Pokémon, Ash is going to become a perfect man from now on.

"Lapras, I'm counting on you for Sinnoh's first battle!" Ash thought to himself, but it didn't stop him from throwing out the Lure Ball.

He had no intention of holding back at all. Since Yoshino wanted to see the strongest, Ash would let him experience the extreme cold of ice!

"Attack! The water will burst!"

"Perfect timing! Gyarados, use Waterfall!"

The battle opened with a head-on clash, and Yoshinobu's Gyarados had quite a bit of stamina, managing to withstand Lapras's first attack...

Freeze-drying!

However, the ensuing biting cold easily drained its remaining strength.

"This... Lucky Kappa, I'm counting on you!" Yoshinobu hesitated for a moment, but quickly completed the replacement...

But what I found was a water plant.

"What a coincidence... Lapras, Water Breaker!" Ash was a little surprised, but he still let Lapras plunge headfirst into it.

"Lucky Kappa, pray for rain and leave immediately!!"

"Mind interference to capture it, then freeze-dry it!"

In the blink of an eye, Yoshinobu's second one was gone too.

It counters freeze-dry in water-type monsters, dealing four times the damage of both water-based and plant-based monsters—that's how powerful it is!

Yoshino's setup is somewhat similar to Wallace's. Ash once lamented that if Lapras had learned Freeze-Dry earlier... This time, he really got to spray it to his heart's content.

However, I doubt Yoshinobu's third Pokémon will be a Water-type Pokémon like the Swamp King...

"Go, my last neon fish!"

It was alright. After all, Yoshinobu was only pushing his limits, not being reckless. In the end, he used pure water.

His Neon Fish also has the Swiftness ability, allowing it to take advantage of the rain generated by Ludicolo. Right now, it's slithering swiftly underwater, trying to escape Lapras's psychic pursuit.

"Lapras, foresee the future!" Ash unleashed a Future Attack in response to this guerrilla tactic... followed by a terrifying burst of cold air!

"Apply absolute zero directly to the entire field!!"

"Oh no! Neon Fish, come out quickly! Use air to slash!"

"Freeze-drying!" "Whoosh!"

Faced with its opponent forced above the water, Lapras once again unleashed its extremely cold breath, easily annihilating the wind blades fanned out by Neonfish, and the howling cold wind even covered its entire body with ice flowers.

Before it could react, the premonition of the attack crashed down, slamming it from mid-air onto the newly frozen ground!

"Neon Fish is unable to battle, challenger Ash is victorious!"

It was a completely overwhelming battle. Yoshinobu was even a little stunned by the attack and it took him a while to recover.

"I have completely lost. This is the wetland badge, please accept it."

"Thank you so much!" Ash gratefully accepted the badge; the battle had largely met his expectations.

Yoshinobu will definitely report the strength and attitude he displayed today to the Sinnoh League.

Ash has come to challenge the gym, and he's really going all out... Upon hearing this news, Cynthia must be very flustered.

This is exactly what Ash wants to achieve: the more confused the opponent becomes, the easier it is for them to expose weaknesses, giving Ash an opportunity to attack!

Although I feel a bit sorry for Yoshinobu... could Xiaozhi have offered a more respectable explanation?

Giving your all is a way of showing respect to your opponent, and stuff like that...

"Next up is me, Mr. Yoshihiro. Would you like to rest a bit more?"

Ji Xian was stunned for a moment. By the time he came to his senses, Xiao Guang was already standing on the battlefield...

Then Ash changed into his cheerleading outfit~

"Go, Xiao Guang! Go, Xiao Guang! Xiao Guang, Xiao Guang will win! (Iron tape)"

"Ah, this..." Ji Xian was stunned on the spot. He never dreamed that he would see this side of the legendary champion.

But thinking about it carefully, this is probably his true self, considering he has that kind of title...

"Miss Hikari, come on!" Yoshino slapped his face and cheered himself up, sending out Swamp King as the first player in the second half.

But in front of Xiao Guang, he saw a familiar and imposing figure...

"Greatsword Demon, go!!"

Chapter 1205 Another Wave of Dog Fighting

"The snorkeling weasel is unable to fight; challenger Hikari is victorious!"

A three-in-a-row is underway.

In previous battles, Yoshinobu was helpless against the Greatsword Demon, and now with Hikaru's command, he was completely overwhelmed.

Especially the final strike, Yoshino could only watch helplessly as the Greatsword Demon unleashed two sharp, intersecting water blades from thin air, instantly killing his ace, the Floating Itachi, from a distance!

He had never seen such a fierce and powerful offensive before.

"Mr. Yoshinobu, let me treat the Floatweak, otherwise the wound will be difficult to heal." Ash activated the power of Viridian and began to treat the Floatweak's wound.

