Pokémon, Ash's art style is off!

"I felt like I wasn't quite getting the power into that movement right just now. Do you think we should adjust it like this?"

He demonstrated his optimized technique on the spot.

Then he looked at Shiba expectantly, his eyes full of anticipation, like a student waiting for the teacher to correct their homework.

Shiba opened his mouth.

Then it closed again.

He looked down at his crossed arms and fell into deep thought.

The adjustments you made seem even more reasonable than what he taught.

"This one……"

He cleared his throat, trying to maintain his air of authority.

"Not bad, you're very good."

"You even figured out the little test I gave you!"

"Is it!"

Xiao Zhi beamed, revealing two rows of white teeth.

"Then I'll go back and think about where else there might be challenges!"

He turned around and ran back to the field, continuing to ponder the moves he had just made.

Shiba: "......"

"By the way, Brother Shiba."

Ash suddenly turned around again, still holding the gesturing position with his hand.

"Are we progressing a little too slowly?"

Shiba fell silent.

slow?

Is this slow?

Even ignoring Ash's monster status and only looking at his Pokémon, his progress is incredibly fast.

But the biggest taboo in practicing this is becoming overconfident.

One must guard against arrogance and impatience.

Shiba said against his will.

"It is a bit slow."

He said it against his will, without changing his expression.

"Even so—you've mastered a little bit of Pokémon, which is enough to give you a run for your money at the tournament."

These two profound principles are techniques that I've spent my whole life figuring out.

It's his own unique skill; while its combat power boost isn't as good as Dragonite's external attachments, it's only inferior to his own.

Xiao Zhi nodded.

"By the way, tomorrow is the quarterfinals."

"I don't have time to guide you, you can practice here on your own."

"I'll try my best to get a good ranking in the semifinals."

Shiba patted Ash on the shoulder.

"Fight well, don't embarrass us Kanto people!"

122. The corpse is talking!

Watching Shiba's departing figure.

Xiao Zhi nodded vigorously.

He secretly made a vow in his heart.

I will definitely not let Kanto down!

After all, it's on my own now.

But he carried on the legacy of both Shigeru and Shiba!

Thoughts swirled in his mind as Ash looked around at his Pokémon.

"Listen to me, everyone!"

"Everyone has been working very hard these past two days, really hard!"

His voice was filled with genuine affirmation.

"I've grasped at least a basic level of what Brother Shiba teaches—"

"but!"

Ash changed the subject, his eyes becoming even more fervent.

"Not enough!"

"Although Brother Shiba said he won't be coming to guide us tomorrow, we can't let our guard down!"

Looking at the group of Pokémon nodding in agreement.

Ash grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth.

"Alright! Then let's try our best to surprise Brother Shiba in the guest seats during the semi-finals the day after tomorrow!"

"Let him know that we've all remembered the profound truths he taught us!"

......

Another day of hard training.

Approaching the semi-finals.

Dinner time.

At the resort hosted by the event organizers, Ash, Brock, and his two friends gathered in Brock's room.

As for why?

Although the food provided by the conference was not bad—the buffet table was full of hot and cold dishes, and even freshly cut roast meat.

But compared to Xiaogang's skills, it always feels like something is missing.

The table was now a mess of cups and plates, with several plates stacked cleanly together, even the sauce wiped clean.

Pikachu leaned contentedly against the table leg, its little paws rubbing its round belly, and let out a happy "Pika~".

We were full and satisfied.

The three of them worked together to clear the plates off the table.

Xiao Gang stood in front of the sink, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his strong forearms.

The water gushed as it washed the dishes, white foam piling up, only to be dispersed by the dishcloth in his hand.

"By the way, Ash."

Xiao Gang, while washing the dishes, spoke without turning his head.

"The list of the top four has been released, have you seen it?"

"Huh? Has it come out yet?"

Xiao Zhi, who was cleaning, was taken aback.

He turned around, his face showing obvious surprise.

"But I haven't received any news about the competition yet!"

"You're referring to the match list released by the tournament organizers."

Xiaoxia said.

"The list of the four semifinalists that had already qualified was discussed on the forum after the last match."

She looked up and waved the Pokédex in her hand at Ash.

"look!"

Xiaoxia wiped herself casually on her pants a couple of times before taking out her picture book.

I swiped my finger across the screen a few times, opened the forum for the World's Number One Martial Arts Tournament, and quickly found the pinned hot post.

Then turn the screen towards Ash and tilt it slightly.

Ash instinctively wanted to wipe his hands on Pikachu.

But Pikachu had already anticipated Ash's move!

Just as Ash reached out, Pikachu nimbly dodged, simultaneously grabbing a dry towel with its two little paws and executing a clean, backward leap—

"Pickup!"

The towel landed precisely on Xiao Zhi's outstretched hands.

They narrowly escaped getting soaked.

Ash paused for a moment, looked down at the towel in his hand, and then looked up at Pikachu, who was squatting on the ground and looking at him with an expression that said, "I knew it all along."

Without Pikachu... it just feels like something's missing.

He shook his head and obediently dried his hands with a towel.

After draping the towel back in its place, Ash took the Pokédex from Misty and began to look at it carefully.

The most discussed topic in the post was the Royal Masked Man.

After all, judging solely from the combat, aside from the fact that he seems to be involved in a pyramid scheme, his strength is far superior to that of any other contestant.

"As expected, Dr. Kukui has qualified."