I caught a Pokémon

And in the next second, the Warhammer Dragon's attack arrived!

With a powerful head shake, its blue skull slammed heavily into the Froggy Frog. The impact was deafening; with a deafening 'bang,' the Froggy Frog was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing into a rock at the edge of the field!

The power of the double-edged mace is terrifying!

You hit it!!

A hint of joy flashed in Piao Tai's eyes, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

After all, the side effects of the double-edged hammer are too obvious. If it misses, it will still cause damage to the War Hammer Dragon. Now that it has successfully hit the target, it is naturally the best thing.

But before he could be happy for long, just as the frog's body touched the rock, instead of the expected impact sound, with a soft sound, the frog's body turned into white smoke and quickly dissipated!

This greatly shocked Piao Da!

But he immediately realized what it was!

It's a Normal-type move—Substitute!

It is a clone created at the cost of consuming a small amount of one's own stamina, which can withstand some of the damage and effects of attacks!

Why would Froakie use such a deadly move at such a critical moment?!

It's simply... simply...

Before Piao Tai could even react, another Froakie jumped out from behind a rock next to Warhammer Dragon and, with lightning speed, used Water Pulse to hit Warhammer Dragon!

The Warhammer Dragon had just suffered the side effects of the Twin-Edged Hammer and was enduring the pain when this Water Pulse struck unexpectedly, catching it completely off guard and knocking it to the ground.

This completely stunned it.

Seeing this, Iwao initially thought that Warhammer Dragon had won and was about to announce the result, but unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, it was Warhammer Dragon that fell!

He was stunned for a moment before he realized what was happening and raised his right hand.

"With Warhammer Dragon unable to battle, the challenger Xia You has emerged victorious in this gym battle!!"

Just then, Xiaoyao and Yami in the stands realized what had happened and cheered excitedly.

In contrast to them was Piao Tai's face, which was first confused and then looked like a bitter gourd.

Who would have thought that even in such a situation, this croaking frog would still use a substitute?

In fact, not only Piao Tai, but even Xia You hadn't expected that her Froakie would use such a move to break the previous situation. After all, it had never used any substitute before!

Did you learn it during the battle?

Just as I was about to praise the Frog, its body was suddenly enveloped in a white light.

Because they had seen this white light many times before, everyone immediately recognized what it was.

Light of Evolution!

All things considered, although Xia You caught this shiny Froakie in Kalos not long ago, it has followed Xia You and participated in many battles with trainers during this time. After the battle just now, its evolution was to be expected.

Not long after, when the white light disappeared, a new form of Pokémon appeared before people's eyes. It was Froakie's second evolution stage - Froakie!

Compared to the frog-like Frog-like Frog, the evolved Froghead Frog is more like a rain frog or tree frog.

Its body has grown from 0.3 meters to about 0.6 meters, becoming tall and slender. It has two long arms, a protruding part on its head, and two white spots on its nose. Although its neck is still covered with foam, it looks more like it is wearing a white scarf.

Compared to Bubble Frog, Froghead Frog is better at using terrain tactics. Its fingertips can stick to vertical walls, and it can climb to the top of a tower over 600 meters high in just one minute. It can use the move of throwing small stones wrapped in bubbles, and it has strong control. It can even hit an empty can 30 meters away.

Just like with Froakie, Xia You's Froakie is lighter in color than the regular Froakie, constantly revealing its identity as a Shiny Pokémon.

The evolution of the Pokémon, coupled with the victory in the recent competition, filled Xia You with great joy.

Just then, he felt a shadow flash before his eyes, and the frog had jumped back in front of him.

Xia You couldn't be more satisfied with the exotic frog.

After all, we already have Froghead, so how far away can the black Greninja be?

At this moment, Hyota had already put away the unconscious War Hammer Dragon and walked to Xia You's side with Iwao, while Xiaoyao and Yami from the stands also quickly walked down.

Piao Tai took a badge from his pocket and handed it to Xia You.

"Your Riolu and Froakie have really impressed me. I lost this match decisively. Please accept this. It's my Coal Badge, proof that you beat me."

Xia You thanked her and accepted the badge.

Upon closer inspection, the shape of this coal badge resembles a combination of a charcoal block and a Poké Ball, or a treasure chest, shimmering with a grayish-brown light under the sunlight.

