Pokémon, Ash's art style is off!

Blastoise - Iron Defense!

Add another layer!

Blastoise's shell gleamed with silver light, raising its defensive capabilities to a new level!

Gary looked at Ash and Pikachu across from him, who were slightly out of breath, with a confident and composed look in his eyes.

"This is... a decisive blow!"

Although Ash's ability to adapt to changing situations is indeed very strong.

But with the combined advantages of Candle Berry, Iron Defense, and Mega Evolution, Pikachu has no way to break through!

In short, in a nutshell.

The advantage lies with me!

.........

Pikachu steadied itself, landed on all fours, and, slightly out of breath, raised its head, its gaze piercing through the remaining steam and mist on the field, looking directly at Ash.

Xiao Zhi was also watching it.

The eyes of the man and the mouse collided in mid-air, meeting silently for a moment.

"Pickup!"

Pikachu's tail tip swayed gently.

"They were truly driven to the brink..."

Ash nodded, agreeing with Pikachu's words.

"Pikachu, it seems we have no choice but to use that!"

Pikachu's body crackled with electricity.

"Pikachu!"

The mouse had been waiting to hear those words!

Having received an affirmative answer, Ash took a deep breath and then slowly raised his left hand.

All eyes in the entire venue were drawn to that hand.

The hand was outstretched, fingertips together, and the sleeve was rolled up to the middle of the forearm, revealing one or two bracelets similar to the Mega bracelet!

"What is that...?"

"I recognize the one below, it's a Dynamax Bracer! It's from the Galar region! But I've never seen the one above before..."

"Golden crystals... Could it be that we in the Kanto region have a system now?"

Hearing the crowd's comments, Lillie clenched her fists.

Nobody even knows about the Z-Ring? It seems that restoring Alola's glory is now an urgent matter!

"Hey, you're so knowledgeable, what exactly is that thing? Do you recognize it?"

Musashi leaned on the commentary table with one hand and nudged Kojiro's arm with the other.

Kojiro squinted.

The platinum base features a crystal at its center, which refracts sunlight with dazzling brilliance, like a frozen bolt of lightning...

"That... seems to be the Alola Z-Ring, right?"

"I saw something similar at a local festival when I vacationed in Alora before—"

"what?!"

Musashi was shocked, but the reason for his shock was different from that of the audience.

"When did you go to Alora, and on vacation no less?! How come I had no idea?!"

"That's right, meow!"

Meow Meow jumped up too, her tail puffing up into a fluffy ball.

"How could you sneak off behind our backs! Aren't we a team, meow!"

"Childhood stuff...that's all from when I was a kid! Besides, it's work time!" Kojiro, sweat beading on his forehead, waved his hands frantically. "Can you focus on the match first? Don't talk about things unrelated to work!"

The witty remarks made by the commentator on the podium were broadcast live to the entire audience.

The audience was even more shocked.

"Good guy!"

"Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, Dynamax... Does he possess three systems?!"

"What kind of protagonist setup is this?! Just who is Xiao Zhi?!"

The crowd was buzzing with discussion, while Xiao Mao's expression had become a completely blank mask.

"???"

What are you going to do with that? Use Mega and Z-Moves together?

How could the human body possibly withstand such high-intensity physical exertion... Oh, it's Ash Ketchum on the other side.

That's fine.

A trainer's instincts allowed Shigeru to quickly calm down.

Although the Z-Move is powerful, he knows that it has a fatal weakness – the pre-action animation!

It's basically just awkward dancing!

The loading process always takes time. If he can seize that gap and command Blastoise to launch a preemptive attack, he might just be able to win this round!

Just as Shigeru was about to give instructions, he saw Ash move.

It's not an awkward dance!

It's not absurd!

The transitions between movements are so fast that they leave afterimages. Every pose is switched on the shortest path, like an animation with all the extra frames removed. It has no aesthetic appeal but is extremely efficient!

In just one second, the preliminary actions were completed!

The Z Crystal lit up, and at the same time, even more amazing golden lightning erupted from Pikachu's body!

Lightning exploded and spread outwards from its body, illuminating the entire venue as if it were daytime. The air was filled with crackling electrical sounds, and even the spectators standing on the top floor of the stands could feel their hair standing on end!

"This is our all-out effort—!!!"

Ash's voice exploded amidst the roar of lightning.

"Ultimate Volt Lightning Strike—!!!"

"Pikachu—!!!"

Xiao Mao's pupils suddenly contracted, reflecting the rapidly expanding golden light deep within them.

"Blastoise!!! Go all out!!! Quick! Quick!!!!"

Blastoise also sensed that urgency.

It fired all three cannons simultaneously, the main cannon on its back and the secondary cannons on its arms gathering their maximum energy at the same time, the deep blue light deep within the cannon barrels reaching its peak—

A wave of water, imbued with all its power, shot out with a deafening roar!

The water column was larger than ever before, and it roared as it rushed towards Pikachu!

In the arena, Pikachu, carrying a massive amount of electrical energy, transformed into a golden shooting star!

The small figure was enveloped in lightning and crashed headlong into the raging torrent!

A golden meteor collided violently with a raging torrent in mid-air!

The water rippled as it tried to engulf the golden lightning, but the lightning suddenly surged the moment it touched the water's surface!

The electric snake surged upstream against the current, tearing the water column to shreds from the inside with overwhelming force!

The water burst in the air into millions of tiny droplets, each reflecting golden lightning, making the entire battlefield seem as if a thunderstorm had struck!

The deafening roar shook the entire stands, and the shockwave swept across the stadium, causing the hems of the coats of the four people in the VIP seats to flutter wildly!

Pikachu broke through the ripples in the water, but its dash didn't stop.

It slammed into Blastoise with a burst of lightning that was so bright it almost burned the retina!

"Crack—!!"

Blastoise let out a deep, muffled roar, its voice distorted by the electric shock.

The massive body was violently thrown into the air, spinning across the entire arena before crashing heavily into the wall behind it!

"boom--!!!!"

Stone fragments flew everywhere, and dust rose several meters high. A thick, grayish-white haze spread out, obscuring most of the battlefield.

The audience, numbed by the electric shock from the water droplets, forced themselves to stand up.

"It blew Mega Blastoise away!! Are Z-Moves really that powerful?!"

"Won, won—did we win?!"

"There's no way we can withstand that kind of power!!"

However, the four people in the VIP seats did not make a move.

"Almost there."

Kona spoke first.

"Yes, almost."

Kikuko also spoke up.

As the smoke and dust slowly dissipated, Blastoise remained standing.

Its shell was covered with charred electrical marks, and the edges were blasted with several cracks, while the cannon barrel was trembling slightly.

But it still stood among the pile of rubble, swaying violently with most of its weight resting on the wall behind it, yet it did not fall!

The residual resistance from the Candle Fruit, combined with the defensive enhancement from Iron Defense, and the inherent stat boost from Mega Form...