Pokémon: Dreams Come True Starting in Sinnoh

Chapter 520 Serena's Cookies, Pikachu's Strangeness

The night gently spread, gradually silencing the daytime clamor of the Lily of the Valley Tournament battlefield.

Inside a room at the Pokémon Center, warm yellow light dispelled the silence of the night. Ash, Brock, and Dawn sat together, the air still carrying a trace of the excitement and exhilaration of the day.

Today's matches were undoubtedly spectacular, especially the final battle between Ash and Hirano, which was full of violent aesthetics.

"I never expected that Ash's Charizard would get so much stronger after all this time."

Xiao Gang's tone was full of admiration, and his face was full of sincere praise, as if he had returned to the last time he met Charizard. "I still remember the last time Charizard shone brightly was when it defeated Articuno in the Battle Frontier. It seems that it really worked hard when it was training in Charizard Valley."

Xiao Guang nodded in agreement, but her focus was clearly different from Xiao Gang's; a curious light sparkled in the girl's clear eyes.

"To be honest, I'm a little curious. The opponent was Empoleon, and Charizard should have been at a disadvantage in terms of type. Why did you still choose to send Charizard into battle, Ash? Even if you wanted to involve as many of your companions as possible in the battle, isn't that a bit risky?"

Xiao Guang's question actually represented the sentiments of many audience members at the time.

It might sound unbelievable to intentionally put yourself at a disadvantage.

But Ash's lips curled into a slight smile as he explained, "Firstly, it's been a long time since I've seen Charizard. Last night, when it rushed back, it was already eager to battle. Besides, Charizard has always preferred strong opponents; it has no interest in opponents that are weaker than it. So I simply put Charizard against Hirano's ace. Moreover, I wanted to take this opportunity to properly test just how powerful Charizard has become."

He paused, a hint of excitement in his voice, "After all, the opponents in the upcoming competition will definitely get stronger and stronger. When facing them... especially Darkrai, I will probably continue to send out Charizard to fight. I will definitely need its help to win the Lily of the Valley Tournament."

Ash's voice was full of trust and expectation for Charizard.

"However, today's test results completely exceeded my expectations. Charizard's growth rate is much faster than I imagined. And after today's battle, I tested it, and it seems to be able to perfectly control that more powerful fire force."

As Xiaozhi spoke, he fiddled with a delicate little object in his hand, which looked like a glass bead.

It was a bead that emitted an orange-red light, and from a distance, one could almost feel the surging energy within it.

Just as Xiao Guang and Xiao Gang were about to ask.

The door to the room suddenly made two soft sounds, and then was gently pushed open.

Serena walked in carrying a tray with several cups of hot cocoa that smelled sweet and cloying.

"Thank you for your hard work. I just prepared some drinks and cookies. Come and have some."

Serena, with a gentle smile on her face, handed the drinks to Ash and the others one by one.

The movements were gentle and delicate, as if afraid of breaking the tranquil atmosphere of the scene.

"Thanks, I'm actually a little hungry." After taking the drink, Xiao Zhi suddenly realized that his stomach was growling with hunger, so he smiled and thanked him.

"You are welcome."

Serena smiled sweetly, then took out a delicate little box from under the tray that had been hidden, and handed it to Ash.

"Here, these are cookies I just made in the Pokémon Center's kitchen. Ash, please try them and see how they taste!"

Xiao Zhi took the box and opened it. Inside were various cute-shaped, golden-yellow cookies, each one emitting an enticing sweet aroma.

He picked up a piece, put it in his mouth, and took a small bite.

"It's delicious."

Xiao Zhi's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed in sincere admiration.

"After a long day, you really need something sweet."

Serena's smile became even brighter after hearing Ash's praise.

She stood behind Xiaozhi, saying softly that if it was delicious, then she was relieved, and handed the box of cookies to Xiaogang and Xiaoguang so that they could try some too.

Xiao Guang took the cookie, thanked him, and a smile appeared on his lips.

However, his smile seemed somewhat forced, and he glanced unconsciously at Serena standing next to Ash out of the corner of his eye before quickly looking away.

Is that another trick? I was careless...

Serena didn't notice Dawn's subtle change in expression, and naturally sat down in the empty seat next to Ash, making the atmosphere in the room even more "warm and harmonious".

however.

Just as she took her seat, Serena suddenly exclaimed "Eh!", breaking the atmosphere.

She looked at Pikachu sitting next to Ash and said with some doubt, "Ash, doesn't Pikachu look a little strange...?"

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes turned to Pikachu.

Pikachu, which had been obediently lying behind Ash, was now tilting its head in confusion, but that wasn't the point.

The key point is that the area around Pikachu's iconic electric sacs on both sides of its cheeks suddenly began to emit faint golden arcs of electricity.

The electric arc is so small that it is almost imperceptible if you don't look closely.

It's clear that even Pikachu itself didn't notice this.

It only noticed the abnormality of its body after Serena mentioned it. It tilted its little head and curiously scratched its electric sac with its paw.

Xiao Zhi's heart skipped a beat; he seemed to have seen this situation before.

So he immediately went over to check on Pikachu.

"Let me take a look."

Xiao Zhi said softly.

He then slowly closed his eyes, concentrated, and gently placed his hand on Pikachu's head.

An invisible wave slowly emanated from Ash's palm, and the power of aura was gradually spreading from Pikachu's head throughout its entire body.

As Ash delved deeper into the power of the aura, he quickly realized what Pikachu had gone through.

Shortly after the Aura entered Pikachu's body, Ash could clearly feel the surging power within Pikachu, and the source of this surging power was the Electric Ball that had merged into Pikachu's body.

When I last observed that electric sphere, it was only about half-fused. How long has it been?

As a result, it ended up looking about 80-90% like Pikachu.

The reason why electric sacs on Pikachu's cheeks emit electric arcs is because the electric ball has greatly increased the amount of electricity stored in Pikachu's body, making it almost impossible for Pikachu to hold it all.

"Did they arrive so quickly this time...?"

Ash's murmured words drew puzzled looks from the others.

.......