I caught a Pokémon

Upon hearing this, Shiba was taken aback at first, then seemed to understand, but shook his head: "No wonder he has such strength. However, as a gym leader, although he has the opportunity to fight trainers from all over the world, he will inevitably be distracted by worldly matters, which is very detrimental to his training."

After saying that, he sighed with regret.

When discussing the position of the museum owner, we must mention Shiba's current title.

Although the Elite Four are also awarded by the Pokémon League, it is more of an honor, a symbol, and the face of the entire region. Unlike Gym Leaders, they do not need to oversee any specific business. They only need to deal with those allowed challengers or occasionally assist the League in handling some extreme events.

More often than not, like Shiba is now, he simply finds a secluded mountain to quietly cultivate himself, completely undisturbed by external affairs.

Some of the Elite Four are so rare that even the Pokémon League can't find them. For example, Genji, the old captain of the Hoenn region, often sets sail and doesn't come out of the deep sea for months at a time, making him very difficult to find!

But clearly, Shiba was judging others by his own standards at that moment.

After all, not everyone can become one of the Four Heavenly Kings.

As a Gym Leader, Bea's ability to challenge Fighting-type Trainers around the world is already quite remarkable. This is largely thanks to the Galar region's unique Gym rules, which give her a lot of free time. Although becoming a Gym Leader is not a necessary step to becoming an Elite Four member, it is at least a step closer to that goal.

After a brief exchange, the battle resumed.

In the new round, Bea recalled the exhausted Hawkman and sent out her last Pokémon that had not yet appeared—Pandaren!

This Pokémon with its gangster vibe is no ordinary Pokémon. It can be said to be Bea's most powerful Pokémon besides Machamp, and it has performed exceptionally well in every match it has played in previous competitions.

The fact that Bea chose it as the grand finale, placing it at the beginning and end of the show alongside Mighty, demonstrates her complete confidence in its strength.

Perhaps sensing the extraordinary nature of this Pokémon, Shiba raised an eyebrow slightly, but didn't pay it too much attention.

He then took out a new Poké Ball and released his Pokémon.

With a flash of blue light, a Hitmonlee appeared in front of the Pandaren. As soon as the two Pokémon met, they immediately engaged in battle at the command of their respective trainers.

It has to be said that the Overbearing Panda truly lives up to its name of 'overbearing'.

In this battle, its slightly plump body displayed tremendous strength and agile footwork, and with unparalleled ferocity and ruthlessness, it managed to smash Flying Kick into the ground with just a few punches!

Throughout the entire battle, Hitman was unable to mount any effective counterattacks and was suppressed the whole time. He won with a huge advantage after only a few rounds of fighting.

Kung Fu Panda is a prime example!

This allowed Cai Dou to win two consecutive games, showing great momentum!

At this rate, they might even win the game!

Even so, Shiba remained unfazed by the outcome.

Soon, the group realized where his confidence came from.

With only one Pokémon left to fight, Shiba released his last Pokémon besides Machamp with unparalleled confidence!

After the blue light disappeared, a giant Steelix made its dazzling appearance!

At first glance, this Steelix is ​​smaller than the Onix from Shiba's first battle, but the sense of oppression it exudes is stronger and more suffocating than that Onix!

"Xia You-ge..." Xiao Yao whispered upon seeing this Pokémon, "This one should be Mr. Shiba's strongest Pokémon, right?"

"It should be."

Xia You was also somewhat uncertain, but one thing was certain: the aura of this Steelix was indeed the strongest among the six Pokémon!

Naturally, its strength will also be the greatest.

Actually, unlike typical Fighting-type trainers, Shiba's Pokémon are not exclusively Fighting-type.

On the contrary, because he likes to stay in deep mountains and highlands, Shiba has a relatively wide variety of Pokémon. Fighting-type Pokémon are his main partners, but he also wants to catch some non-Fighting-type Pokémon. Whether they are Water-type or Rock-type, he likes them as long as they can use Fighting-type moves. He is even willing to catch some Pokémon that cannot use Fighting-type moves but look very fierce.

Just like the previous Onix, and now this Steelix.

Moreover, judging from the evolutionary stage, this Steelix is ​​definitely of a higher level than the Onix from before!

No wonder they were so confident; they had a trump card up their sleeve...

Xia You turned her gaze away from Steelix and looked at Aya.

It's easy to imagine that Bea is under immense pressure right now. Even though it's already the final part of the match, her opponent is finally bringing out their strongest Pokémon, while she herself has no cards left to use. This feeling of powerlessness is truly frustrating.

On a side note, I imagine that the opponents who fought against Xia You before had faced the same situation, and perhaps even felt more powerless than Cai Dou does now!

And this is the absolute gap in strength!

In the arena, the domineering panda narrowed its eyes as it looked at its opponent, who was much larger than itself.

This is unlike any of its previous opponents.

Because they are both Pokémon, it can sense the terrifying pressure and powerful abilities contained within the other.

Even so, its inner pride caused it to roar and launch an attack.

The result was predictable...

No matter how hard the Tyrant Panda tried, it ultimately succumbed to the Steelix's immense power.

With its inability to fight, it also means that Bea's lineup is now only left with two severely injured Mighty and Wrestling Hawkman.

Even though they had just recovered some of their strength, under Steelix's absolute power, these two Pokémon followed in the footsteps of the domineering Pokémon.

"We lost..."

Seeing this, Xiaoyao couldn't help but feel sorry for Caidou.

They had clearly pushed the Four Heavenly Kings to this point, but in the end, they still failed.

What a pity!

Moreover, this Steelix defeated three Pokémon at once: Politoed, Hawlucha, and Machamp. This was undoubtedly a huge blow to Bea.

