I caught a Pokémon

Blue sky, white clouds, everything looks so peaceful and serene!

"How is this possible?!"

Ash and his friends stared in disbelief, unable to believe their eyes!

You know, this is inside the Crystal Tower! The entire Crystal Tower is completely sealed off and airtight, how could there possibly be such bright weather and grass here!?

This is completely illogical!

Xia You looked around and saw that Xiao Zhi and the others were still in shock. She couldn't help but say, "Don't be fooled by the illusion before your eyes! Just like Professor Oak said, all of this should be Xiao Mei's imagination, her inner world. If you don't believe me, try to feel it carefully. Can't you feel even a slight breeze? And can't you feel any warmth from the sun?"

After listening to him say this, the group carefully considered the situation and realized that something was unusual about it.

Indeed, just as Xia You said, although everything here looks beautiful and pleasing to the eye, it is indeed an illusion.

It's just like a painting!

Suddenly, Xiaoxia pointed to the distant sky and exclaimed, "Look, there's a staircase over there!"

"That should be the road leading upstairs. Let's hurry up and go."

The group started running towards the stairs, but they had only run halfway when they saw Emperor Yan leap down the stairs!

And riding on its back was a girl in her twenties!

The girl was very pretty, with long, golden curly hair, a miniskirt, stockings, and large earrings; her outfit was very fashionable!

Xia You and the others quickly stopped in their tracks.

At first glance, the girl looked familiar. After looking closely, it was discovered that she looked somewhat similar to Xiaomei in the photo that Hanako had shown them before!

That's so strange!

According to John, there was no one else in the entire crystal tower except for Xiao Mei, but Xiao Mei was still very young and definitely not as big as her!

Who exactly is she?!

Before they could speak, the girl, riding on Entei, looked down at them and asked, "Are you Pokémon Trainers?"

For some reason, Xiaoxia felt an innate hostility towards this girl, and she shouted, "So what if I am? Who are you?"

Unexpectedly, the girl completely ignored her, instead looking directly at Xia You and Xiao Zhi, crossing her arms and laughing, "You two, fight me!"

"A battle?" Ash shook his head, refusing outright. "Although I don't know who you are, we don't have time to waste here!"

As he spoke, Ash turned his gaze to Entei.

"Emperor Yan! Where have you taken my mother?!"

Upon hearing this, the girl seemed to be struck by lightning and shouted, "No, there is no mother here, only my father and mother!"

Her words directly revealed her identity.

She really is Xiao Mei!

Chapter 365 The Battle of Incarnations

The name Xiao Mei is quite common; at least Xia You has met several people named Xiao Mei since she came to this world.

When Satoshi heard her call Hanako "Mom," he immediately became anxious.

"Give me back my mother!!"

Although Xiaomei had visited Zhenxin Town with her parents a few years ago and even taken a photo together, it was clear that neither of them had any recollection of the other. They had only met once, and given their young age at the time, they had no memory of each other and were no different from strangers.

When the person admitted that she was Xiaomei, Xiaoxia was still incredulous. She leaned closer to Xia You and whispered doubtfully, "She's Xiaomei? But Aunt Huazi said she was very young."

Xia You pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "Since this is a world she conjured up, it's not surprising that she appears before us in adult form!"

On the other side, Xiaomei stared intently at Xiaozhi. Even when facing this legitimate son who was related to Hanako by blood, she showed no weakness and had no sense of being in the wrong.

"She's my mother now. If you want her back, then fight me!!"

It has to be said, this has turned into a game of fighting over mom...

Although she has grown into an adult, Xiao Mei is still immature and inevitably speaks in a childlike tone.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. After all, only an innocent and naive little girl like her would do something so childish.

Upon hearing such an outrageous request, even if Ash didn't want to fight, he had no choice but to agree. However, just as he was about to start the battle, Brock suddenly took a step forward.

"Xiao Zhi, I'll hold her off, you guys go save them!"

"Huh?" Ash was taken aback. "But..."

"No buts!" Xiaogang said decisively. "Aunt Hanako is definitely up there, waiting for you to rescue her. You can't waste time here!"

At this point, he added in a half-joking tone, "And although Xiaomei is essentially a little girl, since she's appearing before us as a beautiful older sister, then her opponent should be me!"

