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

Greninja's eyes were closed, and the wound on its chest, from being hit in a vital spot, remained. Its face was also tinged with an unnatural bluish-purple...

In an extremely rushed situation, Ash's Crobat instantly delivered a critical hit and even inflicted poison on the opponent... All I can say about Ash's Crobat is that it's incredibly powerful.

That was a power completely superior to his own; even if he used his most powerful ninjutsu, he still couldn't change the course of the battle.

"The battle should be over. Greninja needs some treatment... Here, take this."

Ash led Crobat to a spot, handed him a bottle of antidote, and began channeling Viridian Power into Greninja.

Soon, Greninja recovered to normal, and the wound on its chest disappeared.

"That's wonderful! Mr. Ash, thank you so much!" Overjoyed, Ippei thanked Ash profusely.

"That's to be expected, after all, it was Crobat who caused the injury." Ash waved his hand dismissively, then said seriously, "It was a good battle. Thanks to Mr. Ippei and Greninja, I witnessed a lot of exquisite ninjutsu... especially the Substitution Jutsu at the end."

The substitution technique, which belongs to ninjas, is not as simple as just consuming a quarter of one's stamina to create a substitute when used by Greninja.

Ash had thought about it carefully and realized that the white mist shouldn't be too difficult to break; he just needed to make the water shuriken explode in some way.

What he didn't understand was when Greninja had slipped behind Crobat.

Crobat was able to launch a perfect counterattack because it used ultrasonic waves to detect Greninja's location, and its reaction speed was also extremely fast... If it were an ordinary Pokémon, it would probably have been ambushed successfully long ago.

"That makes me feel ashamed. I was clearly defeated. Mr. Ash and Crobat are truly admirable in their strength." Ippei quickly waved his hand and said, "As for the Substitution Technique just now, it was actually Greninja switching places with one of the shadow clones. It's a rather complex ninjutsu technique."

"Okay..." Having heard that it would involve sect secrets and such, Xiao Zhi didn't plan to ask any more questions.

“However, if Mr. Ash is willing, he can also experience ninja training... or we can leave Crobat here for training.” Ippei was very good at reading people and naturally noticed Ash’s curiosity about ninjutsu, so he immediately made the suggestion.

He certainly wanted to befriend Xiaozhi; strong people are always a valuable resource.

“That’s great, Crobat will be very happy too,” Ash immediately agreed.

Honestly, Crobat's basic and special moves training is almost complete now, and Ash is also considering that it would be more suitable for it to truly embark on the path of a ninja.

However, he did not want to entrust A-Ju with the task of teaching, because the latter might be a top-tier trainer, but not necessarily a powerful ninja.

If Ash wants Crobat to advance to the Elite Four level, he can train it himself for a while longer; there's absolutely no need to rely on others.

But what he wants now is for Crobat to make a name for himself on the path of ninjas, which means he must find a great teacher for Crobat, just like Bea did for Big Bang!

Ippin, standing right in front of us, would be a perfect mentor for us. As for further advanced training, Carlos's ninja village might be a good option...

Therefore, both sides were interested in becoming friends, and Xiaozhi and Yiping hit it off immediately.

For the rest of the afternoon, Ash joined the Ninja Academy as an auditor, trying out the subjects that interested him.

During this period, the main focus was on listening to Ippei's lectures, who also intended to share some insights, explaining to Satoshi in a simple and easy-to-understand way a lot of knowledge about ninja training, espionage, and stealth.

During the lecture, Ippei also specifically mentioned that an excellent ninja must possess extremely strong mental strength, and be able to achieve a unity of mind, skill, and body at any time and place.

It's the power of the mind again... Indeed, in this world, the power of the mind is the most powerful.

Fighters possess spiritual power and can strike ghosts with their bare hands; Nine-Tailed Loke possesses spiritual power and can awaken magic.

Now that ninjas have mastered spiritual power, they are able to perform ninjutsu...

Suddenly, Ash seemed to have discovered a way for his friends to further enhance their strength after basic training, special move training, attribute development, and the exclusive path!

Chapter 545 Not content with just watching the excitement, we need to stir things up!

Without a doubt, the ultimate path to becoming stronger is through cultivating one's mind!

To become a true master, one must not only hone one's physical and technical skills to the limit, but also undergo mental training.

That being said, even Ash, as a human, doesn't fully understand such an ethereal thing as spiritual power, let alone Pokémon that can master it.

If we want to enhance the spiritual power of our companions, there's probably only one way...

(There is a force that might help...)

(I know, it's the power of super resistance.)

Before the Pokémon could even remind him, Ash had already guessed the answer.

If you want your Pokémon to improve their mental strength and complete their spiritual trials with Ash, then the power of superpowers is crucial!

Pokémon rarely come into contact with things like 'mental cultivation', but Ash, as a human, constantly faces temptations and choices.

Every choice is a process of self-cultivation, and also an important way to enhance spiritual strength in addition to physical and technical training.

With the help of super-powers, Ash can share all his feelings and experiences with his companions without reservation.

At that time, the partners will feel the same way, which is no less than undergoing a test of their own mind.

But Ash still maintains that he will not try to take advantage of Unown G, who is currently with him, just to obtain the power of the Psychic!

The little guy is now completely free-range. Ash treats him like a guest, letting him live in his pouch every day and play with Tyranitar.

