Pokemon: Spiritual Master

"Luca!"

Lucario didn't hesitate for a moment, seizing the gap when Ice Ninetales was affected by Spiritomb's final Memento, and rushed toward Ice Ninetales with Extreme Speed.

Its clenched fist was covered with a heavy metallic luster.

Even if Ice Ninetales' ice walls and Aurora Veil blocked its path, it would break through with overwhelming momentum.

Legendary?

Not unbeatable!

Lucario's gaze was stern, its expression focused. Looking at Ice Ninetales, its aura power had already been pushed to the limit.

Time seemed slow, but it was actually only an instant.

When Lucario swept through all of Ice Ninetales' ice walls and Aurora Veil and rushed to its front, Ice Ninetales was nowhere to be seen.

Johan now held two Poké Balls in his hand.

"Teacher Johan switches Pokémon again!"

Having the quadruply Steel-weak Ice Ninetales battle Lucario was obviously not a wise choice, especially when weakened by Spiritomb's Memento. Even with superior strength, but...

Lucario's current condition was exceptionally good.

In Johan's mind, he recalled the scene from when he and Cynthia were training together recently, when he practiced aura power with Lucario.

Honestly, as a half-baked user, Johan had indeed learned quite a few techniques for using aura power from Lucario, filling in his shortcomings in aura power application.

Johan's aura power wasn't weak either, but his use of aura power, aside from sensing Pokémon, only had one method: infusion! Infusion! Infusion!

But correspondingly, Lucario, as the most typical aura Pokémon, had also made noticeable progress in aura power through training with Johan.

At the time, Cynthia had jokingly said that Johan paired with Lucario would make a complete "Aura Guardian."

"Since it's Lucario, I'm counting on you!"

Johan threw out a Poké Ball.

"Teacher Johan's substitute Pokémon is—Ceruledge!"

Ghost and Fire-type Ceruledge—Ghost-type could immune to Fighting-type moves, and Fire-type had an advantage over Steel-type.

"Wow, today's Teacher Johan is surprisingly 'rational,'" Lucian sighed.

Given Teacher Johan's usual nature, even if Ice Ninetales was countered by Lucario and had its dual attacks reduced, he wouldn't have switched Pokémon so quickly.

After all.

All trainers were more or less enthusiastic about "reverse type matchups," especially when Ice Ninetales had the advantage in strength.

"I'm even worried for Teacher Johan," Flint said, stroking his chin with a "wise" expression.

He didn't dare imagine how Teacher Johan and big sister would get along after this battle ended...

Just thinking about it was brutal.

While Lucian and the others were sighing, Cynthia had already launched another attack without hesitation.

Ceruledge did have a type advantage, but the type matchup wasn't as significant as between Lucario and Ice Ninetales.

More importantly.

She had to seize the gap when switching Pokémon.

"Lucario, Bone Rush!" Cynthia raised her hand and pointed.

"Luca!"

Lucario brought its palms together and pulled them apart, and a azure bone club immediately appeared in its hand. Wielding the bone club, it slammed toward the newly entered Ceruledge.

"Goka!"

Ceruledge's aura sensed Lucario's approach and raised both swords to block, but suddenly found that its aura sensing... became blurred all at once.

Lucario's aura was interfering with Ceruledge!

Bang!!

A bone club strike landed, hitting Ceruledge and sending it flying.

"Luca!"

Lucario's eyes blazed as it directly pursued the sent-flying Ceruledge, swinging its bone club.

"Ceruledge!" Johan immediately shouted: "Will-O-Wisp!"

The flying Ceruledge struggled to control its body, releasing several ghostly blue flames.

Bang! Bang! Bang—

Lucario swung its bone club, and all the Will-O-Wisps were smashed into scattering sparks before they could reach it.

But the slight delay in Lucario's pursuit gave Ceruledge a gap to control its body. Its sharp blade stabbed directly into the ground, carving a charred furrow while barely managing to control its form.

