Everyone watching was stunned!
Silver froze, then shouted in anxious fury, "Is that... Mewtwo?! What's it doing here?!"
"Is Team Rocket here? Has the tournament been infiltrated?"
His expression shifted between shock and suspicion. Maylene immediately grabbed him before he could rush away.
"I didn't see anything! Where are you going, Silver? Calm down!"
The bandaged girl scratched her head.
"This place is packed with martial artists. Even if Team Rocket showed up, shouldn't they be the ones panicking?"
Silver froze again, then gradually calmed down.
Uh...
She had a point.
When it came to real-life Mortal Kombat, the people here were experts.
Ash, meanwhile, had fallen into thought.
Hmmmm. Was Team Rocket really not here?
"Maybe they are?"
That particular trio might be working outside the stadium right now. That had happened plenty of times before, yet Ash never recognized them whenever it did.
Whatever. He could only hope they were not here.
No one else heard Ash muttering to himself. He soon turned his attention back to the battlefield.
Mewtwo had erased Ash's memories on New Island, so he could not clearly remember Mewtwo No. 1's appearance or personality. The incident at Mount Quena had also unfolded differently. Giovanni had never appeared there, having already left Johto to follow the game storyline's path of seeking ever-stronger opponents, creating a conflict with the original course of events.
Even so, Ash could still tell that the Mewtwo before him was different from... whatever remained in his memories.
Candice rested her chin on one hand.
"Right, right. It's definitely connected to Team Rocket somehow, but why would it appear here? Besides, wasn't Mewtwo already freed? I never imagined something like this would be the final opponent... And most importantly..."
"That Pokémon resonated and... Mega Evolved?" Master Glen asked.
Korrina looked completely lost. She bit the tip of one finger.
"But this Pokémon was only officially confirmed recently. Wasn't it an artificially created Pokémon made by Team Rocket? Why can it Mega Evolve too?"
Mewtwo suddenly appearing in the arena under Green's command was already enough to shake everyone present.
Its existence had only been officially confirmed at an academic conference not long ago. That confirmation had also proven that the cloning incident connected to Team Rocket, along with the bizarre rumors once circulating throughout Kanto, had all been real!
Now, not only had Mewtwo Mega Evolved, it had also received Pure Power as though through Baton Pass!
"Could it have inherited Mew's potential?" Mustard wondered.
"This power is truly... incomprehensible," Bea murmured. "That Pokémon's psychic energy is mixed with fighting spirit, and both are surging straight into the heavens. It almost resembles Calyrex... It feels like the power of a Legendary Pokémon on that level!"
Even Hikaru was amazed by the sight.
The moment they had agreed upon in Connecting Cave, the moment when they would finally settle their battle, had arrived.
More than that, however, Hikaru could hardly believe he was witnessing something so extraordinary!
Ordinarily, Mega Mewtwo X possessed a base Attack stat of 190, yet it could not learn many high-powered physical moves. It could not even learn Close Combat. All it could do was stretch its limbs like a rubber man and strike opponents with low-powered attacks.
Mega Mewtwo X in that condition could only be called an incomplete body.
But now, even its low-powered moves could no longer be underestimated!
"Mega Mewtwo X with Pure Power..." Hikaru breathed. "Now that can truly be called the body of a Martial God!"
Its attacking power was enough to make most Fighting-type specialists cry.
It had just seized first place in the Mega Evolution rankings.
"Dore?!" Hisuian Lilligant exclaimed.
This development was not entertaining for her at all!
She had planned to put on a magnificent display and defeat Green's third Pokémon in one continuous sweep. She would create sunlight, unleash an instantly charged Solar Blade, and cut down her opponent in a single hit no matter who it was.
That was no longer possible!
Pure Power's tremendous enhancement disappeared from Lilligant and was replaced by Steadfast. She frowned deeply, despite not possessing eyebrows.
She could still use Role Play to reclaim the power she had lost, but the being before her was radiating overwhelming pressure!
"Lilligant, return! From here on, it'll be a battle between Mega-Evolved Pokémon!"
"Dore!"
Lilligant immediately withdrew. After offering an elegant bow, she returned to her Poké Ball.
The monster before her was beyond her ability to fight.
She would leave it to Hikaru's ace!
As the Pokémon most closely associated with Aura, Lucario naturally possessed a high appearance rate in this tournament. Hikaru's Lucario, however, had only fought in two rounds, including this one.