He put it into his badge collection box, and before he could even look up, he heard Piaotai hesitate for a moment, then ask him in confusion, "I want to ask, why didn't you command your Pokémon in the second and third battles?"

This question had been on his mind for a long time.

Admittedly, after the first round of combat, he did have to admit that this man was really strong, but in the second and third matches, he stood there like an outsider, which still left him full of doubts.

Xia You didn't say that it was because Piao Tai's Pokémon were too weak to be worth his time. He just chuckled and said, "Of course it's to better train my Pokémon. Didn't you see? Although we encountered some difficulties in the early stages, they found ways to win in later battles through their own exploration!"

"So that's how it is..."

Piao Tai nodded in realization, but in his heart he was somewhat dismissive. After all, in his opinion, trainers must fight and grow together with their Pokémon, and this man's method was highly unacceptable!

Fortunately, he won. If he had lost, wouldn't he have blamed himself?

Does this do justice to Pokémon's hard work?

However, since it was none of his business, although he felt that Xia You's actions were somewhat presumptuous and disrespectful to Pokémon, the other party had won after all. Whether out of politeness or as a loser, he couldn't say anything.

After putting away the badge box, Xia You reached out and shook hands with Hyota and Iwao, then left the gym with Haruka and Yami.

Thus, although three days were wasted in total, this trip to the Black Gold Gym has finally come to an end.

……

Mt. Coronet, located in the central part of the Sinnoh region, is a snow-covered mountain range with undulating peaks. It consists of many smaller mountain ranges that together form a massive mountain range that runs through the entire Sinnoh region, dividing it into east and west sides!

Because of the towering mountains, the vast primeval forests at their foot, and the wide rivers and expansive lakes that intersperse the terrain, the mountains are so massive yet difficult to traverse. Therefore, there are only three routes that have been explored by people to cross them.

However, the other two routes, one in Baidai City and the other in a more northern place, are too far from Black Gold City. Therefore, Xia You and his companions naturally had to choose the last route, the mountain road that was closest to Black Gold City.

Of course, they could also ride flying Pokémon and fly directly there from high altitude, but they ruled that out from the start. As for the reason, it has been mentioned many times before, and everyone knows it.

Although it is the closest to Black Gold City, to get there they still have to go back the way they came and travel for another two days.

Without a doubt, as trainers on a journey, they will keep going no matter how far the road is.

As for their next destination, it was naturally Jiayuan City on the other side of Tianguan Mountain!

After replenishing their supplies, the three left Black Gold and headed north again.

Because they were going in different directions, even though it was the same road they came from and the same scenery, they had different experiences.

Amidst laughter and conversation, the three walked and stopped, from morning till night. They spent the night in the mountains, and after breakfast the next day, they passed by the cave where they had captured the little fire monkey and met Mai a few days earlier. It was here that they changed direction and headed northeast.

The rolling mountains have disappeared, replaced by a lush green plateau.

On the plateau, herds of Tauros graze leisurely, while groups of Butterfree land on the bright flowers. In a flowing river, Magikarp occasionally pops its head out.

Everything about it gives people a sense of peace and comfort.

Even the air here has become fresh again, without the strange smell of dust that filled Black Gold City.

"Ah, finally we're out of Black Gold City!" Haruka stretched and took a deep breath. "Even though it's all under the same blue sky, it feels so different. Even my mood has improved!"

"You're exaggerating." Xia You rolled her eyes at her with amusement. "But the air is definitely fresher. Compared to Black Gold City, the air here is indeed better."

At that moment, Yami, who was holding the map, suddenly laughed.

"So we've already arrived here!"

"Here?" Hearing her say that, Xia You and Xiao Yao both looked over, wondering, "What's wrong? Is this a place you've been before?"

Yami nodded and smiled at the two of them: "Do you remember the model of the Tower of Time and Space that we saw at the Hundred Generations Museum, and the things I told you about the God of Space and the God of Time? Actually, it's not far away, in Baiyang Town where the real Tower of Time and Space is located!"

Baiyang Town!?

The Tower of Time and Space!?

Xia You was somewhat surprised to hear these two names.

They're actually this close?

I thought it was a place that was still very far away, how come... we arrived so quickly?

So...

-

A long chapter of 7000 words has been updated! Please vote with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets!

