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

That is, Xiao Yin's father!

"Silver, if you can't accept defeat, you can't move forward! In order to preserve Team Rocket's strength, I must abandon Kanto..."

"But what good will it do to save it? You'll still lose, and you'll lose to a little kid!"

"Many hands make light work, and that's why Team Rocket exists. It's just a pity that I couldn't unleash the team's full potential... But one day, I will definitely lead them back to make a comeback and take Kanto back to our grasp!"

The little AI could tell that Sakaki still completely trusted his subordinates at this point, and this conversation must have taken place before the chaos in Kanto.

At that time, Sakaki had not yet conceived the idea of ​​streamlining the organization and throwing most of his underlings out as cannon fodder.

As for why Silver was in Viridian City, Ash thought it might be because of him.

During the battle at the Viridian Gym, Ash deliberately used this information to provoke Giovanni. Although Giovanni was eventually rescued, he inevitably became suspicious.

Therefore, it's reasonable to bring his son over to check on his safety and show his fatherly ambition before completely evacuating Tokiwa City.

Sakaki probably never imagined that he would be criticized by his son.

Sure enough, kids have a rebellious streak... just like Ash doesn't really like his dad, and Mewtwo didn't like him much at first either~

"I don't understand what you're saying, and I don't want to understand it at all!" Xiaoyin clenched her fist excitedly, completely disagreeing with Sakaki's ideas.

"Gin, you'll understand eventually..."

"I don't want to understand!" Little Silver completely ignored Sakaki's explanations. "You always act superior, making yourself seem very powerful, but that's just because you've gathered a bunch of weaklings who only know how to look up to you! I won't become like you, and I won't place my hopes on the weak... Even if I'm weak now, I will continue to grow stronger through my own efforts!!"

Little Silver roared at the top of his lungs before turning and running away, leaving Sakaki standing alone in the darkness.

But a moment later, a sinister smile appeared on Sakaki's face, as if he had just realized something.

"I never imagined I'd be lectured by my own child!"

"Indeed, the current Rockets team is just a bunch of weaklings, all putting on airs, which made me think for a moment that they could help me become stronger..."

"It seems like it's time to make some choices and find some truly reliable people."

Chapter 353 Vani Joins the Team, the Dust Settles Down

After his thoughts returned to normal, Ash's expression became somewhat conflicted.

He was certainly familiar with the generational storyline, after all, it was a pretty good short-form anime…

In other words, the reason why Giovanni launched the Kanto Rebellion so boldly, risking a bunch of ragtag soldiers to be taken prisoner by the Alliance, was actually because of what Gin said.

Very good, thanks to this kid's efforts, his old man is now even more difficult to deal with.

Ash also paid close attention to Giovanni's last words.

He didn't know how much of Team Rocket's strength Giovanni was planning to abandon. Was he planning to start from scratch completely?

He had no idea what kind of people Sakaki was looking for to become his new henchmen.

Are they the notorious villains on the list, or... are they simply a bunch of ambitious villainous bosses?

This world is truly full of disasters and hardships.

Ash rolled his eyes at Silver, speechless. If a Rainbow Rocket team were to suddenly appear in the future, none of the Silvers would be innocent.

"What kind of look is that?" Silver frowned unconsciously, feeling that Ash's gaze was full of malice.

"It's nothing, I'm just thinking about what to do next." Ash chuckled. "You did a great job capturing Team Rocket, and the League will be giving you a reward, including money and some nice items. Have you decided what you want?"

"I don't need those things," Little Silver said dismissively, turning her head away.

"But the League, as the official body, is supposed to have a clear system of rewards and punishments," Ash advised. "Besides, you're probably short on money, aren't you? You were working to earn healing items before..."

"Can you please not bring this up again?" Xiao Yin's face flushed red.

Honestly, why didn't he just ask someone back then...? Is he really a socially awkward person?

However, Xiao Yin clearly cares more about other things than the reward.

"Rewards are fine with me, but I have a request," Little Silver asked earnestly, "Could you have a match with me?"

"Sure, but only after I finish what I'm doing." Xiao Zhi agreed readily, but not immediately.

"You should prepare well in the meantime. I have to deal with these prisoners and probably need to challenge the Azalea Gym. After that, we can battle."

"Okay, I'll wait!" Xiao Yin nodded reassuredly.

As long as Ash agrees, the timing doesn't matter.

The matter in the paulownia forest was resolved, but just as Ash was about to leave, the little totodile suddenly rushed over and bit Ash's ankle.

Strangely enough, the sharp teeth that were supposed to be sharp enough to bite through the iron cage didn't even pierce Ash's trouser leg!

The little tortoise felt an invisible force holding back its upper and lower jaws, and no matter how hard it tried, it couldn't bite down.

"Little guy, you've got plenty of energy." Ash chuckled as he scooped the Totodile into his arms. "We're comrades now, how about coming to stay by my side?"

"Vani, Vani!" The little tortoise thought for a moment, then immediately agreed with a beaming smile.