In its first battle, it had defeated Karen in a single attack.
In its second, it would face... this!
["I'm fighting a Mega-Evolved Mewtwo? That is... quite an opponent."]
["The body of a Martial God... It possesses overwhelming power!"]
Even Lucario could not help holding its breath and concentrating.
It had learned countless fighting techniques from the progenitor of Aura. It had also carefully reviewed the battle between Urshifu and the crimson hound, studying the iron-hard tactics and penetrating martial arts they had displayed.
But against absolute numbers...
Perhaps what it learned here could be put to use next time.
Through their communion of Aura, Lucario learned that Mega Mewtwo X could freely extend its limbs and launch heavy blows like a rubber man.
What was a rubber man, anyway?
A tire?
Lucario had been born in Unova and had seen human creations made of rubber, but imagining someone stretching their arms and legs was still difficult.
This was far too advanced.
One advantage remained, however.
Psychic Terrain had disappeared!
"Even if its physical Attack has broken through the heavens, giving it the equivalent of a base Attack stat of 430 and placing it above everything else in existence, that power is meaningless if it can't land a hit," Hikaru said.
"This is where Parry reveals its advantage!"
Mega Mewtwo X's ability to stretch its limbs like a rubber man had also appeared in Pokkén Tournament. The final promotional trailer and the climactic battle had even featured Mega Lucario fighting Shadow Mewtwo X.
Rather than a rubber man, however...
Mewtwo looked more like Majin Buu!
Mega Mewtwo X drove a heavy fist toward Lucario.
The single punch shattered the arena floor!
Lucario's Parry activated. Using Ultra Instinct, it neutralized the attack's residual force and slipped aside!
"What kind of power is that?!" Maylene cried.
"When Team Rocket created Mewtwo, they claimed it was the strongest Pokémon!" Ash said. "Back on New Island, it caused a massive change in the weather... This really is Mewtwo Strikes Back!"
"However, I've heard that one Mewtwo was born naturally," Riley added. "Lord Hikaru must know something about it."
The contestants began whispering among themselves, and the atmosphere grew increasingly heated.
Mega Mewtwo X chuckled.
["Hmph. Parry... Nagamasa. Surely you haven't forgotten that I also came from the Ransei region. I've seen the Parry Ability before!"]
["You even demonstrated how to overcome it earlier..."]
["As the strongest Pokémon, one capable of Mega Evolution, I can also learn Aura Sphere!"]
["Parry is only an inferior Ability. Come back once you have something like Instinct or Dodge!"]
Whether in close combat or a long-range exchange of energy, Mewtwo possessed extraordinarily high stats and had no reason to worry about the power of its attacks.
After Mega Evolving into its X form, it also became Psychic/Fighting, the same type combination as Medicham!
Aura Sphere would therefore receive the same-type attack bonus, increasing its power by fifty percent!
"Special Attack 154, and a never-miss Aura Sphere with an effective power of 120...!"
Lucario concentrated and opened its Mind's Eye, communicating silently with Hikaru.
It could evade attacks in close combat, but even a glancing blow would leave it badly wounded.
If it fought from a distance, its only chance would be to Mega Evolve and change its Ability to Adaptability. However, doing so would make it lose Parry's defensive advantage.
Lucario muttered indignantly about Mewtwo calling Parry an inferior Ability.
But there was nothing it could do.
Drinking from the mysterious spring had been like drinking the Ultra Divine Water. It had merely awakened an Ability from Ransei's environment. It had not allowed Lucario to steal the Abilities of other Pokémon directly.
Lucario was not like Regigigas or Iron Valiant, artificial and mechanical Pokémon capable of installing additional programs and customizing their own Abilities.
It might have a body of steel, but that body was still made of flesh!
Therefore, there was only one option.
"Agility!" Hikaru commanded.
Psychic energy gathered around Lucario's feet, making its body incredibly light. Like a blue meteor, it dashed away and immediately found a position with adequate cover!
"Me First!"
At the same time, Lucario gathered an enormous Aura Sphere between its hands and fired it forward like a massive energy wave!
Me First seized the move the opponent intended to use and unleashed it first with increased power!
"An energy wave...?" Mega Mewtwo X murmured. "Me First. But you attacked faster than I did because Agility increased your Speed."
Me First increased the copied move's power by another fifty percent. That was the only reason Lucario's comparatively weak Aura Sphere could erupt with such tremendous force.
