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Lucario rubbed vigorously at its eyes, which had turned red from the sand.
A light blue aura surrounded Lucario's body as the power of Aura guided it toward the Lycanroc's correct position.
Roy naturally noticed this but said nothing to intervene.
For a battle where the outcome seemed relatively clear, Roy was more interested in seeing how Lucario would respond to the situation.
This way, he could more clearly assess Lucario's current strengths and weaknesses.
That's why Roy stopped Blastoise, who had wanted to assist Lucario.
Blastoise didn't understand why Roy was doing this, but it obeyed nonetheless.
Trainer always has lots of strategies, just like me!
Truly worthy of being my Trainer!
Roy had no idea what was going through Blastoise's head—he was still focused intently on the battle unfolding before him.
Lucario faced the location where the Lycanroc was hiding, energy continuously building in its hands while its legs prepared to explode with near-sonic speed.
The Lycanroc had been concealed behind the rock with no way to deliver a finishing blow, which frustrated Lucario immensely.
In an instant, Lucario's figure burst forward with tremendous speed, and the power in its hand struck the massive boulder in front of the Lycanroc.
"BOOM!"
The rock shattered into countless fragments with a resounding crash, raising a cloud of sand, stones, and dust that completely obscured the battlefield.
When Roy saw this, he immediately sensed something was wrong.
"Oh no, Lucario fell for it."
The other Pokémon didn't understand what was happening. They all assumed that Lucario's punch had been powerful enough and that the Lycanroc would have no way to withstand it.
After all, as everyone knew, Lycanroc's defense wasn't particularly outstanding among Pokémon.
But Roy said nothing about the other Pokémon's confusion. He was more anxious to see how Lucario would handle what came next.
Lucario was instantly surrounded by the cloud of sand and debris. Looking down, it couldn't see the Lycanroc anywhere.
The power of Aura provided the Lycanroc's correct position in the next second.
Directly to the right, in front of Lucario.
Runs pretty fast, Lucario thought.
With this in mind, Lucario shifted its fists into an open-palm stance and pushed off with its feet again, intending to use Quick Attack and Rock Smash to completely take down the Lycanroc.
But Lucario found itself unable to move from its position.
No matter how hard it tried, its feet felt as heavy as boulders weighing thousands of pounds.
What is this...?
The sand and dust gradually settled, revealing the Lycanroc's fiery red fur.
The Lycanroc didn't appear distressed at all. Its eyes flashed with fierce determination, and it gripped an extremely sharp-looking rock in one paw.
A low, guttural growl emanated from the Lycanroc's throat, sending shivers down one's spine.
The Lycanroc's speed wasn't particularly fast, but at such close range, it had more than enough time to drive the sharp rock in its grasp into Lucario's vital points.
Roy tensed up for a moment, worried that Lucario might actually lose. "Blastoise..."
But in the next instant, Lucario's power remained undiminished as it shifted from offense to defense. Its right hand moved forward to block while its left hand struck fiercely at the Lycanroc's face.
The face was the common weak point for most Pokémon and humans alike—the most vulnerable target.
It didn't require much force to inflict serious damage.
The same held true for the Lycanroc, which had focused all its attention on the rock in its left paw, its gaze fixed on Lucario's heart as it thrust forward with all its strength.
It had completely abandoned its own defense—or rather, this was its all-or-nothing gambit.
The Lycanroc took a devastating blow to its right cheek and even felt a sudden ringing in its head.
The force in its paw weakened suddenly, but through sheer willpower, it still managed to pierce into Lucario's flesh.
The moment the Lycanroc's body hit the ground, Lucario clearly felt the restrictive force on its feet suddenly lighten.
Lucario had been maintaining a forward stance, but now that the force restraining it had vanished, it naturally couldn't keep its balance.
Lucario stumbled slightly before planting its feet firmly on the ground.
On Lucario's chest, due to its evasive maneuver and final counterattack, the Lycanroc's attack hadn't struck the intended target.
Roy saw this and, confirming that Lucario had only suffered minor injuries, exhaled with relief.
"What was that all about?"
While relaxing, Roy also noticed some problematic tendencies in Lucario's battle approach.
The sharp rock rolled twice on the ground uncontrollably as the Lycanroc fell, coming to rest at Lucario's feet.
Lucario seemed to sense something and picked up the rock from the ground.
After careful examination, it discovered that this was originally a fragment from the large shattered boulder.
Only then did Lucario's expression show dawning realization.
So that was your plan from the beginning. Sand Attack was just a method to confuse me.
Hearing Lucario's words spoken with such certainty, the Lycanroc stopped struggling.
What's more, it had now been struck by what was nearly Lucario's full-strength attack. Although it had successfully restricted Lucario's movement and greatly weakened the power of that punch, even so, this strike wasn't something that a Pokémon like Lycanroc—which had focused almost all its stat points on speed—could withstand.
With pathetic defense, attacks that barely scratched opponents, and even the speed it took pride in crushed by Lucario's superior agility, how could it possibly win?
The Lycanroc twitched the corners of its mouth, its spirit completely broken. Facing Lucario's question, it naturally had nothing to say.
Lying flat on the ground, it seemed to adopt an attitude of "kill me or do whatever you want."
Lucario realized it wouldn't get any answers, so it said nothing more and turned around, rock in hand, to find Roy.
It knew it had made many mistakes during this battle and would definitely be scolded when it returned.
Thus, Roy witnessed a dejected canine Pokémon walking toward him despite having won the battle.
Roy naturally understood how Lucario was feeling. As someone who loved dog-like Pokémon, he couldn't bear to see the drooping ears.
"What's wrong?"
I made so many mistakes...
Lucario kept its head down, looking like a child who had done something wrong.
Roy's heart melted at the sight.