Ash, with his invincible physical body, wants to become a Pokémon Master

However, the speedboat needs to be properly tested before it can be used, so Ash has to go there and won't be able to go with May to catch Wurmple.

"Why is it like this? But it's okay, I'll just do it myself!"

May usually relies too much on Ash, which makes her growth rate mediocre.

Now is the perfect opportunity to face difficulties on my own and see what happens!

"Good luck, Little Haruka! I'll be really looking forward to seeing your Stinger, but you definitely won't beat my darling in the end, hahaha..."

After ending the call with a queenly laugh reminiscent of Musashi, Haruka immediately rushed out of the Devon headquarters building and eagerly ran into the forest.

"Ash, is it really okay for us to let my sister go there alone like this? There seem to be a lot of aggressive Pokémon in that forest."

"It's just a Pokémon catching trip. I've also prepared weapons for her to defend herself, and Torchic and the others will be with her, so it should be fine."

Putting everything else aside, at least Xiaoyao's physical strength is still very strong, so escaping when encountering danger is not a problem.

"What if she doesn't find any stinging worms by evening and comes back dejected?"

"Or you might be chased by Pokémon, get lost in the forest, and collapse from exhaustion while calling for help."

"..."

Honestly, they're always bickering and fighting when they're together, and now that Xiaoyao's just left, Xiaosheng is all worried sick about her.

However, Xiao Zhi was also a little worried, thinking that those situations were not impossible.

"Then let's hurry up and get the boat ready, and then follow them."

"it is good!"

Ash and Max immediately grabbed their toolboxes and ran to the dock. With Ash's riding ability and Valkyrie's Undying ability providing superb mechanical tool adaptability, plus Max's strength, they were able to make a great impact.

After some fiddling, they got the speedboat sorted out much faster than they had expected.

As soon as they finished their work, they immediately rushed into the forest to search for Xiaoyao.

Surprisingly, May's situation seemed to be going quite smoothly, and the bad results that Ash and the others had anticipated did not occur.

After spotting Xiaoyao, the two decided to secretly follow her.

By this time, Haruka had been wandering in the forest for a long time and finally found traces of the thorntail beetle.

She crept stealthily into the grass, quietly approaching a long, pink caterpillar.

Ash, who was secretly observing, was quite pleased.

"So far, Xiaoyao is doing quite well."

"Hey, who's that boy next to my sister? Why does he have so many bumps on his head?"

Suddenly, Xiao Sheng noticed that there was a strange boy with her older sister.

But he soon found out why the boy had bumps all over his head.

Just as she was about to get close to the spiky worm, Xiaoyao accidentally stepped on a small pebble, cried out in pain, and scared the timid spiky worm away.

"No way! I finally caught up with it! Don't run away, you stingy beetle! Come back here!"

Seeing that her target was about to run away, May immediately took out the baseball bat that Ash had prepared for her and chased after it.

The strange boy next to her immediately got up from the bushes.

"Wait a minute, Miss Haruka, the forest is very dangerous. You can't run around like this..."

"Ah~!"

The strange boy got too close in his haste and was immediately injured by Xiaoyao's chaotic staff technique, adding another bump to his head.

"Waaaaah, what's wrong with this girl...?" 〒▽〒

"Jiro, Jiro is so immature!"

Where did that sound come from?

At this moment, Ash and Max realized that not far from where they were crouching, there was another person quietly crouching in the grass.

Moreover, his appearance was exactly the same as that of the strange boy next to Xiaoyao.

He also spotted Ash and his friends.

They exchanged a glance and immediately recognized from each other's eyes that the other person was not a bad guy. They stood up and shook hands in tacit agreement.

"Hello, my name is Ash, and this is Max. We are both companions of that girl, May."

"Hello, I am Sawama Ichiro. You can call me Sawama or Ichiro, it's up to you."

"Who is that boy who looks a lot like you?"

“This is my twin brother, Sawama Jiro.” Sawama handed a passport to Ash and the others.

“Our family has been entrusted by the Alliance to serve as administrators for generations to protect this forest.”

"Because the forest has complex terrain and many dangerous places, we will accompany trainers who are venturing here for the first time for their safety."

"Oh, no wonder he was covered in bumps and bruises, yet he still relentlessly followed his sister." Xiaosheng and Xiaozhi suddenly realized.

Ash was puzzled. It was May's first time venturing into the forest on her own, yet she wasn't covered in dirt or dust at all.

This was something completely unlike what a clumsy little foodie like her would do; it turns out it was because there was a professional tour guide by her side.

However, this made Ichiro Sawama a little embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, my brother was so unprofessional, you all had to laugh at him."

“I was originally the main person in charge of protecting the forest, but last year I chose to travel because of my dream, so the responsibility was handed over to Jiro.”

"Today is the day I go home, so I hid here to see how Jiro usually works, but I didn't expect..."

Sawama sighed, seemingly not very satisfied with his younger brother's performance.

"Hey, now that you've gone on a trip, how many badges have you collected so far?"

When Kacchan heard that the other person was also a trainer on a trip, he got excited and immediately started asking Sawama all sorts of questions.

