He knows Pokémon better than me.

"Oh, sure, I'll go to your hometown right after I go home."

Ash nodded. He hadn't been to the northeastern region of Galar yet. He had heard that the waters there were home to many Octopus Warriors who liked to strangle travelers and drag them into the water.

Moreover, it's located in the northeast.
If he remembered correctly, Master Ma's island, Kai Island, was located in the northeastern sea area, right?

"Hmm, after we finish exploring Spiketown, we can go to the Isle of Armor!"

Whether it's the evolution of his bear apprentice or the Articuno training there, he has to go.

Upon hearing this, Mary's eyes crinkled, and a faint smile appeared on her face.

After completing the Spiketown challenge, she'll have plenty of free time to train. She can even stay at Ash's Castle Ranch for a few days.
Just after finishing breakfast, Ash's Rotom phone vibrated. He took it out and saw that there was a World Championship matchmaking opponent nearby.

"Oh, there's an unexpected bonus?!"

Ash's eyes lit up. "Is the trainer in Mapletown skilled in Fairy-type Pokémon?"
He subconsciously clicked to accept the invitation before opening the other party's alliance card to check.

His name is "Omega", and he is currently ranked 369th in the Superball class. The photo shows a cool punk man of about seventeen or eighteen years old, with a nail-shaped haircut, a black leather jacket, and pink striped makeup on his face.

Ash frowned instantly. Isn't this the standard pose of Team Shout?
Among the more than 300 people in that cheering team, there were still such experts?
"Tsk, it's this person. Can't we cancel the match?"

Marie, who was standing nearby, noticed it too and immediately frowned in disgust, offering to help Ash cancel the battle.

The map displayed the message "The distance is less than 100 meters, and the battle cannot be canceled."

Xiao Zhi couldn't help but look towards the gate. Good heavens, they've come to ambush us since early morning, haven't they?
"Then I'll go tell them to leave. Why are they still doing this mess?"

Mary looked angry and tried to go outside to disperse the crowd.

However, Ash pressed down on Marie's shoulder, signaling her to calm down:
"Well, since I've already accepted, let's just have the fight. Besides, the Shout Team didn't do anything wrong; it was a normal challenge. I couldn't be happier!"

Ash grinned. The trainers he defeated on the outskirts of Motostoke a few days ago had boosted his ranking to 600th.

If we take down this opponent with a score of over 300, we can probably raise our score a little more.

He couldn't wait for the cheering team to get more skilled players, so they could directly push him to the advanced ball level!
Ash then pushed open the door and walked out of the Pokémon Center. However, even though he was used to big scenes, the scene outside still made him pause for a moment.

At this moment, a thin mist still lingered in the town of Wuzi, and the dense forest made it dark even in the early morning.

Yet, in this gloomy environment, there stood a dense crowd of delinquent teenagers, huddled together.

"Hehehe~" "Hehehe~" "Hehehe~"

They were all wearing sleeveless vests, studded bracelets and chokers, and all had bizarre hairstyles, but they were all dyed the same dark pink. They were grinning at him with a cold smile.

Xiaozhi: "."

It's a bit...eye-watering.

So it turns out that after watching the game yesterday, none of these people left, and they were just waiting to "hunt" him today!
The one leading the group was a trainer named Omega, with his arms crossed. He was indeed cool and handsome, with the air of a leader.

The premise is...
If he wasn't wearing a T-shirt with Mary's image on it as a support item!
This outfit completely ruined my cool and aloof vibe!

Omega made no attempt to hide his fandom, stepping forward to face Ash directly and coldly declaring war:
"You're Ash? Let's fight and decide who belongs to Marnie. I mean, decide the rankings for the World Championships!"

Upon seeing Mary's almost murderous gaze beside him, Omega quickly changed his lines, and his imposing manner instantly weakened.

"Well done! You taught this kid a lesson!"

"Let me show you, you out-of-towner, how powerful our cheerleader's leader is!" "Lady Mary belongs to us, hahaha!!"

Behind them, the cheering team members shouted and jeering, and many of them even blew horns and waved banners.

They're professionals at cheering!
Ash recognized several of the people standing at the front: Horned Ghost, High-pitched Prince, Blast General, and Melody—all sorts of fancy names. They were all members of Team Shout who had previously battled him in a series of challenges outside the castle.

However, these people are all at the Poké Ball level, and their strength is average. There is a big gap between them and the person ranked 369th in front of them.

"Then come on!"

Xiao Zhi nodded and stepped forward.

Beside her, Mary could only shrug and stop trying to stop him.

However, she chose to stand behind Ash, determined not to get involved with the densely packed cheering squad.

"Damn it, Miss Mary has become part of your support group! You little rascal!!"

This scene made Omega even angrier, grabbing his hair, wishing he could have a melee before the Pokémon battle.

Boo hoo hoo-!
In mid-air, the Rotom drone landed and loudly announced the referee's declaration:

"Beep! World Championship Super Ball Ranked Match: Omega, ranked 369th, versus Ash, ranked 679th! Both players can use two Pokémon! Now, please send out your first Pokémon!"

boom!boom!
The next moment, both sides had already thrown out their Poké Balls. Ash's starting Pokémon was the newly joined Galar fossil Pokémon, Dracovish!

Although it has just "hatched", its fighting power is already sufficient for Super Ball level battles.

On the other hand, Omega's starting lineup featured a squid king that looked quite sinister and dangerous.

"The King Squid?"

Ash raised an eyebrow. Coincidentally, he had just seen the new Mega Evolution of Malamar in the Pokédex yesterday, which seemed to have turned into an even more bizarre form.

The battle begins!
"Mental Blade!!"

Omega launched the first attack, with the Squid King waving its soft tentacles and shooting out two psychic slashes.

"Gill-shaped ichthyosaur, bite with your gills!"

The ichthyosaur opened its mouth wide, its serrated lower jaws gleaming with a deep blue light, and crushed the incoming energy slash in one bite, splashing out a lot of water.

"Then came the tidal vortex!!"

With its mouth still wet with moisture, Ash quickly gave the order, and the Dratini understood, tilting its head back and turning its body in place.

Splash! Splash!
The sprayed "water gun" gradually expands and extends due to rotation, forming a funnel-shaped water vortex.

"The flashy King Squid uses brute force!!"

Omega directly commanded the Squid King to launch a close-combat charge.

Brute force will reduce one's own attack and defense, but his Squid King has the opposite characteristic.

Each use of brute force actually increases physical attack and defense, making it a surprisingly useful move! (End of Chapter)