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

Chapter 532 Phantom Thief Banner

"Viewers at home, this time the Haruka Adventure Team has boarded a very special luxury cruise ship, the Saint Blossom."

"This is supposedly the most luxurious cruise ship in the Hoenn region; normally, it's practically impossible to book a ticket!"

"So, since this is a rare opportunity, let me, Yao, the biggest contributor to this cruise, tell you about my travels on the Saint Blossom!"

"With its luxurious restaurants at the head, and adjacent to a shopping mall, entertainment rooms, cinema, and a host of other facilities, this ship feels like a complete city unfolding in the heart of the vessel—it's truly incredible!"

"Now let's turn the camera to Ms. May's sidekick, Mr. Ash, to share his impressions of the boat trip."

"You must feel very honored to be traveling on this luxury cruise ship with the beautiful and lovely Miss Haruka, right?"

"Who's your follower?" Ash asked helplessly, flicking Haruka's forehead as she remained engrossed in her role-playing.

That's right, they've now boarded the luxury cruise ship bound for Kaina City. The ship lived up to everyone's expectations, being both enormous and luxurious.

Everyone was very excited, and as contestants, they could use all the facilities on board for free.

"Wow, this ship is amazing! I wish we could have boarded it sooner!"

With an ice cream cone in her left hand and a hamburger in her right, Xiaoyao happily led everyone to stroll around the central area of ​​the cruise ship.

Every now and then, she would stuff things into Ash's and Max's mouths that she, as a culinary master, had certified as delicious.

"Speaking of which, because you were busy battling others while we were waiting for the ship, Ash, we almost missed this last chance to board."

"Haha, well, that kid named Masamune and his iron dumbbells are really interesting."

When Satoshi and his friends were setting up camp on the open ground next to the port, they encountered Masamune, a chubby little boy who was recklessly chasing after a giant rice ball.

Although he seems stubborn, he's surprisingly a good guy, and Ash quite likes him.

Of course, what I really like is that he is very passionate about Pokémon battles and is quite skilled at them.

Ash couldn't resist and played a few more matches with him.

The inevitable outcome was that he was brutally defeated by Ash.

There was no need to even send out Pikachu; Masamune's Iron Dumbbell was easily defeated by Torkoal.

But his defiant attitude and constant shouts of "Charge!" at the Iron Dumbbell were reminiscent of Ash's old days when he had two Metapods fight each other to harden them.

"I once swore that wherever I fell, I would get up again."

"Ash, I'll definitely beat you in the League!"

After making this vow, Masamune rushed off to collect his eighth dojo badge after suffering ten consecutive defeats.

Before meeting Ash and his friends, this guy didn't even know that the League Tournament was going to be held in a little over two months.

He was wandering around the forest all by himself with a rice ball in his hand. Ash was really impressed; he was just too oblivious.

However, it is precisely because of this impulsive yet forthright nature that he seems quite likable, just like his original self, Ash.

Ash expressed concern about whether he could successfully obtain the final badge before the start of the League Tournament.

"By the way, sister, where are we going this morning, getting up so early? Are we just going out to eat?"

With his mouth stuffed full along with Ash's, Max struggled to swallow the food and looked at May with a puzzled expression.

She, who usually loves to sleep in, was the first one up this morning, which was really hard to believe.

Xiaoyao shook her head excitedly.

"Hmph, of course not. In your eyes, is your great older sister really just a good-for-nothing?" (Hard to say)

"There's a place I really want to go, and I want to take everyone there. I've been dreaming about seeing it for the past few days."

"West."

May mysteriously led Ash and his friends to the Pokémon Center on the cruise ship.

After entrusting her Pokémon to Nurse Joy, May immediately changed direction and went to the exhibition hall next door.

"This is it! The grand finale of the magnificent celebration, the championship trophy! I've wanted to see it for ages!"

After scanning the Pokémon Pokédex for the guard next to her, May couldn't wait to drag Ash and Max to the very back of the exhibition area as soon as she entered.

And displayed on the highest counter there was a gleaming golden trophy.

"Oh, this is it."

"It looks so beautiful."

This was also the first time that Ash and his friends had ever seen the magnificent championship trophy at a grand celebration.

