Chapter 79: Bai Xiao Zhi's Crystal Conference Journey!

Musashi and Kojiro may not succeed in anything, but they are fiercely loyal to Team Rocket, constantly trying to capture that strong Pikachu; although they lack strength, their attitude is absolutely fine, they devote themselves entirely to Team Rocket and even think about 'capturing' Poké Balls to make themselves happy.

Ever since those three saved me last time, I haven't been strict with them anymore.

Sakaki watched the Team Rocket Trio get blown away by Pikachu's electricity; now he finally sees their efforts, realizing how determined they are.

I used to think their constant mission failures were due to lack of ability, but now seeing the Team Rocket Trio face a Legendary Trainer, just persisting is already impressive!

At this moment, the Team Rocket Trio are still accusing Black Satoshi's behavior, wondering why they let Pikachu unleash 100,000 Volts the moment they see them.

【Xiao Guang: How can Team Rocket even compare to Bagon?】

【Ash: Haha, Bagon doesn't need to be afraid anymore; Garchomp has fully mastered Meteor Shower, so it shouldn't make mistakes.】

Whether Garchomp will slip up is uncertain; if Bagon were present, it would probably make a mistake.

The White Light Curtain then lit up.

Ash and his group are about to arrive at the competition venue of the Poké Ball League—the Crystal Plateau.

They happened to catch the Sacred Fire relay event of the conference and participated in the torch relay. Since the Sacred Fire comes from the legendary Pokémon Moltres, Team Rocket wanted to steal the Sacred Fire to sell for money, so they caused trouble during the relay.

Although Team Rocket stole the Sacred Fire, they didn't expect it to actually be Moltres transformed, so Team Rocket got a harsh lesson from Moltres.

The aloof Moltres dealt with Team Rocket, then silently turned back into the blazing Sacred Fire—truly coming and going in a hurry.

【Da Ye: Sacred Fire is Moltres???】

【Yuan Zhi: Tsk tsk, a tournament guarded by divine beasts—this looks even more sacred; I expect the next edition will be a hit.】

【Dan Di: This really gets the blood boiling; looking at the trainers at the Crystal Conference, I want to jump in and compete!】

【Qi Ba Na: Don't worry, Dan Di can't make it to the Crystal Conference!】

【Ash: Why?】

【Qi Ba Na: Because Dan Di gets lost; he can't find the way.】

?

Those familiar with Dan Di all know this.

【Ma Shi De: Heh heh, I don't know if the old man can join; it's been ages since I've seen an energetic young trainer!】

【Dan Di: I look forward to seeing more new trainers!】

White Light Curtain—

After settling the disturbance caused by Team Rocket, the Crystal League Grand Tournament finally began smoothly; the competition rules are simple—single elimination.

Bai Xiao Zhi's first battle took place on a water field; he sent out the Big Pincer Crab he had previously captured in close combat, while the opponent was Exeggutor. Although the Big Pincer Crab could have used the field to its advantage, Exeggutor's sleep ability could control water, depriving the crab of a hiding place.

The Big Pincer Crab endured the opponent's attacks, then finished with a Crab Punch to defeat Exeggutor, delivering a perfect opening blow—as the saying goes, "All beginnings are hard"; it managed to get through the first battle, which is still quite good.

Moreover, the Big Pincer Crab that defeated Exeggutor evolved into a Giant Pincer Crab through this battle.

After evolving, the Giant Pincer Crab grew bolder with each fight, easily defeating the opponent's second Pokémon; things went smoothly at first, but unexpectedly the foe brought out a flying Crobat. Though they entered a tough struggle, who would have thought the Giant Pincer Crab still had the Hyper Beam ultimate move? It directly knocked out the Crobat.

However, no matter how strong the Giant Pincer Crab is, it can't win forever; it eventually lost to an Arcanine in a later battle, then sent out Squirtle and Pikachu to fight, narrowly securing a second victory!

【Ma Zhishi: Not bad, a winning start; for Ash it's no difficulty, especially Pikachu—no wonder it defeated my Raichu, that's how strong it is!】

【Tie Xuan: Tsk, it's just to boost your Raichu, right.】

【Misty: The Big Pincer Crab looks tiny, but I didn't expect it to be so strong, and even know Hyper Beam!】

【Ju Zi: Bai Xiao Zhi's Big Pincer Crab relies entirely on Professor Da Mu's training; it's sure to be strong—I bet Da Mu put a lot of thought into it.】

【Doctor Da Mu: Not bad; mainly the Big Pincer Crab itself is strong—although it's small in size, it has the heart to become stronger, and it trains seriously day to day.】

While they were talking, Bai Xiao Zhi's third match had already begun.

Reverse Attribute Opening!

Bulbasaur versus Beedrill!

But Bulbasaur nimbly dodged Beedrill's attacks, then used a combination of Leech Seed and Tackle to take down Beedrill.

Thereafter, the unstoppable Bulbasaur also defeated Scyther.

Miss Xiao Cui and the Pokémon of Poké Ball Village, upon seeing Bulbasaur battling on the field, all cheered for it!

Thank you, Ash, for bringing Bulbasaur to a bigger stage to show itself.

But then the opponent sent out a Bellsprout, which at first made those present think this Bellsprout was just there to fill numbers; Bellsprout is very strong—one Leaf Blade can cleave rock, not to mention its expertise in various fighting techniques, essentially a Fighting-type Pokémon, and by using the takedown move it smashed Bulbasaur with no chance to retaliate.

Ash sent out Pikachu to counter; by grounding, Bellsprout could directly avoid Pikachu's electric moves—once the electric attacks were ineffective, Pikachu went into melee with Bellsprout, only to be kicked and defeated by it!

【Lily: Wow, what a powerful Bellsprout!!!】

【Cai Zhong: A Bellsprout skilled in fighting moves—that kick must really hurt.】

The Bellsprout that finally appeared surprised everyone, actually managing to defeat Ash's ace Pikachu.

Finally, Ash sent out a Grimer he had never used before.

Grimer happened to counter Bellsprout; Bellsprout's high-power Leaf Blade was directly buffered by Grimer's bodily traits.

Moreover, Bellsprout's fighting techniques had no effect on Grimer; in the end, Grimer defeated it with Mountain Crush.

The battlefield also shifted from the four major fields to the Main Venue Crystal Stadium.

The next day, due to Team Rocket's meddling, Ash met A Hong, and together they reclaimed the Pokémon taken by Team Rocket; unexpectedly, they became opponents in the next battle.

When the competition day arrived, Team Rocket planned to cause trouble again, and Pikachu and Pidgeot had already been drained of much stamina; furthermore, Charizard facing A Hong's Pikachu had zero fighting spirit, so Ash simply gave up the match—and that's how it ended!

"I think we can skip the bullet hell for now!"

Musashi knows his limits—after all, it's their meddling that left the little brat unable to handle battles.

Xiao Cilang and Miao Miao also, in unison, didn't look.