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

Chapter 429 Stealing a Man

"That's right, I don't think you'd refuse a challenge from someone, would you?"

"Regular match?"

"Normal Battle!"

Ash never expected that Shun would come to him to ask for a battle. Looking at the serious eyes of the green-haired boy in front of him, he realized that Shun didn't seem to be joking.

However, before Ash could reply, May couldn't hold back any longer.

"Shun, are you out of your mind?"

"You're going to battle Ash? You can't possibly win."

When Xiaoyao said those words, she felt a little proud.

But Shun's eyes were fixed on Ash, and he spoke calmly as always.

"Don't compare me to trainers of your caliber."

"Ever since that humiliating defeat, I have realized my shortcomings and have been determined to train hard."

"Now is the time to test my performance before the competition. This time, someone can't rely on luck to beat me again."

"There's no such thing as luck, I rely on my hard skills! And why do I have to find Ash?" May then grabbed Ash's arm, looking like she didn't want to let him go.

"As someone whose goal is to become a top Coordinator, it's only meaningful to train against the strongest opponents."

"Isn't he the strongest trainer around here?"

Shun's words seemed perfectly reasonable, but Ash nodded repeatedly in agreement.

"The strongest? — You've got good taste, kid."

Thinking about it carefully, Xiaoshun's flashy battles are indeed quite impressive, and Xiaozhi thinks he might be able to learn some good battle experience from him.

"Wait, you can't go! Ash has to train with me."

"I'd say someone should practice their combo moves first; you're just holding Ash back."

"What did you say?!"

Upon hearing this, Haruka stared at Ash with her big, bright eyes, her gaze filled with tears.

Unfortunately, Xiao Zhi only pinched her soft little face.

"I'm sorry, Haruka, the only thing you and Butterfree are lacking right now is skill level, so it doesn't really matter whether I'm here or not."

Ash really wanted to battle this little green guy last time, and most importantly, someone actually invited him to come and bother him.

Rejection is not Xiaozhi's style.

"Uh, but, but—"

May was always too shy to say that she wanted Ash to stay with her, but Ash, after hesitating for a moment, happily ran off with Shun.

"I'll be back with Pikachu soon!"

"Pikachu, Pikachu!"

Ash's emotional intelligence seems to be sucked away by the Subspace whenever he encounters something disruptive.

Seeing Ash being seduced away by that green-haired wild man, May gritted her teeth.

"Damn it, I'll show you I've succeeded in training!"

"Katsuki, come practice with me! I won't lose to that guy in the Grand Contest!!!"

"Hey~, but I want to go to the wildlife reserve in the suburbs to see Pokémon today — ah —"

The poor bespectacled kid was choked and taken away by his own aggressive older sister.

Meanwhile, Ash and Shun arrived at an empty open space and began their battle.

Both sides took out their Pokémon.

"By the way, Shun, why do you dislike Haruka so much?"

Before the battle officially began, Ash asked curiously.

This green-haired guy talks about beauty all the time, so he should be a looks-obsessed person, but for some reason he treats Xiaoyao and her brother terribly.

They are both known for their good looks.

To everyone's surprise, Xiao Zhi asked him this question. Xiao Shun suddenly took out his bright red rose and struck a flamboyant pose.

"I wouldn't call it 'hate,' it's just that I can't stand it."

"Why? Don't you love beautiful things the most? Both siblings are quite good-looking."

"Hmph, you saw how outrageous they were. One was careless and sloppy, and the other was arrogant and self-righteous. They were completely unqualified."

"Having a beautiful appearance but not a beautiful inner self is simply an insult to the gift God has given them."

"The more outstanding their appearance, the more I can't stand them."

Xiao Shun wasn't blind; he could naturally see Xiao Yao's outstanding appearance, otherwise he wouldn't have paid extra attention to such a newcomer.

After all, in the world of Coordinators, good looks are everything!

When Shun first met Haruka, he knew that Haruka's future in the Grand Contest was absolutely limitless.

However, after getting to know her, Xiaoyao's initial behavior was quite surprising, with a stark contrast to her appearance.

Moreover, she inexplicably gave off the feeling that she was just there for fun, which made Shun, who genuinely loves Pokémon Contests, feel very uncomfortable.

