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

Chapter 10 Battle against Xiaoxia

"That's right, we are the four beautiful sisters of Hua Lan."

The third sister, the pink-haired girl Peony, wagged her finger and said sarcastically, "No, it should be the three beautiful sisters and the ugly duckling."

Hearing her sister say this, Xiaoxia's face instantly puffed up with anger.

Of course, this is just the older sisters teasing their younger sister. If the Ugly Duckling really had Xia's face, it wouldn't feel inferior.

"None of that matters. Xia, why did you come back so soon?" said the gentle blonde older sister, Sakura.

Second Sister Changpu also joined in the attack.

"Who was that person who boasted that they would never return to their hometown until they became a great Pokémon Trainer?"

Xiaoxia could only say with an embarrassed expression, "That's why I said I least wanted to come here."

Now I finally understand why Xiaoxia was so reluctant to come to Hualan City.

Peony continued to tease Xiaoxia

"What? You obviously can't stand being compared to us three beautiful ladies, so you deliberately use training Pokémon as an excuse to escape the pressure and go outside."

Xiaoxia, her face darkening, angrily said to her sister, "Don't talk nonsense!"

"I can't believe you ran back so quickly. I'm so sad," the blonde girl chimed in.

"No, that's not it, Sakura-neechan. It's that brat who has a problem with me," Misty quickly explained to her sister, pointing at Ash.

The three older sisters looked Xiaozhi up and down again.

"No way, even though he has a great physique and a masculine air, why didn't you pick someone even more handsome?"

"Besides, he's younger than you, you really have no taste."

Xiaoxia blushed and said to her sister in an even louder voice.

"That's not how it works. In short, in order to protect the reputation of Cerulean Gym, I'm the only one left to fight now."

"That's true, only your Pokémon still has the ability to battle." So the older sisters agreed to let Misty represent the Cerulean Gym.

The battle arena of the Cerulean Gym is a large pool, with Ash and Misty standing on floating platforms at opposite ends of the pool.

"I really don't want to battle you, Ash, but I have no other choice. If you want to get the Blue Badge, you have to defeat me first."

"I won't refuse any battle!" Ash said, looking at Pikachu at his feet.

"Pikachu, let her see how powerful we are!"

Pikachu is the most suitable Pokémon to deal with Misty, who only has Water-type Pokémon.

However, to Ash's surprise, Pikachu looked at Misty with a pitiful expression, unwilling to participate.

"Pikachu, good boy!"

Upon hearing Misty's voice, Pikachu happily waved to her.

Besides Ash, Misty is Pikachu's best friend.

Even during the journey, Xiaoxia spent a large part of the time holding Pikachu.

"It's true, she doesn't want to fight just because it's Xiaoxia."

Pikachu refused to participate, so Ash had to bring out other Pokémon.

"I'm counting on you, Pipi!"

Ash has a habit of releasing newly joined partners to gain experience in battles where victory is assured.

"The rules are the same as the previous Pewter Gym; you can use two Pokémon."

After saying that, Misty released her Pokémon, "Go, Staryu!"

"Clefairy, use Finger Strike!" Ash, as always, took the initiative and launched the first attack.

The effect of the Finger Swing is to randomly select one move from almost all moves and use it.

This time, the finger gesture used hypnotic powder.

The powder scattered, just as the starfish was swaying left and right, about to fall over.

"Starfish, jump off the float and into the pool to wash off the powder!"

The starfish spun around and fell into the pool, but soon jumped back onto the float and recovered.

"Ash, in an environment where there is water all around, Water-type Pokémon are the strongest."

Xiaoxia proudly showed off to Xiaozhi how she had neutralized his attack.

"The starfish jumped directly into the pool and attacked with a water gun."

Several water jets shot out from different directions underwater, and Pipi was hit directly by one of them.

"That works too." Ash doesn't really have any direct way to attack underwater right now.

"Hehe, Ash, you'd better surrender quickly. You can't beat me."

Xiaoxia flashed a victory sign at Xiaozhi and smiled happily.

"They become complacent with just a slight advantage."

"Too immature."

"What a child."

The older sisters used their sharp tongues to attack Xiaoxia, and it was extremely effective.

"Whose side are you on? I'm your own sister!"

Of all the other skills Pipi currently possesses—patting, singing, and turning into a round shape—none of them can attack Staryu.

With no other option, Ash had to gamble again with his finger swing.

"Pipi, use the finger flick next!"

As Pipi waved its finger, a dazzling light suddenly burst forth from its body.

"boom!"

The skill I drew this time was a self-destruction attack, which rendered Pipi unable to fight.

Xiaoxia's starfish remained unharmed while hiding in the water.

Ash didn't expect Misty to take the first game.

