Who needs a girlfriend when you have Pokémon?

"They actually broke through my electromagnetic shield in this way?"

Du Juan couldn't help but show a look of surprise. By using the electromagnetic manipulation skills of the three little North-facing noses, she changed the entire field to form a special area, thereby distorting the magnetic field to form a shield to resist the attack.

This, combined with the formidable dual defensive attributes of the Great North, along with the Power Gem, and the three types of light cannon attacks—Cannon and Electromagnetic Cannon—forms Du Juan's tactics.

To put it simply, it's a fixed-point metal turret. Although the power of a single shot isn't very strong because the Big North itself isn't particularly powerful, the good thing is that if one shot doesn't hit, you can just throw a few more.

After all, this isn't a turn-based game where you take turns attacking and we take turns using our moves. As long as the opponent can't break through the electromagnetic shield's defense, they can only passively take hits, and Big North can continuously deal damage with its light cannon.

No matter what kind of battle it is, you can't win if you just take the hits and don't fight back.

Having realized this, Luo Wei also knew that he had to break through the electromagnetic shield, but the electromagnetic shield was quite strong, and Masked Cat's frontal attack could not break through it in a short time.

As a result, Lowe took a different approach. He noticed that the electromagnetic shield was released by a combination of three little North-facing noses, so as long as this formation was destroyed, the electromagnetic shield would naturally break down on its own.

Therefore, Luo Wei used Rapid Return to switch between Meowth and Ralts, and then had Ralts use Teleport at close range to separate the two Nosecats and teleport them to opposite ends of the arena, forcibly breaking the formation.

With Little North's formation disrupted and the electromagnetic shield immediately disappearing, Lo Wei immediately switched sides without hesitation, bringing Masked Cat back into the fray.

From there, the task at hand becomes straightforward...

Without the protection of the electromagnetic shield, the Great North Nose, now unprotected, is a sitting duck.

Even though it can still unleash skill attacks, without the electromagnetic interference affecting its speed, Masked Cat, who is good at roaming and guerrilla tactics, can dodge Big North's attacks with its eyes closed.

She could even gracefully close the distance between herself and others while dancing light and quick steps, performing various somersaults, side flips, and large spins, as if she were dancing a beautiful dance to a certain melody.

With these elegant steps, all of Da Chao Bei Bi's attempts to retaliate were dodged, and the distance between the two sides immediately closed to within inches.

"A thousand changes, a myriad of forms~"

Luo Wei gave the final order, while Masked Cat winked playfully at the enemy. As Big North attempted a final counterattack, the pretty figure in front of him instantly faded into thin air and disappeared.

Afterimage...

...As the figure moved, a large number of petals flew out, followed by Masked Cat opening its sharp claws. In an instant, only a series of dazzling and sharp flashes remained on the scene.

With a myriad of variations and Masked Cat's relentless combo attacks, everything rained down on Big Baby in that instant. Again, this isn't a turn-based game; as long as the opponent can't retaliate, you can unleash seven or eight skills on it in a single moment…

Luo Wei unleashed all of Masked Cat's firepower on Big Nose. This attack lasted for more than ten seconds. Even though Big Nose's defense was not low, it would definitely not be able to withstand seven or eight of Masked Cat's skills.

"So that's... uh..."

As Rowe gave the final command, and Masked Cat's last paw struck, a metallic clang rang out from Nosegate, and amidst a shower of sparks, Masked Cat froze.

"..."

To Luo Wei's surprise, despite taking an attack that was theoretically enough to instantly drain a tube of blood, Da Chao Bei Bi had not lost his fighting ability.

"...Sorry, that was a beautiful strike, but my big nose has the 'hard' property."

"..."

This is another trait that has clearly been modified. In the game, the Hardness trait would forcibly lock one health point when taking a fatal blow while at full health. However, here, the Hardness trait seems to be triggered even when not at full health.

As for how to break the hardness property, in the game it can be broken as long as the character is not at full health, but here...

"Years of honing can turn fragile graphite into hard diamond. This is the result of my Rock Pokémon's training. Can your attack... penetrate our last bit of 'last strength'?"

