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

When Ash was training in Goldenrod City, he said that its level was high enough to evolve, and it would be up to its own will to evolve from there.

Is it time now...?

"Miss Rika, hold on tight to me!" Ash asked Rika to hold his wrist, and at the same time used his psychic powers to wrap the two of them and Pikachu together.

"Pikachu, let's go!" "Pikachu!"

Suddenly, a large amount of water surged out of Pikachu's body. Under Ash's psychic power, all the water obediently enveloped the two people and their Pokémon until it formed a hollow blue water sphere.

The next second, a bright arc of electricity burst out from beneath the water sphere, propelling it into the department store at an incredible speed, while easily extinguishing any fires it encountered along the way!

"What a unique surfing experience!" Lijia exclaimed in amazement as she sat inside the water sphere.

She never expected Ash to have mastered such a level of superpower, and she never imagined that Pikachu could use such an unprecedented surfing technique!

As expected of a key player!

"To be precise, this move is called Surf, a special move that only Pikachu can use."

Chapter Ninety-Five: Fire, Conspiracy... A Momentary Rescue!

Previously on Dragonite Island, Pikachu also underwent a change when Ash's Viridian Power was unleashed.

Perhaps because it was on the sea at the time, its signature water-based move, Surf, was transformed into its partner's version.

Surfing is as powerful as regular surfing, but it has a 30% higher chance of paralyzing, making it an extremely powerful move.

However, just like with Thunderbolt before, Ash doesn't plan to change the name.

Names like AABC are cute, but they're clearly not concise enough, and they lack any real imposing presence.

Thanks to Pikachu's efficient surfing, Ash and Rika quickly broke through the smoky, fiery corridor and entered the perfume shop in the department store.

Fortunately, they arrived in time. Although every employee's face was covered in soot and several were injured, they were all generally unharmed.

"We're fine... but our Pokémon for work has been stolen!" the rescued shop assistant said anxiously to Rika.

"Where were they taken?!" Lijia exclaimed in shock.

"They said they needed to rush to a warehouse near the arcade to deliver goods..."

"The game mall's warehouse?!" Rika's face turned cold. After rescuing the employees from the fire with Xiaozhi several times, she impulsively wanted to arrest them.

"Miss Rika, wait a minute!" Ash quickly stopped Rika. "The situation is unclear right now, so it's best not to act rashly... Besides, the fire here is not yet under control."

"Mr. Ash, please don't stop me!" Rika stubbornly shook her head. "I admit this was an impulsive act, but I can't let a Grass-type Pokémon fall into the hands of bad people! So... please allow me to act recklessly!"

After saying that, Rika ran away in a hurry without waiting for Ash's reaction.

"Pikachu, increase the power of Surf, let's go in again!" Although Ash was worried, he knew he had no right to stop Rika, so he could only try his best to put out the fire first.

And all of this was exactly what Squirtle outside the building saw…

If it had tried a little harder, the fire here might not have been an obstacle for Ash.

Then... let's try a little harder!

Bang!

Squirtle launched a water balloon into the sky, and in the blink of an eye, a torrential downpour began!

Bathed in raindrops, Squirtle's body began to emit bursts of white light, and it evolved into Wartortle!

It has long accumulated enough evolutionary experience, but it has never been ready... and now is the time for it to unleash its true power!

"Kami!!"

A massive water cannon erupted from Wartortle's mouth, instantly piercing through the arrogant flames in front of it!

With the combined benefits of evolution and rain, Wartortle went all out, unleashing a variety of powerful Water-type moves, and quickly suppressed the spreading fire!

"Warm-Turtle, well done!"

Ash was overjoyed. With Wartortle there to keep him in check, he could finally free up his hands to chase after Rika, who had impulsively left.

The fact that they would reveal the delivery location when stealing Pokémon is clearly a trap to lure people in!

Could it be that the riots in Yuhong City were actually a conspiracy against Rika?!

Just as Ash was pondering the pursuit, Rika, who had gone ahead, had already rushed to the warehouse entrance near Rainbow Game City.

...

"Gloomy Flower, be careful."

Rika carefully instructed her partner that they had just been in a gym battle, and all she had on hand was Gloom.

Even so, a frantic Rika still sneaked into the warehouse with her partner...

Boom boom boom boom!