Fundamentally, Lucario was using its opponent's move. Yet if the copied move matched its own type, it appeared to retain the same-type bonus.
Such a situation was exceptionally rare.
This battle was a special case!
The blue energy blast produced a storm that swept across the arena. Life energy transformed into fighting spirit visible to the naked eye and stretched endlessly into the sky.
They had only exchanged a few simple moves, but the overwhelming difference in strength had not diminished.
Instead, it had grown even greater.
"We'll use Agility too!" Green commanded.
Many Pokémon that were not Psychic types could learn Agility.
Mewtwo, which was hailed as the strongest Pokémon, naturally knew it as well.
Mega Mewtwo X's eyes flickered, and its Speed climbed to an astonishing level!
Its already tremendous base Speed of 130 effectively rose to 260 after the enhancement!
Lucario's Agility, meanwhile, only raised its effective Speed from ninety to one hundred and eighty.
The more both sides enhanced their Speed, the wider the gap became!
"Focus your mind and release all your power as psychic energy..." Green called. "Let your waves exist everywhere!"
"Psystrike!"
Mewtwo fired countless blasts of energy into the air, sending them raining down upon its opponent.
It could alter their trajectories with the slightest movement of its fingers.
Psystrike materialized mysterious psychic waves and used them to inflict tremendous "physical damage"!
The move used the target's Defense rather than Special Defense when calculating damage!
Mega Mewtwo X raised one finger.
Countless glowing projectiles gathered in the sky, stabilized, and used psychic power and Aura to lock onto Lucario's position!
Hellzone Grenade!
"Wrap Aura around your body and begin gathering power without warning," Hikaru instructed.
"Shine with brilliant blue light and let the Aura of life envelop your entire body."
"Surpass the sky and cross the lightning!"
"Mega Evolve."
A radiant explosion erupted.
Rainbow-colored light swept aside every energy projectile surrounding Lucario. Mega Evolution's power rose alongside its life force, causing its fighting spirit to become visible!
In the next instant, Mega Mewtwo X's fists launched later but arrived first.
Its arms stretched freely like Majin Buu's. Two fists slammed down, followed by its springlike body as it charged into position!
"Hm...?" Green stared. "It blocked them!"
Mega Mewtwo X's strength was unparalleled, and it possessed Pure Power. Those two punches should have shattered even defensive barriers.
Yet Mega Lucario had stopped them.
Mewtwo saw light shining in Lucario's eyes.
["I see... Is that Mind's Eye? Detect? Or perhaps..."]
["It's Role Play!" Mega Lucario answered. "I copied your Ability. In other words, I've obtained the same power!"]
Adaptability became Pure Power!
Boom!
The two Fighting-type Pokémon exchanged furious blows, every punch seemingly powerful enough to crack empty space itself.
The martial arts experts in the audience immediately understood what had happened.
"Hmm. Hikaru's Mega Lucario changed its Ability," Mustard observed. "Its close-quarters power wasn't this outrageous before. That fellow copied Mewtwo's Pure Power!"
Lucario had abandoned Adaptability and copied its opponent's Ability, dramatically increasing its close-combat strength!
Even so, both Pokémon possessing doubled physical power did not make them equal.
Mega Lucario's base Attack of 145 remained far below Mega Mewtwo X's 190. In terms of their effective Attack values, the difference was between 340 and 430!
Mega Lucario began gathering force through its feet.
It had been overwhelmed in their contest of Agility and could no longer use Me First. Therefore, it abandoned further Speed boosts and exchanged them for an even faster Extreme Speed punch!
Golden fighting spirit and blue Aura merged amid an explosion of electricity.
Magnet Rise plus Extreme Speed!
Speed was invisible, but when combined with tremendous force, it produced astonishing destruction.
The strike landed first.
Only afterward did the sound, shock wave, and trail of devastation sweep across the arena like a tsunami.
Weblike fractures appeared in the air. Half a second later, a deafening sonic boom ripped through the clouds!
Agility left countless afterimages trailing behind both Pokémon!
The ground gradually shattered and collapsed. Electromagnetism and surging fighting spirit hurled broken gravel into the air!
A top-tier fighter's striking force could penetrate the surface and attack the interior directly. The energy behind every punch transformed into countless needle-like points that pierced through the opponent's body.
