Who needs a girlfriend when you have Pokémon?

Under the stunned gaze of all the onlookers, the scene fell silent except for the referee, who, having regained his senses, raised his hand and made the final announcement...

Big North, unable to fight, the winner—

—Lowe!

Chapter 43 This kind of thing is best enjoyed on a small scale.

The Great North is unable to fight, the victor is... Luo Wei!

After the referee made that announcement, Du Juan calmly recalled Nosegate into her Poké Ball, then raised her hand to indicate, "Yes, I lost."

Upon hearing this, Luo Wei breathed a sigh of relief. The golden flames enveloping his body had completely dissipated, and it seemed that they had not caused any further burden on his body.

Seeing this, Ralts finally felt relieved. However, before Ralts could make any further moves, as soon as Rowe stood up, he saw a green blur rushing towards him.

Luo Wei lost his balance and was knocked to the ground by this blow...

"Ahem, Masked Cat?"

Needless to say, the victorious Masked Meow pounced on her. However, even after evolving from a kitten into a big cat, her personality remained unchanged. The first thing she did was jump into Rowe's arms, wanting praise...

However, she may not be aware of her current size. Masked Cat is 1.5 meters tall, which is almost the same height as ten-year-old Luo Wei. Where is the body that Luo Wei used to be able to hug and pet?

Her lunge knocked Luo Wei to the ground, but she remained oblivious, squinting her eyes as she snuggled into his arms.

Fortunately, she was at least slim, and her light and soft body pressed down on him, preventing Luo Wei from throwing up his breakfast.

Even so, with such a large, fluffy cat pressing down on you, you're practically a hefty plush toy, completely covered up and feeling quite "real"...

Especially in terms of physique, Masked Cat is a completely genuine young girl. With her eyes closed, the touch is no different from hugging a living person. It is warm, soft, and full of floral fragrance. She is simply a fragrant and beautiful girl.

From this perspective, Luo Wei certainly didn't object; in fact, he felt a sense of relief and joy—his cat had finally changed...

...But this kind of thing is best done in private. How can it be proper to do it in public with so many eyes watching?

So, after a moment of being moved, Luo Wei quickly used both hands and feet to take the masked cat out of his arms.

"Okay, okay, we'll talk about it later!"

However, Masked Cat didn't care about that at all. She wasn't satisfied yet. But as she was being pushed by Rowe, she also realized something.

Compared to when she was a new leaf cat, Luo Wei's physical strength now seems to be much weaker than hers. Even when Luo Wei pushes hard, Masked Cat finds that she can easily counterattack.

Of course, if we have to be honest, even if Shin-chan's strength is far greater than Lo-wei's, it's just that in the past, due to his size, many things were inconvenient. But now, Masked Cat realizes that he has completely overwhelmed Lo-wei in terms of both size and strength.

At that moment, a faint smile appeared on the corner of the big cat's mouth, and then she gracefully got up and jumped off Luo Wei.

"call……"

Luo Wei breathed a sigh of relief and got up, rubbing his head. Masked Meow immediately came over. Having finally evolved the ability to walk upright, she completely freed her hands and grabbed Luo Wei's arm without hesitation, snuggling up to him like a little girlfriend.

"……Well"

Now, Luo Wei couldn't refuse even if he wanted to. What's worse, this time the onlookers only showed expressions of envy.

"Wow, I have a great relationship with Pokémon! That's awesome!"

"Of course not, how could it be so strong?"

"..."

After all, in this world, it's perfectly natural to stick close to your Pokémon. No one will find it strange or bothersome; they'll just envy the good relationship between the two.

Even Du Juan, who had just lost, stepped forward and said with a smile, "What a great relationship~ No wonder you can raise such a strong Pokémon..."

As she spoke, she took out a small badge and presented it to Rowe...

The emblem resembles two misaligned triangular ores; needless to say, this is proof of passing the Rock Gym test—the Rock Emblem…

Luo Wei quickly took the badge and, just like Xiao Yao, pinned it to the inside of his jacket.

"...By the way, I have a few questions I'd like to ask. Could I take a moment of your time?"

After handing over the badge, Du Juan asked the question with a serious expression. At the same time, she took out her glasses and put them on, instantly transforming her demeanor from that of a dojo master into that of a junior teacher.

This is probably a common muscle memory shared by all educated humans; when faced with a teacher-type character, one is always unconsciously suppressed by their bloodline. Luo Wei also subconsciously nodded in response.

"okay……"

In fact, Luo Wei knew very well what the other party wanted to ask, and it was definitely related to that last move.

As expected, Du Juan led Luo Wei to a corner, and after confirming that no one was eavesdropping, Du Juan decisively got straight to the point.

"...Was that final move a Z-Move from the Alola region? I shouldn't be mistaken. Why would Rowe know a Z-Move?"

"Uh, well... the situation is a bit complicated..."

If it were someone else, they might be able to fool her, but Dujuan is known as the "top student of the Rocks." Besides being a Gym Leader, she is also a learned scholar with a knowledge base that is not much different from that of a Pokémon professor. You definitely can't fool her.

At that moment, Luo Wei briefly explained how he had encountered Nihilego in Petalburg Woods and then defeated him to obtain the Z Crystal.

Of course, Lillie and her secret were omitted; it was only mentioned that the crystal was dropped after defeating Nihilego.

In theory, they're pretty much the same, and sure enough, Du Juan nodded after hearing that.

"Then that's it. It seems the League's judgment was correct. Ultra Beasts have a deep connection with the Alola region..."

For the past three years, the League has been investigating Ultra Beasts, but so far with little success. According to current reports, the League seems to have finally noticed the connection between the Alola region and Ultra Beasts.

