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

"Yay, we won again!"

"Damn it—!"

"Be!"

[Ding! Xiong Er: Affection +2; Intimacy +1]

Xiaozhi thoroughly enjoyed beating Xiaoxia.

However, as the number of battles increased, Xiaoxia's strength has actually been steadily improving. It's just that she always seems weak when facing monsters like Xiaozhi and Rin.

After the battle, Ash and Misty quickly packed their bags and headed towards Ecruteak City.

They hadn't walked far when they suddenly spotted several familiar figures.

"How come there are so many Rock-type Pokémon in the forest?"

Ash especially recognized that giant Onix.

Upon closer inspection, surrounded by a group of Pokémon, was a desolate figure that had been reduced to only black and white.

"Oh dear, Ash looks like a dog!"

"Xiaoxia, you can't tell! You can't tell!"

Surprisingly, Xiao Gang was lying on his side under the tree, hugging his knees with both hands, looking utterly hopeless.

If you look closely, you can see that he is silently shedding tears.

"Xiao Gang, what's wrong with you...?"

At this moment, Xiao Gang on the ground remained motionless as if he couldn't hear anything.

It turns out the giant oni around them were trying to comfort Xiao Gang, but unfortunately, the black-skinned, squinty-eyed guy remained firmly lying by the roadside, refusing to move.

"What's wrong with Xiaogang this time?" Xiaoxia asked, puzzled.

Xiao Gang was so energetic chasing after the older sister when they parted ways, how come he's turned into a paramecium now?

Ash, based on his understanding of Brock as a close friend, instantly made a deduction.

"It's because of women, Xiao Gang!"

Xiao Gang on the ground suddenly trembled. Xiao Zhi was right. "The one who could hurt Xiao Gang like this must be a woman who is very important to him."

"Xiaoxue!" Xiaozhi and Xiaoxia thought of Xiaogang's crush at the same time.

Xiao Gang, who was on the ground, suddenly cried even louder.

Sure enough, Ash quickly found information about the Pokémon Breeder Beauty Contest that had just been held on his phone.

The champions of the competition were none other than Xiaogang and Xiaoxue, who had won the competition together with Liuwei.

In that photo, Xiao Gang was dressed smartly in a white suit with a bright smile; he looked so presentable that he had clearly dressed up carefully.

"It looks pretty good. So why did Xiaogang turn out like this?"

"Don't worry, Xiaoxia, there's more to come."

Immediately following the news of the champion was an even more explosive story.

"Renowned Pokémon breeder Xiaoxue announces collaboration with renowned stylist Xiaoxiang; a legendary new store is about to open..."

The two people in the news photos are very close to each other, and they look like a perfect match. The intimacy is even more evident in the photos of the two women in the thin veil and Xiao Gang.

"Hey, the dark-skinned PE student lost to the blond guy, why would I have such a dream?" Ash was wondering why he hadn't seen Vulpix in his Pokémon, but it turns out it had already been returned to its rightful owner.

"Let me guess, Xiao Gang received the news that Xiao Xue was returning from studying in other regions and was going to participate in a beauty pageant, so he immediately took the carefully nurtured Liuwei to return it to Xiao Xue."

"Then I was invited to participate in a beauty pageant, but during the competition I met this handsome blond guy."

"If I'm not mistaken, this blond-haired boy should have known Miss Xiaoxue for a long time, right?" With each sentence Xiaozhi said, Xiaogang on the ground trembled.

He was right about everything.

At this point, Xiao Gang finally spoke.

"Xiaoxiang and Xiaoxue have known each other since their school days and are rivals."

"We once announced together that we would become outstanding top Pokémon breeders."

"A formidable rival wouldn't let you do that. Judging from their close relationship, they're more like friends than rivals... to be precise, they're childhood sweethearts!"

"Ah, stop talking, Ash, please stop..."

So it turns out this handsome guy wasn't the blond guy; Xiao Gang was the one who just appeared out of nowhere.

"Sigh, he's tall and handsome, and a famous Pokémon stylist. It's not surprising that Xiaoxue would choose him."

"Okay, Xia, stop finishing him off. Xiao Gang is almost dead."

"Xiao Gang, take it easy. There are plenty of fish in the sea..."

Unfortunately, Xiao Zhi's comforting words had no effect; Xiao Gang remained lying on the ground, hugging his knees, silently shedding tears.

He was able to overcome the trauma of Dr. Neimu with the encouragement of Xiaoxue, who was also his idol.

