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

"Isn't this practically throwing money at me?" Xiao Guang exclaimed incredulously. "This ferocious creature is so vicious, there are even warning signs for it at the foot of the mountain, yet it doesn't even bother to fight back, and is just eager to throw money at Xiao Zhi?"

“It can’t be considered a loss,” Lillie said after thinking for a moment. “Metamorphosis’s brain is comparable to a supercomputer. If it feels that it can’t beat Ash no matter what, it will naturally choose the optimal solution.”

The optimal solution, of course, is to actively seek to subdue the enemy.

"Metal~" The shiny Metagross thought this girl was very smart, and her IQ must be two pounds higher than the average person.

That's exactly what it thinks.

By actively joining in, you can avoid getting beaten up... well, pointless disputes, and afterwards, you can even have the other party treat you well.

But even the wisest can be tempted by worldly desires. If the reward is a Mega Stone, then getting a beating isn't such a big deal...

"No problem, let's begin. Froakie, use Smoke Screen!" The practice battle began, and Ash, who went first, instructed Froakie to spread smoke all over the field to create a concealed environment that would be advantageous to him.

"Metal!" Metagross immediately used psychic interference, not only dispelling all the smoke but also extending its psychic powers to try and control Froakie's body.

"Use water wave defense!" The frog quickly created a water curtain on its body, but it was still lifted into the air by the opponent's defense.

Ash nodded secretly upon seeing this; this shiny Metagross was indeed extraordinary.

Its superpowers are extremely strong, and when it releases its power, its entire body flashes with a special golden light.

Moreover, it seems to be able to see through some special powers, otherwise it wouldn't have been so determined to refuse to battle after sensing the Sea King power that resonated between Froakie and Ash.

No matter how powerful it is, the frog can handle it... otherwise it wouldn't have calculated a zero win rate.

boom!

Frogman manipulated the water curtain around its body and it exploded with a roar, not only forcibly breaking Metagross's control, but also creating a torrential downpour on the spot.

"Use water cannons!" "Quack!"

The frog, which was in mid-air, suddenly opened its mouth, and the surging torrent transformed into a roaring water dragon, which opened its blood-red maw and swallowed up Metagross's body in one fell swoop!

"Wow, amazing... the water cannon can actually transform into that form!" Hikaru exclaimed in amazement upon seeing this.

That kind of gorgeous and powerful offensive would be absolutely stunning in a Grand Contest!

"That must be a ninjutsu that the frog is practicing. Anyway, it's really powerful." Lillie only had a vague understanding of it, but that didn't diminish her admiration at all.

The frog is demonstrating the power of its ultimate technique, which has become a ninjutsu.

By unleashing a special move using ninjutsu techniques and then incorporating Ash's Poseidon power to guide it, the special move can undergo many variations.

For example, there's the Water Wave, which can be used for both offense and defense and to trap people, and the Water Cannon, which resembles a dragon...

Of course, the 'water dragon bullet' at the end is just for show. If you want it to look even cooler, you can even make it look like a bighead carp and throw it down directly.

"Use shadow clone!"

"Metal..." Metagross had barely managed to dismember the water dragon with its superpowers before it was attacked by Froakie with a whole bunch of clones!

It immediately spread its limbs and retaliated with a spiral ball, only to be shocked to find that what it touched were all solid objects, the kind that would explode into smoke when broken apart!

This is also a ninjutsu-infused technique. The frog combines the substitution technique with the shadow clone technique, leaving a trace of its own strength in each phantom, thus creating a physical clone.

He honed this technique on Fighting Island, transforming his Stand into a surfboard—it was essentially a preliminary training.

Ash has high hopes for Froakie, so he certainly wouldn't expect it to unleash its Bond Pact transformation and then try to figure out the variations of its moves on its own.

If they actually create a super-sized golden healing water shuriken, that would be a huge disaster!

Metagross's clones were destroyed one after another, but Froakie's main body never appeared. Just as Metagross was distracted, it suddenly felt a powerful frog paw dig into the cross on its face!

"Dig a hole~"

boom!

The frog quickly burrowed into the ground, catching the Metagross off guard, and most of its body was buried in the soil.

Earth Release: I think it's called "Heart-Decapitation"... but "Digging a Hole" sounds much better.

"Hmm... should I use Dark Pulse or Power Pistol next?" Ash pretended to be troubled and rubbed his chin.

"Metal?" Metagross was completely dumbfounded.

That's outrageous!

This was supposed to be a practice match, so why are you getting more and more serious? You even used Evil Pulse!

And enhance your fist?

Don't think I can't figure it out. You just want the frog to slam its fists into the ground, each punch harder than the last!

"Alright, just kidding." Ash laughed as he dug Metagross out of the ground. "Nice to meet you from now on... But I have something to say beforehand."

