Xia You and the others left the stands and waited at the Contestant Entrance for a while before finally seeing a dejected Ash emerge with heavy steps.
Seeing him like that, Max, May, and the others swallowed all the encouraging words they had just prepared.
There was no helping it. Ash simply looked far too downcast!
When no one spoke, Xia You was about to say something first, only for a figure to flash past him as Misty strode toward Ash!
Despite her ten-year-old body, she walked with the imposing air of a powerhouse!
Startled by her presence, everyone turned their eyes toward her. With a stern expression, she suddenly raised her right hand menacingly and swung it toward Ash's face!
What!?
The sudden turn of events startled them all, and they watched helplessly as Misty's palm came down.
Even Ash froze in fright, standing dumbly in place and forgetting to dodge!
But when her palm was only a few centimeters from Ash, Misty suddenly stopped without striking his face.
Huh?
Bewildered by what Misty had done, Ash looked at her in confusion.
"M-Misty, what are you doing?"
Honestly, she had given him quite a fright. Knowing Misty's temper, he had thought she really would hit him, never expecting her to stop at the very last moment!
"Oh, come on." Misty narrowed her eyes at him and snorted. "So you can make other faces after all? I thought you'd left your soul back in the Battle Arena."
Ash's face immediately flushed red. "I... I just... I just..."
"You just what?" Misty called him out directly. "You lost, so you lost. Why the long face? So what if you were eliminated? What's the big deal? It just means you weren't good enough. If the problem was with you, then all you