He knows Pokémon better than me.

Following Bei Shang's gesture, Xiao Zhi looked up and saw a Pokémon standing on a cliff platform tens of meters high.

It was slender but nearly three meters tall, with gray-blue fur that resembled a poisoned body, bearing some sickly purple markings.

One ear hangs down like a long, thin ribbon, and its two claws are exceptionally thick and long, red and purple in color, with venom between them.

"The giant Sneasel?"

Ash recognized it; he had seen this Pokémon in the Ninja Village of the Kalos region before. It was the unique evolved form of Sneasel.

But the one halfway up the mountain is much bigger than he remembered, isn't it?
Xiao Guang then took out his encyclopedia:

"Sneasel, a Fighting/Poison type, generally lives in cold mountainous areas and prefers to act alone. Its powerful claws can not only deliver a deadly venomous blow, but also easily carry its trainer up steep cliffs."

Bei Shang introduced with a smile:
"To fully ascend Mount Tianguan, you'll need to rely on the climbing abilities of the giant slug!"

This giant Sneasel is the king that their Pearl Team serves.

Ash was puzzled but impressed. Although the mountain looked very high, it should be easy to get up there with the help of Pokémon's flying ability, right?
However, Hikaru could understand Kitashō's thoughts—

The choice of which vehicle to use for which terrain is a unique characteristic of the Xicui people.

Then Xiao Guang took out a simple, bluish-gray flute.

The Divine Flute is a special tool used by the Washermen to communicate with their mounts.

To gain the approval of the kings of Xicui, one does not need to be strong in battle, but rather to play the flute and communicate with them emotionally through music, thus gaining their approval.

Xiao Guang, for example, has already gained the approval of three kings: the Strange Horned Deer, the Moon Bear, and the Ghost Tail Fish, so he's quite adept at it.

"dudu~"

As the melodious sound of the Divine Flute spread, Big Niu La squinted and carefully examined Xiao Guang.

After the song ended, he leaped down and stood in front of Xiao Guang, feeling a bit more at ease.

"Please take care of me from now on, Big Sneasel!"

Xiao Guang smiled and stretched out his palm towards Da Niu. The two formed a bond in a very short time.

"Uh, is this the rule in the Xicui area?"

Xiao Zhi watched in stunned silence.

Bei Shang then added:
"Xiao Guang has gained the approval of the Great Sneasel King. From now on, as long as he blows the flute anywhere, the Great Sneasels living nearby will come close immediately to provide climbing assistance."

Of course, giant vipers generally only inhabit mountainous areas.
Playing the flute on the coast or grassland won't do much good.

"Nuira!!"

Without a word, Da Niu La suddenly picked up Xiao Guang, and a wooden box appeared behind him at some point, which he then stuffed Xiao Guang into.

As if worried that the latter would get sunburned, the wooden box was sealed tightly, with only a small gap left, through which only half of the face could be seen.

Xiao Guang: "0_0"

The giant snail then turned around, its grappling hooks alternately embedding themselves into the rock face, and began to climb nimbly. Within seconds, it had reached the top of a cliff tens of meters high.

"Is this the unique Pokémon Climbing ability of Washgreen?"

Ash watched in amazement from below. As the king, Sneasel was quite intelligent. Halfway up the mountain, it suddenly raised its head and let out a loud roar.

"Nura!" "Nura!"

Before long, two more large Sneasels swiftly descended from the distant mountain peaks—though they were smaller and carried simple wooden baskets instead of sturdy wooden boxes, landing in front of the two.

"Shōshī, let's go up too."

Bei Shang first demonstrated by flipping himself into the bamboo basket and standing upright, and the big snail immediately began to climb upwards quickly.

It looks kind of interesting?
Xiao Zhi followed suit and also climbed into the bamboo basket:
"Then please guide me, Big Sneasel!"

"Nura~!"

Despite its fierce appearance and venomous claws, the Great Sneasel is surprisingly friendly and climbs up just as quickly.

The movement is quick, but not very bumpy.

Before long, the three of them reached the top of the cliff.

On the top of the adjacent mountain peak, the outline of a dilapidated temple could already be seen. However, that was not their destination.

The three of them did not get off the giant snails' backs, but continued to let them carry them and walk side by side.

There are still many rock climbing sections ahead, but even on the ground, the Great Sneasel can serve as a vehicle.
However, it's not as fast as the horned deer.

"Next, we need to keep heading west, bypassing the Ancient Cave, and go up from the Prayer Plaza to reach our destination!"

Bei Shang explained that it would take half a day to walk through the ancient cave.

Although you can dig up quite a few Pokémon fossils in the cave, the priority now is to calm down the rampaging king.

By using Pokémon to climb the cliff, you can bypass the Ancient Cave from the outside.

Bei Shang watched Xiao Guang and Xiao Zhi swiping on their phone maps, and a wave of familiar memories washed over him.

Ash looked down at the map; they were currently on the southern side of the foothills of Mt. Coronet.

It takes a long detour from east to west to reach the Moon-Welcoming Battlefield where the Cave King is located.

Of course, this is Dawn's task. He is more concerned about the boss Pokémon living at the foot of Mt. Coronet!

Unfortunately, this is not the stronghold of the three major forces in Xicui, so there is basically no information about the distribution of their leaders.

"Ash, do you want to challenge the boss? I've memorized quite a few positions over the past two years."

Other people might not understand the purpose of Rotom's phone at all, but Bei Shang still had a lot of memories about phones in his mind, so he immediately understood Xiao Zhi's idea.

Please ask Sneasel to get close to Ash's location, take the phone from the basket, and mark it in your hand—

Typing and marking are familiar to everyone.

The once empty map suddenly had a lot more information about the distribution of leaders.

In addition, the three major powers rarely come to develop this area, so the boss Pokémon are mostly unchallenged and numerous.

For example, the strongest boss they had heard of before, the quasi-god-like Nume Dragon with the appearance of a green-haired dragon, was located directly south of where they were, in a low-lying swamp.

Even as they rode Sneasel from east to west, Ash spotted the leaders Gliscor and Nosegate hovering in mid-air above the adjacent mountain peaks on either side, seemingly on patrol.

There was also a level 2 pseudo-legendary Garchomp, and a Super Armored Rhyperior that was training by pounding on a rock wall.
However, the closest boss, Scorpion King, seems to have already been tamed?
pity!

"Hmm! After I've dealt with Dawn's matter, I'll steal all these boss Pokémon!"

Xiao Zhi made up his mind; these guys looked much stronger than the ones he'd encountered in the Crimson Wetlands! (End of Chapter)