Chapter 187: Black Ash and the Dragon Rider Meet Again

The director of the Poké Ball Ocean Research Institute, Chengmei, just stepped away from her busy work, her gaze still retaining a bit of the focus and sharpness of a researcher.

When she looked away from the detector, she inadvertently saw the Pokémon of Ash and his companions, especially when Lugia came into view, she was instantly stunned.

Upon seeing Lugia, she was dumbfounded, thinking she had misseen, she rubbed her eyes but still saw Lugia, the Poké Ball hailed as the sea god, now leisurely playing with other Poké Balls.

Chengmei's face showed an expression of disbelief; she was extremely shocked that Ash possessed Lugia.

Lugia is an extremely rare and powerful Poké Ball, usually only heard of in legends; I never expected to see it today, and moreover, it was following what seemed like an ordinary Trainer.

Out of professional curiosity and awe, Chengmei couldn't help but glance at Ash several more times, wanting to see what quality he had that attracted Lugia.

Brock keenly noticed Chengmei, seized the opportunity to walk over, actively struck up a conversation with her, and talked about Lugia.

Brock's enthusiasm and talkativeness quickly broke the unfamiliarity between them, and the two began to converse deeply.

In the conversation, Chengmei learned that Ash and his group had come at the invitation of Professor Kongmu, with the purpose of taking that mysterious Elf Egg.

This information surprised Chengmei even more; she never expected that the Trainer summoned by Professor Kongmu would be so formidable, capable of capturing a legendary Poké Ball like Lugia.

Ooh ooh oh~

Lugia swam happily, its wings fluttering, sending up spray after spray.

Strong Croc was the same, but it got playful, creating several water balls and controlling them in front of itself.

？

Everyone watched, not understanding what Strong Croc wanted to do; Brock glanced at Strong Croc and was hit by its water ball attack.

Splash!

With a loud 'Splash!', the water balls burst open, turning into sheets of spray that scattered.

Gyarados, Pikachu, and other Poké Balls were soaked to the skin, drenched, looking quite miserable, feeling utterly helpless against the water ball attack.

Roar!

Seeing the companions drenched and suddenly attacked, Strong Croc was delighted and even mocked their appearance.

Pika pika!

Roar!

Pikachu and Gyarados weren't very surprised by Strong Croc's behavior, feeling more resigned; obviously Strong Croc often does this.

Lugia cheered, wanting to do it again.

Ooh ooh oh~

Strong Croc did it again, this time even getting Xiaoxia's Poké Balls.

Lugia also wanted to play like that, imitating Strong Croc, it made many water balls, even more than Strong Croc did.

"Lugia, what are you doing?"

Ash saw Lugia suddenly produce so many water balls, feeling both delighted and anxious.

The delight was that Lugia could actually emit such vast water-type energy and control it so exquisitely.

The anxiety was that Lugia made so many water balls, not only for the Poké Balls but also counting their shares.

No, Lugia only counted him!

Just as Brock saw, Lugia let the water balls fall onto each of their bodies; even if they dodged, the water balls would explode unexpectedly when nearest to them.

I'm wet!

Ash's body became drenched, water droplets dripped from the tips of his hair.

Seeing Ash like this, the Poké Balls all showed smiles.

Pikachu covered its mouth and snickered, trying not to let Ash notice, turning away to laugh secretly, but its slightly twitching body gave away its current delighted mood.

The red Gyarados also laughed heartily, its expression rather goofy, while Strong Croc mercilessly mocked.

Lugia watched all this gleefully, flapping its wings and splashing water, seemingly also wanting Ash to come over and join the water fight.

Ash wiped the water from his face, about to join the frolic, when suddenly he heard a silver-bell-like laughter ringing in his ears.

Hahaha~

Xiaoxia's laughter was clear and pleasant; she stood aside, watching the Poké Balls splash water at each other, having a great time. In the chaos, she furtively splashed water at Ash, then quickly turned away, hoping to conceal her 'misdeed'.

Huh?

I'll deal with you later...... Ash glanced at the excitedly water-playing Strong Croc and Lugia, his keen eyes noticing Xiaoxia's movement.

Corners of his mouth lifted, revealing a sly smile, he quietly walked behind Xiaoxia and immediately embraced her with both hands.

"Xiaoxia, did you enjoy splashing just now?"

Ash leaned close to Xiaoxia's ear and spoke softly; that warm breath puffed against her ear, making her cheeks instantly flush red. She felt her ears itch, her body a bit limp, completely unable to resist Ash's 'surprise attack'.

Ah!

"No..... no." Xiaoxia's ears were red as agate, she whispered softly, her voice tinged with a hint of shyness and panic.

"No? Really no? Just now I saw you splash over!"

Watching Xiaoxia's reaction, Ash couldn't help but laugh, intending to keep teasing her.

Suddenly, a splash of water came over, interrupting their play. Afterwards, Ash and Xiaoxia were astonished to find themselves controlled by some psychic power, instantly lifted onto the water surface.

Xiaoxia gasped, never expecting she would be controlled by psychic power.

Could it be Lugia?

In the past, when Lugia trained, its psychic power was the strongest, able to control many things at once, and it had used it on the companions before, making it hard to struggle free.

Looking at Lugia, it was still there playing with the companions, not using psychic power on them.

After looking around, they realized it was Celebi.

Almost forgot you!

Xiaoxia's wet clothes clung tightly to her body, outlining her graceful figure.

Sunlight shone through the water surface, illuminating her long, fair legs, which looked especially bright on the water, like two beams of radiant light.

Her hair was also wetted by water droplets, sticking to her cheeks, adding a touch of charm and allure.

Seeing Ash and Xiaoxia playing together on the water surface, Celebi couldn't contain its excitement, running over eagerly to join them.

Its short little legs ran quickly, and soon it reached the water's edge. Without hesitation, it jumped onto the water surface, its tiny body happily swimming about, splashing water everywhere.

"I'll counterattack!"

Ash splashed water at the Poké Balls, not wanting to only be splashed by them; he also had to fight back.

Dragonair also joined in, enjoying the wonderful time of reunion.

Splash!

Water splashed everywhere!

Celebi was swimming back and forth on the water surface when it was inadvertently splashed by Strong Croc aimed at Ash.

Ash grabbed Celebi with one hand and handed it to Xiaoxia.

Celebi was flung up by Strong Croc, and in the end Ash caught it; throughout the process, it was very happy and wanted to keep playing like that.

"Their relationship with the Poké Balls is really good!"

Cheng Mei watched Ash and Xiaoxia playing with the Poké Balls, and she understood why Professor Oak had asked Ash to deliver the elf egg, because their relationship with the Poké Balls was so good, and Brock also told her that Ash had already obtained eight Badges, preparing to join the Silver Conference, his strength was quite good, so the task of escorting the elf egg would surely be completed well, without any mishap.

Regarding the matter of Lugia, Brock said it more vaguely, not revealing that Ash was the Rainbow Hero; Cheng Mei still felt shocked that Ash could capture Lugia.

Xiaoxia watched herself and Ash playing happily inside the Black Light Screen, and she felt a twinge of regret, thinking that she had been too arrogant back then, not really playing with Ash.

They often teased each other, but at crucial moments they still cared for each other, just didn't show it, or perhaps back then neither side paid much attention.

Thinking about what she and Ash had gone through, although they usually quarreled and teased each other a lot, Ash was straightforward, not as reasonable as Black Satoshi, but at times Ash would also come to comfort or help her.

Recalling the noisy journey she and Ash had traveled together, she unconsciously laughed out loud.

Still, Ash was cuter back then!