At this moment, as Xiaoyao looked at the magnificent trophy, she was already imagining the scene of winning the championship and finally holding the trophy at the grand celebration.

"Top Coordination Trainer Haruka — Hehehe —"

"Sis, you seem to have been busy eating all day and haven't even trained yet. You're already daydreaming about winning; don't let it get worse later."

He couldn't even get past the preliminaries.

"Okay, okay, I'm just trying to balance work and rest. Can't you just hope your sister is doing well?"

Haruka angrily punched Kakeru, her precious fantasy time ruined by the stinky-eyed brat.

Her relaxed mood immediately became tense again.

Just as Ash and his friends were admiring the trophy, the guard at the door suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

It turned out that Munchlax had chased May into the Pokémon Center without her noticing. It was extremely agile, and even several guards working together couldn't stop it.

"Kirby!"

Ash and his friends were instantly startled by Snorlax's voice.

"Hey, little Snorlax, is it hungry again?"

Since May caught Munchlax, the little stomach, which was no longer stuck on the roadside, now has a trainer. Whenever it gets hungry and makes a sound, someone will immediately come and feed it.

So this guy became very clingy, wanting to follow Xiaoyao wherever she went.

She's a sweet, soft little piglet who eats three tons of food every day without ever feeling full. (Seriously, May's Munchlax is female.)

This time, it felt a little hungry and "escaped" from the Pokémon Center on the cruise ship, following May's scent.

Seeing how happily it pounced on her, Xiaoyao was so frightened she almost jumped up.

"No, Snorlax! All the exhibits around here are incredibly expensive collectibles. You can't wander off!"

"Xiaosheng, quick!"

"Here it comes, Munchlax! Look, this is May's Gourmet #2!"

Haruka's Gourmet No. 2, made with the "one is better than six" super-filling energy cube recipe provided by Dr. Oak, is Haruka's best creation, adding unparalleled satiety while retaining the original flavor.

The effect is to increase physical strength, but the taste is still extremely unpalatable.

It was a Noble Phantasm that he insisted May make for Munchlax after Munchlax stole and ate all of Ash's regular food reserves.

It is currently kept by Haruka's strongest servant, Kacchan. (Kaccchan: I'm not a servant!)

The little imp was happy to take on the task because it would give him the opportunity to personally feed Pokémon.

At this moment, Xiaosheng deftly took out an Energy Cube box from his pocket, poured out a cube, and skillfully threw it into the mouth of the Munchlax.

The little Snorlax immediately leaped forward and swallowed the Energy Cube, its stomach bulging visibly.

The little Snorlax, having eaten its fill, immediately wanted to stop and go back to sleep, but its chubby body made it a little difficult to stop abruptly.

Its entire body landed like a giant ball and rolled forward rapidly. Even Ash was too amused by the scene to react for a moment.

The little Snorlax crashed straight into the display stand where the large celebration trophy was kept.

With a thud, the trophy inside fell over, and one of its gold handles broke off.

Xiaoyao was immediately dumbfounded. "It's over!"

After all, she is the daughter of Senri, a well-known Gym Leader in the Hoenn region. There's no way May could run away in the event of something like this.

The only option was to contact Mr. Conkenstein, the official head of the event who was also on the cruise ship.

"We are extremely sorry, Mr. Conkenstein, we did not mean to damage the trophy."

Looking at Conkenstein, who was examining the damaged trophy in the display case with a serious expression, Xiaoyao said nervously with teary eyes.

As far as she knew, the trophies at large celebrations were extremely expensive, making her, who had always been wealthy, feel that she definitely couldn't afford to pay for them.

At this moment, Ash and Max also quickly joined in to plead for them.

Upon hearing Xiaoyao's apology, Conkenstein immediately revealed a kind smile.

"Haha, don't worry, of course I know that as a contestant in the celebration, you would never do anything to deliberately damage the trophy."

"Besides, your father is the famous Mr. Qianli, so his daughter certainly wouldn't be a bad person."

One reason is Xiaoyao's strength and character, and the other is her family background.

As the head of the Grand Contest Secretariat, Conkenstein naturally knew that even if Haruka had indeed broken the trophy, he couldn't directly ask Senri's child for compensation.

Moreover, it's not necessarily Yao's fault that the trophy broke.

