He knows Pokémon better than me.

"Phew, we almost crashed."

On the other side, Da Ye also breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't expect his old friend to have made such great progress in the past year. He must have put in a lot of effort behind the scenes.

The two exchanged a smile, and as longtime friends, they skipped the usual post-match handshake and each pulled out Rotom's phone to check something.

Today, Rotom mobile phones from the Galar region are also gradually gaining a foothold in overseas markets.

"Uh, is it still 99th?"

Denji wasn't surprised by this, since losing to someone ranked ninth meant it was unlikely he'd drop in the rankings.

"Oh no, how did I become tenth!"

Da Ye vigorously rubbed his afro and exclaimed in surprise.

That shouldn't be the case. He clearly won. Although he didn't expect to return to the top eight, it shouldn't have caused him to drop in the rankings, right?
"It must have been a coincidence that someone else made it into the top eight around the same time, right?"

Dianci walked over and analyzed.

Da Ye's ranking naturally dropped another place.

Upon hearing this, Da Ye could only helplessly put his phone away, secretly troubled. Last year, he had already barely made it into the top eight.

This year, the Galar League even created a "Top Eight" gimmick, and it's said that their regional champion, Cynthia, has already indicated that she will participate. It will be a bit difficult to make it into the top eight this year.

It's going to be tough just to stay in the top ten!
"Let's go, this is none of our business anymore."

Denji chuckled lightly, his mood seemingly unaffected by the defeat.

He didn't participate in last year's World Championships and didn't know how dangerous the top ranks were, so he wasn't too worried.

As today's competition concluded, the people on the overpass gradually left, some in small groups discussing tomorrow's World Championships with great enthusiasm.

I feel this is more interesting than the Grand Contest.

At this moment, Daiya and Denji also noticed Ash and his friends, so they came over.

"Hey Ash, you've come to the Sinnoh region too?"

Da Ye was the first to greet them, and was immediately taken aback when he learned that Xiao Zhi was there to attend tomorrow's seaside festival.

He knows Ash's strength; he's so strong and he's only at the Poké Ball level?
"Wait a minute, if Ash is going to participate too, won't I drop another place?!"

Da Ye rubbed his afro vigorously, feeling an itch on his scalp, and suddenly wanted to get a clean buzz cut.

"Shinji, I heard that your seaside dojo is doing quite well lately?"

Meanwhile, Denji and Shinji, the former and current gym leaders, were exchanging ideas. The reputation of the Seaside Gym had plummeted due to Denji's poor performance.
However, in the past year, its reputation seems to have returned to the position of "Sinnoh's highest quality gym".

Even for this festival, no other dojo was qualified; instead, the Binhai Dojo was awarded the right to host it.

Shinji nodded, but his expression remained unchanged, and he said slowly:

"Yes, but the dojo still has some issues."

"Oh? Tell me about it."

So the four of them split into two groups and walked down the overpass side by side, each chatting on their own, leaving Ah Xun behind like a ghost.

"Hey! Does nobody care about me?"

Ah Xun quickly caught up, eager to find a topic to talk about:
"By the way, do you guys know about the Battle Frontier?"

However, none of the four people were very interested in the battle zone and none of them turned around to answer.

Ah Xun grew increasingly furious; these guys were all going to be fined!!
Just then, a hand landed on Ah Xun's shoulder, and a surprised voice came from beside him:

"Hey, the Battle Frontier Zone? Do you know a lot about that place?"

Ash turned around and saw a boy with fiery red hair tied in a topknot, even his eyebrows were red. "My name is Michael, and I've been training in the Sinnoh Battle Frontier~ I came here because I heard there was a Seaside Festival."

Michael grinned and, without saying a word, pulled Ah Xun aside to chat about the Battle Frontier.

Ah Xun then perked up, finally finding a kindred spirit, and immediately beamed with joy as he put his arm around the latter's shoulder.

"Hey, is that Ash Ketchum next to my brother?"

However, Michael also noticed that the Fire Elite Four member, Big Leaf, was his older brother, and Ash, who was standing next to him, had temporarily teamed up with him when Ash passed through the Sinnoh Battle Frontier years ago.

"By the way, how many battle facilities have you cleared yet?"

When Ah Xun asked him a question, Michael looked away and replied:

"Battle facilities? I'm not going to challenge those~"

Upon hearing this, Ah Xun was taken aback and asked in return:
"Not challenging the battle facilities? Then what are you doing there?"

"Oh, I recently subdued a Heatran there."

Ah Xun: ".?"

Is this another mythical beast-like man?!

That night, Ash didn't stay at the Pokémon Center, but instead went straight to the Seaside Gym.

"Thanks, Shinji, for even providing accommodation!"

As they entered the gym together, Ash looked around with curiosity and thanked them.

"Hmph, anyway, there are plenty of empty rooms in the dojo."

Shinji gave a soft snort, his expression remaining cold and stern.

The last time I visited the Seaside Dojo, the interior design and layout were very much for an engineering student, with mechanical devices and cables everywhere, much like the Miare Dojo in Citron.

Denji is not only a trainer, but also an excellent engineer.

"There have been quite a few changes."

Ash couldn't help but sigh. Shinji didn't have much interest in science and engineering. After taking over as Gym Leader, he carried out a major overhaul of the Gym, clearing out all the useless things and focusing on simplicity and functionality.

The original electronic equipment has been transformed into training rooms, filled with all sorts of exercise equipment.

Wow, they're quite professional!

Ash took a quick look around, and through the transparent glass he could see what was inside. Along the way, he saw Shinji's signature Pokémon such as Electivire, Magmortar, Drapion, Ursaring, and Torterra, all of which looked much stronger than they had been back then.

It seems that not only the old Pokémon were caught, but also many new Pokémon from various regions, including even some from the Galar region.

Being in the same room as the Duckbill Flame Beast, constantly enduring its intense heat, with the coal pile above its head glowing red-hot, it was clearly undergoing high-intensity heat resistance training.

"Wow, isn't that a giant coal mountain?"

Xiao Zhi couldn't help but exclaim with delight.

Shinji replied matter-of-factly:
"Catching various types of powerful Pokémon and undergoing rigorous training are the most basic requirements for a trainer."

But just as he reached the innermost cubicle, Xiaozhi suddenly stopped.

His eye twitched as he looked at the five or six familiar yellow figures inside. He couldn't help but turn his head to look at Shinji, a strange expression on his face.

"These Pikachu are also?"

The Pikachu weren't training; they were just chasing and playing around inside.

Shinji blushed slightly, but his tone remained calm:
"Hmph, these common stray dogs. I just happened to run into them and tamed a few of them." (End of Chapter)