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

Chapter 426 An Encounter

"Haruka, if you can't figure it out, don't force it. Try tossing a frisbee instead."

After saying that, Ash picked up the frisbee and gently tossed it into the distance. Torchic immediately scurried out and skillfully retrieved the frisbee.

"Hey, turkey, you're not a puppy!"

"And Ash, when exactly did you train Torchic to be like this?"

Xiaoyao is clearly its owner.

Torchic's temperament is so similar to its trainer's. Seeing how Ash trains Torchic, May always feels that she will be trained like that by Ash in the future, and she can't help but feel shy.

The turkey, of course, was unaware of the humans' ulterior motives; it was just a cute little chick.

With an innocent tilt of its head, Torchic happily hopped over to May's side, carrying the frisbee in its mouth.

"Squeak, squeak!"

There was nothing else Xiaoyao could do but play frisbee fetch with it.

The turkey, which had been completely treated like a dog, not only did not show any resistance, but was actually very happy.

It was as excited as a dog, and its adorable appearance also healed Xiaoyao, making her cheer up and return to her usual cheerful self.

"Xiao Zhi is right, there's no use in just worrying."

"Let's play first, maybe we'll come up with some good ideas while we're playing." Haruka took the frisbee that Torchic had brought back and threw it out again.

But unexpectedly, May accidentally threw it too far this time, leading the Torchic to the depths of the forest.

Torchic, like May, is a bit clumsy, so Ash and his friends quickly chased after it, worried that it might get lost.

But as they chased after it, they noticed that the frisbee landed in a clump of grass and seemed to have hit something.

A soft meow suddenly came from the bushes, startling the turkey.

Ash quickly parted the waist-high weeds around him, only to find a weak pink kitten lying there.

With a big head, a small body, and a fluffy tail that looks like a foxtail grass, it looks very cute.

The adorable Haruka immediately rushed to the kitten, her eyes shining, grabbed her Torchic and placed it in front of Skitty, wanting to battle it.

"Ah, it's so cute! I really want to get it and catch it in battles!"

Ash and Max also gathered around, and as always, Max was the first to recognize the unfamiliar Pokémon.

"Wait a minute, big sister, this Pokémon looks like a Normal-type Pokémon—that's right, it's Skitty! It doesn't look too good."

"Hey, yeah, you look so listless."

At this moment, Haruka quickly paused the battle and nervously picked up Shooting Cat.

Petalburg Gym is a well-known gym that primarily features Normal-type Pokémon, so Max is most familiar with Pokémon of that type.

He could tell at a glance that something was wrong with the cheetah.

"By the way, did Skitty get hurt by her sister's frisbee?"

"Xiao Sheng, stop talking nonsense. That person's frisbee was so light, and it flew so far, how could it possibly hurt anyone!"

This was clearly a slanderous matter, but Xiaoyao refused to admit it and immediately gave Xiaosheng a powerful punch to shut him up.

At this moment, Ash, who was diligent and thrifty, rummaged through his backpack and immediately took out the remaining healing potion from last time, spraying it on the listless Skitty.

Unfortunately, the medication was not very effective, and the kitten still seemed listless.

[Ding! Extra treatment +1]

[Ding! Congratulations, host, your "Doctor" trait has advanced from L2 to L3: You have gained more medical knowledge and can treat some moderate illnesses. (Medical power at level three! However, for the safety of your patients, please do not treat them alone.)]

"Yes, the injury to the Skitty isn't an external one."

Xiao Zhi calmly put away the healing medicine. "Damn system, it's so annoying. I tried my best, after all."

"Oh, what should we do now?"

Although May really wanted to catch Skitty, her kind nature prevented her from forcing her Pokémon into battle in such a weakened state.

The group immediately decided to take Skitty back to the Pokémon Center so that Nurse Joy could take a look at it.

Just as Haruka was anxiously carrying Skitty and running outside, she unexpectedly bumped into a stranger who happened to be passing by in the forest.

The current Xiaoyao is no longer the delicate and weak woman she used to be.

With that collision, the tall man opposite, who was bundled up tightly, was knocked down by Xiaoyao.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry, I was in such a hurry and didn't notice what was in front of me—" Xiaoyao quickly ran over to help the person up, apologizing repeatedly.

"It's alright. I was so engrossed in the tranquility of the forest that I assumed there was no one there, so I also bear some responsibility for closing my eyes while taking a walk."

