novelraw Chapter 311 Arrival at Ponkan Island, an island known as the Crystal Island.
Chapter 311 Arrival at Ponkan Island, an island known as the Crystal Island.
Chapter 311 Arrival at Ponkan Island, an island known as the Crystal Island.
After the new trio was formed, Ash and his friends stayed on Pomfret Island for a while before riding Lapras to their next destination.
Their destination was, of course, Asia Island in the Orange Islands.
However, traveling from Penggan Island to Asia Island takes a considerable amount of time; they need to make frequent stops and rest along the way.
Actually, if they challenged Southern Cross, they could easily make their way to Asia Island, but Ash barely had time to do so, even though challenging Southern Cross shouldn't have been too difficult for him at his current level.
Rather than challenging the Southern Cross, the most urgent tasks are to find Lugia's parents, Laplace's clan, and Cynthia's whereabouts.
Ash also told Serena about the search for Lugia. After all, Serena had joined the team, so he naturally wouldn't hide anything from her. He did the same when Brock was around, and he did the same for Serena.
However, when Brock first joined the team, Ash didn't tell him about the Rainbow Wing. But now, when Serena first joined the team, Ash told her about the existence of Lugia and their search for Lugia.
This was certainly not Ash being fickle because of his attraction to Serena. Rather, their goal this time was to find Lugia, so there was no need to hide this from Serena. Besides, Serena's behavior upon first meeting her made Ash and Misty trust this little girl they had just met.
With such character, it's impossible for someone to have any designs on mythical beasts or harbor any ill intentions.
When Serena learned that Ash was going to find Lugia, she was initially completely bewildered, not because she was shocked, but because she genuinely didn't know what kind of Pokémon Lugia was.
She was truly shocked when she learned that Lugia was being compared to Xerneas, the god of life, and Yveltal, the god of death, from their Carlos region.
Even though Serena is a novice trainer, how could she not know the legends surrounding those two in the Kalos region? And Ash not only has one, but he's even looking for another one. Is this Ash's story?
No wonder Ash said he wanted to take her to see something big. This is definitely a big event! Who gets to see a legendary Pokémon on their first trip, let alone head straight for one? (Ash: That's right, it's me.)
After learning the purpose of the trip, Serena became even more nervous. She was very worried that she, as a newcomer, might hold Ash back. If Ash failed to achieve his goal because of her, she might feel guilty for the rest of her life.
Ash and Misty both said it didn't matter. Everyone has to start as a newbie. Don't be fooled by Ash's current prowess; he's actually just a newbie who's been traveling for less than a year. The reason he's gotten to where he is today is purely because he's grown faster.
Actually, he's still a newcomer, not much different from Serena.
These were the words Ash used to comfort Serena. Although it was better not to comfort her at all, it did ease Serena's tense mood a little.
Three days later, Ash and his friends arrived at a new island called Orange Island. The island had a similar name to the island they had been on before, but it was a completely different place.
This island is famous for its crystal craftsmanship. The street vendors all display lifelike crystal carvings, which come in all shapes and sizes, but are all designed in the style of fairies.
Xiaoxia and Serena were captivated by the crystal carvings along the roadside. Girls are always drawn to sparkly things, especially when these crystal carvings are so beautifully crafted.
Since we're just here to rest and renovate, buying some crystals to send back as decorative items is a good idea. Consider it buying some local specialties for home, even if they're not food items.
"Salina, what do you think of this mosquito coil frog sculpture? Look at the pattern, it's exactly like the mosquito coil inside the mosquito coil frog!"
"Mmm, it's really pretty! Xia, you really like water-type spirits, don't you?"
"Yes, I'm going to be a Water-type Pokémon Master!" Misty said confidently, clutching the crystal carving of Poliwag.
"It's so good to have your own goals—" Serena's beautiful eyes sparkled with an inexplicable light. She envied Xia, who had her own life goals, unlike her, who was still confused about what she wanted to do in the future.
