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

Ash is definitely a powerful trainer. If you challenge someone without proper preparation, you will definitely lose badly.

“Um… Feebas is actually quite fast, and they’re generally very strong; they’re Pokémon that are very good at jumping,” Lillie explained in a low voice.

“Lillie knows Feebas very well.” Ash nodded with a smile. “I trained it based on these characteristics. The most important thing for fish Pokémon is their ability to jump with their tails. After training, they can also move forcibly on land like that.”

“I’ve only… occasionally seen some,” Lillie said awkwardly.

“Lillie is the most knowledgeable person about Pokémon in our class,” Mallow said from the side.

“But she’s never even tried Pokémon before!” Mamane asked, cradling her little cousin close by.

"I...of course I've had contact with them! But that was in the past...and theoretically, if I wanted to contact them..."

Lillie's serious yet conflicted expression made Ash smile.

She should have reunited with her father, and the truth about what happened back then has come to light. However, the trauma is not so easy to heal, and she still has a fear of Pokémon.

"Hmm..." Lillie quickly lowered her head and covered her face with the wide brim of her hat when she inadvertently met Ash's scrutinizing gaze.

This made Xiaozhi quite confused. What exactly had that family said to her? Were they treating her like a monster?!

"Next up is my surprise! Let's have a Tauros riding contest!" Kiawe was next up, leading several Tauros from the school, intending to compete with Ash in riding a bull.

“No problem, but I need to remove the riding equipment.” Ash casually grabbed a Tauros, removed the saddle and reins, and then neatly and cleanly flipped it onto its back by the horns.

"Wow, that's amazing!" Kachi exclaimed in surprise.

In Alola, people and Pokémon live together, and riding Pokémon is a major feature, but they are all equipped with riding gear, and very few people ride without any gear like Ash.

And the final result was self-evident. Ash was an expert at riding Pokémon. He didn't even need a saddle to ride Dragonite, let alone Tauros that runs on the ground.

Having abandoned all the miscellaneous equipment, the Tauros, with its hooves flailing about, easily won.

"Impressive riding skills, Kiawe is no match for you." Kukui then joined in, accompanied by a Pokémon that looked like a small dog.

Rockruff... Ash's eyes lit up at the sight of this one. It must be the Twilight Wolf that Ash caught in the original story.

Ash has always wanted to verify whether the reason it evolved into Dusk Mode was simply because of Flashy Green, or whether this Rockruff was special enough.

"Ash, the final surprise is me! Come battle me and Rockruff!" Kukui challenged him, "I felt really unsatisfied after yesterday's battle."

"I couldn't be happier!" Ash exclaimed excitedly.

The battles with Kukui have always been limited to brief exchanges; it's time for a decisive showdown!

"Then let's do it now..."

"Click!" A figure appeared like lightning, instantly blocking Ash and Kukui.

"Tap Koko?"

Everyone present was stunned; the guardian deity had actually appeared at this moment!

“It seems Tapu Koko wants to take my place and become Ash’s test.” Kukui smiled wryly. “Rumor has it that Ash’s Z-Ring was a gift from Tapu Koko, and now it seems that’s true.”

"I know why you're here, but please let me finish my battle with the professor first." To everyone's surprise, Ash shook his head seriously at Tapu Koko. "Everything is about first come, first served... Besides, I want to verify some things!"

"Ash...?" "Is he rejecting his guardian spirit?"

The students were completely dumbfounded. Xiao Zhi really wasn't afraid of being struck by lightning!

Of course, Ash wasn't worried about Tapu Koko going berserk; he knew how to communicate with these capricious legendary Pokémon.

The most important thing is to be sincere and open-hearted. Since Ash has not mastered the Super Power, all he can do is take the initiative to explain his wishes and demands, and then let them make the decision.

If they agree, then everyone will be happy.

But if everything that needs to be said has already been said, and they still act unreasonably like Tapu Lele... a good beating would actually solve the problem.

"Crack!" Tapu Koko didn't get angry as everyone expected. Instead, it flew to the center of the battlefield and acted as a referee in a very professional manner.

“I don’t know what to say anymore.” Mamane was practically in awe.

“My grandfather never received this kind of treatment before.” Kachi’s grandfather was also the king of the island, but he was certain that the other party had never received any special treatment from Tapu Lele.

"Click!"

"Rockdog, howl!" With Tapu Koko's command, Kukui immediately directed Rockdog to let out a loud howl, boosting its attack ahead of time.

"Frill, Boiling Water!" Ash went all out, and Frill spewed out a jet of scalding water that hit Rockruff squarely in the body, and with a burst of luck, it even burned the Rockruff!

"It's okay, charge in and use Bite!"

"Use the whirlpool to stop it!"

Kukui didn't take it seriously and commanded Rockruff to continue the attack, but Ash ordered Feebas to create a huge whirlpool in front of it, completely blocking the opponent's path.

Just as the rock dog was about to take a detour to attack, it happened to see the ugly fish jumping around provocatively on the other side.