"A battle of Extreme Speed..." Hikaru murmured. "Mega Mewtwo X can't learn Extreme Speed, so it's countering with Agility. At plus six, its base Speed of 130 is effectively equivalent to 520, though its exact practical capabilities are difficult to calculate."
Mewtwo had something to say about that.
["How long can you keep striking me with Extreme Speed and Aura detection?"]
["Parry might be a lower-tier Ability, but it at least embodies the martial principle of allowing your body to move on its own. It eliminates the time needed for thought and judgment."]
["Without Parry to handle your evasion, you must use Aura to judge every attack. That creates hesitation."]
["I'll only grow stronger as we continue fighting!"]
["And hesitation is defeat!"]
Mega Mewtwo X's fist grazed Mega Lucario, generating a violent shock wave.
Even that slight contact tore away part of Lucario's life energy!
Green energy surrounded Mewtwo's fists!
["That's Drain Punch!" Lucario realized.]
Lucario took double damage from Fighting-type moves. Even the comparatively modest power of Drain Punch was equivalent to a 150-power move when used against it.
If Mewtwo landed one clean punch, it would drain away all Lucario's remaining stamina!
Mewtwo extended its arm.
The punch missed, but it was unconcerned. It would have plenty of other opportunities.
Mega Lucario, still surrounded by blue Aura, suddenly unleashed an enormous burst of golden fighting spirit.
That was...
Golden energy erupted from Lucario's fists like ocean waves!
True energy became light, and that light flowed like lightning!
"Instant Focus Punch!"
Focus Punch required its user to concentrate before striking. If it was attacked before releasing the move, the attack would fail.
The focus stage possessed priority of plus five, while the punch itself had priority of minus three.
That made Focus Punch unfriendly toward slow fighters. Most Trainers only used it when predicting a switch, allowing their Pokémon to land a One-Punch Man-style knockout.
In the Almia region, however, the progenitor of Aura had refined its control over life energy. Not only could it unleash an Aura Sphere capable of sweeping away entire armies, it could also gather the power for Focus Punch and release it instantly!
That meant this punch had eliminated Focus Punch's negative effect.
It was a golden heavy blow with 150 power and plus-five priority!
"Hmph!"
The punch struck Mewtwo squarely in the chest.
Mega Mewtwo X clutched itself and staggered backward, every step shattering the ground beneath its feet!
With both Pokémon possessing Pure Power, the same-type bonus of this plus-five heavy punch practically overcame Mega Mewtwo X's resistance as a Psychic/Fighting type.
Its power surpassed what Mewtwo's resistance could cancel out. The resulting damage was even greater than that of an ordinary neutral attack!
That punch possessed an effective power greater than 450!
["Indeed, this is far stronger than Adaptability!" Mega Mewtwo X admitted. "Green, use Me First here..."]
Green stared intently ahead.
She was so focused that she could no longer hear the explosions or voices outside the battlefield. All her attention rested on Lucario.
"No. Me First can't activate Focus Punch."
["What did you say?"]
"I can feel it. An ordinary Focus Punch is already difficult to execute and requires extensive training. The Focus Punch it just used must be connected to Aura."
Green's eyes narrowed.
"In other words, it's the shopkeeper's exclusive technique."
"If it were an Aura move or almost anything else, Me First could copy it. But if we use Me First against Focus Punch, it will only copy the focusing stage. Since that stage doesn't deal damage, the move will fail."
"The principle behind that punch is..."
"It probably covers the user's entire body in life energy, allowing that power to erupt instantly," Hikaru explained. "The Aura of life has already been gathered."
"Even if you asked me to use it, I couldn't execute it that smoothly. My Lucario is exceptionally talented, however. After receiving direct combat instruction from the progenitor of Aura, it should have... more or less mastered it!"
"Agile Style, Warlord Power: Focus Punch Barrage!"
Lucario reduced Focus Punch's power from 150 to 130.
In exchange, it gained even greater speed and ferocity!
Instant golden energy transformed into raging waves!
Every punch possessed an effective power of 390.
By removing Focus Punch's negative effect and unleashing an instantaneous barrage empowered by Pure Power, the total damage broke through one thousand and surpassed fifteen hundred!
The Aura of life, the flames of fighting spirit, and violently surging Aura flowed across the earth.
It climbed the arena's ancient stone walls, shattered reinforced structures, plunged into the lightless depths beneath the ground, and merged with the soil and gravel.
A transparent barrier of light formed before Mega Mewtwo X's fists.