During these three days, although we were drifting at sea, we went to an island every day as a transit point. However, apart from Ponkan Island, all the other islands were uninhabited.
On the deserted island, Ash and Misty train their Pokémon, and Serena naturally joins in, but she can't keep up with the intensity of their training at all.
Ash aside, the intensity of his Pokémon training is something that normal Pokémon can't achieve. Even Ash himself trains with his Pokémon, a strange behavior that Serena has never seen before. The Pokémon training tutorials on TV never mentioned that trainers should train together.
After all, trainers are just humans! How can humans be compared to Pokémon? But Ash can.
Serena was stunned when she saw Ash and his Pokémon performing those inhuman actions and training. Her understanding of Ash only existed when they were children. Back then, Ash was indeed very strong, but he wasn't this terrifying!
As for the news about Ash on TV, it always talks about how strong Ash is at training Pokémon and how amazing his talent is, but it never says how abnormal Ash himself is.
But that's to be expected, since Ash's physical abilities have never been shown to the public. The only time he did have such a fleeting moment of brilliance was overshadowed by the prowess of Ash's Abandoned.
Therefore, apart from those close to Ash, no one else knew that Ash possessed superhuman physical abilities.
Although Serena couldn't keep up with Ash and Misty's training, Ash still devised a training plan for Fennekin. He's no longer a clueless newbie, and even though he's never seen Fennekin before, the training methods for Fire-type Pokémon are pretty much the same.
He also created special recipes for fire-type spirits to enhance their firepower. In just three days, the fire fox underwent a complete transformation.
Not only has its level increased to Normal, but more importantly, it now has a certain level of combat ability. Previously, neither Charizard nor Serena knew anything about Pokémon battles. To put it bluntly, at the same level, Ash could easily defeat ten Charizards with Pikachu.
Pokémon battles depend on the trainer's command skills, the Pokémon's combat prowess, the Pokémon's overall strength, and the most ethereal bond between the trainer and the Pokémon.
The difference in skill level between the first four can basically determine the outcome of a match. The only uncertain factor is the last one. The power of bonds represents the power of miracles. In times of desperation, this power may become the key to turning the tide.
However, such things are still too far away for Serena and Fire Fox. They are just new partners who have just started dating. There is some bond between them, but not much.
Xiaoxia chose a mosquito coil frog, while Serena wanted a fire fox sculpture, but there weren't any of those sculptures available here.
After all, the Fire Fox is a spirit from the Kalos region; why would people living in the Orange Islands make spirits from the Kalos region?
A sculpture of the spirit?
But it's not a big problem. This can be made on-site based on the elf's template, it's just a bit more expensive.
The mosquito coil frog crystal sculpture in Xiaoxia's hand only costs 1,500 yuan, but if it were made on the spot, it would cost at least 2,000 yuan or more. The more exquisite the sculpture, the more expensive it is.
This thing is called crystal, but it's actually just glass and not carved from real crystal.
Just think about it, crystals are incredibly expensive! A piece the size of a palm might cost tens of thousands of dollars, and that Poliwag is about the size of two of Ash's hands. If you calculate it based solely on the price of crystals, it would probably cost over fifty thousand dollars.
The larger the crystal, the more its price increases exponentially.
A glass product can sell for a high price of 1,500. Seventy percent of the value comes from the craftsmanship, twenty-nine percent from the elven appearance, and only one percent from the value of the glass itself.
Of course, for Ash, this amount of money is nothing at all. Ever since he invented the rosemary for forging, he should never be short of money in his life.
Now he's given the card that receives money to Hanako for safekeeping. Satoshi doesn't care how much money is in it; he's just not worried about spending it.
Serena wanted a Fiery Fox, so she needed to find a place to have it carved. Ash originally offered to pay for it, but Serena insisted on paying for it herself, since her relationship with Ash was not like that of Misty.
