Pokémon, Ash is going to become a perfect man from now on.

The cross-bat pondered for a moment, then let out a firm hiss!

It chooses to become stronger!

It's nothing more than a little pain, it won't really kill you, how could it not have that much backbone?!

It believes in its trainer and continues to receive training from Ash. It can certainly become stronger, and even become a Crobat that is stronger than its previous brethren!

However, limited by its size, it could never be more perfect than the other!

This is a flaw that the Crobat is unwilling to accept... it already has one flaw.

Crobat knew perfectly well that no matter how hard it tried, it could only ever be in the second tier with Ash.

It could not fully match Ash's special power, and the bent spoon of fate had foreseen this.

Pikachu, Charizard, Lucario, and Alakazam are undoubtedly Ash's core Pokémon. No matter how low-key they are, no one can shake their position!

They will inevitably stay by Ash's side, because the power of the trainer himself is more effective to them than any external force!

The Crossbat couldn't be one of them; it knew it wasn't even as good as the Little Sack, let alone the other four.

It won't blame Xiaozhi for this, because that's human nature.

When it was the leader at the bottom of Mt. Moon, it never treated all groups equally, so why should it expect Ash to give it the same attention as Pikachu and the others?

Ash took it away from the dark cave, trained it, taught it special moves, showed it all over Kanto, and let it fight against powerful members of its kind, letting it know that there are always stronger opponents. This undoubtedly fulfilled Ash's responsibility as a trainer.

Moreover, Xiaozhi only had three requirements for them from beginning to end.

Obey orders in battle, don't slack off during training, and always value your comrades!

In addition, they can decide for themselves whether to evolve or not, and they can also decide for themselves whether to fight in a standard battle—Dragonite is like that. If it weren't for helping Charmeleon break through the last barrier, it wouldn't even have fought at the Cinnabar Gym.

If they ever don't want to get stronger anymore, they just need to tell Ash, and then they can just give up and let themselves go. Ash doesn't care if they keep taking care of them.

What more could you ask of a trainer like this?

Crobat has no complaints about Ash, but it is indeed a regret for it, so it wants to make up for it in other ways!

Even if it can't be in the top tier, it will become Ash's strongest Poison-type and the most perfect Crobat in the world!

"Since you've made up your mind, we'll go to the Crimson Dojo together to train after the tournament... I'll always be by your side!"

Chapter 206 The Hectic Night Before the Quarterfinals…

"Hmm... what is this?!"

That night, in a sanatorium in Tokiwa City, the superpowered girl was meditating in her room when she was awakened by a sudden surge of superpower energy.

Sensing this familiar fluctuation, she teleported to the door almost without thinking, and sure enough, she found the person she had been thinking about day and night!

"Ash!" Sabrina exclaimed, her surprise tinged with delight.

"Uh...did I disturb your rest?" Ash asked apologetically.

He was really just passing by, still debating whether or not to take a look at Sabrina, but she sensed his superpowers and came out on her own.

However, what troubled Ash was that Sabrina was wearing that Espeon's vacuum-sealed nightgown...

"I was meditating when I sensed you coming." Sabrina naturally moved closer to Ash, completely unguarded.

"Let's go inside and talk first," Ash immediately suggested. He didn't want Sabrina standing at the door dressed like that.

"Okay, let's go to my room then." Sabrina grabbed Ash's hand without saying another word and teleported him back to his room.

Since she was staying at a sanatorium, Sabrina's resting place was a small single room with only a single bed, similar to Ash's meditation room at the Saffron City Gym.

After the two returned, they could only sit on the edge of the bed, and the room felt cramped...

Sabrina, however, didn't seem to care. She leaned against Ash and asked curiously, "What happened? Why did you suddenly come here?"

"That's a long story..."

First of all, let me clarify that within a single day, Ash first secured a deal with Misty, then rode with Rika, and then came to see Sabrina in the evening... He really wasn't rushing around!

The main problem was that after that meeting, Ash felt uneasy, as if something was going to happen in Vermilion City.

The soldiers under Lt. Surge were no pushovers. The one who escaped before, Bisquere, dared to jump directly into the sea from the car to avoid being caught by Officer Jenny!

Dr. Sakuragi has driven them to a dead end this time, and they might really provoke retaliation from the other side, and it might even involve Dr. Barnet!

So Ash didn't dare to delay at all. After leaving Celadon City, he immediately went to Dragonite Island and explained the situation there.

The giant Alakazam readily agreed and immediately helped teleport Dragonite and Tentacruel to the sea area near Vermilion City.

In the coming days, the giant Dragonite will guard the waters surrounding Vermilion City; while Tentacruel will roam the seas, monitoring the waterway along the Frostbite-Vermilion-Cerulean route in real time.

