Speaking of Ralts...
Ash swept his gaze around the area.
Everywhere he looked, there was tall grass, trees, and the kind of untouched wilderness people rarely came through. That meant there was no need to worry about causing a scene here.
He took out a Moon Ball and released the Shiny Ralts.
A red beam of light shot out, and the tiny Shiny Ralts appeared in front of everyone again.
Even though this was already the second time they had seen her, that Shiny Ralts still hit the group with the same overwhelming burst of cuteness and surprise, her pale blue bangs, those orange horns with their distinct glossy texture, and her fair, delicate skin, smooth and luminous like fresh milk.
Bonnie's eyes lit up. "She's so cute! Ash, can I pet her? I promise, just a little, and I'll be super gentle!"
Ash shook his head and didn't make the decision for Ralts.
If he stepped in personally, maybe Ralts would agree...
Then again, maybe not.
"You should ask her yourself. If she agrees, then sure."
Bonnie could not help looking a little disappointed, but she still turned to the Shiny Ralts with huge expectations.
Faced with Bonnie's hopeful look, Shiny Ralts immediately raised both arms and crossed them in front of her chest.
Nope!
After turning Bonnie down, the little one instantly locked onto the top of Ash's head, clearly trying to claim the high ground.
But this time, Ash was wearing his hat.
She tried to lift the hat off his head and put it on herself, only for her orange horns to push it high into the air. The next second, she looked fully prepared to punch a hole straight through the hat she apparently suspected was Ash's true body.
Ash stopped her on the spot.
Then he took the hat and set it on Pikachu's head instead.
Pikachu smoothly raised a paw, adjusted the hat until it sat straight, and gave a cheerful, "Pika~"
Just like that, Ash's head, left shoulder, and right shoulder were occupied by Shiny Ralts, hat-wearing Pikachu, and Froakie respectively.
The sight was so ridiculous it circled right back around to enviable.
Serena then released the only two Pokémon she had.
Ralts's appearance did not create the same shocking impact as the Shiny Ralts, but seeing Serena had actually caught a Ralts too still dealt quite a blow to Clemont and Bonnie. They were green with envy.
The good news was that the Shiny Ralts would not let anyone touch her, but Serena's Ralts would.
Bonnie finally got her wish and petted Ralts at Serena's side.
During the whole process, Fennekin also showed a great deal of interest in her new companion Ralts.
Just like Ash, Serena planned to become a Performer, so she also needed to raise her Pokémon's levels.
Otherwise, without enough move combinations to work with, her performances would end up feeling repetitive and dull.
Since they were going to start training levels now, it was no longer appropriate to keep Latias traveling openly by their side. If she stayed with them, no brave wild Pokémon would dare come challenge them no matter where they went.
Ash did not recall Latias, though.
Instead, he had Latias use her natural ability to bend light and turn invisible, then fly high into the sky to silently watch over everyone.
To outside observers, it looked as if Latias had suddenly vanished into thin air.
"Huh? Where did Latias go?!"
Latias disappearing left Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, and several of the Pokémon totally baffled.
Only the two Ralts and Froakie managed to pick up a few clues. Thanks to their psychic power and weak Aura, and with Latias not deliberately hiding herself with psychic force, they were able to sense something strange.
All three of them stared at one patch of seemingly empty air.
That was exactly where Latias was.
But as Latias gradually flew higher and higher, eventually leaving the sensory range of Ralts and Froakie, the three Pokémon lost track of her.
Ash rubbed Froakie's head and smilingly revealed the truth behind Latias's disappearance.
Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie immediately understood.
Then Ash turned to Shiny Ralts and Froakie.
"In a while, we're going to challenge a Gym, and both of you will be battling then. So from here on out, you two need to work hard and get stronger, okay?"
"Croak!"
Froakie instantly looked fired up, full of fighting spirit.
Shiny Ralts was just as eager, looking like she could not wait to get started.
