Pokémon from Galar

Raising a tentacle to block the fangs, preventing more vital parts from being torn apart, the Power Gem also unleashed its power in one go!

boom--!

"hiss--"

One of the tentacles was bitten off without any surprise, and Mari, who was temporarily in control of the body, was also 100% in sync with all her senses, including pain.

Although she had long anticipated that her fighting style would eventually lead to such pain, Mary did not regret it.

'Sorry, Kyon.'

Feeling guilty, Mary apologized to Kyon. Knowing that now was not the time to think about anything else, she gritted her teeth and endured the pain, launching another attack on Houndoom, whose condition had clearly declined!

This was the first time Nie Zi had ever seen Mary fight in this state. Although he knew about it before, he had never actually seen her fight in person. Today was truly an eye-opener for him.

Lambda on the other side has already been knocked unconscious by Mo and Hime together. There are still a few Pokémon putting up a last-ditch effort, but they should be dealt with quickly, so there's not much to worry about.

Although Nie Zi was quite concerned about the fact that Marie's Pokémon were all adept at targeting their trainers and taking sneak attacks, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Honestly, if it weren't for the need to guard against and restrain Apollo's Pokémon, Nie Zi would have been confident of defeating Articuno after Palmon and Chirp joined the fray.

So right now, Nie Zi is mostly observing the overall battlefield situation. If she successfully subdues Apollo, Nie Zi will be able to go all out and take down Articuno in one fell swoop.

Marie's battle rhythm was not affected by the current situation. Super Houndoom's strength is real. Although she has temporarily gained the upper hand, it does not mean that Marie can definitely win.

Raising her tentacles to activate Protect, she blocked the oncoming fiery explosion. Without stopping, Marie charged out of the flames, dodging another bite from Mega Houndoom.

Perhaps because the situation was getting worse, Houndoom, under Apollo's command, became increasingly frenzied in its attacks, even going so far as to bite Marie at the cost of injury on several occasions.

Mary quickly surveyed the positions of Apollo's Pokémon. Although the battlefield was divided, the actual distance was not too far. Both sides only needed one speed-up move to quickly switch to the other battlefield.

The most likely attacker to launch a sneak attack is the Dream Demon, as it is the only one best suited to carry out such a surprise attack.

We need to find a way to resolve this quickly, otherwise it will drag on indefinitely.

As Marie pondered this, she looked down at Mega Houndoom, which had already landed on the ground. Before Marie could react, Houndoom unleashed another burst of flames and charged forward!

Energy-Stored Flame Strike!

The speed boost caused Mary, whose speed was already comparable to Mary's, to quickly use Guard to block in front of her.

As the light barrier shattered, most of the billowing flames dissipated. However, Mary knew the opponent's attack was not over. A pair of sharp claws, gleaming with white light, broke through the shattered light barrier and swung down towards Mary.

But this time, Mary didn't dodge. She raised her tentacles again and swept them across, enduring the pain of her tentacles being torn apart, and the Power Gem erupted!

boom--!

"Let's do it!"

The sounds of people being drowned out by the explosion prevented Mary from noticing anything. By the time she sensed the energy fluctuations, the nightmare had already appeared beside Mary, with superpower fluctuations surging behind her.

"Balu!"

Nie Zi shouted Balu's name anxiously, and only he, being the fastest among those present, had a chance to save Mary.

But just as Apollo revealed a triumphant smile, and Nie Zi's expression was filled with terror,

call out--!

I-chan suddenly appeared between the dream monster and Mari. Protect her!

bang——

The shattered light barrier neutralized the powerful psychic attack. Marie casually reached out her tentacles and caught the falling Ichigo. Without turning her head, she quickly pursued Mega Houndoom, which had been slammed to the ground by her attack!

The white beam of light burst forth once more, and this time it was not dodged. Hit by the Power Gem twice in a row, coupled with the interference of the electromagnetic waves, even if Marie didn't finish it off, Mega Houndoom would hardly be able to continue fighting.

