I caught a Pokémon

The thought flashed through her mind, but she didn't show it. She simply said, "Of course I don't know. Even among the people here in Sinnoh, how many know that I am your grandmother? Not to mention those outsiders."

Zhu Lan understood.

It turned out to be like this...

It seems that the man named Xia You inadvertently revealed his whereabouts.

Since he also appeared at the Epic Museum, and it happened to be the day of Team Galactic's attack, wouldn't all the evidence corroborate each other, making it even more certain that he is the masked man?

but……

Although the chances are small, there is still a possibility of coincidence.

Thinking of this, she asked again, "Grandmother, what day did he leave? Did he say where he was going next?"

Seeing Zhu Lan's anxious expression, Jie Zi Lan became even more certain of her guess.

"Zhu Lan." She didn't answer immediately, but stood up, went to the window, and looked at the sunset outside. "Although they say it's easy for a woman to pursue a man, and that young man named Xia You is indeed very handsome and intelligent, you are, after all, a champion and a bit older than him. Many eyes are watching you. You can't be so proactive, especially since there is a very beautiful green-haired woman with him. So you... should be more composed."

what?

What the heck is going on?!

As soon as Jiezilan opened her mouth, Zhulan knew that she had misunderstood.

She quickly offered a few explanations, but Jie Zilan only interpreted them as her trying to cover something up, making the situation worse.

Even at the very end, seeing that Mustard Orchid didn't believe her, Bamboo Orchid also felt a wave of exhaustion.

"Grandmother, let's not talk about anything else for now. Just tell me where he went."

"How could I possibly know such a thing?" Jie Zilan shook her head, and seeing her granddaughter's visibly disappointed expression, she smiled slightly. "Although they didn't tell me directly, we can deduce from where they came from and their route that they must have gone to Veil City."

Curtain City...

Zhu Lan pondered for a moment and also felt that it was very likely.

If that's the case, then if news of the masked man reappears in this direction, then we can be 100% certain that it's him!

I just don't believe there can be so many coincidences!

……

On the other side, in the port of Veiled City.

Dragging his somewhat tired body, A-Quan returned to the secret base.

It must be said that after getting what she wanted, although she felt a little unwell, she was full of energy. In this state, she was as if she had divine help, and her investigation really did lead her to discover something!

This gave her more confidence in the upcoming operation.

Most importantly, she did not disappoint Xia You's expectations!

It goes without saying that once this matter is handled beautifully, her importance in this man's heart will definitely increase!

Now that she's back here and remembers what happened during the day, a smile involuntarily spreads across her face.

Upon reaching the second floor and seeing Huoyan on the sofa after her bath, Aquan could hardly contain his pride.

That brat, she dares to argue with me? Dream on!

Feeling happy, she didn't go straight back to her room, but leaned against the door, looking at Huoyan with a half-smile.

"You're back quite early. What did you gain from this operation?"

"Action?" Huo Yan looked at her, a smug smile spreading across her face. "I was just about to set off."

"What?" A-Quan was a little surprised. "What did you do when you went out this afternoon?"

“Sorry, I didn’t leave here this afternoon.” Huo Yan stood up, her smile widening. “I saw an old fox sneaking around stealing food, so of course I stayed to check things out.”

One sentence was enough to make Ah Quan's eyebrows furrow!

"You saw it all!?"

"Yes, I heard it." Huo Yan pouted. "She was shouting so loudly, it was impossible not to hear her!"

Being exposed, especially in front of Huoyan, made Aquan feel somewhat embarrassed, but she quickly snorted.

"So what? Now that you know, that's perfect. It will make you truly realize that Xia You likes me more than you!"

"He likes more than just you." Huo Yan retorted, looking at her defiantly, and then pulled open her collar, letting A Quan see the deep hickeys on her neck.

"What!?" A-Quan's eyes widened immediately, staring at her in disbelief. "Could it be—you—you also—!?"

