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

She looks to be about the same age as Dr. Yamanashi, but she is very well-maintained and appears to be very energetic.

"You must be Ash, that's great." As soon as they met, Mustard praised Ash with a smile, "You did a really good job this time, you helped Cynthia a lot."

"You flatter me." Ash waved his hand modestly. "I didn't even know you were in Veilstone City."

"Such a big thing happened, of course I had to come and see," Jie Zilan said with a smile. "And it's not just me who came."

"Me too!" The girl's little head peeked out from behind Cynthia, playfully greeting everyone, "Ash, Souji, long time no see~"

"Chengzi!" *2

Former friends unexpectedly reunited here!

Chapter 718 The Phantom Overlord, the Real and Fake Kou Tai!

Ash was overjoyed to be reunited with his former companions.

The group sat together in a circle, chattering away, filling the room with a joyful atmosphere.

"Who would have thought you'd become so amazing?" Mako casually put her arm around Ash's neck. "The Red Star of Kanto, the Red Demon that strikes fear into the hearts of villains, that's quite a title."

As she sighed, her expression suddenly turned somewhat sarcastic, and her gaze began to shift back and forth between Lillie and Hikari.

"Your other reputation is quite impressive... but isn't it a bit beastly to go after such young ones?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Ash retorted speechlessly, "Lillie and Dawn only have to travel with me for certain reasons, we're not in that kind of relationship!"

"But the way someone's looking at you is weird~"

"Um..." Chengzi's words immediately made Lillie blush deeply, and she hurriedly lowered her head awkwardly.

Is the look in your eyes... really that obvious?

In fact, it's quite obvious. Anyone who's close to Ash can basically see through Lillie's thoughts at a glance...

"That would be my honor." Ash's tone lowered, and his expression became very serious.

Everyone present was stunned for a moment, and then Lillie covered her mouth in surprise and panic.

Ash didn't give a direct response, but he didn't deny it either, which was already an unexpected surprise for Lillie at this point.

Xiao Zhi certainly doesn't need to deny this.

For someone like him to consistently encounter wonderful girls and be loved by others is undoubtedly a great stroke of luck.

"You really are...sincere." Chengzi hesitated for a moment before giving this evaluation.

While you can call him a womanizer, a player, or a scumbag, at least he's sincere enough.

"I'm thinking, should I honestly tell Sister Serena about this?" Xiao Guang said with a mischievous grin.

She has absolutely no connection with Xiaozhi now; she's just there to watch the drama unfold.

Cynthia and Mustard were both speechless. Sure enough, if a young person is exceptionally outstanding in a certain area, they might just have a twisted side.

The only one who didn't react was Zongci, who was busy taking notes in his notebook.

"Latias with an infinite number of Pokémon, Jirachi that's never asleep, and the mysterious Cosmog... Ash, you're carrying around a treasure trove!"

As a friend, Ash would naturally grant Souji's wish to observe legendary Pokémon... and Souji has been obsessed ever since.

"Sōji, stop staring at them and come over here to discuss serious matters!" Sōji woke up the increasingly engrossed academic boy. "Quickly help analyze what that Akari guy might do."

“Red Sun… I’ve got it!” Regaining his senses, Souji began to ponder carefully, and soon an idea came to him. “As the leader of a faction, there’s no reason for him to give up so easily; he should try to salvage the situation… and the only thing he can rely on is something related to the Sinnoh legend…”

Satoshi smiled with satisfaction. Souji was indeed clever, having thought of this just like him.

Let him show off in front of the champion and the senior doctor.

"Currently, the thing related to the legend... should be in Hyakudai City!" Soji said decisively. "The Vajra Jewel Soul related to the God of Time in the Hyakudai History Museum might become Akari's target!"

“That’s very possible!” Cynthia gave Souji an approving look. “I’ll go to Baidai City myself tomorrow and bring those four guys with me. If Akari dares to show up, I’ll catch him myself!”

With that, the final deployment was complete.

Zongci's analysis was correct. The White Jade Soul has not yet been discovered, the Platinum Jade Soul has never appeared, the Three Lake Gods are on guard, and Ash has absorbed the energy of the Veil Meteorite...

If Chi Ri wants to turn the tide, the Vajra Jade Soul is the only way!

...

As night fell, everyone who had finished their discussion went back to rest, but Ash unexpectedly approached Professor Ivy.

"Xiao Zhi, is there anything I can help you with?" the old lady asked kindly.

"Dr. Mustard Orchid, I'd like to ask you about the history of the Washing Greenery a hundred years ago," Xiao Zhi asked tentatively. "Back then, there seemed to be a man named Wang Luo..."

"Where did you find out?!" Jie Zilan's expression changed drastically, her kindness vanished, and she even showed a hint of anger.

