Happy New Year! Wishing you all the absolute best in 2026! 🥂
---
'Lucario… don't be startled by the power inside you. It's temporary, about ten minutes at most. Until then, it's yours to command perfectly. Now listen closely. We're going to pull that guy out of the abyss.'
Aura Ash's voice echoed directly in Lucario's heart. For Aura Ash, this Lucario was not unfamiliar at all.
Across countless parallel worlds, Pikachu was always Ash's irreplaceable partner. But Ash always had a second ace just beneath Pikachu, sometimes Charizard, sometimes Sceptile, sometimes Infernape.
In Aura Ash's world, that second ace was Lucario.
Lucario had been trained to world-class heights. Even after many rebirths, Pikachu's level had ended up slightly below Lucario's, though in a real fight, Pikachu's experience and refined stats still let him edge out Lucario without Aura support.
But against a Pokémon like Mewtwo, Aura Ash chose Riolu for a different reason.
This world's Riolu had grown a bit slower than the rest of Ash's team. And Aura Ash had countless Aura techniques, battle-forged tricks, that this world's Ash had never learned. Passing them to Riolu now would give him a foundation far stronger than any normal evolution.
As Aura Ash's voice rang out, Lucario's turbulent mind settled immediately. He didn't know where this unbelievable strength had come from, but he trusted his Trainer completely.
If Ash said it was fine—then it was fine.
He could sense something different about Ash—his manner of speaking, his confidence, the subtle shifts in demeanor—but none of that mattered.
Right now, the only task was the battle in front of him.
Ash said he wanted to pull Mewtwo out of the abyss. Lucario didn't understand what that meant… but he understood one thing perfectly:
To save someone, you must defeat them first. Only the victor has the right to talk about salvation.
"It seems you do have some tricks," Giovanni snapped. "But defeating Mewtwo with that level? Don't kid yourself. Mewtwo, Psychic!"
Encased in the restraining armor, Mewtwo lifted her hand. A pulse of immense Psychic energy erupted toward Lucario, an invisible wave carrying crushing weight.
Lorelei and Agatha, watching remotely, went rigid. Wrapped by Hardened Plants earlier, Mewtwo's true power had been unclear. But now that she moved freely, her aura was unmistakable.
Peak Champion level.
Was this the artificial Pokémon Dr. Blaine had described? The strength was terrifying. If Team Rocket mass-produced such a being, the League would face an unprecedented crisis.
But this was only one creation. Even a Champion-level monster wouldn't be enough to topple the League alone. Giovanni had to be hiding something else.
Back on the battlefield, Lucario didn't dodge. He simply stood still as Psychic wrapped around him like a crushing blue vise, tightening and eroding his body.
Ash watched silently. He gave no commands.
Giovanni frowned. Even with Steel typing, Lucario wasn't immune. Mewtwo's power was overwhelming, this hit should have dealt massive damage, even if Lucario were Champion-tier.
So why didn't he move? Why didn't he resist?
Seconds passed.
Lucario remained calm. No pain, no struggle, his expression didn't even flicker.
Ash finally spoke.
"Break free."
Lucario's body shuddered, and the Psychic shattered with a deafening crack.
"Bang!"
The blue light burst apart. Mewtwo stumbled backward, several steps at once. Though her expression was hidden beneath the helmet, her shock was unmistakable, her chest heaved, her arms trembled.
Since the day she was created, she had been synonymous with overwhelming strength. She had never been overpowered so casually, not even when using most of her full power.
Everyone watching was stunned, but none more than Giovanni.
He knew Mewtwo's strength. He knew exactly what her Psychic should have done.
Yet Lucario, mere minutes after evolving, had broken free with nothing but a twitch of his body.
Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
Had Lucario somehow reached Champion Peak in an instant? No, that was absurd.
A Pokémon that should barely be Superior-tier suddenly leaping to Champion-high or even Champion-peak?
Even Arceus reincarnated into a Lucario wouldn't cheat like that.