That's why their attitude towards Xiaoyao and her brother also became very bad.

However, in each subsequent meeting, Xiaoyao continued to correct and improve, and Xiaoshun's opinion of her also changed slightly.

Once the first impression is formed, it's not easy to change one's attitude.

Of course, that's just how Green Hair is by nature, and changing his attitude towards Haruka wouldn't make much difference.

"I see." Ash was a little surprised.

It seems this green-haired guy is not only arrogant, but also has a set of values ​​that he insists on.

At the same time, Xiao Zhi chuckled and asked again out of curiosity.

"And what about me?"

"You are different from them, Ash. You are very strong, both in strength and in spirit, and strength is also a kind of beauty."

Shun was particularly serious about Ash, and he immediately threw his Poké Ball onto the field.

"Ascend, my most beautiful rose, the poisonous rose!"

"Ash, this time I want to see just how much my battle skills have improved, so bring it on!"

Seeing that the other party was like this, Xiao Zhi didn't hold back either.

"Of course, I hope you can bring me more surprises."

"I choose you, Salamence!"

On the field, a green, human-shaped plant and a giant dragon soaring freely in the sky face each other.

The Salamence greeted them with a fierce and menacing look as soon as it arrived, while the Poison Rose met its gaze without fear.

The two Pokémon unleashed their skills in an instant.

This time, Shun has indeed made significant progress.

Although he used to be a trainer who could be defeated by May's Beautifly, he is now able to hold his own against Ash's Salamence for a few rounds at the beginning.

"Poisonous Rose, Dance of Petals!"

"Salamander, Flamethrower!"

The poisonous rose, with two bright red roses in its hands, gracefully danced a ballet, its petals flying out in dense bursts from its body.

However, all of these were instantly burned away by Salamence's flamethrower.

Even so, the poisonous rose itself, using the previous petals as cover, spun and jumped into the air.

Positioning his entire body high up to face the sun, the intense sunlight instantly charged up and slammed down onto the back of the Salamence.

"Not bad."

This battle style felt strangely familiar to Ash, and upon closer inspection, he realized that Dawn's battle method was very similar to Wallace's.

At this moment, Ash suddenly realized that it might not only be the battle style, but also Shun's usual flashy moves were learned from Wallace.

"Oh, Miko is really a menace!"

Meanwhile, Michael, who was leisurely strolling through Akihabara Town, suddenly sneezed three times in a row, startling the tourists around him.

"Who's thinking about me? Could it be that bastard Daigo?"

Although Roselia has improved a lot and its Solar Beam is quite powerful, it is still not enough to defeat Ash's Salamence.

Ultimately, after Salamence recovered, it unleashed a powerful Dragon Claw attack, and Rose Poison was defeated.

However, Shun was not discouraged. After a short rest, he immediately asked Ash to battle with him again.

Because he had already prepared for the grand event performance and was confident of success, all he needed to do now was train hard in battles.

Ash naturally wouldn't refuse such a helpful training partner.

-

So much so that Ash was occupied by Dizzy until the tournament started.

This made Xiaoyao, who would occasionally sneak over to peek at them whenever she had a spare moment, so angry that her little face puffed up.

Time passed quickly, and the day of the conference's commencement arrived.

Before the contestants went on stage, Ash and Max came to cheer for May, as always.

"Haruka, you have to win the match later!"

"snort!"

With a flick of her face, Haruka pretended to be unhappy and ignored Satoshi.

"You just need to cheer for Shun, why are you coming to me?"

"Xiaosheng, what's wrong with your sister?"

"I'm jealous."

"No way!"

Ash was quite helpless in the face of May's tantrum.

However, Xiaoyao is easier to coax than Xiaoxia.

Xiao Zhi readily took out the takeout he had specially packed for Xiao Yao not long ago—the highest-rated restaurant in the area—and gave it to her to eat.

She forgave Xiaozhi.

"What a foodie."

However, when she sees Xiaoshun passing by, she still looks at him with hostility.

"Why are you staring at me like that? Do you have conjunctivitis?"

"Hmph, Shun, just you wait, I'll definitely beat you again this time!"

