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

In the third match of the quarterfinals, the teenage idol encountered Robert, a blond nobleman who was also a Coordinator.

After battling until they each lost a Pokémon, the two decisively launched a Milotic civil war.

The two beautiful women each occupied half of the arena, showcasing a variety of amazing moves while also displaying their elegance and beauty, keeping the audience captivated.

But as the saying goes, laymen watch the show while experts see the details. Although the two Milotics were fighting back and forth and each had their own unique moveset, Xiaoxia, who was watching the battle, still felt a little strange.

Robert's Milotic primarily uses attacks such as Tornado and Iron Tail, and is adept at launching attacks with a calm and collected demeanor. It also uses the aura of moves like Protect and Mystic to enhance its beauty.

Conversely, Ryukia's Milotic focuses on defense and counter-attack, using Mirror Reflection in conjunction with Regeneration, and very occasionally unleashing a Water Cannon, always keeping its scales sparkling.

Despite the two Milotics having completely different move sets, in Xiaoxia's eyes it was just a stand-up duel, at most they'd just move their tails.

"Strange, why aren't they moving to dodge?"

"Because they are all Milotic trained for the Contests, they want to prove each other wrong," Ash said softly. "In this battle, both trainers and partners are competing, neither willing to move first and ruin the elegance and beauty of Milotic when it is static."

"Oh... if Milotic has to be like this, what about your Feebas?" Xiaoxia asked with concern.

He knew that Ash was very focused on developing Feebas's mobility, but this seemed to go against the mainstream Milotic strategy.

"It doesn't matter. I'm not a Coordinator, and I won't participate in any Contests." Ash shrugged. "Frill likes its current fighting style. Even if it evolves in the future, there's no need for it to stay in one place and use tricks like using moves to highlight the shine of its scales just to maintain some so-called elegance."

Ash will not participate in the Contests, a decision that may disappoint Lucia, who has always believed that Ash would immediately have the potential to become a powerful Coordinator once Feebas evolves.

She even had such aspirations. Maybe she could even make it into a major celebration.

However, Ash wouldn't participate in those competitions that would be judged by so-called professionals.

That's right, Ash was talking about the first stage of the Contest.

Just as everyone is different, so too are Pokémon.

The charm and characteristics of a Pokémon are never generalized.

However, the judges and audience of the Grand Contest need quantifiable standards to evaluate the contestants' performances.

Ash remembered that when he watched the anime, there were often lines like this during the Contests... The performance just now perfectly demonstrated the characteristics of XX Pokémon.

So, what characteristics does it actually embody?

It's nothing more than Milotic being beautiful, Chikorita being cute, and Beautifly's wings being sparkly... These so-called characteristics are just labels attached to the corresponding Pokémon.

Regardless of how trainers raise their Pokémon or what special moves they perform, the ultimate goal is to meet the requirements of the label and better satisfy the expectations of the judges and the audience.

But Ash knows what kind of person he is. He won't accept his carefully nurtured partner being judged by others or having his score given by outsiders' expertise, so he simply didn't plan to get involved in the first place.

The Pokémon he breeds don't carry any labels, which is why he can train Chikorita into a berserk little girl skilled in Swords Dance and Iron Tail. Perhaps in the future, he'll also have a Water Serpent that doesn't care about its image at all!

"The match is over, and the winner is Robert from Caçado!"

In the third match of the quarterfinals, Robert ultimately prevailed in coordinating the dialogue between the trainers.

There's nothing we can do about it. Milotic is his absolute main force after all. No matter how much Ryukia has a family background in martial arts, she is still inexperienced and most of her attention is on Altaria. It's already quite good that she can perform like this.

Next up is the last match, where Lila meets a young lady named Gao Mei... the kind of girl who would make Xiao Gang's eyes light up with hearts.

The opponent is a very strong trainer who sent out Lantern as soon as he entered the battle... In Water-type battles, this Water/Electric type is considered a powerful weapon.

Unfortunately, its electric-type moves were no match for King Hippo's powerful psychic abilities.

However, this beautiful young lady wasn't the type to recklessly charge in. Seeing that Lantern Monster wasn't gaining an advantage, she immediately switched to Gyarados.

"Roar!" The dragon, several meters long, let out a fierce roar, but the hippo king remained calm and unaffected.

After all, he is a man of his own nature, neither confused nor intimidated... No matter how much his opponents howl and scream, this priest from Asia Island remains calm and composed.

"In that case... Gyarados, use Crunch!" Gao Mei used a Dark-type move specifically, and Gyarados charged at Hippowdon with its gaping maw.

However, under Lila's silent command, the Hippo King immediately activated its protection and easily blocked the attack.

"Next up, the Hyper Beam!!"

Boom! !

Then, Gyarados unleashed a desperate attack, spewing out a torrent of energy that blasted Hippowdon underwater and even evaporated a significant amount of the pool water!

But it was clear that this attack had taken a heavy toll on it; Gyarados could only stand there panting heavily, unable to press its advantage...

"Strange, why isn't Lila fighting back?" Xiaoxia frowned in confusion.

Given King Hippo's special defense, this Hyper Beam won't do much damage.

Moreover, Xiaoxia knew very well that Lila and Hippo King could use electromagnetic cannons... and at the same time, they could also use scheming to enhance themselves!

Gyarados is currently paralyzed and unable to move. Fire a shot now, and the battle will be over!

