Pokémon, Ash's art style is off!

"Seriously, you're playing this kind of joke on me again~"

She gave Xiaozhi a light punch on the shoulder.

"If it tasted so bad, why did you secretly go and pick wild berries to fill your stomach after you finished eating it?"

"And last time you ate three huge plates all by yourself!"

"And the time before last, the extra portion I made that I was going to share with the wild Pokémon, didn't you eat it all?"

She put her hands on her hips, with a smug look on her face that said, "Don't even think about fooling me, I saw right through you."

"That's because if I hadn't eaten last time, Staryu and Pikachu would have started eating. I, Ash, can't bear to see them suffer."

Xiao Zhi, when he's in this business, he's all about loyalty!

"Pickup!"

Pikachu was so moved that its eyes welled up with tears.

"As for distributing them to other wild Pokémon?"

Xiao Zhi looked at Xiao Gang.

Listen to this... isn't this a crime?!

"Ah, yes, yes, yes."

Xiaoxia nodded, completely ignoring Xiaozhi's words.

Water benefits all things without striving, and water-type trainers are naturally the same!

Witnessing the power of Misty's "Pure Body," Ash clenched his fists.

How to do?

I really want to give her a personality-correcting punch that I learned from Gyarados!

"Ash! Ash! Never mind! Never mind!"

Xiao Gang quickly stopped him.

He patted Xiaozhi on the shoulder, his expression serious, trying to increase his persuasiveness by presenting a more reliable image.

"Xiaoxia, what Xiaozhi said is true."

"Your cooking, whether it's the cooking time, seasoning, or ingredient combination, has a lot of room for improvement..."

Feeling that Xiao Gang's words were too euphemistic, Xiao Zhi added succinctly.

"It means it tastes bad."

Xiao Gang nodded as well.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Xiaoxia waved her hand confidently, completely disregarding the opinions of these two people with abnormal tastes. "My cooking has been guided by a master!"

Xiao Gang: "?"

Xiao Zhi: "?"

Pikachu: "?"

"No, haven't you tried it yourself?"

Xiao Gang couldn't help but press for an answer.

"Of course I've tasted it!" Xiaoxia replied confidently. "I personally oversee the most crucial final seasoning steps in cooking! How could I not taste it?"

"Every time I taste it, I feel it's very innovative and inspired!"

Now Xiao Gang was at a loss.

An unexpected encounter with Xiaoxia, who is overconfident and monstrous, proves to be impossible to defeat despite all efforts.

After thinking for a moment, Xiao Gang changed his approach and asked tentatively.

"Xiaoxia, how did you develop such amazing poison skills... uh, I mean cooking skills?"

He observed that Xiaoxia's skills were very methodical and not something he could have mastered.

"That's a long story!"

Xiaoxia immediately became interested when this was mentioned.

"Back when I was a child, I met a wandering master near Cerulean City!"

"He said I was exceptionally gifted, with extraordinary intuition and creativity when it came to these things, and he taught me his unique techniques for several days!"

Xiaoxia looked a little disappointed as she said this.

"He originally wanted to take me with him to Shallow Red City to focus on his research, but my sisters thought it was unreliable and didn't agree."

"If I went with him, my skills would probably improve even further, right?"

Reaching even greater heights!?

Xiao Gang looked at Xiao Zhi.

Why don't you do it?

......

Rest complete.

Ash temporarily "convinced" Misty, and the three of them packed their bags and officially set off for Mt. Tsukimi.

As the altitude increases, the surrounding vegetation gradually thins out, and more and more bare rocks are exposed.

As a native of Nibi City, Xiao Gang naturally took on the role of guide.

"This is Mount Tsukimi."

He pointed to the majestic, yet somewhat silent mountain in front of him and said.

"So high!"

In high spirits, Xiao Zhi looked up in amazement, his hat almost slipping off his back.

"Pikachu—!"

The country mouse on my shoulder also opened its eyes wide.

"Of course, this is the highest mountain in our Nibi City!"

Xiao Gang bent down and picked up a grayish-brown stone, weighing it in his hand.

"Speaking of which, this place was quite lively more than ten years ago. At the foot of the mountain, you could always see miners with pickaxes and trainers eager to find the Moon Stone."

His voice gradually lowered, tinged with regret.

"Unfortunately, in the last ten years, for some reason, the amount of moonstone produced in the mountains has become less and less, and other minerals seem to have been depleted overnight. As human activity has dwindled, the mountain has slowly fallen into silence."

He tossed the stone aside, dusted off his hands, and continued leading the way.

"The tunnel we're going through is said to have been dug to connect Nibi City and Cerulean City."

"Speaking of which, that's when I captured my Onix."

A smile appeared on his face as he recalled the past.

"Back then, it was a timid fellow, running around in fear of the tunnel boring machine. Later, my father subdued it, and then it was passed down to me."

Ash and Pikachu: "?!"

This isn't a matter of being brave or cowardly, is it?

A Rock-type Pokémon facing a tunnel boring machine is no different from a Pidgeotto facing a Caterpie!

"Huh? To improve transportation between Nibi City and Cerulean City?"

Xiaoxia rubbed her head, looking slightly puzzled.

"But how come I've never heard of this tunnel in Hualan City?"

"That's because fewer and fewer people are using it, so it's naturally become semi-abandoned," Xiao Gang explained. "Now, the ores and evolution stones produced in Nibi City are all transported directly to Evergreen City. Cerulean City no longer needs to come to Nibi City to purchase them."

Xiao Zhi looked around at the continuous mountains, lost in thought.

“Nibi City is almost entirely surrounded by mountains, which is indeed a major obstacle to its development.”

Xiao Gang nodded in deep agreement, his tone tinged with a heavy feeling.

"Who can argue with that? These mountains are like a weight pressing down on the lifeline of Nibi City's development..."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhi suddenly shuddered.

"Speaking of mountains, I'm reminded of an interesting story!"

He began to narrate with great enthusiasm, gesturing wildly.

"It is said that a long, long time ago, there was a young Kiras!"

"His house is blocked by two large mountains, making it very inconvenient to get in and out..."

"Wait a minute?" Xiaoxia keenly spotted the logical flaw and interjected, "Can't Larvitar easily pass through rock layers? Why would it have trouble getting in and out? And where does a Pokémon like it go all the time?"

"this......"

Xiao Zhi scratched his head.

The inspiration in my mind was actually just the general outline of the story.

"Oh! It's just a story, don't worry about the details!"

He skipped this step.

"I forgot about the beginning, I forgot about the middle, but in short, it made up its mind to lead its descendants to flatten these two mountains..."

As soon as Ash's story began, Brock stroked his chin and began to analyze it seriously from the perspective of a rock-type expert.

"Relying entirely on Pokémon, without any machines?"

"Although the efficiency will be very low, given the young Gilas's appetite, if there are enough of them, they can theoretically eat their fill."

"Hmm? Now that I think about it, maybe Nibi City could also bring in a few baby Gilas to help with development."

"So, Ash," Misty pressed, "did they eventually eat the mountain away bit by bit?"

"Oh, no!"