Fortunately, the person opposite him wasn't a rude person either. He waved his hand and didn't pursue the matter further, but hurriedly tried to pick up his sunglasses from the ground.

At this moment, his face, which had been well hidden, was completely exposed, and Xiaoyao and Xiaosheng immediately exclaimed in surprise.

"Mickey Champion!"

Hearing the voices sound familiar, Mikoli immediately looked up and saw the faces of the boys in front of him, and then exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh, it's Ash and you guys."

I never expected to run into Michael here. I have to say, he and Rukia are truly uncle and nephew.

When they go out, they all wear the same crazy stalker outfit: big trench coats, big sunglasses, and even masks to cover their entire bodies.

Without him saying a word, you'd never guess that this was the new champion of the Hoenn League, Mikkuri.

"Seriously, we don't need to dress up like this in the forest, do we?"

"Young man, this is something you don't understand." Mikoli shook his long, slender fingers.

"With my popularity, if I were to be recognized by someone by accident, no matter where I go in this area, I would never have a moment of peace."

"Being popular is such a hassle~"

After saying this, Mikoli even struck a seductive pose, kneeling down and basking in the sunlight.

Ash and Max's eyes twitched at the sight, but May thought it was incredibly cool and quickly took a picture, planning to study it frame by frame later!

However, Mikkuri wasn't exaggerating. As the most popular top Coordinator in several nearby regions, he has quite a few die-hard fans.

That's why he specifically chose this route to Qiuye Town, a route with few people and little chance of encountering fellow travelers.

But to my surprise, Ash and his friends were also there.

"The fact that we met so early shows our destiny, beautiful young men and women."

Wallace happily twirled around Ash and his friends in an elegant circle, and then saw Skitty in May's arms, looking unwell.

"Oh dear, this child looks very tired."

"Mr. Michael, do you have any way to help Skitty?"

"Of course."

Michael readily agreed to Haruka's request.

"Pokémon, like humans, are highly intelligent species, so it's inevitable that they will occasionally feel down due to excessive excitement."

"Skitty cats have a habit of chasing after anything that moves without hesitation. Sometimes they even chase their own tails until they get dizzy."

"This child must have gone too far while playing somewhere, which is why he's turned out like this."

"Let's dance together in splendor, my most beautiful partner."

Wallace unleashed his signature Pokémon, Milotic.

"Healing fluctuations!"

This Milotic is arguably the most beautiful Milotic Ash has ever seen, and even the patterns on its body are incredibly dazzling.

Milotic swung its beautiful tail, releasing a wave that could bring a sense of calm.

At this moment, the tightly furrowed brows of the cat finally began to relax.

"Wow, that's amazing! It seems like the Skitty has regained some of its energy."

"But that's not enough, Haruka. As your trainer, you'll have to do the massage yourself from here on out."

"Skitty is too tired, but with a special massage technique, you can relax your Pokémon completely, and not only will your body be soothed, but your mind will also be relieved."

This is Wallace's unique technique; he usually uses it to improve the skin condition of Pokémon and strengthen his bond with them.

Today was a lucky day for Haruka; Michael was in a particularly good mood, so she took the opportunity to teach him.

Although May wanted to say that she was not yet a Skitty trainer, she did so without hesitation.

May seemed to have a real talent for learning; she learned exceptionally quickly, and Ash and Max watched her intently from the sidelines.

As expected, the skimmed cat gradually began to meow happily under Xiaoyao's care, and it visibly became closer to Xiaoyao during the process.

"I never expected Michael to have this trick up his sleeve."

Ash wanted to learn, so he directly copied the technique and pressed a few times on Pikachu.

But unexpectedly, because he used too much force, he hurt Pikachu and got a hard electric shock.

"Haha, Ash, different Pokémon have different body structures, so you can't just press buttons randomly until you've mastered all the basics."

All that was left was for May to continue massaging Skitty. Wallace walked straight up to Ash and looked him over carefully from head to toe.

"W--what's wrong?"

Mikuri remained silent, only staring intently at Ash.

He even got so engrossed in watching it that he personally took off Xiaozhi's baseball cap and fixed his hair.

For some reason, Ash felt nervous being stared at like that by Michael.

Finally, Mikoli smiled gracefully.

"Young man, you pass! Overall, you get 8 points, and if you take your demeanor into account, you can get 9 points!"