It was neither Light Screen nor Reflect.
It was Barrier, an old-generation move usable by only a handful of Pokémon and once hailed as an invincible defensive technique!
The user created a durable wall that sharply increased its Defense.
It was essentially a Psychic-type version of Iron Defense, using mental power to reduce incoming damage while allowing for numerous other applications.
Beads of sweat rolled down Green's forehead.
Her pupils began trembling as her life force rapidly drained away.
Supplying power to a Pokémon on Mewtwo's level required an enormous amount of stamina, especially when that Mewtwo possessed such extraordinary capabilities!
Green gasped for breath.
"Barrier... Defense to plus six!"
["Green, you can't hold on much longer," Mega Mewtwo X said. "We'll have to settle this quickly."]
["That instantaneous Focus Punch combined with Pure Power truly has surpassed the damage of my physical attacks."]
Mewtwo could also learn Focus Punch, but it could not unleash repeated instantaneous strikes.
For Mewtwo, Focus Punch was usually a trap of a move. Very few fighters could master it to such an extraordinary degree.
Using an unfamiliar technique at a crucial moment and shouting, "This is a breakthrough in the heat of battle!" was ridiculous.
[Martial arts hastily learned on the battlefield could never defeat an enemy!]
Mega Mewtwo X assumed a stance and closed its eyes, focusing completely.
Green suddenly felt Mewtwo sharing a special power with her.
According to a legend from Johto, humans had received life from Pokémon.
In ancient times, the greater the Link between a human and a Pokémon, the more combat power they could display. When that Link reached one hundred percent, it entered a state of Perfect Link, allowing every ability to be revealed in full!
["Green, do you feel any special power?" Mega Mewtwo X asked.]
"Uh... It's incredibly strong, but I don't feel any unique ability."
Mewtwo froze briefly, then chuckled and sighed.
["I see. It doesn't matter. Your inability to awaken Warlord Power also proves you aren't descended from Ransei's people."]
["But we don't need the power of a Warlord."]
["We can defeat the enemy without it!"]
["Let the first battle in four hundred years begin! You and I will advance together. As the God of War, we will defeat the Hero standing before us!"]
Long ago, the person who formed a Link with Mewtwo No. 0 had been named Kenshin.
His title had been the God of War.
And Mewtwo, which could move through an entire army as though no one stood before it, was a Martial God in its own right!
"Hraaaaaah!"
Arcs of light suddenly appeared in Mega Mewtwo X's hands.
The spinning psychic radiance transformed into weapons resembling enormous blades!
Psychic spoons!
As a move, this technique was Kinesis.
Kinesis bent spoons to distract an opponent and lower its accuracy. Within the Pokémon world, it was an almost useless signature move associated with Master Alakazam.
In Pokémon Adventures, however, Mewtwo could use telekinesis to create enormous spoon-shaped weapons!
They could split, cleave, smash, and cut.
Mewtwo could even transform them into giant forks, creating extremely powerful and practical psychic weapons!
In other words, this was not truly a move.
Mewtwo was simply forming weapons from psychic energy!
Hikaru and Mega Lucario exchanged a glance.
Lucario gathered Ground-type energy and formed a blue energy staff shaped like a bone!
"Bone Rush!"
["First we exchanged energy waves, then fought barehanded, and now we're using weapons," Lucario said.]
"What else would you expect from a martial arts master and Hero?" Hikaru asked.
["Please spare me. The opponent is terrifyingly strong."]
Despite its complaint, Lucario looked exhilarated.
Through Aura, the defeated Lucario from a thousand years ago could perfectly sense the emotions of the fellow Lucario it had so eagerly awaited.
Aura revealed the other's emotions, thoughts, and convictions.
What it ultimately witnessed was...
[The memories of the Sage's Lucario, praised for surpassing lightning and crossing the sky.]
[It once followed the traces of three Swordmasters within Challenger's Cave. It had been abandoned by a former Trainer and wandered through the city alone. It fought wild Pokémon for food, struggled constantly to survive, and tempered both body and mind in a merciless environment.]
[Everything began with an encounter in Castelia City. The Aura of justice it sensed that day had now expanded beyond its reach, becoming as distant as the sky. Yet it would continue climbing, advancing beyond the heavens and toward the universe!]
["Leave the bustling skyscraper city of steel and concrete."]
["Rest within the Dream World. Cross the golden sands of Relic Castle."]