This is the difference between a non-legendary Pokémon and a legendary one. No matter how much training you do, a weak defense can't compare to an outstanding attack. In fact, the fact that it could withstand three attacks from Mario is enough to show just how powerful the opposing Mega Houndoom really is.

The floating body quickly descended, and I-chan, standing on Mari's tentacles, was wary of the dream monster, ready to act at any moment. Mari herself, meanwhile, looked at Apollo with a ferocious expression and extended her tentacles!

Boom—!! Boom boom—!

A large fireball from Magmortar was deflected by Palmo's Dragon Arrow and detonated in mid-air by Chirp's Bladebird, failing to harm Marie in the slightest.

The mischievous Raiden leaped up, attempting to get close to Marie before detonating, but was caught by Squid King and Silky, who had freed their hands. Hypnosis quickly took effect, forcibly interrupting the large-scale explosion.

Mismagius appeared in front of Apollo in a flash, only to be bumped aside by the even more elusive Pazu. Crobat, already nearing its limit, returned to Apollo's side, but it was clear to everyone that it had reached its limit, compounded by its disadvantageous type.

Instead of intercepting it, Chirp set its sights on the clearly restless Magmortar, which was obviously a greater threat than the powder keg-like Pokémon over there.

Two tentacles slapped Apollo aside, while two other tentacles wrapped around him, injecting a small amount of toxin that quickly drained his strength.

After doing all that, Marie turned to check on Lambda's side. Led by the bandana thug, Mo and the others were guarding the unconscious Lambda and all the Pokémon that had been recalled to their Poké Balls.

"call……"

Mary looked at Articuno, who was startled by Nie Zi's team's sudden and amazing offensive, and breathed a long sigh of relief. It was finally over for the time being.

Articuno is strong, but it's only a matter of time before it falls under the combined attack of five Pokémon.

Marnie, on the other hand, rudely ripped the Poké Ball from Apollo's waist and retrieved the Crobat, Houndoom, and Electrode, which had lost their battle ability, back into the Poké Ball to prevent them from freezing to death in the snow.

Then, looking at the Mismagius and Magmortar that were still fighting, it was not easy to make a Pokémon surrender. Anyone who could climb to this level, even if they were a ruthless terrorist, would not have a bad bond with their Pokémon.

"Ichijō, could you please go and help Kyuu?"

"Ee~ (No problem~)"

I-chan jumped off the tentacle and rushed towards the Duckbill Flame Beast, which was still releasing raging flames, in a flash of white light.

Meanwhile, Mary herself brought Apollo to the turban thug, tied it up, and threw it next to Lambda.

The third person hasn't shown up yet, so they've probably already retreated.

Marie thought to herself, then withdrew from her fused state with Kyon. She needed to give the Pokémon, who had temporarily withdrawn from the battle, some simple treatment to restore its injuries and energy.

Kyon even lost three tentacles. Although Kyon himself didn't seem to mind too much, after all, it's only natural to get injured in battle, and they're not like they can't grow back.

However, in Mary's emotional perception, injury and amputation are completely different levels, even though she rationally knows that this kind of injury is not serious for Kyon...

Chapter 311 Epilogue and Casual Chat

The commotion caused by Team Rocket and the three legendary birds has temporarily come to an end. When Yuri, Leon, and the others arrived late, Nie Zi had already subdued Articuno, and Marie had successfully calmed it down.

Moltres, which was flying to the Isle of Armor, was subdued by the former Champion who lived there and obediently flew back to the giant tree in the snowfield. Zapdos, on the other hand, was brought over by Raibou.

What worries Mary is that neither the former champion of the Isle of Armor, nor Kibana, nor her own brother Nie Zi, seems to have any intention of subduing the other.

Feeling like she'd made a wasted trip, Gym Leader Mei Rong, along with Yuri and Hop, assisted other detectives in searching for the scattered and escaped Team Rocket members, which also allowed the two talented rookies to gain more experience.

Meanwhile, Chibana looked at the Steel Raven standing beside Mary with a wry smile. Although he had a premonition, he didn't expect it to actually be Mary's.