"Pikachu's unwilling, then you'll have to do it." Ash recalled his Clefairy and released his other Pokémon. "Go, Beedrill!"

"The starfish stays in the water and attacks with its water gun."

When Xiaoxia saw Xiaozhi release Beedrill, her smile vanished and her expression turned serious.

"Even Beedrill can't attack from underwater."

If Pikachu were willing to participate, even if Misty's Staryu stayed hidden underwater, Pikachu could have easily taken it down with a single Thunderbolt.

But there is a solution. "Big Needle, use continuous Needle Missile attacks to expand the area of ​​effect to the entire field."

These are new techniques that I've learned as my skill proficiency has increased through daily combat.

Beedrill moved swiftly across the field, its stingers flashing white light incessantly, and its missile-launched spears successfully covered the entire arena.

Although the speed of the missile needle attack is slower in water, the range is large enough at a certain density, leaving starfish with no room to dodge.

Soon after, Xiaoxia's starfish floated to the surface from the bottom of the water, having lost its ability to fight.

"Well done, I knew you could do Beedrill."

However, this move consumes too much energy. If you fight against a master in the future, it will be a complete loss and will create a huge opening.

"Damn it, Ash, don't get cocky. Go, Starmie!"

Misty sent out her second Pokémon, a starfish that appeared to be covered in dark blue rocks and had more horns, making it much larger than her previous Starmie.

"Use the high-speed starfish, then quickly jump into the water."

Although the high-speed star couldn't hit Beedrill, it exploded in the air, creating a light barrier that temporarily blocked Beedrill's vision.

The gem starfish wanted to take this opportunity to jump to the bottom of the pool.

Beedrill doesn't have the stamina to unleash another full-area Pin Missile attack.

Xiaoxia has a huge advantage in terms of venue.

"How could I let you succeed? Beedrill used Hyper Beam directly on the floating platform opposite."

The energy wave of the Destruction Ray descended from the sky and struck the floating board where the gem starfish was located, causing ripples to spread across the entire pool.

Even Ash and Misty, who were standing on different floating platforms at opposite ends of the field, almost lost their balance.

As the smoke dissipated, the rubies on Xiaoxia's starfish continued to flash red, indicating that it had lost its ability to fight.

[Ding! Beedrill acquired: Affection +1; Intimacy +1]

"Xiaoxia, your starfish is really weak. The aftershocks alone rendered you unable to fight."

"Don't talk so much. I'll train it properly from now on." After losing the match, Misty reluctantly recalled her Pokémon.

Just as Xiaoxia was about to continue arguing with Xiaozhi, a loud crash was heard, and a huge machine smashed a large hole in the wall of the gym.

"To prevent the world from being destroyed!"

"To protect world peace!"

……

As soon as the standard lines were finished, a large water pipe extended from the giant machine and began to draw water from the pool inside the venue.

"Rockets! Why are you guys so persistent?"

Upon seeing the familiar trio, Ash observed the unidentified machine they were riding in.

"Giant water pipes and massive engines—so you were the ones who stole from the city before."

"Kid, we're not here for you this time. With this huge pump, all we have to do is drain the water out of the Cerulean Gym."

"Meow, Water-type Pokémon will lose a lot of power without Water. We'll catch all the Pokémon inside then, meow haha!"

"But our Pokémon are all being treated at Nurse Joy's at the Pokémon Center, not at the gym."

Faced with the sudden appearance of Team Rocket, Xiaoxia's sisters actually had the mind to explain to them.

Ash didn't even want to talk to those three idiots anymore.

"Pikachu's Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu's moves spread to the machine along with the water it absorbed. After a flash of white light, an explosion rang out, and Team Rocket was blasted away once again.

"Kojiro, why didn't you think of the fact that water can conduct electricity?"

"You didn't expect this either!"

"Meow, remember to take precautions against electric shock next time!"

"I hate this feeling!" ×3

[Congratulations on completing the side quest: Do a Good Deed Today: Defeat Team Rocket and stop their plot (3/∞)]

[Rewards: Alliance Coins +100; Regional Favorability +5; Regional Reputation +1;]

As Team Rocket disappeared into the horizon, Misty walked to Ash's side.

"These idiots always show up suddenly and then get knocked out very quickly. I don't understand why they're so persistent."

"Here you go, the blue teardrop badge."

Ash took the badge from Misty and immediately struck his signature pose.

"Great! We've got two badges now, one step closer to the League Tournament!"

[Ding! Main Quest: Blue Badge! Completed.]

[Rewards: Defense +1, Special Defense +1, Free Attribute +3; Water-type skill power increased by 5% when possessing a blue badge]

"Pikachu!"

"Pikachu, how dare you celebrate with me, you rascal!"

Pinch Pikachu's little cheeks and punish it severely.