Ash, with his invincible physical body, wants to become a Pokémon Master.

Chapter 368 The Beginning of the Legend

In the light, the tree spirit's body suddenly grew taller, still with a grass-green body and yellow eyes, but with a green stripe on its belly.

Its hands and feet have become more like claws, and three leaves have grown from its wrists. Its dark green tail looks like two long leaves.

His originally round face became more angular, and he looked like he had transformed from a cute child into a handsome young man.

Seeing the tree gecko transform into a forest lizard, Xiaosheng was incredibly excited.

"Wow, is this evolution? I'm so moved by what I've seen before!"

"What a cool Pokémon!" May quickly took out her Pokédex and scanned it.

"Forest Lizard, the evolved form of Wood Gecko, usually inhabits deep in the forest and is not easily detected by ordinary people."

"It can leap freely between trees, making it an expert tree climber. Its well-developed thigh muscles generate amazing explosive power and jumping ability."

[Ding! Congratulations to the Forest Lizard for learning a new skill: "Leaf Blade" (Manipulate the leaves like a sword to slash and attack opponents, easily hitting vital points!)]

Although he had a premonition that Treecko had accumulated enough experience, Ash still couldn't hide his joy when it actually evolved.

"A new move? Good! Forest Lizard, use your leaf blades to cleave the vine whip!"

"Cheers!"

Leaf Blade is the strongest physical STAB move that Grovyle can learn. It is powerful and has a higher critical hit rate than most other moves.

It's considered a signature move of the Treecko family, and even if it's the first time using it, Grovyle can master it immediately.

Relying on its increased power after evolution, the forest lizard instantly regained its footing on the field, stopping the trend of being pulled away by its opponent.

A blade of light made of green energy quickly condensed on its arm and slashed towards its ankle.

The powerful force instantly split the thick vine whip in two.

"Laaah!!"

"What's that sound?" Xiao Sheng turned his head in confusion.

He thought he heard other Pokémon screaming, but he didn't see any of them nearby.

"Could I have misheard?"

Anthony's face instantly turned panicked.

"Hold on to Trumpet Sprout—no, Pelipper! Use Flamethrower again!"

"The forest lizard uses a slap to disperse the flames!"

After evolving, the Forest Lizard no longer needs to flick its tail to use its slap attack; instead, it uses the newly grown long leaves on its head.

"Cheers!"

Unlike its previous disheveled appearance, completely engulfed in flames, this time the forest lizard simply flicked the leaf on its head, easily cleaving through the fiery jets released by the beak gull once again.

The firelight couldn't harm the forest lizard in the slightest; it only illuminated its agile body.

"How can this be? No way, Pelipper! We've fought so many matches, and it wasn't easy for us to become the strongest Meijin in this area. We absolutely can't lose!"

"Use the vine whip again, ah no, flames, ah no, water bubbles—"

"Billy—?"

At this point, Anthony had completely panicked and his commands were utterly disorganized.

The beak was immediately confused by his incoherent commands, and various energies gathered haphazardly inside its large beak.

This forced Pelipper to reveal its wise eyes and stop thinking. How could Ash possibly let such an opportunity pass?

"Alright, Forest Lizard, now's your last Leaf Blade!"

The forest lizard easily leaped to an even greater height than before, brandishing the sharp blade that had materialized beside its wrist.

"Cheers!"

It swung down heavily on the head of the bighead gull from its high position, then landed gracefully and turned around.

He hummed softly, the twig still in his mouth, and didn't look back again.

The gull immediately plummeted like a kite with a broken string, the blade striking its vitals.

A loud thud suddenly echoed across the field as the giant beak crashed into the ground, creating a large crater and filling the area with dust.

"Ah, a peacock~"

The Pelipper, lying unconscious in the pit, seemed to have several Poké Balls and two small figures rolling out of its beak amidst the smoke and dust.

[Ding! Forest Lizard: Affection +2; Intimacy +2]

[Ding! Congratulations on completing the new side quest "Challenge the World's Strongest?": Go and defeat "the world's strongest Pokémon!"]

【获得奖励：联盟币+4000：攻击+1：特攻+1；自由属性点+2：挑战成功的宝可梦将获得奖章「世界最强」+1】

[Ding! The "World's Strongest" badge has been equipped on the Forest Lizard!]

