Who needs a girlfriend when you have Pokémon?

While some Pokémon are stronger in their unevolved state, most Pokémon become stronger after evolving than before.

As is common knowledge in the Pokémon world, evolution itself is nothing surprising. What is more intriguing is that such a powerful trainer as Loewon's Pokémon has never evolved.

When Luo Wei spoke at that moment, it clearly indicated something.

His new Leafy Meow doesn't evolve not because it can't, but because it's a deliberate choice. If he wanted, he could make the new Leafy Meow evolve anytime, anywhere, since the accumulated experience and level have already met the requirements.

If that's the case, why didn't we let Newleaf Meow evolve before?

To put it simply, this can be considered a form of "cultivation." If you don't evolve, you can learn more powerful skills at a lower level. At the same time, it is also a kind of "weight training."

It's like constantly carrying a heavy load for weight training; the moment you remove the load (complete evolution), you'll experience a transformative power boost.

Loewy had been suppressing Newleafy's evolution in order to train it with weights, and Newleafy had been cooperating by suppressing its own evolution.

That's why Rowe was able to remain calm and composed when facing Nihilego, because he always knew that he still had a trump card in his hand. If Neoleaflet evolved, he could still suppress an Ultra Beast in a one-on-one fight.

Because of their excellent teamwork, Luo Wei didn't have to use his trump card in the end, allowing Shin-Ye-Nyan to defeat Niohuru.

At this moment, facing the powerful offensive of the Onix, Luo Wei knew that continuing to suppress his evolution here might really lead to defeat.

So, it's time to play this last trump card...

Having received Luo Wei's approval, Xin Ye Miao did not hesitate. It immediately shook its fur and then stomped its limbs hard on the ground. As a large number of grass leaves flew up, they instantly enveloped Xin Ye Miao's entire body.

"Double-edged mace!"

Although Du Juan didn't know how strong Luo Wei's Neoleaf Meow would be after evolving, the simplest way was to end the battle before the opponent evolved.

Besides, even if Luo Wei had no backup plan, Du Juan wouldn't hold back unless Luo Wei refused to let her use her full strength from the start. Now that they've stepped onto the dueling stage, she certainly wouldn't hold back halfway...

Onix raised its head and unleashed another powerful double-bladed headbutt, this time with even greater force, threatening to cleave the entire arena in two!

The raised head, along with the single horn on its head, released a brilliant and intense light, and roared in with the momentum of destroying cities and fortresses!

Meanwhile, New Leafy Meow, her body enveloped in swirling leaves, leaped into the air, her form changing rapidly as she jumped.

The body, which was originally on all fours, suddenly stood up upright on its two feet.

Before the announcement of the second evolution of the new Leafy Neko, countless people made heart-wrenching pleas for the first form of the new Leafy Neko.

Please, please don't stand up! You're not allowed to turn into that (referring to the Fiery Roaring Tiger)...

However, after seeing the appearance of the third evolution of New Leaf Cat, countless people expressed...

...It smells so good!

So I'm telling you, I can use the Wang Jingze Law for my next life!

The newly emerged Leafy, with its light and agile steps, shifted its position rapidly, quickly reaching a blind spot in Onix's attack. At the same time, the fluttering leaves scattered rapidly, and a graceful figure appeared from among them...

"what?"

When the onlookers saw what Shin-Ye-Miao looked like, they were stunned once again. The figure that appeared in the light, a beautiful woman dressed like a masquerade dancer, was none other than Shin-Ye-Miao's third evolution, Magical Masked Meow...

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

...How come it skipped the second stage of evolution and went straight to the third stage?

Even the experienced dojo owner, Du Juan, was shocked by the scene before her.

"You actually completed all three stages of evolution in one go! Just how many experience points did you accumulate with New Leaf Cat?"

"Haha, this is probably the result of my hard work training ever since I got Shin-Ye-Nyan as my partner six years ago~"

"..."

