Who needs a girlfriend when you have Pokémon?

However, Masked Cat only has two hands, while Machamp has four arms. This difference in numbers determined the outcome of this head-on collision.

With a single blow, the powerful attack from Masked Cat was blocked. Then, it swung one arm on each side in a wide arc, creating a sharp cross shape with one horizontal and one vertical swing!

Masked Cat simply lay back and bent over, bending its body at an incredible angle, managing to dodge the cross slash by narrowly missing the gap in the arm that was swinging from the direction of the monster's strength.

At the same time, Masked Cat spread its legs and sat on the ground in a wide split. With its paws gently pushing off the ground, it used its two flexible thighs to launch a powerful spinning side kick at the lower body of the monster...

Despite having four arms, the superhuman strength only has two legs. According to common sense, this body proportion would naturally lead to a higher center of gravity, making the lower body his weakness.

However, when Masked Cat's side kick landed squarely on the opponent's ankle, it produced a dull thud as if it had hit a rock, and the monster's body remained completely still.

"...Retreat!"

Seeing that he hadn't gained any advantage in the head-on confrontation, Rowe immediately ordered Masked Meow to retreat. The instant Rowe gave the order, all four of Machamp's arms were raised, and all four fists came down at the same time.

A series of loud bangs were heard, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the spot. The ground was pounded into a deep crater by the four punches.

Fortunately, Meowth was fast enough that it nimbly retreated the moment the fist landed, flying away directly from Machamp's side. As it retreated, Meowth didn't hold back, raising its hand and throwing out a bouquet of flowers. The bouquet exploded on the spot, turning into countless fluttering petals.

"..."

The incoming petals all hit Machamp. Machamp, who had just taken a solid kick from Masked Meow and remained completely unmoved, was now shaken by these seemingly soft and powerless petals.

The ability of the ever-changing flowers to always hit the vital point proved effective at this moment. However, the vine's superhuman strength did not choose to retreat in the face of the fluttering petals.

"The best defense is a good offense, let's push forward!"

Originally, according to Luo Wei's plan, after this Thousand Changes, the opponent would definitely retreat and adjust their position, so that he and Masked Cat would seize the rhythm.

Unexpectedly, the monstrous strength on the other side actually charged forward without dodging or avoiding the rain of petals, and Luo Wei's scalp tingled.

"..."

Good heavens, I've run into a brute!

Realizing this, the monstrous attack arrived, and its two arms once again unleashed a cross slash. This fighting technique, with a power of 100, also has the characteristic of easily hitting vital points.

Although it's not as guaranteed to hit vital points as the Thousand Transformations skill, getting hit in a vital area is no joke.

On the other hand, Masked Cat's base Defense stat of 70 and Machamp's base Defense stat of 80 are honestly not considered particularly sturdy; its main strength lies in "attack is the best defense"...

Therefore, Luo Wei pondered for less than a second and immediately made a decision...

"Then let's push forward too!"

Luo Wei originally planned to let Masked Cat use its speed advantage to fight a hit-and-run battle against the opponent, which was a tactic he had used in previous battles.

But before, he had only encountered a bunch of tough guys. It was rare to meet such a straightforward opponent, and Luo Wei couldn't help but get emotional.

Originally, Luo Wei's tactics were just like Masked Cat's characteristics, emphasizing freedom and flexibility, without any fixed or specific fighting style. When the opponent played aggressively, he would also play aggressively.

A cross slash came from the opposite side, and Masked Meow used the same trick of bending over backwards to dodge the cross slash once again by squeezing through the gap. However, since it had four arms, it used two of its free arms to unleash a Explosive Punch.

A fist carrying a fierce gust of wind came straight at him. Luo Wei immediately gave the command, and a layer of pink light also gathered on Masked Cat's fist.

Their fists clashed and passed each other. Machamp's base Speed ​​stat of 55 was no match for Meowth's Speed ​​123. When both sides threw punches at the same time, Meowth was faster.

Taking advantage of the gap in the opponent's cross slash, it dodged one of the explosive punches, and then directly slapped the unresisting Machamp with its pink-glowing paw. Instantly, a dark light flashed across Machamp's body.

Although the Mighty Cross Slash and the Explosive Punch were dodged, the final Explosive Punch still landed squarely on Masked Meow.

In return, Masked Cat's punch landed squarely on him.

Both figures were pushed aside by the opponent's force at the same time, while Luo Wei quickly calculated in his mind...

