He knows Pokémon better than me.

Once the Lava Snail recovers from the chaos, it will be met by Dragapult, whose speed and physical attack have been boosted.

In terms of sheer force, it completely overwhelmed the lava snail.

"Don't be intimidated by it! Use Rock Slide!!"

The lava snail's eyes narrowed, and it conjured several heavy rocks out of thin air, which roared as they crashed down on its opponent.

"Surprise attack!"

Dorgon Mesiah swiftly vanished into the shadow space, appearing the next instant behind the Lava Snail. Without hesitation, he slashed at the latter with his ghostly claws.

With a heavy blow, the lava snail's heavy body was sent flying, carving a deep, long furrow into the snow slope.

"Tsk, the Flame Body trait is still too troublesome."

Ash frowned slightly. Fortunately, he wasn't burned by the first attack. After the Magma snail reacted, it immediately turned around and spewed flames.

Of course, with its agile body, Xiao Duolong easily dodged the attack as it twisted and swayed in the air.

"One more time, stealthy attack!!"

Because of the immobilization spell, the Lava Snail couldn't unleash an area-of-effect (AOE) attack, so it could only forcibly exhale a smoke screen to cover its body.

However, under the scanning of waveguide power, there is no such thing as "invisibility".

Clang!

Unable to see its exact form, the lava snail was cleaved out of the smoke and crashed onto the snow slope with a series of sharp claw strikes.

His eyes darted around, and his body lay sprawled on the ground like molten lava, unable to fight.

"Messi!"

However, on the other side, flames suddenly ignited on Dorgonmesia's body, and his aura plummeted.

"Are you still suffering from burns?"

Ash shook his head helplessly. The Flame Body ability really is effective against melee Pokémon.

If I learn Dragon Arrow and the "missiles" I shoot come into contact with my fiery body, will I also get burned?

"Come back first anyway!"

Ash had no choice but to temporarily recall Dragapult.

They've become quite adept at using various harassing tactics and have demonstrated considerable flexibility.

However, in terms of direct output, it is still somewhat lacking.

boom!boom!
Soon, both of them threw out Poké Balls at the same time, and this time Willie's face had completely lost its contemptuous expression.

Ash's back row was a Shellder, whose heavy body landed on the snow, instantly sinking four marks.

Wily's Pokémon is still a Fire-type, covered in reddish-brown fur, with exaggerated, fiery eyebrows and a bizarre, grinning expression—a truly strange monkey.

The ordinary-looking Daruma baboon is of the fire element.

"Isn't it a Galarian-like Daruma baboon?"

Ash knows quite a bit about this monkey that can only be seen in the ruins of the Unova region.

Normally, it is lively and active, and has extremely strong physical attack power.

If the ability is "Daruma Mode", when the HP value drops to less than half, the Special Attack and both Defense will be greatly increased, the Speed ​​will be greatly reduced, and it will turn into a "Turret" statue.

A rare property that allows for morphological changes.

Of course, if it's a "forced" trait, then there won't be so many fancy features; it will just be a normal increase in move damage.

The battle has resumed.

"Dharma Baboon, unleash a million-ton punch!!"

The baboon roared and raised its arm, charging across the snow, its fist slamming out with astonishing white light.

"Use a double slash!"

Ash chose to attack head-on. The Shellder wasn't completely encased in an egg; although its lower limbs were short, it could still be raised to use moves.

Its forelegs, gleaming with a blue-purple dragon claw-like light, charged forward without hesitation. Clang!
A dull thud echoed across the snow slope. The force of the collision sent both sides flying back several meters, carving deep furrows in the snow.

"How can it be?!"

Willie's mouth gaped open. His trump card, the power of the Daruma baboon, should have been overwhelming!
Ash's lips curled slightly; a normal Shellder might really be suppressed.

However, this one is an Ancient species, which requires a longer time to evolve. On the other hand, it is also stronger than ordinary armored dragons!

"Our turn! Shellaur, use Dark Pulse!!"

The armored dragon fired a black ring beam of light almost without any charging.

"Dharma Baboon, use Fire Fist!!"

The Daruma baboon's fists instantly burst into flames as it slammed forward, but its power was somewhat weak, and it was pushed back repeatedly by the impact of the evil wave.

"So it's a characteristic of the Dharma Mode?"

Ash immediately realized that if it was a forced ability, then the power-boosted Fire Punch should be even more powerful.

"Bodhidharma—!!"

Barely managing to block the evil wave, the Daruma baboon roared and suddenly slammed its fist into the ground.

The Flame Fist quickly melts the ice and snow, turning it into water vapor.
In the blink of an eye, a thick mist spread out.

Willie smiled smugly, and without giving any instructions, it seemed he had been prepared all along.

As the fog dissipated, the Bodhidharma baboon suddenly vanished from its spot.

"Shall we dig a hole?"

Ash's gaze fell, and even without using his Aura, he could guess Darmanitan's movements.

But since we're digging a hole, that's perfect!

As soon as the ground beneath the armored dragon's feet began to tremble, it was already prepared, and it breathed out scorching flames directly downwards!
Just as it broke through the ground, the Damo baboon was engulfed in flames, limiting its vision, but it still unleashed its powerful digging punch.

The fist missed its mark.

"Bodhidharma?!"

The baboon hurriedly rubbed the sparks off its face, looking completely bewildered.

That shouldn't be the case. A clumsy Pokémon like Shellder can't move quickly. Even if I closed my eyes and threw a punch, I should be able to hit it.

"Idiot, look up there!!"

Willie hurriedly reminded him, and the Darmo baboon looked up in surprise, only to see that the heavy armored dragon was defying common sense and "floating" more than ten meters in the air!

It can fly?!
Is that reasonable?!

Ash laughed heartily and waved his hand down, saying:

"Now's the time! A mountain is pressing down on us!!"

The next second, the armored dragon released its control and floated into the air. Its heavy body crashed to the ground like a meteorite, carrying terrifying kinetic energy!

The baboon had no way to avoid it and could only raise its arms to take the hit.

Clang!

The earth shook violently, and the snow waves exploded!
The baboon was slammed into the frozen ground by this brute force!
This devastating blow was incredibly powerful, completely fading the color of the Dharma Baboon.

The literal meaning faded, and the reddish-brown fur all over the body quickly turned grayish-blue.

The flames on the eyebrows died down, and the thick, long limbs retracted back into the body, sticking to the surface of the body as if they had been subjected to a dimensional reduction attack.

In the blink of an eye, the Daruma baboon transformed from an excited and active fire monkey into an oval-shaped, motionless gray-blue stone statue.

"Have you entered Dharma Mode? The battle isn't over yet, don't relax!"

Ash was clearly seeing the Shellder for the first time, so he quickly reminded it.

Entering Daruma Mode means the Daruma baboon's health has dropped to below half, and its attack pattern changes from melee physical attacks to ranged meditation-based special attacks! (End of Chapter)