It turned out to be the pre-match trash talk between the opponents, and Xiaoshun immediately flung his bangs arrogantly.

"There are only four candidates who will qualify for the second round of judging at this Autumn Leaf Conference. I think you should pass the first round of judging before you start talking big."

"Oh, only four? Didn't eight people qualify for the second round of judging at the last Kaina Conference?"

"Sister, every grand event is different. Although the major events will remain the same, some of the minor rules may vary."

Upon hearing this, Xiaoyao's eyes sharpened.

"But that doesn't matter. Whether it's four or eight, Shun, just you wait and see! I'll definitely advance and show you!"

"Is that so? I'll wait and see."

Shun was a little surprised by Haruka's confident demeanor, but after uttering some harsh words, she left decisively.

In the first round of auditions, Haruka showcased the combination techniques she had honed with Hunting Butterfly over the past few days.

Ash was pleasantly surprised to see Beautifly blasting silk and dancing in the storm, much like how Wallace had Milotic use Aqua Ring back then.

"It seems that Haruka has successfully integrated the experience she gained from Mikoto into her own understanding, and she has been working very hard lately."

Ash was very pleased to see May's performance this time.

"Your performance was exceptionally well done, and your Pokémon training was also outstanding, Miss May."

"The combination of strong winds and seemingly delicate silk threads is quite bold and surprising, but it works perfectly together, making it a very outstanding performance."

"Combo attacks, I love that!"

The three judges, including Joey, all gave Xiaoyao very high praise.

Although Xiaoyao didn't get the rookie perk this time, she still scored a high total of 26.6 points.

The score exceeded 25 points, which is a rare high score.

"Great job! Well done, hunting swallowtail butterflies!"

Upon seeing her score, Haruka jumped up excitedly and even glanced at Shun before going down to Ash to ask for praise.

Even the green-haired Xiao Shun generously applauded Xiao Yao's performance.

However, once he took the stage, he immediately unleashed his full potential, and his performance with Poison Rose was as excellent as ever.

Her score surpassed Xiaoyao's, reaching an astonishing 29 points.

"sharp!"

When he finished his performance, the audience erupted in thunderous applause.

"Someone, you should practice a bit more."

After leaving the stage and passing through the rest area, Xiaoshun deliberately mocked Xiaoyao.

Seeing this, Ash couldn't help but shake his head helplessly.

"Oh dear, it seems he doesn't want to appear so indifferent in the face of Haruka's provocation."

"That jerk, Ash, didn't you just clap for him?"

"Oh? I applauded after each contestant's performance."

"I don't care!"

Xiao Zhi suffered a "heavy blow" to his waist; girls are truly unreasonable.

Soon, Xiaoyao forgot about Xiaoshun's provocation.

Because the next contestant actually broke the record that Xiaoshun had just achieved.

"Grace, final score: 29.5 points!"

"What?"

Haruka and Shun in the players' room were both astonished by what they saw.

On the stage was the same red-haired, twin-tailed trainer Ash and his friends had met in the hall earlier, the one with Medicham.

Her Çalhana first used Ice Punch to freeze the entire area, then used her telekinesis to crush all the ice blocks, creating a series of icy gusts of wind on the stage.

Not only that, Çalem also used his telekinesis to arrange the ice shards into several exquisite shapes in mid-air.

That Charemus's control over its skills can be described as reaching the master level.

Meanwhile, Mikey, who had been secretly watching the performance from the audience, was also clapping happily.

At a grand event, he was able to spot three outstanding new talents with exceptional potential.

"Autumn Leaf Town, I really made the right choice coming here!"

The feeling that this path has successors and that the cause is thriving instantly cheered Mikoli up.

To his surprise, Ash, who was also in the audience, seemed to have already noticed him.

Ash even turned around from the front row and waved to Wallace behind him.

"No way, I've already changed my disguise again—you're quite the impressive young man."

After all 100+ contestants had performed, the four finalists selected from the first round of the Autumn Leaf Tournament were confirmed.

Every contestant watched the big screen with tension.

Finally, the screen froze, and Grace, Shun, and Haruka all successfully advanced!

To everyone's surprise, Grace was paired with Shun during the second round of auditions.