(No problem, I'm using Fairy-type Play Rough... The current Masked Meow is a Fairy-type, and Fairy-types only take half the damage from Fighting-type attacks. If it takes four punches, that's another story, but it can definitely withstand one punch, but...)

...The opposing Fighting-type is doubly weak to Fairy-type moves, and this Playful Rough, boosted by its own type and doubly weak to it, left Machamp defenseless. Taking that punch was definitely not easy for them.

More importantly, the Masked Cat's Playful Attack hit first, and this move itself has a chance to weaken the opponent's attack. This effect was just triggered, which means that the attack power of the Machamp was reduced by one level, and the power of this Explosive Punch was further reduced...

Just as Luo Wei had predicted, Masked Cat took a solid blow from a blasting punch. His body did tremble for a moment, but after taking two steps back, he firmly planted his foot on the ground and regained his balance.

Meanwhile, the Machamp on the other side, after taking a hit from Meowth's Playful Attack, also retreated rapidly. He seemed to be trying to forcibly stop himself, but when he put his foot on the ground, his body tilted to the side. His trembling ankle could not support his body, and he ended up kneeling on the ground...

With one arm supporting him on the ground and the other on his knee, Guai Li turned around and shook his head helplessly at the vine tree.

"...I see. Good, you've worked hard. Now, come back, Mighty One!"

Having confirmed that Machamp was no longer able to continue the battle, Vine Tree decisively took out a second Poké Ball...

"Well then, it's your turn next. Good luck, my ace!"

Chapter Sixty-Eight: Iron Palm Warrior

Having withdrawn his superhuman strength, Fujiki unleashed his true trump card...

"?"

A flash of light came from the Poké Ball, and Rowe felt the ground beneath his feet tremble slightly as an incredibly sturdy body firmly landed on the ground.

It was a humanoid Pokémon dressed like a sumo wrestler, with a sturdy and robust build. Apart from its physique, what was most striking was its pair of thick, powerful hands.

Those fleshy hands looked as if they could smash a living person from a 3D model into a 2D line drawing with a single slap; that was quite a feat.

This is the ace of the Vine Tree, named Iron Fist Warrior. Just like its name suggests, it is a Pokémon known for crushing enemies with its powerful palms. It is said to have the strength to slap a fully loaded truck away. A true "Iron Fist" Warrior!

There are pictures here, which can be viewed after the updated version

As soon as Luo Wei raised his hand, Masked Meow rushed forward. Masked Meow was still a Fairy-type, which gave it resistance to Fighting-type moves, so there was no need to change its type. It would continue to use Play Rough as its main attack move to break through its current level.

However, the opponent did not dodge at all. Teng Shu was obviously relying on brute force. The Iron Palm Warrior raised his thick right foot and stomped hard on the ground. With a muffled thud, his body sank down and he was firmly rooted to the ground as if he had taken root.

The masked cat approached, raised its paw, and aimed at the other's head. However, before it could even launch its attack, it felt a gust of wind.

Iron Palm Warrior slammed his separated palms together in front of him, as if swatting a fly. A shockwave mixed with a violent airflow forcefully blew Masked Cat off balance.

Before Masked Cat could react further, Iron Palm Warrior raised his hands above his head again and slammed them onto the ground.

In that instant, the ground beneath his palms began to churn like waves, transforming into a tidal wave that swept across the land.

"Earthquake? Wait, what kind of skill is that?"

This looks like an earthquake skill, but its form seems different. Luo Wei was also very surprised when he saw it, while Teng Shu spoke up frankly.

"My Iron Palm Warrior and I often go surfing together. Every time we face a giant wave, we marvel at the power of nature. So, we observe the changes in the waves and incorporate those changes into our moves."

In other words, by observing the waves while surfing and adapting earthquake skills accordingly, this unique seismic wave was created...

Centered on Iron Palm Warrior's body, the churning soil transformed into a turbid wave that spread outwards. Masked Cat quickly leaped up to dodge, but the waves themselves came one after another, so dodging one attack was meaningless.

Meanwhile, the Iron Palm Warrior on the opposite side successfully seized the rhythm, raising his iron palm and slamming it hard onto the ground once again...

Before Masked Cat could even land and steady itself, a second, even more violent wave crashed in…

As the surging "wave" approached, it suddenly burst through the ground, transforming into a fountain of mud and rocks. The debris and mud sprayed out with tremendous kinetic energy, its power no less than that of a sharp blade. Masked Cat, of course, did not want to take this hit, and quickly continued to dodge.

