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

Chapter 449 Another Battle Across a Thousand Miles

"Great Swellow, brave bird, attack!"

"Lizard King, Absorption Fist!"

"Blazing Chicken, Double Kick!"

"Spit it out!"

"Cheers!"

"just!"

Explosions echoed across the desolate battlefield as Ash's three Pokémon nimbly weaved through a swarm of small foes.

Accompanied by the screams of various Pokémon, their battle experience is steadily increasing.

Finally, after Blaziken's swift kick, the last minion fell.

[Ding! Da Wang Yan: Favorability +3; Intimacy +3]

[Ding! Lizard King: Affection +4; Intimacy +4]

[Ding! Blaziken: Affection +4: Intimacy +4]

"Great victory! As expected of my Pokémon, they can handle even fifty opponents attacking at the same time!" Ash laughed heartily.

After that round, all the trainers in North Petalburg City who came to challenge him were defeated.

"You guys are completely useless! I even let you all go together. Go back and practice more!"

"hateful----"

"We lost—"

Even with so many Pokémon ganging up on him, they still couldn't defeat Ash. This group of people were finally completely defeated and convinced of their superiority.

Amidst the "mountains of corpses and seas of blood" piled up by numerous rivals, Ash and his three Pokémon's terrifying image has been firmly established in the hearts of the younger generation in North Petalburg City.

[Ding! Congratulations on completing the new side quest "Domination": Defeat all the trainers from North Petalburg City who come to challenge you, using only Pokémon caught in the Hoenn region!]

【获得奖励：联盟币+5000；攻击+2；特攻+2；自由属性点+2；地区威望+10】

The mission was successfully completed, and the Pokémon had gained enough experience. Ash was feeling quite pleased with himself and, humming a little tune, decided to go find May and the others to join them.

Unexpectedly, before he even stepped out of the battlefield gate, Xiaoyao and Xiaosheng had already run over.

"Ash, let's go quickly, let's leave this city, let's leave tonight!"

"Oh, you guys aren't taking a break?"

When Ash suggested that they should hurry to Petalburg City, they were clearly vehemently opposed.

"No more rest! Even if I have to rest, it absolutely cannot be here!"

Xiaoyao's eyes were brimming with tears.

"My father is so famous in this city that we are surrounded by a large crowd wherever we go."

"It's already evening, and we still haven't had a chance to eat lunch. We're starving! Waaaaah!"

"In this situation, even if we go back to the Pokémon Center's restaurant for a meal, we will definitely be recognized and surrounded."

Clutching her nearly flattened belly, Haruka immediately whined to Ash.

"Ash, let's head to Petalburg City tonight."

Even Xiao Sheng was nodding frantically in agreement.

Although he was initially quite happy to be the center of attention by so many people, he eventually found it too much to handle.

Now, Haruka and Masaki can finally understand why Rukia and Michael always have to cover themselves up so tightly when they go out.

Being a big star isn't easy!

Seeing that they had changed their minds and didn't intend to spend time resting, Ash was naturally happy to agree.

It would be best to go to Petalburg Gym a day earlier to take on the challenge.

Without saying a word, Ash quickly ran back to the Pokémon Center to pack his luggage, found a suitable location with the two of them, and took off again.

The distance between North Orange City and Orange City is indeed not far; in fact, they are quite close.

Even if young people walk across the public road, it only takes an hour.

Ash flew even faster, and they arrived over Petalburg City in just 15 minutes.

Looking down at the city's magnificent night view from the cold night sky, May, who was perched on Ash's back, immediately exclaimed excitedly after spotting a particular place.

"Ash, look! That's the Petalburg Gym over there! Mom and Dad are outside too, let's hurry over!"

Upon hearing this, Ash immediately flew in the direction May pointed.

Then, in the enormous artificial forest greenhouse of the Orange Blossom Gym, they found the Senri couple, who were intimately embracing each other while admiring the moon.

The couple were quite startled when Ash and his friends flew down.

"Mother!"

"Hello, uncles and aunts."

"Oh my, May and Max, you're back so early! Ash, welcome back too."

The Chisato couple looked at the children who had suddenly appeared before them with surprise and delight.

"But that's strange. Didn't you just message me this morning saying you'd only arrived in North Orange City? How come you're back already?"

"Well, something came up in North Orange City, so we rushed back ahead of schedule."

The siblings quickly rushed into their mother's arms, showering her with affection, and Mitsuko happily hugged them back.

