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

“It’s not exactly mysterious. I’m going to take you to the pond where Mudkip is raised,” Fujiki explained. “That’s a place specifically for supplying the Hoenn League with Water-type starter Pokémon.”

"It's Mudkip..." Upon hearing Fujiki's explanation, Haruka immediately backed down.

She doesn't seem to get along with those little blue guys...

"Mr. Fujiki, Pokémon bred specifically for the League shouldn't be caught just anywhere, right?" Serena asked the crucial question.

“There are always exceptions to everything,” Fujiki said mysteriously.

Led by the young man who knew the way, the group soon arrived at a dam on a river. Sure enough, they saw a group of little ones playing in a pond on the other side of the dam.

Wow, they're so tiny and cute!

The tiny baby Mudkip instantly charmed Haruka, and the girl rushed to the pond, intending to pet and tease it affectionately, but instead, she was met with a barrage of water gun attacks...

"Why are you doing this?" Xiaoyao was on the verge of tears, realizing that she really couldn't get along with them.

"Here, put this on first." Ash immediately took off his jacket and covered May with it.

The wet and wild show is a nice perk, but now is not the time to appreciate it.

"Mr. Numata, I've come to see you!" Fujiki shouted, and soon an old man with a hairstyle that looked like Mudskipper emerged from behind the bushes.

"It's you! You brought a friend this time?" the old man asked curiously.

"Yes, and the person who came is a very important one." Fujiki smiled and introduced them to each other, "This is Mr. Numata, the breeder who specializes in breeding Mudkip for the League."

After the two sides got to know each other, Fujiki explained his purpose to Numata.

"Catch Mudkip? No way! These are League property!" Numata refused firmly. "In short, taking these baby Mudkip away is absolutely out of the question!"

“Baby Mudskipper is no good… but there’s still that one, right?” Tengshu pointed to the distance of the pond.

“That one…” Numata was taken aback.

Following the direction the vine pointed, everyone saw a creature that could be described as a 'giant' among a group of babies.

That was also a Mudskipper, but it was significantly larger.

“That’s just a wild Mudkip. It somehow wandered into the pond and took the babies for its own,” Numata explained. “It’s grown too big to be given to a new trainer, so it’s just stayed here.”

"So let Ash catch it," Fujiki immediately suggested. "Ash is a very skilled trainer, he..."

"It's no use telling me this. No matter who he is, he has to find a way to gain Mudkip's approval himself," Numata interrupted Fujiki impatiently.

"I'll give it a try..." Ash said softly, "Mutant, it's actually quite lonely."

“You…” Numata was taken aback.

This boy was able to pinpoint the predicament faced by the Mudskipper in a single sentence?

(Mutto, want to chat?) Ash sat cross-legged by the pond and used Aura to transmit his voice into Mudkip's heart.

"Garaka?" Mudkip trembled slightly and turned back to look at Ash from afar.

(I know you have excellent hearing; you must have heard our conversation just now. Could you share your thoughts?)

"Clatter!" The Mudkip instinctively refused; it felt safe here and didn't want to leave.

Besides, it also has companions…

(But they have to leave. Staying here means you'll have to constantly face separation... When the new batch of eggs hatches, will those baby Mudkip still be your companions?)

"Clatter..." The water frog was speechless for a moment.

In fact, it has witnessed more than one separation.

Even the initial reluctance gradually turned into habit...

(I understand your thoughts. You want to live here permanently and have a group of companions you won't be separated from... but these baby Mudkip around you are just passing through.)

After offering his final words of persuasion, Ash stood up and sincerely extended an invitation to Mudkip.

"Muttok, come with me. You can consider me and my Pokémon as your companions. There may be temporary separations with me, but there will always be some companions who stay with me!"

"We will live together, grow stronger together, and find our direction together... I don't know if you aspire to this, but I really hope you can join us!"

"Gibberish... Gibberish!" Mudkip seemed to be persuaded. It crossed the pond to the shore and shot Ash with a water gun at his feet.

"Are we going to have a war to subjugate them?" Fujiki's eyes lit up.

"Great! It's finally going to have a home." Numata laughed heartily.

The old man didn't care how important Ash was; what mattered most was that Ash genuinely understood Mudkip.

"Catching battle... uh, do you want to help me with the battle?" Ash originally planned to let Treecko take over, but Taillow flew out on its own.

