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

"Ah, should I go fight that snake bear?"

Chapter 354 Haruka's First Time...Battle

And so, Ash led May and the others in a close pursuit of the giant serpentine bear, searching for the perfect opportunity to engage it in battle.

Then they saw the snake-skinned bear suddenly stand up, peel off its "skin," and turn into a green-haired boy.

"Sigh, can a snake-striped bear actually transform into a human?"

"Silly sister, this is a human being, just wearing a mascot costume!"

"look."

Xiao Sheng, that brat, acts without any restraint. He brazenly ran up to this person and forcibly turned his face so that Xiao Yao could get a good look.

"It really is a human."

"What are you doing?!"

The innocent boy was bewildered by the sudden appearance of the Xiaoyao siblings, who were acting on their own, and for a moment he forgot his original goal.

Just then, a real serpentine bear in front of him was frightened away by the noise, and the boy was immediately distraught.

"Oh dear, you've ruined my plan to capture the snake bear again! How are you going to compensate me?!"

Just as the boy was about to lose his temper, he suddenly glanced at Xiaosheng and Xiaoyao's exposed knees and immediately beamed with joy.

"Shorts, shorts, showing off your knees looks so great and beautiful!"

"Excuse me, who are you?"

Seeing the boy in front of her getting angry and excited all at once, Xiaoyao felt a little scared and quickly hid next to Xiaozhi.

"Yes, why would you wear a snake-patterned bear plush toy in the forest?"

And it was made so realistically that even the movements of the snake bear were imitated perfectly.

Ash didn't even notice it until the waveguide sensor was turned on, which made him excited for nothing.

"Alright, since you want to know my name, I'll tell you."

"Sometimes I'm a serpentine bear walking in the forest, sometimes I'm a stinging jellyfish drifting in the ocean, and sometimes I'm a beautiful flower dancing a beautiful dance..."

The boy kept changing his doll costume, his movements so practiced that it was clear he had practiced at least a hundred times.

"But my real identity is... Archie, the boy in shorts, as everyone calls me!"

"The boy in shorts?"

"Archie?"

"It's a good thing you managed to bring so many leather cases on your solo trip."

"It's definitely tough usually... but that's not important! Those two trainers who expose their knees to connect with nature, they love nature!"

Archie threw Ash aside and slid down to his knees in an exaggerated manner in front of Max and May, making Ash's mouth twitch.

Xiaoyao and Xiaosheng pointed to themselves, completely bewildered.

"us?"

"Yes, you, I am your companion!" He looked at Xiaoyao and Xiaosheng's knees and couldn't help but burst into tears.

"If you don't mind, please tell me your names as well!"

Faced with this strange person who suddenly became hot-blooded, Xiaoyao and Xiaosheng simultaneously took two steps back without making a sound.

But since Archie didn't seem like a bad guy, everyone eventually told him their names.

"Um, I'm Haruka from Orange Blossom City."

“I am her younger brother, Xiaosheng.”

"I'm Ash from Pallet Town, nice to meet you."

"Hmm, Haruka and the brat..."

"That's right, it's the perfect name for a boy in shorts!" Archie actually ignored Ash.

"Hey, I'm a bug-catching boy with a black caterpillar, are you sure you want to ignore me?"

However, before Ash could finish his complaints, May couldn't stand Chase anymore.

"Shorts boy? Please, these aren't shorts, they're thongs!" (Ash: Is there really that much of a difference?)

"Me too, I'm not a brat." (Ash: No, you are.)

"I know, I know... We're both kids in shorts, let's get along well!"

"You have no idea!"

Completely ignoring Xiaoyao and Xiaosheng's complaints, Archie laughed loudly to himself, making everyone's faces turn black.

"By the way, why are you wearing a mascot costume?"

"Isn't it cute? I wear this plush costume and disguise myself as a Pokémon so I can better understand how Pokémon feel and then study their behavioral patterns..."

"In short, everything is for the purpose of catching Pokémon in a better way!"

"To capture Pokémon." Ash was slightly surprised, but it was indeed a good way to communicate with Pokémon.

"That's right. In order to challenge the Petalburg Gym, I want to catch the Zigzagoon here to gain experience first."

"Really? So you've collected all four badges yet?"

"Four badges? No, I only recently got Mudkip and started traveling."

"What."

Unexpectedly, Archie was also a newcomer. Ash immediately explained the challenge rules of Petalburg Gym to him, and he was immediately shocked.

"Oh, how could this happen? Well, there's nothing we can do about it."

"My goal of challenging the Petalburg Gym remains unchanged. Let's go catch Zigzagoon and the other badges first!"

Although he is a free spirit, he is not easily discouraged, which makes him an interesting person.

Suddenly, Ash had an idea.

"It's quite a coincidence that the father of these two siblings is the trainer of Petalburg Gym."

"Dad? What a coincidence to run into someone from the Blossom Gym! That's great! Come and have a match with me!"

"You are the children of gym leaders, so you must have undergone very strict training. I want to experience it for myself and see just how strong you really are."

"Ah, that... strength..."

Xiaoyao shrinks back whenever this is mentioned. From childhood to adulthood, she has never been strict with anyone, let alone trained.

But then Ash pushed her forward from behind.

"This is a great opportunity, May. You are both trainers who have just started your journey, making you the perfect person to hone your skills."

"Yes, sister, let's show him the strength of the Petalburg Gym Leader's daughter!"

"what?"

"It's decided then. Let's start the Pokémon battle right away. The location is the plaza ahead."

"Let's go!" Archie waved his hand and began to lead the way on his own.

But Xiaoyao still hesitated, "Wait a minute, I'm only good at fighting..."

"What's wrong? Are you scared?"

Upon hearing this, Haruka immediately switched to a serious expression, making the same hand gesture as Vegeta, "I understand, in that case I accept your challenge!"

Xiaoyao is surprisingly good at being provoked.

The group quickly arrived at the Trainer Plaza not far ahead, where May and Archie stood on opposite sides of the battlefield, each taking out their Poké Balls and preparing to attack.

The referee was Xiao Sheng.

"It's finally starting, my first battle worth remembering..." Xiaoyao nervously watched her opponent cheer her on.

But when Archie held up the Poké Ball and struck a funny pose, she couldn't help but sigh.

"Ah~, I wish my opponent was a little better looking."

"Xiaoyao, be serious and remember to stay calm during the battle!"

"Yes, that's right, like Ash Ketchum."

Seeing that May was still in a daze even though the battle had already started, Ash had no choice but to walk over and tap her on the head.

"Don't get distracted during the battle, May!"

"what?"

Only then did Xiaoyao hurriedly and clumsily throw the Poké Ball onto the battlefield.

"Let's go, Torchicken."

"Chama!"

A cute little yellow chick has arrived!

Meanwhile, Archie on the other side also sent out his Pokémon.

"Pokémon - Transformation!" Archie turned around and changed into a Mudkip plush outfit, showing that he was also a powerful figure with a four-dimensional chrysanthemum.

The Pokémon he sent out was Mudkip, of course.

"Mutto, let's fight with all our might!"

"Crack~"

"Oh dear, this attribute is quite disadvantageous." Xiao Sheng began to worry about his sister.

"It's alright, even if we're at a disadvantage in terms of attributes, we can still turn the tide with tactics!"

"really?"

Ash, the master of type reversal, said so, but Max expressed his doubt.

At this point, both sides' Pokémon were in position, and the battle officially began.