It's not too surprising that a Pokémon doesn't evolve for six years. After all, not everyone knows how to train Pokémon. Without training and experience, it won't evolve.

At the same time, if you have an item like an Everstone, you can lock the evolution of a Pokémon. Also, since most Pokémon in their first stage are smaller and cuter, many people choose not to evolve them.

However, if you train continuously for six years without making any progress, then the accumulated experience will indeed be an astronomical figure.

In other words, has Lowe's new Leafy Meow already accumulated enough experience and level to evolve to the third stage, but has been suppressing it all along?

So, how strong will Masked Cat be now that it has broken through this constraint and finally shed all its burdens?

At that moment, Masked Cat stretched out its body and yawned comfortably... its feet on the ground, its hands free, all the movements so natural...

Unleashing all her accumulated experience, the revamped Masked Cat elegantly raised her chin and took a step like a graceful dancer, her toes lightly touching the ground... Everyone's gaze was drawn to her light and graceful movements, as if uncontrollably drawn to them...

One step, two steps...

...After three steps, her figure suddenly disappeared from everyone's sight. Immediately after her, a beautiful bouquet of flowers soared into the air and exploded in mid-air, turning into a shower of petals.

Magical Masked Cat's exclusive skill...

...a myriad of variations~

Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Great North

As Masked Cat moved with dance-like steps, her body once again soared into the air, and a bouquet of flowers in her hand flew out, exploding in mid-air and turning into a shower of petals.

This is Masked Meowth's exclusive move. Of course, it's possible that this exclusive move will be transferred to other Pokémon in the future, but for now, this is a move that only Masked Meowth can learn.

With agile dance steps and ghostly skills, she throws a specially tampered bouquet that will inevitably hit a vital point in the instant it explodes!

The falling petals swept down, and the visual effect was quite similar to the same Grass-type move "Leaf Storm." However, that was a special attack move. In other words, the leaves blown out by Leaf Storm were actually just energy bodies shaped like leaves, similar to a large-scale barrage attack.

Masked Cat's Difference is a genuine display of physical attacks, though it's unwise to try and directly counter Onix's 160 physical defense stat with physical attacks.

However, given that it's a Masked Cat with STAB power boost, Onix is ​​four times weak to Grass, and it's guaranteed to hit a critical hit, the power of this attack is actually enough to penetrate Onix's defense.

The swirling petals resembled thousands of sharp blades, creating a seemingly beautiful scene, but in reality, they concealed a deadly intent. Each of the fluttering petals was sharp enough to cut through gold and jade.

This couldn't be described as a rain of petals at all; it was practically no different from a Gatling gun. In those few seconds, Onix actually received a barrage of intense firepower head-on.

Even with its formidable defensive capabilities, Onix couldn't withstand the triple attack of STAB, a fourfold advantage, and a critical hit. Under the relentless onslaught, its massive body swayed precariously.

Seeing this, Dujuan immediately recalled Onix. There was no doubt that Onix had no strength left to continue fighting, so Dujuan immediately switched to her second Pokémon.

Of course, compared to the Big Game Hunter, that's her real trump card.

With a dull thud, everyone felt the ground beneath their feet tremble violently, instantly raising a cloud of dust.

Masked Meow, who had forced Onix to switch places with a single blow, landed gracefully and performed a backflip back to the half of the arena where Rowe was. Once she was standing still, she frowned slightly and looked down at her arm.

All you could see was that the originally soft hair on her arms was now fluffy and bristling, as if attracted by static electricity.

Masked Cat felt the pain most intensely because it was in the arena. Even those who weren't in the arena, including Luo Wei, felt a stinging sensation on their exposed skin.

It was as if some invisible static electricity had appeared in the air, and Ralts, who was also following beside Rowe, had its horns shaking rapidly, as if it had sensed some great danger. It frantically tugged at Rowe's trouser leg, and Rowe quickly reached out his hand.

