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

"Then I won't hold back! Babu Tubo, use close combat!"

"Pikachu, Lightning Speed!"

The match begins with a direct confrontation, with Nemo commanding her partner to charge forward, but Pikachu takes advantage of its preemptive burst to crash into its opponent first.

"Huh?" "Pikachu?"

To better test the opponent's strength, Ash asked Pikachu to lower its battery level, only to find that his attacks were ineffective!

“Babutu has the ability to store electricity, so I have the advantage in this battle,” Nemo revealed with a smile.

"Not necessarily, use the Iron Tail!" "Pickup truck!"

Seeing Babutop's paw coming at him, Pikachu immediately dodged with extremely agile movements, and then swung its tail to launch a counterattack.

"This is... hurry up and dig a hole!" Nemo immediately sensed something was wrong as soon as Iron Tail touched Babu Groundhog. She quickly told her partner to roll backward, using the momentum to reduce the damage and hide underground.

"Attack the ground with the Iron Tail!"

"Jump out with a sonic punch!"

Bang! !

Just as Pikachu swung its tail down heavily, Babu also broke through the ground at an extremely fast speed and threw a powerful punch at top speed!

After a fierce clash, the two electric mice remained locked in a stalemate for a moment before finally separating.

At this moment, all the viewers were completely captivated!

Chapter 968 Traveling Together, and Returning Home!

A completely huge contrast!

Honestly, even though Yuuki kept emphasizing his crushing defeat, Haruka and the others didn't think Nemo was a particularly strong trainer.

That impulsive, challenge-oriented personality is just like those beginners who are ambitious but have high aspirations.

Coupled with her embarrassing pitching technique, it's really hard to perceive the aura of a strong person in her.

But just as everyone was internally complaining, Nemo shocked everyone!

She was able to hold her own against Ash, and she was even up against Pikachu, who was known as the strongest!

Admittedly, Pikachu's performance was definitely partly acted, but her combat skills were still quite impressive.

"That's awesome! Your Pikachu is really amazing!" Nemo shouted excitedly. "That Iron Tail attack was really powerful; I almost got hit by it just now."

"Baboon's reaction was also very fast. He was able to use the explosive power of Mach Punch to burst out from underground. That's amazing," Ash replied approvingly.

Nemo's strength is indeed extraordinary. Ash only briefly tested her before discovering that she possesses power surpassing that of the Elite Four!

Whether or not someone qualifies as a champion depends on the circumstances.

Her combat skills are not a problem; she can be considered champion-level in official matches... but compared to a real champion, she is still lacking something.

"Come on, Babuboo, use Sonic Punch!" Nemo continued her excited attack. Having witnessed Pikachu's agility, she decided to use a high-burst priority move to counter it.

"Use Lightning Speed!" Pikachu transformed into lightning and flashed past, instantly appearing behind Babuto.

"Babu Tupo, dig a hole right now..."

"Tie a grass knot!"

The groundhog tried to hide underground again, but Pikachu stomped its foot, and vines immediately grew wildly, tightly binding the groundhog.

"Iron Tail!"

"Babu Tubo, use melee!"

Bang!

It was another head-on clash, but Babu Tubo was carrying a burden, so he couldn't unleash his full power in this punch. He was directly hit by Iron Tail and his entire body was sent flying.

"Babu Tubo, are you alright?" Nemo exclaimed in alarm.

“Babu…” Babu the Groundhog swayed as he got up and shook his head stubbornly.

But Nemo could tell that the blow it had suffered was definitely not light.

“Hoo…it seems I’m no match for you.” Nemo took a deep breath, her eyes remaining firm. “But I still want to go one more round…and I have a request.”

"A request?" Xiao Zhi raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"I heard that your Pikachu can crystallize into a Flying-type, is that true?" Nemo asked eagerly. "And, can you use crystallization outside of Padia?"

"That's right..."

"Could you actually show me?" Nemo pleaded eagerly before Ash could finish speaking. "I'm really, really curious! Crystal energy only exists in Padia, and even if you use a Crystal Bead to store it, you can't take it to other regions... So how did you manage to do that?!"

"Then let's demonstrate it. It's been since the last charge, and I haven't used it again." Ash readily agreed.

He has many upgrade systems, but he only uses Mega Evolution and Z-Moves regularly. His Crystal Orb and Dynamax Bracer have been gathering dust for a long time.

“Great! Uh…” Nemo clapped her hands excitedly, but she quickly stopped awkwardly. “Um… I really didn’t mean to take advantage of you.”

