I caught a Pokémon

What will they see?

You'll see one Pokémon catching another!

If word gets out, people will think this Gengar has become a spirit!

Well, it really has become a spirit, after all, it has lived for more than two thousand years, it is already an old monster.

As for why Gengar did it instead of him doing it himself...

It wasn't that he looked down on Darkrai, it was just that Xia You was being far too cautious!

It's worth noting that Darkrai also possesses the ability to create Dark Hole.

If you get too close and get hit, you could really be caught off guard and lose your life!

This is Darkrai's only chance to turn the tide, and Xia You, who knows this perfectly well, is bound to be wary.

This also shows that not only his fighting style, but also his actions are so meticulous!

There was nothing they could do; neither side trusted the other that much, especially since this was a nightmare god.

Fortunately, Darkrai did not do that.

After being put into the Poké Ball, the Poké Ball shook slightly a few times. In just two or three seconds, as the switch was locked, the entire ball became completely quiet.

"It's easier than I imagined."

Gengar grinned and handed the Poké Ball to Xia You.

After receiving the Poké Ball, Xia You immediately pressed the switch on it and released Darkrai again.

"How does it feel inside the Poké Ball?" Xia You smiled slightly and said to it, "Don't worry, although I've put you in the ball, just like I said, I won't restrict your movements. Okay, now come with me."

After saying that, Xia You stopped paying attention to Darkrai and glanced at Charizard. Charizard immediately understood, came to his side, and bent down to let Xia You climb onto its back.

With a gentle tap of his feet, the Charizard flapped its wings and soared into the sky, flying towards the Tower of Time and Space not far away.

Gengar smiled at Darkrai and followed.

Watching Xia You's retreating figure, Darkrai hesitated for a while, seemingly wanting to see what this man was up to. As soon as his strength recovered slightly, he forced himself to fly towards the Tower of Time and Space.

Under the cover of night, the shadows of several Pokémon flashed by in the air.

The towering Time Tower appeared before Xia You in no time, thanks to Charizard's speed. After arriving at the platform outside the broadcast room, Xia You jumped down and entered the broadcast room.

Since it was already night, the broadcasting room, which was not normally open to the general public, was even less likely to be occupied. Even the bird Pokémon that used the room as their nests looked at Xia You with half-open eyes, their eyes flashing with a strange light.

Even when Xia You shone a flashlight on them, the bird Pokémon simply lowered their heads to avoid the light and did not fly around in a chaotic manner.

It seems they have indeed gotten used to living with humans...

Darkrai finally arrived, just over ten seconds later.

Xia You ignored it and instead shone her flashlight on the pointed ceiling, searching for something. Only when the flashlight beam stopped at the highest point did she throw the Poké Ball she had just collected Darkrai to Gengar.

Gengar slowly floated up and arrived at the ceiling. As its palm was enveloped by ghostly energy, the next second, the hand holding the Poké Ball actually passed through the ceiling and reached the thick ceiling!

When Gengar withdrew its arm again, the Poké Ball was left there!

It was only at this moment that Xia You turned to look at Darkrai.

"See that? Your Poké Ball is right there. Unless the Tower of Time is destroyed, no one will ever find it. That way, no one will ever find your Poké Ball, and even if they do, they won't know it's yours."

Darkrai turned his gaze away from the ceiling and looked at Xia You again, his tone full of doubt.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Wasn't I clear enough?" Xia You smiled. "Of course, it's to prevent others from catching you. My move is called—when others want to eat, I overturn the pot! Even if someone is really strong and does defeat you, when they finally throw the Poké Ball and see that you can't be caught, their expression at that moment will be quite interesting, right?"

What a wicked sense of humor...

It must be said that this approach did indeed fundamentally solve its fate of being subjugated by humans, but...

"What's in it for you?" Darkrai couldn't help but ask.

"Benefits?" Xia You looked at it. "I think you haven't figured it out. Although I won't take you with me, you were caught by me using a Poké Ball, so... you are my Pokémon, and I have ownership rights over you. That will never change!"

So that's how it is!

Upon hearing Xia You's words, Darkrai's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally died.

Didn't I end up being subdued by someone else?

What's the difference?