However, Sawama was good-natured and answered very patiently.

"Eight, but I didn't choose to participate in this year's League Tournament."

"Because my main training is in Pokémon double battles, and this type of battle has been adopted as the official battle rule in the Hoenn region."

"I see." Ash was a little surprised.

The only time he had ever experienced doubles in an official tournament was when the Orange League challenged the Durian Gym.

However, back then, there was a special rule that if even one Pokémon fell, the game was lost.

Ash usually only plays doubles matches during training as a hobby, but now it seems he'll have to practice doubles matches more in the future.

When Sawa saw the Pikachu on Ash's shoulder, he knew that Ash was definitely a powerful trainer.

"Ash, this is a rare opportunity, let's have a battle!"

"Sure, no problem at all!"

This young man is quite good; he's so proactive. Xiao Zhi likes him a lot.

"Then I'll be the referee."

However, just as Xiao Sheng excitedly ran to the center of the open space, he suddenly had a strange feeling in his mind.

"Did you forget something... Never mind, it's probably not important, the battle is more important!"

Ash and Ichiro simultaneously threw out their Poké Balls.

"It's decided then, Forest Lizard and Pride Swallow!"

"Ariados, Yangyangma, come out!"

Both sides tacitly refrained from sending their favorites.

"Only two Pokémon can be used at a time, and they cannot be switched during the game. The other side wins when all of one side's Pokémon are defeated."

"The doubles match shall now begin!"

"Ariados, Yangyangma's attack plan number one!"

Alidos and Yangyangma truly lived up to their reputation as a team specially trained for doubles battles. Not only did they have excellent teamwork, but they could also launch attacks from both land and air simultaneously.

One uses silk-spitting control, while the other immediately attacks simultaneously with air blades.

They often manage to draw all of the opponent's aggro with just one Pokémon, while another takes the opportunity to strike at a vital point.

However, Ash's Pokémon are no pushovers either.

"I'm leaving it to you, Aoguyan!"

"Spar!"

All the damage was absorbed by the Swellow, while the Forest Lizard used its high speed and strong attack to turn the tide of battle against the opponent's type.

A stylish slap followed by a Leaf Blade knocks out the controller, Ariados, disrupting the opponent's rhythm. The Tall Bone Swallow's peck attack also finishes off the opponent in the air.

[Ding! Forest Lizard: Affection +2; Intimacy +2]

[Ding! Aogu Yan: Favorability +2; Intimacy +2]

"Ariados, Yangyangma is unable to battle. Ash wins this battle!"

Sawama was unlucky; his tactics were not suitable for dealing with Ash, who was good at speed attacks.

"You're amazing! I lost decisively. It seems I still have a lot to learn."

"No, your Pokémon are all very well trained."

Ash couldn't find anything wrong with these two Pokémon in terms of teamwork, but as Bug-type Pokémon, they were too fragile, which is why Grovyle's type advantage created an opening.

However, just as the two were shaking hands amicably after the match, several loud explosions suddenly came from the distant valley.

What was that sound?

Everyone immediately looked into the distance, and Zejian stroked his chin in confusion.

"That sounds like the sound of Hyper Beam, but Pokémon that can use such powerful moves in the forest are usually quite peaceful."

"How could this be..."

At that moment, Ash and Sawama both looked up.

"Xiaoyao!"

"Jiro!"

They finally remembered that they had forgotten about the two people and hurriedly ran towards the location of the explosion.

When they reached the valley, Jiro was already lying on the ground, covered in dust and dirt, clutching his Heracross.

Meanwhile, May is still holding a baseball bat, facing off against a pack of large wolfhounds with her two Pokémon.

At this point, apart from the largest leader, all the other large wolfhounds had sustained injuries to varying degrees.

Some of the large wolfhounds had tiny electric currents moving in their fur, indicating that they were paralyzed.

The commotion just now must have been from Xiaoyao fighting those big wolfhounds, and it looks like Xiaoyao did a pretty good job.

After participating in wild battles with Ash for so long, May is finally starting to look her best.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

A powerful bolt of lightning descended from the sky, instantly turning the large wolfhounds into charcoal. At the same time, Ash released his own powerful aura, scaring the wolfhounds away.

"Is Xiaoyao hurt?"

"Ash, Max, what are you doing here?"

A fleeting look of confusion mixed with surprise crossed May's face. Soon after, she excitedly took out a Poké Ball, flashed a radiant smile, and ran to Ash's side.

"Look, look! I've successfully caught a spiky worm! That's fantastic!"

"Really?" Ash smiled and congratulated her, while taking out a towel to wipe the dust off Haruka's face.

Xiao Sheng immediately took out the healing medicine to treat the turkey and mushroom.

"Now that you've caught all the stinging beetles, why were you entangled by so many large wolfhounds just now, sister?"

"Hehe, while I was chasing the Stingtail Bug, I accidentally slipped and fell off the mountaintop, landing right on the head of the Great Hound leader..."

"Ah, I understand now. No wonder the big dog was angry after being hit by such a heavy older sister."