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

Chapter 243 Reunion with Shinji: Shinji is one-third responsible for Infernape's increased strength. (jp)
Upon hearing Ash's evaluation of her, Sundae's slightly gloomy expression instantly vanished, and her smile seemed to brighten even more.

"You really think so?"

"Of course! I think with your talent, as long as you travel around for a few years, you'll definitely become an amazing trainer!" Ash nodded affirmatively.

Sundae's smile widened, then she pouted and said, "You're a novice trainer too, and younger than me, so why are you pretending to be a senior?"

"As the saying goes, 'the superior comes first,' anyway, I'm better than you, so it's fine for you to treat me as a senior." Ash released Sundae's fair and delicate hand, put his hands behind his head, and said with a grin.

"It's all about who gets the most out of you. I really don't know how you studied."

"I'm already pretty good at knowing this word... Well then, see you later." Seeing that Sundae seemed to have shaken off her gloom, Ash waved goodbye to her and turned to leave with Pikachu.

Sundae stood in the center of the arena, watching Ash walk away into the distance before turning and walking towards her own arena.

Although she was very unwilling, her journey at the Quartz Conference came to an end. This result was not even mediocre. Her goal was to at least reach the top eight, after all, she had not had much training time.

However, there will be the Silver Conference in more than half a year, and the competition in the Silver Conference will be even more intense, but she still wants to participate and get a good ranking!

……

After the match with Sundae, Ash and the others decided to go to a nearby restaurant to celebrate. Gary's match wasn't until the afternoon, so they had plenty of time. This time, it was still just the four of them; Hanako and Professor Oak didn't come.

They had originally planned to watch Ash and Gary's second qualifying match, but the two persuaded them to turn back, saying that it was too much trouble to travel back and forth.

Their qualification through the qualifiers is practically a done deal, so what's the point of coming to watch them live? They might as well wait for the main tournament.

The schedule for the main competition will be much tighter then. As long as they keep winning, there will be matches every day. It's not too late to come and cheer them on then.

Just as Ash and his friends stepped out of the arena, a figure blocked their way. Ash's smiling expression instantly turned serious upon seeing the person in front of him: "Shinji."

Standing in their way was Shinji, who had abandoned the little Chimchar.

"That useless... you caught that little Chimchar, huh?" Shinji started to say, but then changed his mind, as if he had remembered something.

Because the Chimchar is no longer useless. Although he is very harsh on Pokémon, he will not deny their strength. Strong is strong, weak is weak, and useless is useless.

The previous Chimchar was a hopeless case, but the current Infernape is a highly anticipated genius. The difference between them is like heaven and earth, and the only difference is that it has a different trainer.

By this analogy, it seems that the useless one is not Chimchar, but rather the one who cannot unleash his potential.

“That’s right, I caught Chimchar the moment you abandoned him.” Ash nodded, admitting it directly. Some people might think it’s a little shameful to catch a Pokémon that someone else has abandoned, but Ash didn’t care at all.

Aren't the generals he has now all handpicked?

Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur—the three starter Pokémon were all picked up from the ground. What's wrong with having an extra Chimchar?
Moreover, Chimchar's experience is so similar to Charizard's, except that the trainers are indeed somewhat different. Although Daisuke and Shinji released their Pokémon, the former was truly deceiving and abandoning them, while the latter could actually be described as a more palatable release.

Besides, Daiyu is a complete failure as a trainer. Shinji, at least, failed to train Chimchar and only released it after realizing that he and Chimchar were not compatible.

What about Da-you? Never mind, there's nothing to say.

In short, although these two people look very similar, both pursuing powerful spirits, they are actually two completely different people.

Therefore, Ash did not regard Shinji as a scumbag like Daiyu. He was different from Daiyu; he had the potential to be a trainer, but... he went astray.

"It seems like only three days have passed since I released that guy, right? How did you manage to train him to this extent in just a few days? Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to take Infernape back. Once it's released, it's released. I just want to know... what exactly did I do wrong?"

Shinji would do anything to become stronger. Ever since his brother suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Kamishiro and became despondent, he has been determined to take his brother's place and defeat Kamishiro!
Therefore, he will use the most rigorous methods to train the elves to their strongest form. The only thing that can restrain him is the elves' aptitude. As long as the elves' aptitude is sufficient, he can train them to the pinnacle of the world!

This has always been Shinji's idea, but Ash shattered it today.

Ash proved with his actions that Chimchar's aptitude was not the problem; the problem lay in his training methods.

In his hands, Chimchar couldn't even unleash one-tenth of its potential. If Chimchar had been with Ash from the beginning, it probably would have evolved into Infernape long ago, and its strength would have increased to an unknown level.

That's why Shinji wanted to know how Ash did it.
How did he unlock Chimchar's potential and bring it to its current level? What exactly is the difference between them?

Only by knowing these things can he become stronger!
"The biggest mistake you made was being too harsh on Chimchar." Ash said, taking out a Poké Ball. The Poké Ball bounced open, and a spirited Infernape appeared beside Ash.

Ash used Viridian Power to heal Infernape immediately after the match ended. Although Infernape's injuries were serious, its Viridian Power was no longer what it used to be. It was a power that could grow, and with more use and understanding of Viridian Power, its healing ability would become even stronger.

Pokémon of Infernape level can recover in less than two minutes, which is faster than at the Pokémon Center.

Ash is now a mobile Pokémon Center, even stronger than a Pokémon Center.

