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

"Gyarados feels it's its fault. It's worried that it might scare you, especially since it gets easily flustered; but at the same time, it really wants to become stronger and help you win battles... This contradiction has been tormenting it."

"I didn't expect Gyarados to be such a dishonest guy," Misty couldn't help but shake her head and chuckle.

"Yes, that's just like you~"

"I didn't... um!" She subconsciously met Ash's gaze, yet couldn't bear to look directly into the fervent desire hidden in his eyes...

Okay, okay, she'll just not be honest, fine!

But how can a girl be honest about that kind of thing...? No, that's not the point right now, is it?!

"So, show it with your actions," Ash reminded him with a smile. "Tell Gyarados that you're no longer afraid of it, that you'll become a trainer it can trust, and that you can grow stronger together with it!"

"Practical action... I understand!" Xiaoxia seemed to realize something, and immediately stood up and shouted towards the sea, "Gyarados, come out!"

"Roar!" The dragon, which hadn't gone far, leaped out of the water, only to find a fishing rod pointing at it.

"Gyarados, let's have a fishing battle! You can decide for yourself whether I'm even qualified to be your trainer!"

"Roar..." Xiaoxia was full of fighting spirit, but Gyarados seemed a little hesitant.

Xiaoxia wants to fish for it in the sea?

Gyarados was really worried that it might accidentally hurt Misty...

"Why don't you two have a match? This is a chance for you to truly understand each other!" Ash advised.

"Roar... Roar!" Ash's words carried weight. After a slight hesitation, Gyarados returned to the water and raised its head towards Misty.

That was a provocation; in its eyes, Xia had become a challenger!

"Let's go then! I'll use special bait to decide the winner!" Xiaoxia said as she took off her shoes and socks, while pulling out the storage box for the bait.

She was very skillful in this regard; the box contained three doll-shaped baits, each one lifelike.

Ash glanced at it briefly and found that besides Misty's own version, there was another version of him, and the last one was Blue's image.

It's not surprising at all; they've always had a good relationship...

"White Sea Lion, let's go!" Xiaoxia baited her hook, released the White Sea Lion, and carried herself into the sea to begin searching for Gyarados.

"Hmm... Is it here?"

boom!

Just as Xiaoxia turned around alertly, a huge wave suddenly crashed over her, almost pushing her and the white sea lion into the sea!

By the time Gyarados roared past, Misty was completely soaked in seawater.

"As expected of Gyarados!" It wasn't until they actually started battling that Xiaoxia realized just how powerful Gyarados really was.

She felt even more guilty, believing it was all her fault for being so useless, preventing Gyarados from unleashing its full power...

Therefore, this time we must convey our feelings to it no matter what!

"White sea lion, get ready... get out of the way!"

Hearing the roar behind her again, Xiaoxia immediately held her breath and commanded the white sea lion to move sideways before the huge wave hit!

At the same time, she swung her fishing rod quickly, accurately throwing the bait into the Gyarados's mouth!

"Roar!" Gyarados let out a thunderous roar, its entire body surging with power, and it immediately began to swim at top speed!

"Ugh...that was close!" The sudden force almost caused Misty to lose her grip on the fishing rod. She and the White Sea Lion could only barely hold onto the rod, passively being dragged along in the sea by the Gyarados.

Gyarados seemed to have entered a berserk mode, sometimes diving into the seabed and sometimes even making a sudden leap, almost throwing Misty away several times!

Aside from not using its special attack, it has already given it its all!

Misty, hanging behind Gyarados, can't do anything now. Her only remaining belief is to hold on tightly to the fishing rod in her hand!

And that's exactly what Gyarados was thinking.

(That's it, you have to hang in there...)

(Come and guide me, Trainer!!)

Gyarados didn't want to keep throwing a tantrum and really wanted to fight for Misty and get stronger together with her!

However, it still gets carried away and worries that the trainer who used to be afraid of it might not be able to hold its hand as tightly as it does now...

"Gyarados?" For some reason, Xiaoxia felt a surge of longing.

That's... a Gyarados swimming at high speed!

It needs to succeed on its own; it needs to catch it itself!

"Sea Lion, let's go! Use Water Jet to catch up with it!!" Knowing that Sea Lion couldn't possibly catch up with Gyarados at its speed, Misty immediately had it use a priority move to dash.

A powerful current of water swirled around the white sea lion. After several dashes, it finally managed to get to the side and rear, attempting to keep up with the Gyarados!