In this way, as long as the police in Kureha City are notified to impose a lockdown, the city will be completely surrounded.

The giant Gochi was settled on Mount Potara, thus finally obtaining the mountain he had longed for.

Things have changed. Ash was worried that the other party would affect the people in the surrounding towns, but now that he has become the master, he will naturally give him his absolute trust.

With it guarding the area, and with the subsequent arrival of Shinjiro to relieve them, Pallet Town and Viridian City can rest easy.

So, Ash came to see Sabrina...

Mt. Portora is very close to Viridian City; it wouldn't even take a Dragonite a minute to fly there, and it's also on its way to Indigo Plateau. Ash wouldn't just walk right past it, would he?

"How is Auntie's recovery going?" Xiao Zhi asked with concern.

"She's much better now. After a little more rest, we can take her back to Golden City after the Alliance Conference... Do you want to see her now?"

"Uh... then no need. I have a match tomorrow, so I won't stay any longer." Ash quickly declined Sabrina's invitation; he didn't want to meet her parents again at this time.

"Are you leaving already?" Naza couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. "I remember your match is tomorrow's last one... You could have rested here for the night and rushed back tomorrow morning..."

"The problem is, I don't think I can get proper rest here."

Nighttime, a private room, a girl in her pajamas... This doesn't seem like a place where one can sleep peacefully at all!

To stop Sabrina's argument that "it's okay to be together," Ash immediately retorted, "Let's do it next time."

But he quickly realized what he had just blurted out in a daze...

"Uh, I didn't mean to go with you next time... Anyway, that's not what I meant," Xiaozhi said, covering his face in confusion.

That's certainly not what he meant. And even if he did, it wouldn't be now...

"Alright." Seeing this, Naz didn't insist on keeping him any longer.

"By the way, my teacher has arrived at Mount Portal, and your Alakazam is nearby. You can visit him when you have time, or I can accompany you after the conference... Anyway, goodnight."

After giving his instructions at lightning speed, Ash teleported away as if fleeing.

"Then... I'll wait for you. Good luck in the tournament too." Sabrina looked at the spot where Ash had just sat, a slight smile playing on her lips.

Although it was only a brief meeting, it was enough to bring her a delightful evening…

"Let's work a little harder, Dragonite, let's go back to Indigo Plateau." Ash had already gotten back on Dragonite. He patted Thudon's back and used Viridian Power to help it relax.

"Woo~" Under the cover of night, Dragonite let out a low growl and finally began to carry Ash back home.

This trip was so exhausting!

...

The next morning, Xiao Zhi arrived at the competition venue with dark circles under his eyes.

"I thought you weren't coming back~" Xiao Lan said with a teasing smile.

"Yeah, I almost didn't make it back... Let's watch the game first."

No matter how exhausted you are, you still need to gather intelligence on your opponent.

For the sake of creating a buzz, the tournament organizing committee had actually carefully arranged the order of the quarterfinals matches. The match between Rai and Nurse Joy was scheduled as the first match in the morning, while the matches between Gary and Ash were both in the afternoon.

An elite trainer from out of town versus a local violent nurse—this battle is sure to be a spectacle.

Ash finally had the chance to witness Rai's true strength.

In previous battles, Raiji only sent out Pokémon he had caught in Kanto and Johto, clearly deliberately holding back. But now, facing Nurse Joy, he has no choice but to bring out his ace Pokémon caught in Sinnoh!

"Dragon King Scorpion, Cross Poison Blade!"

"Oh no... Chansey, protect it!"

"Use poison!"

After a fierce exchange, the main forces on both sides finally began to confront each other head-on.

What Joy has left is naturally that high-quality Chansey, with Protect, Egg Lay, Toxic, Seismic Toss... This moveset has disgusted countless players.

But this time it encountered the venomous Dragon King Scorpion, and not only were its tactics completely broken, but it also suffered a counterattack from its deadly poison!

Chansey, as Nurse Joy's partner, is naturally capable of even being unable to cure poison. Unfortunately, Raikou had already locked its moveset, so Chansey cannot use antidote moves. As the last batter, it also cannot return the ball to trigger natural recovery, leaving it helpless as its HP is depleted!

"That Lei Si is indeed a formidable enemy; it will be very troublesome for me to face him," Xiao Mao said with a grave expression.

He wasn't worried about the afternoon's match at all; he was already thinking about the semifinals.

However, given Xiao Shi's current strength, he certainly has the right to be so arrogant.

Both Hiro and Yuri are at the level of the original anime. Even if Yuri eliminates Hiro like in the original work, she still can't defeat the already overpowered Shigeru.

As for Xiaoming, we'll just have to wait and see.