I caught a Pokémon

Just thinking about it made Xia You excited.

After all, his other Pokémon can continuously improve their strength through travel and battles, but his Deoxys and Rayquaza rarely encounter opponents of the same or even stronger level. Now that they have the opportunity to meet them, he naturally has to hone them properly!

Hmph, his two Pokémon have been itching for a long time!

At this point, after a quick series of actions, Tony finally had time to speak.

Without even looking up, he said, "The space around here is showing signs of anomalies; something is clearly happening!"

Upon hearing his words, Xiao Zhi and the others nodded subconsciously, while Xia You sighed silently.

in fact……

Even without any instrument testing, isn't this obvious?

Is it really necessary to go to such lengths?

However, he only grumbled inwardly. After all, he understood that science requires repeated experiments and measurements to obtain rigorous and accurate results, and it was certainly not as simple as he described.

At this moment, perhaps seeing Alice and Tony getting too close, Albert coughed lightly and reminded her, "Alice, you are my future wife. There are some things you should be careful about!"

One sentence was enough to leave Xiao Gang frozen in place.

You see, he had just been hit hard by Yami's "I don't want to shake your hand" not long ago, and now that he saw that Alice actually had a fiancé, his fragile heart shattered into pieces.

Fortunately, Alice's words cheered him up the next second.

"What nonsense are you talking about?!" Alice said, displeased. "I think I've already clearly refused about that! And I haven't even considered getting married right now!"

Even with Alice saying that, Albert still wouldn't give up.

"I think it's best if we don't discuss this in front of outsiders. How about we come to my place now for a cup of black tea? We can listen to music and talk about this later!"

As he spoke, he tried to put his arm around Alice's shoulder, but his hand was only halfway there when Alice slapped it away without any politeness.

Seeing Alice's resolute attitude, Xiao Gang breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as he was rejoicing that he also had the opportunity to get close to this beautiful Miss Alice and become 'close friends' with her, before he could even feel happy, he saw that Alice seemed to have lost patience with Albert's harassment and quickly came to Tony's side and grabbed his arm!

"Please stop harassing me! I like Tony!!"

Click!

Because she was so close, Xia You seemed to hear something like glass being shattered completely!

He turned his head and saw that Xiao Gang seemed unable to withstand the shock and had fallen backward as if petrified!

This is really...

Seeing his expression, Xia You shook her head helplessly.

After all, none of the three main characters in that love triangle were hurt, but Xiao Gang, an outsider, was the first to fall to the ground. It's really... a pure love warrior who died instantly!

Just then, another strong fluctuation came!

It was as if some invisible energy was rapidly spreading from a certain place. Although you couldn't see or touch it, you could still feel it happening!

Forgetting his shyness, Tony quickly picked up his notebook and began studying.

Besides him, Ash and his friends also quickly looked around, trying to find the source of the tremors!

While they were in a panic, Xia You flicked his finger at the ground, and with a sway of the shadow beneath his feet, his Gengar instantly rose up and floated to his side!

Chapter 976 Ash: Not even had time to blink

Having developed such a tacit understanding over such a long time, Gengar didn't even need Xia You to give any instructions. With just a glance, the two understood Xia You's meaning. After scanning the surroundings, it flew directly in a certain direction, and its body slowly disappeared into the air.

Because of its speed, Gengar's appearance was fleeting. When Albert happened to turn his head to look, he only saw a faint outline, like transparent glass, which disappeared in the blink of an eye. Even as he wondered if he had really seen something, Gengar vanished without a trace.

He hesitated for a moment: "Was that...?"

"What?" Hearing his voice, Xia You turned to look at him, her tone indifferent, "I didn't see anything."

This man...

Albert narrowed his eyes.

Actually, he disliked this man from the moment he first met him.

Of course, it wasn't because the man was young and handsome, or because he had a beautiful green-haired woman by his side. Albert wasn't actually jealous of these things, after all, he believed he was just as good as anyone else. It was just that he felt... unlike that idiot Tony, this man was a real man. And how could he remain unmoved when a real man suddenly appeared beside Alice without his knowledge?

Xia You was acutely aware of Albert's hostility, but...

Please, he's not the kind of man who can attract every woman he sees. Besides, Alice is clearly infatuated with Tony. It's safe to say this guy has completely misjudged his target...

How can you treat yourself as an opponent?

Shouldn't your target be this seemingly dull scientist?

