Pokémon: This trainer is too wild!

Chapter 303 That day was actually a date between me and Mammon.

Why is she here?
When they saw the girl slowly walking towards them from behind, Ash and the others were all taken aback.

She wore a kimono with a maple leaf pattern, had a pure and fair face, wore a red headband, and walked with an elegant and ladylike gait.

"Master Lijia?"

Ash was astonished; how could Gym Leader Rika be here?

Keep in mind that they are located in the northern part of the Kanto region, quite far from Tamahiko City.

Little Blue's eyes narrowed slowly as she glanced at the spirit beast Earth Cloud, which had stopped fighting.

"Hold on."

Rika smiled slightly at Ash and the others, then walked up to them and looked up at the spirit beast Landorus.

"I'm sorry, they are all my friends. I apologize for bothering you. I will try to persuade them not to enter the World Tree."

Lijia gave a slight bow to the spirit beast Earth Cloud and smiled.

“tu～”

The spirit beast Landorus nodded, glanced at Ash and the others, and turned to leave.

Seeing this, the group was filled with doubt.

"Phew~ It's a good thing it's a land cloud. If it were a thunder cloud, they would be more difficult to communicate with, and even if it were me, they probably wouldn't listen."

Rika patted her chest in relief and looked at Ash and the others.

"Ash, what are you doing at Yggdrasil Park?"

"World Tree Paradise?"

"Ah~ Don't you know? This is the name of this farm."

Lijia tilted her head, her slender fingers pointing to her lips.

"It is indeed strange, as outsiders are not allowed to enter this place. Did you sneak in?"

"..."

Ash looked away awkwardly into the distance, and even whistled to hide his unease.

Seeing Ash's expression, Rika smiled gently.

"Looks like I need to have a serious talk with them. Being so careless isn't good."

"Also, Ash, you'd better leave as soon as possible. There are many powerful Pokémon in this park, and some of them are quite aggressive. It's alright for me, but they might not be so lenient with outsiders like you."

Rika reminded Ash that she had a very good impression of him.

This boy is passionate, kind, and full of a sense of justice; he's the kind of kid who makes it easy for people to like him.

"Master Lijia, may I ask why you are here? And judging from your tone, you seem to be very familiar with this place."

Xiao Lan asked, feigning confusion.

"Ah~ Strictly speaking, I'm the manager of World Tree Paradise." Rika blinked.

"what?"

"The administrator? Is he one of the higher-ups at this farm?"

"But this isn't the place..."

Upon hearing this, Xiaozhi and his two companions were startled.

"That's right. Besides dealing with gym challengers, I usually come here to train whenever I have free time. The Pokémon here are all very strong and excellent, making them great training partners."

Lijia smiled and replied.

"But Gym Leader Rika, isn't this... Team Rocket's farm?"

Ash frowned, hesitated for a moment, and then asked Rika.

Upon hearing this, Lijia's pretty face changed slightly, but she quickly returned to normal.

Seeing this, the clever Xiao Lan led Xiao Yin away from Li Jia. From the moment Li Jia appeared, she felt something was wrong.

The owner of this Jade Rainbow Dojo has a very close relationship with Team Rocket.

It's truly shocking that the Rainbow Gym, an official gym, has such an ambiguous relationship with Team Rocket.

"So Ash knew about this. Yes, Yggdrasil Park does belong to Team Rocket."

Lijia sighed softly.

"then you……"

"Xiao Zhi, do you remember that time when I was with Mr. Mammon?"

Lijia regained her composed and reserved smile.

Xiao Yin's expression shifted upon hearing this. Was this Li Jia related to her brother?

“I remember.” Ash frowned. Of course he remembered that the evil Mammon had kidnapped Rika.

"Perhaps Mr. Mammon's words that time caused a misunderstanding. He has always had a rather wicked sense of humor. In fact, I was not kidnapped by Mr. Mammon."

Lijia lowered her head slightly, a little shyly, and ran her right hand through her black hair.

"At that time, I was on a date with Mr. Mammon."

Quiet.

After Lijia finished speaking, the atmosphere fell silent for a moment.

Xiaozhi and Xiaoxia stared in disbelief at Lijia, who was acting shy like a little girl, while Xiaogang's eyes twitched.

Xiao Lan was also incredibly shocked. A date? Is this appropriate?
Xiao Yin's thoughts were completely different from the other four. He was first surprised, and then looked at Li Jia thoughtfully.

If I'm going on a date with my brother, should I call her sister-in-law?

Xiao Yin pondered, "My brother actually found a girlfriend. This is a good thing. Should I tell our father?"

Wait a minute, back in Johto, didn't my brother have several girls with him? And their relationships seemed to be quite special.

In this case……

Could my brother be the legendary scumbag?
Xiao Yin looked a little confused. No, no, her brother wasn't like that. Maybe he was just more emotional and sentimental.

Well, that should be it.

"But...but Mammon is the leader of Team Rocket."

Finally coming to their senses, even Ash's tone was quite complicated.

