I caught a Pokémon

“Back then I was young and always wanted to go out and explore the world. Later I got older and couldn’t go anymore, so I came back here to stay and take care of this hotel and these little guys.” She sighed softly. “But I’ve never lost that feeling. Now when I see someone else who has dealt with Zekrom, I can’t help but say a few more words. After all, not just anyone can meet Zekrom.”

It turned out to be the case.

Xia You nodded, feeling a mix of emotions, and then chuckled to herself.

He has seen much more than just that.

I even beat him up!

Of course, he wouldn't say these words aloud; he simply nodded slightly, which was considered an admission of the old woman's opinion.

The old woman didn't ask any further questions.

She stood up and patted off non-existent dust from her apron.

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Eat quickly, or the food won't taste good when it gets cold." After saying that, she slowly walked back behind the counter, but after taking only a few steps, she seemed to remember something and turned to look at Xia You. "Oh, right, and young man, remember to keep your voice down next time at night. My old bones are fine, but it wouldn't be good if someone nearby heard us."

One sentence made both Yami and Makomo blush.

Even Xia You felt a little embarrassed.

I didn't expect the soundproofing here to be so bad.

But is Yami really that loud?

It's alright, just like usual...

Just as he was thinking this, he turned his head and saw that Makomo had also blushed, and he was stunned.

Why is she like this too?

Could it be... that she heard it too!?

That little light...

Looking at Xiaoguang again, her expression was normal. It seemed she hadn't heard anything last night, except...

Under Xia You's gaze, Xiao Guang's ears turned red, and he turned his head away somewhat awkwardly.

This made Xia You's heart skip a beat.

Even if Makomo heard it, it wouldn't be a big deal. After all, everyone is an adult, and I believe Makomo would understand. It would just be a little awkward. But if Hikaru heard it, that would be terrible.

This can seriously affect the physical and mental health of minors!

But what could he say at that moment?

I could only remain silent, pretending not to have heard those words, and focus on eating my breakfast.

……

After having breakfast and paying for their accommodation and meals, the group left the hotel and set off again.

This time, however, the atmosphere was a bit more awkward compared to when they entered the place last night.

After all, with that incident brought up, none of them knew what to say to break the awkward atmosphere, at least for the time being, even though they all had that thought.

I can only gradually forget about it over time.

After leaving the Dragon's Village, the group continued westward.

After traveling for less than half a day, they arrived at a large bridge.

Like the previous cylindrical bridge, this is also a bridge spanning the river between Central United and Eastern United.

Unlike the steel-reinforced cylindrical bridge, this bridge, though also long and narrow, was not imposing and was constructed with a large amount of brick and stone. However, this was not the most eye-catching feature. What truly surprised them was that there was a village on this bridge.

Yes, it is a village.

And the name of this bridge is Village Bridge!

Makomo was quite familiar with this bridge, or rather, she had done some research beforehand. Seeing that everyone was looking at the bridge, she adjusted her glasses, coughed lightly, and said, "This is the Village Bridge. It's said to be an older brick bridge than the Unova region itself. Because it's so long and floods are frequent, people built the village directly on the bridge to prevent nearby houses from being washed away by the floods. This increased the weight of the bridge, ensuring it wouldn't collapse in the floods, and also protected the safety of the village."

It has to be said, this is truly amazing.

Of course, Xia You wasn't as surprised as Xiao Guang and the others. After all, there were also buildings built on bridges in his world. Although he hadn't seen them in person, he knew about them through pictures.

It's much more spectacular than this!

However, seeing it with your own eyes naturally evokes a different feeling.

Walking onto this bridge, you can see many houses on both sides of the wide bridge. Although these houses are not very tall, only three or four stories high at most, they are all built quite solidly and are very symmetrical, without one side being heavier than the other.

Looking at these houses, the ground floor is mostly filled with shops.

This is not surprising. After all, they can't raise or grow anything on such a large bridge. They can only open some shops to sell supplies to passersby. As for whether they fish or transport goods on the water in their daily lives...

Xia You looked out through the cracks in the house and saw countless boats on the water. She understood what was going on.

Although it's built on a bridge, there are quite a lot of people here.