Just then, something unusual happened on a patch of garden ground nearby, attracting their attention.

A stone pillar that had been standing there was cleaved in two by a purple energy beam, which slid to the ground and crashed onto the lawn with a thud.

They all turned to look and saw a blurry shadow darting quickly across the ground amidst the greenery, bathed in sunlight. As if pulled by some unknown force, the small patch of sky above the trees suddenly darkened, completely blocking out the sunlight.

The moment the shadow appeared, seemingly unable to withstand the dark energy, even the flowers on the surrounding vegetation withered.

The shadow eventually formed the shape of a Pokémon on the ground, and like Gengar, it slowly rose from the ground!

At the same time, a deep, masculine voice echoed in people's ears.

"Don't come here."

The voice was very deep, and although there was no change in tone, it still conveyed a strong sense of warning.

As this Pokémon fully revealed itself, everyone recognized it at a glance—Darkrai—despite the lack of any introduction!

Staring at the Pokémon floating in the shadows, facing them from afar, Dawn looked on incredulously and murmured, "This...this is Darkrai?"

It can only be said that compared to Ash and Brock, Dawn, who has only been traveling for a short time, has encountered far too few legendary and mythical Pokémon!

If I had seen more, I wouldn't be as surprised as I am now.

Just like Ash, look at him now, isn't he just...

I just glanced at Ash and saw that he also had his mouth half open, looking shocked.

Ok……

Xia You couldn't help but sigh.

Ash isn't actually that much better than Dawn.

I really don't understand. This guy has seen so many legendary Pokémon and even had close contact with them, so why is he as surprised as Dawn, a newbie?

Compared to them, Xiao Yao beside him seemed extremely composed, and indeed looked like she had seen a lot!

Taking in the expressions of the others, Xia You also glanced at the Darkrai.

It must be said that Darkrai, as a Mythical Pokémon of the Dark type and a Pokémon of Dream and Moon, has a very outstanding design.

Of course, it's not actually that outstanding. Some people think it's cool, but others think it's just so-so.

But at least it's special enough, and its appearance just now certainly had a lot of class!

Judging from its appearance, Darkrai is only about 1.5 meters tall, which is not very tall for a legendary Pokémon, but it fits the size of a mythical Pokémon in people's minds.

Its entire body seemed to be shrouded in shadow, with white hair rolling around and covering most of its face, leaving only a pair of bright blue eyes visible. A red, jagged object, like a collar, surrounded its neck, and a long, black rag hung from each of its shoulders. It had black, claw-like hands and, despite having no wings, floated in mid-air.

As a Pokémon that is active on nights with a new moon, it uses its power to lure others into a deep sleep and dream, causing nightmares for humans and Pokémon to protect itself and drive them out of its territory, but it does not actually have any malicious intent.

In folklore, there is a saying that Darkrai brings terrifying nightmares on moonless nights. Therefore, there have been strange incidents in the past where everyone in the village had nightmares on moonless nights. The villagers claimed that the Pokémon that appeared in their nightmares was Darkrai.

Speaking of Darkrai, the concept comes from nightmares, and its appearance is similar to a shadow. Judging from its special skills and unique characteristics, Darkrai may also be based on Morpheus or Phophator from Greek mythology, as well as the nightmare demon from European folklore.

Although sometimes seen as the male counterpart of Cresselia, Darkrai actually has no gender and does not belong to the same species as Cresselia, which is also a Pokémon of Dream and Moon.

However, unlike its kind, this Darkrai clearly possesses greater power!

Just as Xia You was examining it, Albert, who was standing to the side, had already taken action.

Of course, he didn't want to capture this Pokémon, but rather—

Albert strode forward, grinning maliciously, "Darkrai! So you really did this! Go ahead, lick it with your big tongue!"

At his command, his giant lick once again condensed a destructive beam and immediately launched an attack on Darkrai!

This action surprised everyone except Xia You, after all, this was Darkrai, a very rare Mythical Pokémon. No one expected Albert to act so decisively!

Amidst the horrified gazes of the crowd, the destructive beam shot straight towards Darkrai.

However, just as the two were about to collide, Darkrai's figure suddenly flashed and turned into a shadow again. Not only did he dodge the destructive beam, but he also moved quickly across the ground to the other side of the open space. He then reappeared, condensed a purple-black energy ball, and launched a counterattack against Lickitung!

This reaction was far beyond Albert's expectations.

In the blink of an eye, the purplish-black energy ball was already within reach!