Chapter 973: Gathering, a Theatrical Version Feel

The three walked across the plateau towards Tianguan Mountain.

Beneath their feet was a convenient path used by travelers. The path was narrow, only about a meter wide, but it was enough. Perhaps because they had walked on it so often, compared to the lush green grasslands on both sides, only a few patches of weeds grew on this path, and the rest had been trampled flat.

Just then, a shadow swept past their feet. Before the three of them could look up and see what the shadow was, they suddenly heard someone shouting something at them.

And this sound...

Xiao Yao turned to look at Xia You, puzzled, and asked, "Brother Xia You, why does this voice sound so familiar? Do you think I'm experiencing altitude sickness and hallucinating?"

"You're overthinking it." Shaking her head with amusement, Xia You sighed, "Encountering this situation can only prove one thing."

Although he didn't finish his sentence, Xiaoyao had already guessed what he meant. She couldn't help but grin and force a smile: "It can't be that much of a coincidence... We can't run into them everywhere we go, can we?"

The two looked up at the sky and saw a hot air balloon slowly drifting past them under the azure sky. Because it wasn't very high, they could easily see a boy wearing a red baseball cap with a Pikachu perched on his shoulder waving to them from the basket below.

Isn't that Ash Ketchum?

"Xia You-ge!! Xiao Yao!!"

Xiao Zhi's voice also echoed at this moment, and it can only be said that it was extremely recognizable!

Xia You and Xiao Yao exchanged a glance, then shook their heads and chuckled.

It really was him.

The three stood still, watching the hot air balloon descend in front of them. Before it had even come to a complete stop, when it was still a meter above the ground, Ash, Brock, and Dawn jumped out of the basket one by one and landed nimbly in front of them.

Xia You clapped her hands: "This was a great entrance. You came down from the sky, and you did a cool somersault. It really surprised me."

Xiao Zhi chuckled, and Xiao Guang and Xiao Gang greeted Xia You and Xiao Yao at the same time.

Just as Xiao Gang’s gaze shifted away from Xiao Yao, he naturally noticed Ya Mi standing to the side. The next second, his eyes lit up!

"Who is this beautiful woman!?"

In the blink of an eye, he appeared before Yami, his eyes sparkling with hearts, as if he had transformed into a completely different person. He excitedly greeted Yami, "My name is Xiaogang, and I am currently single. May I ask your name, Miss?"

Before he could finish speaking, a blue shadow flashed by, even faster than him. A scoundrel frog also appeared beside Xiao Gang, and then its paw emitted a strange purple light, striking Xiao Gang hard in the lower back.

However, it's clear that someone is faster than it.

While Xiaogang was talking, his hands were also restless, and he tried to touch Yami's hand. But Yami just turned around lightly, not only dodging Xiaogang's groping hand, but also directly shaking him to the ground, causing Xiaogang to fall.

The scoundrel's paw stopped in mid-air, its attack frozen in place. It looked down at the fallen Xiao Gang, its cheeks puffed out, then turned to look at the nonchalant Ya Mi, a bead of cold sweat trickling down its forehead, before silently lowering its paw.

Everyone found this scene quite amusing.

It's unbelievable that Xiao Gang, who is as ruthless as a lecher and falls in love with every woman he meets, would actually have a moment of embarrassment during the introduction segment!

"Hello, I'm Yami, and I'm currently traveling with Mr. Xia You and Ms. Xiao Yao."

"Hello, I'm Xiaozhi."

"I am Xiaoguang!"

After exchanging greetings, Xiao Zhi turned his gaze away from Yami and looked at Xia You and Xiao Yao.

"How come you are here?"

"That's what I wanted to ask you too." Xia You looked at him. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be challenging the Eternal Dojo at this time?"

"I already finished the Eternal City Gym," Ash waved his hand. "We're on our way to the next place now!"

Xia You frowned and asked curiously, "Your next destination should be Veil City, right? Since you're also going to cross Mount Tianguan, I remember there's a road near Baidai City, so why did you come all the way here?"

As soon as he finished speaking, both Ash and Dawn looked embarrassed.

"Um..." Xiao Guang was a little shy after all, and said embarrassedly, "Actually, we read the map backwards and got lost... that's why we ended up here..."

How could someone get lost and end up near Black Gold City?