"Ash, the current Team Rocket is completely different from the Team Rocket of the past. Also, I have something to tell you." Rika shook her head.

"My relationship with Mr. Mammon has been approved by Chairman Damaranchi," Lijia said with a smile.

"???"

Xiao Lan was shocked again. No, is Dama Lanqi out of his mind?

You actually approve of your local Gym Leader dating the boss of Team Rocket?
Are you really not afraid at all that Rika will be kidnapped by Mammon and join Team Rocket?

Xiao Zhi's mind was still blank at this moment.

"In short, Mammon and the current Rockets are not what you imagine. You will gradually understand this in the future."

"Now, let me send you away from the park."

Seeing that the others looked like they were still processing the information, Lijia couldn't help but chuckle and speak up.

"Wait! Gym Leader Rika, I need to go into the World Tree." Ash said quickly.

"Enter the World Tree? People can't go inside the World Tree." Lijia tilted her head in confusion.

"Huh?" Ash was taken aback.

"The World Tree is not a real tree, but a different kind of life form. It has a unique defense mechanism. Pokémon can enter, but humans cannot. Once inside the World Tree, they will be devoured by it."

Lijia explained in detail.

"Even Mr. Mammon couldn't get in."

"But……"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhi's head immediately spun. How could such a thing happen?

He certainly believed Rika's words, after all, the curator had no reason to deceive him.

"And even if I didn't stop you, you still wouldn't be able to get in. The World Tree has many Pokémon Guardians now. The Landorus you just encountered is just one of them. There are also Tornado, Thundurus, Zapdos, and so on."

"There are even stronger guardians than the Earth Clouds, who slumber underground in the area surrounding the World Tree. If you continue to approach the World Tree, you will awaken it, which would be extremely dangerous."

Lijia spoke calmly as she described the dangers of the World Tree.

Yes, and the strongest guardian that Rika mentioned is none other than Regigigas.

Besides Regigigas, there's also a homebody cat named Mew inside the World Tree, so how do you force your way into the World Tree?
Aside from Mammon and that old monster Jodo, it's simply impossible.

"Hiss~" Xiao Lan couldn't help but gasp.

Good heavens, no wonder!

She had always had a question: this area, as Team Rocket's largest farm in Kanto, was such an important place, and although the security outside was tight, in Xiao Lan's opinion, it still didn't live up to the weight of Yggdrasil Park.

The security forces outside the relationship are just a facade; the real 'security' is actually inside the farms and ranches.

"..."

Xiao Zhi is numb.

"this……"

When Xiao Yin spoke for the first time, she didn't know how to address Li Jia.

"What's wrong, sir?" Lijia looked at Xiaoyin with a puzzled expression.

"...Sister-in-law, I want to know where my brother is now."

"?"

Lijia stared at Xiaoyin in astonishment, then frowned, her expression turning somewhat displeased. Who is she calling "sister-in-law"?
"Sir, even if I were a young woman, I would be angry if you joked like that."

"No, this is a misunderstanding, Master Lijia. Little Silver is Mammon's younger brother, his own brother," Little Blue quickly explained.

Mammon's younger brother?

Lijia was somewhat taken aback. Something couldn't be right; she had never heard of Mammon having a younger brother.

"Little Silver was kidnapped when he was a child, and he was only recently reunited with Mammon and Gyokichi, so you don't know that yet."

Xiao Lan roughly understood why Li Jia had that expression.

"..."

Rika suddenly realized, but she still sent a message to Giovanni to confirm. Since they were both official gym owners, Rika had Giovanni's contact information.

And Sakaki quickly gave her a positive answer.

"I'm sorry, I'm not aware of that."

Lijia blushed a little, after all, Xiaoyin had just called her 'sister-in-law'!

"It's alright, sister-in-law, I just want to know where my brother is."

Xiao Yin repeated it again.

"Don't you have Mr. Mammon's contact information?" Lijia asked, puzzled.

"Ever since I found out he joined Team Rocket, my brother... hasn't replied to my messages for a long time," Silver whispered.

"Little girl, I understand."

Rika sighed inwardly. So he was similar to Gyokki, but it seemed that Silver valued his kinship with Mammon very much.

“Mr. Mammon will be returning to Kanto soon, but I don’t know exactly where.”

Lika replied that Mammon would actually be returning to Kanto today.

But Lika said it on purpose, of course. Since Mammon was deliberately avoiding Little Silver, she certainly wouldn't say it out loud.

Xiao Yin remained silent.

Afterwards, Ash and his friends were sent out of Etrian Odyssey by Rika.

"I can't believe that Gym Leader Rika is so close to Team Rocket?"

Xia turned around and saw Lijia standing in front of several muscular men, seemingly giving them a lecture.

Lijia was petite, but those burly men didn't even dare to raise their heads, probably because Lijia had given them a good scolding.

"Most importantly, the league's attitude towards the Rockets is indeed very subtle." Xiao Gang said thoughtfully, having paid attention to this point.

