Chapter 25: Team Rocket helps Black Ash capture Team Rocket members!

Tie Xuan: Ma Zhishi, how are you still talking? People ask you who is the baby?

Dian Ci: Beat him with Ma Zhishi's most proud Electric-type move, and do so with overwhelming force; I estimate Ma Zhishi is feeling heartbroken for his Black World counterpart.

Xiaoju'er: It's all his own fault; just be gentle with challengers, no need to mock those who lose. Black Satoshi is just treating them his way.

Gym Leaders should decide how much of their own strength to use based on the challenger's ability, rather than going all out to defeat the challenger and then mocking them.

Now you also feel what it's like for those challengers to be mocked, right?

Ma Zhishi: Wrong, wrong, I was wrong; I was too arrogant back then, Ash gave me a lesson, and now I'm friendly toward challengers—any baby talk is a thing of the past.

Xiba: You were too arrogant, conceited, thinking that Pokémon only become strong through evolution; that's not true—Pokémon can become strong without relying on evolution. Ash and Pikachu answered this with their actions.

Brock: Yeah, I've traveled with Ash for a long time; at first Ash didn't know much about Pokémon, but he was willing to spend time with them, train together, grow stronger step by step, which is why he defeated so many Gym Leaders.

"Gym Leader Ma Zhishi, evolution isn't the only way for Pokémon to become stronger; stubbornly focusing on evolution makes Pokémon lose many things, and I think whether a Pokémon evolves isn't solely its own decision—it should ask the Pokémon's wish."

"If a Pokémon doesn't want to evolve, that's fine too—becoming stronger isn't limited to evolution; it can also grow stronger through training with its Trainer."

"Moreover, you're too harsh on challengers; even if you win, that's enough, but you also mock and strike them down. Isn't this just using your Gym Leader status to satisfy your bullying of the weak?"

Ash gave those challengers a vent; seeing Ma Zhishi's somewhat dispirited look, Ash also knew he had dealt Ma Zhishi a blow, and likely he won't continue bullying the weak.

Ma Zhishi gave out the Orange Badge, looking at Ash and Pikachu with a complex gaze, especially at Pikachu—he didn't expect his Raichu to not withstand a single hit from the pre‑evolution Pikachu.

Leaving the Withered Leaf Gym, Xiaoxia became excited, her bright big eyes looking at Ash and Pikachu.

"Pikachu, you were amazing just now!"

Just now Xiaoxia saw Pikachu knock out Raichu in one move, and she was shocked—after all, evolved Raichu is stronger than Pikachu in many ways—but thinking of Ash and Pikachu's daily training routine, it feels normal, the result of their two efforts.

"Pikachu pi!"

Pikachu felt embarrassed by the praise and shook its head.

Brock now highly approves of Ash's method of training Pokémon; Ash tailors his training to each Pokémon's different traits.

And Pikachu works very hard, holding itself to high standards, which is why it just demonstrated the power to knock out Raichu with a single 100,000‑Volt move.

Back at the Pokémon Center, Miss Joey was anxiously waiting; seeing Ash and his friends return, her gaze kept sweeping over them.

"How are the Pokémon? Are they uninjured?"

Miss Joey's expression was anxious.

"Our Pokémon are all fine."

Ash took out the Orange Badge, "Hey, Miss Joey, look what this is!"

"You got the Orange Badge?!"

Miss Joey was stunned.

"Yeah!" Ash waved his hand in front of Miss Joey.

"Miss Joey, our Pokémon are fine, but I got hurt and need you to check me out!"

Brock was engrossed in chatting with Miss Joey.

Ash, after restoring the Pokémon's energy, then took Xiaoxia to have a look around Withered Leaf City.

He had remembered from chatting with Xiaoxia that she wanted to take a boat to the city across the sea.

Selling the Moon Stone could buy three boat tickets.

"Let's go have fun on the Saint Anne, and it's headed for the tourist city of Blueport."

Ash bought three tickets; after training so many days, he went to Blueport to relax.

Even if Ash himself doesn't feel tired, he has to look after the Pokémon, Brock, and Xiaoxia, after all they're traveling together; on the road they can't constantly train and battle, they need to properly enjoy the journey with their companions.

【Kenan: Travel isn't just about training and battling; there's also the joy of journeying with friends. Black Satoshi is quite clear‑headed—he's not full of youthful vigor, and his eyes aren't solely on challenging Gyms.】

【Professor Oak: Black Satoshi is enjoying the trip, neither arrogant nor hasty, balancing work and rest, looking after his companions, and along the way he's not solely focused on challenging Gyms.】

Watching the Black Light Screen, Ash was very meticulous, remembering that he had said while getting along that he wanted to go boating and see the tourist city by the coast.

Xiaoxia felt a bit envious; if the Ash of her world were as thoughtful as the Black World's Ash, things might develop further.

Black Satoshi had just bought his tickets for the Saint Anne and was about to board when he encountered the 'disguised' Team Rocket.

They gave Ash and his friends boat tickets; Ash looked at Team Rocket suspiciously, having already seen through their disguise.

Ash and his group were very wary—there's no way such a huge pie would fall from the sky.

Though they verbally agreed with Team Rocket, after they left laughing, Ash secretly called Officer Jenny.

He knew that whenever Team Rocket shows up, something bad is bound to happen, and since they gave them boat tickets, there must be an ambush on the ship, surely aimed at his Pikachu.

After several encounters with the Team Rocket trio, Ash drew the following conclusion.

Soon after, Officer Jenny arrived with her team; since the departure time was still early, they simply conducted a thorough search of the Saint Anne.

This search actually turned up Team Rocket—many members were hiding inside, and many were arrested.

But Ash and his friends didn't see the Team Rocket trio; they probably escaped!

To thank Ash and his friends for providing the tip on Team Rocket, Officer Jenny applied to the police bureau for a reward for them.

Ash had just spent the money from selling the Moon Stone, and now it's come back, plus a little extra...... thanks to Team Rocket, huh!

Having neutralized the potential threat from Team Rocket, Officer Jenny carefully inspected the Saint Anne, confirmed it hadn't been sabotaged, and they could continue as planned!

At that moment, the Team Rocket trio, fleeing on a lifeboat, were drifting in the vast ocean due to a hull failure!

James stared blankly at the Magikarp before him!

【Xiba: The Team Rocket trio really— I'm crying, I single‑handedly caught a bunch of Team Rocket members.】

【Ash: They...... couldn't really be undercover, could they???】

【Jessie: Undercover nonsense—we three are loyal, true‑blue Team Rocket members, devoted to Team Rocket.】

【James: Damn little brats...... don't try to drive a wedge between us!】

【Meowth: Exactly, we in the Black World were just careless for a moment, never expecting the little brats there to be so vigilant.】