“You despicable Kid!”
“How dare you look down on us!”
“Let us show you how formidable Team Rocket is, meow!”
“Sonansu!”
Xiao Zhi’s smile was, of course, misunderstood by Team Rocket.
Seeing them, who had almost lost their fighting spirit, become re-energized, Xiao Zhi just scratched his cheek apologetically and said with a smile:
“Before the battle, can I ask you a question? Have you seen my Aipom?”
“?”
A large question mark appeared above each of their heads.
What do you mean? What does your Pokémon being missing have to do with us? Why are you asking us?
Just as Team Rocket was pondering this, a movement suddenly came from above them.
As they all looked up, they saw a purple figure leap down from a tree, its tail flashing with dazzling white light.
“Trap~ Trap~ Trap!”
“It’s a trap, meow!”
“Hey, Wobbuffet!”
“Sonansu!”
In a hurried exchange of positions, Team Rocket finally managed to move Wobbuffet below Aipom before Aipom could make its move, letting Wobbuffet engage it.
“Hurry, use Counter!”
Musashi didn’t care about anything else and simply gave the command, but it wouldn't have mattered even if Musashi hadn't given the command.
After all, Wobbuffet had matured; it had already grown to be self-reliant through so many battles.
A mere Focus Punch was too simple for it to reflect.
“So~~~nansu!!”
Wobbuffet stood upright, glowing with a white aura, just as Focus Punch was about to hit Wobbuffet and, of course, be bounced back by it—
Aipom began to cackle, looking as if its plan had succeeded, and hopped away to the side.
“Eh?”
Aipom’s sudden halt in its attack once again left Team Rocket bewildered.
They hadn’t even reacted to what had happened, only feeling that tingling sensation from before beginning to flow through their bodies again.
With difficulty, they looked in Xiao Zhi’s direction—
They then realized that while Aipom had diverted their attention, Pikachu had taken the opportunity to gather its strength again and used Ten Thousand Volts on them for the second time.
“You little little.....”
“You Kid!!!”
“You’re too despicable!!”
“So so so~~nansu!”
This time, Pikachu’s Ten Thousand Volts was a full-power attack with well-concentrated energy, so it wouldn’t end so simply.
And only after noticing that the white glow on Wobbuffet had disappeared did Xiao Zhi wave his hand and command Aipom: “Aipom, Focus Punch!”
Without the threat of Counter, Aipom’s attack, of course, could not be stopped by anyone.
Accompanied by Aipom’s heavy punch, combined with the power of Ten Thousand Volts, an explosion suddenly echoed in the forest, and then several figures flew towards the horizon.
It ended as usual; Team Rocket was once again blasted away by Xiao Zhi, turning into shooting stars in the sky.
“Why is this happening?!”
“Meow, human growth is truly terrifying. I didn't expect even the Kid to start using such cunning tricks.”
“I told you our preparation this time was too rough. If only you had listened to me earlier...”
“Shut up!” ×2
“Sonansu!!”
“What a nasty feeling!!!!” ×N
......
Watching Team Rocket, who had already turned into shooting stars, Xiao Zhi clapped his hands in satisfaction and said:
“Well done, you’ve worked hard~ But I really didn’t expect to meet Team Rocket in that situation... They really don’t give up.”
“Pikachu...”
“OKI!”
Pikachu seemed a bit tired of Team Rocket.
After all, he was their target, and being watched day and night like this, it was impossible not to be tired.
Compared to Pikachu, Aipom seemed much more excited. He still seemed to be immersed in the Focus Punch that had sent the trio flying, continuously waving his tail, which was clenched into a fist.
At the same time, he kept punching forward with his fists. Although a bit small in stature, he truly had the aura of a boxer.
Xiao Zhi saw Pikachu’s fatigue and Aipom’s quietness after its excitement.
Although they had rested for a long time on the plane, somehow, unless they were sleeping in a bed, sleeping while sitting on a long-distance bus or plane could hardly be called rest; at most, it just made one feel less sleepy.
The fatigue from long-distance travel still required finding a place to rest properly first.
“Anyway, let’s put Team Rocket aside for now. Let’s head to the first city. It seems... wait, let me check.”
Xiao Zhi said this, then took out a map of the Sinnoh Region from his backpack under the puzzled gazes of Pikachu and Aipom, and confirmed it against the markings on the map.
Then he put it back and said:
“Futaba Town doesn’t seem to be far from our location. It should be about half an hour more of walking. Once we reach Futaba Town, we’ll have a big meal and then rest up.”
“Pika!”
“OKI!”
Hearing that a big meal was coming soon, Pikachu and Aipom were exceptionally excited, but not just them; Xiao Zhi also felt the same excitement now.
Of course, the big meal was only one aspect; more reasons were probably known only to Xiao Zhi himself.
Futaba Town, how nostalgic.
Walking slowly down the slope towards the bottom of the hill, a breeze passed from one side of the road, bringing a touch of coolness to the hot summer day. Xiao Zhi’s thoughts also traveled back with the wind to his memory of meeting her.
Would she be in Futaba Town? Or had she already left?
What Xiao Zhi was reminiscing about now was probably the girl named Hikari, with whom he had the most tacit understanding and most similar personality during his many travels.
If there was a regret, the journey with Hikari could indeed be said to have ended with regret...
Everyone had initially agreed to travel together for a little longer, but in the end, it fell through because Hikari had something to attend to.
However, since it concerned Hikari’s future, he and Takeshi naturally wouldn’t say anything; they just said their final goodbyes with the most sincere blessings.
Memories are pearls, friendship is diamonds.
Even if there was a little regret in the final period, they still moved towards their dreams.
However, unlike himself, Hikari had already achieved her dream, winning the final victory at the Grand Festival years later.
As for his own dream, it had pressed pause and rewind on that stage.
Whether he could still travel with Hikari this time remained a mystery.
Due to his involvement, the original events had changed. Would his future encounters with Hikari and his reunion with Takeshi also change accordingly?
Xiao Zhi knew nothing about this, but nevertheless, the journey had to continue.
You never know what the future holds until you reach tomorrow; that’s also the beauty of travel.
........