Pokémon, Ash's art style is off!

Page 525

A corner of the towel gently slipped into Pikachu's ear and carefully rubbed out a small clump of dirt.

"Pickup!"

Pikachu's ears twitched from being wiped, and one ear tilted to one side.

The other one was held in Xiaozhi's hand, his face scrunched up in a grimace.

It strained its body, resisting the urge to smear Ash with mud.

Although she complained, her body didn't dodge, and she even tilted her head slightly so that the little smart device could brush against the more hidden area behind her ear.

Xiao Mao watched the interaction between the man and the mouse.

But the scene kept replaying in my mind.

The scene shows Pikachu charging towards the water cannon, its tail slicing through the torrent and passing through the water curtain, striking Blastoise squarely on the forehead.

Every frame of the video is so clear it's like a slow-motion replay.

Then, overwhelming regret surged up like a tidal wave, engulfing every neuron in his body.

Why did he get so worked up back then?

How could he be so blinded by Ash that he went to fight him head-on after just a few words?

Outsmart them!

His strength lies in outsmarting others!

Xiao Mao closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled.

I regret it so much.

If he could do it all over again, he would definitely—

"That's it, that's it!"

"That's perfect! This competition can finally be considered a complete success!"

Just then, a rustling sound came from the sidelines, followed by a series of hushed whispers.

"That's exactly the kind of expression we wanted to see on Xiao Mao's face!"

The researcher standing to the side was finally satisfied.

Their eyes were shining, their faces beaming with joy, as if celebrating the New Year, and they couldn't suppress the smiles on their lips.

One of them was holding a cup of coffee, so excited that he spilled it all over his white coat without even realizing it.

"Seeing him get his comeuppance, all the knots in my heart that I've been carrying for the past month were untied."

"One month? I'll spend a whole year on it!"

The group of people chatted excitedly, their voices growing louder and louder.

Xiao Mao's ears twitched.

Although he didn't turn around, the veins on his forehead had begun to throb slightly.

Just as the researchers were preparing to categorize and analyze Xiao Shi's reactions and expressions for a more in-depth analysis—

A sound exploded from behind them.

"What are you all doing here making a scene!"

The voice was authoritative without being angry, full of energy, and carried a natural sense of oppression.

The researchers' expressions shifted from "ecstasy" to "horror" in a mere 0.3 seconds.

Their smiles froze on their faces, and their necks creaked and turned behind them like rusty gears.

"Is the experiment finished?"

Has the paper been published?

Have you finished reading one article a day?

The questions grew louder and louder, and with each soul-searching question, the researchers hunched their shoulders.

Seeing everyone's reactions, Professor Oak took a deep breath, his expression one of utter heartache.

He shook his head and let out a heavy sigh.

"Nothing here, nothing there..."

"You're already being lenient with me? You guys are the worst group of researchers I've ever supervised!"

"Get back here right now!"

Before the words were even finished, the group of researchers reacted as if they had been stung by a bee.

Holding coffee, notebooks, and folders, they scattered at a visible speed.

The scene fell silent.

Professor Oak nodded in satisfaction, and then—

"Ok?"

His gaze fell on Xiao Mao... and then on the figure behind him who was squatting on the ground wiping mud off Pikachu.

The doctor's eyes lit up immediately.

Hey!

Oh, it's Ash Ketchum.

If I had known, he wouldn't have spoken so loudly to those researchers; it's understandable!

"Xiao Zhi".

The doctor's expression seamlessly switched from "a stern mentor reprimanding students" to "an enthusiastic neighbor seeing his (not) grandson."

When did you arrive?

Professor Oak strode up to Ash and his friends in a few quick steps, completely ignoring his grandson Gary who was squatting to the side.

"Professor Oak." "Professor."

Xiao Zhi stood up, scratched the back of his head, and gave a standard, slightly silly smile.

"That is, I just arrived."

The cleaned Pikachu quickly shook itself, then jumped onto Ash's shoulder and waved its little paw at Professor Oak.

"Pikachu pikachu~"

"oops!"

Professor Oak slapped his thigh, his smile widening.

"You silly child, you didn't even tell me you were coming! I could have prepared!"

"They're not outsiders, so there's no need to prepare anything..."

"That's not OK!"

Professor Oak waved his hand.

"Come on, let's go to the research institute for a bit, I just had a soak—"

He tripped over halfway through his sentence.

It was as if he had just noticed that there was someone else next to him, and his gaze turned to Xiao Mao.

"Huh? Xiao Mao, you're here too."

The tone made it sound as if Xiao Mao was some tree that had just happened to come into view by the roadside.

What are you doing squatting here?

"You didn't even bother to entertain your guests, just leaving them standing in the mud!"

Xiaomao: "..."

He opened his mouth, then closed it again.

He looked down at the mud on his knees, then at the Poké Ball he had just put into Blastoise.

entertain?

How did he treat them?

He had Ash's Pikachu beat up Blastoise. Does that count as hospitality?

For the sake of the Mega Bracelet... he tolerated it.

Xiao Mao took a deep breath and swallowed back the words he was about to say, "Grandpa, do you want to see what your own grandson looks like now?" Instead, he gave a stiff smile.

He looked at Ash and his two companions.

"It's my fault for not being a good host."

That smile was uglier than a cry.

Xiao Zhi waved his hand very sincerely.

"No, no! Xiao Mao treated us very well!"

After all, for him, battle is the best welcome!

Pikachu nodded in agreement, its ears twitching up and down.

"Pikachu! Pikachu!"

"Humph!"

Xiao Mao tilted his head to the side.

You've got a way with words, kid!

"Oh, I see. Then come with me to my office!"