"Metal!" Metagross said, all ears.

"I know you're good at analysis and calculation, and your brain might even be comparable to a supercomputer... but that's no reason for you to give up and back down!" Ash's expression turned serious. "Especially when I'm commanding you in battle, you must follow my orders... No matter how low the probability you calculate, if I say we can win, we definitely can win!"

“Metal!” Metagross agreed readily.

It was able to confirm that Ash was an extremely special and absolutely powerful being.

Humans like him are not limited by algorithms or probability, and are naturally worthy of one's sincere following.

"Great, let's work together to achieve a 100% win rate!" Ash patted Metagross's forehead to encourage it.

Ash was very satisfied with this Metagross.

Not only because it's a shimmering pseudo-legendary, but also because of its outstanding quality.

As mentioned before, there are pure-blooded races among pseudo-legendary monsters, but Metagross is an exception.

These genderless creatures are generally naturally derived or hatched from eggs with Ditto, so there's no question of lineage.

Therefore, Metagross's 'bloodline' is actually its own quality.

The metals that make up the body, the strength of superpowers, and so on...

Without a doubt, the world's finest Metagross monsters are in the hands of the Zvoich family, the result of generations of dedicated effort in their cultivation and training.

Apart from that, Metagross encountered in Hoenn and other parts of the world is only of average quality.

But this one is unusual!

Ash had seen Steven's Metagross, and he could confidently say that his own Shiny Metagross was just as good.

It is already close to Elite Four member, and given time, it will definitely be able to compete with him for the title of the world's strongest Metagross!

Chapter 724 Steel Island, Steel Slabs...The Steel Pillars!

After catching a shiny Metagross in Windward Town, Ash's next stop was Iron Island.

Although the clues found by Team Galactic suggest that either Canal City or Iron Island could be the location of the Slate, the latter is clearly more plausible when considering the game.

Iron Isle is a small island located in the west of Sinnoh, usually accessible by boat from Leyline City. It was once a prosperous mining area, but all the mines had to be shut down due to the depletion of the mineral veins.

Today, Iron Island has become an open wilderness area. Although a few residents still live on the island, the main characters are all kinds of Pokémon.

Some strong trainers, such as Gua, the gym leader of the Canal Street Gym, and Aya, who gave Ash training tips, often train on Iron Island... Unfortunately, Ash didn't encounter any of them this time.

They traveled along the rugged path through the mine, encountering mostly Steel-type Pokémon along the way, including Magnemite, Agar.io, Skarmory, and many more.

Ash even encountered the relatively rare Magneton and Aggron!

This alone makes it far superior to the game; in Ash's memory, this place seemed to be filled with various Zubats and Booty Bats...

Oops, I misspoke.

Getting back to the main point, Pokémon that congregate in groups like this usually have a very strong sense of territory.

With that in mind, Ash replaced Steelix with Pinsir from Serena.

The iron snake, nearly fifty meters long, made a grand entrance, and Steel Island quickly changed hands.

Just like Steel Valley in Hoenn, the Pokémon here also have leaders, like the UFO and Rhyperior we just saw... However, they tremble at the sight of Steelix and dare not fight it at all.

Upon learning that Ash and his friends were only on a short-term sightseeing trip, the two goofballs breathed a sigh of relief and volunteered to act as tour guides.

"This place is really good. The energy contained in the iron ore, as well as the geomagnetic field, are very suitable for Steelix and the others." Seeing this, Ash sent out Lucario, Corviknight, and the Metagross he had just caught, so that they could also enjoy a suitable training environment.

He also summoned Kommo-o and Rotom. Although neither of them are Steel-type, one needs to absorb the energy of ore to strengthen its scales because of its core skill, and the other can use the Earth's magnetic field to stabilize its own charge. In short, they are both very beneficial.

In addition, there is Sticky Treasure.

"Little guy, try this." Ash picked out a piece of good quality ore and handed it to Goomy to hold under its body.

Sticky Beads began secreting large amounts of slime, even leaving winding tracks on the ground. It seemed to be trying to break down the minerals with its bodily fluids in order to absorb the energy within them.

"Goomy...it should be a pure Dragon type, right?" Lillie was a little confused as to why Ash wanted Goomy to absorb the ore.

Aren't you afraid of having too much iron in your body?

“My Sticky Pokémon is a bit special; it hides some genes from the past, and the minerals here will be helpful to it.”

Ash plans to activate the Greenish gene within Gooobstone, which is why the latter hasn't evolved yet.

Only a century has passed; this gene is not actually ancient, much less likely to have completely disappeared.

Many Pokémon may contain fragments of genes from the Green Age.

Ash really wanted to try it out and see if Goomy could evolve into a Steelix and learn that amazing special move under the combined effects of gene awakening and external stimulation.

If necessary, Ash will also give it the Steel Plate.