"Spa!" It glared at Ash with sharp eyes, clearly wanting to show off its skills.

I don't want to live like this anymore...

It's bad enough that we can't catch up with the fire sparrow, but now even the grass gecko is getting stronger and stronger.

And that newly joined crayfish shouldn't be underestimated either!

If I continue to waste my time like this, I'll truly become a laughing stock in everyone's eyes!

"Then I'll leave it to you. Take off and maneuver around, using self-motivation." Ash naturally wouldn't discourage Swellow's enthusiasm, and the latter was quite obedient, creating distance and starting to strengthen.

Mudkip retaliated with a water gun, but Swallow cleverly dodged it.

"A flash of lightning!"

Following closely behind, the Steed Swallow accelerated with lightning speed and crashed headfirst into Mudkip.

"Crack!" In pain, Mudkip immediately smashed a large rock into the ground, retaliating with a rockfall!

"Slice it open with the steel wing!" "Spar!"

Ash wanted to let Taillow confirm its power, and Taillow seemed to have the same idea. Taillow's wings shone with a metallic luster and actually split the huge rock in half!

Taking advantage of Mudkip's momentary daze, Taillow lunged forward and, without waiting for Ash's command, slammed its wing down!

Bang!

This powerful attack sent Mudkip flying backward.

"Is this... misplaced anger?" Fujiki was taken aback.

In stark contrast to repaying kindness, taking one's anger out on others is a move that becomes more powerful the lower the friendship level... But why would Ash let his pet learn this move?

Moreover, with such a low level of intimacy, how could Aogu Yan still willingly obey orders?

"Clatter... Clatter!" The Mudkip, having suffered repeated defeats, got up unwillingly and charged at the Swellow with astonishing momentum.

Ash stopped Taillow from continuing its attack, using his body to shield Mudkip from the attack, letting it crash into his arms.

"Gala..."

"Welcome to the team, Mudkip." Ash gently stroked the back of Mudkip's head.

"From this day forward, you truly have companions!"

Chapter 667 The Stone Cave, Chaotic Battle from All Sides

"Ha... so they've finally arrived?"

One night during his daily training, Ash finally noticed something unusual happening in the sea.

It's been a while, and May's Cocoyath and Torchic have already evolved into Beautifly and Combusken. The girl has been worried that she might miss the upcoming Slateport Conference.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly. After tonight, Ash and his friends can finally head to Slateport City without any delays.

The members of both the water and fire organizations were quite clever; fearing their operation would be discovered, they deliberately traveled by submarine under cover of darkness.

They coincidentally chose the same day... but luckily they didn't land in the same place, otherwise they would have started fighting immediately.

Unfortunately, their actions could not escape Ash's perception. Every little thing in the waters around Fighting Island was under his control!

"Pack your things, let's go to the Martial Arts Gym now." Ash woke up the two girls and prepared to settle them in first.

"Ash... are you facing a very powerful enemy?" Haruka asked worriedly after regaining consciousness.

Although she wanted to say some nice things like fighting side by side, she knew that was unrealistic.

Whenever something like this happens, she is always placed in a safe place... and Serena is taken along with her.

"These are two major evil organizations active in Hoenn. Their actions could very well trigger a serious natural disaster." Ash didn't keep this information to himself, and May was genuinely startled.

"Don't worry, I won't stand idly by," Ash immediately reassured him. "Even if I can't travel to Hoenn forever, I will definitely stop their ambitions!"

"Hmm..." As an innocent girl, the only cruelty Xiaoyao had ever experienced was the poachers she had encountered before.

She couldn't imagine what the natural disasters Ash was talking about looked like, nor did she know how strong the enemies he was going to face were... but that didn't stop her from worrying about Ash's safety.

At the same time, we will trust Xiaozhi's promise!

After settling the two girls at the Fighting Gym, Ash explained the situation to Fujiki, who immediately became eager to fight.

As the museum owner, Fujiki certainly wouldn't miss this event.

The two arrived at the Stone Cave together. Ash asked the Pokémon around him and found out that the two groups of people should have already entered.

"Great, if they start fighting first, we can save some energy," Xiao Zhi said with a satisfied smile.

"Hopefully... We must capture the prisoners this time, we absolutely cannot let them escape!" Fujiki said with a serious expression.