Chapter 558: The Two-Faced Crazy Woman Has Arrived!

"It actually evolved!?"

Witnessing the Swampert's sudden transformation, Glazio was completely stunned.

That sensation even surpassed the shock he felt when he personally witnessed Luo Mu's Swampert, without using any move, block Tapu Koko's Dazzling Gleam with its bare hands!

"Puka—!?"

Having its attack caught, Tapu Koko momentarily froze in surprise.

Meanwhile, the Mega Swampert grabbed Tapu Koko's arm, exerted slight force, and flung it sideways! Whistling wind mixed with a sense of weightlessness filled the air, while in Yu Guang's peripheral vision, the surrounding scenery rushed backward at high speed.

Tapu Koko's state of mind shifted from shock to even greater excitement.

Indeed, it had not misjudged; this human could provide a completely different battle experience!

Powerful electric currents released from within Tapu Koko, forming a magnetic field that halted its flying retreat inertia and helped Tapu Koko stabilize its stance.

On Luo Mu's side, he was not idly waiting either; when dealing with an opponent like Tapu Koko, the most combat-ready of the four Guardian Deities and arguably their strongest representative, he naturally had to go all out.

"Rain Dance!"

Perhaps influenced by Tapu Koko, as the Mega Swampert roared toward the sky, the firmament was enveloped by large swathes of gray-white rain clouds stirred up in its wake, within which faint rumbling sounds like distant thunder could be heard.

Continuous fine rain fell from the heavens, making the surrounding environment visibly more humid.

The Swift Swim ability triggered accordingly, and its body, which had become slightly heavy due to increased weight, instantly turned light and agile.

"Lagu!"

The Mega Swampert narrowed its eyes, and with the shattering of the ground where it had previously stood, its body, radiating intense pressure, shot straight forward.

Its target was Tapu Koko! Tapu Koko increased its electrical output, forcibly pulling several huge rocks from underground and hurling them toward the direction of the Mega Swampert's charge.

"Liquidation."

The Mega Swampert's charging motion did not pause in the slightest; clenching its right fist, turbulent water wrapped around it as it punched straight at the massive boulder flying toward it, carrying wind pressure! Bang! In an instant, accompanied by splashing water, the entire boulder, two to three times larger than the Mega Swampert itself, shattered into pieces without any resistance.

The subsequent boulders that attacked likewise failed to withstand a single punch from the Mega Swampert.

Breaking through the flying debris, the Mega Swampert had already charged right in front of Tapu Koko.

Absolute violence! The Mega Swampert's brutal posture, resembling a rampaging behemoth, deeply shook Glazio's soul as he watched the battle.

"High Horsepower!"

Following Luo Mu's timely command, the orange-red air sacs located all over the Mega Swampert's arms opened, frantically absorbing the surrounding air.

As the shrill whistle of air and the whistling mottled white airflow rushed in, the air sacs immediately swelled up like balloons.

The next instant.

The muscles of the Mega Swampert's right arm bulged to their maximum extent, earth-yellow Ground-type energy wrapping around them as it hammered heavily toward Tapu Koko, which was now almost within arm's reach!

Simultaneously, the air absorbed and compressed within the right arm's air sacs was expelled at this moment, causing the Mega Swampert's punch to reach an unimaginable realm in terms of both power and speed.

Shockwaves and sonic booms appeared one after another.

Tapu Koko instantly judged the threat this punch posed to itself, concluding that it absolutely could not allow the blow to land on its body.

"Puka-uu—!"

Accompanied by Tapu Koko's loud cry, even though it was not within its own territory of Melemele Island, Tapu Koko still achieved resonance with the nature of Akala Island.

A barely perceptible breeze blew past, causing all the trees on Akala Island to tremble slightly, with leaves rustling against each other.

Within some ruins somewhere, a pair of innocent pink-blue eyes opened, gazing thoughtfully toward a certain location.

Meanwhile, Spectrier, who had been watching the cheerful backs of Ogerpon and the Eevee sisters from the shadows, also noticed a slight anomaly; after hesitating for a moment, it ultimately chose not to move.

For this trip, it was arguably substituting for Mimikyu, who had previously visited the Alola region and had actively yielded this opportunity to it.

Before departure, the other party had entrusted it to simply follow Luo Mu's requests, noting that since Luxray, Swampert, and Dragonite were over there, it should focus on protecting Ogerpon and the others.

Returning to the battlefield, facing the imminent attack, Tapu Koko's choice was to plunge its pincer-like claws straight into the ground, from which brilliant pink light waves mixed with electric current burst forth!

Nature's Madness, a Fairy-type move exclusive to the Island Guardian Deities and learnable only by the Tapu family! The half-spherical domain composed of light waves, inverted over the ground, spread outward with devastating force, colliding head-on with the Mega Swampert's fist.

Theoretically speaking, Nature's Madness is equivalent to the Guardian Deities wielding the wrath of nature itself.

