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

"Mr. Ash... so you really are traveling with a legendary champion?" Nozomi exclaimed in surprise.

When they met last time, she didn't pay much attention to Hikaru's travel companions, but later she discovered that one of them was the Tenno of Kanto.

After Kanaz's big event went viral, Nozomi saw Hikari again, only to find that the legendary champion who had returned was right beside her!

"Yeah, we've known each other before... Xiaozhi's girlfriend is my mom's student, and he usually calls me 'older sister'~" Xiaoguang explained playfully.

There's nothing wrong with the whole sentence... except for the last part, which is just Xiaoguang's rambling.

When she was sixteen, she did indeed claim to be older than Xiaozhi, but he never admitted it.

"You're saying cute things again." Xiao Wang couldn't help but chuckle when she heard this, taking it as just a little girl being coquettish.

As for the true relationship between Tomo and Hikari, she didn't care... She valued Hikari herself, not the circle of people around the girl.

"Xiaowang, let's do our best together this time! We must meet on the final stage!"

"Hmm... okay~" After a slight pause, seeing the girl's expectant face, Xiao Wang nodded seriously in agreement.

...

The second round of the Fate Tournament began quickly, with the eight contestants divided into four groups to compete further.

The elegantly dressed Hikari undoubtedly attracted everyone's attention. She commanded Piplup and the light-footed Hanabikari to defeat their opponent with agile and graceful attacks.

Xiaowang, Shangzhi, and Musashi also advanced to the semifinals.

The next draw results are Hikaru vs. Musashi, and Hisashi vs. Nozomi!

"Three minutes allotted for the match, Ready~Go!!"

"Bogaman, Feather Dance!" As the host Bai'an announced the start of the competition, Xiao Guang immediately took the initiative, making Bogaman release a flurry of feathers.

The Flower Bird also activated its Dancer ability, scattering feathers in the air!

In an instant, the fluttering feathers obscured the opponent's vision, while also reducing the attacks from the Poisonous Powder Moth and the Ancient Giant Dragonfly.

However, neither of these two are known for their physical attacks, so Musashi wasn't particularly flustered...

"Flower Bird, juggling!" Just as Musashi was about to retaliate, the Flower Bird suddenly tore open its curtain of feathers and appeared in front of the Poisonous Powder Moth in an instant!

This is the advantage of the Dancer ability in doubles battles. Succulent's Feather Dance, activated by its ability, is a completely instinctive reaction and does not affect its actions at all.

Therefore, it is equivalent to being able to unleash two ultimate moves in the same round!

"Oh no... Powdermouse, use Protect! Ancient Giant Dragonfly, use Primal Power to drive it away!" Fortunately, Musashi's strength was still quite strong. She immediately had Powdermouse activate Protect, and at the same time, the Accelerator Dragonfly she had just caught in Sinnoh also retaliated.

"Bogarman, block the attack and use Rain Dance! Hanabusa, use Storm!"

Xiao Guang seemed determined to launch a strong attack, actually letting Piplup withstand an attack from the Ancient Giant Dragonfly, while simultaneously flinging a water ball into the air.

But as the rain poured down, the storm unleashed by the Flower Dance Bird suddenly changed direction and struck the ancient giant dragonfly directly!

With just one move, Jessie lost a Pokémon!

"Oh dear, Musashi was too careless~" Kojiro in the stands couldn't help but put his hand to his forehead.

"That's a brilliant choice. Musashi clearly overlooked that," Xiao Gang explained approvingly. "The Flower Bird's Storm can kill the Ancient Giant Dragonfly in an instant, but it can't kill the Poisonous Moth. Musashi just ignored that."

Ancient Flygon is a new Pokémon that Jessie caught in Sinnoh. Its level is not high and it has the troublesome Speed-Up ability, so it should be dealt with first.

With only one poisonous moth remaining, Musashi's chances of survival were over.

Using Butterfly Dance is blatantly giving Flower Bird a boost, and a direct confrontation is no match for two fists... Trying to annoy the opponent by weakening them is easily countered by a single Mystic Protection.

In the end, they could only watch with resentment as Xiaoguang stepped into the finals.

However, despite his victory, Xiao Guang didn't show much joy on his face; instead, he remained anxiously anticipating his victory…

(Xiao Wang, keep it up...)

"Time's up! The one who has advanced to the finals is Mr. Shang Zhi!"

Unfortunately, the girl's prayers had no effect, and Xiaowang lost the match just like 'before'... losing to Shangzhi, whom she saw as having no fighting spirit!

The final match of the Tournament of Fate was fast approaching, with Hikaru facing off against Hisashi, a result that deeply moved Nozomi.

These two individuals, though walking opposite paths, were able to defeat other Coordinators and advance to the final ribbon battle…

"Miss Hikari, we meet again. Please join me in a full-fledged battle." Shang Zhi strummed the strings, his tone elegant yet full of fighting spirit.

In front of him, the Speaker Cricket and the Sunflower Monster were also on high alert.

"I'd be happy to oblige!" Hikari also dispatched Piplup and Hanabikari, and a great battle was about to break out.