Putting aside the people in the village, there are many pedestrians crossing the bridge, and in addition to them, there are even many people who have come here to take photos, as if they regard the bridge and the village as a tourist attraction.

It was this gathering of people, along with their Pokémon, that made the place so lively.

When they reached the middle of the bridge, a commotion suddenly broke out ahead.

From afar, they could see a large group of people gathered there, forming a big circle that completely blocked the road to the other side. Inside the circle, it seemed that some Pokémon were battling, and the voices of trainers giving commands could be heard from time to time.

Several pedestrians, their faces beaming with excitement, hurried past them, stood outside the crowd, and tiptoed to peer inside.

"What's going on up ahead?" Xiao Guang asked, craning his neck curiously.

In a nearby shop, a shop owner overheard her words, took a puff of his cigarette, and chimed in, "You look like trainers, right? Then be careful, there's a 'roadblock' ahead, specifically there to stop trainers like you."

"A roadblock?" Xiao Guang blinked. "A block us? Why?"

The shop owner's tone revealed amusement, as if he were enjoying a good show: "That person is also a trainer. He came a long time ago and said that any trainer who wants to cross the bridge must fight him. Only by winning can they cross the bridge!"

Makomo raised an eyebrow: "Is that so?"

"Of course," the shop owner laughed. "And he's on a winning streak of over nine hundred! So far, no one has been able to beat him. The trainers he defeated either sneaked across when he wasn't around, had to turn back, or chose other ways to cross the river!"

"Over nine hundred consecutive wins?!"

Upon hearing such an exaggerated record, Xiao Guang gasped in astonishment, even doubting whether the shop owner was exaggerating!

Is it really possible for someone to achieve a winning streak of over 900 games?!

Even if Xia You has played over nine hundred matches in total, has he?

I can't believe it.

Actually, not to mention Xiao Guang, Xia You also became very curious after hearing about such an impressive record.

If someone achieves a hundred-game winning streak, he'll just laugh it off; it's no big deal. But a streak of over nine hundred, almost reaching a thousand, is something he'll have to see.

Besides, wasn't the shop owner's explanation quite clear?

Only by defeating that person can he cross the bridge smoothly. Therefore, even if it's just to cross the bridge, I will inevitably have to confront that person today.

Seeing the eager look on Xia You's face, Makomo warned, "Be careful. If it really is over nine hundred consecutive wins, then this person's strength is not to be underestimated."

Before Xia You could speak, Xiao Guang had already shaken his head.

"Who cares? No matter how many consecutive wins he achieves, he can't possibly be better than Brother Xia You! The reason he's on a winning streak until now is because he hasn't met Brother Xia You yet!"

Xiao Guang was that confident in Xia You, and just as she said, she firmly believed that Xia You was the strongest right now, and no matter what his nine hundred-plus-win streak was, he could never be Xia You's match!

As for this point, Yami naturally believed it too. Even Makomo wanted to say something like "better safe than sorry," but when she thought of Xia You's outstanding record, she shook her head and said no more.

Only the shop owner standing nearby chuckled when he saw the young girl making such boastful remarks.

"Actually, if you don't want to fight someone that strong, you can just take a detour. There's no need to lose face first and then lose substance."

In his opinion, with two adults and one child, and so many beautiful women accompanying him, Xia You didn't want to lose face in front of them, which is why he was so confident. But like the previous nine hundred or so challengers, he didn't think highly of this young man in front of him.

Despite how much this little girl idolized this man.

So his fate will probably be the same as the previous challengers: he will eventually be defeated and leave in disgrace.

If that really happens, it will be very embarrassing.

However, this had nothing to do with him. On the contrary, he was happy to see how this man would react when he was defeated, and what the female companions beside him would feel.

Because of his desire to watch the spectacle, he didn't say anything more, but simply watched the group of people walk towards the center of the bridge.

As Xia You and the others approached, before they even got close, they heard another burst of exclamations from the crowd.

"We lost again!"

"This is the fourth one in the last few days, isn't it!?"

"That's right, including this, it's already reached 947 consecutive wins, that's amazing!"

"Sigh, it seems no trainer will be able to cross the bridge today."