Crack—

Cracks appeared on its armor.

Wisps of ghostly blue firelight leaked out.

"Lucario, Earthquake!"

Seeing that the pursuit had failed, Cynthia immediately changed tactics.

"Luca!"

The alerted Lucario slammed its bone club hard into the ground.

Rumble rumble—

The entire ground immediately shook with Lucario at the center, and earth-colored Ground-type energy formed waves of earth that crashed toward Ceruledge.

Besides being Fighting and Steel-type, Lucario, like Dragonite, could master a vast array of moves with broad coverage.

"Shadow Sneak, Ceruledge!"

Swoosh—

A sword slashed through the void, opening a gap, and Ceruledge disappeared from Lucario's sight in the blink of an eye.

Earthquake missed.

However, neither Cynthia nor Lucario became discouraged.

"Lucario, sense where it will appear!"

"Luca!"

Lucario closed its eyes.

Aura!

Suddenly.

Lucario's eyes snapped open.

Found it!

The bone club in its hand immediately transformed into a mass of azure energy that gathered in its fist, then it suddenly turned and threw a punch.

Just as it swung, a void crack appeared behind it, and twin swords wrapped in ghostly blue flames slashed out.

Clang!!

The collision of fist and twin swords was like metal clashing with metal.

Bang—

From the tremendous force collision, both Pokémon flew backward almost simultaneously, sliding for some distance before each stabilizing their forms.

"Luca!" The bone club reappeared in Lucario's hand as it looked at Ceruledge and swung it lightly.

Recalling when Ceruledge was still Charcadet, following behind it and Tinkaton to learn, now... it had also grown to this extent.

"Goka!"

Flames constantly surged from Ceruledge's body, its burning eyes staring intently at Lucario.

Its every movement was completely visible under Lucario's aura perception, while its own aura was heavily suppressed by Lucario's.

Really uncomfortable...

"Lucario, Dark Pulse!" Cynthia suddenly called out loudly.

"Luca!"

Lucario brought its palms together again, with rich black Dark-type energy surging from its palms, as if it would devour everything.

Just as Lucario had condensed Dark Pulse, it suddenly froze, because it discovered that its opponent had also aimed a golden cannon barrel at it.

Within it, crimson firelight flickered as energy accumulated.

"Teacher Johan's Ceruledge has turned into Armarouge again!!" the commentator shouted.

By now, everyone had accepted the fact that Teacher Johan's Ceruledge could transform into Armarouge.

Many people wanted to replicate it, but found...

It was impossible.

"Armarouge, Flamethrower!!" Johan shouted loudly.

Hum—

"Goka!"

From Armarouge's golden cannon barrel, the accumulated flames instantly burst forth.

At the same time, Lucario's Dark Pulse also unleashed freely.

Two forces collided head-on in the field.

Since close-combat swordsmanship couldn't deal substantial damage, then... rely on long-range!

Boom!!

Dark Pulse and flames erupted in thunder.

Obviously.

Flamethrower, released as a same-type move, was more powerful than Lucario's Dark Pulse.

But after the clash with Dark Pulse, the remaining flames from Flamethrower weren't enough to cause much substantial damage to Lucario.

"Aura Sphere!" Cynthia said sternly.

"Luca!"

Rich aura power gathered again in Lucario's palms.

"Armarouge!" Johan also spoke at this moment, "Aura Sphere!"

"Goka—!!"

Armarouge's arms joined together again, air waves rippled from the golden cannon barrel, and an azure cannonball shot out, piercing the entire field!

Rumble rumble—

"Aura versus aura?"

"I didn't expect Teacher Johan's Armarouge to have such powerful aura power?"

Dust clouds rose on the field.

"Lucario!" Cynthia's eyes sharpened, "Extreme Speed, Bone Rush!"

In the dust.

Lucario, wrapped in white light, rapidly charged at Armarouge.

Whether Ceruledge or Armarouge, their characteristics were very distinct—one specialized in close combat, the other in long-range.