"...So, you have to use a skill with a power exceeding a certain value to penetrate the defense?"

Luo Wei understood what Du Juan was trying to say from her words, and Du Juan nodded with satisfaction.

“Very good, you are indeed a very good trainer. That’s right, just as you thought. My Proboscis’s ‘Sturdy’ ability, once triggered, can completely block all moves with a base power of less than 100…”

"..."

Du Juan herself certainly didn't need to proactively explain the weaknesses of her abilities here, but since it was a Pokémon Gym battle after all, and given that Luo Wei had already seen through her trump card, she certainly didn't mind taking the initiative to explain.

Unfortunately, after thinking about it, Luo Wei realized that he didn't actually have a move that could penetrate the final defense of the Great North.

With this delay, the three little north-facing creatures are almost ready to regroup. Once they regroup, they can release the electromagnetic shield again.

The fact that the electromagnetic shield was broken by Ralts' teleportation by Rowe was a surprise move. Such a surprise move can only be effective once by surprise. Once the opponent is on guard, it is not easy to repeat the same move.

Even if Luo Wei were to use the same trick again to break the electromagnetic shield, he still wouldn't be able to break through Da Chao Bei Bi's last remaining strength.

If Luo Wei's tactics are a surprise move, then Du Juan's tactics are a sure thing. The characteristic of a sure thing is that it doesn't have many fancy tricks, but it can only be broken by overwhelming numerical superiority.

In other words, it's the classic "layered armor" tactic, which straightforwardly emphasizes winning with a single numerical value. As long as you can't break through that value, you can't defeat your opponent.

...It is the righteous and just path of the king!

Of course, conversely, Du Juan also couldn't defeat Luo Wei head-on. Da Chao Bei Bi's attacks couldn't hurt Masked Cat, and Masked Cat could also use its absolute speed advantage to prevent Du Juan from launching an effective attack against it.

In other words, this has created a situation where neither side can do anything about the other.

"...It's a draw."

At this moment, Du Juan spoke up...

"I've used about 70% of my abilities... To have managed to get this far, and to have us both unable to do anything to each other, that's quite impressive. I acknowledge that you deserve the badge..."

Upon hearing this, Luo Wei was taken aback, but looking at the surrounding crowd, no one seemed to have any objections.

After all, Rowe's strength is undeniable and enough to convince others. If this were a gym battle of normal difficulty, Rowe could even win with New Leafy.

But do we really have to accept a draw in our first gym battle?

Just as Luo Wei was pondering, his backpack suddenly began to emit light...

"what?"

Chapter 42 Ultimate Power

Now, Du Juan on the other side proposed a tie, stating that Luo Wei's performance was excellent enough and that she acknowledged that Luo Wei deserved to take the badge.

The onlookers had no objection to the decision. Although he did not win, Rowe's performance was convincing enough. If someone with such strength could not obtain the badge, then the others present were even less qualified.

However, Rowe was a bit conflicted. Logically speaking, he was now able to fight to a draw with a gym leader who was at 70% of his strength, which already surpassed at least 80% of trainers.

Even so, getting a draw in the first gym battle still made him feel a bit conflicted. What's more, Red, the legendary trainer whom Rowe idolized, was already a champion-level fighter at his age.

Moreover, even among all the current champions, they are consistently among the top three...

Of course, Luo Wei knew he couldn't compare to those big shots. Just as he was considering whether to accept the draw, his backpack suddenly burst into light.

"what?"

This sudden change naturally stunned everyone present, including Luo Wei himself.

In the blink of an eye, the light suddenly flew out of the backpack, splitting in two and shooting towards Luo Wei and Masked Cat, disappearing from the two of them in a flash.

Suddenly, Luo Wei's vision blurred, and a scene flashed through his mind...

...All that could be seen was a colossal mechanical city that seemed to have appeared out of a science fiction movie. The earth around the city shook and cracked, and from the four directions, four giant figures formed by beams of light... emerged from the earth and stood tall.

On the four giants formed of light, totems shaped like a rooster, a bull, a shark, and a butterfly appeared respectively...