Once the situation at Alpford Ruins becomes clear, Ash will take it there with him to fulfill his promise to send it home!

In a way, this process is also a form of self-cultivation.

...

"Cultivating the mind... huh?"

As Xiaozhi was pondering something by the playground, he suddenly sensed a hint of danger.

His superpowers were subconsciously activated, freezing a shuriken flying straight at his face.

"Ah... I'm so sorry!" The girl who had just committed the crime rushed over in a panic, apologizing to Ash repeatedly. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Ash... uh, are you alright?"

"Spring Day, why did you throw the shuriken off course again?" Ayame rushed over, her face showing obvious helplessness.

"I'm fine... I'm just a little curious." Ash shook his head silently and said, "Does Princess Kasuga really like these kinds of ninja tools? Why does she insist on practicing with them?"

"This... was my grandmother's idea. She's the current lord of Eclipse Castle and has given me a lot of guidance," Haruhi honestly confessed. "She told me that as a future lord, I must have basic self-defense skills, which is why she sent me to the Ninja Academy..."

"But you don't seem to be good at this."

“Yes…” Hearing Ash’s straightforward words, Haruhi was immediately filled with sorrow.

"Logically speaking, I shouldn't say anything since this is our first meeting, but I still want to tell Princess Kasuga... there's no need to keep insisting on things that you're not good at and that aren't very important."

"Uh... Mr. Ash thinks I should give up training in ninja tools?" Kasuga asked, somewhat confused.

"This is just a suggestion; Princess Kasuga will have to decide for herself," Xiaozhi explained. "I think the lord's status is of great importance, and she shouldn't bother with trivial matters like throwing shuriken. As for self-defense, Eclipse Castle will recruit ninjas, which is meant to protect you... and you can also find some trusted confidants."

Chunri hesitated, as Xiaozhi's words were clearly inconsistent with the education she had always received.

"Your elders must have told you something like 'you can't see into someone's heart,' telling you not to trust others too easily." Xiao Zhi saw the other person's dilemma. "But if you don't even have a like-minded friend, or a companion you can completely entrust your back to, wouldn't that be too lonely?"

"Is that so..." Haruhi was clearly deep in thought, and after a long while, she asked in confusion, "Mr. Satoshi, as you said, we've only just met, why are you giving me this kind of guidance?"

“Princess Kasuga looks a lot like one of my friends. For that reason, I would like you to avoid some detours and not waste your energy on meaningless things.”

"I...I understand." Kasuga seemed convinced by Satoshi's last words, and a sweet smile like cherry blossoms appeared on her face. "Anyway, thank you for reminding me, I think it makes a lot of sense!"

She thanked Ash earnestly, then carefully arranged the ninja tools she used for practice, and explained to Ayame her decision not to participate in further training.

Compared to another girl who looks like her, Haruhi is clearly more decisive.

She will never touch that box of shuriken that she can't hit no matter how she throws them.

Ash waved goodbye to Haruhi without a second thought, unaware that their moment was being watched remotely…

"Wow, is Ash developing a new goal?" Brock said with a teasing smile on another playground nearby.

"No way..." Lila didn't think so.

Even if Ash does start causing trouble again, his target should be the girl at Sakuragi Lab, not this girl who looks like him but is just a chance encounter.

"Stop making wild guesses, Ash didn't have that kind of idea," Blue retorted casually. "Ash just thought the other person looked a lot like Chloe, and since it resembled someone he knew, he just gave the other person a little pointer. That's just the kind of person he is. If he met someone who looked like you, he would offer help in the same way."

"I think you'd be more convincing if you hadn't secretly filmed yourself saying that, right?" Xiaoxia rolled her eyes, speechless. "Are you going to send this video to Xiaochun later?"

She had just discovered that Xiaolan's phone had been on the whole time and had secretly recorded the entire interaction between Xiaozhi and Chunri.

Need I say more about the video's purpose? It's definitely going to be sent to Xiaochun to stir things up!

Because Chunri and Xiaochun look a lot alike, I helped her with her questions... If I send this incident and the video from earlier to Xiaochun, what will she think?

To be honest, Xiaoxia sometimes gets speechless.

Preventing Ash from having a harem is indeed a difficult task, because you not only have to suppress Ash's own philandering, but you also have to be constantly on guard against certain people around him causing trouble.

However, despite her inner thoughts, Xiaoxia tacitly reached a consensus with Xiaolan and the others.

Nothing happened just now. There was no filming or video recording; they didn't see anything.

This was just an ordinary place, and the group of people, who had nothing to hide, were planning to leave immediately…

"By the way, Sister Xiaolan, when you were secretly filming, could you record their conversations as well?" Lila suddenly remembered a crucial question.

If there were no sound, all Xiaolan would have captured on camera would be Ash and Kasuga standing and talking.

Although this period was filled with Chunri's transformation from confusion to hesitation, then to determination and a radiant smile, something was still missing...

"And there's also Ayame who randomly appeared in the video." Xiaoxia also noticed something amiss.

"Don't worry, I've already thought of that." Xiao Lan grinned mischievously. "We can just cut out Ayame's parts. As for the voice, it's impossible to record it from this far away... but we can add it ourselves in post-production!"

"I recently invented a high-quality machine that can perfectly mimic the voices of many people."

So, with a smug look on her face, Xiao Lan pulled out a bow tie...