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

Faced with a girl whose emotions were spiraling out of control, Xiao Zhi could only resort to his old method: pressing her temples with both hands to forcibly turn her face toward him.

"Hmm..." With the continuous input of superpowers, Xiaochun's emotions finally began to stabilize.

"I... Waaah!" She stared blankly at Ash, all the pent-up grievances and fear seeming to finally burst forth, and she cried out as she threw herself into his arms...

"Alright, it's all in the past..." Xiao Zhi couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, but facing such a girl with tears in her eyes, he couldn't just push her away immediately. He could only pat her back and comfort her.

(The situation at Sakuragi Lab is under control... but time is running out, you need to get back to the game immediately!)

Ash wanted to help Chloe calm down, but then the Pokémon management sent a warning.

If this continues, he might be eliminated in the quarterfinals!

"Xiaochun, you... never mind, you should come with me, hurry up!"

Given the girl's current condition, leaving her here might cause her psychological trauma, so Xiaozhi has no choice but to take her with him for now.

"Alakazam, go all out! Teleport with me!!" "Alakazam!!"

With a super-powered connection, Ash and Alakazam simultaneously unleashed their remaining power, intending to teleport directly from Vermilion City to Indigo Plateau!

...

"Ash, please return to the arena immediately! The match is about to begin, and you will be disqualified if you are late!"

At the main venue of the competition, the referee kept urging Ash, who hadn't shown up for a long time, to hurry up.

"What's wrong with Ash?" Serena in the stands was extremely worried. "Why isn't he coming out yet..."

"Something must have happened." Xiao Lan's expression gradually became serious.

From the moment Ash sent out Pikachu to sweep the team, she had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

But now they can only hope that Xiaozhi will return in time...

"The match time is up, due to..."

boom!

The referee had barely begun speaking when a powerful energy ball slammed into the edge of the field, and Ash and his friends appeared before everyone's eyes!

He had Pikachu perched on his shoulder, a terrified girl in his arms, and was being supported by a Lucario, with an exhausted Alakazam beside him.

He himself seemed quite tired, but his eyes remained firm and bright!

"Phew... I guess I made it in time~"

Rescue successful in ten minutes!

Chapter 213 I am a Trainer

At the same time, at Sakuragi Research Institute.

Rika and the others, along with the reinforcements sent by Ash, were on high alert, wondering how the bandits would attack. But unexpectedly, Lt. Surge's henchmen swaggered in!

They were two burly-looking guys, wearing berets and carrying several grenades. They were backed by Pokémon like Raichu, Jolteon, and Electrode, giving them a bit of the impression of Chicken (from Journey to the West) single-handedly rescuing Chan Ho-nam.

They certainly didn't want to take such a risk, but with the half-hour deadline fast approaching and the researchers still stubbornly holding on, they had no choice but to take the final step and forcibly bring Ma Xueshi out!

At this time, there was also a large number of police officers around the research institute, but they were hesitant to act against the two veterans who were determined to fight to the death.

What's more, they kept using Xiaochun as a threat, forcing the police to loosen the cordon and watch helplessly as they stepped into the courtyard...

"Nobody is allowed to move!"

"Release Boss Mt. Surge right now! Otherwise, you can expect to be collecting that little girl's corpse!"

The two arrived at the door, shouting and threatening fiercely, while the Pokémon behind them were crackling with electricity, as if they were about to self-destruct at the slightest provocation.

"Hmph, deal with them."

However, Rika was too lazy to waste words with them. The research institute had a Psyduck with the Humidity ability, which would render all explosive moves ineffective, allowing Charizard and the others to attack without any restraint!

"Roar!"

Then, Charizard roared and attacked simultaneously with his Pokémon, Dragonite, and Venusaur. The Pokémon on the other side didn't even have time to react before they were all taken down in an instant!

However, just as the Pokémon were about to finish off the two robbers, one of them suddenly lifted his shirt, revealing a ring of bombs strapped to his body!

"Let's see who dares to make a move!"

"Release Boss Mitchell immediately! Otherwise, we'll all be finished, and your daughter will die too!"

The kidnappers' final threat made Dr. Sakuragi waver, but Rika remained calm and composed.

She grabbed a tablet and pointed the screen at the two robbers' faces: "I will not hand her over to you, and Xiaochun has already been rescued. Your plan has completely failed!"

"This is..." "This is impossible!!"

The two kidnappers could hardly believe their eyes. The hostage they had gone to so much trouble to kidnap was now standing at the Quartz Plateau competition venue?!

