The strongest gym leader starts by beating up Gary.

With that thought in mind, the poacher leader gritted his teeth and pulled out two black Poké Balls from his waist.

"Never mind! Only by surviving can we talk about the future!"

At this moment, the two black Poké Balls that the poacher leader took out flashed with countless red lights.

Just then, the floating bubbles in mid-air could no longer sustain such a terrifying storm.

As the storm subsided, Fang Yuan was finally able to witness the battle unfold before his eyes.

Seeing the defeated Houndoom and Finch, Fang Yuan wasn't surprised at all. He only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the Graveler, who was no longer able to battle, and Gary, who was now safe.

"Well done, Bangiras!"

Just as Fang Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.

But they discovered the Dark Elf Ball in the hands of the poacher leader.

Seeing the red electricity flashing inside the Dark Poké Ball and the strange fluctuations emanating from it, Fang Yuan's expression immediately changed.

Fang Yuan remembered seeing a similar Poké Ball in the anime!

However, these Poké Balls aren't exactly a good thing in the anime!

[Dark Poké Ball (Purple): Can unleash the maximum power of these Pokémon using special energy, but the Pokémon will die after the battle.]

This Dark Poké Ball is the same Dark Poké Ball used by Bisharp, the leader of Team Rocket in the Johto region, in the animated movie!

Fang Yuan never expected that such a Poké Ball would appear here!

"Tyranitar, watch out for the Poké Ball in your opponent's hand!"

The opponent clearly did not believe that they could control a prepared Tyranitar with just a Poké Ball.

The enemy's target is Golem, who has already lost his ability to fight!

As the Poké Ball hit, the Golem, which had previously lost its ability to battle, slowly opened its scarlet eyes!

The aura surrounding Longlongyan surged dramatically! It even jumped from the elite level to the quasi-heavenly king level in one fell swoop!

Seeing the Rumble Rock's level climb to Quasi-Heavenly King in one breath, Fang Yuan frowned even more, but still said...

"You don't actually think you can defeat my Tyranitar by relying on a Golem whose strength has been artificially boosted to near-Champion level, do you?"

"Of course not, even a Dark Poké Ball can't achieve that kind of ability..."

"But! That's enough to help me escape!"

"Grenadier! Self-destruct!"

Fang Yuan's expression changed drastically upon hearing the other party's command!

"This madman!"

The most terrifying explosion in history resounded throughout the entire forest! A mushroom cloud of steam rose slowly.

Chapter 36 Xiao Zhi Becomes an Apprentice

A terrifying explosion echoed through the forest east of Matsumo City!

The terrifying explosion could even be heard in the city of Matsuzamo.

"What the hell happened?"

"East? That's the direction Master Fang is heading in to find the poachers!"

At this moment, Miss Officer Jenny's face showed an expression of great worry.

"Oh no! Could something have happened to Master Fang?"

"No, I have to go take a look!"

Officer Jenny wasn't the only one with the same idea; she ran into Nurse Joy from Matsumo City just as she rode her Arcanine over there.

The two of them didn't say anything and silently hurried over together.

Meanwhile, not far from Matsumo City, a cute-looking Dragonite streaked across the sky.

This Dragonite was Professor Oak's partner when he was young.

"It's really a hassle for you, old friend, to have to come out with me on this trip."

Dragonite shook his head indifferently.

Unlike Professor Oak, who is over fifty years old, his Dragonite is in its prime, at the peak of its energy.

Just then, Dragonite saw a mushroom cloud rising from the Pine Forest in the distance.

Professor Oak sensed something was wrong and patted the Dragonite beneath him.

"Old buddy, looks like we need to pick up the pace."

Upon hearing Professor Oak's words, Dragonite's originally cute eyes turned serious, and its tiny wings burst forth with astonishing speed, scattering countless clouds in mid-air and drawing a blue line.

On the ground, Kikuko, leaning on her cane, squinted and said...

"A self-destruction of a Pokémon with near-Champion level strength? That's comparable to a full-force attack from a Champion-level Pokémon. Where did this powerful individual from Matsumo City come from?"

Kikuko tapped her cane on the ground.

"Hurry up, something big seems to have happened in Matsuzamo City."

A black hole emanating a ghostly aura appeared beneath Kikuko's feet and vanished instantly.

. . . . . .

"This madman!"

Fang Yuan ultimately underestimated the madness of these desperate criminals, who readily abandoned the elves they had nurtured for many years in order to escape.

Just before the explosion, Fang Yuan used Tokiwa's power to create a shield.

Although it was only a fragmented version of Tokiwa's power, it did indeed help Fang Yuan block most of the shockwave from the explosion.

Of course, Fang Yuan's face was extremely pale at this moment.

As the smoke and dust from the explosion dissipated, Fang Yuan glanced around the scene.

