Pokémon, Ash's art style is off!

"Duowu?" Xiao Mao leaned over for a glance, then raised an eyebrow. "Never heard of that name."

Shigeru stuffed the encyclopedia into his pocket, his face filled with disappointment.

"I thought I'd run into you in the first round, what a pity."

Xiao Zhi scratched his head.

"You'll meet him eventually if you keep fighting."

"of course."

Shigeru smirked and stared sharply at Satoshi.

"So you kid—before you lose to me, you absolutely mustn't lose to anyone else!"

"gone."

Before Ash could respond, Gary had already turned around, put one hand in his pocket, and casually waved the other hand behind him.

That silhouette, those steps, that fluttering hem of clothing.

He's quite carefree, isn't he?

Xiaoxia nodded, clearly having put in a lot of effort behind the scenes.

"Xiao Zhi".

Xiao Gang's voice came from beside me.

"We should hurry up too, your match is the first one."

Ash turned around and saw Brock holding a Pokédex, which showed the tournament map and the distribution of various venues.

He pointed to the eastern district on the map.

"The water area is on the other side of the tournament; it takes at least fifteen minutes to walk there."

"Fifteen minutes?!"

Xiao Zhi suddenly jumped up from his seat.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

229. Recorded!

The group walked briskly along the route signs.

Every now and then, I brushed past other contestants who were in a hurry.

As Xiaozhi rounded a corner, he suddenly made a sharp turn—

"boom!"

"Huh?!"

With a short gasp, Xiaozhi felt something hit his chest.

At first glance.

A young girl was sitting on the ground, her hands supporting her weight, lost in thought.

She had a head of black hair, tied into a neat ponytail at the back of her head, but a strand of hair peeking out from her forehead was stubbornly dyed green—that color was particularly eye-catching in the sunlight.

The few freckles on her face did not detract from her beauty; instead, they added a touch of heroic spirit to her appearance.

The sight of her slightly furrowed brows, a result of her pain, startled Xiaozhi.

Of course, it wasn't its appearance that shocked me, or that one extremely noticeable bleaching.

...Okay, there was some bleaching involved.

That shade of green did indeed subconsciously remind him of a certain type of teenager who liked to loiter on the streets.

But what shocked him most was the aura of the person in front of him!

So faint, so faint that it is almost imperceptible.

Ash felt that any Caterpie he could randomly grab from the back of Professor Oak's lab would probably have a stronger aura than hers.

Furthermore, he had been spending the past few days with Lillie and had become accustomed to her clear presence, which was why he subconsciously ignored her scent when he turned the corner.

Wait, something's not right!

Ash noticed something was wrong!

This is the Quartz Conference, a gathering place for top experts.

Even if the contestants are not seasoned trainers, they are at least physically strong teenagers, all full of energy and vitality.

How could someone with such a faint aura be mixed in there?

So... this must be some kind of concealment technique!

Who is this amazing person who can achieve this level of skill?!

"Pain, pain, pain, pain."

The girl rubbed her forehead where she had been bumped. Being bumped by Xiao Zhi, who had strong pectoral muscles, was no small feat.

She subconsciously groaned a few times.

Xiao Zhi then came to his senses and reached out to pull her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Are you alright? I turned too sharply and didn't watch where I was going... I'm really sorry!"

"Haha, it's nothing, it's nothing—"

The girl instinctively reached for his hand, and Xiao Zhi pulled her up with a strong effort.

When she got up, her body swayed slightly, as if she had no strength. Her legs even bent for a moment, and she almost sat back down.

Xiao Zhi even felt that if he hadn't been holding her back, she might have had a second impact with the ground.

After this contact, Ash looked at her even more strangely.

With such weak and limp limbs, it would be difficult for him to even throw a Poké Ball, and he's still wearing sportswear... It's completely unlike the physique a trainer should have.

Sure enough, advanced stealth techniques can even change one's physical form!

"It's really nothing, you don't need to be so nervous."

After regaining her balance, the girl patted the dust off her bottom, then bent down to pick up the water bottle that had rolled away and stuffed it back into the side pocket of her backpack.

She waved her hand, seemingly unconcerned about being knocked down, and grinned broadly, revealing a row of neat white teeth.

"Looks like you're in a hurry too, right? Is the match the first one?"

"Ah, right!"

"Then hurry up and go. I'm fine, just my butt hurts a little... hahaha."

Xiao Zhi always felt that her laughter lacked strength, as if she was speaking with only half a breath left.

But then I remembered that I really needed to hurry, and the other party had clearly said that everything was fine, so continuing to pester them would only seem like I was being long-winded.

Facing the person in front of him, Ash immediately gave a bow just like Lillie's.

"I am so sorry!"

Xiaoxia and Xiaogang nodded politely to the girl, while Lillie gave a slight bow.

The group quickly left with Xiaozhi.

"Pickup!"

Pikachu turned around on Ash's shoulder and waved its little paw at the girl.

"what?"

Upon seeing Pikachu, the girl paused, standing still, her fingers unconsciously touching her chin.

"A baseball cap, Pikachu... this combination..."

Nemo's gaze followed the departing figure.

She tilted her head, and suddenly a person came to mind.

Their classmate from Orange Academy, who calls himself "the master of Azure Flame Blade Ghost," seems to have mentioned such a person before.

I heard that guy is quite strong and has even been a champion in some competition.

If only I could fight him...

Her eyes lit up, and her right hand unconsciously clenched into a fist.

wrong!

Now is not the time to think about this!

She glanced down at the fitness tracker on her wrist.

There are less than twenty minutes left until her contestant check-in deadline!

"Oh no! Oh no! We're going to be late!"

She took a deep breath and ran.

However, after running only a few dozen steps, her breathing became rapid, and her pace slowed down noticeably.

She was bent over, her hands on her knees, panting heavily, her freckles almost swallowed up by her flushed cheeks.

"...Why...why does the venue for the Kanto region's convention have to be so big...?"

.......

With their minds fully focused, Ash and the others traversed half of the Indigo League venue and finally arrived at the Water Field.

Just upon entering the venue.

A refreshing, moist breeze immediately hits you.

The venue was not very large; it was a semi-open-air, square-shaped space.

In the very center is a huge pool of water.

Several circular floating platforms are located on the water, providing a place for Pokémon to temporarily land.