"Because the leadership is different now, the Rockets seem to be turning over a new leaf."

Little Blue had a lollipop in her mouth, and then looked at Little Silver.

"Little Silver, what are you going to do now?"

"I need to find my brother. No matter what, I need to ask him some things in person," Xiao Yin said in a deep voice.

"Okay, okay, then I can only help you."

Xiao Lan helplessly shrugged.

Ash was also in a real bind. He couldn't get into Yggdrasil, so how could he help Lucario understand what happened back then?

Ash originally thought he could help Lucario fulfill this obsession so he could catch it.

After all, he really liked this handsome Lucario.

"That's all for now, Ash, Misty, and Brock. Bye-bye, we're heading to Viridian City."

Blue waved goodbye to Ash and his friends.

"Goodbye."

They watched as Xiao Lan and Xiao Yin disappeared from sight.

"Mammon's brother looks like a formidable rival, Ash."

Brock reminded Ash that Silver's strength was definitely extremely high, but he didn't know if Silver would participate in the Indigo League.

"Hmm~ But I won't lose to him!"

Ash is very confident in himself; he is determined to win the Indigo League this time!

Even if it's Red Bro, he'll definitely defeat him! Not to mention this Little Silver.

Perfect timing. We can't beat Mammon yet, but surely we can beat Mammon's brother?

"Oh? It seems you're quite confident, Ash."

Suddenly, a smiling voice rang out behind Ash and his friends.

"Of course... Wait, that voice, Mammon?!"

Xiao Zhi subconsciously replied, then realized that the voices were not Xiao Xia or Xiao Gang's.

I turned my head and saw it was true!

"Hey~ It's been a while since we last met, Ash, Misty and Brock, you all look pretty good."

Mammon grinned, looking at Ash with a sly smile.

Behind Mammon were Cattleya, Plantina, and Shinji.

"Mammon! When did you arrive?"

Ash was very wary; he couldn't let go of Mammon at all, especially after what happened last time.

Even though Rika said it was a date with Mammon, doesn't that make it even more infuriating?

Mammon completely tricked him back then! How despicable!
"It was probably when you first came out that I saw you with Xiao Yin."

"Then why don't you come out? Your brother has been looking for you."

Xiao Zhi couldn't help but frown.

“It’s not the right time yet,” Mammon chuckled.

He wasn't ready to meet Silver yet; the timing wasn't right. So when he saw Ash and the others, he didn't show up.

"Speaking of which, Ash, you guys were quite rude today, barging into my farm like that. Wasn't that a bit inappropriate?"

Then Mammon's lips curled up slightly; Rika had just sent him a message.

"I didn't do it on purpose. We clearly didn't see anyone when we went in."

Xiao Zhi's face immediately fell, and for someone as simple-minded as him, this was indeed a bit embarrassing.

Especially since this is Mammon's farm.

"Moreover, I wouldn't have come to this place if it weren't to help Lucario find out the truth about what happened back then."

“Oh?” Mammon raised an eyebrow.

"The Lucario from Ordron Castle?"

"how do you know?"

Ash looked at Mammon with a puzzled expression.

"I've come across some records about this by chance, since this place isn't very far from Rota Street."

The plot has completely changed. Logically speaking, the plot of the Aura Hero movie should be after Ash returns from his trip to Hoenn.

But none of that matters.

"Xiao Zhi, I can help you this once. You must be very troubled."

Mammon pondered for a moment, then smiled and said to Ash.

He suddenly had a good idea.

What scheme are you plotting now?

However, Ash was smarter this time and watched Mammon warily.

"Tsk~ You really are something. Do I look like a bad guy?" Mammon couldn't help but click his tongue.

If you're not a bad person, are you a good person?

Xiaoxia couldn't help but complain when she heard this, but she only dared to complain in her heart.

Ash remained silent, and this deafening silence undoubtedly revealed Ash's thoughts.

"Don't worry, I never lie. But if you want me to help you, you have to pass a test first."

"What test?"

Perhaps Rika's words had subtly changed Ash's mindset, and his resistance to Mammon was no longer so strong.

"These two are Hikari and Shinji," Mammon grinned, introducing the girl and boy behind him to Ash.

Plantina looked at Ash and his friends with curiosity and nodded to them in a friendly manner, while Shinji remained expressionless.

"They are all Sinnoh trainers, new members of Team Rocket, and rookie trainers the same age as you."

"You're a very talented newcomer, just like me, Ash."

Mammon smiled and held up one finger.

"Choose one of them as your opponent for a friendly match. If you win, I'll do you a favor."

"But I'm the kind of person who likes fairness, so if you lose, you have to promise me one thing, okay?"

That's right, it's really interesting to see Ash fight against both Plantina and Shinji, whether it's Plantina or Shinji.

Moreover, regardless of winning or losing, Mammon suffers no loss.

Upon hearing this, Ash looked at Plantina and Shinji and fell into deep thought.

Should we agree? Or rather, which opponent should we choose?
(End of this chapter)