Giovanni's actions were so outrageous that even Champion Ash found them unbelievable. What kind of person does that? Sending out a Champion-level Pokémon against a rookie was already excessive, but then he went even further and sent out Mewtwo. Did he have any shame left at all?
Even though Mewtwo was technically at the peak of the Champion tier, its power had already brushed against the realm of the god. It hadn't truly broken into the God Tier yet, but its physical and psychic potential were already there. Calling it "quasi-God-level" was no exaggeration.
To force a Trainer who had debuted barely three months ago to face a quasi-God-tier Pokémon… Even if Ash had cheated a little, Champion Ash still found the situation downright absurd.
Aura Guardian Ash: Good heavens… your Giovanni is shameless to the extreme. What's the point in bullying a rookie? Does winning like this even count?
Newbie Ash: Actually… it's like this…
Ash briefly retold the events that happened inside Viridian Gym. After learning that Giovanni had used an Arceus Contract, the group chat exploded.
The item existed in a few parallel worlds, but even there it was one of the rarest of the rare. Once invoked, not even God-level Pokémon could easily break it, depending on the specifications of the contract, sometimes not even they could.
It was, in short, an obscenely overpowered and completely binding item.
And Giovanni had used this absolute binding contract to force a wager, essentially compelling Ash to join Team Rocket if he lost.
Only now did Champion Ash and the Aura Guardian understand Giovanni's shamelessness. Compared to acquiring Ash, what was pride? Giovanni wanted nothing less than a guaranteed, one-hundred-percent victory.
Aura Guardian Ash: Alright, I get it now. Leave this to me. Has your Riolu evolved yet?
Newbie Ash: Not yet… but it's really close.
Aura Guardian Ash: Good. Then leave it to me. Give me ten minutes and I'll hand you a perfectly evolved Lucario.
In the real world, only three minutes passed before Ash slowly opened his eyes. Giovanni hadn't rushed him; he simply watched quietly, assuming Ash was preparing himself mentally to accept his fate. After all, from Giovanni's perspective, the outcome was already sealed.
Ash had no other choice but to submit.
Closing his eyes, stalling for time, mentally preparing to join Team Rocket, it was the only explanation Giovanni could think of.
When Ash finally opened them, Giovanni grinned with a cold, mocking curve of his lips.
"So? Are you ready to join Team Rocket? Don't waste your time with ridiculous notions. The Arceus Contract is absolute, even gods must obey its rules. For a mere human to think of breaking it is laughable. Soon, I'll uncover the secret behind that 'further evolution' of yours."
"You talk too much." Ash's eyes glowed faintly blue as a colder, steadier voice slipped from his lips.
Under Giovanni's frozen smile, Ash tossed a Poké Ball forward.
"I choose you, Riolu."
With a flash of light, Riolu appeared on the battlefield. The moment Ash revealed his second Pokémon, everyone watching, including the two Elites observing the livestream was stunned.
"Riolu?! Has Ash lost his mind?!" Gary yelped as soon as he saw it.
After learning earlier that Ash possessed a special Aura-type ability, Gary had researched everything he could about Aura. He hadn't found any humans with that power, but he did find Pokémon who possessed it, Riolu included.
And now Ash was sending a non-evolved Riolu against a Pokémon that looked every bit the pinnacle of psychic might? Had Ash finally given up?
"What is Ash thinking?" Brock muttered, disbelief heavy in his voice. "Riolu isn't weak anymore, sure, but sending it into a fight like this… it's suicide."
At a moment this critical, choosing a Pokémon that hadn't even reached its final evolution, wasn't this just handing Giovanni the win?
"Wait." Misty suddenly spoke, her tone much calmer than Gary or Brock's. "Brock, do you remember earlier today, when Ash was talking with Lorelei? He said this battle… might have the blessing of the 'God of Victory' again."
Back then, the two had brushed off Ash's words as a joke. After all, did Ash think Victini just showed up because he asked? What was Victini, his personal pet?
But now, watching Ash send out Riolu with such confidence… it didn't feel like recklessness. It felt like preparation.
Think back, when was the last time Ash sent an unevolved Pokémon into a life-or-death battle?
And more importantly, who was he fighting then?
Elite Koga had once fought Ash in a type-disadvantage battle.
Back when Bulbasaur was still unevolved, Ash used him to defeat Koga's Crobat, a victory that shouldn't have been possible on paper. In other words, Ash had already proven he could overturn hopeless matchups before.
Now, he was doing it again. He brought out an unevolved Riolu against an opponent everyone believed was impossible to beat, except this time, the gap was far wider than anything in the Koga battle.
But Misty and Brock couldn't forget the terrifying power Bulbasaur once released. It was easily the strongest energy they had ever seen from Ash's Pokémon, strong enough to overwhelm Elite like Kog. Even a normal Champion-level Pokémon wouldn't have been able to replicate that feat.
By their judgment, that kind of might would've required at least Champion power or above.
So if Riolu could tap into anything close to that strength… then even Mewtwo wasn't necessarily unbeatable.
Giovanni let out an irritated laugh.
"To send out a Pokémon that hasn't even evolved… Ash, you really underestimate me and Mewtwo."
At this decisive moment, Ash had supposedly thrown in the towel, choosing a Pokémon that by all logic had no chance. Rather than feeling mocked, Giovanni felt disappointed.