"Otherwise, what do you think I've been doing here all afternoon?" Huo Yan raised her head. "Don't think you're the only one who became his woman. Me too, you know. And compared to you, Xia You and I have been here for a whole afternoon! A whole afternoon!"

Hearing Huoyan deliberately emphasize the word "afternoon," Aquan was so angry he gritted his teeth!

Damn it!

This woman actually succeeded!

A-Quan silently cursed in his heart, while also feeling some resentment towards Xia You.

You've already done it with yourself, so why are you still so easily tempted?

After glaring at Huoyan, Aquan didn't bother to say anything more to her. He simply pushed open the door and went into his bedroom.

But when she returned to her room and saw the mess that hadn't been cleaned up yet, she couldn't help but smile.

Although Huo Yan, that woman, also succeeded, her life has changed regardless!

……

The Veil Dojo is located on the edge of a forest on the outskirts of Veil City.

It occupies a very large area, situated on a huge lawn, surrounded by a long Japanese-style high wall. The main body consists of several two- or three-story red-tiled buildings, exuding a rustic fighting feel. As expected of a fighting-themed dojo, it looks very imposing.

After resting overnight at the Pokémon Center, Xia You took Xiao Yao and Ya Mi to the gym after breakfast the next day.

Once you push open the dojo door and step inside, you can hear 'hum hum ha hey' sounds coming from somewhere, clearly indicating that many people are practicing karate.

Their arrival quickly attracted the attention of the locals.

A tall man in his forties, wearing a white karate uniform and a black belt around his waist, strode up to them.

After sizing up the three men, the man said, "I am Kuroda, the acting instructor and assistant instructor of this dojo. What brings you here? Are you here to challenge the dojo, or to learn karate?"

"Hello." Xia You greeted him first, then explained his purpose, "I'm here to challenge this gym. I wonder if the gym leader is here now?"

The man named Kuroda nodded: "You've come at the right time. Master Ari has just finished her morning training. I'll take you to her now."

After saying that, the man left first, and Xia You and the other two exchanged glances and quickly followed him into the dojo.

The dojo's interior was no different from a regular karate dojo. When they arrived at the tatami mats, they took off their shoes and entered the fighting area.

Ta-da!

Passing through the entrance hall, a simple indoor battle arena appeared before them.

This is clearly more suitable for Fighting-type Pokémon to fight in. The field is very open, and the ground underneath is made of hard soil, which looks very solid and flat.

Here, Xia You also saw the dojo master named Ah Li.

She appeared to be only seventeen or eighteen years old, with messy pink hair that curled upwards at both ends, eyes of the same color, a band-aid on her nose, and wearing a tight-fitting outfit. She looked very energetic.

However, compared to other karate fighters, this Ah Li is too thin, with no obvious muscles, and even her chest is quite flat.

Most importantly, her demeanor is too immature!

At this moment, Ah Li was sitting cross-legged in meditation. When he saw Xia You and the others enter, he opened his eyes and looked at them.

Xia You's gaze swept past Ah Li and landed on the wall behind her, where three mottoes were displayed from left to right: "One good deed a day," "One meal a day," and "One chance, one meeting."

Xia You didn't know what these three maxims had to do with this dojo, but his attention was obviously not on them. Instead, he turned back to Ah Li and nodded to her.

"Hello, I'm here to challenge this gym."

"Welcome to my dojo. Nice to meet you, I'm Lee." Lee stood up, sizing up the group as he spoke, his gaze finally settling on Xia You. "You're today's challenger, right? You seem pretty good, perfect for today's opening match!"

Since they weren't familiar with each other, they didn't chat much. After a brief greeting, they went to their respective trainer command areas.

Haruka and Yami naturally sat down to the side, while Kuroda, who had brought them in, also went to the side and became the referee.

Just as the group was preparing, Xiaoyao turned to look at Yami again.

"Sister Yami, are you playing today?"

Yami shook her head, fixing her gaze on Xia You in the arena, and gently shook her head.