["Defeat the evil dragon in the Abyssal Ruins. Witness a knight of the First Flame in an empty wasteland. Adventure through a utopian world. Enter the canyon, climb the snowy mountain, and encounter the shadow of a god. Train beneath meteors, the night sky, and the radiant galaxy."]
["Together with the first friends who joined our team, enter the blazing Hall of Fame surrounded by fire and light."]
["In Hoenn, comprehend the ultimate principle of movement. Train upon an isolated island. Meet the progenitor of Aura in Almia's ancient castle and watch rainbow light cross the horizon. Finally, come here... and encounter the body of a Martial God!"]
Other than fighting and learning moves, I have very few interests.
Even the pranks I played in the past were only meant to find a suitable partner who could help me take revenge.
But every Pokémon I met was incredibly kind.
Thanks to them, my Trainer and I experienced countless wonderful moments.
As I gained more friends, my once-narrow world became broader. My personality grew brighter, and I forgot the sorrow I had once experienced.
But my desire to battle never disappeared.
Whenever a battle begins, I use Aura to sense what is happening outside.
The moment I face a powerful opponent, my body of steel trembles and creaks with excitement.
Some companions admire me and call me their teacher.
But I have someone I admire as well.
A Trainer I could never defeat, someone who gave me a second life and became like my master.
I am the sword in your hand.
I am also your shield.
When I stand beside you, I feel no hesitation!
I have no homeland.
Wherever you are, that place is my home.
I chose you the moment we first met.
From that day onward, we have always remained together!
"My Trainer... Let us climb together to a summit no one has ever seen!"
The azure wolf's bone staff clashed violently with Mewtwo's psychic spoon.
Square chunks of stone erupted from the arena floor. Rolling waves of force battered the stadium, and the earth and sky shook beneath the clash between two beings empowered by Pure Power.
It was the mightiest confrontation between Pokémon the tournament had seen!
Energy combat.
Barehanded combat.
Weapon combat!
Mewtwo's Pokédex entry in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver stated:
[Its battle abilities were raised to the ultimate level, causing it to think only of defeating its foes!]
"This is too much," Bea said. "Both of them have Pure Power, but Lucario can't defeat Mewtwo in a weapon fight! And why does that Mega-Evolved Mewtwo, which already looks like a Martial God, know how to use weapons?!"
"The differences in size, strength, and weapon quality are too great," Riley observed. "Lucario's bone staff has broken. What will you do next, Lord Sage? Your opponent possesses incomparable power."
Mewtwo's Defense had also reached plus six.
Even if someone tried targeting its Special Defense instead, Mewtwo could increase that with Amnesia.
No matter what kind of attack it faced, the resulting damage would be drastically reduced!
Mega Mewtwo X spun its enormous spoon like a whirlwind. The weapon became a razor-sharp double-headed blade and swept across the arena!
What move could that possibly be?
If it had to be classified as something...
"Psycho Cut!"
The only difference was that its attack range now covered the entire battlefield!
"Hmph!"
Mega Lucario hurled the two broken halves of its bone staff at Mewtwo like boomerangs!
Bonemerang struck an opponent twice as the thrown bone flew out and returned!
["Bonemerang?" Mega Mewtwo X exclaimed. "That isn't a move you should be able to learn. You copied it!"]
The two Pokémon communicated through telepathy.
At the same time, their thoughts remained synchronized with their Trainers.
It was almost as if four people were holding one conversation.
["Moves are not such inconvenient things!" Mega Lucario declared. "I can create as many bone staffs as I want!"]
Another brilliant blue bone staff formed in its hands!
There was no reason to worry about energy weapons breaking. If one shattered, Lucario could simply create another.
Mewtwo's psychic spoon worked the same way!
Mega Mewtwo X laughed wildly and swung its spoon.
"Zen Headbutt!"
Its body suddenly stiffened!
Mega Lucario's bone staff smashed into Mewtwo's body and shattered its psychic hammer!
["Even someone as naive as you must have noticed by now!"]
["Throughout this battle, strength alone has never been enough to determine the winner. That includes the Barrier and Defense boosts you accumulated!"]
Some of Lucario's blows felt the same as before.
Others felt entirely different!
["These are... critical hits!" Mewtwo realized.]
["During battle, I gather my fighting spirit and enter a state where critical hits become more likely," Mega Lucario explained. "Then I use Laser Focus. By concentrating completely, I guarantee that my next attack will be a critical hit!"]
