Pokémon, Ash's art style is off!

That bronze-skinned man, who remained as silent as a rock.

As Xiao Zhi retracted his fist, my gaze lingered for a moment, almost imperceptibly, on the trajectory of the force exerted by his waist, hips, shoulders, and back.

He then nodded very slightly.

It is not an endorsement of "passing".

It is an affirmation of something else...

He'd seen far too many powerful trainers.

A brute with astonishing punching power; you'll encounter several of these at the tournament every year.

But someone who can precisely compress their strength to the minimum acceptable level while maintaining a complete and undistorted exertion technique—

He glanced at Ash's retreating figure.

Such people are quite rare.

What's particularly remarkable is the look of confusion and exhaustion on the boy's face after he finished all this.

Even he couldn't detect the slightest deliberate attempt to act.

It was as if he had really put all his strength into that punch.

Dressed as a warm pig, it eats a blazing roaring tiger.

The staff member silently recited these words in his mind.

A person who possesses strength, skill, and even a mind that most fighters lack... that kind of person is terrifying.

He looked away and took out a palm-sized bronze number plate from his waist, on which the number 37 was engraved.

"Congratulations, young man, you've passed."

His voice remained steady, but he spoke a few more words than he had when addressing the other successful applicants.

"The official opening will take place in two days. Please present this pass for entry; latecomers will not be admitted."

Xiao Zhi took the number plate with both hands, looked down at it carefully, and grinned.

"Thank you!"

The staff member nodded, then looked past him and onto the next applicant.

......

On the edge of the crowd.

"Ow!"

A very eye-catching Pokémon stared at Ash and let out a soft cry.

Strong limbs.

The design features a black and red color scheme and a figure standing upright.

The head with its bushy mane looks like both a tiger and a cat.

She also wore a flame-shaped belt around her waist.

"What's wrong, Blazing Roaring Tiger?"

Beside it stood a muscular man, shirtless.

"The man, who was still wearing a mask, asked."

"Ow!"

The Blazing Roaring Tiger roared again.

The man was taken aback, and then he followed the gaze of the Fiery Roaring Tiger.

About twenty paces away, the boy had just stuffed the bronze medal into his waist pouch and was talking to the two people beside him.

Impressive guy? Really?

The man's gaze lingered for a moment on the boy's slightly thin shoulders and back.

He saw the punch he just received.

Three hundred kilograms, no more, no less, just right.

Is this all it takes to make its Blazing Roaring Tiger feel threatened?

He was still deep in thought.

The boy in the distance suddenly turned his head, as if he had sensed something.

It landed precisely here.

It landed on the edge of the crowd.

It landed on his face.

Eyes facing each other.

The man's pupils contracted slightly; he didn't even have time to look away.

Across the noise and bustling crowds of the entire venue.

Through the dull thud of the testing machine, the crisp clanging of the number plates, and the lingering buzz of the trainers' loud conversations.

There was a concrete ground about twenty steps away.

Xiao Zhi looked at him.

one second.

two seconds.

The man was drenched in sweat.

Is it considered impolite to stare at others in the Kanto region?

Why is he still looking at me?!

The man quickly lowered his head, his palm already resting on the Poké Ball at his waist.

Is this... the Kanto region?

It was just a boy standing next to the force measuring table.

Just took a look.

They can all bring such a great sense of pressure to themselves!

The man's breathing beneath his mask was heavy and hot.

It seems that the Alola region has a long way to go before it can catch up with other regions!

......

"What's wrong, Ash? What are you looking at?"

Noticing Ash's unusual behavior, Misty turned her head and followed his gaze.

At the edge of the crowd, a shirtless man was looking down at his Poké Ball, with the black and red beast standing beside him.

"what?"

Xiao Gang was somewhat surprised.

"It's an Alola region Pokémon. This tournament has quite a lot of participants."

"Oh, it's nothing." Xiao Zhi looked away. "It's just that someone was staring at me."

"Ok?"

"So I turned around and stared at him."

"……Then what?"

"Then he looked away first."

Xiaoxia blinked, waiting for the next part.

But Xiao Zhi didn't follow up.

"That's it?" she couldn't help but ask, "You just kept staring at him like that?"

Xiao Zhi finally turned his head, his face showing a look of understandable confusion.

"He looked at mine first. It's normal for me to look back at him, isn't it?"

"Then you've finished watching it, why are you staring at it like that—"

“I was thinking…” Ash paused, as if he was seriously organizing his thoughts, “When we greet each other and shake hands, isn’t it always the other way around, you looking at me and me looking at you?”

He recalled what had just happened.

“I looked at him first, and he looked at me. Then he tried to look away, but I felt that would be impolite, so I looked at him a little longer.”

He shrugged.

"I think this is pretty much the same."

Xiaoxia opened her mouth.

She glanced at the still somewhat stiff man in the distance.

She glanced again at the composed young man beside her.

"You really..." she took a deep breath, "don't you feel anything's wrong at all?"

Xiao Zhi tilted his head.

"What's wrong?"

......

Despite his efforts, he still couldn't convince Xiaozhi.

With Xiao Gang speaking as a peacemaker, saying "Never mind, never mind,"...

The three left the testing area and headed towards the accommodation area deep inside the resort.

The conference benefits are quite good.