I caught a Pokémon

But I have to say... Xia You is really amazing, he even dared to use Zhu Lan.

That's really brave!

With their own thoughts in mind, they came together to a small train station in the wetlands.

All I can say is that this train station is indeed very small, with only one small building serving as the ticket office and waiting hall. The railway tracks on both sides are laid among the weeds, some of which are not yet submerged in the water, like two silver lines extending outwards, stretching as far as the eye can see.

Despite its remote location and its construction in such a wetland, the station was surprisingly still in operation. Even before they got close, they could see a passenger with a backpack waiting in the distance, in addition to a manager.

The group of people were puzzled, so they went over.

Upon seeing them approach, the traveler glanced at them a few times and couldn't help but laugh.

"You must be here for the Delinquent Frog Festival, right?"

"The Frog Festival?" Ash was taken aback. "What's that?"

This is where Zhu Lan's extensive knowledge and experience come into play.

In response to Xiaozhi's question, without the traveler needing to speak, Cynthia spoke up: "I heard that the people here regard the Bad Frog as their guardian spirit, so every year around this time, a festival about the Bad Frog is held in this vast wetland, and the winner receives a generous prize."

"An event between Delinquents?" Ash murmured, then looked at Brock. "Sounds interesting, Brock. Do you want to bring your Delinquent along?"

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Xiao Gang hesitated for a moment, but still nodded.

"Although it may take up some of your time, since we've come across this, I'd like to take a look as well."

It's all on the way anyway. Since Xiaogang has said so, it'll just take a little more time, it's no big deal.

Zhu Lan, however, was not one of their travel companions. But when she heard that Xiao Gang was staying to participate in the festival, she didn't leave either. It seemed that she wanted to join in the fun with them.

This made Xia You raise her eyebrows involuntarily.

This is not a good sign...

“Um…” Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but remind her, “Miss Zhulan, don’t you have a lot of things to take care of? Is it really okay for you to stay with us like this?”

Everyone could tell that Xia You's words had only one underlying message: she was urging Zhu Lan to leave as soon as possible.

But to their surprise, Zhu Lan was determined to stay by their side.

She smiled slightly and said nonchalantly, "It's alright. Actually, this festival has been held for over a hundred years. I've heard about it before, but I've never had the chance to witness it. Now that I'm here today, I don't want to miss it."

At this point, she noticed Xia You frowning, as if he was about to say something more, so she spoke first: "It seems that Mr. Xia You doesn't want me to stay. Is there... something inconvenient about it?"

This guy…

Xia You's heart skipped a beat.

Although he had this thought, he couldn't show it at this moment under any circumstances.

“Miss Zhulan, what are you saying?” he said. “I just didn’t want to waste your precious time because of our trivial matters, but since you don’t care, what else can I say?”

After they finished speaking, the two looked at each other and forced a smile.

Even though everyone knows what the other person means, it's not easy to explain in front of so many people, so they have to maintain a facade of friendliness.

Seeing the two so locked in a fierce confrontation, Hikaru, Haruka, and Yami all sensed that a major battle was about to break out.

Will these two end up fighting?

Shouldn't we try to persuade them?

But when I think about their strength, and what Xia You did to Zhu Lan…

never mind…

Let them handle their own affairs...

Chapter 1044 The Mischievous Frog Festival

Upon seeing Zhu Lan and overhearing their conversation, the passenger recognized her identity.

This is not surprising, after all, her face is so famous that even if you haven't watched her competitions, you must have seen her advertisements or videos.

The passenger still couldn't believe that this champion lady would appear in such a place!

Is she also a fan of the delinquent frog?!

This is big news!

Although he was excited, he didn't dare to go up and talk to anyone. He would always sneak a peek, and his look of wanting to look but not daring to was quite comical.

With outsiders present, Zhu Lan became much more restrained, at least she stopped arguing with Xia You.

They bought tickets, but after waiting for more than ten minutes, an old-fashioned locomotive, pulling two short green wooden carriages, slowly pulled up in front of the small station with a whistle.

It is evident that although the train is short, it has been modified, with special treatment applied to the wheels, making them resemble ship planks. This design allows it to pass safely over water or wetlands.

Feeling intrigued by the scene, Xia You took out her phone and snapped a couple of photos of the train before following the others onto one of the carriages.

Before I could even take my seat, the train slowly started moving with another whistle.

Perhaps because the roads were dangerous, the train was not traveling very fast.

But that's fine too, as it allows them to leisurely enjoy the view outside the window.

It must be said that this swamp wetland is incredibly large.

If we hadn't taken this train, we probably wouldn't have been able to get out of here even if we had walked all day.

What you see are low shrubs and brightly colored grass, but beneath these are dangerous pools of water and mud. You can imagine that if someone accidentally falls into them, it would take a lot of effort to get out without help, and they might even lose their life there!

Beautiful, yet deadly.

This is the deepest impression that this wetland left on Xia You.

Of course, this place is not a forbidden zone for life. As the train traveled along, Xia You saw many amphibious Pokémon, and among them... Croagunk was indeed the most numerous!

It seems... this place is really suitable for Pokémon to live in.

In just over an hour, the train stopped at another small station.

Following their fellow passenger, they disembarked from the train and walked along a narrow wooden boardwalk into the depths of the swamp.

Looking around, the scenery was no different from before. The only difference was that the air was more humid. They hadn't walked far when they felt a light mist on their clothes.

And at some point, other trainers began to appear around them.

These trainers came from all directions, men and women, young and old, tall and short, fat and thin, but they all had one thing in common: they were all accompanied by a bad frog!

At a glance, there are already more than a dozen people who have appeared at this time!

