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

Archie clearly had more combat experience and launched a fierce attack first.

"Mutant, use the water gun!"

Seeing this, Haruka quickly went to meet the challenge.

"Turkey, attack!"

"Chama?"

The turkey stared at Haruka with its innocent, big eyes.

"May, let Torchic use a move!"

"Oh right, I forgot, Torchic uses Ember!"

With Ash's prompting, May finally got Torchic to successfully launch a counterattack.

Unfortunately, Torchic's weak Ember Attack couldn't even last a second against Mudkip's Water Gun; it was blown away almost instantly.

The water gun attack hit Torchic with pinpoint accuracy, proving to be an extremely effective move.

"Chama~"

"The type disadvantage is too great." Max was a little embarrassed, but Ash was still loudly supporting May.

"Don't give up on Haruka, you can do it! Show some spirit!"

"understood!"

[Ding! Xiaoyao: Affection +1]

"Turkey uses a peck attack!"

"Mumpfish, let's press our advantage! Let's use the water gun one more time!"

"Chama~!"

"Kara!"

May's Torchic charged with its eyes closed when using its peck attack, and naturally, Mudkip easily dodged it.

The water gun was then immediately fired at the turkey's body.

"Ah, turkey, get out of the way!"

Unfortunately, May lacked experience, and so did Torchic. It failed to dodge the water gun and was hit precisely, losing its ability to fight.

“Cha, Chama…”

"I lost." Haruka dejectedly recalled her Torchic.

Archie was much more smug at this point.

"Haha, victory! The gym leader's kid is only this weak. It seems Petalburg Gym is nothing special after all."

"I'll acquire these gym badges later."

"Damn it, I'm so upset! How dare he say that about the Orange Blossom Gym..."

Xiaoyao clenched her fists, and anger appeared on her usually smiling face.

"That's enough, Xiaoyao. You've only just begun. All experiences are valuable. Remember how you felt about this defeat, and you must work hard in the future."

Ash then came to May's side and patted her on the shoulder.

"Although the turkey lost, it fought hard for you, so remember to praise it afterwards."

Ash then immediately threw a healing potion at Archie.

"Archie, you probably weren't satisfied with your match against Haruka, so how about you try a match against me next?"

"Yes, of course! Ash, although you're not exactly a shorts-wearing kid, you seem like a pretty good trainer. I won't refuse a battle!"

"Hahahahaha..."

He had just defeated the child of a famous Petalburg Gym Leader and was brimming with confidence. He didn't take Ash seriously at all and casually agreed to the battle.

Then, his Mudkip was completely defeated by Pikachu's Thunderbolt.

"Wait a minute, that doesn't count. It must be that my Mudkip's stamina hasn't recovered yet. Let's recover and have another round."

"Of course, you can prepare however you like."

Seeing Archie frantically applying healing medicine to Mudkip, Ash just let him be.

The second round began quickly, and Mudkip was easily defeated by Pikachu's Thunderbolt.

"The wind must be blowing wrong. Let's have another round, Ash!"

"They are quite tenacious, of course they can."

Ash didn't bully his opponent this time, and replaced Pikachu with Taillow, which he had just caught.

Upon seeing Aoguyan, Archie's confidence returned.

"This proud swallow doesn't look like it's high-level. I'm sure I'll win this time."

……

"Mumpfish is unable to fight, Tailwing wins!"

[Ding! Aogu Yan: Favorability +1; Intimacy +1]

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have achieved the achievement "Enemy of Mudkip": successfully defeated Mudkip ten times!]

[Rewards: Alliance Coins +2000; Free Attribute Points +2; Pikachu Cute Plush Toy Suit +1]

"Ah, how could they be so strong? I've been completely and utterly defeated..."

Archie knelt on the ground, his entire body turning ashen.

Ash could have argued that losing to Pikachu in the first two rounds was due to type disadvantage and experience difference, but it's not honorable for Ash to win against a new Pokémon with an old one, nor is it the act of a hero.

But after losing the next eight games to Aoguyan, Archie had no excuse left.

Even during those eight battles, Ash kept throwing healing items to Archie.

As for his own proud swallow, he never recovered his strength even once from the relentless battle.

Even under these circumstances, he and Mudkip were still completely defeated.

Despite enduring so many water gun attacks, the proud swallow remained standing in the air like a war god, crushing the morale of Archie and Mudkip.

Now, whenever Mudkip hears Spasba's voice, it wants to lie down and expose its belly to surrender.

"Mutant, are you alright?"

Archie, who had lost his tenth match, quickly carried the unconscious Mudkip off the battlefield.

"Don't worry, it's just a little injured. It'll be fine after a rest."

"However, Archie, you were wrong to say that the Petalburg Gym was not good enough."

"Because even I haven't been able to defeat the trainers at Petalburg Gym."

Although the battle was interrupted halfway through, Qianli's strength was undeniable.

Upon hearing that even Ash hadn't beaten the Petalburg Gym Leader, Archie's eyes immediately filled with shock.

"What? Even a powerful trainer like Ash can't handle this... It seems the Petalburg Gym is quite a challenge."

"Yes, not counting my sister, my dad is really something else!"

"I'm so sorry, Xiaosheng!"

"Ah~"

With Ash standing up for the Petalburg Gym, the siblings felt a sense of relief.

"I understand. I will work even harder to improve my skills in order to obtain the Orange Blossom Badge!"

"I must catch both the Zigzagoon and the Treecko in the Good Forest!"

"Okay, I understand... Wait a minute, Treekie!"

Ash was nodding with relief when he saw Archie suddenly realize his mistake, but then he caught the word Treecko.

In an instant, Ash appeared in front of Archie and lifted him up from the ground.

"Yes, yes."

Archie was startled when he saw Ash suddenly transform into a completely different person the moment he touched a Pokémon, and hurriedly said in a panic.

"I came to Petalburg Woods because when I stayed at the Pokémon Center, I heard that there seemed to be a group of Treecko living under the big trees deep in this forest, so I came to explore."

"Wow, wild starter Pokémon are quite rare, Ash! Let's go to the forest together to find Treecko!"

"Of course, how could we miss out on Treekia?"

"Ah~, I really want to go to the city as soon as possible and breathe in the air there." Xiaoyao is a city girl, after all.

Unfortunately, Ash showed absolutely no mercy when it came to such matters.

"This is no time for Xiaoyao to talk about this!"

"Yes, sister, that's a Treekia, a Treekia!"

May's weak objections were completely ineffective, and Ash and Max immediately decided to head deeper into the forest first.

Chapter 355 Reunion

"That concludes the message sharing. Thank you, Ash, for battling with me. I'll take my leave now!"

"Pokémon—Big Transformation!"

Before he finished speaking, Archie quickly put on his previous snake-patterned bear skin suit and dashed into the forest like a gust of wind.

"What a strange person."

As Archie left, May suddenly tiptoed to Ash's side and hugged him tightly.

"Hehe, Ash, thank you for standing up for me this time."

[Ding! Xiaoyao: Affection +2]

May's thank-you hug was so overwhelming that even Ash couldn't handle it.