Ash, with his invincible physical body, wants to become a Pokémon Master...

Ash was very happy, thinking that this power could be applied to actual battles.

Although it's not as powerful as Lucario's Aura Sphere, nor as powerful as Ash's own.

But since trainers can't participate in league matches, using them as a surprise tactic is sufficient.

However, releasing Aura Spheres like this consumes Ash's own Aura. With his current Aura capacity, Pikachu can't withstand it after releasing it three or four more times.

"So far, only Pikachu has succeeded..." Ash paced back and forth, deep in thought.

"Charmander and Squirtle's failure is probably due to insufficient training; their bodies are not yet able to withstand the Aura force."

"Furthermore, Pikachu's Senses are maxed out, so it can benefit from my stat boosts..."

Ash finally concluded that Charmander and the others definitely didn't get enough training!

Release all the Pokémon that Ash is currently carrying: Charmander and Squirtle in one team, Pikachu and Gible in another, and Lucario and Pidgeot in yet another.

Clefairy and Ash are on their own team; there's no way they can trust Clefairy to team up with other Pokémon.

And so, working together in pairs, they began today's charity event of bringing warmth to the nests, with smiles on the faces of the Pokémon.

[Ding! Congratulations, host! Your ability has been upgraded from Unscrupulous LV2 to Unscrupulous LV3 (Move power increases by 10% when sending out multiple Pokémon in battle)]

Even while battling wild Pokémon, Ash never slacked off in training his Aura.

Maintaining a constant connection with Lucario and activating Aura Sensing—this effort truly brought Ash rewards.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for the improvement of their ability: Aura Force LV3 → Aura Force LV4]

Quantitative change led to qualitative change, and the waveguide quantity finally increased, allowing Xiaozhi's waveguide to reach a new level.

After several days of hunting wild Pokémon, Charmander evolved.

After defeating an Oddish with a powerful Flamethrower, it gained enough experience to emit a dazzling white light.

In an instant, the cute and adorable little fire dragon disappeared.

What followed was a Charizard with a horn-like protrusion on its head, a pointed mouth, longer limbs and tail, and flames still burning at the end of its tail.

The evolved Charmeleon had a hint of ferocity in its eyes, but when it caught sight of Ash's kind eyes and taut arm muscles, memories of the past uncontrollably surfaced in its mind.

Her expression immediately returned to its original clear look, and she ran over to affectionately nuzzle Ash's palm with her head.

Looking at the docile Charmeleon, Ash felt very gratified.

The old Charizard has a very arrogant and haughty personality, and I was initially worried that it would become disobedient after evolving.

It seems I was overthinking it. With Ash's gentle and meticulous care, Charmeleon wouldn't dare to have a rebellious phase.

------------

On the way to Saffron City, a section requires a boat trip, so Ash and Misty passed through the Port of Maidenvale.

As the ship docked, Ash and his friends were greeted by a bustling port town.

"It looks like there's going to be a temple fair here, Ash, let's go join in."

Xiaoxia loves lively events like this the most, and immediately wanted to drag Xiaozhi along to participate.

Side Quest: Go to the celebration with Xiaoxia.

[Reward: 500 Alliance Coins; a set of bracers that can be used to store round stones]

I've been working on it like crazy for the past few days, so it's good to take a break now. It's important to balance work and rest.

However, as they were preparing to leave for the Pokémon Center, Ash witnessed a strange scene at the other end of the dock.

A beautiful purple-haired girl in a classic long dress stood on the shore, gazing sadly at the coastline.

Strangely enough, Ash sensed that there was no one at the location where the girl was.

"Is it haunted?"

In the blink of an eye, the beautiful girl suddenly disappeared, and this time Ash's Aura sensed it.

This is a Gastly.

But for a Gastly, isn't this aura a bit too strong?

However, Ash didn't take it seriously; the most important thing right now was to accompany Misty to the temple fair.

The highlight of the temple fair is usually in the evening; there aren't many stalls during the day, so you can walk through them quickly.

However, during the day, staff from the local Maiden Temple will introduce the local customs and culture, which is quite interesting.

To Ash's surprise, the host displayed a painting when showcasing the treasures of Maiden Canyon.

Moreover, the girl in the painting looks exactly like the one Xiaozhi saw at the port today.

