He knows Pokémon better than me.

"The match is over!!"

Ash's eyes lit up. After all, a four-fold super effective attack... who could withstand that?

Amidst the cheers from all around, there were also a few sighs of regret. Magua was a big streamer, and there were still quite a few fans who hoped he would win.

Gigantamax Coal Mine eventually reverted to its original size, and the reddish-brown magma with its pointed head turned back into a coal pile, while the fiery red color in its center subsided and darkened.

He fell to his side on the ground, his eyes rolling, and he had lost all consciousness.

"Giant Coal Mountain is incapacitated!!"

The drone Rotom then flew back to the arena. During the clash of Dynamax moves between the two sides, it could only hide outside the arena.

"Since Magu had no Pokémon available to continue the battle, Hop won this Battle Arena challenge against Loto~!!"

The sound had barely faded when, before the Gigantamax Raptor had even reverted to its Gigantamax form, it unleashed a flurry of powerful blows with its six arms against the wooden drum set, accompanied by a high-energy soundtrack!
Hop's Pokémon, like their trainer, are all passionate and cheerful.

"We finally won!"

He smiled and breathed a sigh of relief.

If I hadn't trained with my older brother for a while before, I really wouldn't have been able to beat him.

However, the results of his previous training with the Thunder King Kong were also well demonstrated!

After the battle, Rillaboom reverted to its original form, and its formidable power even piqued Ash's interest.

The last time I teamed up with Hop in a Dynamax raid battle, the opponent was still a Ptarmote. You've really improved a lot.

Unfortunately, we didn't encounter any wild Galar herb owners along the way.

Off the field, Magua had already retrieved the Giant Coal Mountain and walked up helplessly, rubbing his head.

"Your performance was spectacular; it's proof of your victory in the Arena."

Magua pulled out a small pentagonal plate. The rock emblem and his mother's ice emblem were the same shape, and he could only choose one to embed in the emblem's ring.

Noticing that only one thin, knife-like notch remained on Hop's ring, Magua understood and smiled:

"Well then, good luck in passing the final fist-locking arena!"

Hep quickly bowed and nodded politely:

"Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Maga! I hope to face you again at your full strength during the League Conference!!"

At this point, Maga also came to his senses; there were quite a few young and skilled fighters at this year's Galar League Conference.
Last year, he successfully made it to the semifinals, and in the end, he watched D'Antoni and Chibana face off in the final.

This year, I won't even make it to the top four.

It seems that he will also need to start special training after Ash leaves!

After the gym battle ended, the audience gradually left, while Ash and Melissa walked together towards the center of the arena.

Upon seeing his mother, Magua's face instantly turned as red as a giant coal mountain.

Damn it, they actually saw me when I was defeated!
Mei Rong naturally knew what her son was thinking, and comforted him with a smile:
"Winning or losing doesn't matter~ Besides, I lost pretty badly last time~"

This is the truth.

Last month, she faced off against Xiaoyou, and her ace, the Dragon, was even defeated by the opponent's small-sized Pac-Urban Urchin, making her feel even more frustrated.

However, such comforting words clearly did not have any good effect.

"Hmph, I'm going to treat the Pokémon first."

Simply winked at Ash, and Maga hurriedly ran off.

Jushi Ding was the most seriously injured. We'll take him to the back mountain later to dig up some fresh, healthy soil and stones for him to eat.

Hop also saw Ash and immediately showed a look of surprise:
"Huh? Ash, you're here too?!"

It seems he's quite familiar with the local Gym Leader? After briefly greeting the other Gym Leader, Hop enthusiastically pulled Ash outside.

It's a rare opportunity, so I'll ask Ash to help with some special training.

With the League Congress approaching, many of the participating Galatians are in the final sprint, making the schedule much tighter than the World Championships.

At events like the Galar World Championships, they were mostly just there for the fun of it.

For example, Hopp reached the mid-level of the Superball category, but it's not that he can't reach higher levels.

However, a significant amount of effort must be devoted to it, which has caused them to fall behind in the Alliance Conference.

"Come on, Ash~ This is the perfect opportunity for you to see my new team and give me your feedback!"

He said enthusiastically, and Ash could only be dragged out of the arena with no choice.

To be honest, Hop was also a little confused. The other person was only 1 or 2 years older than him, so they should be the same age.

But Ash always gave him a strange feeling that he was not his peer at all, but rather like his older brother Leon.
However, Ash was still interested in Hop's team situation.

After recovering from the Pokémon Center, Hop released his entire team on the nearby snowfield—

There were five in total, with Snorlax and Rillaboom standing at the back, both burly men.

The muscular Snorlax on the left is, well, an eyesore no matter how many times I look at it.

(picture)

Then there were the Corviknights and Woolhorn sheep on either side of him.

To Ash's surprise, Hop also had an electric-chasing dog.

A yellow and white dog with a black and green slender body, its limbs and sides covered in black and green fur, was panting and barking at him with curiosity and playfulness.
"Chase the dog, chase the dog!!"

Just as enthusiastic as Hop, it pounced on him without saying a word, and Ash had no choice but to hug it and rub its head.

"Pikachu~!"

Pikachu landed on Electrify's back. Both the dog and the rat were Electric-type Pokémon. Electrify quickly became excited and ran off to the side with Pikachu, its body occasionally crackling with electricity as it leaped around.

"Your electric dog is very energetic!"

Ash smiled. The team members were all in their final forms, and they had been trained very well. It seemed that he had put in a lot of effort.

"Hehe. So, what else can be improved?!"

Hep smiled and rubbed the back of his head, then blushed and asked for advice.

Ash frowned slightly. Apart from Corviknight, which he was very familiar with, he really couldn't say much about the others.

Even Snorlax.
The muscular Snorlax in front of me is completely different from my own Snorlax!

However, instead of discussing the existing Pokémon, the most important thing now is to add the last Pokémon, right?
He could be an advisor in this regard.

"The sixth Pokémon?"

Hep stroked his chin thoughtfully; he was actually struggling with which one to choose for the last one.

"Then let's choose an Ice-type Pokémon."

Xiao Zhi suggested with a smile.

After all, the final gymnasium is a Dragon-type gym, and the opponent's ace is Duraludon. Ash already knew this even before the gym battle.

In a Steel/Dragon combination, Snorlax and Rillaboom, both power-type Pokémon, are strong enough to deliver a powerful Fighting-style punch.

However, for the Dragon-type Pokémon mentioned earlier, you'll need to rely on Ice-type or Fairy-type Pokémon to cover the gaps.

Perfect timing! The area around Battlegrounds is teeming with Ice-type Pokémon! (End of Chapter)