“Ah? Ah! Ah~ Pikachu!”
Ash looked at Pikachu, who was curled up in a ball, his face losing color (crossed out) in shock. He fumbled around Pikachu, trying to pry him back with force, but only heard a spring sound.
“Ah, I can’t do it.”
Ash panted, having just finished his battle with Xiao Ming, he didn’t have much strength left, though even without the battle, he wouldn’t have been able to open it.
“Alright, let me do it.”
Xiao Ming looked at Ash, who only knew how to use brute force without understanding the knack, and felt a little sorry for his own device.
He took Pikachu, skillfully unlatched the device’s buckle, and Pikachu instantly broke free from the device.
Ash happily hugged Pikachu, relieved that he hadn’t suffered any harm.
“Pikachu, have you seen my Sandshrew?”
Xiao Ming was still more concerned about the whereabouts of his Sandshrew, eagerly asking Pikachu about his location.
“Pika~”
Pikachu shook his head, indicating that he didn’t know where Sandshrew had gone. Being trapped in that device, even breathing was a problem, let alone observing a free Sandshrew.
“Is that so?”
“Sandshrew, where are you?!”
Upon hearing Pikachu’s news, Xiao Ming was visibly disappointed, but he didn’t give up and continued to call out for Sandshrew.
“He ran away.”
Ash, however, looked at Xiao Ming triumphantly. After all, Sandshrew’s disappearance now clearly indicated that Sandshrew didn’t like Xiao Ming’s training methods.
“That’s impossible!”
“You bullied him so badly, of course he would run away.”
Ash now had a smug look on his face, a mocking expression as he looked at Xiao Ming, his tone as if he was absolutely certain that Sandshrew had run away because he couldn’t stand Xiao Ming’s training.
“You don’t understand my Sandshrew at all, shut your mouth!”
Xiao Ming didn’t want to talk to this person who didn’t understand the bond between him and Sandshrew.
Seeing this, Yu Feng, who had originally intended to say he knew where Sandshrew was, silently lowered his hand and stood aside with Xiao Xia and Brock, eating melon.
“Of course I understand. Your Sandshrew, after seeing me and Pikachu…”
“He must have thought, ‘Perhaps another Trainer will love me more.’”
Ash looked at Xiao Ming with an expression that said, “I understand everything.” After all, at this point, it was obvious that Sandshrew couldn’t stand Xiao Ming’s uncomfortable training methods and had therefore run away.
“He was about to achieve a hundred consecutive victories; he wouldn’t run away at a time like this. I understand him best!”
Xiao Ming shouted loudly into Ash and Pikachu’s ears, seemingly wanting to vent his dissatisfaction, and Ash and Pikachu’s expressions changed slightly, startled by Xiao Ming’s roar.
“Listen up, everyone, go all out and find Sandshrew!”
Xiao Ming immediately incited his Pokémon to search for Sandshrew.
“I think everyone actually hates Trainers like Xiao Ming, right? If you want to be the strongest Pokémon, then come with me.”
“Alright, now, any Pokémon who wants to come with me, please raise your hand!”
Ash encouraged Xiao Ming’s Pokémon to leave this tormenting place. Unfortunately, including Xiao Ming himself, none of his Pokémon paid any attention to Ash.
“Why? Why won’t any Pokémon come with me?”
Ash was still very confused as to why, despite Xiao Ming tormenting them so much, they were unwilling to go with him.
“This idiot, he’s forgotten who he is again.”
Xiao Xia was very familiar with Ash’s moments of getting carried away; similar situations had occurred during this period.
“Want some?”
Yu Feng, sitting on a red ball, came before Xiao Xia and offered her a piece of cake.
“Thank you, but what is this ball of yours?”
Xiao Xia had been curious since earlier. When did Yu Feng get this ugly mount? It didn’t suit him at all.
Moreover, this ball with four legs looked strange no matter how she looked at it, especially those four legs, which looked familiar.
“Team Rockets snuck in stealthily when Ash and Xiao Ming were fighting earlier. They grabbed Sandshrew and ran, and now I’ve got them under my illusion control.”
Yu Feng patted the big red ball under his feet, explaining its origin, and also patted it, causing a pang of pain from James.
“So, Sandshrew is inside this?”
Brock also widened his eyes, examining the giant red ball, seemingly curious as to why Yu Feng did this.
“Just to teach Ash a lesson. He’s too overconfident. Of course, confidence isn’t a bad thing, but he’s excessively confident and doesn’t understand the importance of daily Pokémon training.”
Yu Feng waved his hand, watching Ash. He wasn’t Ash’s babysitter; once he found a travel companion in Saffron City, he would leave the team.
If Ash continued to maintain this inexplicable confidence and didn’t train his Pokémon, he might not be able to overcome the various movie plots and dangerous situations later on.
Closer to home, there’s Mewtwo Strikes Back. Is Ash really going to punch Mewtwo’s force field? That’s ridiculous.
Furthermore, a large portion of the problems Ash and his companions encountered on their journey afterward were caused by Ash’s impulsiveness.
“That’s true. If he doesn’t change his reckless personality, he might have an unfortunate early exit from this competition.”
Brock also nodded. He had also noticed Ash’s impulsiveness; he often rushed out when his blood got hot.
And if a Trainer can’t keep up with their Pokémon’s level, the Pokémon might not listen to the Trainer’s commands.
“As a Trainer, you can’t compare with me at all! Our strength difference is too great!”
Xiao Ming and Ash were still at odds, just like at the beginning. Xiao Ming expressed doubt about Ash’s commands, especially since Ash had just lost to him, so how could he have the nerve to say Xiao Ming had problems?
“Still talking tough after losing!”
Ash, however, looked at Xiao Ming with a calm and very mocking gaze. After all, Sandshrew’s disappearance was an undeniable fact.
“Now!”
Yu Feng snapped his fingers, and Sandshrew instantly teleported into a specially created hollow beneath them. Sandshrew emerged from the hole in terror, knocked Ash unconscious, and then landed in Xiao Ming’s arms.
“Sandshrew!”
Xiao Ming hugged the recovered Sandshrew, and his companions around them also came to congratulate Sandshrew’s return, looking very harmonious.
“They all think he’s good, huh.”
Ash somewhat didn’t understand why these Pokémon thought Xiao Ming, who tormented them all day, was good.
“That’s because everyone likes Xiao Ming, so they endure even strict training.”
Brock walked up from behind to explain to Ash why these Pokémon liked Xiao Ming so much.
“So, you also need to train with Pikachu and the others. Not half of what I do, but at least one-fifth.”
Yu Feng also walked up from behind, sitting on the red ball, lecturing Ash.