"Yay! Pelipper is unable to battle, Ash and Grovyle have won!" May and her brother cheered immediately.

However, the sharp-eyed Xiaosheng quickly spotted a Poké Ball and two Pokémon that shouldn't have been on the field.

Anthony rushed forward in a panic, trying to block their view, but Ash stopped him. "What's wrong? Is there something we can't see?"

"Haha, of course not, I was just too worried about the Pelipper —" Anthony's face was full of embarrassment.

Actually, Ash noticed something was wrong with Pelipper the first time he saw it use Flamethrower.

After all, he uses Flamethrower himself quite often; if a Pokémon uses a move on its own, it wouldn't look like that.

When he used his Aura to discover that there was another Pokémon inside Pelipper's mouth, he was almost amused by Anthony's imagination.

"He's really a talent; he's managed to train Pokémon to cooperate to this extent."

Ash would usually expose the other party's trick immediately, but this Pelipper and the other Pokémon it mentioned were all quite strong.

Ash believed that such an opponent could put enough pressure on Treecko to help it improve, which is why he chose to let the battle continue.

At this moment, Xiao Sheng also ran to the battlefield and finally saw the duckbill baby and trumpet bud lying on the ground in the pit.

"Ah, I knew it! Pelipper could never learn to use Flamethrower and Vine Whip!"

"You actually took advantage of Pelipper's habit of carrying Pokémon eggs and items in its beak to hide other Pokémon and Poké Balls inside for battle!"

"This won't do! It's a complete scam!"

"Ahhh! I'm so sorry!"

Seeing his deception completely exposed, Anthony collapsed to the ground and wept bitterly.

"I just really wanted my Pelipper to become the strongest Pokémon in the world, so I just did it on a whim—"

"So please, please, please don't tell my neighbors about this. It would tarnish the legend of the world's strongest Pokémon."

"I'll do anything for you, as long as you don't tell anyone!"

He's already fooled too many trainers around him with this trick. If Ash and his friends find out, Anthony won't be able to stay here anymore.

"Look at his pathetic state, it's such a contrast to his previous overconfident demeanor."

Xiao Yao thought this was a real opportunity to make Xiao Sheng make mistakes even when he was trying to expand his knowledge base. She was also thinking of defusing her arrogant younger brother's arrogance.

"I didn't expect it to be such a cheap imitation."

In the end, Xiao Zhi did not choose to publicize Anthony's fraud.

Rather, they gave him a chance to reform because of his terrible fashion sense.

"Namo San, what a disastrous old man's undershirt, but I admire you."

"A muscle enthusiast who loves training can't be a bad person. Anthony, you've just gone astray for a while and need a complete cleansing."

"Right now, every muscle in your body is crying out for what you've done."

"If you truly want to become the strongest in the world, then put in real effort and hard work, and train with Pelipper!"

"Oh, really—really?"

Anthony was incredulous that he had been let off so easily.

But looking at Ash's expression, he felt there was something slightly off.

"Of course, but there are some things you still need to do on your path of cultivation."

Ash gave Anthony a task: to go with Pelipper to the forest next to the town and take care of the wild Pokémon there for a year.

The Pokémon there had just been ravaged by Ash and May, and were filled with resentment towards humans.

Furthermore, Pokémon from the Hoenn region seem to hold grudges more than those from Kanto and Johto.

If left unattended, news might break one day that wild Pokémon are inexplicably attacking passing trainers.

This is a good opportunity for Anthony to apologize for feeding wild Pokémon every day in the past, and at the same time, to vent his anger by being their punching bag.

Anthony, who is currently engaged in intense battles every day, must be extremely grateful for his arrangements.

This is a blessing that many battle maniacs would kill for!

And so, Xiao Zhi grabbed Anthony by the back of the neck and flew to an altitude of 10,000 meters.

He pointed to the forest below and drew a circle around it, telling Anthony to remember it.

"For the next year, you will be responsible for taking care of the wild Pokémon within this area!"

"Daily treatment and feeding are essential, and if you encounter poachers, you will also be responsible for driving them away."

