Elf: Who told him to be an investigator!

"Wow!"

"Strike hard!"

"Genta's Macho Might sent Kanji's Onix flying! No wonder he's the best miner in our mine!"

A series of loud, boisterous cheers came from the deep pit in the distance.

Judging from this, it sounds like... a Pokémon battle?

Ze Shu was stunned for a moment.

After all, it was too strange to hear these sounds on the roads of this desert mining area.

Driven by curiosity, Ze Shu followed the sound and quickly found a vertical opening.

Looking down from the cave entrance, one could see people wearing yellow miners' hats busily engaged in a simple, centrally located battleground, cheering.

Meanwhile, another battle began on the rocky battlefield, with a Machoke and a Tyrannosaurus Rex locked in combat.

It seemed they heard the roar of a motorcycle overhead.

The people below looked up and saw Ze Shu, who had just taken off his windproof goggles.

"Hmm? What a cool motorcycle! Are you a trainer heading to Blackrock City to challenge the gym leader?" he asked doubtfully at first, then loudly invited, "Hey buddy, want to join us for a head-to-head battle?"

Ze Shu smiled: "A competition?"

"Haha, it's actually just a competition spontaneously organized by us miners," he explained loudly. "Come join us! If you're going to challenge the Black Gold Gym, you'll still have to battle us before your gym battle!"

After he finished speaking, countless enthusiastic invitations followed.

"Hahaha—bro, it's not good for a real man to be scared!"

"Don't be fooled by this seemingly random competition! The prizes are fantastic!"

Zeshu noticed that next to the battlefield, there were three levels of equipment, high, low, and medium, containing Pokémon items of three different grades: Evolution Stone, Everstone, and Hard Stone.

This must be the reward they were talking about.

"..."

"Huh?"

A snow-white fox head peeked out from Ze Shu's thick collar, curiously glancing at the match below, and then reached out a paw to rub Ze Shu's chin.

"Even if you were to participate, it wouldn't be you fighting." Ze Shu chuckled, ruffling Six-Tails with his hand, which was covered by a thick cycling glove, before turning to the people below and asking, "What are the rules?"

"Haha, no rules!" a gruff voice shouted from below. "Whoever defeats all our Pokémon is the champion!"

Ze Shu twitched the corner of his mouth.

Such straightforward rules...

"How's it going, buddy?"

"I'll participate."

……

As soon as Ze Shu came down, he was met with enthusiastic stares. Coincidentally, the battle on the battlefield had also ended, with Gouri emerging victorious once again.

"Hey buddy, it's your turn!"

"Go for it! Hyunta's been the champion in several previous competitions, beat him to a pulp!!"

So Ze Shu was enthusiastically pushed onto the stage.

But looking at his opponent, Haoli, who was slightly out of breath, he said:

"...Doesn't your powerful strength need rest?"

"Haha, no need! It's rare to see a stranger like this, perfect. I'm tired of fighting these guys, both me and my Macho power! By the way, my name is Genta, what's yours?"

Hyuntae was also wearing a yellow miner's hat, but his face looked a little younger, while his physique was strong and powerful.

"Sawaki. Hello." Sawaki introduced himself.

"Ooh!" The Six-Tails popped out from the collar.

"Haha, what adorable Pokémon—let's begin!" Xuan Tai laughed.

There aren't many rules.

Upon arriving at one end of the battlefield, the opposing team's Haoli had already assumed a workout pose.

With a slight movement of his arm, Ze Shu gently tossed out a black Poké Ball, and a Piketo Grunt, gleaming with a cold, metallic light, appeared opposite Machoke.

"What kind of Pokémon is this?" Genta's eyes lit up.

The steel-armored soldiers with their sharp swords suited their rugged tastes perfectly.

Before Ze Shu could answer, someone below shouted, "It's Komato Kobu, you idiot!"

Genta scratched his head helplessly.

"Let the battle begin! Mighty Force, gather your power!"

"Whoa—" Haoli stepped down, his body surrounded by transparent air currents.

Ze Shu nodded: "A terrifying face, dark eyes."

The black aura surrounding Koma-to-no-kami transformed into a grotesque demon face, accompanied by pitch-black eyes, and suddenly shot towards the opposing Haoli who was gathering his energy.