Worried that the little girl might be overthinking things, Conkenstein continued to comfort her.

"Actually, I was just wondering, our trophy shouldn't be that fragile, how could it break the handle just by hitting the table?"

At that moment, Conkenstein opened the glass case, took out the trophy, and took a closer look. His face was filled with disbelief.

"Oh no, this isn't the trophy for our grand celebration; it's a counterfeit!"

"What?"

Upon hearing this, Ash and his friends immediately gathered around to take a look, and Conkenstein quickly showed them the inner wall of the important trophy.

"Look, we always engrave the special inscription for that major celebration and the seal of the competition affairs bureau inside all the celebration trophies, but this one has nothing at all."

"Really, the inside of the trophy is as smooth as a mirror."

"And this break—the gold on the trophy is actually plated!"

"What exactly happened? Was the trophy switched?"

Just then, a card suddenly floated down from the bottom of the trophy that Conkenstein was holding, and everyone quickly picked it up.

Haruka, with the best eyesight, was the first to read the contents aloud in her sweet voice, "I'll accept the treasure from Phantom Thief Banai."

"What is this?"

The situation had developed beyond everyone's expectations, and Conkenstein had no choice but to call Officer Jenny from the ship to handle it.

When Officer Jenny arrived, she frowned as she took the cards from everyone's hands.

"It really was Phantom Thief Banai."

With her extensive experience, Officer Jenny made a quick judgment.

Xiaoyao immediately breathed a sigh of relief, relieved that she had been cleared of the charge of damaging the celebration trophy.

"Wow, as expected of the most luxurious cruise ship in Hoenn, it not only has a Pokémon Center, but it even has Officer Jenny!"

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"Well, actually, I came here to hunt down the Thousand-Faced Phantom Thief Banai, who's been on the wanted list recently."

"Phantom Thief Banner? Officer Jenny, could you elaborate a bit more?" Ash felt like he'd heard that name before.

"He was once the ace of Team Magma's intelligence department, and he used his excellent disguise skills to infiltrate the League as a researcher and steal information about legendary Pokémon on many occasions."

"But after Team Magma and Team Aqua disbanded, he still refused to turn over a new leaf and became a phantom thief who made a living by stealing gold and jewels."

"This time, he went to the police station in advance to issue a notice that he was going to commit a crime on the cruise ship, which is why we specially brought the guards to provide support."

"I just didn't expect him to be so strong. To be able to steal the trophy from such a grand celebration despite being guarded by so many people is truly despicable!"

"Could it be that you guys are too weak?"

After hearing Officer Jenny's description, Ash had only one thought in his mind.

Even a small Snorlax could easily break through your defenses just now!

Moreover, superb disguise skills, advance notices, and a penchant for toying with the police—are these standard features of a phantom thief?

Fortunately, this guy named Banai didn't like to flaunt his white suit in public, otherwise Ash would have almost started hallucinating in other worlds.

"However, it seems that when Crimson and Archie said they were going to disband the organization, they weren't joking. After witnessing Groudon and Kyogre's rampage, they have truly given up on their once-wrong ideals."

Sometimes being the leader of an evil organization isn't easy. Everyone under you is talented and has a strong sense of self-determination, and many of them are simply uncontrollable.

Xiao Zhi thought to himself, "I wonder how those two are doing in the League prison now."

Ignore the muscular man who was lost in thought at the moment. After hearing that it was the Phantom Thief Banai who stole the celebration trophy, Conkenstein immediately became restless in the living room.

"He stole the trophy! This is really troublesome."

"Without trophies, it's like a coronation without a crown; the grand celebration simply can't continue."

A top-tier Coordinator without a celebratory trophy will not be recognized by the world.

"There's no time to redo it now—does this mean we have to cancel this grand celebration?"

Upon hearing this, Xiaoyao immediately stood up.

"How can this be? We Coordinators have always strived to achieve this through grand and spectacular celebrations. We can't just abandon it, Mr. Conkenstein."

"But----"

At this moment, Xiao Zhi spoke up, "Don't worry, we're at sea right now, there's no land within a ten-kilometer radius, the criminal is definitely still on the ship."

Perhaps it's a case of "experience makes perfect," but whenever Ash arrives in a new place, he immediately observes his surroundings, so he's very clear about...