It's simply about not restricting one's movement and allowing oneself to remain here.

But now that things have come to this, it can only listen to whatever Xia You says.

"Oh, right." Xia You suddenly remembered something and said to Darkrai, "If the situation like during the day happens again, or if anyone bullies you, remember to find me. Remember me, my name is Xia You. Although I can't be there every time you call, no matter how long it takes, I will definitely help you get revenge!"

……

After resting overnight at the Pokémon Center, Xia You and her group stepped into the Tower of Time again the next day after breakfast.

However, unlike before, the entire Tower of Time was now filled with a large number of spectators and Coordinators who had come from afar.

That's right—the Magnificent Poplar Assembly begins today!

After yesterday's events, Baiyang Town's reputation has spread throughout Sinnoh. Not only the town's residents, but also many people from nearby cities rushed here overnight after hearing that a grand event was being held here.

They came not only to pay homage to the site of yesterday's great battle and personally experience the lingering atmosphere of the battlefield, but also to witness this magnificent event and feel the unique awe brought by the top-notch venue!

Even Alice and Tony joined in the fun.

Judging from the fact that the two walked into the venue side by side, it is clear that their relationship has gradually warmed up after yesterday's events.

Amidst the crowded throng, Xia You and her friends cheered on Xiao Yao and Xiao Guang, and watched them enter the contestant passage.

"I wonder who will win this competition."

Because the training session went on very late, Xiao Zhi was still half asleep and couldn't help but yawn. He followed Xia You and the other companions to their seats.

Actually, because they've attended so many of these kinds of conferences, they're no longer as excited as they were at the beginning.

After waiting for a while, at exactly nine o'clock, the conference officially began as the lights changed.

The host, Bai An, dressed in a beige short skirt, gracefully walked onto the stage. She first introduced the three unchanging referees and the rules of the competition, then marveled at the magnificence of the venue, and even praised the residents of Baiyang Town for their composure under pressure during yesterday's battle. Only then did she announce the start of the competition in her impassioned voice.

This process is something everyone is already familiar with; it's just a formality.

Having heard it so many times, Xia You was so engrossed in sending messages to his women one by one while Bai An was speaking, asking if they were awake and if they had eaten breakfast. He only turned his attention back to the stage when the first contestant of the first round of performance review took the stage.

Unexpectedly, the first contestant to perform was the red-haired female trainer who had battled Ash and his friends on the street the day before yesterday and yesterday!

Unlike her outfits the previous two days, this time she changed into a yellow ninja outfit, giving off a playful yet capable vibe.

"I didn't expect her to be a Coordinator too. I thought she was just a Trainer..." Xia You was a little surprised, then frowned, "I remember her name is... her name is..."

Xiao Gang naturally wouldn't forget the beautiful woman's name, and almost blurted out, "Her name is Xiao Xin!"

Xia You nodded. In fact, he didn't know the woman's name at all. After all, unlike Xiao Zhi and the others, he had never really dealt with these people. He had just mentioned it casually.

At this moment, on the stage, the female trainer named Xiaoxin has begun her performance.

Her performance partner was a Crowhead, a Pokémon rarely seen at the Grand Contest. After all, its black appearance made it look like a scheming gangster, giving off a somewhat ominous vibe and not being very popular with female audiences. However, it must be said that this Crowhead performed exceptionally well. With its wonderful cooperation and performance with Xiaoxin, it won a standing ovation and ultimately earned a high score!

"Looks like a tough opponent..."

Upon hearing Xia You's words, the people around her all nodded in agreement.

After all, this is only the first contestant to perform on stage. The atmosphere hasn't even fully warmed up yet, and a contestant with such strength has already taken the stage. You can imagine the pressure that the others will face.

Not only her, but after Xiao Xin left the stage and several other contestants took the stage, the other two members of that trio also went on stage!

Similarly, both of them changed their outfits and looked quite artistic. They also performed very well and both scored high marks!

Seeing this, Xia You couldn't help but shake her head.

It was at this moment that he learned the names of the two male trainers, Sheng Hai and Tai Ge.

They all thought it was just a battle of friendship between Hikaru and Haruka, but they didn't expect there to be so many unexpected changes.

As expected of the Poplar Conference with such a magnificent venue, it is truly extraordinary!