Even Serena's gentle-natured Ralts beside them could not help showing a trace of longing.
She was already imagining herself and Serena dazzling on a Performer's stage.
If you were walking through a forest and asked what kind of Pokémon made the best sparring partners, then without a doubt it would be the most common ones around, Bug-types and Grass-types.
If they wanted to raise levels more efficiently and as quickly as possible, then learning moves that countered both Bug and Grass would be the best choice.
And with the Santalune Gym being a Bug-type Gym, learning those counter moves would not just speed up training, it would basically count as focused prep for the Gym too.
Out of all the types, Flying, Fire, and Rock countered Bug, while Flying, Fire, Poison, Bug, and Ice countered Grass.
That naturally made Flying and Fire, which hit both types effectively, the top choices.
Froakie could not learn any Fire-type moves, but he could learn a Flying-type move.
Ash planned to teach Froakie Acrobatics.
In the games, Acrobatics only had a base power of 55, the same as Aerial Ace, but its special effect was extremely strong. If the user was not holding an item, the move's power doubled to an impressive 110, already on par with heavy-hitting moves like Hurricane, Thunder, and Hydro Pump. (Bulbapedia)
More importantly, in the real world, Acrobatics had an even higher ceiling.
The trigger for its special effect had changed from simply not holding an item to mastering a special technique for applying force.
Once that technique was mastered, the move's power could be doubled.
It was much harder to learn, but the upside was obvious, it overcame the original version's drawback of not being able to hold an item. As long as Froakie kept practicing until it became second nature and turned into muscle memory, he could make that permanent doubling a reality.
Shiny Ralts's situation was different from Froakie's.
Ralts already knew the Fire-type special move Mystical Fire, which let her counter both Bug and Grass at the same time. (Bulbapedia)
So while Froakie focused on learning a new move, Shiny Ralts could go straight into level training and start raising her level first.
That did mean they would have to split up, though.
Battling and mastering a move were two different things.
The first was about practicing and improving moves already learned, while the second was about building a move from nothing. The difficulty difference was obvious.
Ash decided to focus on Froakie's side.
He shared his thoughts with the other three, entrusted Shiny Ralts to Serena's group for level training, and also left his max-level Pikachu with them to keep everyone safe.
They agreed that around lunchtime, Ash would come find them and regroup.
Following the map, Ash headed off alone with Froakie to the marked location.
It was a rocky canyon.
As far as the eye could see, white-gray wasteland and gray-brown rock made up ninety percent of the entire gorge.
There were very few weeds or trees here, and with the sunlight beating down directly overhead, it was blisteringly hot.
The environment was harsh, but the complicated terrain was perfect for helping Froakie practice Acrobatics.
Ash took out his phone and played instructional footage he had used before when teaching Infernape how to practice Acrobatics, letting Froakie learn by following the video.
At the same time, he pulled out Professor Oak's specially made Flying-type Pokéblocks from his backpack.
They would make up for Froakie's lack of Flying-type energy, making it easier for him to call up enough of that energy while practicing the move.
The benefits of doing this were obvious.
On his very first try, Froakie had practically already learned Acrobatics.
Of course, that did not include the special force technique.
Time flew by.
By the time noon was approaching, Froakie had already grasped most of the basic movements and essentials of Acrobatics.
He had also become very comfortable drawing out and condensing Flying-type energy, so much so that he no longer needed the help of Pokéblocks.
Every now and then, he could even pull off the special force technique once, unleashing noticeably greater destructive power.
If he kept this up, then by the end of the day he would probably make major progress.
He might not reach a one hundred percent success rate, but it would not be low either.
Ash glanced up at the sky and saw that it was already getting late.
It was almost time to meet Serena and the others for lunch.
Just as Ash was about to call Froakie back and head out to regroup with Serena, the Pokéblock he casually tossed to Froakie attracted a tiny uninvited guest.
A flash of red suddenly darted past right in front of Ash and Froakie!