"Heh, she doesn't want to fight anymore," Xiao Zhi said with a chuckle.

He certainly understood Lila's thoughts; this girl always had her own considerations when it came to battles.

Not only in this battle with Gao Mei, but in fact, in all the battles Lila has fought so far, she has been demanding of herself as the pioneering brain.

She insists on a heart-to-heart combat style, emphasizing the improvement of her own strength, while also being more willing to discover the talents of her opponents.

Now, this Miss Gao Mei has barely managed to gain her approval...

"This... Lila has forfeited?!"

Chapter 491 Semifinal Match 1: Xiaoxia vs. Gaomei

"The semifinals of the Whirl Islands Tournament are finally about to begin! First up are trainers Misty and Komi. Who will be the first to advance to the finals?!"

As the passionate voices of the commentators filled the venue, the two female trainers simultaneously stood at the sidelines.

The semi-final pairings were quite coincidental. Xiaoxia was matched up against Gao Mei, who eliminated her in the original story, while Xiaozhi was able to compete against Robert, the Coordinator, as he had hoped.

"My first choice is this one, the Lightbulb!" After the competition started, Gao Mei still chose the Lightbulb.

She has recently studied Xiaoxia's matches carefully and thinks that sending out the Lightbulb is the best choice.

Out of the novelty of having just caught it, Xiaoxia used Corsola many times in the competition. The little creature she caught was of a high level, so the strategy of using Mirror Reflection and Regeneration was often very effective, causing many players a lot of headaches.

However, Komi was confident she could handle it, since her Lanturn had the Electric Charge ability, and even if Corsola could reflect Electric-type moves, Lanturn wouldn't take any damage...

However, her plan clearly backfired, and Xiaoxia simply didn't intend to use the Coral: "Go into battle! My darling, Goldfish King!"

The girl kissed the Poké Ball, releasing a dark red goldfish with sharp horns on its head.

"This... Lantern, let's use Electric first!" Although Misty's team composition was a bit beyond expectations, Komi still unleashed her Electric-type move as planned...

"Goldfish King, charge straight for the drill!"

Bang!

It can only be said that Gao Mei completely miscalculated. The Goldfish King broke through the electric current without dodging or avoiding it, and slammed the Electric Lantern Monster hard with the sharp horn on its head. The effect was outstanding!

"It's a lightning rod?!" Gao Mei suddenly realized.

It turns out that while she was studying her opponent, her opponent was also studying her.

However, she wouldn't give up so easily, and quickly came up with a solution: "Lightbulb, use Strange Light!"

"High-speed movement to dive into the water!" Strange Light is a move that can cause confusion, and Xiaoxia doesn't want to gamble on the probability of Spring Roar, so she decides to let the Goldfish King avoid the limelight for the time being.

"We can't escape like this! Lightbulb, release the strange light into the water!" Xiaoxia's actions seemed to be exactly what Gao Mei wanted. Lightbulb extended two long tentacles into the water and used its strange power to dye the pool water a strange purple.

"Goldfish King, protect!" Xiaoxia remained calm and responded, signaling the Goldfish King to set up its protective barrier underwater and engage in a tug-of-war with its opponent.

Taking advantage of the opponent's inability to continue, she instructed the Goldfish King to launch a high-speed surprise attack!

"Just use a straight-thrust drill like that!"

Boom! !

The Goldfish King spun violently underwater, and the rapidly swirling water flow seemed to transform into a hurricane, enveloping the Goldfish King's body before crashing into the Lantern Monster!

"Next comes the final blow, straight to the drill!"

"Oh no... Lantern, come back quickly!" In a moment of panic, Gao Mei had no choice but to recall Lantern and switch to Gyarados instead.

With its Flying attribute, Gyarados is naturally immune to Ground-type moves. Even when Goldeen's horn hits it, it doesn't feel a thing.

"Goldfish King, Quick Attack!" But Misty immediately changed her move, letting Goldfish King continue its attack with a preemptive move, which immediately caused Gyarados to feel a pain in its chest.

"Gyarados, use Crunch!" Gao Mei hurriedly commanded Gyarados to launch a counterattack. Gyarados's sharp teeth clashed with Goldeen's horn several times, and it barely managed to force the opponent back by sacrificing a considerable amount of strength.

"Goldfish King, come back." Misty then chose to switch, sending out an unexpected Pokémon.

"I'm counting on you from now on... Savage Bass!"

...

"Savage Bass... Misty has this kind of Pokémon?" Lucia, who was watching the battle, was taken aback.

She had only ever heard of the Savage Bass, which was said to live in a very far place, and she never expected to see it in Xiaoxia's hands.

"Yeah, a savage mermaid paired with a savage bass, this one's also my destined one," Xiao Gang teased with a smile. "But it's best not to make this joke in front of her, or she might get angry."

"Maybe it's not a joke...it really is my favorite character," Ash said thoughtfully.

The Savage Bass was also caught by fishing at the Stream Hill. Its stripes were much lighter than usual, almost turning white, so it could be considered a shiny.

But even now, Xiaoxia hasn't discovered what makes it so special; she only knows that it has a rather leisurely personality, unlike the wildness described by its name.

"No matter what... Gyarados, use Crunch!" Seeing that its opponent was just a small fish, Gao Mei decided to let Gyarados launch a forceful attack...