"dedicated!!"

Just then, a strange shadow suddenly sprang out from the ground in front of them. The two men stared at the pair of scarlet eyes for only a second before their minds went blank.

A cold wind howled past, and the two robbers fell unconscious to the ground. Gengar's fat body fluctuated violently, expanding several times its original size before returning to its original state.

"Hiccup~" Gengar let out a loud burp, exhaling a puff of pungent smoke, before resuming its incredibly mischievous grin.

"That's great! Thank you so much, Gengar!" Professor Sakuragi said, still shaken. "Thanks to you all, I was able to..."

"Geng Geng~" But Gengar clearly didn't want to hear him being sarcastic, and just kept pointing at Rika's tablet.

Ash has a competition to play, so they can't be there to cheer him on. Can't they even watch the live stream?

"I'll go move the TV out right away!" The male assistant at the research institute realized what was happening and immediately went to do the hard work.

"I must explain the situation to Mr. Wataru as well." After thinking for a moment, Rika immediately sent a message to Wataru.

And so, the turmoil was finally brought to an end.

...

Meanwhile, Xiao Zhi's appearance at the venue naturally sparked a lot of discussion among the attendees.

"What just happened... Ash seems so tired?" Serena frowned.

She didn't know Xiaochun and didn't have time to care why she was there. She had noticed from the beginning that Xiaozhi was in a very bad state!

"Is he injured? Is he alright...?" Serena worriedly clasped her hands in front of her, wishing she could rush onto the field to check on Ash's condition right now.

"Don't worry, he should be fine. He's probably just exhausted." Xiao Lan quickly reassured him, "Xiao Zhi went to Vermilion City and teleported back from that distance, so of course he'd feel tired."

With Xiao Lan's intelligence, even without knowing the actual situation, she can easily imagine a hero rescuing a damsel in distress.

Wow, ten minutes!

Such a close rescue is indeed impressive, isn't it? The girl with the single ponytail who was rescued practically had her eyes glued to him!

Of course, compared to Xiaochun, who was subtly and twice manipulated, Xiaolan was more concerned about Serena's attitude.

She didn't care at all why Haru appeared; all she cared about from beginning to end was Satoshi's condition.

Her intentions couldn't be clearer...

"Alakazam, go back to your Pokémon and sleep right now." At the edge of the arena, Ash managed to give a little bit of his psychic power to the exhausted Alakazam. Once it had the power to use the Sleep move, he immediately put it back into its Pokémon.

The price he paid for doing this was that he became increasingly dizzy and lightheaded, and even felt a little unsteady on his feet.

His physical condition was fine, but the mental exhaustion made him feel dizzy and his vision blurred...

But he still forced himself to straighten up and refused to let Lucario help him up.

"Take Xiaochun to the players' passage and wait. Don't forget to take my phone."

"Are you...are you alright?" Seeing that Xiaozhi seemed a little unsteady, Xiaochun immediately hugged his arm tightly with concern.

She hasn't really recovered from her fear yet, and she unconsciously wants to stay by Ash's side.

Moreover, Ash's current condition is also very poor, and Chloe feels that she cannot abandon her savior; she should at least stay by his side to take care of him...

"Ash, is something wrong?" The referee rushed over and asked with concern.

What Ash did during the halftime match is the player's personal behavior, and the referee won't interfere, as long as he returns on time to participate.

However, given Ash's current weakened state, the referee must make an assessment; otherwise, if an accident occurs during the battle, the entire tournament organizing committee will bear joint responsibility.

"I'm fine, I'm just a little tired..." Ash quickly waved his hand, while gently comforting Chloe, "This is a very safe place. You go to the back with Lucario to rest first, and I'll explain in detail to you after we're done."

"But given your current condition..."

"It's okay... I'm a trainer."

Faced with Xiaochun's concerns, Xiaozhi simply and firmly revealed his identity.

His voice was very soft, but it seemed to carry a strange power that silenced Xiaochun, the referee, his opponent, and all the talking spectators at the same time!

"The match isn't over yet, and my opponent is still waiting for me... No matter my current situation, I must stand on the court and finish this battle on my own!"

Chapter 214 Ash and Pikachu, Achieving Fame in One Battle! (3000+ words)

This resounding declaration stunned all the audience members present.

A moment later, a burst of applause came from somewhere in the hall, and then it seemed to spread and intensify until the whole hall was filled with thunderous applause!