Just then, Xia You finally remembered his duty as a referee and coughed lightly, saying, "Bea has lost all her Pokémon, so the winner of this match is Shiba."

Cai Dou stared blankly at the fallen Panda for a long time before taking out a Poké Ball, putting the Panda back into the ball, and then bowing to Shiba.

Thank you for your guidance.

After saying that, she turned around and left.

Watching her retreating figure, Xia You shook her head helplessly and turned to look at Xiba.

"I'm sorry, that's just my friend's personality. Please don't mind."

"It's nothing," Shiba said with his arms crossed. "I've dealt with people who are even more withdrawn than they are. Compared to them, that little girl was just quiet."

At this point, he asked with great interest, "After watching my battles, what do you think of my Pokémon's strength?"

Ok?

Xia You was surprised that Shiba would ask him such a question.

How should I answer that?

He thought about it carefully.

Throughout the entire battle, Shiba's Pokémon were indeed generally quite strong, especially the Onix in the first battle and the Steelix in the last battle, which were truly formidable!

But it also depends on who you're comparing yourself to.

Ordinary trainers, even gym leaders, and even non-top-tier Pokémon of other Elite Four members are naturally no match for it.

But if it were me...

Several Pokémon should be able to defeat it.

However, even though that's what I think in my heart, I can't say it out loud.

"That's really impressive! If I may ask, is this Steelix your main Pokémon, Mr. Shiba?"

“Of course,” Shiba didn’t hide anything, “It’s my trump card!”

I see……

From this perspective, Cai Dou's loss wasn't entirely unjustified.

"Just as I thought, these are indeed the only two powerful Steelix I've ever seen."

"Only two?" Shiba raised an eyebrow. "Whose is the other one?"

At the same time, he was extremely shocked.

You have to understand, this man watched his Steelix perform the whole time, but despite that, he actually said there was another Steelix that could rival it, which is just unbelievable!

Is there really someone in this world who possesses such a powerful Steelix?

How come I didn't know?

Seeing Shiba's surprised expression, Xia You pointed to herself and said with a bright smile, "The trainer of the other Steelix is ​​actually right in front of us... of course, it's myself!"

"you!?"

Shiba squinted and carefully examined Xia You. Seeing that he wasn't joking, he immediately frowned.

"To be honest, although I know about your exploits and have heard that you're very strong, I haven't seen any of your matches. I never expected... that you also own a Steelix and have such confidence in it." His tone was tinged with doubt and disbelief, as if Xia You were an exaggerator, which instantly aroused my disgust and hostility. "In that case, why don't we have a match now and see whose Steelix is ​​better!"

"Want to fight me?"

Xia You chuckled: "That day will come, but not now. And putting aside whether my Steelix is ​​with me or not, instead of questioning me, you might as well watch some of its matches. Maybe you'll have your answer then."

After saying that, he turned his back to Shiba and waved to him.

"Well then, goodbye. Perhaps the next time we meet will be the day we fight!"

……

Following the direction Cai Dou had gone, Xia You and Xiao Yao searched all the way and finally found Cai Dou at the edge of a cliff.

Cai Dou was sitting there, not because she was thinking of committing suicide, but simply looking at the sky and trying to calm herself down.

Xia You gestured for Xiao Yao to wait a moment, then walked over alone.

When Xia You walked up to her, she followed her example and sat down next to her.

Perhaps it was the rain last night that made today's weather exceptionally clear. Under the azure sky, the outline of Changqing City could be seen at the horizon.

"What are you thinking about?" Xia You asked softly.

Cai Dou didn't answer him, she just lowered her head slightly.

Having long been accustomed to her personality, Xia You naturally didn't mind, and instead replied, "Next, I'm going to continue my journey in Sinnoh."

Cai Dou's ears perked up, wondering why Xia You had suddenly brought this up.

Xia You continued, "Actually, someone once asked me why I still travel when I'm already so strong, sweeping through three regional tournaments with overwhelming power and enjoying unparalleled fame. But I just want to say that as long as I keep traveling, the new things and people will make me stronger every tomorrow than I am today! Even I am like that, let alone you?"

Upon hearing this, Cai Dou looked up and met his gaze.

At that very moment, a ray of sunlight shone on Xia You, onto his face, and into her heart.

The image that was already imprinted in her mind instantly took root, like a thriving tree that had taken root in her heart and made her heart flutter.

"Shall we continue our journey...?"

"Of course." Xia You smiled brightly. "We're still young, and we have a long road ahead of us. How could we be discouraged by a temporary setback? By the way, next... will you go to the Sinnoh region to continue challenging those Fighting-type trainers?"

In a single sentence, Ayaka's original plan to return to Galar, stay there to run a dojo, and train nearby vanished instantly.

Is it mysterious?

Indeed, I've never been there before.

Without any hesitation, Cai Dou softly hummed in agreement.

"That's great!" Xia You was genuinely happy to see her nod. "So, we'll have a chance to meet again! I'm really looking forward to it!"

Are you looking forward to meeting yourself?

Upon hearing this, Cai Dou's heart pounded even harder. She subconsciously avoided Xia You's gaze and looked up at the distant sky again.

I... am also looking forward to seeing you again.

(End of this volume)

End Summary

This volume has more than 500,000 words, which is more than I expected. I originally thought I could finish it in 40 or 50 chapters, but I didn't expect it to go on to reach more than 120 chapters.

Fortunately, everything that needed to be explained was explained. Not only did he challenge the Battle Frontier as planned and achieve new regional results, but he also returned to his old haunts to visit the protagonist's women and gained new assets (new women). He also caught several Pokémon, gathered the three legendary beasts, and received Ho-Oh's blessing, so it was a worthwhile trip.

Most importantly, kidney function has greatly improved!

No more worries about getting tired!