He knows Pokémon better than me.

The wooden wall, reinforced with Ghost Sword Stone, activated its "King's Shield" the moment Marill crashed into it, and withstood the impact.

Its resilience is extremely strong; unless it's hit by a punch four times heavier than a bear, it's practically impossible to break through.

Mariluri fell to the ground, disoriented, injured by the backlash of her own attack.

"Now! Use tile splitting!"

The bear apprentice rushed forward, raised his right hand, and with perfect form, delivered a powerful chop to Mariluri's head.

boom!boom!
Of course, it was still a swift double tile-breaking move, and Mariluri's body rolled out like a ball again, falling to the edge of the corner.

"Done~!"

Seeing that Marill's eyes had turned into swirl eyes, Ash grinned, easily clearing the first stage.

"Bear drink!!"

The apprentice clenched his fists and hissed, his eyes burning with determination, ready to take on the next challenge at any moment.

"Okay, please continue."

The girl with the bun hairstyle had no choice but to take back her Mariluri and bow towards the stairs.

Yes, Master Ma's trademarks are his bear apprentices and his martial arts master, Bear.

She had completely forgotten that because she was so focused on the powerful look of the bear costume.

"Thanks for the advice!"

Xiao Zhi nodded, and without needing to rest, he led his bear apprentice up to the second floor.

"So that's how it is."

Mary followed behind, her brows slightly furrowed.

So this is the trial of the Water Tower? It looks unremarkable, and the guardian isn't particularly strong.

Of course, it's quite difficult to clear all six levels using only one Pokémon.

Upon reaching the second level, the gatekeeper this time was a male apprentice with long black hair, who looked somewhat effeminate.

The Pokémon I used was also an old acquaintance, no, an old frog.

"Croak!"

A frog is half-lying on the ground, one hand still gripping a foam "scarf" that extends backward from its neck, ready to be thrown as a projectile at any moment.

"Bear apprentice, watch out for its sticky foam!"

Ash quickly reminded everyone that this was undoubtedly a battle of agility-type characters.

The battle begins!
"Froghead, use the sticky net!"

The black-haired male apprentice took the lead in attacking. Originally, this was supposed to be a sticky net sprayed by a Bug-type Pokémon, but for Froakie, it was just throwing trap bubbles around the field. Before long, the entire arena was covered with white foam.

"Croak~!"

The frog was clearly well adapted to this environment, running nimbly around the bear apprentice. The frog's special foot structure meant that even if it stepped on foam, it wouldn't get stuck.

Suddenly, the frog approached from the side, its long legs sweeping out to attack the bear's apprentice's lower body.

"Bear drink.!"

The latter immediately leaped up, but the frog's attack had only just begun.

In the next instant, it was already close to the bear apprentice, and the ends of its four limbs lit up with a flexible white light, attacking the bear apprentice with dazzling speed!
acrobatics!

Xiao Zhi also perked up and gave the order:
"It's starting to resemble a combo-style attack. Use 'See Through'!"

The bear apprentice's eyes immediately lit up with green light, and he repeatedly turned his head to dodge, retreating as he did so.

"It's no use! You can dodge the frog's acrobatics, but you don't have the energy to avoid the bubbles on the ground!"

The black-haired male apprentice looked at Ash with a confident expression.

However, he then saw Ash suddenly close his eyes, looking strange.

Waveguide power, activate!
With the aid of wave-guided power, the bear apprentice seemed to have a third eye, and the bubble traps beneath his feet were also included in the scope of "seeing through". No matter how he dodged or retreated, his steps always hovered on the edge of the bubbles, without sticking to a single one.

"How can it be?!"

The black-haired apprentice was a bit confused, and besides, isn't your ability to see through things illegal? How can it last so long?!
"There's a flaw in the broken rock!"

During the dodge, Xiong's apprentice's eyes narrowed, he found an opening in his opponent's defenses, and suddenly threw a straight punch.

boom--!
The blow landed squarely on the frog's chest. The force wasn't great, but it felt like a vital blow, causing the frog great pain and forcing it to stagger backward.

"Then, kick him down!"

The bear apprentice moved swiftly, this time aiming at the frog's lower body and kicking out.

This caused the frog to stumble and fall to the ground rather awkwardly.

"Oh no! It's all over!"

Upon seeing this, the black-haired apprentice's expression changed, while Xiao Zhi raised the corners of his mouth.

The next second, the frog's back and arms were stuck to the foam, and its body seemed to be "stuck" to the ground.

"Hehe, I know frog bubbles better than you do!"

Xiao Zhi touched his nose smugly, looking very confident.

The frog's limbs and feet have a special structure that prevents them from getting stuck, but its body is a different story.

Once you fall, you'll also fall into your own sticky web trap.

"Now, Xiong disciple, use the Absorption Fist!!"

Xiao Zhi pointed his finger and gave the order. The bear apprentice immediately leaped up, and green light emanated from its fist.

In this kind of test where you have to fight through multiple levels with only one life, the Blood Drain Fist, which can restore health, is undoubtedly a divine skill!

"Break free now, frog!"

The frog was still struggling to pull the bubbles away, and after finally breaking free, the green light was already approaching.

boom!boom!
The Absorb Punch struck Frog's chest squarely. The bear apprentice moved swiftly, even delivering two quick Absorb Punches, sending Frog flying backwards to the ground.

call out--!
A healing green light shone from Xiong's apprentice, and he returned to his best condition.

It can be said that with the blessing of "waveguide power", the surrounding traps are no longer of any significance.

"End the battle! Use Rock Smash!"

Seeing his apprentice charging forward with his fist raised again, the black-haired apprentice quickly shouted:
"Use shadow clones to dodge!"

The frog hurriedly created more than ten fake bodies, which began to spread throughout the arena.

However, under the lock of the wave guide power, the bear apprentice easily locked onto the target and stomped the ground straight towards the frog's body!

Immediately following were two more high-speed, rock-breaking punches, delivered with a "loving" touch, landing on the latter's chest.

boom!boom!
The punch to the same spot had an "armor-shattering" effect, sending the frog flying sideways and crashing heavily into the corner of the wall.

"quack"

As the smoke and dust cleared, the latter's eyes darted around, and it had completely lost its ability to fight.

"Wow, that's impressive."

The black-haired apprentice was somewhat discouraged. Finally, he sighed deeply and could only bow towards the stairs.

"Then please continue climbing the tower."

No wonder Master Ma climbed the tower a little ahead of time earlier today, and stood guard at the top looking very formal.
Now he understands!
"Thanks for the advice."

Ash nodded in acknowledgment and led his apprentice through the arena. This time, with the healing from "Drain Punch," they didn't need to rest.

However, the ground was covered in sticky foam, so it would take him and Mary a little more effort to get across.
Next, the third floor of the Water Tower! (End of Chapter)