Pokémon, Ash's art style is off!

"Mainly because it thinks Raichu looks too ugly."

"Pickup!"

that is!

Pikachu nodded in agreement and even made a disgusted face.

"thunder……?!"

ugly?!

Raichu felt as if he had been struck in the chest by a 100,000-volt attack, and his round body trembled violently.

Xiaoxia nodded.

"Indeed, Raichu's appearance is much less appealing than Pikachu's."

As a Pokémon with extremely high aesthetic value, Pikachu is definitely the winner in this regard.

Raichu's round body trembled again.

Its ears and tail drooped down, and its once-erect chest deflated.

It silently lowered its head, looking at its round paws.

His eyes were filled with sadness.

The price I paid for the sake of strength... was too high!

How could you say that?!

Seeing his Pokémon being insulted, Lt. Surge immediately roared.

"Lei Lei!"

Raichu looked at Lt. Surge with emotion.

As expected of his own trainer!

Still arguing for what's right!

"Although Raichu is ugly, it's strong!"

Raichu: "???"

Ma Zhishi said firmly and forcefully.

"Strength is the only true measure of power! In the face of absolute power, an unattractive appearance is utterly insignificant!"

Raichu's entire hill turned a bit grayer.

They even drew circles on the ground.

Pikachu, still looking resistant, clung tightly to Ash.

Ma Xueshi took a deep breath, trying to produce more compelling evidence.

"Don't just look at its appearance. You must know that Raichu has limitless possibilities and potential!" His eyes were piercing. "Mega Evolution, do you know that?"

"I know."

Xiao Zhi nodded.

"You don't know, do you? Let me tell you what... wait, you know?"

Ma Zhishi's prepared science-related lines got stuck in his throat, and he looked somewhat surprised.

"Is that the signboard of the Carlos region?"

Xiao Zhi answered quite naturally.

"...I underestimated you."

Ma Zhishi looked at the seemingly simple-minded boy in front of him with surprise.

"Do you know which Pokémon in our Kanto region is powerful, beautiful... well, in short, extremely powerful, that has two completely different, yet equally stunning, new evolution forms?"

He glanced meaningfully at his Raichu.

Xiao Zhi thought about it carefully and replied tentatively.

"Charizard?"

Lt. Surge: "..."

Although the answer is correct, in the current context, in front of him as a Raichu trainer...

The answer should be "Raichu"!

Why does this boy think in ways that defy common sense?

"It's Raichu! Raichu!"

Upon hearing this, Raichu, who was drawing circles on the ground, forced himself to straighten his chest again and tried to look majestic.

That's right!

It is I!

"If that's what you're saying..."

Xiao Zhi pondered for a moment.

"Pikachu can Gigantamax, but Raichu can't, right?"

"Pickup!"

Pikachu puffed out its chest.

That's right!

Although I don't know what Gigantamax is.

But Ash is right!

Lt. Surge: "..."

He found himself somewhat unable to argue with this boy with clear eyes and simple reasons.

Coupled with Ash's serious expression.

This is incredibly destructive.

"It seems words cannot convey Raichu's greatness to you..."

After a while, Ma Zhishi straightened up and rubbed his temples.

His face showed an expression that said, "As expected, we still have to solve this using the trainer's method."

He patted Raichu, who was once again deeply affected.

A loud voice once again resounded throughout the dojo.

"...Then let's settle this with a battle!"

"Young man, let me personally demonstrate the power of your evolution to you using this mighty Raichu!"

"Let you and your Pikachu experience firsthand what the true pinnacle of electric mice is!"

With a sweeping gesture, he pointed to the pristine, standard battlefield behind him, exuding an undeniable aura.

"bring it on!"

"A formal challenge with evolution at stake, I, Lt. Surge, as Gym Leader, accept!"

Xiao Zhi: "?"

Pikachu: "?"

No?

How did evolution become the stake?

Who said we were going to bet on this?

We're just here to get the orange badge!

58. Why not use both of your hands?

"The battle rule is one-on-one!"

A deep voice echoed in the empty arena.

Ma Xueshi crossed his arms, his muscles bulging beneath his coat, and grinned, revealing a somewhat manic smile.

"And I sent out, Lei—"

Wait a minute!

Before Lt. Surge could finish speaking, he was abruptly interrupted by Ash's voice.

"wait?"

Ma Zhishi raised a thick eyebrow, his imposing manner momentarily halting.

He looked at the boy opposite him who was wearing a baseball cap.

A familiar, not-so-pleasant premonition crept into my mind.

He hesitated for half a second, his Adam's apple bobbing, and tentatively asked in a low voice.

"What... could it be that you're not a trainer here to challenge us?"

"So he's the fifth tourist today... who accidentally wandered in?"

The words fell.

Xia and Gang, standing on the sidelines, both twitched at the corners of their mouths.

Accidental entry?

today?

Or is it the fifth one?

Are you sure this is a dojo and not some Konoha City tourist information center?