Xiao Gang's actions at this moment undoubtedly moved Xiao Zhi.

This is what makes a trustworthy teammate reliable: in critical moments, they can always stand up and share the pressure with their partners!

However, Xia You had reason to suspect that, judging from Xiao Gang's personality, his decision to stay was very likely just a matter of lust at first sight!

Seeing that Xiaogang was determined to battle Xiaomei, Xiaozhi hesitated. Seeing that he couldn't make a decision, Xiayou finally made the decision.

"Alright, I'll leave this to you. Be careful and don't let your guard down!" Xia You instructed Xiao Gang, then looked at Xiao Zhi and Xiao Xia. "Okay, time is of the essence, let's hurry up and go!"

Now that Xia You had made the decision, Xiao Zhi felt reassured and no longer hesitated. He and Xiao Xia followed behind him and hurriedly ran towards the stairs.

The three ran past Xiao Mei and Yan Di, but the expected interception did not occur. Xiao Mei did not even glance at them, showing no intention of stopping them or even looking at them directly. She seemed completely unconcerned that they would take Hanako away!

When she reached the top of the stairs, Xia You looked back one last time.

At this moment, Xiao Gang and Xiao Mei had already taken their stances, with Xiao Gang sending out his Zubat to battle, while Xiao Mei conjured a Poké Ball and sent out a Goat to fight!

In the blink of an eye, the two Pokémon were already fighting!

Xiaoxia asked with some concern, "Will it be okay to leave it to him?"

"Trust him!" Xia You continued walking. "After all, he's a legitimate gym leader; he won't be defeated so easily!"

As they ascended higher, the grass beneath their feet quickly disappeared, and when they left this level of space, the surroundings became silent again, as if they were in the void.

The environment here is becoming increasingly bizarre. The crystals are like tree branches or cell nuclei spreading outwards. It feels as if I am inside the body of some alien creature!

I ran upwards for a long time, and a few minutes later, the light reappeared before my eyes.

When they reached this level of space, the scenery changed once again. This time, what appeared before them was an endless sea under the twilight!

The sunlight wasn't too harsh, and the palm leaves swayed gently in the sea breeze. Shoes left a trail of footprints on the sand, which were then washed away by the waves.

Although everything before them seemed so real, they knew that, just like before, it was all an illusion conjured up by the unknown totems!

At least when the sea breeze blew on her face, Xia You did not smell the sea.

It seems that these illusions are based on Xiaomei's memories, but Xiaomei herself cannot remember those details, so this place is not so perfect.

Just as they were searching for Hanako's whereabouts, a flash of light appeared beside them, and Xiaomei reappeared in front of them!

Xiaoxia's eyes widened in surprise!

"What's going on? How did she get here? Shouldn't she be fighting Xiaogang right now!?"

Because she didn't remember the plot, Xia You didn't know whether the Xiao Mei in front of her was someone who had quickly defeated Xiao Gang and teleported here, or a new incarnation!

But whatever it was, he reminded the two behind him, "This place is too eerie. Let's be careful and remain calm in the face of any eventuality!"

Before they could ask, Xiaomei crossed her arms again and smiled at Xiaozhi, "I told you, it's impossible for you to get Mom back! This time, who do you want to fight me? I want to fight someone even stronger!"

Upon hearing her words, Xia You knew that Xiao Gang must have lost the battle just now!

As Xiao Mei spoke, Emperor Yan appeared before her and gazed at them with calm eyes!

In fact, after seeing the environment here, Xiaoxia had already made up her mind. At this moment, she also knew that after Xiaogang, it was her turn to step forward!

She stepped forward and solemnly declared, "It's my turn now! Xia You, Xiao Zhi, you two continue up to rescue Aunt Hanako!"

Xia You hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"Then be careful! Xiao Gang must have been defeated by her! It seems she must be very difficult to deal with. However, her true form should be with Aunt Hanako right now. Once we get there, the illusion should be dispelled!"

"I understand!"

Having learned from Xiao Gang's experience, Xiao Zhi didn't say much this time. He followed Xia You and ran towards the stairs on the side.

This time, Xiaomei still didn't stop them, but instead focused her attention on Xiaoxia. At this moment, the two women stared at each other, their auras fully unleashed, both brimming with fighting spirit!

