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

"In short, that's how it is. Now we're heading to Yinyu City!"

"Wait a minute, Ash! What do you mean 'that's how it is'? You didn't say anything when we left LavaCity!"

In the early morning forest, Ash and his friends, who had already left the tourist hotspot LavaCity, were happily having breakfast.

However, Ash suddenly remembered that when he was at the LavaCity Gym, he seemed to have been too focused on helping Azalea with her duties.

I forgot to tell Xiaoyao and the others about the upcoming plans, so I just brought it up at the breakfast table today.

Unlike Xiaoyao, who was still confused about the situation, Xiaosheng reacted instantly.

"If we go to Lush Green City, then we'll pass through Orange Blossom City!"

Xiao Zhi nodded. "That's right."

"I've already planned out the best route on the map from our current location to the Greenwood Gym, which will pass right through Petalburg City, your hometown, May."

Ash has now earned 4 badges and can finally officially challenge the Petalburg Gym.

He had been looking forward to fighting against Qianli, who possessed the strength of one of the Four Heavenly Kings.

"My training match with Uncle Qianli was too rough. This time, I'm going to have a good fight against him when he goes all out! And I'm going to win!"

"Ash, our dad is really strong, he won't let you win so easily." May's big eyes were already smiling like little crescent moons.

It's clear she's very happy to have the chance to go home.

"Finally, I can see my mom and dad! I can't wait to show them the baby skitts."

"Yes, it's been a long time since I've had my mom's cooking."

Ash's route planning this time made May and her brother very excited.

But that wasn't all; Xiao Zhi then casually pulled out another poster.

"Not only that, Haruka, but a new Grand Contest will be held in Verdant Town, which we'll be passing through next."

"Grand Contest!"

Sure enough, Xiaoyao jumped up immediately upon hearing the news.

"Then let's get going!"

"Jimo?"

Upon hearing that she could go home and participate in a new grand competition, Haruka couldn't contain herself.

She excitedly stood up, picked up the turkey that was still eating, and rushed forward.

"Wait a minute, sister... you're washing the dishes today."

Xiao Sheng still couldn't stop his older sister, and the heavy responsibility of washing dishes fell on his shoulders again. How sad!

"Damn it, that brat is definitely doing this on purpose. But how could she abandon the dining table like this? Is the world about to end?"

"Well, the world could actually be destroyed, but Xiaoyao isn't going to abandon the dining table. She's already finished breakfast for three people!"

Of course, Ash ate just as much as she did.

Seeing that Xiaoyao was about to disappear from sight, they quickly packed up their campsite and followed closely behind her, running towards their next destination, Green Shade Town.

Then they got lost...which is quite amusing.

"Damn it, what's so funny about this?!"

"Where is this?" Xiao Zhi looked at the desolate valley in front of him, completely bewildered.

Xiaoyao, who was no longer excited, sat down on the ground looking exhausted.

"Seriously, Satoshi, it's all because you wanted to take a shortcut that this happened."

"What? You didn't object when I suggested taking a shortcut!"

"That's true, but I just want to get to Green Shade Town as soon as possible."

Just as Ash was about to decide his next direction by throwing a stick, Max suddenly made a new discovery.

"Sister, Ash, look! It looks like a Torkoal flying in the sky!"

"What, flying in the sky?"

Ash was immediately startled. "Could it be that I've encountered the legendary Pokémon, the Sunny Cooter, also known as the mini Groudon?"

Everyone quickly looked in the direction Xiao Sheng pointed, and sure enough, there was a coal turtle in the sky not far away.

The turtle really was flying; Xiao Sheng wasn't seeing things.

However, when Ash looked closely, he realized that the Torkoal hadn't flown into the sky on its own, but had been carried by other Pokémon.

At this moment, the Coal Turtle was being tragically attacked by three Magnemite monsters. The three Magnemite monsters kept emitting electromagnetic waves around its body, making it dizzy and miserable.

Meanwhile, two Skarmory were also nearby, attacking the already pitiful Torkoal from both sides.

Torkoal's body was also forcibly pulled into the air by Magnemite's electromagnetic waves, and Ash and his friends could hear Torkoal's screams from a great distance.

"That's so unfair." Xiaoyao couldn't bear to watch anymore.

