Pokémon: Dreams Come True Starting in Sinnoh

Just as Xiao Gang was already thinking about the next part of the trip.

However, to their surprise, Xiao Zhi simply shook his head, apologetic on his face: "Um... I'm afraid I can't go back with you for the time being."

"Huh?" Brock and Serena were both stunned. Even Sakiko, who was watching them with a smile, paused slightly, observing Ash's expression as if she was pondering something.

Xiao Zhi understood Xiao Gang and the others' doubts, so he took the initiative to explain.

"I still have some things to take care of in the Sinnoh region," Ash said, his gaze unconsciously becoming somewhat serious, but his voice still conveying a sense of composure.

"So I probably won't be able to leave with you right away. I'll probably be back in Pallet Town one to two weeks later than you."

"Is something wrong?" Serena's eyes immediately showed a hint of worry.

Xiao Gang chimed in, "If you run into any trouble, I can stay and help you. We've already finished what we needed to do, so there's no rush. It's fine for us to stay in the Sinnoh region together."

Ash felt a surge of warmth in his heart as he felt Brock and Serena's sincere concern, but he still firmly shook his head, his eyes filled with an undeniable determination: "Thank you, but this is something that only I can do, and only I can do it."

Although his tone was calm, the weight it carried made Xiao Gang and Serena keenly aware that this matter was probably no small thing and involved some hidden secrets that were inconvenient to be mentioned openly.

Serena realized that her earlier worries had come true, so she wanted to say something more, trying to persuade Ash not to take all the blame upon himself.

However, at that moment, Sakiko, who had been sitting quietly to the side, suddenly reached out and gently pressed Serena's shoulder, shaking her head slightly at her.

“Serena.” Sakiko’s voice was gentle yet carried a convincing strength. “Since Ash has said so, there must be a reason why he has to do it. Sometimes it’s normal for friends to care, but after the other person has made it clear, all we can do is trust their judgment, instead of asking for reasons here and adding unnecessary trouble for Ash.”

"..." Serena lowered her head and fell silent.

Thinking about it carefully, it makes sense. If even Xiaozhi can't solve this problem, what can they do by getting involved?

Seeing this, Xiao Gang knew that there was no point in saying more, but he solemnly advised, "Since you've said so, Xiao Zhi... then I won't ask any more questions, but you must be careful no matter what."

"Yes, of course!"

Ash's face lit up with a smile again, and he responded in a relaxed tone, as if the tense atmosphere just now was just an illusion.

……

That evening.

The moonlight was so bright that it enveloped Lily of the Valley in a hazy, silvery glow.

Ash, alone with only Pikachu, arrived at the Sinnoh League branch on Lily of the Valley under the moonlight.

The Alliance organization, bustling during the day, was unusually quiet under the cover of night.

As soon as he stepped through the brightly lit gates of the Alliance branch, a familiar figure came into view.

Cynthia, dressed in an elegant black coat, stood quietly in the center of the hall, as if she had anticipated his arrival.

Upon seeing Ash, Cynthia smiled.

"I was wondering when you would choose to come, but I didn't expect it to be tonight."

Her voice was soft and melodious, like an evening breeze brushing against the strings of a zither.

"Speaking of which, I ran into Brock by chance at the Pokémon Center this afternoon." Cynthia's gaze fell on Ash, and she asked softly, "He looked a little worried. Did you run into some trouble?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhi simply shook his head calmly.

"It's not exactly troublesome, it's just that some things need a reasonable ending, and since it's an agreement, it should naturally be kept."

"The promise..."

Cynthia repeated the sentence softly, a knowing glint in her beautiful eyes.

She raised the corners of her lips slightly, revealing a meaningful smile, and murmured, "Truly full of a sense of justice."

Cynthia clearly knew something, or rather, she had already obtained information from some source and figured out Ash's true purpose for this trip, but she just kept it to herself.

After a brief silence, Cynthia's gaze returned to focus. She looked at Ash and asked, "So, how do you plan to challenge him? Are you going to risk your championship title in a formal six-on-six all-out battle?"