Raising his elbow, he nudged Nie Zi beside him and whispered, tilting his head:

"How come your sister always manages to come up with something every time we meet... Last time she brought back a champion from another world, and this time she brought back a weird evolved form."

"Because that's my sister!"

"..."

Unlike the somewhat restrained Chibana, the more outgoing Leon walked up to Marie without hesitation, looking at the little bird with considerable amazement. He raised his hand to touch the still-dark red feathers on its wings and asked curiously:

"That's really nice. Is this form fixed, or will it revert to its original state?"

"It's already been finalized."

In fact, after Xiao Qiu dissipated its domineering aura, the dark red parts on its wings also faded. If someone who didn't know better didn't look closely, they might easily overlook the difference.

Is it possible for such an evolution to be replicated?

"Emperor Dan!"

Nie Zi, who had been silently watching from the side, suddenly became anxious after hearing Dan Di's question, and even forgot to add honorifics.

"I'm sorry, I will indicate in the report that it is not reproducible, but I would like to know the possibility of continuing to improve it."

Dandi smiled apologetically at Mary, and Nie Zi watched as Mary nodded slightly to him before silently turning off the communication device in his ear.

"...The conditions are very demanding. Xiao Qiu stabilized the energy by using her domineering aura, which is honestly almost impossible to replicate."

One thing at a time, Mari couldn't just reveal the method that Mugentsuna had given her; she could only vaguely hint at the possibility to Dan.

Even so, the Pill Emperor seemed to be smiling with great satisfaction.

"That's enough. Don't worry, I'll note in the report that it was a coincidence. But you should show your Steel Crow form less often, at least until you're strong enough."

For Dan Di, just knowing that this possibility exists is enough to motivate him. Everyone has their own path, and Dan Di wouldn't stoop to following the path of a little girl.

Mary nodded; she didn't doubt the character of the three people present.

"Alright—since there's nothing else, I'll go check on Apollo and the others. Nie Zi, you should take a break for now. You've worked hard these past few days."

Dan turned to look at Nie Zi. He had been so busy lately that he hadn't even had time to take care of the dojo. Today, he had even arrested two high-ranking members of Team Rocket. It was time to give him a break.

"I understand. I'll leave it to you for now. I'll be back in a couple of days."

Nie Zi glanced at Mary beside him and did not refuse the short vacation.

"...I mean, I can take care of Team Rocket from now on. You still have the gym to take care of, right?"

Unfortunately, Nie Zi ignored Dan Di's words, waved his hand, turned around and left the scene with Mary, leaving Dan Di and Qi Bana with a wry smile.

After walking a short distance with Nie Zi, Mary asked curiously:

"Where are we going now? Oh right! I haven't let my parents know I arrived safely yet. I was in such a rush when I came."

Slapping her forehead, Mary quickly pulled out her Rotom phone and dialed her parents' number. She apologized to her parents, who were nagging on the other end of the line, with an embarrassed smile. Actually, Mary felt a little bad inside.

His parents weren't particularly skilled trainers, but both he and his brother inherited exceptional talent and became trainers.

Just as Mary and Nie Zi worry about each other, so do their parents. But the feeling of not being able to come and help in person must be unpleasant.

Perhaps sensing Mary's thoughts, Nie Zi took the initiative to reach out and take the phone, accepting the task of ensuring safety.

After Nie Zi finished speaking, Mary took the phone and glanced at it, only to find that the call had been disconnected.

"Let's go to the village to get something to eat first, and then we'll go home when your friend comes back."

"Oh... is it far from here to the village?"

"It's quite far, but let's let the Pokémon rest for a while."

"By the way, why didn't any of you think about catching Articuno and the others? I think Articuno's final decision was that if you wanted to, the success rate wouldn't be low, right?"

Upon hearing Mary's answer, Nie Zi, unusually, laughed and patted Mary's head.

"I am a trainer, not a collector or a researcher. My job is to let Pokémon see a broader future. But the legendary birds have infinite possibilities, and I cannot take them any further."