Most importantly, these three were together!

It's quite rare to find a travel group where all three are Coordinators with completely overlapping professions.

They are both partners and competitors.

Before we could even have a moment to reflect, Xiao Guang made his appearance amidst cheers.

Today, her outfit was also very pink: a pink long dress, a pink soft hat, a pink belt, and pink shoes. The only thing that wasn't pink was the pair of white knee-high socks she was wearing, which looked quite dreamy.

But Xia You felt that her outfit was actually a failure, like she was wearing pajamas...

And her first partner was none other than her Bogarman.

Perhaps she wanted to show off, or perhaps she knew there were many strong opponents, so she sent out this starter Pokémon in the battle, hoping to get a high score.

However, as everyone knows, Xiaoguang's performance has never been her strong suit. Even with Bogaman on stage, her travel time was still short and her experience was not very rich. In addition, the rehearsal time was only from yesterday afternoon to evening. As a result, her and Bogaman's performance was not perfect. By the end of the performance, they only got a slightly above-average score.

This is undoubtedly very dangerous, especially considering that the trio just now performed exceptionally well.

It's fair to say that whether she advances or not is no longer her concern; it all depends on the performance of the remaining participants.

The better the other contestants perform, the slimmer her chances of advancing become; conversely, the worse they perform, the better her chances of advancing become.

This made Ash and his friends very worried. Even Dawn himself was too nervous to speak after coming off the stage and returning to the dressing room.

Seeing this, Xiaoyao couldn't help but want to offer her a few words of comfort.

Before she could say anything, she heard a voice reminding her to go on stage.

Helpless, she could only give Xiaoguang an encouraging smile before turning and walking into the contestant entrance.

Unlike Hikari, whose bag was full of gorgeous clothes, Haruka didn't carry many clothes in her bag because of limited capacity, which allowed her to appear in her usual attire.

But her ordinary appearance does not affect her performance with her Pokémon!

In this performance segment, May sent out Munchlax as her partner, and what she showcased was her forte: prop performance.

This is her specialty, and the performance style she uses most often during her travels. Her stable performance and wonderful choreography naturally earned her thunderous applause after each performance.

Looking at the score, unsurprisingly, he once again won first place overall!

This made Ash and his friends feel emotional, and while they admired how amazing May was, it also drew the attention of all the contestants to May.

Who can blame them for attracting attention when they are strong? In that instant, Xiaoyao's outstanding performance made these contestants regard her as their number one rival.

Except for Xiaoguang.

Seeing her friend, whom she had only known for a short time, perform like this, Xiao Guang felt both envious and longing, but not jealous.

She suppressed the question in her heart: why is it that Xiaoyao is so much more capable than her, even though they are the same age?

Just as this thought arose, Xia You's image flashed through her mind again.

yes……

I already knew that, it was all because of Mr. Xia You...

So, could I also...?

Just as he was thinking this, Xiaoyao had already returned to the players' hall, and as soon as he saw her, Xiaoguang quickly put aside his distracting thoughts and clapped.

"Xiaoyao, your performance was fantastic! The entire audience is cheering for you!"

"No way..." Xiaoyao smiled sheepishly, then remembered Xiaoguang's disappointment and quickly said, "Actually, you don't need to be sad. After all, you've only been traveling for a short time. Once you've traveled to two regions like me, you'll definitely become even more amazing than me!"

"Okay, stop comforting me. I'm not as fragile as you think." Xiao Guang laughed heartily. "I'm back to normal a long time ago, and besides, you already said that before!"

"Huh?" Xiaoyao was taken aback, then stuck out her tongue. "Really? Sorry, I forgot."

While the two girls were chatting and laughing, the list of those who advanced was already displayed on the big screen.

Xiaoyao rightfully deserves to be ranked first on the list, while the trio ranks second, third, and fourth respectively!

As for Xiaoguang...

She barely made it into the top eight, securing the eighth spot.

Seeing this result naturally made Xiao Guang breathe a sigh of relief, and he also secretly thought it was a close call.

But in any case, she managed to avoid defeat in the first round and successfully advance to the second round of the battle review.

For a conference of this scale and level, this is a significant improvement compared to the past!