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

Bei Shang muttered to himself, finally looking at Xiao Zhi: "My memory of Xiao Zhi is clearer now. We must have met before, on... some kind of speeding vehicle, and even had a doubles battle..."

"No, you're mistaken...we've never met before."

Xiao Zhi denied it unusually readily.

Chapter 1127 The Capriciousness of Time and Space…

Bei Shang's memories have returned, which is indeed good news.

But what he revived were his memories from BW, which were not pleasant memories for Ash.

Bei Shang thought of Master Zhi.

Ash was on a day trip on the Unova Metro when he finally got the chance to team up with Cilan to play the Metro Controllers brothers in a doubles match... and then they lost to Kita and Minami.

Although winning or losing doesn't really matter in the context of an animated series, this experience is clearly not suitable for Ash Ketchum.

Fortunately, Bei Shang quickly rubbed his head and began to recall the events.

"Hmm...we don't think we've met before. You are...right, you're Mr. Ash!" His gaze cleared, clearly as he remembered more.

"Sir... could it be that Ash is very famous in the future world?" Zhubei sensed the respect in Kitao's words.

"It's not just famous, Mr. Ash is practically a household name... When I think back, if anyone in the world hasn't heard of Mr. Ash, they're considered ignorant." Kita explained with a respectful expression, "Many people consider Mr. Ash to be the strongest trainer in the world, surpassing even the champion!"

"The world's... strongest?!" Zhu Bei couldn't help but cover her mouth in surprise.

Having witnessed the Seven Islands Battle in the Land of Wonders, she truly knew that Ash was an extremely powerful figure; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to command thousands of troops like that.

But the strongest in the world…

Looking out over the world from Xicui, Zhubei was surprised to realize that the space Xiaozhi could see and hear was far wider than her own.

"I'm just very lucky to have met a group of really great partners." Ash chuckled as he fiddled with the Pokémon around him. All his achievements were inseparable from them.

"This is such an honor! I actually got to battle with Mr. Ash. If I could... well, anyway, this is an incredible journey!" Kita was still excited. He had clearly thought of someone important, but he couldn't remember the person's name.

Even other information, such as her appearance, remained unclear...

The gears inside Xiao Zhi's chest cavity quietly began to turn, which made him realize that... without external force, Bei Shang would never remember the name 'Nan Xia'!

"Furthermore, after witnessing Mr. Ash's outstanding performance, I had an idea!" Kita-Sho seemed still excited. "I want to promote Pokémon battles in this Shiki region!"

"You said you want to promote Pokémon battles?" Ash's expression turned a little strange.

“That’s right!” Hokusho’s tone was filled with boundless ambition. “I want people to understand through battles that Pokémon should work together with people to pave the way! If only Pokémon are strong, or if people are overly afraid of Pokémon, the times will not change!”

"Pokémon and humans working together... Wow, I have a feeling that Hokusho is about to do something really great," said Tsurugi with admiration.

"Yes... but the price might be a bit too high." Ash sighed inwardly.

Bei Shang is indeed a trainer with ambition, but such ambition will lock him into this era!

Ash's Gear of Time sent this signal... Hokusho can no longer leave this place.

He shoulders a historical mission: to promote Pokémon battles in future generations, starting from the Sinnoh region, which will later become known as the Sinnoh region.

The people of Xicui will be scattered all over the world in the future. They will further promote the battle rules established by Beishang and integrate them with some local rules... What they will end up with is the current formula battle system.

Other forms of competition, such as doubles and triples, also originated from Beishang.

He cannot leave this place unless these things are promoted to the point that even time and space recognize them.

Another point is that, although Xiao Zhi's senses are vague, he is basically certain that Bei Shang is his and Nan Xia's ancestor!

Traveling back in time and having someone give birth to you... Pretty amazing, right? Bei Shang is just a few generations removed.

In a world like Pokémon, where time and space are imbued with divinity, anyone who dares to do this would be bound to be so constrained by various paradoxes that they would question their very existence.

However, Bei Shang's situation stems from a misalignment in time and space, so that's a different story.

He went back to the past and influenced the past... In order to make up for this, it is necessary to build a cycle around him.

He acquired extensive knowledge of Pokémon battles → He traveled back in time → He promoted Pokémon battle knowledge in the past → Before his time travel, Hoshino thus acquired extensive knowledge of Pokémon battles…

Perfect~

In order to make this cycle more stable, time and space need to exert more influence on Bei Shang. For example, he will never be able to remember Nan Xia again, and he must marry and have children in the Xi Cui era, until the generations pass on and he and Nan Xia are reborn!

This influence has a very familiar name... it's called 'bond'.

Once he's bound by those bonds, Bei Shang can never go back... because it will inevitably change the fate of many people, including his own!

He has no children in Xicui, so he will not be born and exist in the future; if his children lose their father at any stage of life—birth, childhood, or adulthood—it may lead to a deviation in the inheritance of their lineage, making it impossible for him and Nanxia to be born normally.

So he could only stay in Xicui and work hard to promote Pokémon battles until he died of old age!

He could, of course, choose to live out his days alone in Xicui, but to be honest, the probability is not high... and time and space will have a way to deal with it.

Having possessed the Gears of Time and having experienced it firsthand, Ash is well aware of the risks of time travel... Therefore, rather than sending Hokusho back, it's better to keep him in this era.

In reality, all of this is nothing more than a small act of capriciousness in time and space.

I made a mistake, but I realized it too late, and it would be too troublesome to fix... so I won't change it; I'll just optimize the key 'nodes' a bit.

