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

"Little friend, what's wrong with you? It's very dangerous to sleep here."

After the main group left, a blue-haired man surrounded by many swimsuit-clad beauties appeared at the entrance.

He was wearing an orange surfing suit, holding a pedal, and had a muscular build and a rather handsome face, but he spoke very gently.

Ash immediately sensed that the young man's aura was extraordinary, and after helping Max up, he immediately stopped the young man.

"Hello, I'm Ash from Pallet Town. I'm looking for the Gym Leader here. Could you tell me where he is?"

"Gym Leader? That's me, Fujiki!" The young man grinned and pointed to himself, his usual carefree smile still on his face.

"I knew it! Now, please come with me for a gym challenge!"

Ash's fists were itching to punch the gym leader, who had found him so easily.

However, after thinking for a moment, Fujiki shook his head with a smile.

"I'm so sorry, Xiao Zhi, until yesterday the ocean was still just making a whooshing, dripping, and crashing sound, with the waves crashing."

"But today is different. The ocean is very beautiful, so please come back to try it again some time later."

"Ah, what kind of reason is that? I came all this way early just to fight you!"

Ash's newly ignited fighting spirit was almost extinguished by the vine.

Moreover, not only was he rejected, but the other party also told him such a strange riddle. He was not about to give up so easily, so he grabbed the vine and refused to let him leave.

At this moment, Xiaoyao and Xiaosheng also chimed in.

"Exactly, Mr. Fujiki, you're too casual!"

"As a gym leader, you shouldn't refuse a challenger's request to battle. Isn't what you're doing a bit unreasonable, Mr. Fujiki!"

In the eyes of the siblings, a gym leader should be as serious and dedicated as their father, Senri.

However, Fujiki wasn't angry at what Ash and the others said.

He simply fixed his gaze firmly on Ash, sighed, and finally the previous carefree expression disappeared from his face.

"Well, since that's the case, I'll just tell you the truth."

"Ash, I can tell you're a pro just by looking at your muscles."

"The weather on Dew Island was terrible a while ago, so my Pokémon and I didn't get a good chance to train on the waves."

"After all, I am a fighter, and I don't want to face the challenge of a strong fighter in my current state."

"So please let me and my Pokémon get ourselves in good shape before you challenge me, okay?"

At this moment, Fujiki's tone became more sincere; he was no longer just giving Satoshi a perfunctory answer.

Judging from that large group of swimsuit beauties just now, he is indeed very weak. Even if he were to engage in a battle immediately, he certainly wouldn't be able to satisfy Ash-sama.

As the junior brother of the Four Heavenly Kings Shiba, he also has his own pride, and the whole world is still waiting for him to stir up the next wave.

How can we deal with challengers in this absurd state?

Ash also fell into deep thought.

"I see..."

Fujiki's reasoning now sounded much more reasonable than before, but although Satoshi understood it rationally, he was still particularly disappointed emotionally.

"But I've been really looking forward to the gym challenge since yesterday. Do I really have to leave like this?"

The cannons are all ready to fire, but Ash is really frustrated because he can't have Pokémon battles now.

"Haha, sorry, sorry. As a fellow fighter, I understand your desire to fight a strong opponent immediately."

"However, the scenery on the island is amazing, and the beach is arguably the best in Hoenn."

"There are also many rare Pokémon on the island, making it a great place to train with your friends. You can also take this time to explore the island."

"beach!"

"Rare Pokémon!"

"Cultivation~!"

May, Max, and Ash all reacted to the three items, but Ash was still a little hesitant.

Suddenly, the vine remembered something.

"Ash, I'm sorry, I can't battle you right now."

"In that case, as compensation, I'll tell you a location that I'm sure you'll find interesting!"

"What location?"

Seeing that Ash and the others were interested, Tengshu immediately pressed his advantage, revealing a sly grin.

"Actually, there's a remarkable person who's been digging for stones on the island for two weeks now. I wonder if you'd be interested in going to find him."

Chapter 378 Fire Goose

Rock Cave on the southeast coast of Wudou Island.