"That's wonderful. Seeing that you two are both so healthy, Mom can finally relax."

Perhaps because the children had just witnessed his intimate moment with his wife, Qianli coughed shyly, took a small step to the side, and slightly increased the distance between them.

But he still cared about Xiaoyao and the others' situation. Even if he pretended not to care, he would still secretly look at them.

"Haruka and Masaki seem to have grown a lot, that's great."

Especially Xiao Sheng, whose two muscular arms exposed outside his short sleeves almost made Qianli think he was seeing things at first glance.

"Aren't those muscles a bit too big?"

However, it's a good thing for boys to have more masculinity, and Qianli was very satisfied.

"Satoshi, thank you so much for taking care of these two children. I knew I was right to let you take care of them."

"Not at all, Uncle Qianli, this is what I should do." Xiaozhi acted very modestly at this moment, trying to win over Qianli's favor.

"Actually, they helped me a lot during the trip."

For example, Max is in charge of washing the dishes, and Haruka is in charge of looking good. Ash usually relies on these two siblings when he's bored on his travels.

But now is not the time for catching up. Xiaoyao, the big eater, hasn't eaten lunch and is starving.

She quickly followed up by acting coquettishly towards Mitsuko.

"Mom, is there any food left at home? I'm so hungry."

"Really? Are you hungry?" Mitsuko said with a smile.

"Then let's wait a little longer and then go eat together. You kids really came back at the right time."

"We've prepared a big meal tonight. Let's go in and eat right after your dad finishes his surprise."

"surprise?"

The siblings looked at Qianli in confusion.

Even Qianli blushed, a rare occurrence for her.

"Today is my wedding anniversary with your mother, so I made some preparations."

"Thank you for your help, Kim Ji."

"It's Master."

Xiao Zhi and the others came down in such a hurry that they didn't even notice that Qianli's eldest disciple, Jin Zhi, was also here.

After giving a brief greeting to Ash and his friends, he immediately ran to the edge of the greenhouse and activated the mechanism that had been set up there.

Then several dazzling fireworks burst into bloom in the sky.

"So beautiful! They're fireworks shaped like swallowtail butterflies!" Haruka exclaimed, unable to tear herself away from the stunning colors in the sky.

At this moment, Mitsuko nestled happily in Chisato's arms.

"Yes, and your father proposed to me in a field full of swallowtail butterflies."

"Really? That's why Dad specially prepared fireworks with this pattern."

It seems that Qianli put a lot of thought and effort into preparing these fireworks. The couple is so loving; even the children are envious.

Haruka glanced at Ash, seemingly thinking about something in the future, and immediately blushed and looked away.

However, Ash was completely unaware of May's little tricks and was simply enjoying the fireworks.

"These must be very valuable—"

At this moment, the muscular man had no thoughts of love, only of his career!

Ah! This is the true Sigma man's mouth and teeth! (Ash's women: How dare you, that perverted scumbag Ash, say something like that?)

There's nothing I can do; ever since Ash got Nexus, his monthly budget has been a bit tight again. So sad~

However, when Jin Zhi returned after activating the mechanism, he looked at the Senri couple, who were focused on watching the fireworks, and sighed helplessly.

"Sigh, they're so loving now, even though Mrs. Mitsuko almost ran away from home this morning."

"What? Tell me more!"

"Wow, are all your ears this sharp?"

Jinzhi's words instantly attracted Ash, May, and the others.

Gossip is always welcome.

Having no other choice, Jin Zhi could only recount what had happened during this period.

It turns out that Qianli had been going to the Pokémon Center every day to prepare a surprise for her wedding anniversary, just to ask Nurse Joy, who was an expert in fireworks, to help her make fireworks with the pattern of Butterfree.

Although Qianli doesn't look it from the outside, he is actually a clueless straight man with low emotional intelligence.

Whenever he had free time, he would casually run to the Pokémon Center and chat and laugh with Nurse Joy for a long time.

What's worse is that he deliberately came to the center without Mitsuko's knowledge, hoping to surprise her, but he didn't hide from anyone else besides Mitsuko.

As a Hero Trainer in Petalburg City, Senri's every move is watched by countless people.

This suspicious behavior naturally led everyone to misunderstand, and rumors spread like wildfire throughout Orange City that Mr. Qianli might be having an affair with Ms. Joey.

Miss Joey's status was special, and no one dared to say such a thing to her face.

