After leaving Littleroot Town with Misty, Xia You headed toward Petalburg City once again.
In just a few days, he had traveled back and forth along this road several times. He could safely say that he was far more familiar with the surroundings than many Pokémon Trainers native to the Hoenn Region!
The two crossed the open fields. Here on this continent, Misty was just like Xia You when he first arrived, looking all around and finding everything new and interesting.
But after looking around for a while, she realized that apart from some differences in the Pokémon, this place was basically no different from Johto or even Kanto.
The mountains were the same mountains, and the trees were the same trees.
Once her excitement faded a little, Misty settled down and turned her attention to Xia You, chatting with him as they walked.
When Xia You asked about Ash's plans, Misty thought for a moment and said, "When I left, I heard he was getting ready to set off too. He should arrive in Hoenn tomorrow or the day after. But I heard he left all his Pokémon at Professor Oak's Laboratory this time. It sounds like he's setting off on his own with just Pikachu."
This came as no surprise. After all, Ash kept to this pattern on his later journeys as well. Whether he went to Sinnoh, Kalos, or somewhere else, he generally traveled light with Pikachu as his only Pokémon.
In fact, even Xia You had handed his Celebi to Erika when she returned to Kanto this time, asking her to take Celebi back to the Celadon Gym and look after Celebi for the time being.
Just like leaving the Legendary Birds with Sabrina, this both served as a token of the bond between him and