It was only then that she realized that by strongly insisting that Tai Jingcheng acquire the flying attribute, she was essentially giving herself an attribute advantage for nothing.

"It's okay, Flying-types are also strong against Fighting-types, so we're in the same boat." Ash shook his head, while pulling out a long-unused Crystal Bead. "Pikachu, let's go!"

"Pickup!"

A burst of brilliant energy erupted, and a feather quietly fell from the sky, transforming into a special crystal that enveloped Pikachu, adding a three-colored crystal balloon to its head.

Flying Crystal Skin!

“That’s right, this is it! It’s so crystallized!” Nemo’s eyes widened. “It’s unbelievable… If Principal Claver and the Chief Principal saw it with their own eyes, they would be so surprised they’d be tearing their hair out!”

"Come on, give it a try. This is the final blow!"

As Ash challenged him to a battle, Pikachu took to the air using its Flying type.

"Pikachu, fly!" "Pika!"

Like a flash of lightning, Pikachu activated its Partner Move and soared into the sky.

"It's finally coming! Babu Groundhog, use Lightning Double Strike!" "Babu!"

Seeing Pikachu swooping down, Nemo also had her partner unleash their last bit of power.

With an explosive burst of electricity, Babuto charged forward with a desperate leap, crashing into the oncoming Pikachu!

"That's..." Ash was stunned in surprise. That incredibly fierce attack was comparable in power to a Volt attack...

Boom! !

A burst of electricity erupted, and Pikachu was engulfed by a powerful current, leaving its fur charred black.

But Babu Tubo seemed to have been hit by a meteorite. His vision went black in mid-air, and he was then slammed back to the ground, leaving a dense array of cracks on the ground!

"Babu Tubo!" Nemo stepped forward worriedly, and only breathed a sigh of relief after finding that her partner had just fainted from exhaustion.

"It really is Crystallize... That move is really strong, it completely crushed us." While taking care of her partner, Nemo exclaimed in disbelief, "No wonder you're a trainer who has cleared the Hoenn Champion Road, you're really amazing!"

"You're really good too! Pikachu and I had a great time battling it out," Ash said with a smile.

Pikachu, standing to the side, crossed his arms and nodded in satisfaction.

The other mouse must also be an electric mouse; this is the first time it has encountered such a formidable rodent.

“I know you’re holding back,” Nemo shook her head seriously. “Pikachu actually has a way to break the battery storage property, right?”

She wasn't wrong about that; with Pikachu's current power, it could indeed break through the battery and directly damage Pebble... but there's really no need to do that in a battle.

Ash just smiled and remained silent. Seeing this, Nemo stopped dwelling on it and instead asked about something she had been concerned about.

"In short, I lost... but I'm really curious, how did you manage to crystallize so much here?"

“I’m still researching the specifics… In short, what’s stored in my Taijing Bead isn’t the Taijing energy you’re talking about, but natural energy,” Xiaozhi explained.

The energy of the crystal is unique to Padiya. The crystal caves on Ponkan Island could not possibly contain that kind of power, but rather a special kind of natural energy.

The Crystal Bead that Ash obtained may have been sealed in the crystal pillar for too long, allowing it to absorb the natural energy there and convert it into the energy needed for crystallization.

This serves as guidance for Xiaozhi. If he can understand the underlying principles, he might be able to perform more special maneuvers.

For example, could we upgrade the Dynamax Bracers in a similar way so that they can also Dynamax outside of Galar?

Unfortunately, this is still in the realm of wishful thinking...

“Natural energy… I don’t quite understand, but it’s okay, I’ll just follow you!” Nemo slammed her fist into her palm, making a request without warning, “Where are you going next? Can you take me with you?!”

"Ah... I have missions in Kanto next, so it might not be convenient..." Xiaozhi said tentatively, "And I heard from Yuuki that you came here during the academy's holiday. Aren't you in a hurry to go back to school?"

“It’s alright with the academy! With such a great research project, Principal Claver and the teachers will agree to let me take a leave of absence temporarily,” Nemo explained immediately. “And I definitely won’t cause you any trouble. Just take me with you when you’re researching that… uh, natural energy.”

"In this case…"

"Also, you have to battle me often!" Before Ash could even finish thinking, Nemo added another request.

To be honest, this offer is quite tempting for Xiaozhi.

After all, who would refuse a sparring partner of championship caliber?

Battles against a trainer like Nemo allow many of Ash's Pokémon to gain experience, and it's not just Ash; Gary and others can also battle her!

It just so happens that she's a battle fanatic, so wouldn't it be great if it were a win-win situation for everyone?