"Turtwig, the Grove Pokémon, the evolved form of Turtwig. It lives by forest rivers, often leaving its nest during the day to allow the tree on its back to soak up sunlight."
Dawn held up her Pokédex, scanning the super-sized turtle next to her. Its body had grown enormous, and a small tree now sprouted from its back.
This was Grotle , which had evolved after defeating the arrogant Floatzel . Due to excellent training as a Turtwig and a steady diet of Pokéblocks, it had plenty of stored energy. Now, its bulk was nearly the size of an average Torterra, only half a head smaller than Paul's well-developed one.
"Floa! Floa!"
Next to Grotle, the defeated Floatzel was angrily eating the Pokéblocks Ash had prepared for it, though its eyes were glued to Grotle. It couldn't understand why its attacks consistently missed the unevolved Turtwig by a hair. Whether it was Swift, the double hit of Sonic Boom, or close-range attacks, Turtwig had dodged them easily. But for moves like Water Gun, Water Pulse, and Aqua Jet, it didn't even bother dodging, simply shrugging off the attacks while using Bullet Seed to pelt Floatzel's face. It was a complete defeat, and now the Grass-type had evolved, making it even stronger.
"Grotle!"
Grotle walked over, bringing about ten brown nuts it had picked from the tree on its back. This was a gift for the newly joined Floatzel and an apology for hitting its face so hard. Having only just learned Bullet Seed, Grotle couldn't control its aim, and the seed-like energy pellets had repeatedly struck Floatzel's face.
"Floa! Floa!" Floatzel saw the sincerity in Grotle's eyes, accepted the offering, and began munching on the nuts, seemingly venting its frustration on the hard shells.
"Pachirisu, get down! You shouldn't be naughty on someone's back!" Dawn scolded, hands on her hips, looking at the small electric squirrel on Grotle.
"Chi-ri!" Pachirisu ignored its trainer, its mouth watering as it looked at the nuts on Grotle's tree. It snatched one and began to chew. The large nut swelled its cheeks, making it look exactly like a squirrel hoarding food.
"You naughty thing!" Taking advantage of Pachirisu's distraction, Dawn grabbed its big tail. The little squirrel was flipped upside down but refused to let go of the delicious nut. Only after successfully swallowing it did Pachirisu struggle free from Dawn's grasp, return to Grotle's back, stick out its tongue playfully, and, with Grotle's permission, continue harvesting more tasty nuts.
"Grotle, you can't spoil this troublemaker so much!" Dawn covered her forehead, feeling a headache, seeing Grotle indulge Pachirisu. She realized that since evolving, the big Pokémon's temperament had grown even gentler; it wouldn't even let her catch the mischief-maker, Pachirisu.
"This Grotle seems very reliable, and its temper is so mild!" Since it was nearly noon, Zoey decided to stay and join them for lunch. She was amused by Dawn and Pachirisu's cat-and-mouse game.
"That's just his nature; he has the potential to be a peacemaker," Ash replied, recalling their first meeting. Grotle's evolution had increased its power, yet surprisingly softened its temper.
This was a good thing, but Ash knew he needed to put Grotle through adaptability training. Switching from a speed-based fighting style to a tank-like one required adjustment and mental preparation. Next up was move training. Grotle had learned several new moves just by evolving, saving him money on TMs. Moves like Synthesis, Leech Seed, Giga Drain, and Rock Climb were all included—a great, money-saving turtle!
"You know, I'm starting to believe Dawn now," Zoey said suddenly. She glanced at the surrounding Pokémon and continued, "Pikachu, Sceptile, Snorlax, and Swellow are all extraordinary. Grotle and Aipom are also perfectly raised."
"But..." Zoey counted the Pokémon. "It looks like you have more than six Pokémon. Are you sure you can train all of them properly?" She didn't ask how he managed it; she was more curious about his ability to care for so many.
"It does look that way!" Dawn, having given up on catching Pachirisu, returned to the dining area. Hearing Zoey, she counted the Pokémon again. Including the newly joined Floatzel, the number was definitely over six. Why hadn't the Poké Ball been automatically transferred?
"It's because Floatzel is temporarily deposited with me, so the Poké Ball won't be transferred back," Brock said, returning to the table with a bowl of soup. "I handle the Pokémon's meals, and Ash handles the training and care, so one extra doesn't hurt."
Brock was only carrying his evolved Sudowoodo, the Sinnoh-caught Croagunk, and the unhatched Egg. As a Breeder, he wouldn't carry too many Pokémon, so holding one of Ash's Poké Balls was fine, allowing him to gain experience caring for another type.
"It's just as Brock said for now," Ash confirmed.
This was part of his arrangement with Brock, as the limit of six slots greatly restricted his team flexibility. With both Brock and himself overseeing them, managing seven Pokémon was entirely doable. As for attention, one extra didn't change much; he recorded their training results daily and gave them all equal and sufficient attention.
After catching Floatzel, Ash quickly leveraged a system "bug" by handing the Poké Ball to Brock for safekeeping, preventing the forceful transfer. The rule states that if a trainer has six Poké Balls, the newest one is forcibly sent back. Ash wasn't sure how the League enforced this, but having a partner like Brock allowed him to bypass it.
However, this wasn't a permanent solution. He hoped Professor Oak could help him solve this problem later. Six slots were far too few, especially since Pikachu always occupied one. His minimum acceptable limit was seven slots.