June 30, Melemele Island.
After returning from Ula'ula Island and resolving Lycanroc's problem, Ash had broken through his rookie wall as well.
Ash's return from Ula'ula Island was nothing short of a king's comeback, as he went on a winning streak in the Master League.
He had recently climbed from fifth to fourth in the rankings and was hot on the heels of third place.
As for catching up to Li Wei in first or Professor Kukui in second, he could forget about that for the time being.
He probably wouldn't be able to catch them anyway.
After all, Li Wei remained undefeated in the Alola Region's Master League, with almost every victory a whitewash.
But Ash didn't need to catch up to Li Wei. He only needed to make sure that, when the standings were finalized,
he was among the top three in points.
That way, Ash could represent the Alola Region in the Master League Knockout Round at the end of October.
After studying in the Alola Region for nearly four months, Ash had made very noticeable progress.
Ash had received instruction from Li Wei, Professor Kukui, and Principal Oak in turn,
and Li Wei had even brought in several special instructors, including Yellow and Brock, to teach Ash and the others.
Not to mention that Ash also had his actual teacher, Blue. Although Blue hadn't come to the Alola Region himself, he hadn't neglected any of Ash's supplementary lessons.
So Ash had grown considerably in the Alola Region.
He had learned more foundational knowledge and memorized the entire Type Matchup Chart, even learning it backward...
So he could be a Type-Disadvantage Master anytime, anywhere,
ahem.
In short, with Li Wei and Professor Kukui drilling him, along with Pokédex Rotom's explanations whenever and wherever he needed them,
Ash