"Sound Squeak, Grass Flute! Sunflower Monster, Sing!" After the opening, Shangzhi took the initiative to attack, turning his previous performance into an offensive, and relying on the mutual influence of his special moves to enhance the power of the sound waves.

"Florato, Mystic Protection! Piplup, Yawn!" But this was no challenge for Dawn. After Florato activated its shield to protect half the field, Piplup yawned and blew out a bubble.

As you sleep, I sleep too. Watching the bubbles drift towards the speaker, Shangzhi had no choice but to pause his performance.

"Soundboard Cricket, protect! Sunflower Monster, Energy Ball!"

"Flower Bird, deflect the attack with Sword Dance! Piplup, Rain Dance!"

Faced with Shangzhi's counterattack, Xiaoguang gave an unexpected instruction: it had Hanabusa stand in front of Piplup and forcefully unleash a Swords Dance buff.

This left Shangzhi in a difficult position. After Piplup changed the weather, Floridon should have used its whirlwind attack to wipe out opponents, but instead, it increased its physical attack...

"Sunflower, charge after the sun clears up! Speaker Krill, use Cross Scissors on Piplup!"

The opportunity was fleeting, and Shangzhi ultimately decided to follow his instincts, letting Sunflower Monster steal the weather while commanding Speaker Scratcher to attack Piplup on the other side.

There's no way around it; Floridon's type is a hard counter to Bug-types, so Shangzhi's only opening is Penguin!

"Flower Dance Bird, juggle! Bogarman, blizzard!"

"Speaker Cricket... immediately switch to Street Test Knife! Sunflower Monster, use Solar Flare!"

Faced with Shangzhi's all-out attack, Xiaoguang still chose to have Huawu Bird stand in front of Bogarman to create space for Penguin to attack.

Piplup could only watch helplessly as the changed move, Krill, swung its forelimbs and collided with Succubus, while Sunflower's beam of light arrived in an instant!

boom!

A violent explosion sent the severely damaged speaker flying backward through the smoke and dust, crashing to the ground unconscious.

But the Flower Bird was also badly injured, its wings drooping at its sides, barely maintaining its initial elegance.

It's obvious to everyone that it's no longer capable of launching a decent offensive...

"Pega...Pega!" Seeing his battered partner, Piplup finally snapped out of his daze, opening his mouth to spew out a fierce blizzard that instantly froze Sunflower into ice!

At this moment, the penguin felt particularly guilty.

Although doubles is all about teamwork, it still felt that it had dragged down Hanabusa.

If it were stronger and reacted faster, the Flower Bird wouldn't need to rely on its attributes to tank damage.

Or to put it more bluntly, if it could use Swords Dance, the Flower Bird wouldn't need to activate its own buff, and might not even give the Snorkel a chance to retaliate!

“Poga!!”

Overwhelmed with self-reproach, the penguin gathered its strength to the limit and forcefully used Swallow Return to break through the ice in front of it, completely draining the Sunflower Monster's strength!

"The match is over! The battle between Speaker Cricket and Sunflower Monster is over, and the winner of the Ribbon of Fate is confirmed to be Ms. Hikari!"

They finally won!

But when they hugged to celebrate, Pogaman seemed distracted.

This doubles match made it realize a reality...

As Xiaoguang's partner, the relationships it faces are never simple.

More often than not, what it needs to do is not to protect Xiaoguang, but to cooperate with its partners like it did today.

If you're not skilled enough, you can really drag your teammates down...

Chapter 1209 Trainer, What Are You Pursuing?

The Tournament of Fate has finally come to an end, and Hikaru has finally changed the 'original story' and obtained a second ribbon in the place where he had previously failed.

After the match, the acquaintances who had competed fiercely gathered at the entrance under the pretext of saying goodbye, instead of leaving decisively as usual.

This is understandable, of course. With two powerful figures like Zhi Gang by his side, it's only natural for Xiao Guang to want to befriend them.

It would be much more efficient to get some pointers from them than to try to reflect on things behind closed doors.

Ash, of course, wouldn't refuse to communicate with them, so he simply took them all to the Pokémon Center.

"Miss Xiaowang, is there a question you need me to answer?" After finding a quiet booth in the center, Xiaozhi ordered some cold drinks for everyone and then asked Xiaowang about her current confusion.

"What I want to know is, Mr. Ash, you must be a very focused trainer, right...? I've heard some of your comments, about Contests..." Nozomi carefully raised her question, "So I don't understand why you would support Dawn multitasking?"

Although Xiaowang thought they weren't from the same system of trainers, she had always greatly admired Xiaozhi.

Because she felt that Ash, like her, was a very focused trainer who always persisted in challenging the League and had also publicly stated that he would not participate in the Contests.

Xiao Wang always felt that only those who are so focused and dedicated deserve to achieve such success.

So when she learned that Ash had been traveling with Dawn all along and had even let Dawn have two flowers, she found it unbelievable.

After losing to Shangzhi, who also had two strong teams, today she felt even more lost...

“Miss Xiaowang, the first thing I want to tell you is... everyone has the right to decide their own path, and even as friends, we have no right to judge too much.” Xiaozhi said sincerely, “Just like Xiaoguang and Mr. Shangzhi, it is their freedom to want to walk two paths at the same time. I cannot think that their choice is wrong just because I am better than them.”