After Ash got Steven's location from the vine, they rushed here without stopping.

Because Daigo likes to run around, it's quite difficult to know his exact location in real time.

Moreover, his stated reason for coming to Martial Arts Island this time was to search for rare evolution stones.

Where is the evolution stone?

Who knows?

Ash originally planned to search for Steven's whereabouts on Dew Island after challenging the gyms.

"But life is truly unpredictable."

After glancing at the map, Ash turned and said.

"Xiao Sheng, do you have the letter Uncle Zvoich gave you with you?"

"Of course!"

Perhaps it was Max's love for Pokémon that reminded Zuvchi of Steven when he was a child.

Therefore, he doted on Max, not only helping him upgrade his Pokémon Navigator for free and giving him all sorts of gifts, but also entrusting Max with his letters for safekeeping.

Seeing that the important items were unharmed, Ash casually picked up the bouncy Pokémon beside him and threw it forcefully into the lush, endless bushes ahead.

A powerful impact instantly created friction in the air, producing bursts of fire.

The baby dragon's hard skull, as if enchanted by a fire dragon's roar, instantly burned a wide path through the bushes.

"Perfect!"

The main road to the Rock Cave was blocked by some scoundrel, and flying with others was too troublesome, so Ash had no choice but to find another way.

After crashing into the mountain and leaving a huge crater, Baby Dragon shook its head, shook off the dust, and immediately turned back with a smile.

"Beibei~"

[Ding! Baby Dragon: Affection +4; Intimacy +2]

"Wow, that's incredibly powerful! Ash, won't that seriously injure your Bagon?"

Standing on the newly scorched road, Xiaoyao still felt a little worried about Baby Dragon's head, after all, it looked so small.

"Haha, don't worry, May, this guy is having a great time." Ash laughed and went over to pick up the lively Pokémon.

Sure enough, it was completely unharmed, waving its hands and laughing happily.

"Beibei~, Beibei~"

"Sister, Babydra is known as the Pokémon with a hard head."

"Their dream is to one day soar freely in the sky, and some of them even jump off cliffs repeatedly to practice flying."

Although it sounds like a dream that a red and black level one god would have, it is the most desired thing in the hearts of all baby dragons.

So every time Ash makes his dragon "fly," it's overjoyed.

"This is also part of the baby dragon's training; its head becomes harder and harder in this process!"

As he spoke, Ash tapped the top of Bora's head, producing a strange metallic clanging sound. If that were to hit an opponent, it would be incredibly powerful.

“I would never do this if Baby Dragon didn’t want to.”

"So that's how it is."

Ash's Pokémon is quite lively and always goes out to play with its friends with a big smile.

This made Xiaoyao, who also has a lively personality, especially fond of it, which is why she was so worried.

Seeing that Babydra liked it, May was relieved. Then she saw Ash swinging Babydra around to smash wild Pokémon that were passing by.

"...It still doesn't look right no matter how you look at it!"

[Ding! Baby Dragon: Affection +2; Intimacy +2]

[Ding! Congratulations, Baby Dragon has learned a new skill: "Headbutt" (Attacks the opponent straight at them, sometimes causing them to flinch.)]

————Mind Hammer————

After wandering around and making a mess, Ash and his friends finally arrived at the Rock Cave and put the dragon, which had been having so much fun, back into its Poké Ball.

"This is where Daigo digs rocks!"

Ash was excited and was about to go in when May grabbed his arm.

"Ah~, wait a minute!"

"Ash, do you know that the Rock Cave is a famous maze cave?"

"If we just walk in like this, and your tendency to get lost kicks in, we might never get out again!"

At this moment, Haruka took out the map that she had specifically asked Fujiki for before leaving the martial arts dojo.

"The Cavern of Rock is vast and has a complex terrain, with tunnels not only on the surface but also crisscrossing underground like an ant nest,"

"There are even a lot of fierce Rock-type Pokémon living there, so getting lost can be a real problem!"

"Oh, May, you actually remembered to bring the map! You've grown up!" Ash immediately put his head on May's shoulder and they looked at the cave map together.