I caught a Pokémon

These are completely two different directions!!

Perhaps noticing the strange expressions on Xia You and Xiao Yao's faces, Xiao Guang guessed what they were thinking and felt extremely embarrassed. Just as he was about to say something else, his gaze inadvertently swept across the room and he noticed Xiao Yao's wrist.

She remembered that there was nothing there before, but now... there was a pink Pokémon Watch!

"Hey? Haruka, you bought a Pokémon Watch too? The color is really nice! I have to say, pink really suits you!"

For some reason, Xiaoyao's ears turned red. She secretly glanced at Xia You, then nodded to Xiaoguang: "It's very pretty, I like it too."

Ignoring the conversation between the two girls, Xia You focused her attention on a woman inside the hot air balloon basket.

This hot air balloon couldn't possibly belong to Ash and his friends; clearly, someone kindly brought them here.

And this woman must be the owner of this hot air balloon.

She had blonde hair, smooth at the top and bouncy and curly at the bottom, and a pretty baby face. However, because of her exquisite makeup, Xia You couldn't tell her age at all. She looked like she was twenty-three or twenty-four, or maybe twenty-seven or twenty-eight. She was wearing a red V-neck sweater and black leggings. Beside her, a small Chimchar was hanging on a pillar, which must have been her Pokémon.

Who is this?

Seeing Xia You looking at him, before Xiao Zhi could even introduce her, the woman already had a smile on her face and waved to him.

"Hi, I'm Alice. Are you Ash's friends?"

Alice...

The same name really does easily remind people of someone from the Unova region...

It seems that this name is actually quite common in this world.

However, Alice from the Unova region is a completely different type from the dignified and composed blonde woman in front of us.

The thought flashed through her mind, and the three of them nodded to her in a friendly manner, introducing themselves.

At that moment, Ash rubbed his nose with his finger and chuckled, "We just met Alice, and she's about to take us to Ash Town ahead!"

Before Xia You could say anything, Alice asked, "Where are you headed? If it's also Baiyang Town, I can give you a ride!"

"This..." Xia You hesitated for a moment, "...isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

“It’s alright, come on up!” Ellie smiled nonchalantly. “Although I studied music, I also work as a guide in my spare time. Since this is your first time here, I can give you a proper introduction to this beautiful town!”

The "guide" that Alice mentioned is completely different from the profession of "tour guide." It's more like a public service job, responsible for helping lost people and guiding them to Poplar Town, just like what she's doing now.

Since the other party had said so, Xia You glanced at her two companions and, without further ado, climbed into the hot air balloon basket with Xiao Zhi and the others.

It must be said that the basket of this hot air balloon is not very big, and with the three of us, it already feels a bit crowded.

Fortunately, it does not hinder flight.

"Hold on tight, we're about to take off!"

At Alice's command, her little fire monkey spewed flames upwind, and the hot air lifted the balloon off the ground, slowly drifting into the sky.

It has to be said that compared to riding a flying Pokémon, this slow and leisurely way is quite novel.

In just a few minutes, as the hot air balloon rose higher and higher, the land beneath their feet became completely visible. Within their field of vision, the wild Pokémon looked like ants, and even the trees and rivers appeared increasingly distant and smaller.

This filled Xia You with endless emotions.

In this situation, Ash was still able to see and recognize himself at a glance. He has such good eyesight!

No wonder he's the Superman of True New Town!

Looking out, one can see that the river waters converge at the horizon, eventually forming two wide streams. At the confluence of these two streams, surrounded by mountains, a huge, towering island stands in the middle of the river.

On the high ground opposite the island lies a very prosperous town.

The island and the highlands are connected by a huge stone bridge, which is also the only entrance and exit to the island. Under the sunlight, the same earthen yellow tiles reflect a faint golden light, and in the midst of the golden light, a tall tower stands out!

Even without Alice's introduction, everyone knew that it was Poplar Town!

And that tall tower must be the Tower of Time and Space!

Although we could see it with our eyes, it would undoubtedly take a very long time to get there at the speed of a hot air balloon.

Fortunately, they took a hot air balloon. If they had walked, it would have taken much longer, and the two great rivers in front of them would have been insurmountable obstacles, requiring them to take a much longer route to reach Baiyang Town.

But now that the hot air balloon is floating in the air, all the problems are no longer problems; it's just a matter of time.

Alice also told Xia You and the others about the history of the town and its local customs. They listened and nodded in agreement from time to time.

At that moment, she suddenly brought something up: "Judging from your appearance, you must all be trainers and coordinators, right? That's perfect, the Grand Festival is going to be held in Ashford Town in the next few days, you can participate!"