Chapter 366 needs no further explanation

After parting ways with Xiaoxia, Xia You and Xiao Zhi went up the stairs and continued running towards the top of the petal tower.

In fact, Xia You had already figured it out at this point. Xiao Mei had to fight against someone in each level, which was a typical strategy of leaving one person alive in each level. The reason she did this was simply to make herself happier!

Or, to put it another way, it's like a little girl who's been lonely for too long and wants someone to play with her, and the way she plays is by battling Pokémon with her!

This also shows that, under the influence of the unknown totem and the encouragement of the Flame Emperor, Xiao Mei has become both willful and somewhat unscrupulous!

Tap tap… tap tap…

Footsteps and heavy breathing echoed continuously on the stairs.

Below them, Misty and Mei were already engaged in battle, with explosions echoing throughout the air. Misty's Starmie was entangled with the Pokémon that Mei had conjured. As Xia You and Xiao Zhi passed through this space, the seawater and sky quickly disappeared, and the scenery in front of them once again became that crystalline vein.

They ran upwards for several more minutes through the veins, until they were panting and their legs were a little weak, before finally reaching the top of the petal tower.

Both of them were exhausted and sweating profusely. It wasn't that they were physically weak, but rather that the place was just too high!

Perhaps due to the distortion of space, this journey definitely exceeded the original height of the Crystal Tower!

Roughly calculated, they have been running up the stairs from the bottom floor for at least ten minutes, but from the outside, the crystal tower does not appear to be more than one hundred meters high!

It seems that everything, whether it's the crystal, this manor, or even Emperor Yan or Xiao Mei, has become unrealistic and cannot be measured by common sense!

Coming up through a petal-shaped opening, the two finally arrived at a spacious room.

This is clearly Xiaomei's bedroom!

Xia You looked around and saw that although the style here still looked strange, it was obviously more cozy, and in the bedroom there was a soft big bed!

Ash spotted Hanako sitting on the bed right away!

"Mother!!"

He called out and rushed over!

This was, after all, a time for mother and child to be together, so Xia You didn't go over. Instead, she regulated her breathing and glanced at Hanako's current condition.

Just as they had guessed, Hanako was neither harmed nor bound, and even her mind had returned to normal. It seemed that after arriving here, she had broken free from the control of the Flame Emperor.

Ash had only run a few steps toward Hanako when he noticed a little girl lying on her lap and quickly stopped!

The girl had a face that looked very similar to the photo, and was undoubtedly Xiaomei. However, perhaps because her consciousness was fighting Xiaoxia in the lower level, she was asleep and did not notice the arrival of the group!

"Mom...are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Hanako's voice was very soft, as if she didn't want to wake Komi. "Why are you all here?"

"Of course, it's to get you out of here!"

"You're still as reckless as ever! This kind of thing should be left to the police!"

Hanako was clearly unaware that Ash had already experienced many thrilling adventures since the start of their journey. In her heart, Ash was still just a child who never grew up, and she didn't want to see him risk his life to save her!

Little did they know that both Xia You and Xiao Zhi had extraordinary travel experiences, far exceeding those of ordinary trainers. They had encountered even the most dangerous situations, so why would they fear Entei and those unknown totems?

"I'm Mom's son, how can I just stand by and do nothing!" Ash walked up to Hanako, then looked at the little girl in her arms and whispered, "Is this Mei? Where's the Unown? Isn't it here?"

Hanako pointed gently to the lower level with her finger: "If you're looking for the Pokémon that brought me here, it has already left."

"Actually, that's called the Flame Emperor, but it's not the real Flame Emperor; it's just a manifestation of an unknown totem!"

Knowing that Hanako was unaware of what happened later, Ash told her everything about Unown and Entei.

Seeing that the two were still chatting leisurely, Xia You stepped forward and said, "Alright, now is not the time to be leisurely. Let's leave quickly."

However, while it's easy for them to get in, it's not so easy for them to leave!

Hanako had just started to get up when Mimi suddenly opened her eyes!

"None of you can take my mom away!" Upon seeing Xia You and Xiao Zhi, her childish voice was filled with anger. After speaking, she turned to Hanako, "Mom, don't leave me!"

“This…” Hanako looked troubled. “Mi, I’m not your mother, I’m Ash’s mother! Do you remember, you came to Pallet Town with your parents a few years ago…”