This is a heartbreaking discovery, and what worries Ash even more is that Dawn's fate might be the same!

She wasn't brought to this era because of any mistake; she was summoned by the alpaca herself, but things might get worse.

Will the Creator allow her to return safely to the future, carrying the memories of this era?

Is she destined to remain in Xicui... or even become her future ancestor?

If that's the case, Hikari will probably be in even more pain than Kita... because she carries the memories of the future!

...

"Zhubei, have you contacted Manager Binlian yet?" Xiaozhi asked in a low voice. "I need to leave immediately to meet with the Snow King!"

“I already told Master Bin, he’ll be waiting for us at the settlement, and then we’ll go to the Ice Rock Block together…” Zhubei nodded and said, but couldn’t help feeling a little worried, “Ash, are you alright?”

"I'm fine, I just want to get going." Ash shook his head silently and casually activated the ring.

He could no longer tolerate it. He quickly gathered up the scattered stone slabs, then rushed to Team Galactic and brought Dawn out!

At the same time, all the partners scattered throughout Xicui will gather together through the ring.

Apart from the group guarding the Snow Peak Temple, all the other companions rushed to Zhuqing Village to await orders!

Whether Ma Jiamu will expel Xiao Guang or not is no longer important...

From now on, the girl should only act on her own and not get involved with anyone or anything in this era!

And he would never let her be imprisoned by time, and he was determined to take her away from this era!!

Chapter 1128 A Frigid Strike Across Ten Thousand Miles, The Ice Ladder!

Ash has returned to the pure white frozen ground, an area of ​​ice and rock blocks covered by wind and snow.

Bin Lian, the commander of the Iceberg Battlefield, had already arrived. The shirtless man stood nonchalantly beneath the giant iceberg in the freezing cold, making him stand out from the crowd.

"Master Bin, we're here!" Zhubei immediately stepped forward to greet them. "This is Xiaozhi. It's just a bit of a coincidence that you two haven't been able to meet before."

"Hello, Manager Binlian." Xiaozhi nodded and greeted him.

He had indeed never met Binlian. Since temporarily joining Team Pearl, Ash had spent most of his time running around, while Binlian was always training in the Pure White Tundra. The two had no interaction whatsoever.

When Ash first arrived in the Greenery, Binlian happened to be busy and didn't show up for many days... Otherwise, when Zoroark pretended to be a ghost on the ice rock, the leader, Shelley, wouldn't have personally gone to investigate...

Then she dug Ash out of the snow, and while she was at it, she also saw everything she should and shouldn't have seen.

"I am Binlian, the one in charge of taking care of the Snowfield King!" the muscular man introduced himself confidently. "I ask you... why did you steal the Snowfield King's treasure?"

"There's no special reason; you can think of it as just the law of the jungle." Ash's attitude was equally firm. "In short, I'm determined to get the Snow King's treasure!"

"Master Bin, it's not just like that!" The two were already at loggerheads the moment they met, and Zhubei had to explain anxiously, "Xiaozhi actually wanted to keep the Snow King away from the conflict... There are other bad guys eyeing the treasure, and even if Xiaozhi doesn't take it, they will definitely come and steal it!"

“Little Pearl, he didn’t even explain much himself, why are you so eager to speak up for him?” Binlian snorted noncommittally. “Besides… a bad guy? How can you be sure that what he said is true? Maybe he’s the one who’s doing evil!”

"I...I believe him!" Zhubei's expression froze for a moment, but she responded without wavering, "Xiaozhi would never lie to me, not now, and never in the future!!"

“Believe it or not… Hahaha, great!” Binlian, who had been cold and aloof just a second ago, suddenly burst into laughter. “It’s rare for Xiaozhubei to trust someone so much. It seems you really have something special… I’ve heard about some of your deeds. Everyone in the settlement is praising you, saying that you’ve helped them a lot.”

He laughed and moved closer to Ash, patting Ash's shoulder hard: "Your answer was pretty good too. Treasure is something you just want, why bother with those high-sounding reasons?"

“Is that so?” Ash smiled gently. The Snowfield’s manager was passionate and straightforward, which suited his taste quite well.

"Shinichi, I have another question," Binlian continued, "Besides acquiring the treasure, do you also intend to subdue the Snowfield King?"

"I have no such intention. I heard that although the Snow King went berserk, it did not cause any disturbances or harm humans or Pokémon. Why should we try to pacify it?"

Ash really didn't intend to subdue the Ice Rock Monster; in fact, he felt that the reasons given in the game were somewhat untenable.

“But someone told me that it can cause an avalanche when it goes berserk!” Binlian pressed on. “The Galactic Team’s guards also came to the settlement and mentioned that the massive Snow King could go berserk at any time, so they have a duty to quell it and put an end to everyone’s anxiety… What do you think about this?”

“Personally, I don’t think it’s necessary… If it’s to maintain relations with Team Galactic, you can agree.” Ash thought for a moment and said, “Actually, the reason Team Galactic made this suggestion is firstly because they are afraid of the Snow King, and secondly because they do have the power to subdue him, which is why they came to Pearl Village to issue an ultimatum.”

To put it bluntly, this is just a case of feeling both afraid and invincible, so they're showing off their superiority.

To understand Ash's Metagross situation, we can take it as an example.

There's a terrifying platinum cross on the mountain, the kind that eats people, but it won't come down on its own... So why don't you just put up a sign to keep people away from going up there?

You should know that in the Diamond and Pearl anime, even Ash and his friends would avoid the signs.