Pokémon, Ash's art style is off!

How did he get here?

Lorelei glanced quickly at Ash, who was completely unaware in the center of the training field, and then quickly surveyed Lance's route.

"Tsk."

She casually put away the ice telescope.

Under the control of the Spiny Shell, the long ice crystal tube turned into a fine mist in her palm and dissipated.

Kona took two steps back from the edge of the rooftop, casually straightened her collar, and slowly walked down the stairs.

I happened to run into Yulongdu coming from the first floor.

Seeing Kona's Lance clearly caught my eye.

He was surprised to find Kona still there; he thought she had left!

I just don't know what the other party is doing here, or whether they've finished their business.

Can I fight against myself now?

Without the slightest hesitation or preamble, Yu Longdu opened his mouth directly, his tone as straightforward as ever.

What are you still doing here?

Kona: "...?"

Even though she was somewhat prepared, Kona was still taken aback by this thunderous statement.

What does this creature in front of me mean?

If there's no one she's optimistic about, does that mean she can't even stay at the Quartz Conference?

Seeing Lorelei's increasingly dangerous expression and the Cloyster beside her, Dragonite visibly shuddered.

It leaned forward and slapped its chubby paw cleanly on the back of its trainer's head.

Snapped!

A crisp sound.

Although it's not heavy, after being trained by Dragonite, it's definitely loud enough.

Yu Longdu's head tilted slightly after being hit, and he turned to look at his partner in a daze.

Dragonite had somehow pulled out its Pokédex, the screen lit up, and it tapped and swiped with its claws, displaying a line of text in a flash.

【Excuse me.】

The implication is that I assumed you had left, and asked what you were doing here, or if you had finished your business.

Yu Longdu nodded.

Is such that.

Dragonite still doesn't fully understand the meaning of the last sentence, "whether or not they can battle."

If it were Ash, he would definitely understand what I mean.

Yu Longdu was about to ask a question.

Dragonite struck again.

[Say hello quickly!]

".......Hello."

Kona: "......."

Spiny Clam: "......"

To be honest, Cloyster is genuinely envious of Dragonite's status in the family.

Kona kept a composed expression on her face.

"I'm just wandering around here, what's wrong with that? There are no traffic restrictions for the event, right?"

"change?"

Yu Longdu's brows furrowed again.

Why are you, an Ice-type Elite Four member, wandering around here instead of training your Pokémon?

He opened his mouth, ready to unleash his thunderous pronouncements.

However, the moment he opened his mouth, the Dragonite beside him swiftly extended a chubby claw and precisely covered his mouth—

It wasn't completely pasted, but the meaning was conveyed.

Yulongdu: "..."

Kona's lips curled up slightly, but she quickly became serious and decided to strike first.

"So what are you all doing here?"

Lance was about to say something, but Dragonite beat him to it.

A new line of text appeared on the screen.

We are on patrol.

Kona's expression turned slightly serious.

"patrol?"

Dragonite nodded and poked a few more times with its claws.

[A mysterious Pokémon with suspicious activity has recently been spotted around the event venue.]

According to witnesses, the Pokémon in question is suspected to be the one that destroyed the Viridian Gym.

Kona's relaxed expression vanished completely.

She straightened up and her tone became serious.

"That... Pokémon that destroyed the Viridian Gym?"

Seeing that Dragonite was no longer stopping him, Lance finally found an opportunity to interject, crossed his arms and nodded.

"Correct."

Kona pondered for a moment, her gaze unconsciously drifting towards the training field for a fleeting instant before quickly returning to its original direction.

"Then I'll take a look at Dragonite for you too."

Although the Four Heavenly Kings often slack off, protecting the citizens is still their duty.

“I’m relatively familiar with this area, and I happen to be nearby… so I’ll take a look around.”

"Does having one more person mean one more level of safety?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Longdu habitually raised his eyebrows again.

That expression clearly said, "When did you become so proactive in taking on jobs?"

His mouth opened again, the words already swirling on his tongue, and once again the Dragonite Pokédex was silently shoved in front of his face.

The text on the screen was one size larger.

Say 'Thank you, you've worked hard.'

Yu Longdu stared at the words and remained silent for two seconds.

"...Thank you, you've worked hard."

Dragonite put away its Pokédex, a standard benevolent smile appearing on its round face, and patted Lance's back with its chubby paw.

Then, out of nowhere, he produced a tree fruit and rewarded Yulongdu with it.

Kona breathed a long sigh of relief as he watched the man and dragon leave.

"Let's go, let's take a walk around the area first."

.......

Despite protecting Ash, Lorelei ultimately failed to find any trace of the mysterious Pokémon.

the next day.

The sun was even brighter at the Quartz Conference preliminary rounds than it had been yesterday.

Ash received a notification for a match in the Grassy Terrace and arrived there early.

It's different from last time.

Because of the good location of the venue, and because Xiaozhi drew an afternoon session.

There are not only more people here than before, but even small vendors selling sunflower seeds and beverages have come.

"The next match is between Xiaozhi and Xiaozhe!"

Upon hearing this, Ash stood at the player entrance, took a deep breath, and pulled his hat brim down further.

"It's our turn, Pikachu!"

"Pickup!"

Pikachu perched on his shoulder and made a "pika" sound, raising its little fist high.

The front section of the east side of the stands.

Xiaoxia, Xiaogang, and Lillie had already reserved their seats early on.

Lillie was holding a homemade banner in her arms, meant to cheer her on.

Xiao Gang was holding up binoculars and looking towards the athletes' passage.

"Here he comes, Ash is entering the arena."

Lillie turned her gaze to the center of the field.

Ash was already standing in his battle position when the opposing team entered the arena at the same time.

He was a tall, thin young man with green hair.

Wearing loose-fitting training clothes common in the Hoenn region, with three Poké Balls hanging from his waist, and a nonchalant smile on his face.

After he walked to his position, he first looked at the grass under his feet, and then at the surrounding stands.