So, using long-range against Ceruledge and close combat against Armarouge definitely wouldn't be wrong.

Moreover.

Whether Ceruledge or Armarouge, their ability was Weak Armor. Although taking attacks would increase speed, defense would inevitably decrease.

They had to take down the opponent before it could maximize its speed and use speed to kite Lucario!

"Ceruledge, Bitter Blade!"

Clang!!!

In the dust, the collision of bone club and sharp sword accompanied by sparkling sparks, the resulting shockwave immediately dispersed the surrounding dust.

Armarouge had transformed back into Ceruledge!

"Close Combat!"

Lucario combined Close Combat with Bone Rush and swung out.

"Ceruledge, we'll use Close Combat too!"

If Lucario could combine Bone Rush with Close Combat, Ceruledge could naturally combine Close Combat with Bitter Blade!

The next second...

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang...

Two figures flashed continuously across the field, bone club and blade constantly colliding, instantly engaging in no fewer than dozens of collisions, dazzling the audience whose naked eyes couldn't capture the action.

Worthy of being Cynthia's Lucario, second only to Garchomp, this was already very close to legendary level.

In the seemingly evenly matched collision, Ceruledge was actually at a disadvantage.

Moreover...

Cynthia and Lucario had obviously grasped Ceruledge's "Weak Armor" characteristic.

Taking attacks would greatly increase speed, but defense would continuously decrease.

But Ceruledge had advantages too—its endurance in prolonged battles was much stronger than Lucario's.

Whether Bitter Blade or "Life Fire," both could continuously provide stamina to Ceruledge.

Suddenly.

"Above!" Johan's expression changed slightly.

"Goka!"

Ceruledge immediately raised its blades.

Bang!!

The bone club hammered down heavily.

But it was blocked.

Ceruledge's aura power was suppressed by Lucario, but with Johan added, it was different...

"Now!" Cynthia shouted loudly: "Earthquake, Lucario!"

The bone club immediately transmitted vibrations.

If this hit connected solidly...

"Ceruledge!"

Johan roared: "Armor Cannon!"

Ceruledge? Armor Cannon?

Everyone who heard this was stunned, but when everyone focused their eyes, they discovered that the other arm of Ceruledge holding a blade had actually transformed into a thick golden cannon barrel!

"Holy crap! Cheating, right?"

"Ceruledge and Armarouge? Isn't this two-on-one?"

"Others have sword and blade unity, but you have sword and cannon unity?!"

Since it would be caught for defensive weaknesses and continuously attacked, then why not... be more decisive!

Defense?

What is defense?

Whether as a swordsman or as a gunner, defense was never what it excelled at, never what it should do!

Hiss—

The ghostly blue flames wrapped around the blade instantly extinguished, and all the flames on Ceruledge's body disappeared in an instant.

But the golden cannon barrel it held up now became scorching hot and red-hot.

In Lucario's eyes, along with amazement, the fiery red color became increasingly obvious and bright.

The scorching high temperature rose.

In an instant.

Rumble rumble—

The ground shook violently, terrifying earthquake aftershocks scattered in all directions, and rolling dust and smoke thundered upward.

But at the same time.

Bang!!

The blazing fire pillar erupted.

The heat wave instantly dispersed the dust and smoke.

When everyone saw the devastated scene on the field, they all instinctively gasped.

The referee ran out from the rising dust and heat waves. Seeing this scene, he was also stunned for a moment, but his professional training made him immediately wave the flag.

"Lu-Lucario and Ceruledge are both unable to battle!"

Whoaa—

The entire venue erupted.

Actually...

Both lost the ability to battle simultaneously?!

"Gulp—for a moment, I can't tell if it's Teacher Johan who's 'ruthless' or if both of them are 'ruthless'..."

"Say they're lovers? Who would believe that?"

"But... this way, the score between Miss Cynthia and Teacher Johan is 3:1!"

"Damn! This wouldn't be Teacher Johan's 'gentleness,' would it? I really..."

