Who needs a girlfriend when you have Pokémon?

If we were to say who among them would be the most suitable to be his partner, then she would definitely be the first choice.

After all, she was Luo Wei's childhood sweetheart.

With that sound, a figure flew over, grabbing the foot of a Swellow and soaring through the air. As she threw a Poké Ball, a lithe figure descended from the sky with her arms crossed.

The figure descended from the sky with a kick, and with a surge of golden energy, it actually shattered the churning pillar of fire into pieces with a single blow...

After kicking the pillar of fire, the figure released its arms that were wrapped around its chest, and the girl holding the Great Swallow let go and jumped down, where it caught her steadily.

The figure had white feathers and a deep red V-shaped comb on its head. Its overall appearance resembled a fighter with tied-up hair and wearing a martial arts uniform. It was Torchic's third evolution—Blazing Chicken...

The girl, whom the Blaziken was holding securely, casually greeted Rowe.

"Hey, I'm here to help! Oh, am I a little late?"

"Haha, not at all, you've arrived just in time! A hero should make a grand entrance last, you look so cool, Yao~"

Luo Wei spoke the other person's name, and Asha immediately recognized it from the name.

"Haruka, ah, it's Professor Birch's..."

After all, Professor Birch is a well-known Pokémon professor in the Hoenn region. Although his reputation in the industry is not as good as Professor Oak's, he is still a top Pokémon scholar.

Professor Birch's daughter, having been exposed to Pokémon from a young age, has acquired extensive knowledge of the game. It is said that she broke through four gyms in just a few months, winning each one with overwhelming force and impressive advantages.

Like Rowe, he was a renowned genius newcomer in the Hoenn region at this moment, attracting the attention of countless people.

Although she is young, as the saying goes, strength in the Pokémon world is never about age, but about one's ability to train Pokémon and related knowledge. From this point of view, May is undoubtedly a very reliable reinforcement.

More importantly, Xiaoyao is Luo Wei's childhood friend, and with her assistance, she can play a role that no one else can.

May deftly jumped off Blaziken's arms, simultaneously pulling out her Poké Ball and releasing a Pokémon with a grass-green body and a beige head, resembling a kangaroo and wearing a straw hat...

Luo Wei immediately recognized it; it was Breloom, the rare Pokémon that the overworked guy back in Petalburg Woods was looking for—its evolution…

Swellow, Breloom, and Blaziken – this is May's current lineup. Her arrival has immediately and clearly changed the course of the battle.

"Tsk, this is really..."

Chi Yansong's gaze swept over the group in front of him. Luo Wei was already in a difficult situation, and he could barely handle Aya. Now, with Xiaoyao added to the mix, it was clearly disadvantageous for him to fight three against one.

However, he naturally had no intention of backing down. Having planned to this point, he had no room for retreat.

The device behind him emitted a deafening roar, and the meteorite placed inside emitted a blinding bluish-white light.

We must persevere no matter what, since that's the case...

"I wasn't planning on using this anyway..."

As he said this, Chi Yansong reached into his pocket, took out a bracelet, and put it on his wrist, which surprised Luo Wei.

"what?"

The bracelet wasn't unfamiliar to Luo Wei, or rather, the things on the bracelet weren't unfamiliar to him...

...The bracelet was inlaid with a rhombus-shaped crystal, which was clearly a Z-purity crystal, but...

"...Holy crap, you're going to use a Z-Move? Wait a minute, didn't your Camerupt have a Mega Stone? Where the hell did you find the space to carry a Z-Crystal?!"

Although Luo Wei really wanted to complain about it, the fact that a Pokémon can only carry one item is a rule in the game. It can be understood as a special rule set up for "fair competition", similar to how recovery items cannot be used during Pokémon battles.

On the other hand, Mega Evolution is a huge burden on the Pokémon itself, and the same goes for Z-Moves or Ultimate Power. The reason they cannot coexist is that the Pokémon itself may not be able to support both of these powers.

However, if we ignore this point, it doesn't seem like it's impossible to force both powers onto a single Pokémon.

Since the other party is President Lusamine's partner, obtaining Z-Crystals through her channels shouldn't be difficult in theory. This is the power of the Alola region, and the Aether Foundation is itself a local organization in the Alola region.

As the man in front of him tightened his grip on the Z-Crystal, a blazing flame erupted from his entire body. Without hesitation, Luo Wei immediately tightened his grip on the Z-Crystal as well and assumed a fighting stance.

Gardevoir has already used Z-Crystal to create Psychic Terrain, while Meowth hasn't used a Z-Move yet...

Just as Rowe got into position, the opposing Crimson Pine had already completed the transfer of its ultimate power, concentrating all the golden flames onto Mega Cameroon...

A powerful burst of fire combined with the Z-Force, a Z-Move...

...Super-powerful extreme explosive fireball!

"Beware!"

Luo Wei had only just gotten halfway through his preparations when his opponent moved so quickly, seemingly already having mastered the use of ultimate power...

Xiaoyao, on the other hand, remained calm, as if the situation did not trouble her at all. She seemed to have reached out to take something out, but unexpectedly, Aysa reacted even faster.

Before her brain could make a decision, her body reacted instantly. She lunged forward and raised her hand to command her Pokémon...

"...Double burst of fire, lift it up!!!"

Chapter 167 Can You Do It If You Want To?

Luo Wei had only half-set up his stance, and before he could fully unleash his ultimate power, Xiao Yao, who seemed to be reaching for something, also only made half of her move before Aysa rushed up ahead of them.

"Double burst of fire, lift it up!!!"