"bluff!"

"Woof..." Rock Dog let out an angry growl, and its attack power increased significantly!

"Rockdog, try using Rock Slide!" Kukui couldn't figure out Rockdog's condition either, so he could only try to get it to attack.

However, the Rock Dog seemed unaffected, and continued to fire more rocks with increased power, even easily piercing through the water curtain formed by the whirlpool!

"There's an opportunity! Rockruff, use Impact now!"

"Ugly Fish, protect me!"

Seeing the water curtain collapse, Kukui immediately commanded Rockruff to charge at full speed. Rockruff plunged into the whirlpool, and the powerful force completely dispersed the water flow, also knocking Feebas backward!

Fortunately, the protective measures were taken in time, and the ugly fish was only slightly disheveled and not seriously injured.

"Ash, your special move seems to have backfired," Kukui said with a laugh.

"That's a bit strange..." Lillie, who was watching the battle, frowned unconsciously. She felt that it wasn't that the special move had the opposite effect, but that it hadn't worked at all!

Kukui didn't notice this; he had already pressed his advantage and was now in a full-on attack stance!

"Rockdogler, Ultra Invincible Impact!" With the power of a normal Z-type attack, Rockdogler charged towards Feebas with an aura no less than Giga Impact!

"You won't be so easy to defeat us!" Ash also placed his Z-Crystal. "Frill, Mega Swirl!"

boom! !

The water surged, engulfing the entire area in a whirlpool. The Rockruff, constantly tearing through the water, grew slower and slower, ultimately failing to reach the Feebas...

Seeing Rockruff gradually collapse to the ground, Ash confirmed his guess.

This rock dog is special!

Chapter 426 The Real Surprise, Subjugation!

"A great fight, but I lost."

After the battle ended, Kukui picked up the Rockruff, who could no longer fight, and readily admitted his defeat.

He thoroughly enjoyed the battle, and Rockruff maintained its offensive throughout, without ever experiencing any confusion or counter-damage. The overall attack rhythm was extremely smooth.

Unfortunately, in the final Z-Move battle, they were defeated by type advantage.

"Your Feebas is really amazing. I didn't expect it to be trained to this extent." Looking at the little fish jumping around in Ash's arms, Kukui couldn't help but marvel at the strength of his opponent's training and command abilities.

"It's not entirely due to my training." Ash shook his head. "This Feebas was part of the Trial at Stream Hill before, so it was already quite strong."

"The Trial of the Murmuring Hill?" The students present all perked up their ears.

"Well, as long as you can catch Feebas in the pond and gain its approval, you're qualified to challenge the pond's ruler. If you win, you can get a Water-Z," Ash explained.

"The Pond Overlord, could it be Kyogre?" Water Lily wondered idly.

"Lanium... Kyogre is a legendary Pokémon that's almost impossible to find, and even if it did, it wouldn't be in a pond..."

Lillie, standing nearby, offered a timid reminder, but this did nothing to stop Lana's daydreaming: "Maybe it's a Mega Gyarados!"

Seeing Shui Lian's overjoyed expression, everyone was speechless.

"It's not a Mega Gyarados, but its abilities are about the same, so it won't be easy to defeat it," Ash said with a smile. "However, Feebas is tired of being repeatedly hooked, so it plans to change its lifestyle and grow stronger by my side."

As he spoke, Ash fed Feebas a blue Energy Cube, which the fish immediately squinted and devoured with gusto.

"Energy Cubes...that must be a common food for Coordinators," Kukui said curiously.

“Indeed, but there are many other uses as well, and it is more suitable for targeted feeding than general food,” Ash explained. “For example, Feebas is more suitable for bitter-tasting energy cubes, and it likes that flavor very much.”

"Doctor, why are astringent fruits better suited to feeding ugly fish?" Mao asked, raising her hand.

Her family owns a restaurant, so she deals with berries all the time and is also very interested in Pokémon feeding.

"Referring to the Grand Festival, it should be able to increase beauty level," Kukui thought for a moment and said, "Femme can't evolve through simple breeding; its beauty level must reach a certain point. However, few people use this method now; carrying Beauty Scales is faster... Hey, doesn't Ash's Femme also have Beauty Scales?"

Kukui paused for a moment before realizing that Ash's Feebas did indeed have a particularly beautiful scale hidden under its dorsal fin.

Logically, it should have been able to evolve...

"I'm just letting it carry around; I don't intend to rely on it to evolve." Ash shook his head. "Using energy cubes and specific Pokémon massage techniques can bring out the beauty of a Pokémon. I chose to use this method to help Feebas explore its unique beauty... As for the scales, they're just icing on the cake."

"Mmm~" Feebas happily rubbed against Ash's chest, then continued to savor the Energy Cubes that were being fed to it.

"Ash and Feebas seem to get along really well," Lana said, tilting her head and sparkling her eyes.

"This is what a trainer should strive for," Kukui remarked with a smile.

The rock dog he was holding slowly woke up and barked incessantly in Ash's direction with its big eyes.