["A critical hit increases the move's power. It also ignores all stat changes and conditions that influence Attack and Defense!"]
["Therefore, it doesn't matter how much Barrier raised your Defense."]
["Unfortunately for you, you don't appear to resist Ground-type attacks!"]
In the games, Bone Rush randomly struck between two and five times.
When Lucario used it, however, its bone staff became a two-handed polearm. In close combat, it could reliably strike five or more times!
"Strong Style: Bone Rush!"
The move's total power reached 225.
The critical hit ignored Mewtwo's Defense boosts and raised its effective power to 337!
Warlord Power doubled the number of strikes.
Pure Power amplified them further!
Five strikes possessed a combined effective power greater than 660.
Ten strikes reached an astonishing thirteen hundred!
["This will..." Lucario began.]
["Yes," Mewtwo answered. "End it!"]
Two bolts of psychic lightning locked onto Mega Lucario's position.
A violent shock wave tore through its body.
A move launched from the distant past finally arrived in the present!
Future Sight!
The move placed the area occupied by an opposing Pokémon under a future attack. Its damage could not be blocked by Protect!
["Future Sight connected," Mega Mewtwo X declared. "Now, Recover!"]
Powerful energy gathered around Mewtwo.
Recover restored the life force it had lost, allowing it to regain its strength!
Mega Lucario, meanwhile, had been reduced to a flicker of health.
Even its Mega Evolution came undone!
["This battle ends here," Mega Mewtwo X announced. "The strongest fighter in the world has now been born!"]
["You're clinging to your final sliver of life!"]
["And Nagamasa... thanks to what you said about regional environments, I appear to have learned a new move. You have my gratitude!"]
Mewtwo was not referring to Close Combat.
Its fighting style, its recent Mega Evolution, and the poisoned state of its movepool throughout the older generations prevented it from engaging in extended close combat and unleashing continuous combinations.
If it could not unleash a full combination, however, it would simply use a single move!
Mewtwo could learn Focus Punch by concentrating all the energy in its body.
What few people knew was that it could also...
"Let the energy explode."
"Feel the environment of Johto!"
If the move struck, it would immediately confuse the opponent even if it failed to defeat them.
Through the environment of Johto during Generation II, Mewtwo could receive local instruction in...
Dynamic Punch!
Within Lucario's Aura perception, Mewtwo's body began to distort, crossing the boundaries of space and time.
That move was...
Teleport!
"Dynamic Punch!"
Teleport combined with Dynamic Punch!
It was an ultimate technique designed to defeat an opponent in a single blow.
Mewtwo had never possessed many high-powered close-combat moves outside the charge-based Focus Punch. During this battle, it had finally acquired something stronger!
Dynamic Punch's accuracy was dreadful, but Aura and Teleport could dramatically improve its chances of connecting!
First, Mewtwo would Teleport.
Then it would unleash Dynamic Punch's explosive strike!
"That isn't necessarily true," Lucario said.
Golden fighting spirit erupted around its body as it assumed the stance for firing an energy wave.
Mega Mewtwo X vanished and appeared in front of Lucario in the blink of an eye!
["Assuming an energy-wave stance now is meaningless," Mewtwo whispered.]
Its fist was already preparing to unleash that explosive attack.
The punch would proclaim its victory.
In the next instant, Lucario's eyes lit up.
["Mind's Eye...?" Mewtwo asked.]
["No. Copycat!" Lucario answered.]
["I carry Unova's memories within me. As someone born and raised in the Unova region, I had to learn to imitate the fighting techniques of others if I wanted to survive both nature's cruelty and human society!"]
"Copycat: Teleport!"
Lucario disappeared from directly in front of Mega Mewtwo X!
No matter how much Dynamic Punch's accuracy had been improved, it could never become a guaranteed hit without No Guard!
No amount of strength mattered if the attack failed to connect!
Teleport activated first, followed by Dynamic Punch. By the time Mewtwo's fist arrived, Copycat had already finished copying Teleport.
"It missed!"
Mega Mewtwo X's heavy punch split the earth and continued forward with undiminished force, but Lucario was nowhere to be seen!
Mewtwo straightened and spun around.
Where was it?
Where...?
There!
Golden fighting spirit erupted at a distant point, while intense sky-blue light gathered between Lucario's hands!
Teleporting Kamehameha!
