Chapter 20: Soccer Prodigy! Pyroar Becomes Ash

The crisis triggered by the Gigantamax Snorlax might be extremely tricky for others.

But he was Ash!

The trainer with the highest unpredictability!

On screen—

Snorlax’s Gigantamax phenomenon was not ordinary Gigantamaxing.

It was a special Ultra Gigantamax phenomenon.

Ordinary Gigantamaxing only increased a Pokémon’s size.

But Ultra Gigantamaxing additionally altered the Pokémon’s form.

For instance, the Ultra Gigantamax Snorlax now had a massive fruit tree growing from its belly!

The train was about to collide with the Ultra Gigantamax Snorlax.

“Ash, what can we do?!”

Seeing the train moments from impact, Xiaochun completely panicked—this was a train.

If it collided, nearly everyone aboard would perish.

Ash furrowed his brow but quickly devised a solution.

Ash himself owned a Snorlax, and Snorlax was extremely sensitive to food.

All they needed was to let Snorlax catch the scent of food.

No time to hesitate—action began immediately!

“Xiaochun, get farther away!”

With that, Ash swiftly circled around Snorlax.

Not only was Xiaochun utterly baffled.

Even the audience was completely lost.

What was Ash doing?

Yet the next moment, his next move stunned everyone.

“Pikachu, I’m sorry—but you’ll have to bear with this!”

“Pikachu!”

Pikachu raised a tiny hand and gave an OK sign.

In a single glance between Ash and Pikachu, both instantly understood each other’s intent.

Thereupon, Pikachu rapidly curled its body into a tight ball.

And coated its tail with a metallic sheen,

This was Iron Tail.

Ash scooped up Pikachu and rapidly stepped back, then suddenly accelerated.

As he charged forward, Ash forcefully hurled Pikachu into the air.

Immediately after, Ash leaped high into the air and forcefully rubbed his right foot against Pikachu's Iron Tail!

"Ding!"

The clash of metal against metal echoed throughout the entire world.

The spherical Pikachu traced a graceful arc and landed precisely in front of the fruit on the giant Oran Berry tree.

"Now! Pikachu, Iron Tail!"

After landing, Ash's gaze immediately locked onto Pikachu.

He saw the Pikachu, which had been curled into a ball, instantly return to its normal form and effortlessly slice the fruit on the tree with a single Iron Tail.

"Great job! Knock the fruit away!"

Ash shouted excitedly!

Yes! The plan was a huge success!

Everything was proceeding very smoothly.

The fruit flew past Snorlax's nose and away.

Snorlax, having smelled the food, also woke from its deep sleep.

At the very last moment before the train was about to hit it, Snorlax moved off the tracks.

[Brock: !!!]

[Brock: Even though I've seen Ash's outrageous moves before, this is way too outrageous!]

[Gary: Kicking a steel tail like that, doesn't your foot hurt!]

[Eleki: So cool! This move should be called Spiral Flash Super Wheel Roar Style Three! Damn it! Why did I ever let Pikachu evolve into Raichu back then!]

[Ash: So you can do that too! Pikachu, let's try it next time! This move looks really cool!]

[Long Du: Is that all you care about? Didn't you notice the sound just now? That was completely steel colliding with steel!]

[Ma Shide: Excellent, excellent! Truly a innate Martial Arts Saint Body! Young friend, when you go to Galar, you must visit the Isle of Armor. I will impart all my life's learning to you!]

[Leon: Master, I am your disciple!]

[Ma Shide: Outer sect!]

Ash's outrageous move was simply too outrageous, leaving everyone unable to recover!

What kind of body could possibly unleash such power!

And so, you were circling Snorlax just to find an angle!

Just like you!

Ash!

In the scene—

"Toot-toot~"

The train blew its long whistle and passed by Ash.

The Conductor even tipped his hat in salute to Ash.

In a corner that no one noticed, a Scorbunny that had stowed away on the train took in the entire scene.

So you can do that too!

This human!

So amazing!

I must become his disciple and learn the most powerful foot technique!

To become the most powerful Cinderace!

Master! You must wait for me!

The train passed.

Only then did Chloe breathe a sigh of relief.

"That was amazing, Ash, and you too, Pikachu."

Chloe looked at Ash with burning eyes; that gaze already carried admiration!

"I'm not that amazing."

Ash humbly deflected, though in truth it was just a sudden flash of inspiration.

After all, using any other method truly would have been too late; he was just taking a gamble.

Fortunately, Ash gambled correctly.

After the interlude, the two traveled around Galar.

Along the way, they witnessed all sorts of Dynamax phenomena.

Ash became even more curious about Dynamax.

Motostoke.

While resting at the inn, Ash received an email.

It was a battle invitation from the Battle Frontier in Hoenn.

"How could this be? I just arrived in Galar."

Facing this sudden invitation, Ash was very troubled.

He had come to Galar without catching a single Pokémon yet!

"Should I ask Chloe's opinion? Should we go to Hoenn first?" Ash asked Pikachu's opinion.

Pikachu looked utterly exhausted.

Master, stop talking! It's time to sleep!

Ash had only asked Pikachu symbolically; in the end, he decided to discuss it with Chloe.

Xia Chun was his traveling companion, so changing regions suddenly naturally required asking for her opinion.

He got off the bed and pushed open the door.

Ash suddenly froze for a moment.

A Pokémon he had never seen before appeared at his doorway.

"Beep, Rotom, Scorbunny, the Rabbit Pokémon, is Fire-type. Once battle-ready, heat radiates from its nose or the pads on its feet; it is said its hind legs bring good luck."

The Rotom Phone in Ash's hand reported at the right moment.

The door opened, and the moment it saw Ash...

Scorbunny was so excited it nearly cried!

"Chuu!"

Master!

"Pika?"

Hearing the commotion, Pikachu, who had been lying on the bed, reluctantly got up again.

Dodging around Ash's legs, Pikachu froze instantly!

What did you do to her!

Pikachu looked at Scorbunny kneeling before it in disbelief!

"I don't know! As soon as I opened the door, it was right there," Ash hurriedly explained.

He didn't want Pikachu to think he was a pervert who bullied Pokémon!

Fortunately, the misunderstanding was cleared up through communication between Pikachu and Scorbunny.

After Pikachu's translation, Ash finally learned Scorbunny's purpose.

Facing Scorbunny's burning gaze, Ash felt he could not let her down.

"In that case, would you be willing to become my partner?"

Ash took out a Poké Ball and placed it before Scorbunny.

However, Scorbunny didn't hesitate for even a second and went straight into the Poké Ball.

One ding, two dings, three dings.

Three stars flashed above the Poké Ball, signifying that Ash had caught Scorbunny.

Holding this Poké Ball, Ash still felt somewhat unaccustomed.

Based on his years of traveling experience, the Fire-type starter Pokémon of the League should all follow plots of wandering or being abandoned.

Charmander, Chimchar, and Alolan Litten were all like that back then.

This was the first time one had personally come to his door for him to catch.

Is the charm of soccer really that great?