"I didn't mean to offend!" Ash quickly explained. "That history is somewhat related to me; I just wanted to understand... I also met some descendants of the Old Sinnoh immigrants from the Valley of Creation in Kalos..."

“I see…” Mustard Orchid sighed softly, her expression softening. “Ash, if it weren’t for your good relationship with Cynthia and Mako, I would have really thought that you were like everyone else, trying to use that person to belittle my family.”

"I absolutely never thought that!" Ash immediately clarified.

"Alright, I understand." Jie Zilan smiled and shook her head. "Actually, that's all in the past. Since you helped Cynthia so much, let me tell you... That Wang Luo was Cynthia's great-great-grandfather, that is, Grandpa's grandfather..."

Mustard's understanding of Wangluo is actually not very extensive, even less than what Ash learned through the game.

After all, he was a man of her grandfather's generation, and because he almost destroyed the world, he was someone she always avoided mentioning.

What the mustard orchid told Ash was that the descendants of Wangluo had a difficult life for a long time, and it was not until the generation of Cynthia's grandfather that things began to improve.

However, the families or forces in Sinnoh with a bit of history still remember this incident and know that Cynthia's ancestors included a world-destroying madman.

Therefore, even if she becomes the champion, she will ultimately lack authority... and many people will even be secretly wary of her!

"My granddaughter has really had a tough time... Xiaozhi, if you consider her a friend, please help her out more." The old lady earnestly pleaded.

"I definitely will!" Xiao Zhi quickly promised.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing. Legend has it that Wang Luo looks very young and has never shown any signs of aging... But this could just be a rumor passed down from his ancestors, and I can't say for sure if it's true or not."

"I'm so grateful to know this," Xiao Zhi said thankfully.

This is probably not a rumor. Ancient Sinnoh people were generally long-lived, so it's reasonable that they could maintain a youthful appearance for a long time.

...

The night passed.

The next morning, before Cynthia could even set off, everyone received good news.

"Koutai was captured? When did this happen?" Xiaozhi asked in surprise.

This was somewhat unexpected. Klinka Kotetsu was cunning and possessed prophetic abilities; Ash thought he could put up a fight, but he was caught so easily…

“It was probably before dawn,” Cynthia explained. “The Crown City police had sealed off the entire city in advance and carried out the arrest of Kotei at night. He had no time to react and could only flee in a sorry state with his bodyguard, after which they were both arrested. Videos of their arrest have also been sent from Crown City.”

As she spoke, Cynthia turned on her computer screen, which indeed showed footage of what had happened after Kote's arrest.

They were constantly being pushed and shoved by police officers, and there were threats and shouts during their escort; all sorts of details were included.

As we all know, videos cannot be photoshopped... but Xiao Zhi still found something suspicious.

"What's that sound coming from inside? Why is it only Gunn's voice?"

"Maybe the audio and video are out of sync... Kote is also speaking on set." Cynthia said, pointing to the screen, which indeed showed Kote moving his mouth.

"No... this isn't a video defect, it just has no sound!" Xiao Zhi checked carefully and found that it wasn't a problem with the video.

Kou Tai's voice disappeared, either because it was erased... but more likely because it simply couldn't be recorded!

Xiao Zhi's mind raced, and he quickly came up with a possibility that could lead to this bizarre situation!

"What he said could be heard at the scene, but it can't be recorded on the video... What's going on?"

Xiao Zhi's point of view left everyone completely baffled.

“It’s telepathy,” Ash said in a deep voice. “For example, Latias and Jirachi can communicate with us through telepathy. We can hear them normally face to face, but we can’t record them into electronic devices!”

"You mean Kote is speaking telepathically?" Cynthia asked, puzzled.

"I suspect he's not Kotai, but a Pokémon in disguise!"

"What?!" *N

These words surprised everyone.

But Xiao Zhi became more and more certain of his guess. He reviewed the police's explanation of the arrest process and felt more and more that there was a problem!

How could someone as adept at controlling a situation as Kou Tai not notice the martial law in Crown City and be caught off guard by the police breaking into his home?

Moreover, judging from the animated storyline, he possesses a lot of advanced technology, and even a set of illusion devices that can create incredibly realistic illusions, making it difficult for ordinary police officers to catch him.

Moreover, the Crown City police only caught Kotei and Gunn, but did not find Kotei's Pokémon!

"Notify Crown City to reimpose martial law, we'll head over there now to confirm!" Xiao Zhi made the decision immediately.

"Okay, I'll go with you..."

“Miss Cynthia, you can go to Eternia City. Souji and Mako will come with you.” Ash shook his head and said, “We need to take care of things there too… and I also have some grudges with Kotetsu, so we can settle them together.”

"Alright, be careful." Cynthia knew that they needed to split up now, so she didn't insist anymore.

Although Souji and Seiko were a little disappointed, they both agreed to Satoshi's proposal.