He knows Pokémon better than me.

Mary turned her head, her eyes widening instantly.

But behind him stood a beautiful woman dressed in green, with fashionable makeup and green leaf-shaped earrings.

Judging from his age, he's probably around 40?
"Are you Master Ma's wife?"

Even the usually aloof Mary was somewhat surprised and stammered.

How many years apart are these two people?

"Haha, true love knows no age, and it doesn't distinguish between humans and Pokémon!"

Honey Leaf tucked her hair back, seemingly enjoying everyone's surprised expressions upon first hearing the news.

"Marie, right? Come with me, I'll take you to your dorm first. Our martial arts gym has completely separate dorms for men and women!"

Honey Leaf happily led the way.

"Happiness~!"

A cute little egg followed behind her, waving its little hand before coming up and giving her a warm hug.

After giving Ash a look from a distance, Mary quickly followed.

Master Ma had already said that there was no need to stay in the martial arts gym. He suggested finding a bed first, and then he and Ash could camp outside.

The dojo's corridor was long and narrow, and Mary took the opportunity to gather information.

I had never heard of Master Ma having such a young and beautiful wife before.

"Hehe, I used to be a businessman too!"

Honey was quite eager to share, and she talked non-stop about her love story with Ma Shide the whole way—

She was originally the president of a trading company, traveling all over the world, when she met Mastedt in the Galar region and fell in love at first sight.

Then, they got married in a flash.

For things like the construction, operation, and promotion of the martial arts school, Ma Shide only knew how to teach Pokémon battle techniques and knew nothing about anything else. She basically handled everything herself.

"Your teacher's wife is amazing!"

Mary offered a timely compliment.

It's not an exaggeration, but the woman in front of me is no ordinary person.

After some inquiries, Marie even learned that the "Dynamax Soup," which is now very popular in the Galar region, was created by Honey Leaf!
"Well~ I just wanted to cook something simple to nourish my darling. But I accidentally made a giant soup~"

Speaking of this, Honey Leaf still seemed a little helpless.

Unlike the Galar main continent, Dynamax Fungus can only be obtained by challenging Pokémon Dens, making it extremely precious.

Giant mushrooms naturally grow in the wild on the Isle of Armor.

When she accidentally cooked Dynamax soup and caused a Pokémon to Gigantamax, she, as a businesswoman, immediately sensed a business opportunity.

As it turns out, someone leaked the word, and soon the recipe for Max Soup spread among the gym leaders of Galar.

Even the copyright to the original creation was registered and acquired by the Galar Alliance first.

"Forget it, I'll just focus on managing the martial arts school."

Honey Leaf sighed helplessly. In recent years, it has been impossible to do business in the Galar region.

Whoever comes along, they probably can't outmaneuver Loz and his Marocomón Group.

"I see."

Mary listened silently, her mind filled with doubt.

I wonder if Master Ma's lack of publicity over the years, his seclusion on the Isle of Armor, and his connection to the Galar Alliance guild leader are related?

"Mari-chan~ This is your room~!"

Reaching the end of the corridor, Miye opened the wooden door, revealing a four-person dormitory room.

Mary walked inside and looked around curiously. She had indeed seen several female students in the lobby earlier.

"Then you can pack your things and put them away first, then wait for me at the entrance of the martial arts gym. I'll go get you a new martial arts uniform."

Honeyleaf hummed a little tune as she left. She was quite satisfied with her life on Armor Island. She had a loving husband and her son had grown up—though both of them were a bit playful.

My son Hyde is almost old enough to become a trainer, but he spends all his time at home playing video games.

She asked Ma Shide to correct it, and as a result...
Now even Ma Shide has become a homebody who loves playing video games!

On the other side, in the main hall of the martial arts school, Ma Shide came up to Xiao Zhi.

"Long time no see, Ash! What a surprise to see our Isle of Armor at this time!"

Ma Shide stroked his goatee and said with a smile.

Xiao Zhi responded with a dry laugh:
“Master Ma, I should have come a long time ago. My apprentice Xiong and the teddy bear are already impatient.”

"A teddy bear?"

Masted was slightly taken aback. He had given the bear apprentice to him, and it was supposed to return to the Isle of Armor to complete its evolution.

However, the teddy bear.
boom!boom!
Ash released both Pokémon at the same time, and the appearance of Kubuckling immediately surprised many students around him.

"Hey, look! That guy has a bear apprentice?!"

"Did you gain Master Ma's approval?!"

"I've heard that no one has managed to do it in the last few years!!"

The crowd gasped in surprise, making no attempt to hide their envy.

It can be said that everyone in the martial arts school trains diligently every day for two goals—

First, ascend one of the Twin Fist Towers and complete the final trial.

Second, gain Mastedt's approval and obtain a bear apprentice from the latter.

The evolved Urshifu is Mastedt's ace, and the latter has also had sparring matches with him in the dojo. He can take down any opponent with a single punch, and his power is even stronger than that of legendary Pokémon!
"Is that person also an apprentice at the martial arts school?"

"I've never seen it before."

"I'm so envious!"

Ignoring the crowd's chatter, after taking the stage, Xiong's apprentice saw an acquaintance and immediately bowed politely to Ma Shide with clasped hands.

Then, with a nostalgic look, it looked around; this was where it used to live.

"Oh, so it's confirmed to be a combo-based style?"

Ma Shide recognized the rich, flowing water-like texture emanating from Xiong's apprentice at a glance.

Furthermore, it has been cultivated to perfection and is ready to evolve at any time!

Then he looked at another Pokémon sitting on the ground with a look of curiosity.

A harmless-looking bear from the Alola region.

But as a master of two martial arts styles, Ma Shide saw it at a glance.

"Are you going down the one-hit kill route?"

Ma Shide stroked his goatee, his eyes crinkling with a smile, his face full of admiration.

In terms of condition, he is in no way inferior to his apprentice, Xiong.

"Both Pokémon are trained to perfection."

He gave his evaluation, even feeling that they were better than his own two soon-to-evolve bear apprentices.

"They all want to come here to complete their final evolution, right?"

Masted smiled and gestured for Ash to take out his Rotom phone, bring up the map app, and pointed to the bottom right corner. They were currently in the Irene Field area.

Then he circled two locations on the left and right sides of the map in red.

"Next, you can take your bear apprentice to the left and challenge the water tower on the beach."

"Or perhaps you could take your teddy bear to the Tower of Evil on the Path of Challenge and complete the final trial of evolution!" (End of Chapter)