Maki raised his hand. In the center of his Z-Ring, the Firium Z was faintly glowing red. That was the only Z-Crystal he had placed in his Z-Ring—because it was the only one he could fully utilize for now.
The others were still out of reach.
Charmeleon didn't have much stamina left, but it should still be enough to launch one more Inferno Overdrive.
"Marowak!!"
Kiawe wore a confident grin.
Maki took a deep breath and closed his eyes. No matter how many times he did it, striking these dramatic poses in front of a crowd always felt a bit embarrassing. But there was no way around it—he just had to push through.
Kiawe, on the other hand—whether it was due to the local customs of Alola or simply having done this too many times—executed the pose fluidly and even threw in a few over-the-top lines for flair.
The Z-Crystal on Kiawe's wrist burst into dazzling light.
"With all my body, all my heart, all my power, and all my Z—let it blaze like the peaks of Akala Island! Inferno Overdrive!"
Maki: "..."
He really wanted to ask Lilie if dramatic battle cries actually affected the Z-Move's power. But even if they did... never mind. He wasn't going to say that out loud.
He could maybe whisper lines like that to himself when no one was around, but if he remembered them later, he'd probably roll under the covers and cringe for an hour.
"Charmeleon!"
Maki called out to his partner. The flame on Charmeleon's tail, which had been fading, suddenly flared up again. Solar Power was activated—the power of the sun igniting once more!
"Rrrraah!"
The Firium Z in Maki's hand shone with intense light. A sensation similar to when Mawile Mega Evolved surged through him—the bond between him and Charmeleon forming a bridge that connected their spirits.
But unlike Mega Evolution's controlled surge, the power of the Z-Move was wild—like it was ready to burst out of his body at any moment.
"Inferno Overdrive!"
Twin beams of light shot out from Maki and Kiawe's Z-Crystals simultaneously, flowing into Charmeleon and Alolan Marowak.
Unlike the steady stamina drain of Mega Evolution, Z-Moves consumed energy all at once.
A massive sphere of fire condensed in front of each Pokémon, growing larger and larger—before they launched them at full force, the two flaming blasts colliding midair with a deafening boom.
BOOM!!
If Whimsicott's "Infinite Firepower" earlier had been like a machine gun, then this clash of Z-Moves between Charmeleon and Marowak was a straight-up nuclear explosion.
"Ahhh!"
The explosion's blinding light forced the onlookers to shut their eyes. The resulting shockwave made Lilie instinctively press her hands down to keep her skirt in place.
As for Professor Kukui—well, he casually slipped on his sunglasses like a true veteran and watched the blast's core intently.
Even Maki and Kiawe, caught off guard, had to turn their heads aside, unable to stare directly into the fiery detonation.
When the light finally faded, all eyes returned to the battlefield.
Charmeleon had been completely drained by the Z-Move—if Marowak had any strength left to counterattack, Maki's Pokémon wouldn't stand a chance.
But...
"You win," Kiawe said through clenched fists as he withdrew his collapsed Marowak.
"If the sunlight had faded, I wouldn't have stood a chance," Maki said, pointing to the sky where the Sunny Day move had just vanished.
"A Pokémon's Ability is a part of its strength too," Kiawe said calmly. "That means even if I ran into you outside a battle arena, I still couldn't win. It doesn't change anything."
If he had stalled until the sun faded, maybe he could've won—but what would that prove? He'd seen Maki's full strength today.
Still, he couldn't help but feel frustrated. If it had been a Charizard, that'd be one thing—but Maki's Charmeleon hadn't even evolved yet!
That meant once it did evolve, Maki's strength would undergo a huge transformation. When that time came, would he even be a worthy opponent?
"Ahem." Kukui cleared his throat. "That makes Maki the winner once again. Anyone else want to step up and challenge him?"
He looked toward Lana and Sophocles.
"U-uhh... Togedemaru just started feeling sick... I don't think he can battle today, right? Togedemaru?"
Sophocles subtly nudged Togedemaru with his foot. The little Pokémon caught on instantly, flopping over with a pained expression.
"Toge~..."
Probably ate something bad this morning.
"Yeah, that's right. Looks like he's not fit to battle."
"Toge~..."
Togedemaru upped the act, rolling on the ground with exaggerated agony.
The truth? He'd just watched that explosive clash between Charmeleon and Marowak and was convinced he'd be vaporized if he stepped onto that battlefield.
Professor Kukui: "..."
"What about you, Lana?" Kukui asked, turning to her.
"...Yesterday I reeled up a Kyogre from the sea. I think I'd better go check if it's still there."
With that, she nonchalantly walked off.
"Take a break first," Maki said as he fed an Pokéblock to Charmeleon before recalling it into its Poké Ball.
Charmeleon wasn't badly hurt—just drained. A little rest and it'd be back to normal.
"Wait... where's Lana?" Maki looked around and noticed one of his classmates was missing.
"She said she's going back to check on Kyogre," Lilie replied helpfully.
"..."
"You believed that?" Maki gave her a weird look.
"Of course not! I'm not an idiot!" Lilie puffed up her cheeks and shot him a glare. There was no way she'd fall for a lie that lame.
Glancing at Togedemaru, who was still dramatically writhing on the floor, Maki pretty much figured out what had happened.
Sensing Maki's gaze, Togedemaru's spikes retracted and it doubled down on the act.
To be honest, if both of them had challenged him right now, Maki wasn't sure he'd win. His Absol was only around Great Ball tier, and even Mawile was roughly the same without Mega Evolution.
Then he noticed Professor Kukui, who had just taken off his sunglasses.
A thought struck Maki, and he asked, "Wait, isn't it still class time? Are we just allowed to walk off like that?"
Kukui's grin froze on his face. Realizing what was happening, he broke into a sprint after Lana.
"LANA! GET BACK HERE! CLASS ISN'T OVER YET!!!!!!"
"..."
"Kukui's really something else..." Maki and Lilie watched the professor dash away. After a brief glance at each other, they both burst out laughing.
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Hey everyone,
This will be my final update for this fanfic. I recently discovered that the original author had dropped it, which I wasn't aware of when I started translating.
For those who supported me on Patreon, I've spent the last two weeks translating the remaining chapters. All of these are now available on my Patreon, compiled into a single PDF for your convenience.
I won't be posting any further updates for this fanfic, as I am getting lazy haha. Rest assured, the final arc of the story is complete, with only the very beginning of the subsequent arc being unfinished.