When faced with the monstrous strength of the previous attack, Lo Wei dared to send Masked Cat directly at the scene because he was certain that trading injury for injury would be a sure win...

But in the current situation, the two sides are hundreds of thousands of miles apart. Even if the Iron Palm Warrior's earthquake waves are broken through head-on, the Iron Palm Warrior himself will be completely unharmed.

Charging in like that is clearly not worthwhile...

Therefore, Rowe once again adopted guerrilla tactics, trying to find an opening for Masked Meow to get closer. As long as Masked Meow had a chance to strike, Rowe believed that a single Z-Power-enhanced Play Rumble would definitely be able to send the opponent away on the spot.

Unfortunately, Masked Cat circled Iron Palm Warrior three or five times but couldn't find a single opportunity. Iron Palm Warrior successfully dragged the battle into his own rhythm, his slaps becoming faster and faster, and one shockwave after another spreading out, surrounding Iron Palm Warrior from all directions without any blind spots.

"...Surfing is a sport fraught with danger. Faced with the immense power of nature...we can only do our best to adapt to its changes. However, even such unpredictable power has its own inherent patterns. Once we find these patterns, we can follow them and harness this power!"

Teng Shu raised his palm, steadied himself on the spot, and performed a clean and efficient set of punches and kicks. The force of the punches and kicks was so strong that it was clear that they were fundamentally different from those fancy but ineffective moves.

His movements, accompanied by his breathing, seemed to draw some invisible currents into his body. With each movement, he unleashed these currents, each punch accompanied by a deafening explosion.

Is this some kind of disguised pressure, or...?

Luo Wei raised an eyebrow, seemingly sensing something.

"...I see, I see. The 'True Qi Bullet'...integrates the method of controlling and circulating 'qi' into the 'Earthquake' skill. It's not just a skill that changes the earthquake, but a combination skill of True Qi Bullet and Earthquake!"

No wonder the turbid waves released by the seismic waves were so strong; it turns out that the technique of using true qi bullets was incorporated into them, mixing "qi" into the earthquake and releasing it, which, through the earth's conduction, gave the jet of water generated by the seismic waves even stronger kinetic energy.

That's why this move is so terrifying, because it's a combination of two powerful skills with power levels of 100 and 120. It would be strange if it weren't frightening.

Du Juan has an electromagnetic shield that Luo Wei cannot break through head-on, and she only managed to break through it by using a trick. Teng Shu, on the other hand, has a combination skill that combines powerful skills, integrating both ranged and melee attacks for offense and defense.

It can only be said that anyone who can become a Gym Leader must have some unique skills. Even so, Fujiki's strength is among the lowest of all Gym Leaders in the Hoenn region.

It's probably because the brute force tactics are too direct, and such a powerful skill lacks a bit of variability. But no matter what, as the saying goes, it's weak relative to the other gym leaders. After all, there's bound to be a last place among the eight gym leaders.

However, for ordinary trainers, the strength of the gym leader is overwhelming!

Fujiki's previous actions were essentially a way of reminding Luo Wei of the principles behind his seismic waves. Now that Luo Wei had figured it out, Fujiki readily confirmed Luo Wei's idea.

"Yes, that's it... So, have you thought of a way to solve it?"

In other circumstances, they would never be so generous as to reveal their trump cards. However, the purpose of gym leaders' sparring is to train the trainers who come to challenge them. As "seniors," they are not stingy in giving guidance to new trainers.

Having determined the principles of seismic waves, Luo Wei made a decision...

"...Well then, it's your turn, Kirlia~"

Chapter Sixty-Nine: You took the initiative, so don't blame me~

"Well then, it's your turn, Kirlia~"

Kirlia was originally intended to be the main force against Fighting-type opponents. They had been saving their trump card, but now it seems like it's time for Kirlia to step in.

At that moment, Rowe replaced Masked Cat with Kirlia.

"Thank you for your hard work~"

As soon as Meowth entered the field, it immediately hopped towards Lowell, successfully knocking down Machamp, but also taking a hit from the opponent's Burst Punch. Although it didn't inflict much damage, it was still a Pokémon that Fujiki had carefully trained, so it was impossible for it to be completely unharmed after taking that punch.

Therefore, after sending Kirlia, Lowe immediately went to check on Masked Meow's condition.