To Giovanni, a person who collapsed the moment they faced hardship would never amount to anything. Talent meant nothing if one's mentality was weak.
This was precisely why he had gone to such lengths to use an Arceus Contract, not simply to force Ash to join Team Rocket, but to twist Ash's mindset, pushing him to willingly align with Team Rocket while preserving his original potential and character.
If all he wanted was control, Mewtwo could have handled that with a single hypnosis.
But Giovanni wanted something more:
A future Champion, possibly someone who could surpass Leon, and lead Team Rocket to become the strongest organization in the world.
Yet Ash's behavior just now felt like regression… until Ash spoke again.
"Not fully evolved? If you want to see the final evolution, I'll show you. Riolu, evolve."
Ash's voice, no, Aura Ash's voice, remained calm and composed.
Light burst from Riolu's body. Before everyone's eyes, his figure expanded rapidly, growing until he approached a height of nearly 1.8 meters. When the glow faded, a newly evolved Lucario stood firm on the battlefield.
Lucario radiated elegance, agility, and unwavering reliability, standing tall with newly formed steel spikes jutting from his forearms.
"Dude… are you the God of Evolution or something? You just say a Pokémon should evolve, and it evolves?!" Gary blurted.
Giovanni's earlier criticism evaporated instantly.
So Ash sent out an unevolved Pokémon? Fine, Ash simply made it evolve.
Even though a freshly evolved Lucario wasn't much stronger than Riolu had been, and still nowhere near Mewtwo's level, Giovanni found himself unable to speak. He had been slapped in the face by Ash so many times today he lost count.
This boy was practically a professional face-slapper.
At the same time, something else bothered Giovanni. Ash didn't look defeated at all. His calmness, his confidence, his timing… none of it felt like someone giving up.
If he were truly resigned, why would he bother evolving Riolu at the perfect moment?
Like Misty earlier, Giovanni suddenly recalled Ash's legendary upset against Koga, and Misty's remark about the "God of Victory."
Was Ash… cheating again?
Aura Ash rotated his wrist casually, his tone almost bored.
"What's wrong, Giovanni? Is my Riolu evolving into Lucario that upsetting to you?"
Internally, Aura Ash was adjusting to this new body. The chat group's power was astonishing, the body he inhabited inherited nearly all of his Aura, and combined with this world's Ash's Aura aptitude, the physical strength alone was beyond what he expected.
Still, raw power wasn't everything. Combat experience mattered just as much. In his own world, he regularly trained with Legendary Pokémon, their sheer battle experience couldn't be compared.
Giovanni sneered. "What now? Planning to repeat that stunt you used against Koga? Don't tell me the 'God of Victory' is conveniently on your side again."
His tone made it clear:
'Don't try to fool me with Victini. If Victini were here, how could I not notice?'
Ash didn't respond. He simply lifted his hands and formed a precise gesture, thumb, index, and middle fingers together, creating an inverted heart shape.
Lucario mirrored the motion instinctively.
And then it happened, something deep within their bodies awakened. A hidden power, dormant until now, surged forth.
Lucario felt it first. The sensation was so overwhelming he almost lost his balance. He had assumed Ash wanted to merge their Aura the way Aura Guardians sometimes did. But this force wasn't coming from Ash.
It was coming from within Lucario himself.
His power was rising, no, exploding, far beyond what evolution alone should have granted. In just moments, Lucario felt hundreds of times stronger than he had been seconds after evolving.
Normally, his evolution would have placed him at Superior level, skipping two tiers thanks to the effort he'd built up as Riolu. His long-term plan was clear: evolve at Advanced Initial-level, then elevate himself instantly to Superior Peak.
Ash had forced the timing early, so he hadn't reached that exact goal… but Lucario found he no longer cared.
The moment he stepped onto the battlefield, the oppressive weight of Mewtwo's presence had nearly crushed him. Even after evolving, he knew he couldn't win, not without a miracle or some precise Aura fusion with Ash. Even then, the odds were one in ten million.
But now?
That crushing pressure was gone.
Completely gone.
Lucario opened his eyes, staring down at his own claws as though they belonged to someone else.
His entire body felt weightless, buoyant, drifting, overflowing with strength he couldn't fully contain. Raw energy leaked out of him in wild pulses.
Giovanni's face twisted the instant he saw it.
Even though Lucario wasn't controlling it well, the power leaking from him was unmistakable, equal to Mewtwo's current restrained aura.
Impossible.
How could a Lucario that had only reached Advanced Peak as a Riolu, and barely Superior High after evolving, suddenly emit power on par with a Champion-tier biotech monster like Mewtwo?
Giovanni's mind raced.
Was this Ash's special ability? No. Giovanni had analyzed that ability thoroughly. It could amplify a Pokémon's power, yes, but nowhere even close to this scale.
So where did this impossible strength come from?
Victini? Ridiculous. If Victini were anywhere near Viridian City, its energy would blaze like a flare in the night sky. Mewtwo would sense it instantly.
Yet Mewtwo sensed nothing.
No outside force. No divine presence.
This power… had simply appeared out of thin air.
Lucario's body, his evolution, his Aura, none of it should be capable of this.
What kind of trick is this?!