He knows Pokémon better than me.

Uxie, one of the three lake gods of Sinnoh, symbolizes knowledge.

Pfft!

Despite the cold, Yuxie, who had fallen into the water, immediately leaped out of the water and flew to the same height as Ash, almost touching him.

It squinted, staring intently at Ash's dark face.

Did this human just see himself?

Yuxie tried to wag its long, thin tail, and Ash, not understanding what was happening, followed the tail's movement with his eyes.

Sure enough, it was Lake God Yukshi of Wise Lake, with a yellow head slicked back, a red gemstone embedded in his forehead, and eyes that were only slits, his appearance and temperament somewhat similar to Teacher Gang.

What puzzled him even more was that Zhubei was still peering down from the edge of the wooden bridge, looking on in surprise and doubt:
"Huh, did something fall into the water?"

Ash frowned. Could it be that the others couldn't see Uxie?
"Right."

He quickly remembered that he, Dawn, and Brock had encountered the three Lacus Citadels when they were traveling in the Sinnoh region, and they all had unique invisibility abilities.

Uxie's squinty eyes still held a hint of wisdom. After taking a closer look, it immediately saw through Zoroark's illusion ability and saw Ash's true appearance.

"Yuke."

Yukeshi was instantly disappointed. The first person in all these years who could see through his invisibility was actually someone with thick eyebrows and big eyes?!

It still prefers Zoroark's squinty-eyed appearance when it's disguised.

Thinking of this, Yu Kexi leaped into the air, his figure gradually disappearing into the night.

Unlike the other two lake gods, who usually slept in their lake caves and remained detached from worldly affairs, Yukshi, who symbolizes knowledge, was very curious about human activities.

Every night, it floats down the waters of Wise Lake, then hides in the shadows to observe the people of the Pearl Village.

"have they gone?"

Ash scratched his head; he thought he had just seen Uxie look disappointed.

In modern times, Xiao Gang and Yu Kexi share the same sexual fetishes, and Xiao Gang even tamed Yu Kexi.
I don't know if it's the same one.

"Hmm? I don't see anything."

Pearl was still craning her neck to look down from the wooden bridge; almost half of her body was sticking out.

"There's nothing there, probably just ice fragments."

Xiao Zhi quickly pulled it back.

So Zhubei lost interest and led the way, her gaze unintentionally drifting toward the source of Wisdom Lake.

When she was little, she had heard her seniors in Team Pearl mention that legendary Pokémon lived beneath the lake.

Only a clever and knowledgeable genius could see it, yet the pearl oyster, despite its size, never saw it once.

Am I not a genius?!

After crossing the wooden bridge, the Pearl Village comes into view.

Xiao Zhi originally thought it was similar to Zhuqing Village, where houses were built together, only smaller in scale and without wooden walls around them, but that was not the case.

This is an area of ​​snow slopes of varying heights, with a thick layer of snow covering the ground. The houses in the Pearl Village are made of leather and resemble pointed tents with conical tops.

The houses are not clustered together, but scattered in twos and threes. Some are built on the nearby high slopes, while others are in the open square below, emphasizing a free and unrestrained style.

Looking around, there were about a dozen tents in total, and the number of people was not small.

Even at night, you can still see many people wearing thick light purple leather jackets or sweaters, with the Pearl Team logo embroidered on their chests.

"It's a pearl shell!"

"The leader is back!" "Everyone, come out quickly!!"

As soon as Zhu Bei returned, the surrounding area became noisy, and many people poured out of the house, surrounding Zhu Bei and talking amongst themselves.

Zhubei also put away her usual willful and capricious emotions, her little face tense, revealing the temperament of a leader.

"I'm back. Also, this is my friend Guo Gang, he'll be staying here for a while!"

The people of Pearl Village weren't too surprised, since there were five or six members of the Ginkgo Merchant Guild also temporarily stationed here.

Of course, it wasn't inside the pearl settlement, but rather stationed separately nearby.

Then Pearl turned to look at Ash:

"You can stay there for the next few days! I'll report the situation to the team first, and then I'll come find you later."

Zhubei hesitated for a moment, then pointed to a tent in the center of the square. Xiaozhi, without suspicion, walked over. It was really a bit cold; even the newbies were finding it hard to stand.

The pearls are clustered in the heart of the pure white permafrost, where the temperature is estimated to be above minus ten degrees Celsius most of the time.

I need to find someone from the Pearl Team and borrow a piece of clothing to wear!
Zhu Bei then recounted her experiences along the way to the people around her:

"Don't worry, Kiku and Scizor are fine, and Grandma Yupu and Ushiru's problems have been resolved as well."

On the other side, Ash entered the tent and discovered that the space inside was actually quite large.

The tent was supported by a wooden frame, making it very sturdy and unlikely to be overturned even in a blizzard.

The floor is covered with wood flooring, but it creaks when you walk on it. There are two bunk beds on the left, with mattresses already made up.

A Flareon and an Espeon were lying on the bed below. When they saw a stranger enter, they both raised their tails and stood on guard.

"Are these the other two Eevee dogs that Zhubei is raising?"

Ash remembered that Pearl had asked him about the characteristics of his team before.

"Ice-e~"

No problem. Zhubei specifically let Glaceon come in with Ash. Ash let out a low growl, and the two Eevee on the bed lowered their tails and showed no hostility when they saw their companion.

Instead, he jumped out of bed and rushed out the door to look for pearls.

"Wow, she's so lively!"

Ash smiled and then looked around the room. On the wall directly in front of him was a scroll with the Team Pearl logo, and below it were densely packed, incomprehensible characters.

"Ok?"

Ash raised an eyebrow. Was this Tamamo's room? He also noticed that Tamamo wore the same red and white wide belt and bandana.

The Pearl Team leader's room seemed to be quite important; in addition to the team emblem scroll hanging on the wall, there were also portraits of the team members on both sides.

It looked somewhat familiar, so Xiao Zhi couldn't help but walk closer to take a closer look—

The portrait on the left depicts a burly man with orange-red hair, his hair standing on end like a lion's, and a green cloak, giving him a rather rugged appearance.

"He looks a bit like Mr. Aldeck?"

Ash raised an eyebrow. Could he be the founder of Team Pearl?
He then looked at the portrait on the other side, this time a middle-aged man with a buzz cut and a raised eyebrow, looking fierce and imposing.

They were also wearing extremely large white clothing, similar to a spacesuit or diving suit.

"Hmm? This person looks familiar..."

Ash scratched his head, as if he'd seen it somewhere before. (End of Chapter)