A magnificent gathering!?

Upon hearing this, Xiao Guang and Xiao Yao were naturally overjoyed, but Xiao Yao's expression immediately fell.

Noticing her unusual behavior, Xia You knew what was going on with just one glance.

Xiaoyao is undoubtedly more thoughtful than Xiaoguang. While she is happy that the grand tournament is being held, if both she and Xiaoguang participate, no matter what round they reach, one of them will inevitably be eliminated. This leaves Xiaoyao, who has become friends with Xiaoguang, somewhat at a loss.

Hikari was a little slower than Haruka to realize this, but after seeing Haruka's expression, she also realized it. For a moment, the two of them fell silent with complicated expressions.

However, Xia You shouldn't interfere with the friendships and bonds between these girls; it's best to let them handle it themselves.

He also believed that both of them were very intelligent and had good personalities, so they would definitely be able to handle this kind of thing well.

Alice didn't notice what the two girls were thinking, but at that moment, she took out a leaf, put it to her lips, and blew on it.

In an instant, light and beautiful music emanated from her mouth and the leaves, carrying far and wide. It not only attracted the attention of the two girls, but also drew several large gulls in the distance, who approached the hot air balloon after hearing the sound and flew alongside it.

"This is... a grass flute?"

This so-called grass flute, of course, does not refer to the Grass-type Pokémon move that puts the target to sleep, but rather a way of playing beautiful music through leaves. In fact, any leaf can become a grass flute if the conditions are right.

Compared to instruments like ocarinas and harmonicas, playing a grass flute only requires a fresh leaf. However, although it looks simple, it takes a long time to practice making a sound from a leaf. Therefore, although the group had heard of grass flutes before, this was the first time they had ever seen one in person.

Listening to music, feeling the gentle breeze, and watching the hot air balloon drift slowly by creates an incredibly relaxing experience.

Whether it was Xia You, Xiao Zhi, or anyone else, people stopped talking and just stared ahead, quietly lost in their own thoughts.

Not long after the piece ended, Alice put down the leaf in her hand and smiled at the group, saying, "I'm sorry you had to see this."

“Where…” Xia You shook her head. “As expected of someone who studies music, she can make such a beautiful sound from a simple leaf. It’s truly an eye-opener.”

Alice laughed even harder: "Actually, I play music not only for fun, but also to judge the direction of the wind through the sound. It's also a unique way for me to pilot a hot air balloon!"

"Huh?" Ash said, seemingly understanding but not quite. "That's really impressive..."

As they spoke, the hot air balloon drew closer and closer to Baiyang Town. When it reached above the town, it did not stop but continued to drift toward the Time Tower at the highest point.

It was at this moment that Xia You and his group truly saw this landmark building with its unique artistic style!

Unlike the model in the museum, what Xia You and the others saw was a giant building with a plaza in front and surrounded by a lush green forest in the back. Two different towers, shaped like harps, pierced the sky, reaching an astonishing height of more than fifty stories!

Its unique design has attracted countless tourists to the square, who are taking photos to commemorate the occasion.

Knowing that it was the first time for all of them to be here, Alice explained the origin of the Time Tower. However, what she didn't know was that Xia You and the other two had already learned about it beforehand. The only ones who were truly hearing the origin of the Time Tower for the first time were Xiao Zhi and his friends.

Ash and his friends were naturally filled with emotion upon seeing this building. Even Dawn, a native of Sinnoh, was hearing about it for the first time and was understandably surprised.

Just then, a strong gust of air blew by and hit the hot air balloon.

Affected by this airflow, the entire hot air balloon shook violently, and the people standing in the basket naturally swayed along with it.

"Hurry up!!"

Alice only had time to let out a cry of surprise before she fell headfirst into the basket. The others were also caught off guard and swayed in the same way.

Xia You was the first to gain a foothold.

With his strong legs, he managed to stand still after a slight stumble, grabbing the railings on either side with both hands to prevent himself from falling backward.

Xiao Yao and Xiao Guang, who were closest to him, were almost thrown off balance because of their small stature and light weight. Fortunately, just as they bounced up, they each grabbed one of Xia You's arms and clung to it tightly as if it were a lifeline, which brought them back to safety.

Further out, you'll find the sprouted rice.

As the person standing in the very center of the gondola, the dazed Yami had nothing to grab onto. When the wind blew, just like Alice, she was caught off guard and fell into the gondola as well.

Despite several attempts to get up, she was unable to do so due to the constant shaking. In her panic, she could only reach out and grab onto something.

And you know what? She was really lucky; she actually managed to grab a strange stick!

