He knows Pokémon better than me.

Of course, charging the vine bracelet is also very simple.

"Mageyana~!"

Ash waved to Magearna, who understood and immediately aimed at Cinderace's gun at him.

Whoosh!
The next second, an energy ball shot over, and Ash quickly raised his wrist to catch it with his Vine Bracelet.

It didn't explode; instead, it quickly blended into the bracelet after contact.

As if being recharged, the bracelet flashed with a bright green light and quickly became firm and elastic again.

Ball-type moves generally have a certain energy-charging effect. For example, the Grass-type starter Pokémon that swallow their own Energy Ball can temporarily gain the "Overgrow" effect.

Or perhaps it's an ivory pig that swallows an ice ball, from which hard ice spikes grow on its back.

After Ash fired his first shot, Magearna re-aimed at Cinderace, throwing out a green Grass Ball and a red Fireball in quick succession. She was just one Water Ball away from completing her set of three basic types.

Whoosh—!
Suddenly, a blue water ball shot out from one side.

The waves of water!

You actually managed to collect them all!
Three attacks with completely different attributes came one after another. This time, even Blazing Ace didn't dare to take them head-on. He quickly dodged and jumped away.

Victini and Magearna stopped moving, and Ash instinctively looked towards the source of the Water Pulse.

The castle gates are usually kept wide open, allowing Pokémon to come and go as they please.

At that moment, the air at the gate distorted slightly, and then a small Pokémon appeared.

"Tearful Lizard."

The small, light blue lizard has feather-like yellow fins standing upright on its head and looks timid.

"Tearful Lizard?"

Ash blinked. Aren't these Galar's three Water-type starter Pokémon?
It's not wild; this one looks somewhat familiar, like it's...
A series of light footsteps came from outside, and behind Tearful Lizard appeared a girl wearing a burgundy short skirt.

She wore a loose gray knitted hoodie on her upper body and a pair of dark brown platform boots on her feet.

She has a neat, short bob with side-swept bangs, pretty features, a clean and bright smile, and a small green round hat on her head.

The girl looked up, smiled, and greeted them:
"Yo~ Ash, long time no see~"

Looking at the Pokémon inside the castle, Sobble let out a low growl as if startled:
"Well!"

Then, in a flustered manner, it climbed up the girl's slender thigh, shrank close to her body, and quickly became transparent and invisible again.

Only slightly distorted air remained, barely enough to make out its outline.

"Hey, Xiaoyou? What are you doing here all of a sudden?!"

Xiao Zhi rushed over, his expression full of surprise.

It's been a while since we last met, hasn't it?

Xiao You chuckled dryly and scratched the back of her head, as if she had just happened to be passing by.

"Well, I've collected all the badges~ and since I was passing by, I thought I'd stop by and hang out with you."

The Mr. Mime, with its sharp eyes, had already noticed Xiaoyou's expression and immediately understood.

That expression definitely wasn't just someone passing by!

Worried that Ash might ask strange questions like, "There's nothing special around here, how did you end up here?", it quickly interrupted:
"Bari, bari~!"

The Mr. Mime straightened his collar and walked forward with elegant steps.

He bowed slightly and extended his arm inward, making a standard invitation gesture.

Xiaoyou was stunned. The last time she saw the Mr. Mime, it was naked.

Now everyone wears suits and ties.

Before long, the two were sitting at a wooden table under the shade of a giant grass seed.

The Mr. Mime poured the two a cup of black tea before turning away to continue its own mental meditation. "Tearful Lizard~"

Sobble gradually adapted, and with Pikachu protecting it, it dared to show itself more boldly.

A moment later, Xiaoyou landed on the table, and Xiaozhi couldn't help but reach out and scratch Sobble's chin, feeling its slightly damp touch.

A little while later, it climbed to the side and was led by Pikachu and Victini to explore the castle courtyard.

It was already at the level to evolve, but he remembered that Xiao You's teardrop lizard seemed to have an Everstone and wasn't planning to evolve.

"By the way, you just said you've collected all your badges?"

Xiao Zhi suddenly remembered something and asked curiously.

When we last met, the latter was preparing for his last dojo, right?

"Yes, I just passed the Mech Arena last week."

Xiao You nodded, breathed a long sigh of relief, and felt as if it was finally over.

But as she said this, she puffed out her cheeks and glared at him, feigning displeasure:
"Didn't I even send you a text message to ask if you had time?"

We were told there was no time.

Last week?

Xiao Zhi scratched his head, looking embarrassed. It turned out that Xiao You had suddenly contacted him earlier because of this.

He was still in the Unova region at the time, so he missed the match.

That was a gym battle between the gym leaders who were said to be the strongest in Galar. What a pity.

It goes without saying that it must be extremely intense!

Her mood swings come and go quickly.

Xiaoyou quickly waved her hand, indicating that she was just joking, and her usual bright smile reappeared:

"Anyway, I've already won!"

As she spoke, she took a golden disc out of her bag and held it up in front of Ash.

A hint of barely concealed smugness lingered in his eyes.

"Here, this is the proof!"

This is the official "badge box" of the Galar League. Each gym badge is an irregular small piece. When all eight pieces are collected, they can be pieced together to form a circular pattern.

He had seen it before with Mary and Hep, but both of them had a small corner missing in the upper left corner.

At this moment, the purplish-blue dragon-shaped pattern fragments in Xiaoyou's badge box are now perfectly embedded inside.

Xiao Zhi's eyes lit up, and he gave a thumbs up:
"Wow, Xiaoyou is amazing!"

Sure enough, this girl in front of me is the most amazing; she's progressing much faster than the other two.

He was on the phone with Mary just a few days ago, and learned that she had returned from the Isle of Armor and planned to formally challenge Chibana in the next few days.

Hep's progress is slower, and he plans to train for a while longer.

"Hehe~"

Xiaoyou's cheeks flushed slightly, but her smile widened as she continued:

"Yes, the fight against Mr. Cibana was indeed very difficult."

Of course, reality is much more difficult than she described.

In typical gym battles, gym leaders usually go easy on their opponents.

When she challenged the Machine Arena, after witnessing her strength, Qibana went all out, unleashing his full power, which was among the best even in the League's elite ranks, and suppressed her for a time.

Her four main units all have the ability to create a field effect upon entering the battlefield, making them a lower-tier version of the "Galar Guardian".
However, their moves weren't very effective against Qibana's ace Duraludon, making the fight extremely difficult. (End of Chapter)