It's quite unbelievable, because many characteristics of Ultra Beasts can be combined with the legends of the Alola region. I don't know why it took three years of investigation to make the connection.

But considering the implications behind it, it's not really that surprising.

It all started with the unique characteristics of the Alola region...

This is a region consisting of four islands, and it is currently the largest nature reserve in the Pokémon world. Due to its geographical environment, it is relatively isolated. Just how isolated?

...Even the Pokémon League hasn't established a branch in the Alola region, which shows just how isolated this place is.

However, the Alola region's lack of a Pokémon League is not solely due to its isolated geographical location. After all, given the world's productivity and technological capabilities, developing a mere isolated island at sea would be a piece of cake if they wanted to.

The reason why it has not been touched by the League's forces is that there is a large local power in the Alola region that has already taken over the position.

That is the famous Pokémon charity, a charitable organization dedicated to rescuing wild Pokémon and carrying out various public welfare activities...

...The Ether Foundation!

Chapter Forty-Four: The Ether Foundation

The Ether Foundation...

This is not the first time this organization has been mentioned. As a global corporation that can rival Silvercorp and Devon Corporation, the Ether Foundation is itself a charitable organization.

It is a research institution established to protect wild Pokémon populations. It has helped countless endangered and rare wild Pokémon to recover their populations and is a well-regarded organization throughout the Pokémon world.

In theory, this behavior is not profitable. So how can the Ether Foundation be compared with Silver Corporation and Devon Corporation?

It's worth noting that Silver Company holds the patent for the Poké Ball, and the Poké Ball alone is enough to make them incredibly wealthy. Similarly, Devon Corporation, with its groundbreaking Pokémon Navigator, has also joined the ranks of the world's top corporations.

How exactly does the Ethereum Foundation, a charitable organization, make money?

This stems from the fact that the Ethereum Foundation itself is involved in medicine, biology, genetic engineering and other fields, and has corresponding products for sale, with very strong sales.

This is because the Ether Foundation, as a charitable organization, needs operating funds. In their own words, directly raising funds from the public is not a long-term solution, so they provide product sales to obtain operating funds.

Because of the reputation of the Ethereum Foundation, its products naturally sell very well. People buy their products as if they are doing charity, thus establishing a good brand image and reputation.

On the other hand, the Aether Foundation's products are indeed of excellent quality, and their technology in their respective fields is top-notch. They have used these technologies to rescue a large number of wild Pokémon.

This created a virtuous cycle, leading to the behemoth it is today.

So, just how rich is the Ethereum Foundation?

Their headquarters are in the Alola region, which itself consists of four islands. The Aether Foundation built a large artificial island in the Alola region as its headquarters!

This artificial island was entirely funded and constructed by the Ethereum Foundation using its own technology... demonstrating its substantial financial and technological resources...

That's why, as the saying goes, even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. The Pokémon League's influence is indeed unique, but the Alola region is, after all, their home base, so the League has never been able to establish a branch in the Alola region.

However, I recently heard that thanks to the active efforts of a certain Pokémon professor, the League has begun preparations to set up a branch in the Alola region, and the Aether Foundation has also expressed its full support.

...At least publicly they will give their full support, as for what they do behind the scenes...

Luo Wei said, "I've read the script. Don't try to fool me!"

This explains why, even after three years, the League's investigation into Ultra Beasts has not been linked to the Alola region; it is clearly because the Aether Foundation is operating in secret.

But as the saying goes, you can't hide fire forever. We live in an information society now, and even the most isolated place can't keep out a single bit of information.

The League already had a good understanding of the Alola region, especially its unique culture and beliefs, and the closely related "Z-Moves".

Upon closer inspection, the problem became apparent.

The so-called Z-Move is said to originate from two gods in the Alola region's beliefs. In the ancient times, the two gods descended from the sun and the moon and came to the Alola region, where they fought a great battle with the local Alola gods.

Ultimately, the local indigenous god was no match for the sun and moon gods and was defeated in battle. He then chose to become their subordinate and received their power...

...Thus, the native gods gained new power, and this power was also distributed to the Pokémon of the Alola region.

The Alola region has a long history of "Island Pilgrimage," where qualified young trainers travel to various islands to challenge the "Totem Pokémon" blessed by the island gods—this is the Island Pilgrimage...

By defeating the Totem Pokémon, you can receive the blessing of the Island God, gain the right to use the "Z" power, and unleash powerful "Z-Moves"...

Because there is no League in the Alola region, there is no concept of Gym Leaders or Elite Four. This Island Tour is very similar in form to Gym Battles.

Therefore, the Alola League seems to intend to preserve the unique characteristics of the region, using the Island Tour as a substitute for Gym Battles, and instead of appointing Gym Leaders in Alola, directly establishing the Elite Four.

From this perspective, the Alola region is essentially home to eight fewer powerful trainers from the League compared to other regions. This means that even if a League branch is established, the League's influence will likely be affected.

This is likely the result of "negotiations" between the Alliance and the Ethereum Foundation. After all, no matter what, once the Alliance branch is established, its influence will definitely be stronger than before.

The various possible exchanges of interests and entanglements involved seem quite distant to Luo Wei now, but due to some special reasons, Luo Wei has been directly drawn into the key aspects of this incident.

The fact that Lowe obtained the Z-Crystal proves that Lowe has gained the approval of the "Island God" and has been qualified to use the Z-Power.

However, Rowe knew that he hadn't gained the approval of the "Island God." His Z-Crystal came from Lillie's "partner," who was even more powerful than the Island God...

...He received the source of the Z power, a direct blessing from the Sun and Moon Gods!