He knows Pokémon better than me.

That night, when Ash returned to the gym, Marnie also returned from Focused Forest, carrying several clusters of Galapagos branches.

"Looks like you completed your mission very smoothly!"

Xiao Zhi smiled and congratulated him, then casually accepted the cardamom stalk handed to him by the latter, along with its branches and leaves, the end of which was a pink trumpet-shaped flower bud.

Perfect timing, there isn't one on the Galar continent yet, I'll take it back as a gift for Shaymi.

Mary then carefully arranged all the cardamom branches in her hands and handed them over to Mrs. Honeyleaf, thus completing her second task.

With Morpeko's keen sense of smell for food, finding these cardamom pods with their distinctive aroma in the forest shouldn't be too difficult.

However, these things didn't taste very good. As soon as Morubek put one in his mouth, he turned into an empty stomach and angrily spat it out.

I guess only Pokémon like Galar Slowpoke would like it.

"However, Ash, it seems you gained even more."

When Marie returned from Honeybee's place and saw the bear that Ash had released and was standing beside her, she paused in her tracks.

The cute little bear that used to crawl around on the ground has suddenly evolved into a two-meter-tall, burly monster bear. Although, it's still quite cute?

"lucky--!"

The bear immediately raised its arms and let out a scream, then grabbed Mary in its arms without saying a word, ready to pull her away.

"Don't use force!"

Ash quickly reminded him, and the bear calmed down, only to hold Marie in his arms and spin her around twice before putting her down.

"?"

Mary looked bewildered, unaware that she had just narrowly escaped death.

"Looks like he's still quite obedient."

Xiao Zhi breathed a sigh of relief, after all, he had been by his side since he was a child.

Otherwise, Mary's slender waist would have been bent by now.

Ms. Joy from Melemele Island in Alora can attest to this, as she receives numerous cases every year of waists being twisted and bent by tremendous force.

Mary escaped unscathed, but the others in the martial arts gym weren't so lucky.

"So you passed the test of the Tower of Evil, right?"

"Let's have a battle!!"

"Let me see the supreme secret you obtained from Master Ma!"

He had just finished eating when he was surrounded by many students from the martial arts school, all vying to challenge him.

Although they were both wearing the yellow and black uniforms of the martial arts school, the person in front of them did not seem to be Master Ma's new student.

Furthermore, there is a precious bear apprentice.
No one on the entire Isle of Armor has yet received this honor!
Today, they even passed the Tower of Evil's test, which made many people extremely envious.

"A battle? Sure, I'm all in!"

Xiao Zhi readily agreed to everything.

Perfect timing, the bear has just evolved and hasn't fully adapted to its new body and new powers yet.

I roughly counted, and there were about a dozen martial arts school apprentices in front of me.

His eyes lit up; they were all wearing bear-shaped sandbags!
So the group arrived at the martial arts school's practice hall, where the floor in the middle was recessed, forming a dedicated combat arena.

"It's up to you!"

Ash was the first to throw out a Poké Ball, appearing in a bear costume. He didn't exude any aura of power, and had an innocent, doll-like face.

It doesn't seem threatening at all.

"I'll go first, I'll go first!!" A male apprentice from the martial arts school grabbed the first spot, his face full of confidence, and released a wrestling eagle that liked to make all sorts of flashy moves.

"Hawkwon, use Brick Break!!"

The battle began, and the wrestling eagle was the first to charge out, his claws slashing repeatedly like hand knives, but the bear wearing the cloak raised his hand and easily blocked them one by one.

"Use your jumps to create distance!!"

Just as the bear was about to grab the wrestling eagle, the latter suddenly transformed into a nimble ball and sprang into the sky, dodging the grab.

It must be said that the apprentices in the martial arts school are all quite skilled, and their skills are executed very smoothly.

"Now! Dive in!"

Instead of dealing the second wave of damage from the bounce, the Wrestling Eagleman changed his movements in mid-air, spread his wings, and suddenly swooped down!
It's very powerful, but for a bear dressed like this now, it's really just a toy.

"Catch it!"

Wearing a bear costume, the bear didn't even use any moves. It stared expressionlessly at the swooping eagleman, then suddenly raised its hand at the crucial moment and grabbed the eagleman with its paw, forcefully interrupting the latter's downward dive.

It's still a little upset because it didn't get to hold Mary earlier.

"lucky--!"

Wearing a bear, he immediately grabbed the Hawkman and pulled him into his arms. With both hands exerting force at the same time, the Hawkman's body instantly straightened up, letting out a terrible scream.

Everyone could hear the chilling sound of bones cracking.

When the bear released his arms, the wrestler landed lightly on the ground, his body bent into an exaggerated arc, rendering him unable to fight on the spot.

The entire room fell silent, and no one seemed to react for a long time.

When they looked at the expressionless bear again, a hint of apprehension appeared on their faces, but not to the point of fear.

"It's my turn! Please, Mighty Chicken!!"

This time, Ash's opponent is an old acquaintance, one of the three Fire-type starter Pokémon from the Hoenn region.

Furthermore, it also has acceleration features!

The strong rooster didn't rush to attack, but instead ran around the bear, looking for an opportunity to strike.

bass!
After one round, a red amplification light naturally appeared on the Mighty Chicken, and its speed visibly increased.

"That makes sense, after all, it's the Galar region."

Ash nodded. Modifying abilities is quite rare in other regions, and while the Ability Potion in the Galar region is expensive, it is still obtainable.

"Now! Kick from the bottom!"

Finding a blind spot, the Mighty Chicken suddenly slid in from behind, attacking the bear's right leg.

However, the bear-headed figure suddenly turned 180 degrees in a terrifying manner, locking onto the target ahead of time.

Faced with the expressionless bear looking down at him with a condescending gaze, even the strong chicken panicked and its sliding tackle was a beat too slow.

Once again, the bear grabbed him before he could finish his attack, interrupting his move.

Click, click—!
He held her in his arms, and then there was the familiar sound of bones cracking.

The mighty rooster is dead!
It didn't take much effort at all; it was just a mechanical act of raising one's hand, grabbing the target, tightening and binding the opponent, and then deciding the winner.
The crowd erupted in uproar, their expressions varied, and they began whispering among themselves.

Could this be the ultimate secret he gleaned from the Tower of Evil?
"Didn't you use a flamethrower?"

Ash glanced at the unconscious Combusken. As a Bewear with the "Furry" ability, its Flame move is actually more threatening than its Low Kick.

Of course, the difference in strength was too great; even Flamethrower would be blasted away by the bear-wearing monster's powerful punch! (End of Chapter)