A sudden series of explosions filled the eardrums, and choking smoke mixed with poison gas quickly spread in the confined space. Endless flames surged and instantly surrounded Rika and Gloom, who had fallen to the ground!

"Ku...ku!!"

Faced with the terrifying fire serpents surrounding it, the already frightened Gloom completely lost control, involuntarily releasing clumps of foul-smelling pollen...

"Stinky Flower, ugh...no! Stinky Flower..."

Whenever Gloom is in danger, it uncontrollably releases foul-smelling pollen. The smell of this pollen is so unpleasant that most people and Pokémon cannot stand it.

Although Lijia had spent a long time with the stinky flower, she was not completely immune to it. Soon, she felt dizzy and lightheaded, and was so choked that she could hardly breathe.

Moreover, the large amount of poisonous gas mixed in with the flames had already taken the opportunity to invade her body, causing a bluish-purple color to appear on her originally pretty face.

Even so, she still held the stinky flower tightly in her arms and refused to let go.

Just then, the flames in front of her suddenly flickered, and a guy wearing an R-shaped combat suit and a gas mask appeared in front of Rika.

He appeared as if without warning, casually parting the flames to reach Rika.

"Who are you…"

"Heh, the so-called perfect young lady, Rika, the Kanto Gym Leader, seems to be nothing special after all." Beneath the gas mask, the mysterious voice was sinister and mocking. "Just a few useless Pokémon, and you actually managed to lure me in~"

"Damn it... let them go!" Rika managed to look over and saw that the mysterious man was holding a trumpet sprout and a walking grass in his hand. She immediately struggled to rescue them.

However, due to the effects of the poison gas and the recent explosion, she was completely unable to move.

"No matter how much you struggle, it's useless," the mysterious man said smugly. "Actually, I didn't intend to make such a fuss, but that wretched kid kept staying in Golden City and refused to leave, so I had no choice but to resort to this tactic."

"Golden City... what exactly do you want?!" Rika asked with difficulty.

Could the kid they mentioned be Xiao Zhi?

"I want to use you as a bargaining chip to negotiate a deal," the mysterious man sneered. "Of course, you don't need to know the specific details."

"Don't even think about it..."

“Miss Rika, it’s time for us to set off.” The mysterious man ignored Rika’s struggles and slowly raised a finger, releasing a strange blue light from its tip.

In that instant, Rika completely lost control of her body…

"Wave Missile!!" "Euro!!"

"Uh!"

A dazzling blue energy ball suddenly pierced through the flames and struck the mysterious man's wrist squarely, causing his bones to twist grotesquely!

The fire, which had been closed off, suddenly dispersed, revealing a young man with an angry expression standing at the warehouse entrance!

"It's you?! Damn it!!" The mysterious man was shocked to see this. He never expected that Ash, who should have been strolling around Goldenrod City, would appear here so mysteriously!

Without a second thought, he immediately threw the Pokémon in his hand to Ash, then curled up and jumped into the nearby flames, disappearing in an instant.

"Damn it!" Ash was blocked by two heavily injured Pokémon and was unable to catch them immediately, so he could only let the enemy escape.

He was now very puzzled. The mysterious man's waveguide gave him a familiar feeling... They must have met before!

But for a moment, Ash couldn't recall where he had felt this aura before...

Chapter Ninety-Six: The Belated Alliance Award

Xiao Zhi may have only briefly seen that mysterious person once, so he doesn't have any particular memory of him.

He didn't have time to dwell on the other person's problems; rescuing Lijia was the most important thing!

"Miss Rika, are you alright?!"

"Ugh..." Rika stared blankly at the face so close to hers. Although she hadn't lost consciousness yet, she was completely unable to move.

"Gloomy Flower, calm down! Come back here!"

In an emergency, Ash immediately used his psychic powers to suppress Gloom, and then retrieved a Poké Ball from Rika's waist and put it back in.

As for the accidental contact during this process, we can only excuse it by saying that it was an emergency...

"It looks like there's no way to investigate."

Ash glared resentfully at the spot where the mysterious man had left. The guy's aura had disappeared very suddenly, and Ash wasn't sure if it was spatial teleportation or some kind of teleportation ability. In any case, he didn't have a chance to investigate in detail.

Seeing the fire escalating, he had no choice but to use his superpowers to control Bellsprout and Oddish, while simultaneously picking up Rika and quickly rushing out of the burning warehouse.

Boom!