Pokémon: Dreams Come True Starting in Sinnoh

Should we fight? Given all the talk, there seems to be no reason not to fight, right?

Hunter J's emotions at this moment must have been more than half anger towards Ash, but she also retained her rationality.

Is such a perceptive and self-confident trainer really someone you can mess with?

Since his own airship wasn't around, Hunter J was actually in a state of isolation and helplessness. In this state, fighting an unknown opponent was not a wise choice.

After all, age is never a necessary condition for determining whether a trainer is excellent. Older trainers are not necessarily seasoned veterans, and younger trainers are not necessarily inexperienced. There is never a shortage of geniuses in this world. Whether it is Cynthia or Lance, they were both like that when they were young.

"Are you trying to provoke me? To be honest, your maturity level doesn't seem like something your age should have. Are you a genius? Or are you just experienced?" Hunter J, having calmed down, no longer had the intention of continuing to compete with Ash. Her gaze merely flickered towards Ash's right hand, which was behind his back. "Looks like you have some trump cards up your sleeve, no less powerful than this Pikachu's."

"..."

Have we been discovered?

Xiao Zhi felt a pang of regret.

He originally intended to use provocation to draw Hunter J's hatred, so that he could send out Snorlax and Ursaring while Hunter J was angry. Without a petrification device or outside support, even a Pokémon Hunter is just an ordinary human with the help of Pokémon.

Of course, if there are hunters who can build their bodies to resemble Shiba's, then disregard what he said.

Looking at the not-so-short distance between Hunter J and himself, or rather, between himself and Torterra, Ash began to consider whether he should just go for a direct attack, although revealing his trump card first would not be a wise move.

"Next time." Hunter J turned around, and Salamence, seeing this, acted as his bodyguard, following beside him. "If we meet again next time, I'll keep your Pikachu; I'll let you off this time."

Since the two sides' Pokémon haven't even fought yet, it doesn't seem appropriate to simply define Hunter J as the loser.

"..."

Hunter J casually dropped a smoke bomb and prepared to retreat, while Ash, aside from remaining vigilant to prevent Hunter J from ambushing him, made no attempt to stop her from leaving.

The reason is simple: Ash wasn't 100% confident he could defeat Hunter J head-on here. Although he had the experience from his previous attempt, Ash wouldn't be foolish enough to argue about fairness in a battle with a villain. Even so, among his Pokémon, only Pikachu and Snorlax were strong enough to easily overpower Hunter J.

“Pikachu…”

As the smoke cleared, Hunter J's figure indeed disappeared from the spot, while Pikachu looked somewhat listless. It was unclear whether it felt threatened by Hunter J, since she had openly expressed her desire for Pikachu before leaving, so it was understandable that it would feel uneasy.

"Na".

At this moment, Turtwig, who plays the role of the elder brother and babysitter in the forest, came to Pikachu's side and started patting its back repeatedly, as if to say to Pikachu, "It's okay, you can rely on me."

Ash saw through Torterra's thoughts and felt somewhat relieved, but when facing Hunter J and those villainous organizations, this kind of hot-blooded justice alone was not enough.

Ash is not naive. Before heading to the final Pokémon Masters Tournament, he had already fought against countless villainous organizations and witnessed countless dark events. In the process of growing up, he had long since come to understand many of the rules of this world.

But despite understanding these dark aspects, Ash did not give up his love for Pokémon or his passion for Pokémon battles.

On the contrary, after witnessing the dark side of so many worlds, he has come to love Pokémon battles that are free of any impurities.

"Having passion is a good thing." Ash crouched down, not speaking to Pikachu, but to Turtwig. "However, I have to admit that your strength is still quite different from that Pokémon hunter's. If you want to fulfill your duty of 'protection,' you need to become more composed and stronger, becoming a solid shield that can isolate all hostile forces."

“Na......”

The tortoise murmured, savoring Ash's words.

A solid shield?

To be honest, the grass turtle is familiar with the image of sword and shield. If it had to choose, it would probably choose to be the sword without hesitation, because it is good at running during battle and can defeat its opponents with its proud strength and speed.

And the shield? It sounds like it's just a simple image of someone taking a beating. Should I develop in that direction?

The Turtwig was puzzled. Its small head was clearly not capable of summarizing and understanding such abstract thinking. So it looked at Ash with pleading eyes, hoping that Ash could tell it the answer. After all, its determination to help Pikachu was sincere.

"It's okay if you don't understand now, you'll understand later." Ash said, stroking its head. "A shield can also be very offensive, and a sword can become the strongest shield depending on how the user uses it. How to do all this is not only a test for you, but also for me as a trainer."

"Na?"

The Turtwig tilted its head, seemingly more confused than before, thanks to Ash's explanation.

It doesn't matter, Ash never intended for Turtwig to understand the meaning of these words now. It's precisely because its current fighting style is a sharp blade that it will be able to better appreciate what an offensive shield is when it gradually transforms into a shield.

During this period, the most important thing is not only how the baby turtles should change their mindset, but also how to properly raise them.

"I'm really looking forward to it."

Ash smiled excitedly, seemingly thinking about the future of Turtwig.

Meanwhile, in the distance, Xiao Guang and his group, along with a group of hunters who were bound hand and foot, roughly three or four members of the hunter organization, walked towards him.

Perhaps Hunter J's abrupt departure was due to noticing his subordinate's predicament.

.......