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

"Shall we go on the Whirl Islands pilgrimage together...? With Ash and Misty there, I can rest assured. Serena, go ahead and participate."

After thinking for a while, Sachi readily agreed.

"Is it alright if I help you with the logistics?" Serena was still a little worried, after all, this was the reason she came out with her mother this time.

"Of course not, that was just an excuse to bring you out to broaden your horizons."

“Mom has her own professional logistics team. With your clumsy hands, how could we really let you do logistics?”

"How could I be clumsy!"

When facing her mother, Serena is noticeably more spoiled than usual, which Ash finds rather adorable.

Although Serena is only half a year younger than Ash, the age limits for boys and girls to receive Pokémon vary in different regional leagues.

Therefore, Serena does not yet have her own Pokémon or Pokédex.

Generally speaking, parents would not agree to let a child who does not yet own a Pokémon travel alone.

But Xiaozhi seems very reliable, and there's also Xiaoxia, a girl of similar age, with him.

Sachi immediately displayed the big heart typical of parents in the Pokémon world and readily agreed to Serena's request to go on a trip with Ash.

"It's always good to broaden your horizons when you're young, but don't just focus on having fun. Remember to think about your future!"

"I know~"

Seeing that her mother was about to start nagging again, Serena quickly pulled Ash and Misty away.

"Okay, it's settled then. We'll challenge the Azure Gym first, and then head to the Whirlpool Islands!"

"Okay!" x2

----surf----

The airship landed in Olivine City, and Ash even made a special trip to the Olivine Gym.

But as expected, it was still closed, and the owner, Ami, was still on vacation.

"It's a pity I can't challenge the Asagi Gym at the same time." Ash thought about it carefully, being a gym leader is really a great thing.

Ash, the Philosophy Gym Leader, can take a vacation whenever he wants and is always a hands-off manager, never having anything to do.

It's clear that both the Kanto and Johto alliances are really short-handed; no prosecutors have come to investigate these gym leaders.

Since he couldn't challenge the Oleander Gym, Ash naturally followed his old plan and went to challenge the Cyan Gym first.

After completing the Whirlpool Islands tour, we'll go back to Asagi City for a visit. After all, Ami can't possibly take a vacation for several months at a time.

The journey from Asahi City to Celadon City is short, only requiring a small boat ride, and can be completed in half a day. Serena and Ash went ahead first.

Serena's mother, Saki, will stay in Asagi City for the time being, waiting for her team from the competition to arrive before heading to Azure City.

With her mother's instructions, Serena officially embarked on her journey with Ash.

As soon as they arrived in Cyan City, Ash grabbed Misty and Serena and headed straight for the gym.

"Sigh, didn't we agree to go to the Pokémon Center first, and then to the shopping mall in Azure Plaza?"

"Xiaoxia, what are you talking about? Shopping is nothing compared to battling! Right, Pikachu?"

"Pickup!"

"Ash is still the same as always." Serena smiled.

He was still the same boy she remembered, the one who did whatever he wanted and became completely absorbed in Pokémon.

Xiaoxia was also defeated by him and could only follow along, but she suddenly remembered something important.

"Speaking of which, Ash, do you know where the Azure Gym is?"

"Of course I don't know!" Ash said matter-of-factly.

"Oh dear, I didn't know you were running in such a hurry."

Unexpectedly, at that moment, a series of deep, panting sounds from a man and Haoli suddenly came from the beach beside the road.

The movements came one after the other, and the sounds rose and fell!

"This is……"

The crowd quickly ran to the roadside to watch.

It turned out to be just a burly middle-aged man, shirtless, having a simple fistfight with a hog on the beach. (What else could it be?)

The two exchanged blows, neither backing down.

Haoli's strong and powerful hand struck the man's arm with a startling sound, while the man opposite him retaliated by punching Haoli in the chest.

"What a charismatic person and Pokémon!" Serena was stunned, but Misty remained calm.

