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

Of course, in Xiaozhi's opinion, the lessons learned from failure are very limited and far from enough to make up for the bitterness of failure itself.

Truly excellent trainers can accumulate experience and transform it into strength whenever they battle with others.

If a trainer has to go through repeated failures to discover their own shortcomings, it only means that they don't understand themselves at all!

...

Back at the hotel, Xiao Zhi checked on Mo En and found that he was fine and had not encountered any suspicious people.

'Lillie' also confirmed that there was no sign of the Ultimate Cave opening at the Listening Waves Hotel.

"Could it really be aimed at Ash?" Misty frowned worriedly.

The opening of three Ultra Holes in succession, all of which happened to be right above Ash's head, would be interpreted by anyone as a signal of a major enemy invasion!

However, after some thought, Ash rejected this view.

"No...it must just be a coincidence, and an uncontrollable activation at that!"

The previous situation did seem like it was intentional on the part of the opponents, but thinking about it from another perspective, why were they in such a hurry to target Ash?

If they want to be enemies with Ash, they should at least know about Ash's deeds... The Red Devil is not just a name, and Ash has been accompanied by legends many times. How could a mere Ultra Beast really do anything to him?

Besides, that place is a relic of life; Tapu Lele is floating in the sky right there. Opening an Ultra Cave there would be asking for the wrath of the Guardian Angels!

Therefore, this must be a large-scale experiment by the other side, and they still cannot control the opening location of the Ultimate Hole, otherwise they wouldn't have sent three holes together.

In the end, not only was the experiment not completed, but it also gave Ash another reminder.

Even so, Ash still felt that the problem with the Aether Foundation should be resolved as soon as possible so that he could truly master the means to counter it!

Then let's expose more weaknesses...

To expedite the process of alerting Moen, Ash tacitly allowed Moen to move freely in Koh-i-City and even Akara Island, and secretly spread his identity.

In short, now Moen can see anyone except his wife and children.

Meanwhile, Ash secretly deployed Lucario, Alakazam, and Gengar as a team to monitor Moen's movements around the clock. With the addition of Shiny Nihilego, who was by Moen's side as his daughter, the defense was foolproof.

He wanted to see if anyone could get in touch with Moen before Rosamina could!

During the waiting period, Ash certainly wouldn't be idle. Akara Island has abundant natural resources, which can provide a very good training environment for his Pokémon.

So Charizard took the newly evolved Cyndaquil to Mount Verna, while Venusaur went to the Shady Jungle with Chikorita and Heracross... Chikorita was willing to temporarily part ways with Ash in order to train and become stronger.

As for Ash himself, he originally planned to send his Water-type Pokémon to Chirping Hill, but after Misty heard that it was a fishing paradise, she immediately begged Ash to go on a picnic there with her.

Ash readily agreed and decisively decided to take Blastoise, Lapras, Magikarp, and Totodile with him to go fishing and have fun with Misty and her two friends.

Xiao Gang didn't come along. He made an excuse that he wanted to go and stroll around the commercial street in Konik City again, and then ran off by himself.

Judging from this, it's obvious he's going to find Liz again for another earth-shattering Love Fist!

...

The babbling hills of Akala Island are actually a huge pond, with many small islands of varying heights dividing the water so that it flows from top to bottom until it merges into the distant sea.

Looking at the hills from a distance, it resembles a lake flowing through them, hence the name "Murmuring Hills".

"Wow, this place is really spectacular!" As soon as Xia saw the whole view of the babbling hill, she couldn't take her eyes off it.

For trainers specializing in Water-type Pokémon, Chirp Hill is undoubtedly a paradise.

Furthermore, due to Alola's geographical environment, water-type Pokémon from all over the world can often be found in the waters of this region. Misty has made up her mind that if she catches her favorite Pokémon, she must catch it as soon as possible!

"Ahem... Could the young man over there with three female companions come over here for a moment?" Just as everyone was about to send out their Water-type Pokémon to swim in the center of the pond, the voice of an unfamiliar old man suddenly came over.

"What advice do you have for me?" Xiao Zhi turned his head and looked at the other person, who was sitting by the lake with a fishing rod in his hand, dressed as a fisherman.

"You're planning to fish at Munchlade Hill, aren't you?" the old man asked, sounding very helpful. "There aren't many good Pokémon near the water's edge at Munchlade Hill. If you want to catch something powerful, you'll have to go to the center of the pond. But with so many of you, it'll be difficult without a boat..."

"Grandpa, we actually..."

“But you’re in luck today. I happen to have a boat that I can lend you.” The old man pointed to a small, dilapidated boat beside him. “With it, you can row as far as you want on the lake… and the rental fee is very cheap. All you have to do is catch me an ugly fish.”

"Ugly..." "Fish?!"

Xiaoxia and Lila looked at each other, both agreeing that the old man was definitely joking.

"That's right, it's that ugly, silly-looking Feebas... Trading such an ordinary Pokémon for a ship is already a very reasonable price." The old man continued to encourage them.

Xiaoxia and Lila finally realized that he was a damn old liar!

Ugly Fish, ordinary?

Do you really think they are children who know nothing?

If they actually caught an ugly fish, they would cherish it and treasure it. They would only trade it for a broken boat if they were kicked in the head by a mud donkey!

Chapter 395 Xiaoxia's destined love, that must be...

“Sir, we appreciate your kindness, but we don’t need the boat.”

