He knows Pokémon better than me.

Chapter 4258 Mary's Gift

In the evening, Ash waited for a while in the southern part of Motostoke, outside the steps leading to the Dragon Head statue.

A vulture, Na, descended slowly into the night.

"Long time no see, Ash~"

After getting off Vulturena, Mary greeted her.

The flight across half of the Galar region had left her cheeks flushed.

"Hehe, long time no see, Mary~!"

Xiao Zhi smiled and waved, noticing that the latter had already changed out of his yellow and black martial arts uniform.

She put her pink mini dress back on, topped with a cool black studded jacket.

—Still sporting that rebellious and cool girl look.

They weren't carrying any heavy luggage. After a brief greeting, the two walked side by side toward the Pokémon Center.

Mary checked into the room and prepared to chat while having dinner.

It was lunchtime, and the public restaurant was quite crowded. The two found a quiet spot by the window and sat down, and the atmosphere gradually relaxed.

"How was your seclusion experience on the Isle of Armor?"

Xiao Zhi casually asked with a smile, changing the subject.

Mary raised her head and gently exhaled:

"It's alright, I've been doing high-intensity training for most of this period."

In addition to training at the martial arts school, she completed challenges in the areas surrounding Armor Island, such as the Bottom Desert and the Battle Cave.

"Aside from the Tower of Evil, I only challenged the lower floors."

Having witnessed Ash's tower-climbing challenge, she realized that the difficulty of the Twin Fist Tower lies not in climbing the tower itself.

Instead, one must comprehend Master Ma's two unique insights during the process of climbing the tower.

It's quite difficult and can't be mastered in a short time, so she had to stop her training early.

Other than this

"Right now, I'm very confident in my own and my Pokémon's abilities!"

Mary's eyes were bright. She raised her chin and spoke with a rare lighthearted and playful tone.

That's why she's already made a promise to face off against the final fistfight arena.

Xiao Zhi nodded; he was really looking forward to Mary's performance the day after tomorrow.

However, things got much more interesting when the topic turned to him.

Besides those strange and unusual encounters, he also took some time to visit the Unova region.

"Oh, right! Wait for me!"

Xiao Zhi suddenly remembered something and buried his head in his backpack, rummaging through it.

Soon, he pulled out a small, grayish-white bead from inside and handed it over with a smile.

"This is a gift for you, the bandana thug's Mega Stone~!"

This was the prize he won when he challenged Douzi to a subway battle. He thought that Mary happened to have a bandana, so he chose this one.

Mary instinctively raised her hand, but upon hearing the name, her fingertips tightened slightly, and she hesitated.

"Oh, isn't this too expensive?"

Xiao Zhi waved his hand casually and said:

"It's alright, it's nothing particularly expensive, just take it, so you don't have to look for it yourself later~"

Mary hesitated for a few seconds, then nodded slightly and accepted the Mega Stone.

She felt a mix of panic and joy, and could only manage to whisper out a sentence:

".Thanks."

Strands of hair fell down beside her ears, obscuring her slightly flushed cheeks.

Looking down at the Mega Stone in his palm, it was mostly grayish-white, but the inner arc was orange and reddish-brown, somewhat matching the bandana-wearing character's color scheme. "But a Mega Stone alone isn't enough; I'll need a Key Stone next~"

Ash laughed loudly and reminded him:

"Haha~ As for the keystone and stuff, you'll have to find it yourself~!"

In fact, the keystone is more precious.

Mary nodded and carefully put away the mega stone.

This was somewhat unexpected for her.

Should we use Mega Evolution for the upcoming Punch Arena match?

As for the Keystone Bracelet, you can borrow it from Ash for a day; it shouldn't be a problem.

Currently, it seems there are no rules prohibiting the use of multiple battle mechanics simultaneously in the Gym battles of the League Tournament.

However, in that case, she'll need to practice Mega Evolution battles in advance. Her match doesn't start until the day after tomorrow, so she still has some time.

However, when the topic turned to Ash's recent experiences, the atmosphere suddenly became somber.

"Oh? Miss Sonia has disappeared?"

Mary stopped moving, her eyes widened, and her face was full of surprise.

Xiao Zhi nodded, without hiding anything.

It's not just about Sonia; it also involves the Old Gods of Galar, the broken sword and shield, Guild Master Loz, and the colossal dragon that might reappear above Galar.

He told Mary all of this.

As his travel companion for many days, he had complete trust in Mary.

Of course, he temporarily concealed Xiaoyou's dreams—

Shouldn't this be considered Xiaoyou's privacy?

Mary listened quietly without interrupting, and only let out a long sigh at the end.

"Wow, there are such incredible things!"

She leaned back in her chair and sighed softly.

She's currently preparing for the upcoming Galar League Conference.

Suddenly, they were told that a major disaster that could affect the entire region might occur during the Alliance Conference.

Mary was a little taken aback and was still processing what was happening.

but

She suddenly raised an eyebrow, realizing she had discovered a blind spot.

Wait a minute, I think I just heard something like, "There's a girl living in Ash's castle right now?"

Judging from the description, the two seem to have a very good relationship?

Okay, that's not the point.

"So what should we do next?"

Mary frowned, a hint of worry creeping in.

Should we stop the match early?

It would be a real shame to interrupt such a long-prepared league conference.

But if it can prevent a major disaster, then we have no choice but to endure it!

However, Xiao Zhi shook his head. There was no evidence yet, so he couldn't interrupt rashly.

The two looked at each other, and the scene suddenly became the same as when Ash and Raihan stared at each other during the day.

Xiao Zhi looked up and sighed:

"For now, we can only take it one step at a time."

If President Loz can't handle this, then we should first find those two upper-class nobles and retrieve the broken sword and shield.

Even if a giant dragon were to actually appear, it would still be possible to recreate the ancient legend of "Dragon Quest".

Of course, what if even the sword and shield can't be found?

His Pikachu also knows a little bit of martial arts!

Seeing that Mary was still deep in thought with her head down, Xiao Zhi raised his hand and waved it in front of her, deliberately softening his tone:

"Alright, stop thinking about that~"

"Right now, you should focus on the gym challenge the day after tomorrow. Mr. Kibana's strength is no joke."

Although Cibana publicly stated that he would never go easy on them.

But they'll probably still put some in, right?

Otherwise, apart from Gym Leaders, there would be virtually no outsiders who could participate in the Galar League.

After all, how many geniuses like the Pill Emperor or Xiao You are there in each generation? (End of Chapter)