Xiao Zhi shook his head and simply said, "No, one-on-one is enough."

Cynthia's gaze inadvertently swept over the Poké Ball that Ash was clutching tightly in his hand. She closed her beautiful eyes slightly, as if she understood Ash's thoughts in an instant.

When she opened her eyes again, her gaze was clear.

"I understand."

Cynthia nodded slightly, then gracefully turned to the side, her dress tracing a soft arc.

"Since it's a one-on-one Pokémon battle, and not an official championship match, then there's no need for a referee, right?"

"Okay." Xiao Zhi nodded in agreement.

The two walked side by side toward the battlefield inside the alliance branch.

The only sound in the empty corridor was the crisp sound of their footsteps, and the atmosphere became subtly awkward.

They soon arrived at a standard indoor battle arena.

The bright lights illuminated the entire venue as if it were daytime.

Ash and Cynthia stood at opposite ends of the field, facing each other.

Without saying a word, Cynthia casually took a Poké Ball from her waist and tossed it gently.

"Soar through the skies, Garchomp!"

A flash of light, followed by a terrifying roar.

A massive and imposing Garchomp appeared on the field.

Even though it wasn't a formal championship battle, Cynthia still fielded her most trusted ace partner.

Ash remained unusually calm in the face of Cynthia's Garchomp, simply tossing his Poké Ball gently.

"I choose you, Night Demon!"

Upon its appearance, Night Demon slightly clasped its enormous hands together in front of it, and the ghostly aura emanating from its body rivaled Garchomp's Dragon-type pressure, showing no sign of being at a disadvantage.

"The Night Demon?"

Cynthia gracefully placed one hand on her hip, a knowing smile playing on her lips. Her gaze lingered on Dusknoir for a moment, seemingly somewhat surprised by Ash's choice.

But she merely narrowed her beautiful eyes slightly and said with a light laugh, "An interesting choice indeed. You may go first."

"Yes!"

Ash didn't hold back. After taking a deep breath, Ash's eyes sharpened instantly, and he decisively commanded, "Dusknoir, Trick Room!"

"DUS—!"

The Night Demon roared, its single eye gleaming with an eerie light.

As it slowly raised its arms, an invisible energy wave rapidly spread out from it, causing the entire battlefield space to seem to distort, and a strange sense of stagnation permeated the air.

Cynthia never asked Garchomp to stop Dusknoir from using Trick Room. She simply watched Dusknoir's actions quietly, maintaining her calm and composed smile, as if she had everything under control.

Only after the distorted spatial force had completely stabilized and enveloped the entire arena did Cynthia speak calmly and deliberately, her voice clear and penetrating: "Garuda, Stone Edge."

"Roar--!"

Garchomp let out a deafening roar and slammed its claws into the ground.

In an instant, countless sharp stones gleaming with cold light swirled around Garchomp's body, then swarmed towards the location of Night Demon.

"Get out of the way!" Ash's voice was exceptionally clear amidst the sound of sharp rocks piercing the air.

Although the speed of the sharp stone attack is very fast.

However, under the influence of the magic space, the speed of the Night Demon Spirit, which had been reversed, now displayed an agility that was inconsistent with its size.

With a mere swift sidestep, its heavy body moved like a weightless ghost, elusive and incredibly fast, perfectly dodging the dense, rain-like onslaught.

Countless sharp stones grazed its body, and the strong wind they generated made its body seem to float slightly.

Just as the Night Demon dodged, Cynthia's cold voice rang out again.

"sandstorm."

As soon as he finished speaking, Garchomp opened its huge mouth, and a powerful gust of air mixed with sand and dust rose up from the ground, instantly sweeping across the entire battlefield.

Countless yellow sands were flying everywhere, and visibility dropped sharply.

The Garchomp's figure seemed to blend into the murky background the moment the sandstorm rose, disappearing silently.

It is Sand Village.

Before Ash could react, a huge, T-shaped flame suddenly appeared in the air above the dust-filled field, carrying intense heat, and aimed directly at the spot where Night Demon had just dodged.