["No, your form..." Mega Mewtwo X stammered. "This is bad!"]
Lucario Mega Evolved again.
This transformation was faster than before and somewhat resembled a Synergy Burst!
The power of Mega Evolution gradually diminished over time. Pokémon needed to learn how to freely switch between different states to handle different battle conditions.
Some Pokémon even possessed two distinct Mega Evolutions.
In the Pokkén Tournament series, activating Synergy Burst triggered Mega Evolution. Once a Mega-Evolved Pokémon exhausted its Synergy Gauge, it returned to its normal state.
That was remarkably similar to what Hikaru knew about a certain newer game.
In Pokémon Adventures, Mewtwo could also switch in and out of Mega Evolution through its connection with Blaine.
Ending Mega Evolution did not mean a Pokémon could not Mega Evolve again.
As long as it received enough energy, it could repeatedly switch between its Mega-Evolved and normal states!
What happened to Pure Power?
It was gone!
This time, Lucario's Ability was Adaptability!
["I wasn't reduced to my final sliver of life," Mega Lucario declared. "I voluntarily ended my Mega Evolution. I evolved again so I could restore Adaptability!"]
The move's power increased:
80, its original power.
90, after generational restoration.
110, through Strong Style.
Adaptability increased it to 220!
Ransei's Warlord Power doubled the number of attacks.
Its power rose to 440!
Almia's Aura combat art tripled the number of sweeping strikes.
Its total power reached 1,320!
"The Aura is with me!"
"Strong Style: Aura Sweep!"
Mind's Eye amplified the attack.
No matter where the opponent fled, this move would always strike!
Critical hit!
"Its final effective power is probably around two thousand," Hikaru calculated. "Of course, Mewtwo's resistance halves that to roughly one thousand damage, but I believe that should still be enough."
"After all, how could the Hero of Aura finish a battle without using Aura Sphere? Different regional environments slightly change Aura Sphere's fighting style and the number of times it strikes."
Mega Mewtwo X could hardly claim that it had some kind of core inside its body and activate a regeneration function.
That would not fit reality.
At the same time, this "Kamehameha" would not literally disintegrate its body.
Mewtwo No. 0, hailed as both Martial God and God of War, crashed helplessly to the ground!
The arena had been destroyed.
A pillar of light erupted from the earth and surged into the heavens as though it would escape the planet and race toward the distant universe!
From the ground, a dazzling star could be seen shining in the bright blue daytime sky.
Thud!
Having exhausted too much psychic energy, Green collapsed to her knees and supported herself with her elbows.
She gasped desperately for air.
She could no longer hear the outside world, and everything seemed to spin around her.
In the next instant, countless hands seemed to rest upon her shoulders, helping relieve the crushing pressure.
Life energy flowed into her body.
Everyone who had learned Aura was sending their power to her, carried upon thunderous cheers!
And there was also...
The shopkeeper's Aura!
What an enormous energy!
"Everyone...?"
Green returned to her senses and discovered that a crowd had truly gathered around her.
They were not only the companions and martial artists who had participated in the Aura training camp.
Riley was there.
So was Ash, who had also come from Pallet Town.
The Lucario from a thousand years ago stood beside them.
Those hands she had felt really were everyone's hands!
Then she heard it.
Short cries of surprise, long howls, rhythmic applause, and synchronized stamping all blended together.
The sound crashed over her.
The ground trembled faintly. The air shook.
Dense applause fell like a torrential storm, boiling the sky and rolling across the arena like endless thunder.
[Green's memories.]
[Everyone longs to hold eternity within their hands.]
[In Pallet Town, let us fly together beyond this endless darkness!]
[Let us soar together beyond the blue sky and the distant sea!]
[These are all the roads we have traveled.]
"I've returned to the beginning of my memories!" Green exclaimed.
"Ah... The strongest fighter beneath the heavens has finally been decided!"
The result might have appeared unquestionable, but as Green thought back on her battle alongside Mewtwo...
"So? We definitely surprised all of you, didn't we? We almost won! That proves the future isn't necessarily fixed!"
"We only fell slightly short this time. Ah, if only you could learn Close Combat, right?"
Hikaru gave Mewtwo a Max Revive, restoring its strength.
Mewtwo shook its head and looked at Green.
Then it extended one hand toward her!
["Link: one hundred percent."]
["You fought well."]
["Green... Let us travel together!"]
(End of Chapter)
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