Ash and his Pokémon were far enough apart that they were unharmed.

The Frog and Mudkip used Protect together, but nothing happened.

In comparison, Tyranitar was in a much worse state. He was the weakest and was relatively close to the explosion, so he was badly injured and covered in dust.

Compared to Yugira and his friends, the more unlucky ones were the floating bubbles.

Despite being quite far away, the Pokémon was too exhausted to defend itself and was the only one to lose its ability to battle in the explosion.

However, Fang Yuan was more concerned about the epicenter of the explosion.

At the very center of the explosion, the rumbler had vanished, replaced by an incredibly terrifying crater.

The crater was filled with scorched earth, and the very center of the explosion was still a charred red, with the rocks melted directly into lava.

"Bangiras, are you and Shigeru alright?"

In an inconspicuous corner at the epicenter of the explosion, Bangiras emerged from a patch of scorched earth.

As a veteran with extremely rich combat experience, he went underground at the most critical moment.

Mother Earth bore the brunt of the damage.

In addition, with Bangiras's armor providing top-notch defense, his injuries weren't too serious; he'd recover after a few days of eating dirt.

Meanwhile, thanks to Tyranitar's protection, Gary was largely unharmed, and his Pokémon were safely returned to their Poké Balls.

Fang Yuan was a little troubled by Xiao Mao's broken arm.

"Your grandfather was probably already unhappy that you became a disciple of Songzao Dojo, and now you're like this. If your grandfather sees this, you're doomed!"

Fang Yuan wasn't stupid; he had probably already guessed who the high-ranking member of the alliance that Qiao Yixue was talking about was.

Fang Yuan looked at Xiao Mao, whose face was pale, and sighed helplessly.

"You should rest first."

"Who would have thought that a poacher could be this strong? If he were on Team Rocket, he could be a captain, right?"

Ash looked at the terrifying, charred crater in front of him, and then at himself, who had been utterly useless in this battle.

Ash desperately wants to become stronger!

He looked at Fang Yuan with a determined gaze, and Xiao Zhi, who was already prepared, knelt down at Fang Yuan's feet.

"Master Fang, I want to become your disciple!"

"I want to get stronger too. You're the strongest trainer I've ever seen!"

"Although I don't have much ability or a background like Xiao Mao's, I have a heart that wants to become stronger! Please, please take me in!"

Looking at Xiao Zhi kneeling in front of him, Fang Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

'Finally, something good happened today.'

[Ding~ Congratulations, host, for accepting the destined male protagonist as your disciple. You have received the following rewards: 30 points, Tokiwa Power replenished, and new items added to the shop.]

[Ding~ Disciple Xiao Zhi's exclusive training mission has begun.]

Fang Yuan looked at Xiao Zhi and thought for a moment before saying...

"Although you are not quite qualified, I will accept you as a disciple in name only, considering your help today."

"Thank you so much, Master! Thank you so much, Master!"

At this moment, Xiao Mao slowly opened his eyes and weakly looked at Fang Yuandao.

"Master, now is not the time for idle chatter. We absolutely cannot let that guy escape."

Fang Yuan glanced in the direction the poacher leader had fled and said

"Don't worry, I'm not the only one who came."

"Besides, he was closest to the explosion, so he couldn't have run far."

Chapter 37 The poacher dies tragically, the Heavenly King arrives in person.

"Tick-tock... tick-tock..."

Not far from Fang Yuan and his group, the poacher leader, clutching his bleeding arm and drenched in sweat, leaned against a large tree and couldn't help but say...

"Damn it! The power of that explosion was way too great!"

To save his own life at a critical moment, the poacher leader did not hesitate to use his three Pokémon as shields to block the explosion.

Even so, the poacher leader was still seriously injured.

Behind a large tree not far from the poacher leader, Xiaowen looked at the battered and bruised poacher leader and took out her phone to call Fang Yuan.

"Master, I've spotted the poacher leader."

"Don't go near him, wait for me to get there."

Just then, another signal flare was launched.

Seeing the signal flare so close at hand, the poacher leader's expression changed, and he barely managed to stand up.

"Damn it! There are still ambushes around. We have to get out of here quickly! Otherwise..."

Just as he stood up in front of the poacher leader, intending to continue his escape, he heard the sound he least wanted to hear in his life.

Fang Yuan had appeared beside him without him noticing, and said softly.

"Where are we going? You don't think you can escape, do you?!"

Fang Yuan walked step by step toward the poacher leader.

"Tell me, where did you get your Dark Elf Ball? Did someone send you here?"

"I'll talk! I'll talk!"

"But come a little closer, there are some things you can't tell too many people..."

Looking at the poacher leader's sinister expression, Fang Yuan curled his lip in disdain.

"In this situation, you still want to ambush me? I don't know whether to say you're delusional or have a strong will to survive."