Qianli, who is lacking in emotional intelligence, completely failed to grasp the meaning behind what others were saying and therefore did not clarify.

He continued to come to Miss Joey every day without fail to discuss matters related to fireworks. Eventually, the rumors spread far and wide, and eventually reached Mitsuko's ears.

As a result, Mitsuko was looked at with pity every time she went out during this period.

With their wedding anniversary approaching, her husband was ignoring her completely, yet he spent his time chatting and laughing with a young and beautiful woman after every dojo match—Mitsuko simply couldn't stand it anymore.

It finally erupted this morning; I packed my things and prepared to run away from home.

But when it was time for Mitsuko to say something harsh to her husband before leaving, she still found Chisato chatting with Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Center.

The scene was unimaginable.

"At that time, Mrs. Mitsuko said in anger that she was going to travel alone to a very, very far place and wouldn't be back for a long time."

"But the teacher didn't understand what his wife meant at all, and instead asked her seriously where she was going on her trip and to be careful on the road."

"He even carelessly asked me to cook from now on."

Even now, when Kim Ji thinks back to that scene, he still can't help but break down.

Fortunately, Miss Joy is a normal person, and with her explanation, the couple finally resolved their conflict.

Otherwise, when Xiaoyao and Xiaosheng return, they will be surprised to find that they have become a single-parent family after their trip.

"Oh, so that kind of thing happened before."

"I really don't want to know that my parents almost got separated."

Xiaoyao and Xiaosheng were speechless after hearing this.

"You have no idea how cautious I was during that time. Every day felt like walking a tightrope!"

Unfortunately, as the eldest disciple, Kinji couldn't hide even when Haruka and Masaru weren't around. He also didn't know if Senri had truly fallen in love with Joey from Orange Blossom City.

He could only help Qianli mediate, but it exhausted him.

"But if that's really the case, wouldn't it be better to just marry both girls?"

"Xiao Zhi, you're such an enviable Kanto native—oh, I don't hate you!" Jin Zhi gritted his teeth when he heard Xiao Zhi say such a thing.

"Although we in Hoenn don't prohibit multiple marriages, you should know that our teacher and his wife are—"

"Wei Jinzhi, you're talking a bit too much."

"I'm so sorry, teacher!"

Only afterward did he realize how outrageous his actions were, and naturally he quickly stopped his eldest apprentice from continuing to recount his dark history.

The fireworks display ended, and Mitsuko quickly invited everyone inside for dinner.

After a long day of hunger, May and Max were finally able to feast, and Ash also joined the ranks of those eating dry rice without hesitation.

The sheer amount of food the three of them ate left Kim Ji-ja speechless once again.

"Haha, it's okay, eat as much as you want, we've prepared plenty of food."

For this wedding anniversary, Qianli was hosting all the apprentices at the dojo, so there was naturally a lot of food at the banquet.

However, most people are in the front yard of the dojo, while the back is considered a family banquet, which is only attended by the core members of the Orange Blossom Dojo.

Of course, that's what they say, but apart from the Senri family, only Satoshi and Kinji were there.

At the banquet, Senri suddenly turned her aura on Ash, who was still stuffing food into his mouth, and Pikachu beside him.

At this moment, Qianli, as a hero of Orange Blossom, reveals his true self.

His entire body seemed to be wrapped in sharp blades, making people afraid to look him in the eye; just getting close to him made them realize how incredibly strong he was.

He truly lives up to his reputation as someone who is no less than any of the Four Heavenly Kings.

"Ash, you've come here this time to officially challenge the Petalburg Gym, right?"

"Hmm!" Xiao Zhi immediately looked up and met Qianli's burning gaze, then nodded.

"And I will definitely beat you, Uncle Qianli, tomorrow."

"Haha, really? Actually, ever since we parted ways before, I've been looking forward to fighting you again with all my might."

"Tomorrow I'll be using my main team's Lazybones, Hyperactive Monkey, and Slacker. Is that alright with you?"

"Of course, please fight me with all your might!"

Xiao Sheng was incredulous when his father so easily revealed his lineup for tomorrow.

"Hey, Dad, isn't it a big deal that you're leaking this information?"

"Katsuki, all I want is to have a battle with Ash that I won't regret."

At that moment, Qianli's eyes gleamed with the pride of a strong person, and he stood up and extended his hand to Xiaozhi.

Ash grabbed it, showing respect for a worthy opponent.

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