The series of attacks were executed so smoothly and quickly that it was almost impossible to breathe.

Xiao Zhi's pupils contracted slightly, and he was secretly alarmed.

Cynthia's command and Garchomp's execution were both impeccable, leaving him almost no room to think.

They're not as easy to deal with as I thought.

In the critical moment, Ash immediately launched a counterattack, shouting without showing any weakness, "Dusknoir, use Will-O-Wisp!"

"DUS!"

A ghostly light flashed in the Night Demon's single eye, and several clusters of dark blue flames appeared out of thin air around its body.

Instead of attacking Garchomp directly, the will-o'-the-wisps, under the control of the Night Demon, spun rapidly around its body, forming a constantly flowing, ominous flame shield.

"boom--!"

Almost the instant the ghost fire shield took shape, the huge burst of flames bombarded it.

The scorching flames and the ghostly blue will-o'-the-wisps collided violently, producing a muffled, deafening roar.

The powerful shockwave spread outwards, seemingly halting the dust and sand at the scene.

However, the seemingly fierce and incomparably powerful burst of flames failed to break through the protective shield formed by the ghost fire. Instead, it made the dark blue shield even more dazzling under the reflection of the flames, emitting an eerie and dangerous light.

The sandstorm continued to rage across the area.

In the blurred vision, a sharp, cold glint suddenly flashed in the sand and dust.

Is it a sword dance?

Ash immediately realized that Garchomp was using Swords Dance under the cover of the Sandstorm to boost its attack power, and he knew that he absolutely could not sit idly by and wait to die.

However, Night Demon's attack power is indeed insufficient to break through Garchomp head-on.

Since that's the case—

"Night Demon, use Night Shadow!"

Following Ash's command, Dusknoir's massive body, enveloped in a ghostly light, quickly merged into the surrounding dust and shadows, disappearing completely from the field, like ink dripping into water.

For a moment, the entire battlefield fell into an eerie silence.

Only the howling of the sandstorm echoed in their ears, as both sides' Pokémon remained hidden in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to attack.

Sudden.

The Garchomp, hidden in the sandstorm, seemed to sense something as its delicate skin, capable of sensing changes in the environment, gently swayed its arms.

This subtle movement did not escape Cynthia's keen observation.

A glint of light flashed in her eyes as she immediately realized that Garchomp had successfully located Nightshade.

"Now!" A confident smile curved Cynthia's lips. Though her voice wasn't loud, it carried an undeniable firmness as she calmly issued the command: "Earthquake!"

"Roar!!!"

Garchomp let out a deafening roar, and its massive body, hidden in the sandstorm, suddenly exerted its strength, slamming its thick hind legs heavily into the ground!

"boom--!!!"

A loud bang was heard, and the entire battlefield of the alliance branch shook violently.

Centered on Garchomp, a terrifying shockwave spread outwards like ripples. The hard ground cracked inch by inch under this force, and countless large and small pebbles and clods of earth were blasted into the air, mixing with the dust and sand, and scattered indiscriminately in all directions.

This sudden change forced Dusknoir, which had been silently approaching Garchomp and preparing to launch a sneak attack, out from under the weight of countless flying pebbles.

"DUS!"

The Night Demon let out a somewhat surprised growl. Its figure, which had just materialized from the shadows, looked rather disheveled amidst the flying debris and violently shaking ground. It had to temporarily abandon its plan to launch a sneak attack and reappeared in the sandstorm, fleeing into the air to escape the earthquake's pursuit.

But Cynthia wasn't about to give Night Demon a chance to dodge. Instead, she pressed her advantage, saying, "Chase after her! Use Crunch!"

......

P.S.: My voice input seems to be malfunctioning today; I kept making typos, making writing quite difficult.

(I had a college entrance exam today, and my physics and chemistry teachers were leading the group, which turned my morning classes into three consecutive periods in the morning. Luckily, I checked my WeChat messages last night, otherwise I would have had no classes for the last two periods today...)