As Asha gave the command, her Pokémon immediately responded, and two golden-red flames intertwined, transforming into a pillar of fire that shot upwards in one direction.

"You think you can stop... what..."

Red Flame Pine hadn't paid much attention to Aysa's actions, since Aysa's strength was no match for his in a one-on-one fight. Mega Camerut was already enough to suppress Aysa, and now with the addition of the ultimate Z-Move, Aysa should have been defeated in one move.

But he never expected that things would develop in an unexpected direction.

(No problem, absolutely no problem. There are no Pokémon habitats in that direction, so I can't block this attack. However, if I just redirect this attack in another direction, the angle of attack and the required force... I need to have perfect control! No problem, I can, I can...)

...The Gym Leader of the Lava City Gym, a League-certified Fire-type Pokémon expert!!!

The brain didn't have time to make any judgment; instead, the body reacted honestly, responding entirely on instinct.

All the results of my training, my understanding of the terrain of Chimney Mountain, my expertise in Fire-type Pokémon and my own experience raising Camerupt, and my understanding of the opponent's attack patterns and moves were all condensed into these few dozen seconds!

Perhaps in terms of strength, she is not as good as the man in front of her, but in other aspects, she is sure that she is no less than him!

The next second, the golden-red fireball, condensed to its limit and as brilliant as the sun, was forcefully propelled into the air by Aysa's double-boosted fireball. It deviated from its original angle, whistling as it grazed the battlefield and flew towards the sky.

A dozen seconds later, a deafening explosion rang out, and the fireball burst open, transforming into a dazzling display of fireworks in mid-air.

Although you could feel the violent power and force contained in the flames from a distance, the angle was eventually diverted, and no one present was affected.

The exquisite technique fully demonstrates the skill of "using minimal force to overcome great strength." Only Aysa, a master of Fire-type Pokémon, would dare to execute such a delicate maneuver in the face of such a ferocious attack.

More importantly, when everything settled down and the serious expression on the girl's face faded, she herself was a little stunned...

"...Hey, what am I doing?"

In that instant, the body acted faster than the mind. Just as mentioned before, Fire-type Pokémon trainers often have extreme personalities; they are either able to calmly assess the situation and complement their Pokémon's personality, or they are spontaneously combusting hot-blooded types who are "eating lemons and getting fired up!"

Asha was clearly the latter; at that moment, she was filled with passion, and instead of thinking about "what I can do," she was only thinking about "what I should do!"

As a Pokémon trainer and the gym leader assigned to resolve this incident, at that moment, the glory and pressure he had always carried were temporarily forgotten in the face of the crisis.

She was simply acting as a trainer, and in the face of the crisis, she made what she believed to be the most correct action.

So simple, so pure...

Then, she delivered a more beautiful comeback than any of her previous well-thought-out attacks!

She was stunned by the crimson pine tree opposite her, and she was also stunned by herself...

...Of course, Crimson Flame Pine wouldn't hold back under these circumstances; the power of that attack could be clearly felt from a great distance.

That means this is absolutely true, without any exaggeration, and is indeed Asha's own power!

Because of the heavy burdens she carried and all sorts of overthinking that prevented her from fighting freely, she finally broke free of her mental constraints here and truly unleashed her full potential...

This is the true strength of a "Pokémon expert" recognized by the league!

"That's why I say, it's not something you can just do because you want to. Don't overthink it, and you'll do it beautifully!"

Luo Wei gave a summary with a smile, which may also have been to cover up the embarrassment of not being able to unleash his Z-Move halfway through.

After her initial shock, Aysha seemed to finally come to her senses. She slapped her face hard with both hands, and her entire demeanor seemed to change abruptly.

"Okay, thank you, I finally understand!"

Often, the difference is just "a little bit" because of a lack of confidence in one's own strength. This mindset manifests in the body, preventing the true strength from being utilized to the fullest extent, even if it is only 70%.

At this moment, Asha finally let go of her burdens. She understood this in an instant and put it into practice. It was as if she had unloaded the heavy burden she had been carrying and showed her true abilities.

On the other hand, the Crimson Pine on the opposite side was really having a hard time facing this situation.

His ultimate move, which he had hoped would break the deadlock, ultimately failed to achieve anything. Instead, it helped Aysa overcome her mental block. Now, Aysa has overcome her mental block, Rowe is still holding onto his Z-Move trump card, and there's also May with an unknown trump card.

With three against one, Crimson Flame Pine conservatively estimated that he probably, maybe, likely, he couldn't hold out against this situation...

"..."

He paused for two seconds, then glanced at the roaring device out of the corner of his eye, while also pondering another question.

"That guy, Water Wutong, didn't get involved at all..."

That's right. So far, the only people involved in the Chimney Mountain incident have been Team Magma and the people sent by the League. Archie's Team Aqua has not made any moves at all.

This is naturally puzzling. Logically speaking, given their previous defeat at Meteor Falls, and based on Chi Yan Song's understanding of Shui Wutong, he would never have swallowed his pride and would definitely have tried to get revenge.

Given this situation, it is quite strange that he didn't get involved in the matter at all, which is enough to raise suspicion.

After carefully considering the possibilities, Crimson Flame Pine suddenly realized something...

"...That guy, could it be..." Realizing something, Crimson Pine immediately laughed, "...So that's how it is, I've been used as a pawn instead."

After saying that, Lowe closed in. "Alright, it's about time you surrender, Crimson Pine, leader of Team Lava!"

However, Crimson Flame Pine shrugged and said, "I'm sorry, but I have no reason to be caught here..."

After saying that, he calmly took two steps back...

"what?"

Behind him was the crater of Chimney Mountain!