The supplies are naturally the responsibility of the protected area established by Xiaozhi.

Moreover, Xiaozhi, who is well-versed in the art of managing subordinates, would not be so naive as to be completely without oversight.

"Anthony, I will send someone to inspect your work at random times throughout the year."

"If I find out you've been slacking off and failing to complete the mission properly, I'll print out a hundred million flyers about your deception and distribute them throughout Hoenn!"

Meanwhile, Anthony, who was staring blankly into the cold air high in the sky, was so scared that he wet himself.

He didn't dare to have the slightest thought of resistance, and nodded repeatedly. He was almost kneeling down and begging Xiaozhi for mercy.

"I will certainly complete the task assigned by you diligently, sir!"

"Very good, I'm pleased that you're so sensible!"

After that day, Anthony had to leave the small town where he had always lived and begin his training journey in the forest with the beaked gulls.

Unexpectedly, through his daily interactions with those kind Pokémon, his once restless and vain heart was truly purified.

From initially feeling sorry for himself after being unilaterally beaten by wild Pokémon, to later getting back on his feet with the encouragement of his friends, he persevered and worked hard to win over all his former rivals and become their friend.

Anthony fell in love with the forest and the Pokémon in it.

Even after a year had passed, he still insisted on staying in the forest to cultivate.

Gradually, Anthony and Pelipper became more and more connected, growing stronger and stronger, and becoming the legendary beginner obstacle in the eyes of trainers in the Hoenn region.

Countless new trainers have failed under his guidance; the incompetent give up early, while the talented are tempered and refined.

After letting go of their obsession with fame, Anthony and Pelipper actually became legends, and even became the four Elite Four of Hoenn in the future.

Of course, that's all in the future. At this point, Ash had no idea how much trouble his careless actions would bring to novice trainers in Hoenn.

He felt that he had eliminated another hidden danger for trainers, and that he was a truly great person!

"Hey, if someone hadn't gone and wiped out the Pokémon, would this problem have never existed in the first place?"

"Xiao Sheng, you're such a chatterbox!"

"Hehe~" Xiaosheng immediately ran to the front and made a face at Xiaozhi.

Ash and his friends set off for Rustboro City once again, but Max was still reminiscing along the way.

"Hmph, in the end, the facts still prove that the information I tried so hard to memorize was correct! Pokémon just can't learn moves that aren't recorded in the Pokédex."

"Ash, sister, you two trainers who always have to check your Pokédex at the last minute before a battle really need to work on your skills!"

"The future of the league really depends on knowledge-based trainers like me, hahaha!"

"What?! You're not even a trainer yet!"

Seeing Xiaosheng's arrogant appearance, Xiaozhi knew it was time for him to teach the kid a lesson again.

"Pikachu, Flamethrower!"

"Pikachu!"

Pikachu immediately fired a flame from Ash's shoulder, burning Max's face black.

"Ah, how is this possible!" Xiaosheng's worldview collapsed once again.

He immediately rushed to Pikachu, whose mouth was still sparking, and forcefully pulled its little mouth open to peer inside.

"Pikachu must have hidden a baby duck in its mouth too, where, where?"

"Shinshō, does Pikachu's mouth look like it could hide a Poké Ball and another Pokémon?"

"Oh, I don't believe it!"

After another day of travel, Ash and his friends finally arrived at the entrance hall of Corsair City.

He and Xiaoyao immediately rushed over excitedly. "Yay, we're finally here!"

"Dojo!"

"Grand Contest!"

At this moment, the entrance hall of Kanaz City was bustling with activity, with a large number of trainers gathered in both open spaces and bushes.

Most of them were training with their partners there, and that's when Ash and his friends realized that the Contest of the Conquerors was being held in the venue next to the main hall.

"Alright, since the Kanaz Gym is in the city center, and the Grand Contest is right here—"

"Haruka, let's get ready for your Grand Contest!"

After looking at the city map on the navigator, Ash immediately decided to put the gym battle on hold for now, as May's first time was more important.

At this moment, the young scholar clenched her fists and placed them on her chest, taking a deep breath.

"Yes, I'm a little nervous, but I'll definitely do my best!"

"Um, I'm very sorry, the registration period for the Grand Contest has actually already passed."

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