Pokémon, Ash's art style is off!

Ash was completely unaware of anything unusual.

"I'm chatting with Mo Haima!"

"It told me that it had been bullied by a super-large—tentacle jellyfish—that had taken over its territory."

He spread his arms wide in an exaggerated gesture, making a huge outline.

"Achoo~"

Mo Haima quickly nodded his little head vigorously.

The look in his eyes as he looked at Xiaozhi was filled with a sense of understanding and empathy.

Although it was also puzzled as to why this human seemed to understand its words.

But that's how it is!

It was just staying at home peacefully when that unreasonable big guy suddenly showed up!

"Do not worry!"

Ash received Machoke's signal completely. He patted his chest, looking as if he had a "I've got this covered" attitude.

"I'll take care of this for you!"

"Hatch! Hatch!"

The seahorse became even more excited, its entire body slightly raised, and the frequency and force of its tail slapping the ground suddenly increased.

The way they looked at Ash was as if he were a savior.

Xiaoxia listened to the back-and-forth conversation.

Seeing his newly caught partner, who had been so affectionate with him in battle just moments before, suddenly become so open and honest with Ash.

I suddenly felt a pang of sadness.

It's hard to guard against!

It's absolutely impossible to defend against!

Xiao Zhi is such a cunning guy!

"Oh, really... I didn't know there was such a thing."

Xiaoxia interrupted her directly.

"However, the Black Seahorse has just gone through a battle. Although it won, it was quite exhausted. What it needs most now is rest and recovery."

She turned around, squatted down, and turned the little head of the black seahorse slightly toward herself, trying to draw its attention back to her.

He then reached out and gently stroked its cold head, his tone softening.

"The water gun and whirlpool techniques were excellent. Let's rest now, and we can discuss the rest later, okay?"

"Don't worry, your trainer will help you come up with a more reliable plan!"

Machoke blinked its round eyes, looked at Misty, and then seemed to want to glance at Ash behind it, appearing somewhat hesitant.

"Xiaoxia is right, Mo Haima, you should rest first."

Ash nodded upon hearing this.

A flash of red light, and with a slightly reluctant "ha-chi..." sound from the black seahorse, it was returned to the ball.

Xiaoxia held the Poké Ball in her hand, feeling a little more at ease.

It's hard to guard against!

But at the very least, we must try our best to defend against it!

One starfish is enough!

......

It was evening.

The long, drawn-out whistle echoed through the harbor as the luxury cruise ship, Saint Anne, officially set sail, slowly departing from the dock and heading towards the sea bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun.

The lights on the deck gradually came on, reflecting the magnificent sunset on the horizon.

The three enjoyed a sumptuous dinner at the Fossil Main Restaurant.

They gathered in Xiaozhi's suite living room.

The suite was spacious and had a great view, which was obviously thanks to the VIP cruise ticket.

Pikachu lay contentedly on the soft velvet sofa, hugging a special tomato that was bigger than its head and brought by a waiter. It happily nibbled on it, its cheeks covered in tomato juice.

"Pikachu~"

It emitted a muffled, contented call.

Seeing this, Ash grabbed a tissue and haphazardly wiped Pikachu's face.

"Look at you, you've got food everywhere..."

His movements were careless and his strength was unpredictable.

Instead of cleaning it up, the red juice was spread evenly on Pikachu's furry cheeks, making it look like two exaggerated blobs of blush.

"Pikachu?"

Pikachu blinked its big eyes, looking completely innocent.

Xiao Gang, standing to the side, watched this classic case of "doing more harm than good" and couldn't help but twitch his lips twice.

He decided to avoid seeing it and quickly got back to work.

"Alright, now that the ship has set sail smoothly, we should start planning our next steps."

He unfolded the route map provided by the cruise ship, his expression returning to its usual calm and reliable state.

As for why it is so reliable.

Don't ask, the answer is always "wise man mode".

"By the way! Speaking of the itinerary... Xia! Shouldn't we make a proper plan on how to help Mo Haima settle accounts with that venomous jellyfish?"

"Once the ship docks, let's go check out its original habitat! Pikachu can help, right, Pikachu?"

"Pickup!"

Pikachu raised its head from behind the tomato, waved its little paws, and indicated that it was ready to fight at any time.

Xiaoxia's heart skipped a beat.

really!

This guy hasn't forgotten about that at all!

And it's gotten to the point of "we" and "plans" so quickly!

She immediately sat up straight, raising her voice slightly, trying to forcefully steer the conversation back onto a "safe" track:

"Let's not talk about that for now! The stinging jellyfish issue... needs to be considered in the long run, yes! In the long run! What's more important right now is the current itinerary!"

She pointed to the flight route map on the coffee table, her speech quickening.

"Following the ship's round-the-world route, we will sail around the Kanto Sea, passing several major ports, and finally disembark at a port near Kyoto City. The timing will be perfect for our travel plans."

"Golden City?"

"It must be the largest and most prosperous city in the Kanto region!"

Xiao Zhi immediately perked up.

Even though he was a boy from the quiet town of PalletNew, he had heard of the great name of Goldenrod City countless times.

It's not just the largest and busiest city in the Kanto region.

The headquarters of Silver Corporation, which developed the groundbreaking Poké Ball technology, stands there.

There's even the maglev train connecting the Kanto region and Chengdu...

"Are there dojos there too?"

He pressed further, asking why the fighting instinct was always the first thing to be activated.

"That's right, Saffron Gym."

Xiao Gang nodded and pointed to the location of Golden City on the diagram.

He knows this inside and out!

"The Gym Leader is Sabrina, and her Pokémon type is Psychic. It's said she herself is a psychic. The bounty on her photo is..."

"It's a superpower type."

Ignoring Xiaogang's sudden burst of excitement, Xiaoxia continued.

"That's a very rare and difficult attribute to deal with. Its moves are unpredictable and hard to defend against. It can be considered the best among attributes."

She paused.

"Moreover, the reputation of the Goldenrod Gym... well, or rather, its approval rating among trainers, is even higher than that of my Cerulean Gym."

"Huh? Really?"

Ash curiously came closer.

"Dojos even have a concept of 'positive review rate'?"

"Of course there are. This isn't the era of relying solely on word of mouth anymore."

As Xiaoxia spoke, she took out her encyclopedia and skillfully opened a certain interface.

"After completing the challenge, many trainers share their experiences, ratings, and comments on the Pokémon League's official community or popular travel forums."

"Look, this is a recent overall ranking of dojos in the Kanto region, along with some selected short reviews, which I just found."

She turned the screen towards Ash.

The screen displayed a concise list of ratings, along with some selected short reviews.

Vermilion City Gym (Electric Type): Rating 3.4 → 3.3

The comments were mostly brief and direct, expressing strong emotions and highlighting a straightforward expression of feelings.