Pokémon, Ash's art style is off!

If the laws governing the world were so trivial, it would have long ago been spitting out its own dreams of a vast pond to become reality.

But under the oppressive gaze of Xiao Mao, which seemed to say "If you don't spit, you won't get any food today,"

The tortoise, enduring humiliation and hardship, still did it.

Seeing this, Xiao Mao finally let go and let out a long breath.

He sat back down on the ground, satisfied, and carefully folded the tactical paper, then stuffed it into his inner jacket pocket.

Just as his fingertips left his clothes, the illustrated book on the corner of the table suddenly trembled.

The screen lit up, its pale blue light standing out starkly in the dim room.

Xiao Mao picked it up casually, and when he looked down, he saw a notification pop up in the notification bar indicating that he had been following the message.

[Quartz Tournament Semifinals Matchup List]

Looking at the glowing screen, Xiao Mao suddenly felt a little scared.

Blastoise's words were like a thorn stuck in his head, impossible to remove.

What if?

What if it really is Naz...?

He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, then grabbed the Pokédex and shoved it in front of Blastoise without even looking at the screen.

"Come here!"

Blastoise was stunned for a moment when the Pokédex was shoved into its face.

Tell me after you've finished reading!

It opened its mouth and let out a confused cry.

Blastoise clumsily stretched out its two short claws to catch the Pokédex, brought its head close to the screen, and poked twice with the tips of its claws.

One breath, two breaths.

Blastoise remained silent, simply staring at the screen.

"So what exactly is going on!?"

Seeing Blastoise's expressionless face, Shigeru grew anxious.

Blastoise raised its paw and pointed at the screen.

"Click~"

It seems it has forgotten what the password for unlocking it is.

"........."

"I can't count on you at all!"

They snatched the illustrated guide in one go.

Xiao Mao unlocked the screen, and there was a clear match schedule inside.

[Gary vs. Ash]

Xiao Mao was stunned for a full three seconds.

Immediately, the corners of his mouth turned up uncontrollably.

"Ha! I knew it!"

"I knew my luck wouldn't be that bad!"

I leaned over for a look, and Blastoise nodded, its expression indifferent.

That's true; its own trainer has always been very lucky, a fact it discovered from the very first day it followed Gary.

Otherwise, given his troublemaking nature, he would probably have been dragged into an alley and beaten up by some random passerby long ago if he hadn't been so lucky.

Satisfied, Xiao Mao finally calmed down from his excitement.

He tidied himself up and then planned his next move!

After all, how can I be the only one happy about such good news?

........

Ten minutes later, Shigeru was already standing at the door of Ash's room.

He took some time to press down the few tufts of hair that were sticking up, then neatly turned up his collar, stretched out the hem, and rolled up his sleeves to just reveal the mega bracelet.

Blastoise followed three steps behind him, glanced at its trainer's arrogant demeanor, and sighed slightly.

"Click~"

That's why you get beaten up so often...

Thump, thump, thump.

Xiao Mao raised his hand, bent his knuckles, and knocked three times on the door.

The sound was neither too loud nor too soft, and the rhythm was neither too fast nor too slow.

It perfectly reflects his confident and composed demeanor!

Taking a half step back, Xiao Mao turned to the side and struck what he considered to be his most arrogant pose.

The door opened, and Xiao Mao's lips curled into a perfect smile.

"Oh~ guess what it is..."

The provocative words were on the tip of his tongue, about to be uttered, when Xiao Gang's gaze fell on the face of the person who opened the door.

The person was now standing upright!

"Hello, Aunt Hanako!"

Hanako was standing inside the door, her apron covered in flour, and she was holding a wooden spoon in her hand.

He looks like he's cooking.

Hanako stared at Shigeru at the door, who had gone from arrogant to docile in an instant. She was stunned for a moment, then her eyes crinkled into a smile.

"Oh dear, it's Xiao Mao!"

"You're here to see Ash, right? Come on in and have a seat!"

She stepped aside, making room in the doorway, one hand on the door panel, the other holding a wooden spoon, gesturing towards the inside of the house.

Xiao Mao stood there, not daring to move, unsure of what to do with his hands, which finally hung stiffly at the sides of his trousers.

"Um... Auntie, is Xiaozhi here?"

"Oh~ Ash~ He's not back yet~"

Hanako tilted her head to the side.

"He's been having a blast with Nemo lately, spending all his time at the training ground. He leaves at seven in the morning and doesn't come back until sunset. I hardly ever see him a few times a day..."

Xiaomao: "???"

Wait a minute? Who?

Xiao Zhi? Tian Tian?

With whom?!

Nemo!?

That little Padmati girl with green hair?

She lost, and it's been two days! She should have packed her bags and gone back to Parthia by now! Why isn't she home yet?!

Isn't the accommodation subsidy in the athletes' village only given for 24 hours after elimination?

And most importantly, Ash clearly knew that the semifinals would be tomorrow!

At such a crucial moment, instead of resting and adjusting his condition, he went to fight someone else?!

Still with that stinky out-of-towner?!

what is this?

Xiao Mao suddenly felt that his carefully prepared "meeting ceremony of fateful rivals" had been completely ruined by a hand that appeared out of nowhere!

Blastoise nodded slowly to the side.

Oh, that's true.

It also saw it when it went out to forage recently. Right there in the open-air training ground east of the athletes' village, Ash and that Nemo were fighting fiercely.

During a break, we even invited it over for a meal.

Ok.

Speaking of which, the little desserts made by that squinty-eyed girl are really good; they even have a molten center when you bite into them...

Hanako looked at Blastoise, who was suddenly wiping its drool, and gave it an approving look, her eyes full of affection.

"Since you're already here, why don't you stay and have a meal with us?"

"Anyway, Ash will be back soon, and I've made quite a bit of stuff~"

Xiao Mao instinctively wanted to politely decline.

His mouth was already halfway open, and the polite words were already on the tip of his tongue—

"Auntie, you don't need to trouble yourself, I still have some..."

"Hmm~?"

But before he could finish speaking, Hanako's voice floated out.

Although the tone and intonation were the same, they suddenly carried an extra layer of danger to Xiao Mao's ears!

"Then, that'll be troublesome!"

"Click!"

.......

After helping Hanako clear the messy things off the table, Shigeru had only been sitting down for a short while.