Considering the other person's age and the difficulty of deceiving others, Xiao Zhi didn't intend to say anything too harsh.

He went to the water's edge on his own and summoned the dragon, then planned to take the three women into the water with him...

"Hey, wait a minute! Are you planning to ride a Water-type Pokémon into Chiffon Hill? Absolutely not!" the old man shouted from behind, stopping them. "Don't you know there are monsters in Chiffon Hill!"

"A monster?" The old man's words caught Ash and the others' attention.

"Yes..." the old man sighed, feigning reminiscence, "No one knows how it appeared. All we know is that it's like the overlord of the pond, attacking any Pokémon or even humans it encounters... especially Pokémon swimming on the lake's surface, which it will definitely see as a provocation. That's why I asked you to take the boat."

The old man spoke earnestly, as if he were saying, "I'm doing this for your own good."

"Is it that scary? How do you know?" Xiao Lan asked, feigning curiosity.

"Don't you know? I'm a professional angler with forty years of experience! For the past fifty years, I've come here every year to fight it to the death, a total of sixty times! But I've always failed, so much so that over the past seventy years, fewer and fewer people have come to Munchong Hill to visit..."

"Alright, alright." Xiao Lan hurriedly waved her hand to stop them, took Xiao Zhi's arm and left. "If you keep blowing like that, you'll turn to ashes yourself."

"And...sir, I have to remind you of something," Ash said with a slight smile, turning back. "I'm an investigator, and the fact that you tricked a passing trainer into giving Feebas a wrecked ship is a serious matter that could be a minor one or a major one."

"Investigator... investigator?!"

While the old man stood there in shock, Xiao Zhi finally led the three girls into the lake.

Lyra released Onix, Misty stood on Starmie, Blue borrowed Blastoise, and Ash naturally became Lapras. The four of them swam leisurely on the lake, while Magikarp and Totodile frolicked around in the lake.

"Do you think that old man's claim about being the 'pond overlord' is true or false?" Xia asked curiously.

"It's hard to say whether it's true or not, but the fact that there are fewer tourists at Munch Hill is definitely not the problem of that overlord." Xiao Lan shook her head and said, "There are not many people here now because it often rains heavily. When that happens, the water level in the pool rises and the flow rate increases, which can easily lead to danger."

"The story about that Totem Pokémon is true, but there's not much point in capturing it," Ash continued. "There's a Totem Pokémon in the Stream Hills that can even rival a Legendary Pokémon under certain circumstances, but it can't be used in regular battles."

The so-called pond overlord is, of course, the wabi-wabi, which is a fish that grows in schools.

In the anime Sun and Moon, the fishing battle between Lana and the pond's overlord was quite exciting... Of course, Ash's waist-grabbing move was even more spectacular!

However, that only applies to ponds in the wild. In formal competitions, even in water arenas, no one would use Wishiwashi to fight.

Schools of fish... This is a feature in games, but in the real world, this is what a group of wimps would look like gathered together.

Thousands upon thousands of wispy catfish can indeed unleash legendary power, but can they be contained in a ball?

That's why the pond's dominant force is confined to the pond.

Compared to Wishiwashi and other dominant Pokémon that couldn't move, Ash was actually more concerned about the Pokémon that the old man was trying to trick.

"Oh right, that old man just said..." Lila suddenly realized, "Could it be that there really are ugly fish in the pond?"

"Very likely," Little Blue nodded with a smile. "I say... how about we have a competition? Let's see who's lucky enough to catch the Uglyfish today!"

"No problem, I definitely won't lose in a fishing contest!" Xiaoxia was the first to agree, and excitedly set up her fishing rod.

She quickly thought of something else, took out a special bait and tossed it to Xiao Lan: "Here, this is for you."

"It's quite exquisite, thanks." Looking at her chibi-style self, Xiao Lan immediately fell in love with it.

At this point, she also discovered that Lila also had a special bait, which was also in her own image.

But then, Xiao Lan couldn't help but sneer.

Ash was using Misty's bait, while Misty, as if showing off, slowly took out Ash's bait.

"Hua Lan's sister, you're quite the player," Xiao Lan scoffed. "Are you showing off in front of me?"

"You're jealous? Then why don't you switch with him?" Xiaoxia said, pretending to be nonchalant, but she was a little uneasy inside.

Although she said that Ash must carry his own bait with him at all times, it seems there's no way for Blue to do so if she really wants to...

After all… Serena might be the official wife, but Little Blue is even more powerful than the official wife~

"I'm not jealous at all~" Xiao Lan shrugged nonchalantly.

Everything happening around Ash now is with Blue's tacit approval, so she doesn't need to be jealous.

"Everyone, let's begin!" After everyone was ready, Xiao Zhi waved his hand with high spirits and cast his fishing rods together with the three girls.

Just then, several Pokémon in the grass by the water seemed to be disturbed... They inadvertently flapped their wings, and a torrential downpour instantly descended upon the babbling hill!

"Is the rain really on time?" Ash was taken aback for a moment, then quickly released his psychic powers to create a shield above the three girls' heads.

As for the rising water level, there's absolutely no need to worry. Ash is a person with the power of the Sea King, and the water flow at Munch Hill is quite docile now.

Ignoring the impact of the heavy rain, the four of them swam in the lake and caught various water-type Pokémon... but they didn't catch any Feebas.