The giant that revealed the totem raised both arms simultaneously, and two beams of light, one golden and one purple, rose into the sky, from which totems shaped like the sun and the moon emerged...

The four giants and the sun and moon totems, one on the sky and one on the earth, occupied the entire space within sight. Even though it was just a projection, similar to an "illusion," Luo Wei felt a power far beyond common sense from this scene...

Even so, the most powerful presence on the scene was not that of the four giants formed of light, nor that of the being bearing the totems of the sun and the moon...

Rather, it was a figure in the center of these six forms who seemed to be simultaneously confronting four giants and the sun and moon stars...

Luo Wei couldn't make out the figure's shape clearly, only a figure enveloped in endless light. However, even though he couldn't see it clearly, a name immediately came to Luo Wei's mind...

...The Radiant God!

With another sudden jolt, the scene before my eyes vanished, and my gaze returned to the Rock Gym...

Hallucination?

wrong!

Luo Wei was certain that it was not a hallucination, but some powerful force that transcended time and space, resonated with his consciousness, and transmitted some kind of image into his mind...

To everyone else around, all they saw was two orbs of light emerge from Luo Wei's backpack and vanish simultaneously from Luo Wei and Masked Cat...

...Then, in the next second, a layer of dazzling golden flames burst forth from Luo Wei's body, instantly enveloping him.

"what?"

Even though they had seen many strange sights today, this scene still shocked the onlookers.

Of course, considering that there are indeed many strange and supernatural forces in this world, it cannot be said that they are completely incomprehensible.

However, under this aura, Luo Wei clearly felt... something was constantly surging out of his body, urgently seeking an outlet.

The human body simply could not withstand this surging power. Luo Wei felt something in his palm, which was pressed against his chest, and a rhombus-shaped crystal appeared in his open palm.

Without a doubt, this was the thing that had just flown out of the backpack. However, the originally translucent crystal had quickly been tinged with a dazzling gold, and at the same time, a symbol resembling the letter "Z" seemed to appear at its center...

Of course, Luo Wei knew what this was, and he also knew exactly what he had just seen...

Metropolis, the Radiant Goddess (Light Raider), the Sun and Moon Gods, the Giants Guardians (Alola's Four Island Gods)...

However, the current situation left Rowe with no time to think. The golden flames surging from his body were almost crushing it. Ralts, who noticed the abnormality, was at a loss, while Rowe managed to force a smile to comfort her.

"It's alright, it's alright, don't worry~" As he spoke, Luo Wei gripped the crystal in his hand tightly, raised his palm, and pointed it at the Masked Meow over there, "...Masked Meow!"

Masked Cat could also sense the changes in Luo Wei, and she naturally wanted to immediately abandon the competition and return to Luo Wei's side to check on his condition.

But just as she was about to do so, Rowe's voice made her stop. At that moment, the connection between a trainer and her Pokémon made her feel something.

The moment their emotions synchronized, the golden light surging from Luo Wei's body seemed to find an outlet, rushing towards Masked Cat in one breath.

Using the Z-Crystal in his hand as a key, he opened a "passage" to a strange space, and the golden light was the energy that filled that strange space...

At this moment, using Rowe's body as a medium, all the energy was transferred to Masked Cat...

Right now, right here!

Their consciousnesses were successfully synchronized, and Masked Cat's entire body erupted with blazing golden flames. Their movements were perfectly synchronized, releasing all their power in unison...

Masked Cat tilted her head back, and a beam of emerald light rose from her body, spreading outwards in all directions. Wherever the light passed, flowers and green leaves appeared out of thin air, instantly creating a magnificent sea of ​​flowers in the arena!

The moment this sea of ​​flowers took shape, it transformed into a chaotic storm of petals and leaves that swept outwards...

Both Big North and Little North were engulfed by the storm. Even though Little North formed an electromagnetic shield in that instant, it was pierced through along with the shield...

The surging storm struck Da Chao Bei Bi directly. His seemingly indestructible body, as immovable as a rock, swayed slightly before crashing backward to the ground with a thud...