Pokémon: Who let him leave Pallet Town?

Chapter 363 Uncle Liu in Winter

Soon, led by Granny Sima, two houses side by side with courtyards appeared before everyone.

"Have we arrived?" Everyone was taken aback.

Where is the dojo?

Ash looked left and right and found that all around him were small houses with courtyards, and he did not find any buildings that looked like gyms.

“This is my home,” Grandma Sima said, pointing to the house on the left.

"So this is the Kaji Gym?"

Ash stared blankly at the big house on his right.

He then noticed a memorial tablet hanging on the wall of the courtyard, with Uncle Liu's name and house number written on it.

And in a small bracket, there are four words (Kajiki Dojo).

"Thank you so much, Grandma. Otherwise, we would have been lost for ages after navigating here." Xiaoxia's lips twitched slightly.

"Natsume-san, aren't gyms usually very iconic buildings?" Ash asked quietly.

“Isn’t this considered unconventional in a dojo?” Natsume said, walking forward and pressing the doorbell.

"Who is it?" A slow, unhurried voice rang out from the courtyard.

"I'm Ash, and I'm here to challenge the gym!" Ash shouted.

"Kacha~"

The door opened, and an old man dressed in a rigid, old-fashioned style and with an unassuming demeanor appeared.

He scrutinized everyone, and when he saw Sima, Uncle Liu was stunned.

"Come in with me."

The group entered the dojo.

I thought this place only looked like a courtyard on the outside, and that it would be just like a regular dojo inside.

But once inside, Ash and his friends felt as if they were back home.

Apart from a dedicated battleground built in the courtyard, the rest of the facilities were no different from those of an ordinary household.

“I picked a lot of stray mushrooms and shared some with them.”

Plump Granny Xima stepped forward and handed the vegetable basket in her hand to Uncle Liu.

"Thank you, Sima." Uncle Liu nodded slightly.

"Who is the challenger?" After putting the shopping basket into the refrigerator, Uncle Liu turned around and looked at the group of people.

"Me, and Natsume-nii!"

Ash jumped out and pointed at Natsume.

"Pickup!"

Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder and raised its little fist.

Seeing this, Uncle Liu frowned slightly:
"Aren't you going to take your Pikachu back?" Uncle Liu asked curiously.

"Well, Pikachu doesn't want to, and this is actually good for us to bond," Ash said, wiping his nose.

“Pikachu!” Pikachu nodded in agreement.

“You can’t do it this way.” Uncle Liu frowned and continued:
"Pokémons and trainers must maintain a certain distance. Without this sense of tension, it is easy to be blinded by the injury of a Pokémon during battle and lose the ability to make correct judgments."

Uncle Liu shook his head in disappointment.

"That's so cruel!" Xiaoxia whispered.

“That’s normal. He’s known as Uncle Willow of Winter, and he’s notoriously harsh,” Granny Sima whispered in agreement.

"Pikachu, Pikachu!"

Inside the refrigerator, a man with a middle parting clapped his hands as he walked out, a trace of blue liquid remaining at the corner of his mouth.

"Pikachu!" The man with the middle parting gave Liu Bo a thumbs up, then patted the red and white ball on Natsume's waist, sending it back into the ball.

Uncle Liu was taken aback, then chuckled slightly:
"See that? This Pikachu is much more aware of its potential."

"It doesn't seem so." Natsume's expression was strange.

He took out his phone, opened Miaomiao's translation app, and relayed the voice from the man with the middle part, quickly understanding the other person's meaning.

Middle-parted hair: "Pikachu, Pikachu!"

Middle-parted hair: "Pokémon and trainers must maintain a certain boundary. Without this sense of tension, it is easy to be blinded by the trainer's injury during the run and lose the ability to make correct judgments."

Uncle Liu: "."

"Alright, since that's the case, let's begin the assessment."

Uncle Liu shook his head slightly and went to the battlefield outside.

"Natsume-nii, I want to go first this time!" Ash pleaded, looking at Natsume-nii.

This is the first time he has had the opportunity to face a true Elite Four trainer, even if he is retired.

"can."

Natsume nodded and followed the others to the outside of the venue.

Unexpectedly, Grandma Sima actually put on a referee's uniform, held two small flags, and stood on the referee's platform at the other end.

"Not only have I been Uncle Liu's neighbor since childhood, but I'm also a certified Level 1 referee by the league!"

Grandma Sima whistled and shouted:
"This battle will be a gymnastics qualification battle, with challenger Ash facing off against Kaji Gym Leader Lyub!"

"Each side sends out one Pokémon!"

As Granny Sima finished speaking, Uncle Liu, with a cold and expressionless face, looked at Xiao Zhi and asked:

"Did you prepare a Fire-type Pokémon?"

"Of course!" Ash confidently pulled out a red and white ball.

Seeing this, Uncle Liu nodded slightly.

It seems this kid isn't as bad as I thought.
"Go, Cyndaquil!"

“Noy!” A small fireball appeared opposite Uncle Liu.

"?"

Looking at the Fireball Rat, which was of a lower level, Uncle Liu stood there stunned for a moment.

"Are you sure you want to challenge me with this Cyndaquil?" Uncle Liu looked at Ash speechlessly.

"Of course, I'm very confident in my Cyndaquil!"

“Confidence cannot compensate for lack of ability.” Uncle Liu said expressionlessly.

"I believe it!"

"Noe!"

Cyndaquil responded to Ash with high spirits, and the flames on its back grew even higher.

"In that case."

Liu Bo closed his eyes, and a Blizzard appeared in the blink of an eye, standing opposite Ash.

"Cyndaquil, Flamethrower!"

"Jump upwards, then use Brick Break!"

"Cyndaquil, get out of the way!"

"Use Tile Split to the left!"

The battle ended quite quickly. After staggering and dodging a few times, Cyndaquil was knocked away by Abomasnow's charge and fell unconscious to the ground.

"Why can't Cyndaquil dodge, while Abomasnow almost completely dodges the opponent's Flamethrower?"

Xiaoxia stared in astonishment at the unharmed Blizzard King.

“Mr. Liu’s command is quite different from Xiao Zhi’s; his instructions are very precise.” Xiao Gang frowned.

Ash recalled his Cyndaquil and stood there, somewhat dazed.

On the other end, Uncle Liu's voice slowly rang out:

"Pokémon battles are based on human rules, and most of the weight should be in the hands of the trainer. To accurately control the situation, blindly relying on the Pokémon itself is useless."

As he spoke, he turned his head and looked at Natsume:
"I hope you don't have this problem."

Natsume touched his nose and walked onto the battlefield.

"Sizzle~" A red light flashed, and a middle-parted hairstyle covered with a small blanket appeared.

"Pikachu? Don't you have any Fire-type Pokémon?" Uncle Liu frowned.

His Blizzard King is of a very high level.

Trainers often treat the Kaji City Gym as their last gym, making thorough preparations before challenging it.

These two are quite something; they haven't even trained a Pokémon specifically designed to counter him.

"It's okay. As long as your command scores points, you can still pass the assessment even if you don't win."

Uncle Liu continued expressionlessly:
"Your combat readiness points are gone. Now, use your best command skills," Uncle Liu instructed.

Natsume raised his eyebrows in a strange manner.

Since you've put it that way...

"Middle parting, you're free to do whatever you want in this match."

(End of this chapter)