After appearing, Infernape excitedly looked around, expecting another battle. Its previous two victories had given it enough confidence and allowed it to savor the thrill of victory. It had struggled to win against Paul, but in its first battle against Ash, it had defeated an opponent of a much higher level – a feeling that was undeniably exhilarating!
However, when Infernape's gaze shifted to Shinji, it froze instantly. How could Infernape forget its former trainer?

He never expected that just a few days later, after he had become stronger, his former trainer would reappear in front of him.

Is this an attempt to take him back?

With his current strength, he can indeed return to Shinji's side. If he can maintain this growth rate, he could even become Shinji's ace!
But Infernape didn't want to go back...

His current trainer is very good, even better than Shinji!

He had no complaints about Shinji's rigorous training, no complaints about Shinji not smiling, and no complaints about Shinji not treating him after battles.

Infernape wants to stay with Ash simply because Ash is a better person, and it has nothing to do with any grudges.

"Don't worry, Infernape, Shinji isn't here to take you away, and even if he wanted to, I wouldn't agree. You're my Pokémon now, my partner!" Ash noticed Infernape's worry, squatted down, patted Infernape's fluffy head, and said with a smile.

Ash's words instantly put Infernape at ease, and it boldly met Shinji's gaze.

Shinji looked at Infernape's appearance, a strange look flashing across his eyes. The look was fleeting, and Shinji didn't show it. Instead, he turned his gaze to Ash, seemingly wondering why he had released Infernape.

Is it just to show him how well Infernape is doing now?

"Can you tell the difference between the current Infernape and the little Chimchar that used to be with you?"

"...I've become stronger."

"Become stronger? In what way do you mean?"

"Besides strength, what else could it be?"

“That’s where you went wrong.” Ash stood up and looked at Shinji seriously. He clenched his fist and pounded his heart, saying each word clearly, “Infernape’s strength didn’t get stronger, but its heart did. Because its heart became stronger, it was able to become so strong.”

Shinji: ...

"Although Chimchar trained very hard when he was with you, he never experienced the taste of victory. No matter how strong he became, he always failed. But you just thought that the environment was not harsh enough and that you didn't put enough pressure on Chimchar."

"I know you want to push Chimchar into a corner to unleash the flame within him, just like the flame Infernape showed on the field earlier. But that kind of power can't be unleashed by pressure or cornering. Even if it is, it's just a coincidence."

"The power unleashed by coincidence cannot be controlled without a strong heart. You saw Infernape's rampage at the beginning. If it were still in your hands and that power were unleashed, the final result would have been a complete rampage, unstoppable until it ran out of energy."

Shinji's gaze narrowed slightly, as if he was thinking of that scene. In fact, he knew how difficult that power was to control, but his previous thought was to first unleash the power of Chimchar, and whether he could control it was another matter.

If you can't even stimulate it, how can you talk about control?

But in reality, the impact of that power was far more exaggerated than he had imagined. It was not a power that could be mastered by repeatedly activating it and getting used to it. Just as Ash said, without a strong mind and a strong spirit, Chimchar... Infernape would never be able to control that power in its entire life.

"You want to know why Chimchar has become so much stronger recently? Why he was able to leap to the peak of advanced form after evolving, right? Actually, I haven't done any training these past few days. I've just been constantly working on Chimchar's body, taking him around to play, and occasionally consolidating his power. That's all."

Shinji was stunned for a moment, then his face showed an expression of disbelief: "How is that possible? You can't get stronger without training. Are you saying you can get stronger just by playing around?!"

Ash could accept any reason, such as having trained very hard, using his special abilities to help Infernape improve, or Infernape having a problem with him.

However, Ash said that he had just been playing around these past few days... What does that mean? Is he undermining his philosophy of raising Pokémon?
Does that mean you can easily surpass all his hard training just by having fun?
"It's not just about having fun, but about balancing work and rest. It's just that you've already taken care of the work aspect for me." Ash watched as Paul revealed the truth about how Infernape became stronger.

"The little chimpanzee underwent too much training before, but at that time it was covered in injuries, and all the training results were suppressed by the injuries, which ultimately caused the little chimpanzee's strength to not improve at all."

“I healed Chimchar’s injuries, helped him adjust his body, and finally helped him relax. As for improvement… all I need to do is release the training results that have been accumulating in his body. So you’ve already taken care of that part for me.”

Shinji: ...

According to Ash, Chimchar was able to reach this level in just a few days thanks to him.

Shinji looked at Infernape with a complicated expression, his heart filled with mixed feelings. He did not regret everything he had done, because that was how he treated and trained Pokémon.

However, he still felt a little regretful because he missed out on a Pokémon with excellent potential due to the different training methods. What is not meant to be his will not be his. Even if Chimchar stayed with him for a lifetime, he would never be able to unleash Chimchar's full power. That's just reality.

"Thanks for your guidance. Let's see how it goes in the main tournament." Shinji nodded slightly to Ash, then put his hands in his pockets and left without a backward glance, showing no regret for Infernape.

As Infernape watched Shinji decisively leave, a look of disappointment flashed in his eyes. In the end, he still hadn't gained Shinji's recognition, and it seemed that the other party didn't care about him at all.

"Don't let his appearance fool you, he actually has feelings for you. After seeing you get stronger, he wasn't jealous; in fact, he was happy, and there was also a bit of regret. Overall, it's all positive emotions. It's just that he's not a very honest person," Ash said with his hands on his hips and a look of emotion on his face.

(End of this chapter)