This also meant that the Mega Swampert was currently confronting the very nature of Alola! Sensing immense pressure, the Mega Swampert not only did not panic but instead became even more excited.

Its free left fist also joined the fray at this moment; however, what erupted was no longer air, but water compressed to the extreme! Compared to air, water was what the Mega Swampert was most familiar with.

Merely increasing water pressure, while representing that it would bear a greater load, also meant that its output would rise further.

Under Tapu Koko's incredulous expression, the Nature's Madness standing before the Mega Swampert shattered into countless fragments and scattered, just like flowers reflected in a mirror or the moon in water.

A pair of fists resembling heavy hammers rapidly enlarged in its vision! Without time to ponder how the Mega Swampert had actually shattered "Nature's Madness," which represented the natural power of Alola, through brute force alone, Tapu Koko subconsciously closed its shell, hoping to block this strike relying on its sturdy properties.

Clang!!! The "High Horsepower," like a battering ram, slammed into Tapu Koko's closed shell, the tremendous force directly sending Tapu Koko flying high into the sky.

Fortunately, Nature's Madness had indeed effectively reduced the Mega Swampert's strike, which posed a fatal threat to it, down to a level it could endure.

Feeling numbness in its arms, Tapu Koko opened its shell, and noticing the crack marks on its shell in its peripheral vision, it couldn't help but click its tongue in astonishment.

Preposterous, absolutely preposterous!

Are human trainers this preposterous nowadays? But regardless of its thoughts, Tapu Koko had not the slightest intention of showing weakness.

As the most combat-ready and warlike existence among the Tapu family, its rich battle experience led it to directly choose switching battle modes.

Since strength was insufficient, it would make up for it with speed! Ignoring the numbness in its arms, Tapu Koko employed a technique similar to that of Luxray, using electric current to stimulate its body and enhance its physical capabilities.

In an instant, it transformed into an incredibly swift bolt of lightning, darting toward the Mega Swampert.

Luo Mu had never expected that the High Horsepower, weakened by Nature's Madness, could directly defeat Tapu Koko in one hit.

Even though the Mega Swampert had increased its output in all aspects after Mega Evolution, how could a single hit under type disadvantage fail to one-shot Tapu Koko?

Not to mention that Tapu Koko was the most combat-ready member of the Tapu family, and the Nature's Madness, which seemed somewhat different from the games, had offset most of the Mega Swampert's output.

Previously, Mimikyu had relied on the double buff of Terastallization and its exclusive Z-Move to perform a miracle with sheer force and nearly one-shot Tapu Tapu Moumou; the conditions for both situations could not be considered the same.

As long as the Mega Swampert possessed the innate advantage of the Ground type and kept its feet on the ground, Tapu Koko's greatest advantage could not be brought into play, naturally making it like a fish on a chopping board, at the mercy of others.

Of course, Tapu Koko was not foolish either.

Just as the Mega Swampert intended to follow Tapu Koko's darting figure, Luo Mu accurately captured the subtle changes in the surroundings and said without hesitation: "Stop!" The Mega Swampert's movements immediately halted as if a pause button had been pressed.

Gladion, who had been watching the battle with some confusion, was completely stunned when he followed the direction indicated by Oranguru's feather fan.

Beneath the feet of the stationary Mega Swampert, countless tough grasses, writhing like green snakes, had already formed a hidden Grass Knot.

The Grass-type move "Grass Knot"! If Mega Swampert had charged forward with the power and speed it just unleashed, encountering such a Grass Knot midway would have generated a counterforce that was nearly fatal!

Not to mention, if its type had remained unchanged, Swampert's current typing should be Water/Ground, making it four times weak to Grass! Tapu Koko is so insidious... no, so formidable.

Gladion quickly shook his head, driving away any disrespectful thoughts regarding Melemele Island's guardian deity, Tapu Koko.

Whether it was Tapu Koko, which misled Mega Swampert with movements resembling a speed contest while secretly laying a deadly Grass Knot without a trace.

Or Luo Mu, who possessed monstrous reaction skills and battle experience so proficient that it made Gladion feel like an infant in swaddling clothes.

Both were too incredible, so incredible that Gladion felt he could only marvel in the face of such a battle.

"Mr. Luo Mu, is he truly just a teacher?" Unaware of Gladion's current doubts, Luo Mu commanded Mega Swampert to shatter the Grass Knot with a single "Ice Punch," then spoke: "Watch out for Grass Knots that might emerge from the ground; pursue it, and use Bulk Up combined with Liquidation simultaneously!"

Although Mega Swampert still had the wide-ranging move "Earthquake" available, since Tapu Koko itself is a flying unit, no matter how powerful "Earthquake" was, it would hardly be effective in this situation.

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The Z-Move "Tectonic Rage," which creates a fissured abyss, is much the same; unless one finds an opportunity to grab hold of Tapu Koko, there is basically no hope that Tapu Koko would be foolish enough to voluntarily enter the opponent's home turf.