They've only been traveling together for a few days, and Xiao Zhi is already spending two thousand yuan on her. And that's the minimum; even a custom-made sculpture with good craftsmanship probably wouldn't cost two thousand yuan. She definitely can't let Xiao Zhi pay for it.
Ash was somewhat helpless in the face of Serena's stubbornness, but he could understand her thoughts to some extent. Two thousand dollars was nothing to him, but in terms of value, it was not a small amount. It was not just two dollars!
Serena had just joined the team, so of course she wouldn't accept such a gift. She wasn't the kind of person who could comfortably spend other people's money, especially since it was Ash.
After deciding what kind of sculpture they wanted, the three of them began to wander around the town, thinking of finding a sculpture shop with good craftsmanship to make it. Ash also wanted to make a Pikachu.
As the three were strolling down the street, they heard a quarrel coming from ahead.
"Why is your shop still open! You don't sell anything, and you're just taking up space. This is making it so that no customers come to my shop. It's bad luck!" A middle-aged man shouted at a little girl.
Apart from Xiaozhi and his two companions, there was no one else around. Just as the middle-aged man had said, there wasn't a single customer here.
Behind the little girl was a shop stall with only some simple glass products, such as glass bottles and glass bowls—a pitifully small number of glass products compared to those made by other shops.
Moreover, this shop doesn't have any fairy-themed glass products, so it's normal that it doesn't have any business in this world where fairies reign supreme.
But this is not a reason for an adult to intimidate a little girl.
Xiao Zhi rushed forward and stood in front of the little girl: "Let's talk this out. What did she do to you? Did she block your business or drive away your customers?"
"Do you know her?" Seeing Xiao Zhi standing menacingly in front of the little girl, the middle-aged man thought that an acquaintance of the little girl had arrived. Although Xiao Zhi looked ordinary, his aura made the middle-aged man's aura weaken by three points.
"I don't know her, but you're bullying a little girl like this, what's wrong with me stepping in to help her?" Xiao Zhi was both unreasonable and arrogant, basically saying, "I'm going to help, I'm going to help, what are you going to do about it!"
The middle-aged man rolled his eyes: "If I didn't know you, why are you meddling in other people's business!"
"Did she do something wrong?"
"Look at their glass exhibits, that's all they have. They have the nerve to open a shop like this. They're ruining my business."
Xiaozhi: ? ? ?
"I've heard of situations where a neighboring business is doing well, causing your own business to suffer, but this is the first time I've ever heard of a neighboring business failing, causing your own business to fail!"
The explanation that your business is bad because the businesses next door are doing well and are stealing your customers is quite reasonable. But why can you blame others for the bad business next door?!
"I sell glass repair and decoration products here, and they don't have many glass products at all, which means I don't have any business. Is there anything unreasonable about that?"
Xia and Serena, who arrived later, were stunned. What kind of domineering logic is this? There's a limit to slander!
How can you blame this on a little girl?
Ash stared speechlessly at the middle-aged man without saying a word, while Pikachu on his shoulder glared back with deadpan eyes. This kind of person was beyond reasoning with; he simply wouldn't listen.
The middle-aged man felt a little uneasy under the gazes of Ash and Pikachu, and he also felt that what he said didn't seem to make much sense. However, his business had been doing poorly lately, and he had to support his family, so he was under a lot of pressure and subconsciously took his anger out on others.
It was obviously impossible for him to apologize, so he could only angrily leave with the words, "You'd better move out quickly," before returning to his shop.
"Thank you so much!" The little girl timidly thanked Ash and his friends, her hands behind her back.
Serena crouched down, patted the little girl's head, and smiled, "You're welcome. It was the other person's fault first. By the way, why do you have so few glass items? Did you make all of these?"
This girl looks to be less than ten years old. If she is the owner of a shop, she is certainly quite independent.
The little girl shook her head:
No, my older brother, Ah Gong, did all of this.