He knows Pokémon better than me.

Seeing that the cracking sound was completely blocked, Nie Zi launched another attack:
"Use sonic blast!!"

This time, the vibrato salamander wasn't playing its body like a guitar; instead, it opened its mouth as wide as possible and unleashed a sonic boom, the surging power distorting the air in its path.

This time, it's a concentrated, one-on-one attack.

Furthermore, the sonic boom also gains the "Punk Rock" attribute bonus, making it extremely powerful.

"The long-haired troll is spouting threats!"

However, the mischievous hairy troll, even when it strikes second, is still faster.

After muttering a string of curses, he suddenly pulled back to Mary's waist.

boom!
Vulture Nash has returned and has recovered from the previous "Farewell Gift" nerf.

Boom boom boom——!
Thanks to the light wall's damage reduction, they managed to withstand the attack.

"Na"

Bald Eagle Na took off again, shaking her head, feeling a little dizzy from the sonic boom.

However, the trembling salamander was clearly in a worse situation.

Having endured the "threat words," this time its special attack has been reduced.

"Black gaze!"

Vulturena's dark gaze was a flirtatious wink that sent a shiver down the spine of the trembling salamander.

"Discharge!!"

The latter wanted to deliver a more effective blow, but Vulture Na was faster, throwing the bone club again, which was insulated and attracted and intercepted all the lightning.

"Bone with the bone stick!"

In mid-air, Vulturena hurled the bone club with great force, hitting the Trembling Salamander with pinpoint accuracy.

With a strike four times more powerful than normal, the trembling salamander was sent flying and crashed heavily to the ground.

With a single strike, the trembling salamander was reduced to a flickering candle in the wind.

"Is it all calculated?"

Ash was secretly surprised; Marnie had been winning the sibling battle the whole time.

"Voice cracks!!"

The tremolo salamander unleashed another electric guitar-like boom. This sonic boom-like electric-attribute move was not something that the bone club could easily conduct electricity to block.

However, with the trembling salamander uttering harsh words and her side having a light wall to reduce damage, Marilyn simply ignored the defense completely.

"Do it again, beat me with the bone stick!"

Despite being struck by the distorted sound, Vulturena narrowed her eyes and forcefully threw the bone club out again.

Their attacks landed squarely on each other, and struck by the sonic boom, Vulture Na fell to the ground in a somewhat disheveled state.

"Use the feather perch to your advantage!!"

Mary was also very fast. After landing, Vulture immediately spread her wings flat and began to recover her strength.

Meanwhile, struck by the bone club, the trembling salamander was once again flung away.

After being hit by two consecutive attacks that were four times more effective than its own, the Vibrating Salamander finally couldn't hold on any longer. Its head tilted to the side, and its eyes turned into circles.

"Trembling Salamander, incapacitated!"

The drone Rotom immediately spoke up, saying that Nie Zi only had one Pokémon left.

The black and red flames around Nie Zi grew even more intense. This time, not only Xiao Zhi, but also Marie and a group of cheering team members around them could see it and whispered among themselves.

"what is that?"

Mary's eyes widened, and she instinctively looked to Ash for help.

After seeing Ash raise his hand, signaling to continue the battle, Marnie finally calmed down.

He was now absolutely certain of the source of these blackish-red flames—

Flame bird!
To be more precise, it should be Galarian Moltres! He did encounter it once by chance while traveling in the Kalos region; it was a Dark-type Moltres.

The gushing black and red flames were not actual burning flames, but rather possessed a unique power that influenced the minds of the surrounding creatures.

So it was this guy's fault that caused Mary's brother to fall into this "possessed" state?

"That firebird should be around here, right?"

Ash has activated his Aura and is searching everywhere for Galarian Moltres.

Come to think of it, encountering a Galarian Moltres in the Galar region isn't so surprising.

To restore Nie Zi to her original state, all that's needed is to completely dispel this infuriating evil fire. After a few days of rest, there shouldn't be any major problems.

"I see."

Seeing Ash's actions, Marie immediately felt confident and focused on the battle.

boom!boom!
In the final battle, Nie Zi's trump card was naturally the blocking bear. With his arms crossed and tongue sticking out, he looked extremely arrogant.

And Marie's Pokémon—

Headscarf thug!

The fighting moves it unleashes are four times more effective against Block Bear, and also provide a 1/4 reduction in damage to Block Bear's moves, making it extremely targeted.

"Block the bear, use a cross cleave!!"

Unable to use any Dark-attribute moves, Nie Zi launched a melee charge.

However, the bandana-wearing thug was clearly more skilled in using fighting techniques:

"Kick him down!!"

The hooded thug, being smaller, immediately slid out, avoiding his opponent's fierce slash and grappling.

Instead, he kicked the bear in the toe, causing the bear to clutch its leg and scream in pain.

Four times the restraint, with remarkable results.

"And then, a flying knee kick!!"

The hooded thug leaped up from the ground and slammed his knee into the chin of the blocking bear, sending it flying and crashing heavily to the ground.

The effect is remarkable!

Although the power of a flying knee kick from below is greatly reduced—

Similarly, there is no longer the risk of "severe counter-damage if you miss".

As an expert in the Dark type as well, Marnie naturally had to be wary of Obscurus's signature move, "Block".

It can be said that the longer the battle went on, the more Nie Zi's side was suppressed.

It was noticed that as the bandana thugs continued to attack and block Xiong, the black and red sheen on Nie Zi's body was also slowly diminishing.

Mary's eyes lit up, her face showing excitement and impatience. She immediately escalated the beating, beating her brother to a pulp.

"Continue, feint attack followed by close combat!!"

The hooded thug rushed forward, first using a feint to trick the blocking bear into lowering its arms and dispelling the "blocking" state.

boom! boom! boom!
Then, his fists and lower limbs rained down on the blocking bear's body like a storm, the four-fold restraint of the attack made every punch in close combat a critical hit!
"Mix it all!!"

With a shout from the hooded thug, he finished with a powerful punch, sending the blocking bear flying.

This time, it even bumped into Nie Zi behind it, and both the man and the bear fell to the ground in a sorry state.

"Ah! Are you alright, brother?!"

Mary then came to her senses and seemed to have inexplicably become anxious herself, so she quickly ran over to check on her.

Amidst the smoke and dust, Dulan Xiong and Nie Zi lay sprawled on the ground, their eyes darting around.

"Bear is unable to battle! Therefore, this gym battle is won by Marie!"

The drone Rotom wasn't penalized for "intentionally attacking the trainer," as it was an unexpected situation, and a normal judgment was still given. (End of Chapter)