It was the first time Misumi Uika had ever seen Satoshi this angry. Back when they'd lived on the same island, neither Uika nor Sakiko had ever seen him lose his temper.
She'd always thought a softie like Satoshi would never get mad.
And yet here he was—furious because of her.
How do you even put it…
It was unbelievably cool.
Uika's heartbeat seemed loud enough to echo. A blush spread across her cheeks, making her look even more flustered—and, somehow, even more heart-stirring.
Still, she pushed Satoshi away and kept her distance.
If she clung to him like that, she'd only get in the way.
"Hm?" Satoshi turned, puzzled—and Uika flashed him a bright, delighted smile.
"I'm fine, Satoshi. Go on—cause as much trouble as you want!"
She chose to respect his decision. She wanted to see more of that cool side of him. That was Uika's answer.
In her current state, she'd only be a burden. Besides, she still had Electivire and Pawmot with her. Uika wasn't going to keep relying on him and dragging him down.
"Yeah. Got it!"
With that, Satoshi turned back with quiet confidence, his attention locking onto Guzma.
"""Skull—sk-sk-sk-Skull! Get 'em!"""
Maybe because their leader had arrived, Team Skull's underlings started getting cocky again.
Satoshi didn't feel a thing—if anything, he almost wanted to laugh.
Their barking meant nothing. It was just noise. They were hyping themselves up, tossing out more Pokémon—trying to smother him with numbers and limit his options.
Most of the pressure was aimed at Blaziken. Blaziken countered Guzma's Bug-types, so they were wary of it.
But this bunch wasn't a problem at all…
Right now, the only thing Satoshi worried about was hitting too hard.
If you know, you know. He had to hold back for their sake.
"Get lost—what are you even saying? But… someone really came all the way over just to get launched, huh! You ready?!"
"Ariados, use [CROSS POISON]! Golisopod—[PIN MISSILE]!"
Guzma stood on a high rock, shouting orders like he owned the place. Behind him, Ariados and Golisopod gathered energy, ready to strike.
"Blaziken. Let's finish this in one go," Satoshi said, watching coldly—unmoved. His eyes were hard, his resolve icy and unshakable.
He pulled out his Firium Z, swapped the Electrium Z off his Z-Ring, and snapped the Firium Z into place.
It had been a System reward for saving Garchomp. Satoshi hadn't expected to use it this soon—but with the enemies lined up like this, it meant he could end it in a single shot.
"BLAZEE!!"
As if sensing its Trainer's burning fury, Blaziken roared and erupted with surging flames.
"Huh? A Z-Move?!!" Guzma—and the ordinary Team Skull grunts too—finally realized something was off. Eyes wide, they stared in disbelief.
Normally, you only got Z-Moves after clearing a Grand Trial—receiving them from an island kahuna. That was why Team Skull dared to block other people's island trials: they bullied the weak and backed off when someone was strong.
They hadn't expected to run into someone using a Z-Move on this island.
And within Team Skull, only Plumeria could use Z-Moves. Guzma himself looked down on her.
If he wanted to be stubborn, that was his problem. Satoshi would teach them a lesson with his own strength—make them submit.
Inferno Overdrive off a Flare Blitz wasn't something a normal Pokémon could tank—190 base power.
"Stop him!!"
Realizing what Satoshi was about to do, Guzma panicked. He even took a step back, already thinking about running.
It was too late.
Satoshi and Blaziken moved in unison, both snapping into the Firium Z pose.
Between the Sun & Moon games and the anime, Satoshi had drilled every stance until they were muscle memory. And the Firium Z pose was one of the coolest, so he didn't hold back.
"Our full power—our whole body—our full power will become one!"
Under the blazing sun, Satoshi and Blaziken struck the Firium Z stance together.
Blaziken's powerful frame looked like a living volcano, flames bursting off its body so fiercely the air hissed and warped around it.
"[INFERNO OVERDRIVE]!"
"BLAZEE—!" Blaziken gathered power for a heartbeat, then leapt—its flames whipping like wildfire in a gale, rolling and surging with overwhelming force.
A searing fireball erupted like a falling meteor, ripping through the air as it hurtled toward Guzma, the Team Skull punks, and their Pokémon.
"Run!!"
The fireball's power was beyond imagination. The air itself seemed to ignite in its wake, crackling and popping.
In the blink of an eye, the whole area was swallowed by flame—firelight spearing into the sky. Guzma, Team Skull, their Pokémon—none of them could withstand that violence.
Aside from Guzma and Plumeria, these Team Skull punks were even weaker than Rainbow Wing's Battle Department students.
Not to mention the weakest form of measurement—Chihaya Anon.
Anon: Are you even being polite?
They couldn't even compare to the random passerby Satoshi had battled first after arriving in Alola.
Honestly, they couldn't do anything unless they mobbed people in groups.
"So strong… so this is a Z-Move," Uika murmured, blinking in awe.
Even though she'd tested a Z-Move last night, Tapu Koko was so strong she couldn't really gauge it. But seeing Team Skull get erased like this made a Z-Move's power feel terrifyingly real.
Still, more than the Z-Move, what Uika cared about was Satoshi.
That boy's back stole her eyes completely.
In other words…
My Satoshi is seriously so cool!
A boy getting this angry and standing up for you—no girl could see that and not be shaken.
Right now, Uika wanted to see Satoshi bully Team Skull even more, to avenge her right in front of her.
As the flames faded and smoke curled through the air, only Guzma and a few underlings were still on their feet—glaringly obvious, faces tight with unease.
"Guzma!! What are you doing?!!"
Stung by failure, Guzma clutched his head and howled at the sky, cursing himself.
Satoshi, meanwhile, bent down and picked up a Buginium Z that had slipped from a Team Skull girl's pocket.
Even though Guzma didn't like using Z-Moves, he did love collecting Buginium Z. In the games, his room was full of them. All you could say was: in Alola, Z-Crystals really were everywhere.
He was a weird collector, so it made sense he'd have his underlings carrying Buginium Z too.
Buginium Z—now it's mine.