"These people..." Ash's eyes widened when he saw them. "Are they all here for the festival?"

"It should be," Xia You nodded. "It seems the scale will be quite large."

At this point, he turned to Brock and said, "Looks like you'll have to step up your game. As a former Gym Leader and also a Delinquent owner, you won't lose to them, will you?"

Actually, Xiao Gang hadn't felt anything before; he just thought it would be lively with so many people. But now, after hearing Xia You's words, he felt immense pressure.

It seems... that's really the case.

With so many people participating, and it being a qualifying celebration, if I don't achieve a good ranking, it would be a waste of all the time so many people have taken the time to be with me!

"I..." Despite wanting to pat his chest and make a promise, Xiao Gang didn't really have any confidence for a moment. He could only scratch his cheek with his finger and cough lightly, "I'll try my best..."

Xiao Gang's lack of confidence made Xia You and the others exchange smiles and shake their heads.

Just as Ash was about to say something encouraging, before he could even open his mouth, as they rounded a patch of bushes, a festival site with a strong exotic feel appeared before them.

This place is filled with many buildings, and their style is different from other buildings in the Sinnoh region. They have some Mayan characteristics, but they are not quite the same as other buildings in the region.

In short, it has a unique sense of mystery.

When they arrived, it was already close to dusk. Torches were lit all around, and the area was filled with trainers with their Croagunks. These people were scattered everywhere, and some light music was playing from somewhere, making it quite lively and with a unique festive atmosphere.

Upon their arrival, a burly man, shirtless and wearing a strange headdress, walked up to them.

"Oh, isn't this Miss Zhu Lan?" The burly man's gaze fell on Zhu Lan, clearly surprised by her appearance. "What are you doing here?"

Zhu Lan was also quite surprised to see this man.

"Are you Yoshinobu?" she asked, puzzled. "Why are you here instead of running the dojo in Nohara City?"

Ji Xian?

Upon hearing the name and seeing his attire, even without Zhu Lan's words, Xia You already understood somewhat.

So that's the gym leader of the Nohara Gym they're about to challenge!

Ji Xian was over forty years old, with an unusual hairstyle, a hairy beard on both sides, and bulging muscles, making him look very strong.

Although he gives the impression of being skilled in combat, he is not a karate practitioner, but a professional wrestler!

I never expected that he wouldn't be at the dojo, but would instead come here!

"Of course I'm here to preside over the festival! I never miss a year!" Yoshino laughed, then suddenly realized something, "What? Miss Takeran is here to participate in the festival too?"

Zhu Lan glanced silently at the unruly frogs around her.

Although she doesn't dislike this Pokémon, she prefers the beautiful Milotic to this poisonous frog.

“You’ve misunderstood.” She shook her head calmly. “I just happened to be passing by and came to participate in the festival. The person next to me is the one.”

Hearing her say that, Ji Xian then turned his attention to Xia You and her group.

He didn't recognize any of these people and couldn't tell anything about them, so he could only nod politely.

"Then welcome to this year's festival! Speaking of which, you've come at just the right time. The festival is about to officially begin, and this year's prize is something special—a crown of a delinquent frog adorned with diamonds and pearls!"

Chapter 1045 He fled, she chased.

With some time to go before the festival, aside from Xiaoyao, Xiaoguang, and Xiaozhi, who went to browse the temporary night market nearby, Xia You saw Zhulan talking to Jixian and, unable to get away for the time being, decisively slipped away.

Of course, he didn't leave to go somewhere else. He just avoided Cynthia and didn't go with Ash and the others. After saying goodbye to Yami, he wanted to find a quiet place where no one was around.

He didn't even dare to go to the guesthouse here, for fear that Zhu Lan would block his way.

After all, in his view, Zhu Lan couldn't possibly travel with them forever. As long as they got through tonight safely and didn't let her cause trouble, then when they all gathered together tomorrow, Zhu Lan would be even less likely to do anything to him.

So as long as she can't find us tonight, we can basically get through this crisis.

But clearly, he underestimated Zhu Lan's determination in this matter.

Although Ji Xian pulled Zhu Lan aside to exchange pleasantries, her attention was actually focused on Xia You the whole time.

I had a feeling he might run away!

Despite pretending to be nonchalant, she quickly ended her chatter and followed Xia You after catching a glimpse of her figure flashing by and disappearing into a dark alley.

The two disappeared into the alley one after the other, with only a seven or eight-second difference between them.

However, in such a short time, when Zhu Lan entered the alley, she found it empty and there was no sign of Xia You!

But Zhu Lan didn't get angry; instead, she laughed.

They're quite clever; they even know how to counter tracking!

The more this happens, the more it shows that the thief is guilty.

but…

Hmph, do you think you can escape?

Knowing that his companions were all here, Zhu Lan knew that Xia You couldn't possibly have left; he was simply hiding somewhere.

The festival is said to last until late at night, so she has plenty of time to play a cat-and-mouse game with this man.

I'd like to see where you can hide!

Thinking of this, a cold smile appeared on her lips, and then without hesitation, she strode into the depths of the alley.

Just as she left, Xia Youmo stood silently on a rooftop, watching Zhu Lan's figure disappear into the darkness.

Beside Xia You, Gengar emerged from the shadows and clicked its tongue twice.

"With such persistence, it seems you're in trouble this time!"

“Yeah…” Xia You also felt quite troubled. “I just don’t understand how she found out. Did we give ourselves away?”

"Who knows?" Gengar shrugged. "Maybe. After all, he's a champion, so his abilities must be outstanding. Otherwise, she wouldn't have immediately identified you. If only we had been more careful back then..."

Hearing this, Xia You shook her head helplessly.