In the Machoke community, individual differences exist as well, and it's not surprising to find a Machoke who dislikes fighting in a combative group.
However, rather than this rare occurrence, it's easier to find an individual who is the best at fighting and deeply engrossed in battle within an entire community.
The location is still the summit of Mount Fuji. Compared to more than a decade ago, there have been many changes here, making it resemble a Divine Hall. Besides the Stone Pillars left by the Trial Space that created the legendary black and white dragons, there are now numerous Stone Statues here as well.
Along the way, you can see people climbing Mount Fuji. In the past, in Wano Kuni, no one would do such a thing. Even if they climbed to the summit of Mount Fuji, it held no meaning.
But now it's different. This behavior has become a pilgrimage practice of the Arceus Sect. Tracing back to the roots, it's due to the propagation and development of doctrines from the Misu side, where they express their reverence to the deity through their own efforts.
Magikarp will traverse the Inverted Mountain, cross The Sea, and span several dangerous sea routes to get here. Even with the leadership of Gyarados, the journey is arduous for them.
The road for these ordinary people, though not as dangerous as Magikarp's sea route, is still a very daunting journey when climbing Mount Fuji.
However, everyone who climbs to the summit of Mount Fuji claims to have seen an indescribable beautiful view upon returning, as if their soul had been cleansed, and old physical ailments are cured. This is because the environment at the summit has changed due to modifications made by Arceus.
This place can be viewed as a supernatural environment, a lower-tiered version of a small Divine Kingdom where ordinary people indeed experience certain benefits.
Mount Fuji also holds some special significance for Wano Kuni, but hardly anyone remembers this significance, and it has now become the Holy Mountain recorded in the Arceus Sect's texts.
Even the indigenous people of Wano Kuni have mostly forgotten the past events. This is the true High Celestial Plain, where deities once trod. Compared to ancient legends, they put more belief in what they see now.
The pirates of Ghost Island are more pragmatic, most of them aspiring to establish new achievements on The Sea. Most of those climbing this mountain are ordinary believers not participating in armed disputes.
For them, the luckiest thing is to witness the silhouette of Arceus amidst the clouds during their climb, believing it will bring more fortune.
This place is also a special environment for Pokémon. Arceus, using the Zap Plate as a source, altered the magnetic field of a portion of the mountaintop. This specific magnetic field just happens to influence some Pokémon, allowing them to evolve.
For them, this place is akin to a communication area in the game.
There are no restrictions on evolution, and this place has always been open to all Pokémon. Pokémon that require a special magnetic field can complete their evolution here, although some Pokémon simply dislike evolving.
Though evolution brings stronger power, inevitably increasing overall strength, it also brings some drawbacks. For instance, Turtwig loses its agile form after evolving, and Geodude can no longer hover low to the ground post-evolution.
Some Pokémon are extremely resistant to evolution due to being accustomed to their initial form.
Of course, this particular Machoke has a strong desire to evolve due to its combative nature and is proud to be the first evolved member of its community.
Due to the height, the summit of Mount Fuji still retains quite a bit of snow. After leaving footprints on the snow, the Machoke gradually walked into the center of a stone circle, where its body began to be enveloped in a white light.
Soon, a four-armed Pokémon, resembling a human, appeared here.
Belonging to the Machamp species, this type of Pokémon is categorized based on its immense strength.
Compared to Machoke, the red markings on its arms disappeared, and it gained an additional pair of arms on its back.
The three tile-like protrusions on its head were retained, while its face shortened, maintaining Machoke's appearance and becoming more human-like, with an additionally thick pair of sausage-like lips.
What remains unchanged is their Golden Belt, a crucial strength limiter for Machamp. From Machop's evolution, this belt has become an essential part of them.
To live normally and exercise better in the future, their energy naturally formed this belt, while their lower body still retained patterns resembling black shorts.
Incidentally, regardless of being male or female, there is no difference in the upper body of Machamp; only a Machamp can discern gender from the black patterns.
Just as one wouldn't know what's under Gardevoir's dress, ordinary people would never know the situation of this Machamp before them.
"Champ!"
The four arms clasped together as Machamp performed a slightly peculiar motion.
Machamp's muscles are exceedingly developed, and its strength is even more formidable than Machoke's, but its fingers are quite clumsy.
Though its skeletal structure and muscles are similar to humans, with five fingers, its hands are not very nimble, unable to perform fine tasks.
Heavy manual labor is a breeze for them, but if tasked with detailed work, their arms would get tangled.
This is because, during evolution, their bodies became highly developed, forming extremely strong muscular reflexes. Their bodies often react before the brain can think, automatically responding while the brain contemplates.
So, don't joke with Machamp. Once it perceives something as a battle signal, it might not even be able to stop itself in time.
"Get acquainted with your new body here, then train your new strength. There will be a very strong opponent for you in a few days, capable of meeting your battle needs."
This Machamp was specially selected by Arceus, possessing the qualification to undergo Gigantamax, though even a Gigantamax Machamp is no match for Kaidou.
However, according to the Canyon Theory of Relativity, slowing down the opponent equals speeding up oneself. When Machamp's strength reaches its peak and can't increase further, one can choose to weaken Kaidou.
Round it up, by weakening Kaidou to a level comparable to Gigantamax Machamp, it's equivalent to empowering Machamp to become Kaidou's opponent.
Anyway, Kaidou's current strength growth is challenging; ordinary training has little meaning for a "game" perspective, and he wouldn't mind being slightly nerfed.
Meanwhile, it also trains Machamp's body, allowing it to learn more skills.
Machamp possesses incredibly strong fighting talent. It's said that an experienced Machamp can master all fighting skills it sees. With more battles against Kaidou, it might someday pull off a four-strike Thundering Hakken with bare hands.