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

However, in other aspects, he can definitely provide strong support to Hikaru.

For example, you can replace the Elite Ten with your own Pokémon and then fight your way up Mt. Crown after collecting all eighteen Life Sources!

Ash isn't just boasting; the Pokémon he's carefully trained are definitely stronger than the Elite Ten.

With their help, Xiao Guang can gain even greater power than in the game, and at the same time, he doesn't have to worry about being backstabbed.

Since he's still relatively free right now, Ash might as well run around more and get his hands on all the known sources of life first.

Furthermore, the examples of Gengar and Blastoise taught him that as long as the source of life is inhaled, it will not disappear due to time travel, so Typhlosion and Dragonite must also have corresponding versions.

Based on this calculation, he already has 4/18 at the start, so his collection efficiency is definitely not low.

It's a pity that he didn't immediately give the four life sources of Earth, Grass, Rock, and Flying to his companions when they were on the Seven Islands, otherwise they would have been half gone by now.

Let's start collecting now. The closest place to here is... Ash focused his gaze on the distant Fire Island.

In the storyline of Alpaca Legend, there are two stone slabs on Fire Island.

One is the Fireball Stone Tablet, given by Arcanine after pacifying the Island King in the Lava Battlefield; the other is the Steel Stone Tablet, which can only be obtained by defeating Heatran.

Replace the stone tablet with the Source of Life. The fire-type one is in the hands of the Firestorm Beast, so as long as you find Heatran, you can get the source of steel!

"Mr. Armand, you mentioned earlier... there was some unusual activity on Fire Island?" Ash turned to the team leader of Team Kong and asked.

"There was a terrible earthquake there before, and the volcano erupted several times afterward..." Amang said worriedly. "You can look over there; it's still smoking..."

"Let's go take a look. Lapras and the others can carry people across the sea," Ash decided immediately.

Using this as a pretext, he could make his actions appear less premeditated.

It doesn't matter if Guana and Armand want to follow; they don't know the inside story, and it doesn't matter if they see them fighting with Siddon.

In the end, Amang naturally chose to go with them... Although he was scared, he was also worried about the situation on Fire Island and wanted to check it out for the sake of someone by his side.

As for Guana, she was persuaded by Armand to stay on the coast of Qunqing, because crossing the sea was dangerous and her pet Growlithe was very resistant to the sea, so it was better to wait on the shore.

This caused Guana a lot of inner conflict, but when she discovered that the usually timid Amang was also preparing to ride a Darktail, and even Ash's Litten could ride a Lapras without fear, she finally wavered.

"I want to go too! Investigating the unusual activity on Fire Island is my responsibility!"

That's actually true. Guana said she was the field manager of the Azure Coast, but the Lava Battlefield was actually on Fire Island, and she should have been the one to find out the situation there.

In addition, her little Growlithe dog became inexplicably excited and started pulling her shoes onto Lapras's back.

It seemed to have sensed something and was eager to rush to the lava battlefield, even temporarily forgetting its fear of the ocean.

“Let’s go together then… Tyranitar, Bag, you two stay here and wait for me.”

After instructing the Pocket family of three to stay on the shore, Ash commanded his three... well, it should be four water-type vehicles, and they set off in a grand procession for Fire Island.

The Dark Tail Fish swam like a follower the whole time, showing absolutely no regal bearing whatsoever.

Of course, this wasn't cowardice on its part; it was a decision made after a deep understanding of the immense value of the King of the Sea.

...

Fire Island.

In later Sinnoh, Ashida invested a large sum of money to build a battle zone there, successfully expanding his business into Sinnoh.

But right now, this is just Harsh Mountain... and Harsh Mountain is only partially activated.

The towering crater constantly emits heat and thick smoke, with small streams of lava occasionally sliding down the volcanic walls and spreading along the scarred land.

Unable to fly, humans and Pokémon can only find their way forward on the fragmented ground.

Ash's expression was unusually serious at this moment... even to the point of being gloomy!

It had been like this ever since before he landed on the island. He had been sending out waves and detected the traces of his two companions... and their condition was clearly not right!

Ash quickly bypassed the lava battlefield that had been attracting Growlithe and went straight to the north side of the volcano. In a huge open space outside a cave, Ash saw a scene that made him furious!

A lava storm, comparable in height to a volcano, is sweeping wildly, engulfing the giant iron serpent roaring incessantly at its center... But even as its entire body of metal softens and melts under the scorching flames, it still grits its teeth and endures!

Within the defensive circle formed by its body, there was another companion. The companion seemed to be affected by the special energy here, and its body underwent extremely strange changes, urgently needing the Iron Serpent's constant protection.

Iron Serpent firmly believes that as long as its companion can recover, the opportunistic guy on the other side is no threat at all!

Even if its body shrinks to only one-tenth of its former size, it can still definitely take down that bastard!

"Roar~" Unlike the Iron Serpent's burning rage, the noble Fire Steel was now smug.

