He knows Pokémon better than me.

Ash didn't interfere with his Pokémon's battle against Zarude, letting them do as they pleased.

With Pikachu and Lucario watching over things, even mythical Pokémon can't cause any trouble here.

Meanwhile, in the open space of the practice field, Sarud had just been smugly beckoning with his hand, looking completely unconcerned.

The next second, a stone burning with intense heat flew over, its powerful strike causing it to hastily dodge to the side.

However, just as it regained its footing, Flame Ace rushed up to it and delivered a Flame Kick straight to its chest!
Sizzle! Bang!

Fortunately, at the critical moment, Sarud raised his arms and forcefully blocked the attack with his arm-hammer.

Although his body wasn't burned by the flames, he was still kicked back several meters by the power of the Flame Ace's kick, leaving a long mark on the ground.

“Saruru.”

Sarud shook his arm; this rabbit was really something.

It then charged out fiercely, raising its claws and slashing down with a blood-red, menacing light.

Tear Claw!!

However, Flame Ace did not dodge or evade. The rabbit fur on its forehead turned silver-black, and a thin silver film covered its body surface.

Whoosh!

A claw struck its body; while not quite as ineffective as striking a steel plate, it didn't cause much damage.

The effect was so-so!
"Drink!"

Even the Flame Ace, its forehead gleaming with a metallic sheen, suddenly leaped up and slammed headfirst into Zarude's chest.

The latter felt a sharp pain in his chest and stumbled back several steps.

Flame Ace grinned, "Don't think it won't dare to fight just because it's a mythical beast!"
Not only fireballs, but also ice balls followed, creating a powerful combination of fire and ice that effectively suppressed Zarude, leaving him feeling quite frustrated.

Once close to the opponent, Flame Ace unleashes a powerful, scorching fire kick from the left, or flips her body and delivers a swift and agile triple slash of ice—

Through special training at the Ice Pool behind Battlegrounds, Cinderace is finally able to use this move!

However, it hasn't learned any ball-type moves yet among its fighting moves, which feels a bit lacking.

Although the Fighting attribute has a move called "True Spirit Blast", it is a move that can be mastered in its move list.

Cinderace's eyes darted to Lucario, who stood beside him with his arms crossed, overseeing the battle.

Since Lucario is here, what's the point of using the Spirit Bomb? Why not just learn the Aura Sphere?

They're all balls anyway!
A dozen minutes later, after a fierce battle, Blaze Ace was panting heavily, with many wounds all over his body.

"Be, Be"

However, he had an excited expression on his face, as if he had had a great time.

On the other side, Zarud was also panting heavily. Even though the opponent's "Free Spirit" characteristic made him somewhat hesitant to attack, it was still impossible for him to be defeated so easily.

“Saru!”

Zarude gave a low shout and began to use his signature move, Jungle Healing. Green light spots continuously gathered around him, rapidly restoring his health.

But just as it flashed a confident smile and looked up, it discovered that a line had already formed next to the open space.

Master Xiong is constantly warming up by throwing punches.

Melumet raised his arms and let out a high-pitched roar that was difficult to decipher.

The bear-like creature stood there expressionless, staring straight at him.

The eyes of the three burly men all fell on it simultaneously.

Suddenly, the pressure was immense!
Sarud: "." Something seems off?
Not far away, Ash and Mr. Mime were sorting through the spoils they had brought back from their trip.

"Shami, these are for you."

Xiao Zhi pulled out a large bag of seeds, all of which were cold-resistant crops adapted to ice and snow. It would be quite difficult to successfully grow them in the open field at this temperature.

"Shaymi!"

This spurred Shemi on, and he immediately jumped onto the table, opened the small cloth bag, and began to study these unfamiliar seeds.

"Here you go, Lucario! This is your present~"

Ash then threw two ice balls that were polished from non-melting ice, and Lucario caught them steadily.

It feels cool to the touch, but as a steel and fighting-type item, there's no need to worry about getting frostbite from holding it for a long time.

Lucario quickly and skillfully twirled the ice puck like he was twirling a walnut, a perfect way to relieve work stress.

After quickly packing his luggage, Xiao Zhi looked towards the training ground and couldn't help but chuckle and curse:
"These guys."

The scene shows Melmeta and several of her Pokémon lining up to relentlessly take on Zarude in a battle of attrition.

Especially when he saw the ferocious ape's expression gradually shift from confident and fierce to wilting, he couldn't hold back any longer.

The key point is that Zarude couldn't refuse!

Martial Arts Bear Master and Melu Meta don't care about all that.

Since you are a noble mythical beast and have already accepted the challenge from the previous person, why don't you fight me?
Thus, the training ground became a cycle of battles – jungle healing – battles – jungle healing.

Most importantly, these guys are all capable of delivering powerful punches, and for Sarud, every punch he took was a critical hit, making him grimace in pain!

"But it's all good. Now they should really behave themselves."

Xiao Zhi smiled and didn't interrupt them.

Even without the false accusation of "vines," he would still help Sarud find his people.

But Sarud's personality makes normal cooperation impossible.

It's not a big problem. The more stubborn and extreme a personality is, the more likely it is to be forcibly corrected through physical means.

After a series of attacks, there should be no need to worry about Zarude suddenly launching a destructive attack in the middle of the night.

Beep beep!
Just then, his three-fold Rotom suddenly rang, and Ash's eyes lit up. He quickly picked it up to take a look.

Unfortunately, it wasn't Sonia who called back, but Uncle Pierre—

Because of Xicui's local specialties, his grocery store is now incredibly popular, with a constant stream of customers, so much so that he doesn't have time to answer the phone most of the time.

Ash nodded. No wonder the two Ironhide Golems next to him were still diligently working and crafting Wing Balls even during the Lunar New Year.

The matter concerns those two aristocratic men in suits.
"Well, although their shop is right across from mine, those two people actually have their own stores in major cities in the Galar region."

Uncle Pierre explained.

I don't know how they started, but Chairman Loz's Marocomon Group has a development trajectory that is traceable step by step.

However, the Sisso Group, founded by these two individuals, became the second largest company in the Galar region after the Marocmon Group, and it developed rapidly in a short period of time. No one knows exactly how it started.

As the group's big bosses, the two of them naturally couldn't stay in a store in a certain city.

As for their home address, that's even more impossible to know.

President Loz is currently enjoying great popularity and influence, and frequently posts his whereabouts on social media.

These two individuals are virtually unknown, making them extremely mysterious! (End of Chapter)