"This sounds like a beauty rating system."

"A minor victory? You can't say that. As the league champion, Mr. Mikkelsen certainly wouldn't be so superficial!"

"It's based on appearance."

Ash slipped, and Wallace just openly admitted it.

But there's nothing we can do about it; after all, he's the kind of person who judges people by their looks.

Even when Ash isn't in his handsome form, his angular, striking face and sunny disposition are still incredibly charming.

Good-looking people receive better treatment at Mikoli's place, and of course, good looks here also include inner beauty.

He patted Ash's muscular shoulder, looking quite satisfied.

"Speaking of which, Ash, weren't you going to give me a cannon? Why haven't we seen any trace of it since?"

"Ah, are you sure you want me to take it out here? It's huge."

Upon hearing this, Mikoli was taken aback, but then immediately realized what he meant.

"Oh, it must have been placed in a space-folding backpack-like compartment."

"Then forget it. You can give it to me when you arrive in Qiuye Town. It wouldn't be good if you damaged the beautiful flowers and plants here."

""

As a league champion, Mikkelsen naturally knew about backpacks made using pocket space technology that could hold an extra lot of items.

His rival and friend Daigo, whose family's Devon Corporation manufactures such products.

Xiao Gang is able to carry so many cutlery and even furniture like tables with him when he travels because he uses a backpack that can greatly expand its capacity.

Michael thinks Ash should also have something like this backpack.

It was just that it might be a cutting-edge technology product that a company hadn't yet released, which was why it could fit something the size of an energy storage cannon, so he didn't doubt Xiaozhi's words.

Suddenly, Xiaoyao shouted.

It turns out that the cherubic cat has woken up.

Under Haruka's massage, Snoopy miraculously recovered completely.

It stuck out its little tongue and licked Xiaoyao's palm, letting out a cute little meow. Its energetic appearance made Xiaoyao excitedly hug it and jump up.

"Cute! Okay, I'm going to tame Skitty!"

Then, as soon as May took out the Poké Ball, Hakimi's underlying code was triggered.

The Skitty in her arms saw the Poké Ball in May's hand and immediately slapped it, knocking it to the ground, looking like a fully automatic trouble-making and desktop cleaning machine.

The rolling, round object on the ground instantly triggered another piece of Hakimi's underlying code.

The little cat jumped down from Haruka's arms and happily chased after her.

The little paws carefully flicked the Poké Ball, and soon accidentally pressed the button in the center of the Poké Ball.

The entire Pokémon was immediately captured.

With three thuds and a shake, Xiaoyao successfully tamed the Skitty.

Everything happened in a matter of seconds. Before Haruka could even react, her goal of capturing Skitty was achieved.

"Ah, so you successfully captured it like that, without even a battle—"

Xiao Sheng seemed a little disappointed at not being able to see the match.

"Haha, this just shows that Skitty and Haruka have a special connection."

Seeing this, Mikoli found it amusing and couldn't help but chuckle.

The lively and energetic appearance of Snoopy after regaining her spirits certainly reminded her of Haruka's usual demeanor; perhaps they really are destined for each other.

As long as May is happy that she was able to catch Skitty, that's enough.

At this moment, Ash remembered how May had been troubled by the Contest, so he went to Wallace's side.

"Mr. Wallace, you must be the strongest Coordinator in the Hoenn region."

"The strongest? I would never say that I am the strongest. There are countless geniuses in this world. Maybe there is a trainer stronger than me hiding somewhere."

Contrary to his outward appearance of always being intoxicated by his outstanding looks, Michael is actually a more humble person compared to Daigo.

However, he also possessed the pride that a strong person should have.

"But if you ask me if I'm an excellent top-tier coordination trainer, my answer is definitely yes!"

"Then, Mr. Mikkuri, would you please join me for a spectacular battle?"

"A dazzling battle?"

Michael looked at Ash with some surprise. He had previously learned from Steven that Ash was a passionate and ambitious young trainer who was pursuing strength.

So it wasn't surprising that he challenged the new champion, but what was truly unexpected was that he requested a spectacular match.

At this moment, Xiaoyao was also surprised. She looked at Xiaozhi with her beautiful eyes. She could guess that Xiaozhi did this for her sake, and she couldn't help but feel moved.

[Ding! Xiaoyao: Affection +4]

"Haha, that's really funny, that's great!"