Gentleness?

If Johan heard this, he would definitely sneer.

Buddy, didn't you see I'm already sweating profusely?

"One side has lost three Pokémon, entering halftime!"

The referee immediately waved the flag to announce a brief break and field change.

Cynthia stood at the sideline with her hands on her hips, face cold, silently thinking about the upcoming battle situation.

She had already lost three Pokémon and had three left, but had only taken out Johan's Ceruledge. Johan still had five left...

In terms of pure numbers, the advantage and disadvantage were clear at a glance.

Cynthia was also at a very obvious disadvantage.

But...

That didn't mean there was no way to fight.

"Miss Cynthia's expression looks so cold..."

"I feel like Teacher Johan is done for."

"For a moment, I can't tell if it's battle calmness or 'calmness' toward Teacher Johan."

At the same time.

"You worked hard, Ceruledge. You did very well, rest for a bit."

After solemnly putting away the Poké Ball, Johan murmured softly:

"She didn't choose Lucario for Mega Evolution?"

He had initially guessed that Cynthia might use Mega Evolution on Lucario to catch him off guard.

After all, from Lucario's previous condition...

If it Mega Evolved, Lucario should also be able to cross the legendary threshold and would definitely cause Johan considerable trouble.

But Cynthia didn't choose Lucario, so Johan's pressure was undoubtedly greater.

Garchomp...

That shark lady was probably the one with the highest "hatred value" toward him among all of Cynthia's Pokémon, right?

Definitely going for the kill!

Headache.

Soon, the field change was completed.

"Please, both contestants, get ready!"

Since both players' Pokémon had been defeated, they would summon Pokémon together after halftime.

Johan and Cynthia looked at each other.

They threw out Poké Balls simultaneously.

"Go, Togekiss!"

"It's your turn, Dragonite!"

Two red lights flashed, and two flying Pokémon immediately appeared in the arena's airspace.

"Togepi~" The snow-white Togekiss with red and blue triangular markings like a glider flew through the air, feeling the airflow in the arena.

"Draaa~(ˊˋ)"

Dragonite flapped its small wings, blowing wind that Togekiss liked toward it.

"Togepi~(ˊˋ)"

For a moment, the two little ones—one blowing wind on the field, the other riding the "tailwind" going "woo woo woo."

If Togekiss could talk, it would definitely sing "Little Windmill."

Seeing the two Pokémon playing so happily on the field, whether the live audience or those watching the broadcast were dumbfounded.

No...

In the first half, Teacher Johan and Miss Cynthia were fighting so fiercely, looking like they wanted to "crush" each other.

How did the second half...

How did the art style change so quickly?

Dragonite and Togekiss started playing "airplane" together?

However...

Anyone who wasn't blind could see that Teacher Johan's Dragonite and Miss Cynthia's Togekiss had a really good relationship.

How could it not be good?

Among Johan's Pokémon, there was only Dragonite as a Flying-type Pokémon, and among all of Cynthia's Pokémon, there was also only Togekiss.

Just two Flying-type Pokémon playing together during training breaks—how could their relationship not be good?

The battling duo also watched this scene.

A gentle smile appeared on Cynthia's cold face.

Johan's originally somewhat tense expression also relaxed considerably when he saw the smile on Cynthia's face.

Still gotta be Dragonite!

Still gotta be our Old Jing family's "Emperor of Luck"—just came on stage and already relieved the biggest "pressure."

Now they could fight properly again.

Speaking of which...

Cynthia's Togekiss had the "Serene Grace" ability and was a typical Pokémon that relied on luck to "make a living."

And our Old Jing family's Dragonite was also a Pokémon that relied on "Heavenly Father" for meals. Last time when battling Chairman Nemona, it didn't use much of its usually accumulated "luck."

Then let's have a proper, dignified showdown between "luck users"!

Johan grinned and chuckled softly.

Heh.

Advantage is mine!

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Powerstones?

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