The terrifying face can slow down the opponent, and the black gaze, unlike in the game where it can only hinder the opponent's escape, can also restrict the opponent's range of movement.

Haoli was gathering his energy but couldn't avoid it. He was hit directly by these negative effects and was immediately surrounded by black energy.

Hyunta chuckled, "Don't be afraid, Haoli is just child's play! Let's continue with our own! Bodybuilding!"

Hao Li struck a serious bodybuilding pose: "Wow—"

Ze Shu twitched the corner of his mouth.

Using Pawni against Machamp is indeed a huge disadvantage, since its Steel and Dark types are both weak to Fighting types. However, Machamp also has a major weakness: its attack speed and movement speed are extremely slow.

Not to mention being struck by a terrifying face and a dark gaze.

However, the opposing Macho has no defensive characteristics. It doesn't care about its own defense or how slow its attack speed is. It only cares about hitting the opponent. This is also the reason why Genta has been gathering energy and strengthening his body.

Therefore, we have no choice but to launch a direct attack!

"Metal claws!" he exclaimed immediately.

Without any hesitation.

Sparks flew as the sharp claws of the sapling rubbed together. Despite its small size compared to the mighty Golem, it didn't slow down at all and charged straight at it at incredible speed!

Clang——

The metal claw suddenly swung towards Haoli!

Haoli could only barely block with his tangled arms, but the sharp blade of the samurai soldier caused Haoli's arm to fly off in pain.

"Don't stop!" Ze Shu shouted.

The soldier with the dagger did the same, and the metal claw in his other hand immediately activated again. Without the protection of his arm, Maurice was immediately subjected to the metal claw, and his eyes turned red with pain.

After the soldier sharpened his sword, the sharpness of its blade was significantly improved. It was quite remarkable that Gouri didn't fall down after taking that blow.

"Hang in there, let's not stop!" Hyunta shouted. "Keep going until the bodybuilding is finished!"

"Whoa—"

Haoli was panting heavily, his eyes were bloodshot, and his muscles were bulging as he tensed up.

It relies on the taut muscles resulting from bodybuilding to withstand the metal claws of the Komato soldiers!

But it does work.

Even if the swordsman's blade is sharp, it is difficult to break through its defenses in the short term.

The silver light kept flashing and slicing across the surface.

With each strike from the metal claws, Haoli's eyes reddened.

But why does it feel that the metal claws of the Koma Swordsman are hurting more and more?

"Ho—"

"Now!" Watching Hao Li complete his physique, Genta clenched his fist and swung it down, "Explosive Fist!!!"

Explosive Fist.

Fighting-type moves are extremely powerful, with the only downside being low accuracy, but they often pair perfectly with the Macho family's "no-defense" trait.

Haoli's eyes were bloodshot, and he was breathing heavily. He slowly raised his large fist, from which chaotic light surged continuously.

Then, he swung it down suddenly.

In such a position, the soldiers with the swordsmanship of the koto would have no chance to dodge, not to mention that the characteristic of the koto is that it has no defense.

But there's no need to hide.

"Hang in there," Ze Shu said.

Bang--!!

The explosive punch slammed into the soldier's body, colliding with his steel armor and producing a deafening clang of metal against metal.

Its melee-type ultimate attack, which is four times stronger than the Koma Blade Soldier's, leaves it completely defenseless. Under normal circumstances, it would be able to incapacitate the Soldier with a single blow.

But thanks to the power of "holding on".

The soldier with the dagger still retained a sliver of vitality.

immediately--

"Swallow Returns!" Ze Shu said.

Previously, the metal claw was not a move he could command at will.

In the game, it can boost the attack of Pokémon that uses this move.

Now, the attack power of the Koma Blade soldier, who has used the metal claws on Maurice countless times, is not simply doubled.

The Swallow Return perfectly complements the sharpness of the sword that the soldier had previously sharpened, and it is also extremely effective against powerful opponents.

Here.

The soldier with the dagger held nothing back.

A crescent-shaped arc, brimming with flight-attribute energy, suddenly emerged from the chaos brought about by the Exploding Fist, and was unleashed without reservation into the body of Ghoul, whose old power from the Exploding Fist had dissipated!

Clang——

Swallows fly back.

Haoli fell, unable to fight.