It originally just wanted to punish the guy who trespassed on its territory, but it accidentally discovered that the guy was carrying the source of fire!

Moreover, this guy is also affected by the resentment entrenched here, and his body is being involuntarily modified, leaving him completely defenseless.

Such a huge temptation would naturally entice Fire Steel. Since its opponent isn't the Island King Arcanine, and its Life Source must have been stolen, why shouldn't it steal it too?

Just as Fire Steel was about to take action, its opponent suddenly arrived with reinforcements. It was a giant steel snake that was tens of meters long. As soon as it appeared, it coiled its body around Fire Steel's prey.

But Fire Steel still has a way to deal with them. Just use Lava Storm to encircle all of them at the same time, and hide behind Fire Wall to take advantage of the opportunity to wear them down.

Once the firestorm has melted the opponent's body, I can use the Source of Steel to absorb the molten metal, and my power might even increase to another level!

Just wait a little longer, the two delicious dishes will be in my stomach soon...

"Blastoise, spray water!!" "Kami!!"

laugh!

A deep command came from the boy's mouth, and the surging water crashed against the outer edge of the lava storm like ocean waves, quickly extinguishing all the flames, leaving only wisps of white mist rising.

After the thick fog dissipated, Huo Gang was shocked to find that his prey had been blocked behind him!

The attack was launched by a massive, robust tortoise, and Fire Steel sensed the power of the water element within it.

Beside it was a Gengar with scarlet eyes, which also carried the source of ghosts!

And the humans they simultaneously protect…

For some reason, after seeing the other party's cold eyes, Fire Steel was inexplicably filled with fear!

"Sidoran!"

Ash called out Steelix's real name, his tone full of anger!

Chapter 1097 The Great Steel Serpent, Battle Damage Rebuilt!

The creature in front of you, which looks like a shellless tortoise, is the final piece of the famous Bird Egg Flower Machine Swamp Steel—the noble Fire Steel, the king of the harsh mountains, Heatran.

In the Pokémon series, Heatran is quite a lucky creature. It is said that it was originally intended to appear as a pseudo-legendary Pokémon, but because they couldn't design its pre-evolution form, it was simply 'upgraded' to a mythical Pokémon.

It's quite lucky these days, managing to use the terrain of Harsh Mountain to trap both Steelix and Tyranitar in a Lava Storm, intending to devour both meals at the same time...

But how does the saying go?

Greed knows no bounds.

Not only could it not eat Tyranitar and Steelix today, it also had to vomit some of its own food!

"Roar..." Sidson warily redeployed a wall of fire in front of him, sensing that the newcomer was up to no good.

The human in front of him was clearly in cahoots with his two prey.

His Water and Fire Pokémon both possess the life essence that should belong to the Ten Kings, while his Gengar possesses the terrifying ghost essence!

So... is he the villain the hero has to deal with?

But where are the heroes? The villains have already appeared, so where are the heroes now?!

Siddon immediately began to watch nervously, but it could not see any heroic qualities in either Guana or Armand.

What's more, they came with the villains!

Even if they weren't accomplices, they must have been misled idiots!

“Heldoran, you seem to have a lot on your mind.” Ash narrowed his eyes, as if he could see through everything. “Actually, you don’t need to overthink it… After all, my partners accidentally wandered into this place first. As the owner of the Crater Shrine, it’s understandable that you would treat them as prey.”

“Roar…” Heatran was stunned, clearly not expecting Ash to say that.

After all, hunting is a natural instinct, and legends need no exception.

Therefore, no matter how cruel and despicable Sidson's behavior may be, it cannot be considered wrong, because it is simply normal behavior...

But Xiaozhi isn't here today to discuss right and wrong.

What he wanted to talk to Sidson was about the law of the jungle and how he would retaliate in kind!

You can call yourself a predator. Ash's partner was killed or even eaten because he didn't rescue in time. That was because he was slow and his partner was unlucky.

However, if he catches up in time and his side has an absolute advantage, he should never say anything too saintly or silly, such as "Sidran is not wrong" or "Ash, as a human, should be more magnanimous."

These words are meaningless and do not demonstrate impartiality.

As the inheritor of the Heart of Everlasting, Ash certainly needs to be kind, protect the weak, and speak up for the innocent—that's perfectly fine.

But this kindness absolutely does not include situations where someone is on top of him trying to nibble on a piece of meat, but accidentally breaks a tooth, and he has to rush to ask the other person if their mouth hurts!

"I'm not going to waste my breath on you. You're definitely not going anywhere today."

"Roar?!" Ash had barely finished speaking when Heatran immediately tried to run away... but Blastoise, having opened its shell, blocked the entrance to the Crater Shrine first, forcing Heatran back with its pair of dark cannons.

It wanted to retreat to the shore, but Lapras and Gyarados blocked the coast at the same time... Even the Darktail glared at it angrily.

Gengar was also floating in the sky at this time, accompanied by bursts of eerie laughter.