I don't know why, but it just feels like it really likes Ash, and Ash really is amazing... especially that combo he used before~

"Then please guide me." Ash happily took out a Poké Ball and accepted this third of the Johto starter Pokémon.

It's quite a special kind of fate to be able to meet the original character, Xiao Wani, ahead of time.

"Do you... still need to catch this kind of Pokémon now?" Silver frowned slightly upon seeing this, seemingly not approving of Ash's behavior.

In his view, once trainers become stronger, they should capture those Pokémon that are already powerful, and should not continue to raise these babies.

"Catching more different kinds of Pokémon helps improve a trainer's overall abilities," Ash casually explained. "And with more partners, you can make battles more varied by changing the items you hold... and by relying on a tactical system, you can also make your partners stronger."

"Hmph, I don't think such a weak Pokémon can be of any help in battle."

It's not that Xiaoyin's perception is wrong, but Xiaozhi's current behavior really seems to him like that person's style, both of them placing their hopes on weaker people.

As a strong person, one should constantly hone oneself and improve one's strength. The companions one recruits later should also be strong. How can one waste time on weaklings?!

"Silver, I won't argue with you about whether this idea is right or wrong. You'll have to figure it out for yourself in the future," Ash earnestly advised. "But one thing, you absolutely must never think... that Totodile is a weak Pokémon!"

Are you kidding me? A small tortoise that can easily trigger Water Tail is already level 40+ in the game. You call that a baby?

Actually, it's not just Totodile; the Heracross, Chikorita, and Cyndaquil that Ash caught in Johto are all at pretty high levels.

Chikorita and the others don't evolve because their original lives were relatively comfortable, and they didn't encounter the stimuli that would lead to evolution. But that doesn't mean they haven't reached the level to evolve!

As for the fact that it didn't evolve after being subdued in the original work, that can only be blamed on its limited appearances.

...

With a group of prisoners, Ash instantly teleported back to town. He handed the Team Rocket members over to Officer Jenny for custody and also made sure to tell Rika to prepare a series of rewards for Silver.

Now that Ash has reached the top rank as an investigator, he can decide what rewards he deserves.

In short, it will definitely be very generous; he won't be as stingy as his father.

By the way, Miss Rika has become his full-time subordinate and secretary... That's probably the biggest perk of being a high-ranking investigator~

"Ash, Silver, thank you so much this time!" With the dust settled, Steel excitedly rushed forward, "The Slowpoke God is back! The drought in Azalea Town will soon be relieved!"

"Brother Silver, are you alright?" The little girl Chie hugged her Slowpoke and looked at Silver with concern.

"It's nothing..." The person's grumpy face softened for once.

"But I still think it's too much! Those bastards from Team Rocket, how could they hurt Slowpoke like that!" Seeing a group of Slowpoke without tails, Misty was now gritting her teeth, wishing she could kick those bastards.

"It's alright, thankfully there was no damage. Their tails will grow back eventually," Xiao Gang comforted them.

Slowpoke are Pokémon with a low pain threshold. They won't even notice if their tails break off, and by the time they realize the pain, a new one has already grown back.

However, there is a prerequisite: they must actively break off their tails or let them fall off naturally. If you cut them with a knife like Team Rocket does, even the most sluggish Slowpoke will be in unbearable pain.

"If you want to solve the drought... Lila, I'm counting on you." Ash thought of a solution, "Let's call out King Hippowdon."

"No problem, Hippowdon, lead everyone in using Rain Dance!" Lila understood immediately and called out the clever Hippowdon to start directing the Slowpokes on the scene.

King Hippo, also known as King Slowpoke, is, as the name suggests, the king of all Slowpokes.

Ash also released the power of Viridian, helping the Slowpokes recover slightly.

Then, countless water balloons shot into the air one after another, and a torrential downpour began in an instant!

"Great!" "It's finally raining again!"

Steel, Chie, and all the townspeople who had been hiding at home have now flocked to the scene, happily celebrating in the rain.

As Ash watched this scene, he suddenly noticed a faint, seven-colored distortion in the sky behind Lyra!

But it disappeared in an instant…

Chapter 354 The Major Move in Ye Town and the Mysteriously Opened Ultimate Cave

Even after the downpour stopped, Ash kept staring at the distant sky, but there was nothing unusual there anymore, only a beautiful rainbow after the rain.

This made Xiao Zhi frown slightly. He was sure he hadn't seen wrong; there were indeed some strange phenomena in the sky over there.

"Xiao Zhi, what's wrong?" Xiao Xia asked with concern upon seeing the situation.

“Something seems amiss, but there’s no way to verify it now, so let’s put it aside for now.” Ash shook his head. “I’m going to interrogate those Team Rocket grunts next. You can stay at Mr. Steel’s house and wait for me.”

"Welcome, welcome! You can stay as long as you like," Steel said with a hearty laugh. "If you get bored, you can go to the back of my house. There are many mandarin fruit trees there. If you pick any fruit, I can make you special Poké Balls."