He knows Pokémon better than me.

After resting for half an hour in Waterport Town, Ash bid farewell to Lyrina and once again mounted Lapras's back to set sail.

Heading south, the land along the way turned into a continuous stretch of low mountains, which was the Galler II Mine we had passed earlier.

"We're almost home."

Ash glanced at the map and sighed.

The distance isn't far, and even though we have to stop and go along the way to wait for the Gillfish Dragon and the Dragonfish, about half a day should be enough.

"Bari~!"

Mr. Mime stands at the very front of Lapras's back, pointing his large hand like a lookout.

Bypassing the second mine, you'll find the Mechan River, which runs through the central part of the Galer region.

Since it is not a high-altitude river and the terrain is flat, there are no turbulent waves at the estuary, and there is no need to "climb waterfalls" to go upstream.

"Lap—!"

Chenglong let out a melodious high-pitched cry as a brief reminder, and then officially flowed upstream into the Jiqing River.

The north bank is a continuous stretch of low-lying mines, while the south bank is a primeval forest area that is not even marked on the map.

It wasn't until they saw the magnificent stone bridge spanning across the city and connecting the second mine, with a strange and thick fog swirling beneath it, that the sense of familiarity returned.

"We've finally arrived!"

Ash stood up from Lapras's back; this was the dividing line between the northern and southern regions of the Wild Area.

He remembered the huge archway beneath the stone bridge, and the strange, wicked Gardevoir there.

Sure enough, as soon as they approached the area, they saw a pale blue figure looking in their direction.

In the hazy mist, the figure resembled an older sister in a white dress. This startled Ash, who quickly urged Lapras to swim towards the south bank of the river.

That's too weird.

He wondered if it was just his imagination, but he thought he heard Gengar laughing.
"Thank you for your hard work~"

Once ashore, Ash retrieved Lapras and quickened his pace.

Lake Minas and Lake Reverse Scale along the way remained beautiful, and it seemed that nothing had happened.

"Wait a minute, over there?!"

Ash suddenly stopped and looked in the direction of the watchtower.

There seems to be a battle going on over there, and it's quite intense.

Has someone broken into his watchtower?

"Bari, bari!!"

The Mr. Mime had already run up quickly, his face full of anger. How dare someone come and cause trouble while he was away!

"Don't rush."

Xiao Zhi offered a word of comfort and quickened his pace as well.

After all, with Lucario watching over the watchtower, it can withstand even the strongest enemies.

When they got within a hundred meters, Ash's eyes narrowed as his aura connected with Lucario's.

However, the opponent's waveguide was calm and they were not engaged in combat.

Upon reaching the watchtower, the two finally saw the two sides engaged in battle—

On the open ground in front of the watchtower, to the right is Shemi, who has now transformed into the form of the sky after smelling the pollen.

It hovers steadily in mid-air with the small wings on both sides of its forehead, its expression confident, like a white and green deer ready to charge at any moment.

This means we're entering battle mode!

"What Pokémon is that?"

Ash's gaze fell on Shaymin's opponent, a jet-black ape standing upright with spider-like gray markings on its chest. Vines coiled around its slender arms, and it had a black face with fangs and fur growing sideways with sharp, spiky edges.

With white eye markings, red eye sockets, and yellow pupils, he looked as terrifying as someone wearing a fierce, savage mask.

"What kind of Pokémon is this?"

Ash raised an eyebrow. This was the first time he had ever seen such a fierce ape-type Pokémon. Was it a native monkey from Galar?
Not only the two facing off, but Lucario was also standing by with his arms crossed, watching coldly.

Even the dragon baruto from the Reverse Scale Lake came and floated around to watch.

"What happened?"

Ash and Mr. Mime quickly gathered around, curiously watching.

Lucario naturally sensed Ash's aura as well, and was not surprised. While calmly watching the two sides confronting each other, it transmitted its aura to Ash to communicate.

Lucario's telepathic abilities are not as good as Marcia's; they are clumsy and incoherent.

However, as a fellow Aura user, Ash could easily understand the former's meaning.

"Uh, you don't know the origin of this Pokémon either?"

According to Lucario's description, the black ape suddenly appeared near the castle in the past few days and has been spying on it from a distance.

If it doesn't get close, it naturally ignores it.

Today, the black ape seemed to have finally had enough. It jumped to the top of the observation tower, bared its teeth, and bared its bared teeth, demanding that they hand over their treasure.

Does it look like it wants to become king of the mountain?

Lucario, of course, could not tolerate this.

However, being a Grass-type, Shaymin volunteered this time, intending to teach this unfamiliar monkey a lesson.

"Ruto~"

Beside him, Dorombalto let out a low growl.

It sensed a powerful Pokémon appearing near the watchtower and came to check it out. If it's an invincible opponent, it can even help hold it off.

She's completely transformed into a warm and kind neighbor auntie!

"I see."

Xiao Zhi's eyes lit up immediately. He hadn't expected to see such a good show as soon as he got home.

However, the monkey's momentum after that was much stronger than any of the throwing monkeys or baboons I had seen before.

Even more powerful than Hop's Thunder King Kong?
This doesn't feel like an ordinary Pokémon.
He quickly pulled out the encyclopedia to look it up:
"Beep beep! Zarude, a Dark/Grass type, is said to inhabit only the depths of primeval forests. It is highly aggressive, and nearby Pokémon fear it. Its vines, when broken, become nutrients for the forest. It is a Mythical Pokémon named Roto whose habitat is completely unknown!"

Upon hearing this, Ash's eyes narrowed. This description was of a mythical beast!?

He immediately perked up. Was this still a battle between mythical beasts?

"Is your name Sa, Sarud?"

Xiao Zhi read the name aloud; it was a bit difficult to pronounce.

As for trying to break up a fight, let's fight first and talk about that later.

Looking at Shemi, who was full of fighting spirit in the air like a little colt, this guy was probably bored with farming and had been wanting to have a fight for a long time.

"Shaymi—!"

Seeing Ash return, Shaymin felt even more confident and let out a loud shout.

Its green spiky hairs glowed green, and in the blink of an eye, three energy balls were condensed and thrown out, their power far exceeding that of ordinary Grass-type Pokémon.

"Saruru!!!"

Zarud's expression was fierce, and he didn't care that there were other people watching around. His claws were covered with a blood-red light, and he slashed forward fiercely!
Tear Claw!
With a single swipe of its claw, it tore the three energy orbs apart in an instant, unleashing a violent explosion of green light at its hand! (End of Chapter)