"Alright, Haoli, use Hell Roll next!"

The blue-skinned brute immediately lunged forward and grabbed the man, and the two of them began to roll passionately on the beach.

"Wow, that's amazing! That uncle actually took the hit of that powerful Pokémon move directly."

Serena, who was seeing this for the first time, gaped in astonishment: "So humans can actually fight Pokémon head-on?"

"Of course you can, there are even people who can completely dominate Pokémon."

Xiaoxia sees this scene every day and is used to it.

"Really?!" Serena was shocked again. Traveling really does allow you to see all sorts of strange and unusual things.

Ash became interested in seeing the older man and Machamp below.

"There are locals here, we can just ask them for directions to the dojo!"

This intense and passionate battle made Ash instantly like them.

"She's a Stand just like me!"

There are no bad people among those who love fighting, so Ash immediately jumped onto the beach.

"Hello, may I bother you for a moment?" As soon as Ash's voice came out, the uncle and Machamp immediately became alert.

They performed several backflips in succession, assuming a fighting stance.

"What an astonishing aura! Just getting close to you makes me tremble all over. Young man, you harbor a beast within you!"

"This guy over there is no simpleton."

He actually saw through Ash's hidden strength in his normal state in an instant, which made Ash look at him with new respect.

"Hello, I'm Ash from Pallet Town, and I'm the Pokémon Trainer who came here to challenge the Azure Gym."

Do you know where the dojo is located?

"Trains who come here to challenge..."

Upon hearing this, the uncle closed his eyes.

"Heh, come on! If you want to know, come and throw a punch at me and Haoli, and let me see your magnanimity."

"I will only answer the questions of the strong!"

"Are you sure?" Not everyone can withstand Ash's punch.

"Of course, your amazing aura makes my blood boil, and I really want to spar with you, right, Haoli!"

"Haoli!"

"Attack me and Haoli with all your might!"

This uncle's personality is quite similar to Xiao Zhi's, which makes Xiao Zhi admire him even more.

"Since you've said so, Uncle!" Xiao Zhi simply threw a punch.

Of course, he couldn't use his full strength, but his momentum was still considerable. The force of his punches blew up the sand on the shore, making it impossible for the old man to open his eyes.

"Wow, this amazing momentum! I feel like I'm seeing a Gyarados charging towards me!"

With a loud bang, Uncle and Machamp were sent flying by Ash's punch.

"Ash is amazing now!" Serena was once again amazed by Ash.

Although Ash's power was already beyond what a child should have when he was young, his power has now reached an exaggerated level.

"Then Xiaoxia, the person you mentioned who can completely overwhelm Pokémon..."

"That's right, it's Ash!"

At this moment, Xiaoxia and Serena also quickly came down and ran over to see if the uncle was alright.

Fortunately, the ground here was soft sand, so they did not suffer secondary injuries after falling.

"Uncle, are you alright?" Ash helped the uncle and Machamp up.

The uncle's stance was so sharp that Xiao Zhi lost control of his strength and used a little too much force.

"Wow, that was a powerful punch!"

The uncle who was helped up made a strange sound.

"Being able to experience such a move firsthand is truly moving, Goli!"

"Haoli!"

Haoli, who was standing to the side, also stood up and responded to the uncle with tears in his eyes. The two of them hugged each other and cried in an exaggerated way.

"Is this uncle really alright?"

This exaggerated scene left everyone speechless with embarrassment.

"Ash, you didn't damage his and Machamp's brains, did you?" Misty quickly whispered in Ash's ear.

"I don't think so..."

"Hey kid over there with Pikachu, your name is Ash, right?"

At this point, the man finally stopped crying and stood up.

"Yes."

"It's a nice name, though not as good as mine. If you want to challenge the Azure Gym, then follow along!"

For some reason, the middle-aged man immediately followed Machamp and ran away from Ash's sight.