It must be said that Albert's licking ability is indeed quite good. At this critical moment, it used its agility and speed, perfectly matching its obese body, to dodge the attack.

But it was fine that it dodged it; it was Ash who was right behind it who suffered the consequences!

Ash was completely unprepared and was just watching the situation unfold when, unexpectedly, the giant tongue suddenly dodged away, and he found himself face to face with the purplish-black energy ball!

At that distance, not only Ash, but even Pikachu didn't have time to react.

When people turned around, they saw the purplish-black energy ball that was initially the size of a soccer ball but had now grown to the size of a ping-pong ball, which had struck Xiaozhi right in the chest!

The next second, the super rookie collapsed to the ground!

"Ash!!"

"Pikachu!!"

Seeing this, Ash's friends rushed over, but unlike Ash, who was known to be lively and quick to get back up even after being hit by a move, Ash was now lying there with his eyes closed and motionless!

Immediately after the attack, Darkrai's body turned into a shadow again and left in the direction it came from, then disappeared once more!

"Damn it! Don't even think about running away!"

Seeing that Darkrai had escaped, Albert naturally wouldn't let it go. Without any hesitation, he used his big tongue to lick and quickly chased after him.

But now nobody cares about him anymore. Whether it's his companions like Haruka, Hikari, and Takeshi, or Alice, they all bend down to check the situation.

Only Xia You remained standing, turning his head to look in the direction Darkrai had left. Sure enough, the next second, another shadow glided across the ground, almost instantly overtaking Albert and his Lickitung, and also chasing after Darkrai. Seeing this, he nodded slightly and then turned his gaze to Ash.

At this moment, May and her friends surrounded Ash, but no matter how they called out to him, shook him, or even had Pikachu use its electric shock to wake him up, they couldn't rouse him.

Anxiety also spread at this moment.

Seeing that she couldn't wake Ash, Xiaoyao looked up at Xia You and asked, "Brother Xia You, what's wrong with Ash?"

"Don't worry." Actually, Xia You had already recognized what the purplish-black energy ball was when Darkrai made its move, which is why she seemed so nonchalant. Now, when Xiaoyao asked, she simply shook her head. "It's just the Dark-type move Dark Hole. Oh... it's one of Darkrai's signature moves. The energy ball itself doesn't do any harm; it just forcibly drags the target's mind into a dark world, putting them into a state of sleep."

Hearing him say that, the others were all stunned for a moment: "So that means..."

Xia You shifted her gaze to Xiao Zhi and nodded: "Don't worry, he'll be fine. He'll wake up once he's awake or if he's subjected to any strong external stimulus."

External stimulus?

Pikachu's eyes lit up, and it wanted to use a stronger electric shock to wake Ash up, but seeing its action, Xia You quickly reached out to stop it.

"Alright, alright, let's let Ash sleep a little longer rather than resorting to brutal methods. After all, it's a mental attack, so it will be much less of a burden on his body."

At this point, he turned to Alice and asked, "Is there anywhere nearby where Ash can rest?"

“Yes!” Alice replied without hesitation. “There’s a Pokémon Center nearby; you can go there to rest!”

"The Pokémon Center?" Xia You nodded. "There really isn't a better place. It's also a good opportunity for Nurse Joy to give me a diagnosis, and..."

At this point, he turned to look at Xiaoyao and Xiaoguang: "Besides, aren't you going to participate in the Grand Festival here? You can go there to register!"

Upon hearing the words "Grand Tournament," Xiaoyao and Xiaoguang remembered the event. They exchanged a glance and, realizing they would soon be competing against each other, fell silent.

Fortunately, at this moment, the resolute young man Brock took the initiative to squat down and carry Ash on his back, which also brought May and Dawn back to their senses.

Yes, more important than their grand tournament trip is to get Ash to the Pokémon Center as soon as possible!

……

Like the rest of Ashford Town, the Pokémon Center here is designed in the same style as the town's buildings, and it looks very Spanish.

Even inside the Pokémon Center, it wasn't the usual spotless, spacious hall. Instead, it was decorated with colorful lights and flowers, and even had fountains and flowing pools, making it more like a ballroom in a manor than a medical facility.

When the group arrived, they first explained the situation to Nurse Joy. After Nurse Joy settled Ash in and did a quick check, May and Dawn also came to the bar and registered for the Grand Festival.

However, after registering, the two girls avoided the group and went to another place alone, obviously to discuss something.