Hearing the cheers, Xia You and the others exchanged glances, then stepped into the crowd.

Although the crowd of onlookers seemed to have formed a circle, there were actually only about forty people, which made it easy for Xia You and the others to see what was inside the circle.

On the bridge in the very center, two male trainers stood facing each other.

The one closest to them, dressed in simple travel clothes and looking dejected, was clearly the challenger. At his feet lay a Crocodile, already unable to battle, being retrieved into its Poké Ball.

As for the other male trainer furthest away from him, judging from the arrogant expression on his face, it goes without saying that he was the trainer who blocked the bridge.

He was a rather burly man, around thirty years old, with bronze skin and a muscular physique that stretched his T-shirt taut. He stood with his arms crossed, a confident smile on his lips, looking down at the loser opposite him.

"You're still a long way off." His voice was deep and powerful, yet brimming with confidence. "Try for a few more years before trying again."

The challenger gritted his teeth but said nothing. He recalled his crocodile, lowered his head, and slipped out of the crowd.

"Anyone else want to cross the bridge?" The burly man's gaze swept over the crowd, a hint of provocation in his eyes. "I haven't had enough fun yet!"

A stir ran through the crowd, but no one volunteered to fight.

It can only be said that although there are many people looking forward to the spectacle, most of them are just attracted by the crowd. As for the trainers who actually want to cross the bridge, there are probably only five or six of them. And after witnessing the man's power, how could they dare to make any rash moves?

However, there were still some tough people. Even though they knew they couldn't beat them, before Xia You could speak, another person stood in front of the person blocking their way.

This forced Xia You to retract the leg she had already stepped out.

The obstacle looked the new challenger up and down, then nodded: "Very good. If you want to cross the bridge, defeat me. If you lose, you can challenge me again, or choose another way to cross the river!"

Just by looking at this man, Xia You could roughly tell why he had achieved such success.

Of course, this doesn't mean Xia You knows him. In fact, there's no such plot in the anime. This person blocking the way is just an unknown character.

But judging from his age and demeanor, it's easy to tell that he must be someone who has been traveling for many years.

How could someone like that, standing in the middle of the bridge, possibly lose against rookie trainers who are still traveling or who have just earned a few badges?

After all, those who are truly strong almost never need to take such a route.

In short, it was a combination of factors that led to the remarkable achievement of more than 900 consecutive wins.

Of course, this is also largely due to his own strong abilities. Without his own strength, he could not have accomplished these things, and this point must be recognized.

At this moment, the new challenger and the Pokémon blocking the way have already started fighting.

The Pokémon blocking the way is a Darmanitan.

They had seen this Pokémon before at the clock tower; it was the one that transformed into Daruma Mode and used psychic powers to lift the clock.

This Pokémon is very strong overall, even in the wild it is very powerful. It can be said that the Roadblock's success is largely due to this Pokémon.

Looking at the challenger's Pokémon, it's a Budding Deer, which is a very common Pokémon and relatively easy to catch, but it's not very common to see people using it in battle.

In terms of attributes, one of these Pokémon is Fire-type and the other is Normal-type, so they don't have any type advantage or disadvantage and can fight each other.

But this is only a theoretical possibility.

When the battle actually began, the Dharma baboon displayed formidable strength, almost completely overwhelming the budding deer. After only a few rounds, the deer was defeated by the Dharma baboon.

Seeing the challenger sheepishly pack up the sprouting deer and leave, the roadblock smiled again.

"948 consecutive wins! Anyone else want to challenge me?"

The crowd stirred again, and amidst this commotion, Xia You stepped forward and stood before the man.

“Very good, another challenger. It seems I’m getting even closer to my 1000-win streak!” The obstacle looked at Xia You. “The rules are the same as before: if you beat me, you pass; if you lose, you return the way you came. It’s that simple.”

Having already witnessed someone battle him, Xia You didn't say anything, but simply took out his Poké Ball.

"Alright, let me see if I can stop your winning streak."

The onlookers turned their heads, and countless eyes fell on him. Some were sympathetic, some were expectant, and some were just there to watch the show. Among them, only Yami, Makomo, and Hikaru had full confidence in him.