Now that Xiaogang's unrequited love has ended, you can imagine how devastating it must have been for him.

"It's unbearable to watch, how can they be so pathetic!"

"Let's go, Xiaogang, let's go and get Xiaoxue back!"

"No, it's over, Ash."

"Did you know that the first Pokémon that Xiaoxue and Xiaoxiang caught on the day they set off together was Vulpix?"

"And they even agreed to use the Six-Tails to settle their score in the future."

Ah, this feels so much like a childhood sweetheart romance, with a major event brewing...

In other words, the Six-Tails was, to some extent, a token of love.

Xiao Gang actually put so much effort into carefully protecting someone else's token of love.

"That's really terrible, Xiao Gang."

"When we were together, Xiaoxue's eyes were completely on Xiaoxiang, and she didn't even glance at me."

"Heh, I knew someone like me didn't deserve love..."

"They were talking about their views on Pokémon breeding, their past promises, and their future goals, and I couldn't get a word in edgewise..."

"Do you know the atmosphere back then, Ash? It was so tragic~" Brock's aura grew increasingly oppressive as he spoke.

"I was the one who brought them together in the end, even though it was I who finally brought them together!"

"Let me stay here, I want to be a dog..."

"No, I want to become a paramecium!"

"Wait a minute, Xiao Gang, there's still a chance! Trust me!"

"As long as, as long as..." Xiao Zhi kept asking for a long time, but he still couldn't think of any other way.

They were childhood sweethearts, bound by a token of their love, made a promise to each other, and had a relationship that was both adversarial and friendly, with each striving for the other's best.

This makes it impossible for Xiao Gang to fight that blond-haired handsome guy.

But seeing how dejected Brock was, and realizing it was indeed dangerous for him to stay in the forest, Ash and Misty decided to take him to Ecruteak City first.

At first, Xiao Gang refused to leave and wanted to continue lying on the side of the tree pretending to be a corpse.

Finally, Xiao Zhi couldn't take it anymore, so he put a rope around Xiao Gang's neck and forcibly dragged him away.

"Since Xiaogang is going to become a dog anyway, let's just drag him away like this!"

"Oh, I was just kidding!"

"Stop, stop, stop! Ash, I can walk by myself, I can walk by myself!"

"Stop pulling! I can't breathe..."

Indeed, psychotherapy is never as effective as physical therapy.

Muscular men can easily cure dull, dark skin—that's amazing!

What slowly appeared before them was Ecruteak City, the legendary site where Ho-Oh once descended.

Upon arriving in Ecruteak City, Ash's Rainbow Wing flickered almost imperceptibly.

In a secluded corner where no one could see, a pair of sharp eyes were fixed on Ash.

Chapter 250 Marchado and the Burnt Tower

After a tense journey, Ash and his friends finally arrived at the gates of Ecruteak City that night.

But to their surprise, the city gate entrance was tightly closed. Ash quickly flew up into the sky to check the situation.

This city is a famous metropolis, but it seems to have very few high-rise buildings; everywhere you look there are one- or two-story classical buildings.

Moreover, it was only 9 p.m., but the entire city was already pitch black.

It seems that the people of Enoki City don't have a nightlife; they all go to bed early.

"Even the lights at the Pokémon Center were off."

Even if Ash manages to climb in, it won't make any difference. It seems they'll have to camp outside for the night.

Xiaoxia was very sad when she heard the news that Xiaozhi had returned from his scouting mission. She had thought she would be able to sleep in her soft, big bed tonight.

"But upon closer inspection, this gate looks quite old and has a strong sense of history." Xiaoxia reluctantly came to the gate to examine it carefully and was immediately attracted by the exquisite patterns on it.

"After all, Enoki City is a famous ancient metropolis with the longest history in the Johto region, so many of its buildings can be considered cultural relics."

"But Ash, now that we're in the city, could you please take the dog leash off my neck?"

"It's so embarrassing!" Xiao Gang had mostly recovered by this time and was now struggling fiercely against the dog leash around his neck.

Unfortunately, this was a high-end dog leash that Xiaozhi bought from the system store, and no matter how hard Xiaogang pulled, he couldn't break it.

"That won't do. Who knows if you'll start lying on the ground pretending to be a corpse again as soon as you take off the necklace?" At this moment, Xiao Zhi's mischievous sense of humor also came to the fore.

"Oh no, how could this be?"

Faced with Ash's relentless pressure, Brock had no choice but to admit defeat, since even his Pokémon wouldn't help him.