing through Cerulean City and Nibi City, so we can stop by and visit Xia and Gang's home.

After arriving in Vermilion City, Ash thought he would take the opportunity to visit Chloe and the others. The last time he met Chloe and the others was more than two months ago. At that time, he was a novice and needed to use his partner form to barely defeat a professional-level Raichu.

If it were now, Pikachu could easily lift that Raichu up and beat it with one hand!
Such a huge change in just over two months is something no one could have imagined, including Ash himself. He never expected to improve so quickly.

After arriving in Vermilion City, it was already afternoon. Ash and his friends decided to stay at Professor Sakuragi's place for the night and set off again early the next morning.

Professor Sakuragi should still be at get off work right now, inside the Sakuragi Research Institute.

On his way to Sakuragi Lab, Ash took the opportunity to find out what was going on at Vermilion City Gym and whether Lt. Surge had reformed.

The results were quite encouraging. The Vermilion City Gym has now become a true benchmark for Vermilion City. Although the Gym Leader Lt. Surge is tall and strong, he is very careful in teaching during battles, which is a stark contrast to his appearance.

Because of the changes Lt. Surge made, more and more people are coming to challenge the Vermilion City Gym.

"I never thought Lt. Surge would actually make such a change. I thought he would revert to his original form soon after you left, Ash," Misty said with a sigh.

"Uncle Lt. Surge isn't inherently bad; it's just that his nature makes him go all out against challengers. Plus, he's a bit rough around the edges and doesn't realize the harm he's causing to challengers, which is why he did those things. We just need to wake him up," Ash said with a grin, clapping his fist.

To deal with someone like Ma Zhishi, you need a "friendship-breaking punch" to truly wake him up. If it's not a face-breaking punch, a crushing battle will also work.

Before long, the group arrived at Dr. Sakuragi's research institute. Compared to the grand occasion when they first came, the institute was now practically deserted. After all, who would bother coming to a research institute for no reason?
Aside from Team Rocket and their group who were spying on Pokémon.

Professor Sakuragi was still conducting his research when he saw Ash and the others arrive, and his face lit up with joy: "Ash! It's been a while, hasn't it? What brings you here?!"

"We just came back from Cinnabar Island and thought we'd drop by to see you, Professor Sakuragi," Ash said, releasing the Pokémon from the Poké Ball in his hand.

With a flash of light, Riolu appeared in front of Professor Sakuragi.

"Riolu, say hello to Professor Sakuragi."

"Rio!" Emerging from its Poké Ball, a spirited Riolu called out to Professor Sakuragi with a powerful voice, its energy and spirit hundreds of times stronger than when it left Vermilion City.

Riolu also had some impression of the person in front of him. The other person had taken care of him for a long time. If it weren't for this person, he might not have been able to wait for Ash to arrive.

"Hey, Riolu, you look like you're recovering well!" Professor Sakuragi couldn't help but smile when he saw the energetic Riolu.

Although Riolu wasn't his Pokémon, he had taken care of it for a long time, and it was he who had given it away. He had a special affection for Riolu.

Seeing Riolu recover so well now, he felt a sense of relief and gratitude once again. He was glad that he hadn't stopped believing in Ash because of someone else.

Otherwise, Riolu might not exist in the world now.

"Riolu has now reached its peak! It will definitely unleash a power that will impress you at the Indigo League!" Ash assured Professor Sakuragi, patting his chest.

"He's reached the peak... What?! Reached the peak???" Professor Sakuragi exclaimed subconsciously, intending to encourage Ash. But when he realized what Ash had said, his eyes widened instantly, his mouth gaped open, and his face was filled with disbelief.

How long has Ash had Riolu? About two months! And almost a month of that was for Riolu to recover its original talents and physique. In other words, Ash only trained Riolu for a full month.

Going from a complete beginner to an advanced expert in just one month... You must be cheating!
(End of this chapter)