"Laguu!"

Amidst the curtain of rain.

Mega Swampert's figure shot out like an arrow leaving the bow, trailing layers of afterimages.

Simultaneously, its body became enveloped in dense red light; its already robust muscles expanded further, emitting an unmistakable red steam from its entire form.

The boost provided by "Swift Swim" to Mega Swampert was now displayed to perfection.

The meaning represented by the four words "speed increase" covers an extremely broad range, and Mega Swampert had received substantial enhancements in movement speed, reaction speed, and attack speed.

During the chase, the moment signs of a Grass Knot growing beneath Mega Swampert's feet appeared, the next instant a pair of iron fists radiating cold air would smash directly down.

Despite being constantly interrupted while using moves, Mega Swampert's speed decreased very little; this perverted level of bodily control and the fluid, silky switching of moves all reflected the results of Luo Mu's daily training of Swampert.

Finally, at a certain moment, Mega Swampert appeared directly in front of Tapu Koko as if teleporting.

Its air sacs erupted with compressed high-pressure water streams; the Liquidation, bolstered by the rainy weather, attacked Tapu Koko with lightning speed.

This time, Tapu Koko had no chance to dodge or defend.

Boom! Accompanied by water mist bursting open like flowers scattered by a heavenly maiden, Tapu Koko was knocked to the ground, plowing a deep groove.

Before it could support its dizzy and blurred body to rise, Mega Swampert had already pounced upon it like a hungry tiger seizing prey, straddling its body.

Mega Swampert swung its heavy fists, striking repeatedly.

It was only when Tapu Koko was on the verge of losing consciousness that Mega Swampert stopped its actions, stood up, and walked to the side.

Gladion, who was witnessing this scene, fell into complete silence.

This naked aesthetic of violence shocked his soul.

Even he could see that many of Tapu Koko's countermeasures could have inflicted significant injuries upon Mega Swampert.

Yet, somehow, Luo Mu, the trainer outside the field, could always turn these crises into safety with a divine stroke of genius, even finding gaps to launch fierce attacks.

The trainer of his ideals probably wouldn't exceed this, right? In a trance, something within Gladion's heart broke through the soil and sprouted.

Shortly afterward.

"Puka—"

As if sensing something, Tapu Koko, which was currently receiving treatment from Luo Mu, struggled in an attempt to get up.

Being half-Paldean, Luo Mu held no particular respect for island guardian deities; if he had a request of the other party, perhaps Luo Mu would put on an act, but having encountered so many events early in the morning, he clearly was not in the mood.

—Because he got soaked in the rain during the battle, he had been forced to take another hot shower and change clothes; he simply took the opportunity to also don his spatial backpack, which he usually used for outings and which contained quite a few supplies.

Luo Mu didn't necessarily show a bad face to Tapu Koko for delaying his itinerary, but his expression was quite plain.

"Stop moving, or your wounds will split open again in a moment—"

Grabbing Tapu Koko's head with an Unyielding Grip, Luo Mu forcibly pressed it back down, then continued to spray medicine repeatedly onto the wounds on its body.

Meanwhile, a numb Gladion stood nearby, helping to cut bandages with scissors.

Seeing that escape was impossible, Tapu Koko could only give up and lie flat, staring blankly at the sky with lifeless eyes.

It's over; now that guy is definitely going to see it—

Just like when an addiction to battle flares up only to kick a hard bone, unlucky things always come one after another.

In Tapu Koko's lifeless eyes, shimmering scales emitting an incredible light descended from the sky, and a girlish giggling sound also came from above.

"Tahihihi—"

The moment these scales touched Tapu Koko's wounds, they immediately took effect, healing its injuries at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Luo Mu naturally wasn't so blind as to fail to notice these things.

He raised his head to look at the sky, deeply feeling that today he had probably poked the nest of the entire Tapu family.

In Luo Mu's view.

Tapu Koko, with its love for raising things and its capricious temper, was much easier to deal with than it.

In the anime, it had once done something insane: unable to heal Ash's Rockruff with its scales, it chose to take out its anger on two nearby Lycanroc (Midday and Midnight forms), using Draining Kiss to siphon their stamina and infuse it into Ash's Rockruff.

A total pink-on-the-outside-black-on-the-inside madwoman.

"Tapu Lele?"

In the sky, a Pokémon with a deep pink shell, a black upper body, and deep pink tentacle-like hair, appearing innocent and guileless, was scattering those scales glowing with incredible light.

Wasn't looking for Tapu Fini and dealing with one Tapu Koko enough? How did this slightly mad, pink-on-the-outside-black-on-the-inside character, who is also Akala Island's guardian deity and a member of the Tapu family, Tapu Lele, come running over as well?

As if hearing Luo Mu call its name, Tapu Lele, who had originally come just to watch the excitement, rolled its eyes, smiled cheerfully, and flew down.

(End of Chapter)