"No, let's just enjoy watching Mr. Xia You's match."

You two are sleeping together, and you still call him Mr. Xia You?

Xiaoyao sighed.

With a personality like Ya Mi's, it's no wonder that Xia You takes advantage of her so much...

However, from another perspective, Xia You really knows how to bully people!

Before she could think any further, the man named Kuroda, seeing that Xia You was ready, announced the rules of the competition.

"Now we begin the Gym Challenge between Challenger Xia You and Veilgate Gym Leader Ali. You will use three Pokémon. The match will end when all three Pokémon of either side are unable to battle. Also, only the challenger can change Pokémon."

Ordinary rules, ordinary venue, ordinary opponents, it seems... today will be an ordinary battle as well.

As the one being challenged, Ah Li was the first to release her Pokémon.

With a flash of blue light, a Masana appeared in front of Xia You.

As a Pokémon with both fighting and psychic abilities, Xia You rarely interacts with it. On the contrary, he often sees its evolved form, Medicham, and knows many trainers who use it, such as Cucumber.

Its shape resembles a blue-skinned Indian monkey, especially the structure on its head, which can be said to be designed with elements of yoga and meditation.

Its body is predominantly sky blue, with milky-white ring-shaped patterns on its arms, as well as milky-white abdomen and toes. Its head is shaped like the spire of an Indian Buddhist stupa, with round, rolled protrusions on both sides. Its eyes are relatively large with black pupils. In fact, upon closer inspection, its appearance is quite acceptable to the general public.

This Pokémon practices yoga in the deep mountains. Daily yoga practice is indispensable for it. It improves its mental strength through meditation and can meditate for several hours at a time. After improving its mental strength through meditation, it can float in the air. It only eats one berry a day and tempers its mind by enduring hunger.

But don't underestimate it. As a Fighting and Psychic-type Pokémon, it has strong attack methods in both close combat and ranged attacks, and should not be underestimated.

However, the command of these Pokémon depends on who is in charge.

There's a reason why Ah-Li became the gym leader of the weakest tier.

Despite having only been in this position for half a year and being hailed as a karate prodigy, she has lost more than she has won in her tenure so far. Even Shinji, after fighting her, gave her the assessment that she was "incredibly weak."

Even when a newcomer named Hikaru came to challenge him, he barely managed to win against Hikaru, who had never had any experience in dojo battles before.

Compared to her, Aysa, who also took over the position of gym leader from her family, is far superior.

This also shows just how strong she really is.

Therefore, Xia You didn't use any other Pokémon in this battle, but instead threw out his Chimchar.

The new gym leader, facing off against newly captured Pokémon, is roughly evenly matched in terms of strength.

Of course, if we don't count him, the trainer who has won three regional tournaments, then if we do count him, Ari has no chance of winning at all.

Ah Li was completely unaware of this.

She now has only one thought: to do everything in her power to defeat today's challenger and make her dismal win rate look a little better.

Meanwhile, on the field, the half-meter-tall little fire monkey looked at the blue monkey in front of it, which was about the same size as it, and examined it with great interest.

They're all monkeys, so why do they look so different?

It probably didn't understand why a perfectly normal monkey would end up learning yoga.

Without a tail, do you think you can pretend to be a person?

With both Pokémon ready, the challenge officially began with the referee's signal.

As for the strategy for this battle, since the Chimchar had only been captured for a short time, although it was somewhat clever, it still had the unstable and somewhat impulsive nature typical of monkeys. Even when facing a weak opponent, Xia You did not take it for granted and let it fight on its own, but instead participated in the command.

Only after its strength has grown further will he let them fight on their own, just like he did with Froakie and Riolu before.

But now...

The most urgent task is to build its confidence!

At his command, the little chimpanzee launched the first attack.

Spark started by using ranged attacks to whittle down Magna's health. Just as Magna was dodging, Chimchar hopped and skipped towards Magna.

Chapter 999 The Absolute Gap in Strength