Chapter 172: Charging the Z Pure Crystal, Dan Emperor Challenge!

Ash walked to the deepest part of the pit, looking at the bewildered Pikachu, concern flashing in his eyes.

"Are you okay, Pikachu~"

"Pika-pika~"

Pikachu decisively shook its head,

After confirming that everything was his own fault, his round little face lit up with big, dark eyes.

Excited, it climbed up Ash's pant leg all the way to his shoulder.

Its gaze locked firmly onto Ash's wrist, on the Z Bracelet and Z Pure Crystal,

This is great stuff!

Ash also timely lifted his wrist to closely examine the Z Pure Crystal.

One can clearly see that after unleashing that strike, the Z Pure Crystal's brightness has dimmed considerably.

The good news is that after the energy consumption, the Z Pure Crystal has already begun autonomously absorbing ambient heavenly and earthly energy to replenish the loss.

Judging by the absorption efficiency,

it should roughly recover in about an hour.

However, this efficiency is still too slow; I don't know if it can be charged to speed up the process.

Thinking this, Ash removed the Z Pure Crystal, placed it on the testing machine before him, and looked at the Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Pikachu, 100,000 Volts!"

"Pika-pi~"

Pikachu, without suspicion, immediately jumped down from Ash's shoulder, clenched its fists, and wore a constipated expression.

A large amount of cyan-blue electric current instantly surged from Pikachu's body, conducting toward the Z Pure Crystal,

During this, the blinding lightning made it impossible to see what was inside,

but with the help of Waveguide Power, Ash subtly sensed the change in the Z Pure Crystal; its recovery speed indeed increased significantly,

estimated that one minute would be enough to restore it.

Seeing Pikachu's forehead sweating, Ash halted the electric attack and immediately had Latias use Healing Wave to help Pikachu recover stamina.

"Continue!"

The energetic Latias charged Pikachu, and Pikachu charged the Z Pure Crystal; the whole process lasted a full minute.

"That's enough."

As Ash's words fell, Pikachu stopped discharging,

Facing the curiosity of Xiluona and others, Ash picked up the Z Pure Crystal, which had now fully recovered to an energy-filled state, sparkling bright.

"As expected of an electric-type pure crystal, charging is just convenient!"

While Ash was sighing, the hotel owner heard the news and came over,

looking at the almost completely destroyed battlefield unusable for further combat and the shattered ceiling, he instantly became indignant,

"Damn it, who did this!"

After discovering that the culprits were Ash, Da Wu, and others,

the boss immediately said it was no problem, these were just small change, no need to compensate, though Ash didn't insist.

However,

just as the hotel owner was about to leave, he glanced at the testing machine in the pit that had almost become a greater-than sign, and couldn't help but look doubtful.

"What is this?"

The hotel staff member nearby who had helped find this item quickly spoke up to explain to the owner.

"Boss, this is the top-spec testing machine you bought at a high price."

"Holy shit!"

The hotel owner was stunned; this machine had cost millions to buy just to prop up the venue!

Leaving the price aside,

this thing is claimed to withstand a champion-level full-force attack unscathed—how could it end up like this?

Ash also then realized this item seemed quite expensive, and decided to compensate no matter what.

The hotel owner this time still wanted to refuse,

but after Da Wu dissuaded him, he accepted Ash's compensation and was preparing to contact a construction crew for overnight repairs.

But Ash called out to him at that moment.

"Let's fix it together later."

"What does 'fix it together' mean?"

The hotel owner's mouth twitched,

turning his head, he happened to see an orange-red-scaled fire dragon descending from the sky through the crack in the hotel ceiling.

Accompanying the landing of the fire dragon, two men jumped down to the ground,

one of them, middle-aged, with skin seemingly tanned, a hint of a moustache, wearing a matte-gray suit, exuding confidence and arrogance, clearly a successful person.

as for the other, he is a youth about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old.

Under the lights, the youth's skin was dark and tough like a battle-hardened warrior, every inch revealing unyielding strength.

He stood tall, wearing a cloak covered in various sponsor logos, like medals on a battlefield, shining with recognition and acclaim of his strength.

In his stride, confident and uplifted, each step seemed to tread upon the enemy's heartbeat, shaking all directions.

This person... almost everyone present recognized him,

the Galar Region League Champion, who ought to be an undefeated legend,

but because Xiluona rose suddenly with Ash's help, he could only repeatedly finish as runner-up, and the public deemed him the most tragic figure.

"Dan Emperor, long time no see!"

Although Dan Emperor's appearance was somewhat unexpected, as the host, Da Wu still went forward first to greet Dan Emperor.

He also shook hands with the middle-aged man behind Dan Emperor.

"Long time no see, President Luo Zi!"

Luo Zi, the current president of the Galar Pokémon League, is also the president of the Marloco Mon Group, and virtually all commerce in the Galar region belongs to his enterprises.

He single-handedly discovered the current Champion, Dan Emperor.

He loves the Galar region deeply, and for its sake he would not hesitate to make any sacrifice—a heroic figure.

At this moment, facing the Johto Champion Da Wu, Luo Zi's face no longer bore its initial arrogance; his smile remained on his face, appearing gentle and refined.

But,

When Luo Zi's gaze noticed Xiluona, the current top expert, his expression suddenly darkened.

If it weren't for Xiluona's repeated obstructions, Dan Emperor would have already reached the summit, and the Galar region he loves so much could have developed even better.

As for Xiluona, Luo Zi naturally dislikes her.

However, with the arrival of Extreme Gigantification, all of this will eventually change.

Thinking of this,

The stiffness on Luo Zi's face quickly faded, and he politely nodded to Xiluona and Kaluna with proper etiquette.

Finally, Ash and Professor Oak.

Although Luo Zi was also curious whether Ash had captured the legendary beast, for some reasons he instead did not place much importance on the legendary beast.

He valued Ash's excellent performance even more when he did not have the legendary beast.

As a talent scout who likewise excels at discovering new talent,

Luo Zi feels favorable toward both Ash and Professor Oak, who discovered Ash.

At this moment,

Dan Emperor's curious gaze fell upon the battered battlefield before him.

"What just happened here?"

Da Wu first turned his gaze toward Ash,

and only after Ash nodded did he then explain the situation here.

"..."

"Z move?"

While muttering to himself, looking at the devastated scene and recalling that soaring pillar of light, the battle-obsessed Dan Emperor's eyes lit up.

In the depths of his gaze burned a yearning for battle.

"I feel this will be a very interesting battle system, and I've actually wanted to battle you, Ash, for quite some time."

"How about a battle?"

"Roar~"

Behind Dan Emperor, the Charizard that had also witnessed the aftermath of the Z move showed an excited and anticipatory expression.

"Pika pi~"

Pikachu leapt forward eagerly, showing great interest in facing off against Charizard.

But just then,

Located at Ash's waist, the crimson‑red precious ball opened, and another Charizard's figure appeared before everyone.

"Come back, Pikachu; this battle will be handled by Charizard—no problem, Charizard!"

"Roar~"

Charizard raised its head, puffed out its chest, and spewed a scorching flame from its mouth, melting metal and further widening the gap in the ceiling.

Hotel owner: ……