Regional characteristics sometimes also imply differences in fundamental personality.

Compared to the straightforward attacks of a typical Greatsword Oni, the Green Greatsword Oni's swordplay is far more vicious, with almost every move aimed at inflicting a fatal wound.

"Thank you so much," Yoshino said gratefully. "Miss Hikari is really strong. She actually managed to get the Greatsword Demon to unleash such power... especially the last move, it was simply amazing."

"That move is Water Blade, and its effect is basically the same as Phantom Slash. It's a move that Ash helped me hone," Dawn explained with a smile.

Water Blade was also discovered in the Padilla region. It is said that only a handful of local Water-type starter Pokémon can learn it. However, Ash discovered that he could help his Green Swordmaster learn this move.

This is undoubtedly a significant boost to the Greatsword Demon. After gathering energy, the Greatsword Demon has the Secret Sword for close combat and the Water Blade for ranged attacks. While each strike is a critical hit, it also has the Sharpness trait that enhances the power of cutting moves, taking the path of explosive killing to the extreme.

Yoshinobu clearly had a profound experience... and Bogarman was also shocked by this battle.

Greatsword Demon is just too strong... or rather, all the companions that Hikari has captured since setting out have been too strong.

After considering all the options, the penguin realized that the only animals in its tier were Patchlet and Curly-eared Squirrels... and then it turned out that the electric squirrel was its natural predator!

As for Curly Ear, it seems that its future path has already been determined.

How should I choose...?

Thinking of the faint light that had been emanating from the tip of his tail, Pogaman momentarily lost his focus.

What it didn't know was that Xiao Guang had seen all of this.

The penguin's current situation is something many of Ash's friends have experienced before, often feeling their self-esteem hurt because their teammates are too strong.

In fact, given the penguins' current level of training, they would definitely give their opponents a lot of headaches in international competitions.

It only lacks one choice: to continue protecting Hikari as Piplup, just like in the 'original story,' or to let go of its stubbornness and pursue even greater power...

Xiao Guang has no intention of interfering; no matter what, the penguin will always be her most important partner!

...

"Mr. Ash... is the situation in Sinnoh really that urgent?" Yoshino asked worriedly as he saw him off from Marshland City.

Why do you think that?

“I actually met a special person before,” Yoshino explained. “He was with a delinquent frog, just like Mr. Brock. He asked me about some things under the guise of challenging the gym… But his disguise was really clumsy. Even I could tell that he was probably a policeman or something.”

“Mr. Yoshinobu, I don’t know if you believe me… but everything I’m doing right now is to maintain the stability of Sinnoh as much as possible,” Ash said sincerely. “And as the Gym Leader, what you really need to do is to be vigilant and do everything you can to protect your city!”

"Understood! I, Ultimate Mask, will protect the Wetlands and the Great Wetlands. I will never let bad guys run rampant here!" Overwhelmed with a sense of responsibility, Yoshihiro thumped his chest loudly.

Gym leaders are part of the league's management, but unless the situation is particularly complicated, they don't actually need to worry about too many things.

Taking responsibility for protecting the city and not abandoning one's post at the drop of a hat will actually solve 80% of the problem.

After all... not every villainous organization has the massive power that Team Rocket once possessed, capable of unifying the underground forces of Kanto and standing shoulder to shoulder with the entire League.

Team Magma, Team Aqua, Team Galactic, and others from the original work are not as strong as the League as they are, and they have no chance of winning in a head-on confrontation.

The reason so many critical incidents have surfaced is largely due to those gym owners, top players, and even champions…

I understand everything~

...

After leaving Marshland City, Ash set his sights on Fenrir City. During his journey, he made a phone call to someone.

"Who was on the other end of the phone? Why did you talk for so long?" Xiao Guang asked, puzzled, after Xiao Zhi had been talking alone for a while.

"It's the policeman Mr. Ji Xian mentioned, the one who disguised himself so poorly," Xiao Zhi explained with a smile. "He and I are old friends. We just exchanged some information and talked about our upcoming plans to see if we can find an opportunity to meet."

"So it was him!" Xiao Guang suddenly realized.

The person Xiao Zhi just contacted was a very 'famous' Interpol agent, the handsome gentleman.

Hikaru knows this person too. In the Diamond and Pearl arc of the original work, the handsome detective has interacted with Ash and others more than once, and has a good relationship with the three main characters.

Ash knew him even earlier; they had met when Ash was four years old in Viridian Forest, and Ash had even saved his and Modan's lives.

However, to think that Yoshihiro, with his rather blunt nature, would describe it as 'poorly concealed'... If the handsome gentleman knew that, he'd probably be quite embarrassed~

"Interpol...do they have any special intelligence?" Xiao Gang asked curiously.