As the host introduced her, we learned that this girl was a beautiful woman who lived here a thousand years ago.

Her husband was conscripted to fight and never returned. She stayed on the cliff edge, gazing at the sea, hoping that her husband would come back.

Unfortunately, he didn't live to see the end of his life and died with resentment.

After that, the girl turned into a stone statue, which is the stone statue of the girl in the Maiden Gorge Port today.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhi suddenly remembered that the girl's soul seemed to still reside in that stone statue.

The girl I saw this morning was indeed Gastly in disguise.

Every year it transforms into the image of that young girl and uses hypnosis to seduce young men in order to create a legend.

Let the people of this place never forget that girl.

No wonder the aura I sensed earlier was so terrifying; this Gastly is an ancient monster that has lived for who knows how many thousands of years.

Its hypnotic techniques are not only powerful but also flexible and versatile; it can even speak human language.

Ash was tempted; should he try to catch this Gastly?

After all, Sabrina is so strong, Ash still isn't entirely confident he can defeat her.

[Ding! Legendary Quest Triggered: Exorcising the Girl's Spirit: Defeat Gastly and Purify the Girl's Soul's Obsession]

[Rewards: 50 League Coins; Gengar Mage Evolution Stone (full set); 30 Free Attribute Points; Move: Hypnosis; A message about Arceus]

"Hmm... I see, a legendary quest."

Xiao Zhi smiled dismissively.

"I'm not going!"

What a joke! The reward is so outrageous, there's definitely something wrong with it. Ash may like to go all out, but he's not mindless.

Let's spend time with Xiaoxia first. Anyway, Gastly comes back here every year. We can talk about it again when I'm stronger.

At the bonfire party that evening, Xiaoxia came to Xiaozhi wearing a pink and white bathrobe.

Under the firelight, Xiaoxia's already delicate features appeared softer and even more beautiful.

"What are you standing there for? Come on, dance!"

Xiaoxia stretched out her fair little hand and pulled Xiaozhi towards the center of the dance.

The two held hands and danced around the campfire.

"Little Ash dances pretty well."

Xiaoxia had originally planned to teach Xiaozhi how to dance, but she didn't expect that Xiaozhi, who usually seemed so rough and clumsy, would dance so well.

This is because in his daily training, Xiaozhi not only focuses on strength training, but also pays attention to muscle control and body coordination.

Before dancing, Xiaozhi only needs to observe others for a while, and he can dance almost perfectly.

Of course, you can't say that to Xiaoxia.

"I practiced for a long time in my spare time so as not to embarrass Miss Xia."

"Hehe, really?"

[Xiaoxia's favorability +1]

[Congratulations on completing the Legendary Quest Series: The Mermaid of Hualan (Part 4) and raising Xiaoxia's affection level to 40]

[Reward: A special item that greatly increases the probability of capturing a water-type legendary Pokémon: Broken Fishing Net +1]

[Trigger a new legendary quest series: The Mermaid of Hualan (Part 5): Increase Xiaoxia's affection level to 50]

[Rewards: +5 Free Attribute Points; Battle Ticket for a Specific Water-Type Legendary Pokémon!]

"What? Did I hear that right?! What's the reward?"

Xiao Zhi, who was dancing, almost couldn't keep his expression down.

"What a rip-off! A tattered fishing net, what kind of mythical beast can it be used to catch?!"

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Arrival in Golden City

After the temple fair ended, Xiao Zhi even found a secluded spot and took out the tattered fishing net given to him by the system to examine it carefully.

But after a very thorough inspection, from top to bottom and from left to right, Xiao Zhi came to a conclusion.

This is just an ordinary fishing net!

"Damn it, capturing a mythical beast!"

After Xiao Zhi put the fishing net into his system space, he didn't bother with it anymore.

------------

On the fourth day after leaving Maiden's Gorge Port, Ash finally arrived in Saffron City.

The hardships and dangers along the way are beyond what outsiders can describe.

It's basically just getting lost repeatedly, and the hardships and obstacles are what Ash brings to the other wild Pokémon.

However, he arrived at his destination much earlier than he had anticipated.

"How did we get to Golden City already?"

Ash was lost in the forest the night before.

"Xiaoxia, how did we get to Golden City?"

Looking at the magnificent gate of the building in front of her, Xiaoxia, who was packing her things, was also completely confused.