"Swim in curves, try to get ahead of it and lead it forward!" While controlling the white sea lion's swimming path, Xiaoxia began to constantly reel in and release the fishing line, trying to control the Gyarados' swimming direction!

And Dewl has finally overtaken Gyarados, so now Misty is leading Gyarados forward!

"Now's the time! Come on, Gyarados!!" In a moment of reeling in and releasing, feeling that Gyarados was completely pulled by the fishing line, Xiaoxia swung her arms and swung the fishing rod high above her head!

Meanwhile, the Gyarados in the sea instinctively used its momentum and the pull of the fishing line to leap up, drawing a perfect arc above Xiaoxia's head!

"Success!!"

"Roar!!"

Under the cover of night, a person and their pet simultaneously let out joyful cries!

After falling back into the water, Gyarados stopped its restlessness and affectionately approached Misty.

"Gyarados..." Gently stroking Gyarados's head and horns, Misty seemed to truly understand Gyarados's heart at that moment.

It has always been like a ship sailing aimlessly.

What it lacks is a helmsman, a trainer who will always guide it forward!

"Understood, I'll do my best!" Xiaoxia solemnly promised. "I wasn't mature enough before... From now on, let's get stronger together and strive to become true Water-type Pokémon Masters!!"

"Roar!!"

Xiaoxia was met with a resolute roar from Gyarados!

Chapter 302 Besides fishing, I also caught a person~

"Here, put this on, so you don't catch a cold."

When Xiaoxia returned to the shore, Xiaozhi immediately came to greet her, draped a clean towel over her body, and led her to the newly lit fire to dry off.

That fishing duel just now was absolutely spectacular; Ash was on the edge of his seat watching it.

He even sent out Blastoise, Lapras, and Magikarp, worried that Misty might be in danger... Fortunately, Misty is indeed a fishing expert, and she actually managed to catch a Gyarados!

"Thank you~" Xiaoxia casually dried her hair and draped a bath towel over herself.

She was completely soaked by the seawater, her clothes clinging tightly to her body, outlining her already emerging curves.

Her previous single braid had been torn apart by the seawater and now hung casually down her back, with water droplets occasionally trickling down her forehead and temples, then gently tracing her fair collarbone…

Seeing this beautiful scenery, Ash, who has absolutely no self-control, could only stare at it intently.

Otherwise, are we supposed to remain unmoved by beauty in front of us?

He's not that kind of person!

"Hey, have you seen enough?" Misty waved her hand playfully in front of Ash's face, but she wasn't angry. Her face just looked a little rosier in the firelight…

It definitely wouldn't work for anyone else, but if it's Ash... well, let him be.

In this respect, he has always been shameless.

And as for himself, he was actually...

"I've noticed that your hair looks quite good down," Xiao Zhi said with a smile, snapping out of his reverie.

Sure enough, the person showed no shame at being caught spying on them; instead, they openly admired the sight.

Now that things have come to this, he doesn't really need to... no, it should be said that from the very beginning, Xiaozhi never intended to hide anything.

The girl in front of him was definitely going to make his heart flutter, and he had no reason to deny it!

"Ash, thank you so much this time!" Misty sincerely thanked Ash. "If it weren't for your reminder, Gyarados and I would probably never have been able to understand each other."

"That's because Misty really worked hard, and Gyarados trusts you a lot," Ash said with a smile. "I couldn't take my eyes off you as you fought with all your might in the sea."

"Really?" Xiaoxia asked in surprise.

"Really!" Ash nodded solemnly. "Misty has really become a powerful trainer, and with Gyarados's help, you'll become even stronger than you are now!"

"But it's all because of you!" Xiaoxia exclaimed excitedly, even unconsciously tightening her grip on Xiaozhi's wrist. "I...I'm so grateful to have met you, to have traveled with you, and to this day..."

Overwhelmed with emotion, the girl, who had been warmly encouraged by Xiaozhi, trembled as she poured out her heart. Her eyes flickered with the firelight, constantly tracing the figure of the boy in front of her in her pupils.

She stopped thinking about the people and things around him, and didn't care who came first or who came last. Right now, she wanted to imprint the person in front of her in her heart through her gaze!

"Since you like it, how about we extend the trip?" Ash gently invited, turning his wrist to intertwine his fingers with the girl's.

"Not just the Orange Islands, but also the city of Kyoto and anywhere else... as long as Xia is willing, we can be together forever!"

“We…” Xiaoxia was stunned for a moment. Xiaozhi’s last words were clearly meaningful.