He knows Pokémon better than me.

At night, the deep darkness, like a giant curtain, quietly enveloped the entire Xicui area.

Dark clouds obscured the moon, and the rustling of leaves occasionally drifted through the jungle. In the distance, eerie cries or howls of wolves could be heard.

At this moment, Ash was lying on the back slope in front of the gate, looking towards the direction of the guards at the gate.

The Xicui area should be more dangerous at night, so the number of guards has been increased from two during the day to four. Two people stand on the watchtower, and the other two hold torches and guard below.

The gate was also tightly closed, so the specific situation inside the village could not be seen.

Hearing the distant howls of wolves, Zoroark beside him raised his head, ready to respond with a howl of its own.

"Awoooooo!"

Before it could even open its mouth, Ash immediately shut its pointed fox mouth shut:

"Don't shout, don't shout! You're a fox, what are you responding to? You'll attract everyone else!"

"Solo."

Zoroark looked at him with a pitiful expression, his will-o'-the-wisps of purple hair swaying unhappily.

It didn't want to, but coming to this area always gave it a strange restlessness, making it want to passionately chat at night like a Lycan.

"Let's get down to business first. See him? That's the guy."

Looking up from the earthen slope, Xiao Zhi pointed to one of the guards from Zhuqing Village.

Zoroark immediately composed itself, nodded, and then its entire body began to float and blur like gas, expanding its range and enveloping Ash in the blurry effect as well.

In the blink of an eye, Ash's appearance had completely changed.

He has now changed into a set of reddish-brown travel clothes, straw sandals, and a bamboo hat, just like the ones worn by the Green Guards!

"That's really peculiar!"

He touched his forehead in surprise. He could clearly see that he was wearing a straw hat, but his hand went straight through the brim without him feeling anything.

Zoroark's ability: Illusion!

It has the ability to disguise itself as a Pokémon in the same team, but as Zoroark has mastered this ability more deeply, it can now extend the range of its illusions to three meters, causing the appearance of other objects in the surrounding area to also change.

Of course, it's still just a visual distortion.

Furthermore, the threshold for interruption has been increased!
Minor attacks like sandstorms and hailstorms do not break Zoroark's illusionary disguise.

"Pickup?"

Pikachu remained perched on Ash's shoulder, curiously clutching his "straw hat," but its little hands strangely pierced through it.

"Stop playing around with Pikachu, let's get started!"

Ash looked at Zoroark, who understood and gave a strange smile before his body "floated" again, and soon disappeared from the spot.

"This feature is really convenient!"

Ash couldn't help but marvel that Zoroark, after fully mastering the power of its ability, could even achieve the effect of making itself invisible.

This is quite useful in battle!

However, it's not yet possible to make Ash and Pikachu invisible together.

No problem. As a guardian of the Jadeite, carrying a common electric mouse shouldn't be conspicuous.

From then on, as long as Zoroark was within three meters of him, he could maintain his Green Guard attire.

Well, since the opposing team wasn't the Rockets, he couldn't just drag the guard into the bushes, knock him unconscious, and forcibly strip him of his clothes to put on him.

"OK."

Xiao Zhi then bent down and circled around to the side of Zhuqing Village. The area was overgrown with weeds, unguarded, and the simple wooden wall was only about three meters high. *Thud!*
He was agile and quick, using his right foot to push off and climb onto the edge of the wall, easily flipping over it.

After landing, it rolled around like a pickpocket cat, moving nimbly and silently, and easily blended into the interior of Zhuqing Village!

"Is this the village in the Xicui area?"

Once fully integrated, Ash was able to clearly see the entire village.

The rows of neat wooden bungalows can be roughly divided into two categories: red-roofed and green-roofed.

The outside light was dim, with only moonlight and scattered torches illuminating the streets. As a result, the villagers rarely went out at night, and there was little nightlife, making the streets seem particularly deserted.

Every household had lit candles through their paper windows, and laughter could be heard from inside from time to time.

"It feels so peaceful~"

Xiao Zhi looked around, marveling at the sight.

So he straightened his chest; now that he was a guard, he needed to have the bearing of a seasoned soldier.

However, at each street fork and wooden bridge checkpoint, a village guard stood watch, and the security was quite tight.

In particular, when Ash crossed a wooden bridge, one of the guards stared at him.

After Ash silently repeated "I am Farfetch'd" a few times, the other party simply nodded politely but did not come forward to question him.

Not only members of the Survey Corps are allowed to leave Zhuqing Village, but also many guards—

The village has built temporary bases in many places in the Xicui area to provide members of the Survey Corps with rest and storage for supplies. These places also require a lot of guards.

"Bringing Pokémon? Are you a senior from the outer outpost?"

The wooden bridge guard gazed longingly at Ash's retreating figure.

Xiao Zhi breathed a sigh of relief and continued walking forward, occasionally glancing at the surrounding houses.
They all look the same!

Where will Xiaoguang live?

Or did he become a member of the Survey Corps and go out there now?

Xiao Zhi was at a loss and could only look around to see if he could get lucky.

Continue walking until you reach the end of this road, and a strange building comes into view—

This is a building resembling a villa, about three or four stories high, constructed of brick and tile, occupying a huge area, and is significantly more impressive than the wooden houses we saw before.

"It looks like a research institute or a museum."

Xiao Zhi approached curiously. Several chimneys protruded from the roof of the building, slowly emitting black smoke. He wondered what they were burning.

There are steps in front of the gate, and a guard is standing there on duty.

"This must be the most important place in Zhuqing Village, right?"

The building's facade also features a huge sign with a golden design.

"It looks familiar. I feel like I've seen it somewhere before?"

It looks somewhat like the old Team Galactic logo, with the gold letter "G". But the logo in front of us is several gold Gs mixed together?
Ash then looked around and saw a main road leading out of the village on his right, with similar wooden houses built on both sides.

To his left was a place that resembled a training arena, which piqued his interest.

Otherwise, there's nothing special about the whole village; the buildings all look pretty much the same.

At that moment, the villa's main gate suddenly opened.

Ash immediately stepped to the edge of the fork in the road, his face tense, chest puffed out. There were no guards at this intersection yet, so he could blend in perfectly. (End of Chapter)