He knows Pokémon better than me.

"Pica~!"

Pikachu landed steadily on King Magikarp's belly and began to steal.

The boss's size made its belly resemble a small boat, so there was no need to worry about it sinking.

"As expected, one needs to have a wide range of skills."

Ash remarked that Pikachu might have to put in some effort with other moves, but with Grass Knot, it could easily defeat it.

He patted the Steelraven's neck and landed on the nest island in the middle of the lake, where there was an entrance to a cave leading underground.

"Does Acrylonitrile have waveguides?"

I explored the cave entrance using the Aura Pathfinder, but didn't sense anything. There were no Azelf or other wild Pokémon deep inside the cave.

That makes sense. The three legendary mushrooms in the Sinnoh region don't actually live at the bottom of the lake, but rather in an alternate dimension at the bottom of the lake, so it's normal that Aura can't detect them.

They arrived and saw Pikachu return with four Master Seeds. Ash accepted them and went down into the cave to investigate.

After passing through a long, narrow, dark tunnel, at the bottom is a spacious cave chamber.

"Pica~"

With Pikachu activating its flash, the field of vision becomes clear—

This is a damp cave pit with an uneven surface and many low-lying areas filled with water.

Apart from that, it was empty, with no space leading to another dimension, and no props in the corner.

"Huh? Isn't Arknom home?"

Ash raised an eyebrow and looked around. He noticed some holes in the surrounding rock walls, with piles of rubble below, as if they had been damaged by some powerful attack.

He picked up a few pieces of pebbles.

"Hmm, did it only fall down recently?"

After exploring the cave further, they found some signs of a battle on the ground, suggesting that a fierce battle had taken place there not long ago.

"In this era, who would deliberately come here to fight Arknom?"

He scratched his head in confusion. Could it be the Vajra settlement adjacent to the lake?
That shouldn't be the case. Team Kong should be like Team Pearl. While they might not have the same exaggerated faith in the Three Musketeers as they do in "Sinnoh Grandmaster," they should at least maintain a peaceful relationship with them.

"Could it be Mr. Wang Luo?"

Xiao Zhi remembered the man who had secretly followed him during the day.

As everyone knows, once a legendary Pokémon's den is captured, it won't leave you with even a single Poké Ball. Ash had no choice but to return to the surface.

Besides Mr. Wang Luo, the mastermind behind everything, are there any other "big villains" in this world?

Ash yawned as the rain caused by the Magikarp ended and he hopped back onto the Corviknight that was lying at the cave entrance.

In short, all the boss Pokémon in Cinnabar Wetlands have now been defeated, and I can finally go back to the village to sleep.

Of course, he only stole the Master Seeds from most of these boss Pokémon, without taming them. So other Green Mage can still continue to challenge them.

However, next time, they might be facing a second playthrough with an even more ferocious boss Pokémon.

Before they had even fully flown out of Lake Lizhi, Ash suddenly heard a shout coming from the shore in the distance.

"Hey! Mr. Guo Gang, long time no see!"

He looked down and saw a handsome man in a dark blue robe waving at him in the darkness.

It was none other than Kongo Team's leader, Kongo Stone.

"Huh? Mr. Rockstone?" Ash was stunned for a moment, then quickly realized that the commotion from the battle with the Magikarp and the sudden rain meant that a fierce battle had obviously taken place here.

However, he was still in his original form. Ash immediately released Zoroark, and as he landed on Corviknight, he transformed into the appearance of Blackie from the Ginkgo Merchant Guild.

Having come all this way, how did Mr. Golem recognize himself?
"Haha, it really is Mr. Guogang! Although I've never seen a bird-shaped Pokémon before, and I can't see the person on its back clearly, I recognized you when I saw a majestic Pikachu standing on its head!"

Upon seeing Ash land, Rockstone rushed over, grinning broadly and laughing heartily, clearly showing great affection for Ash.

Especially the knowledge Ash previously demonstrated, including Pokémon battles.
The diamond is extremely sensitive to time, and it's almost certain that Ash's understanding of Pokémon is ahead of its time!

Now, every time he sees Ash, it's as if he's seeing a treasure trove waiting to be explored.

"Hehehe."

Seeing the intense gaze directed at him, Xiao Zhi chuckled awkwardly and scratched his head.

How come her eyes look so much like a pearl shell? She looks like she wants to eat me up right now!
"By the way, Mr. Gangshi, why are you still up so late?"

He had no choice but to forcibly change the subject.

"Oh, I am the leader of the Kongo team. If anything happens around here, you must come and check it out immediately."

Gangshi calmed his emotions slightly; his personality was more mature than Zhubei's.

His gaze then fell on the lake beside him, which had long since returned to calm, and he continued:
"Besides, things haven't been very peaceful at Lizhi Lake lately. We need to be on guard here frequently against Mr. Guo Gang. Why are you suddenly here?"

Ash replied quite calmly:

"I need some Mastery Seeds lately, but the probability of wild Pokémon carrying them is too low, so I'm challenging the boss Pokémon around here."

Seeing that Golem's expression was normal, Ash breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems that this boss, the Catfish King, is not an object of worship for the Kongo Team.

That's true. Team Kong and Team Pearl only care about their Sinnoh Grandmaster and the King who has obtained the power of Sinnoh Grandmaster. Everything else is secondary.

"I see."

Having battled Ash once before, Rockstone had witnessed Ash's battle prowess and was determined that although the boss of Lake, the Magikarp, was fierce, it shouldn't be a big problem for him.

However, since Ash had come all this way, Rockstone's eyes lit up, and he immediately extended an invitation:
"By the way! It's already past midnight, Mr. Guo Gang, why don't you stay at our King Kong settlement tonight?"

"The climate here is warm, and there's plenty of water and food. It's much more livable than places like the Pearl Village!"

"Why don't you just stay at my place? It's big enough!"

Ash's heart skipped a beat. At that moment, the way Gorilla was looking at him was exactly the same as how Shellder looked at him—

It seems like they're going to drain themselves dry again!

However, he had not yet visited the Vajra Settlement, and he was still very interested in this stronghold of the third force of Xicui.

I'm tired from flying today, so I'll just rest here for a bit.

"In that case, I'll take my leave."

"Haha, no problem, no problem!"

Gangshi immediately led the way with great enthusiasm, walking westward along the lakeside until they came to a flat area with a wide view, where the Gangshi settlement came into view.

Like the Pearl Settlement, it can only be considered a settlement, not a complete village like Zhuqing Village.

The charcoal-black wooden houses were scattered all around, each topped with a triangular, sloping thatched roof, as if the houses were all wearing straw hats or cloaks. (End of Chapter)