When Rowe took Ralts's hand, he could clearly feel the unease and fear emanating from her, a feeling he had never experienced even when facing Nihilego.

...It seems that the Pokémon that is about to appear is far stronger than any opponent I have ever seen before.

So far, the strongest opponent that Luo Wei has ever encountered was undoubtedly the Salamence that appeared in the back mountain six years ago. Even now, Luo Wei wouldn't dare say he has a sure victory against a wild Salamence.

That was six years ago, when Rowe had just become a trainer. It was completely different from now. So Rowe didn't know how credible and accurate his memories were, since memories are bound to have some discrepancies with the facts.

Let alone six years ago, Luo Wei might not even remember what his dinner tasted like six days ago. It's not surprising that such a long time ago would cause a large discrepancy between memory and reality.

If we exclude the Salamence whose true strength is unknown, then the Pokémon that has appeared at this moment is definitely the strongest opponent that Rowe has ever encountered.

...Lowe seemed to subconsciously overlook his father's Pokémon. Of course, this could also be because Lowe was too familiar with his father's Pokémon, so he subconsciously didn't think of them.

Looking into the billowing dust, a figure seemed to be pressed down squarely. The figure didn't look particularly tall, maybe a little over a meter tall, nothing compared to the giant rock snake that was at least ten meters away earlier.

But the other party possessed a calm and terrifying charisma that brought a powerful sense of oppression without making a sound.

Suddenly, the swirling sandstorm parted sharply to both sides, and a beam of light, shining like a jewel, burst forth from the dark figure.

"!"

Seeing this, the Magic Masked Cat immediately moved its toes and nimbly flipped to the side to dodge the attack. With the firing of the Power Gem, the true form of the opponent was revealed.

It was a stone sculpture of a human head, over a meter tall and entirely bluish-gray...

Its facial features are lifelike, with eyes, ears, mouth and nose all present. It looks like a stone statue with distinct edges and corners. But upon closer inspection, you will find that the two ears of the stone statue and the protrusion connected to the back of the head are three smaller stone carvings of human heads.

"Big baby..."

Luo Wei pronounced the name of the Pokémon. This was Dujuan's ace Pokémon, which usually lived deep in mines. As an industrial city, Rustboro City had large mines nearby, so this Proboscis must have come from there.

However, in the wild, it is basically a degenerate form of Proboscis. To evolve into Proboscis, it needs an environment with a special magnetic field and the training of a trainer.

In short, it can be considered a relatively rare Pokémon, and it made its debut as Dujuan's ace...

Its mere presence instantly altered the entire surrounding environment. Luo Wei clearly sensed that the air was filled with invisible magnetic fields and static electricity, which must be the Great Chao Bei Bi's skill, Magnetic Field Manipulation.

Originally a move that boosts the defenses and special defenses of Pokémon with specific abilities, it has become a reality, much like moves like Immobilize and Double Team, and its effects have changed.

No, to be precise, it might be the opposite. The game made reasonable changes to the effects of skills for various considerations, so that many Pokémon's special abilities are just a sentence in the Pokédex description.

In reality, the skill should have this effect as it is now...

It's unclear what effect this magnetic field manipulation skill will have, but it seems to be a field buff.

"Masked Cat... A Thousand Transformations!"

Regardless, they needed to fight at least once to know the opponent's strength. At that moment, Rowe held Ralts' hand, offering words of comfort while simultaneously issuing commands to Meowth...

Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Immovable Fortress

Holding Ralts's hand, Rowe could feel the intense unease and fear emanating from the little one; the opponent's strength far exceeded her expectations.

"Haha, don't worry, this isn't a life-or-death duel, it's just a simple competition~"

Lowe knew the source of Ralts' fear; after all, not long ago she was a wild Pokémon, and battles among wild Pokémon could result in injury and death, as it was a competition for survival.

Therefore, a powerful opponent represents great danger, but Rowe tries to explain to Ralts the difference between Pokémon battles and the survival competition in the wild.