It was strange because the stick was hidden behind some kind of fabric, making it a little difficult to grab, but in the midst of the chaos, she still managed to grab it!

At first, the stick was a little soft, but after just one grab, it became incredibly hard!

This allowed her to get up and climb out of the basket.

This incident, however, caused Xia You considerable trouble.

What is Yami grabbing?

It's his clone, of course!

Startled by the grab, he realized it was Yami's hand. Stimulated by this, his clone uncontrollably raised its head, and the powerful force helped Yami stand up from her fall.

Surprised and astonished, Xia You reached out to help Ya Mi up, to prevent her clone from suffering such 'torture'.

But at this moment, his hands were tightly bound by Xiaoyao and Xiaoguang, and he couldn't pull them out at all. He could only helplessly let Yami keep holding them like this.

It seems like he has women on both sides, and there's another one in front of him, but he's actually suffering!

Fortunately, he knew that Yami was acting subconsciously, or perhaps she wasn't even aware that she was holding something, so it was an unintentional act. Therefore, he opened his mouth, but didn't know how to say it to remind her.

Finally, it was the dazed Yami who let go of the 'stick' on her own, allowing Xia You to breathe a sigh of relief.

Luckily, no one noticed...

Strong winds come quickly and go quickly.

It only took about twenty seconds for things to calm down completely.

Once the hot air balloon stopped shaking, Alice finally got up and turned to look at the people around her: "Is everyone alright?"

Chapter 974 Baiyang Town

"fine."

"I'm fine too!"

Ash and Brock were on the outside of the basket, having just been thrown around and were completely disoriented. However, both were determined "men," and such minor scrapes and bumps were nothing to them. Now, when Alice asked them, they were even more unconcerned.

Nearby, Xiaoyao and Xiaoguang also let go of Xia You's hand at this moment.

Xiaoyao didn't think anything of it. After all, she was used to this kind of physical contact with Xia You. She was even used to this kind of simple contact. But this was the first time Xiaoguang had hugged a man's arm so tightly, let alone a handsome adult man!

Even though she had no choice, her ears were still a little red and her heart was pounding. Fortunately, no one noticed her, which made her breathe a sigh of relief.

The only one who felt bad was Xia You.

I must say, Yami's grip was really strong just now!

The pain has subsided, but it's just that I'm not really comfortable facing these people right now...

He coughed lightly and turned slightly to the side to avoid drawing attention to his unusual behavior. To divert attention, he said to Alice, "What was that just now? It didn't feel like wind, but more like... the spread of energy."

As expected of a man who holds three regional championship titles, he is different from others. Even in the midst of the chaos, he still keenly sensed that what caused the tremor was definitely not a strong wind!

Hearing him say that, Alice nodded: "It doesn't seem like air currents. Speaking of which... there has been something strange around here lately. I can always feel this kind of shaking in the air. Sorry... I startled you."

"It's alright!" Xiao Gang laughed heartily. "It's not Miss Alice's fault, so why are you apologizing?"

This guy is truly insatiable when it comes to lust. After suffering a setback with Yami and realizing that Yami was no match for him, he turned around and showered Alice with affection. The change was so natural and smooth.

In essence, Xiao Gang and Xia You are the same; both are quite fickle and deeply affectionate, except that Xia You is a bit more sophisticated than him.

Men are all like that, no one needs to laugh at anyone else.

This is why Xia You never looked down on Xiao Gang!

“That’s true…” Alice smiled apologetically, “but since it happened inside my balloon, how about this, as an apology, I’ll show you around this town!”

"Great! I'll leave it to you then!"

Ash was naturally overjoyed. After all, he never expected that Alice would not only kindly bring them to this town in a hot air balloon, but also show them around. He was so lucky to meet such a kind person!

Under Alice's control, the hot air balloon floated over the square and the Tower of Time and Space, and passed through most of the city before landing at the designated hot air balloon docking location. After the group disembarked, Alice took care of the docking issue, and only then did they truly step into the town of Poplar.

Although it has the name of a town, its size is comparable to that of a small city.

Architecturally, this place is very similar to Barcelona, ​​Spain, the planet where Xia You is located. Of course, this is not just something he said offhand. In fact, not only are the buildings similar, but the Time Tower is also very similar to the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. Even the Pokémon Garden, which is also famous here, is very similar to Park Güell in Barcelona.

Walking down the street, you can see that the flower beds on both sides of the street are full of colorful flowers, and even under the windows of the houses facing the street, each household has put flowers in full bloom, making the town full of fragrance.

Besides the town's residents, a large number of tourists gathered in various places. Some of them, like Xia You and his friends, were sightseeing, while some restless children had already started a Pokémon battle in the street.