He knows Pokémon better than me.

The missiles were too fast for Zarude to escape by digging tunnels, forcing him to confront them head-on.

It raised one arm, covered in a deep white light, and swung it horizontally with ferocity.

Arm punch!

The force applied in the rush was simply insufficient to deflect the wave missile. The arm and fist remained locked in a stalemate for several seconds before the immense waveguide energy exploded, creating an exaggerated shockwave.

Visible to the naked eye, a ring of light blue ripples spread out.

Zarud was the first to be hit, his chest struck head-on by the waveguide energy, and his entire body was sent flying, crashing heavily onto the grass not far away.

"Luca!"

Lucario retracted its waveguide, lowered its hands, and gave a sharp look.

After this period of intense work at the watchtower castle, this was a form of exercise it had never experienced before.

Believe it or not, its waveguide strength has improved considerably.

“Saru!”

When he got up again, Zarud's hair was disheveled, he was panting heavily, and he was in a state of near death.

However, looking at Lucario across from him, his palm was always raised, which was the starting stance for Aura Sphere.

Without a doubt, the moment I use Jungle Healing, a powerful wave missile will come hurtling towards me.

However, Lucario doesn't only have one attack, the Wave Missile.

I have basically had a complete "experience" of Zarude's fighting style.

It is extremely versatile, capable of both offense and defense, both tanky and high-damage, and highly agile, even possessing a powerful healing ability.

"As expected of a combat-type mythical beast!"

Ash nodded, saying that "large mythical Pokémon" like Darkrai, Genesect, or Melmetal are all very powerful.

However, in comparison, Zarude seems to be in a slightly weaker tier.

Perhaps it's because this isn't a dense forest, and the environment is wrong?

Thinking of this, Xiao Zhi didn't delay any longer. He had come all the way back from Battle City, and he hadn't even gone inside his house yet.

His eyes darkened, and he immediately gave the order:
"End the battle in one fell swoop, with lightning speed!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lucario stepped forward and suddenly disappeared from the spot.

The speed was bizarre and incredibly fast, almost invisible, which startled Zarude and caused his expression to change drastically.

In the blink of an eye, Lucario was right in front of it. Zarude didn't even have time to raise its hand to react before a heavy blow came to its chest.

An attack with +2 priority is unavoidable, even if it uses Lightning Flash.

Clang!

A solid, lightning-fast strike sent Zarude flying in an instant.

When he landed again, Zarud did not get up.

“Saruru.”

Its body was overturned on the ground, its limbs were limp, its head tilted to the side, and it fainted on the spot.

The outcome is decided.

Ash smiled, even when facing mythical Pokémon, Lucario was still reliable.

"Pikachu~"

Pikachu, wagging its tail, leisurely hopped onto the castle wall.

It seems we don't need this general to make an appearance today.

As for this monkey that inexplicably came to provoke us.
"Mageyana, use flower therapy. Wait a minute!"

Ash thought for a moment and decided to apply a strong restraint before reviving Zarude, so that the ape would not continue to rampage after regaining consciousness and become impossible to communicate with.

After finishing all that, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, and could finally go home. Back at the watchtower, Ash immediately released all his Pokémon.

Immediately, the Pokémon scattered like birds and beasts, each finding their own familiar comfort zone, making the manor much more lively.

The adjacent planting area is lush and green, and you can already see many of the unique plants that you could only see when you traveled to the Xicui area.

Ash smiled as he put down his luggage. Next, they would be adding some ice and snow plants from Battlegrounds.

At the machine tool station next to them, two burly men were still working diligently.

His movements of rubbing the Poké Ball have clearly become much more skillful.

"Bari~"

Having resolved the troubles in his hometown, Mr. Mime can now work without any burden. He quickly and skillfully picked up the ledger and began to take stock of the recent financial situation of the manor.

After tidying up briefly, Ash looked back at Zarude; there was still the matter of this mythical Pokémon to resolve.

"Mageyana, use flower therapy."

After firmly binding Zarud, he looked to his side, and Magiyana understood, raising her gun barrel to charge.

Boom!
The pink light projectiles that were fired did not explode, but instead formed beautiful pink petals, which eventually turned into healing green light and merged into Zarude's body.

The ape began to stir, and the soft, drooping fur around its cheeks started to stand up again.

“Saru?”

It opened its eyes groggily, wondering how it was "standing" on the ground.

Once fully awake, Zarude immediately began to struggle wildly, her body raging.

But it found that its body was as if it were locked up, and two thick iron pillars with a furry texture were pressing down on its chest.

No matter how much he struggled, the unknown entity behind him remained unmoved, and his arms were trapped, leaving him only able to raise them high in shame.

At this moment, dressed in a bear costume, he stood expressionless behind Zarud, delivering a powerful bear hug and firmly securing the position!
The strongest restraint in the castle manor right now isn't vines or chains, but a bear hug while wearing a bear costume!

"lucky"

Seeing that the strangely shaped "throwing monkey" in his arms was still not convinced, the bear-clad figure increased his strength slightly—

Back when I was still in the Alola region, there were often groups of throwing monkeys running around in the jungle, throwing coconuts and making a ruckus.

Then its mother hugged it tightly, and its bones shattered as it collapsed to the ground.

Today it's finally my turn to punish this arrogant monkey!

However, Zarude was already struggling to keep up even before the bear had fully unleashed its power.

"Salut, Salut!!"

His previously ferocious and savage face suddenly softened, and he kicked his legs repeatedly, his voice carrying a hint of surrender and weakness.

Xiao Zhi then raised his hand, gesturing for Xiong Xiaoli to wear something more—

Sure enough, it was lucky that it was locked in advance, otherwise it would have caused another huge disturbance once it woke up.

Wearing a bear, it showed a disappointed expression. It hadn't even started yet, so it could only slightly reduce its strength. Sarud also gradually stopped struggling, and the fierce light in its eyes dissipated considerably.

Behave yourself!
Shouldn't we be able to have a proper conversation now?

Ash stepped forward, raised his hand in greeting, and gave a friendly smile:
"I'm sorry, we can only lock you up like this for now. Anyway, we absolutely have no ill intentions."

Sarud's hands were still unable to move, so he could only turn his head to the side with a hint of disdain.

Sensing its change in emotion, the bear immediately increased its pressure slightly.

“Saru!”

Zarude quickly composed himself and forced a look at Ash.

Now they're really behaving themselves! (End of Chapter)