He knows Pokémon better than me.

"Not bad, Mary! You look very energetic!!"

At the entrance of the martial arts gym, seeing Marie walk over after changing her clothes, Ash immediately gave her a thumbs up.

It has a very youthful and passionate feel, and also gives off a martial arts vibe.

Mary blushed under the stares; it was her first time wearing such a uniform.

Since the martial arts outfit didn't include shoes, she continued to wear her own spiked ankle boots, creating a somewhat unconventional mix-and-match look.

Xiao Zhi rubbed his hands together and immediately ran into the dojo to ask Ma Shide for a uniform suit.

Ma Shide naturally did not refuse and quickly gave Xiao Zhi a uniform suit in the style of a male student.

The latter quickly changed into Ash's form, temporarily transforming him into the Isle of Armor.

Then he excitedly ran back to the entrance of the dojo, puffed out his chest, showed off his latest skin, and asked loudly with a laugh:

"How's my outfit, Mary? Not bad, right?"

Mary looked around for a moment, then her voice became softer:

"Hmm, it feels very much like your style, Ash."

Ash clenched his fist and invited:

"Let's go then, Mary! It's still early, let's explore this island properly!"

Mary also perked up and nodded solemnly.

What she needs to do now is to become stronger as quickly as possible and pass the final test of the Fist Arena in one go!

Soon, the two returned to the cool, wetlands.

Hua Hua Hua——!
Upon seeing Marie, the three Galar Slowpokes immediately took off running. They had already recovered from their paralysis and were incredibly fast, kicking up another cloud of dust!
There were quite a few wild Pokémon living around, but since this was the "beginner zone" of the Isle of Armor, I didn't see any powerful Pokémon.

The strongest one is probably a wild Carlos family bird, the Arrowhawk.

However, it's not the Gale Wings ability, but the ordinary Flame Body ability.

As the eagle circled in the air, it noticed the electric rats on the two men's shoulders. Its sharp eyes immediately darted down, ready to snatch them for dinner.

"Morpeco, use the Aura Wheel!!"

Mary immediately responded directly. Having just eaten some pine cones, Morbeco had regained his fullness and, riding on his blue lightning hamster wheel, crashed into it.

Electric Attribute Aura Wheel!

Sizzle—Boom!
In mid-air, a burst of electric current suddenly erupted, and soon the Fiery Arrow Eagle was covered in arcs of electricity and flew away covered in dust.

There's nothing challenging about it.

"It seems that high-level Pokémon reside outside the area circled by Master Ma."

Ash didn't rush off; he planned to wait until Marie got permission before going together.

"By the way, everyone come out!"

It then released the puppet bear and its apprentice together, preparing for a final warm-up. After getting the two bears into top condition, it would then head to challenge the Twin Fist Tower.

The bear apprentice understood and immediately led the teddy bear to a certain place—

It's very well-established here!
Previously, the bear apprentice had also challenged the wild Pokémon here, but at that time his level was low and his strength was not enough to deal with the local "bully Pokémon".

I was even ridiculed by them back then.

Now it will laugh back fiercely!

"lucky?"

The toddler bear, though bewildered, followed behind in a daze—although the two bears had completely different fighting styles, they had grown up together since childhood and now had an excellent relationship.

Most of the time, it's the opinionated bear apprentice who gives the orders, while the child bear just blindly follows behind, throwing out his brute force punches.

As for Ash and Marie, they set their sights on the surrounding Pokémon dens—

Unlike the Galar Wild Area, there aren't so many trainers competing for resources here.

Ash quickly walked to the lakeside, and in front of a honeycomb stone platform radiating a purple-red beam of light, he took out his Rotom phone and approached it to perform a detection:
"Beep beep! Pokémon den identified! Type: Water (?). Star rating: 5 stars. Weather: No Roto~"

Below, you can see a black silhouette, an oval head, an upright body, and a thin, curled antenna on its head.

"The Mosquito Coil Frog King? Five stars!"

Ash immediately recognized them. The two exchanged a glance, quickly chose their battle lineups, and then entered the Pokémon Den one after the other.

Upon arriving at the familiar nest space and seeing the enormous, mountain-like figure, Ash and his companion froze on the spot, their lips twitching.

Something seems off!

The Mosquito Coil Frog King is supposed to be green, so why has it turned dark blue?

Was there a flash?

Until the "Mosquito Coil Frog King" fully stood up, it was seen that its body was covered with dense vines, with a pair of slender tentacles extending from the left and right. Its body seemed to be pure black, tightly wrapped in the vines.

It's a gigantic vine!

"???"

Ash raised an eyebrow and subconsciously pulled out his phone, Rotom. The black silhouette that hadn't been clearly visible before was now fully revealed.

It really is a giant vine; the silhouette is exactly the same!
(picture)
Mary: "."

Instead of playing a guessing game on TV, what am I supposed to do?!
"Didn't it just detect a Water-type Pokémon?" Her gaze shifted upwards, and the previous message, "Pokémon Den Identification Complete! Type: Water," had now changed to "Type: Grass."

Will the Pokémon dens on the Isle of Armor still give misleading answers?

However, since their starting Pokémon were already confirmed, they couldn't change them and had to let them go.

boom!boom!
As the red light fell, Mary's first choice was the long-haired troll. She dared not be careless in a five-star nest, and regardless of the attribute, she directly chose her ace.

Ash then sent out Kingler, who had just drunk Dynamax soup—

I was originally planning a water-type internal war, but the opponent is very cunning and is now completely countered by the giant vine!

"Uh, Ash, should we step out and readjust our lineup?"

Mary asked a question, but before he could answer, the giant crab waved its large pincers and made a "click-click" sound, confirming that he was right.

Having just drunk Max Soup in Waterport, Crab is now extremely swollen.

It was the first Pokémon to follow Ash and is well-versed in Ash's fighting style. It fights against type disadvantages!
"Vines—!"

The giant vine let out a long, low growl, and in an instant, countless green whips extended from its body, lashing out at the two Pokémon.

It uses a powerful whip attack, not a dangerous Dynamax move right from the start.

"Hairy Troll, use Reflector!"

Mary activated her light barrier to reduce damage immediately, her actions were extremely swift.

The giant crab's actions were even more brutal; it raised its two large pincers and violently slashed at the green vines that were lashing out at it.

Kakakaka——!
Despite the seemingly dangerous and powerful lashes coming from all directions, the Giant Crab completely withstood them, leaving behind only severed vines and broken branches! (End of Chapter)