Xiao Sheng, on the other hand, noticed something unusual.

"Strange, all the Pokémon that attacked Torkoal seemed to be Steel-type."

Suddenly he thought of something and quickly shouted.

"Sis, Ash, this should be Steel Valley!"

"It's the Steel Valley that Miss Joey repeatedly warned us against entering before she left."

"I heard that the Steel-type Pokémon there have a very strong sense of territory and are extremely aggressive."

"This Torkoal must have gotten lost and wandered into this place like us, which is why it was attacked by these Pokémon."

"Really? Well, we've finally found our current location."

When Satoshi heard that it was dangerous, he became even more interested.

A Pokémon that's extremely aggressive—isn't that just a lack of love?

There are so many wild Pokémon here that like to bully the weak and breathe on them like crazy. It seems that Ash really needs to take good care of them.

"And he's the one who helped us get out of our way, so we mustn't go easy on him."

Just then, the Coalossal, which was covered in electric shocks, was suddenly tossed high into the air by the Magnemites. When May saw this, she immediately said worriedly.

"Oh no, those Magnemite are going to throw Torkoal down. Torkoal will definitely be seriously injured if it falls from such a height."

Ash couldn't ignore this, and just as Torkoal was about to fall to the ground, he instantly appeared directly beneath Torkoal at lightning speed and caught it safely.

"Holy crap?"

Torkoal opened its eyes in surprise and looked at Ash who had suddenly appeared beneath it.

However, those Steel-type Pokémon didn't seem to intend to let Torkoal go, and they even attacked Ash, who had just appeared.

Several electric currents suddenly struck, but were instantly countered by Pikachu on Ash's shoulder with a current several times stronger.

The 100,000 volts not only neutralized all their attacks, but also directly counterattacked the three Magnemite monsters.

Pikachu didn't use its full power; it only warned them. But the powerful electric current still scared the little Magnemites into scattering in all directions.

Chapter 439 We hit it off immediately

Meanwhile, the two more aggressive Skarmory continued to circle relentlessly in the air, their eyes fixed fiercely on Ash and Torkoal below.

When Xiaoyao and her friends arrived, they tried to persuade the armored birds to give up the argument, explaining that they did not mean to trespass on their territory and that everyone could leave immediately.

Unfortunately, the two feathered birds ignored May's words and immediately unleashed several air blades at Ash and his friends.

"It's no joke that the Pokémon in Steel Valley are very aggressive; they even used such a deadly move to attack the trainer himself."

However, this time, these bullies, who are used to being arrogant, have chosen the wrong target to bully.

Ash easily grasped the largest air blade in his hand, and with a forceful squeeze, he crushed the solid blade into energy fragments.

This startled the two armored birds.

"Gah, gah?" (How could this be?)

Just then, Ash took out a Poké Ball. "I choose you, Combusken! Use Flame Kick to kick them hard!"

"Chapter!"

Just as the red glow of the Poké Ball faded, two large, flaming feet slammed into Skarmory, striking it twice at once.

As the most aggressive Combusken in Ash's current team, it even maintained a flying kick attack stance when it first appeared.

This is something the armored birds can't predict and have no way to avoid.

They were kicked into two large fireballs by the powerful chicken's towering flames, disappearing into the horizon with mosquito coils swirling around their eyes.

"Hmm, the power is acceptable, not bad, Strong Chicken."

"Chapter!"

[Ding! Strong Chicken: Affection +2; Intimacy +2]

By this time, Torkoal had finally recovered. It slowly moved to Ash's side, gently nuzzled him with its head, and then burst into tears.

Torkoal is a Fire-type Pokémon, but the way it sheds tears is as if it used a water cannon.

"Damn it!"

"Okay, okay, it's alright, it's alright."

Ash quickly bent down to comfort him, but he soon realized that Torkoal wasn't upset, but rather touched.

It was moved by Ash saving it, which is why it cried so dramatically.

Although we understand its feelings, Coal Turtle's overly emotional reaction is still both funny and touching.

"You're a Fire-type Pokémon, so why are all your kind emitting smoke, but you're the only one crying?"

"Damn it!"

Torkoal then burst into tears, and Ash could only helplessly stroke its head again.

"Never mind, at least I'm still in pretty good spirits."