Where did this power come from? Could Lucario's body even withstand it? Could he use it without tearing himself apart?
Question after question hammered Giovanni's mind. If they weren't enemies, Giovanni would have grabbed Ash by the shoulders, demanding an explanation.
This level of strength defied biology, defied science, defied every natural law.
How in the world had Ash done this?
"Giovanni," Aura Ash said calmly, "if you don't let Mewtwo use her full power, I'm going to win this battle. This is your last chance."
The words hit Giovanni harder than any attack.
Mewtwo's strength was clearly being suppressed, Ash couldn't possibly miss that. But it was how Ash said it that threw Giovanni off.
This was a life-and-death battle that could shake the world's balance. Against a rookie Trainer barely three months into his journey, Giovanni had already shown no mercy, bringing out Mewtwo and relying on her dominance to crush Ash completely.
Yet Ash stood there relaxed, almost indifferent, as if winning or losing didn't matter to him.
He even invited Giovanni to remove Mewtwo's restraints. He wanted Mewtwo at her strongest.
How could Ash not understand the vast difference between them? If Mewtwo unleashed her full power, even a Champion-peak Lucario would be nothing more than a toy.
The title Quasi-God-Tier contained the word "God" for a reason.
A Champion-peak Pokémon wouldn't even be able to lift a hand against a Quasi-God.
And right now?
This wasn't even Mewtwo's full strength. Giovanni had only allowed her to output power around the initial Champion level, yet even that was enough to trouble mid-Champion Pokémon.
If he could unleash her full power safely, Giovanni would have already done so.
But the truth was…
Removing the armor completely meant losing control. Giovanni wasn't Mewtwo's Trainer.
He had no bond, no connection.
If Mewtwo rebelled at the moment of unshackling, the consequences would be catastrophic.
"Damn it…," Giovanni muttered.
He clicked a button on the remote.
A third of the mechanical restraints dropped from Mewtwo's body with a metallic clang.
Her Aura surged instantly, violent, immense, and far closer to her true self.
"Still holding back?" Aura Ash's voice sharpened, a cold sneer forming. "Looks like even you are afraid of Mewtwo."
"Me? Afraid?" Giovanni snapped. "I'm just afraid you'll lose hope the moment you see her real power. Where's the fun in that?"
On the battlefield, freed of another layer of armor, Mewtwo stretched her limbs. Relief washed through her, she hadn't felt this light in years.
In truth, Giovanni's fears were unnecessary.
She had never resented Team Rocket or wished to escape them. They created her, so she had wanted to find her purpose by serving them.
But that purpose had remained empty.
Aside from destroying a few small islands at Giovanni's orders, most of her life had been monotonous: crushing weak challengers in Viridian Gym, repeating meaningless battles with foes far beneath her.
She never understood what all of it meant. Victory was hollow.
Her existence felt directionless.
And perhaps life would have continued like that forever, until today.
Until she met Ash.
At first, the Venusaur Ash sent out seemed like all the others she'd fought: a weakling destined to fall with a single thought. Giovanni had set the armor so she could safely use only one-tenth of her power, more than enough.
One flick of her hand should have ended the battle.
But it didn't.
Not only had she failed to crush Venusaur instantly, she had been injured.
The difference between them should've been insurmountable.For her, a being who had always stood at the top, to be wounded by a Pokémon that shouldn't have even scratched her…
It was a shock that shattered everything she believed about herself.
There were also two distinct forces inside Ash, forces that resonated with Mewtwo in a way she could not understand. That strange familiarity stirred her curiosity.
Even so, she had never intended to betray Giovanni.
He was the first human she had ever met, the one who created her, the one who promised to help her find the meaning of her existence.
But now… Giovanni's hesitation, his doubt, was beginning to leave a bitter taste in her heart.
There was no trust. None at all.
And while she might not have realized it before, the contrast was painfully clear now.
Ash's way of treating Pokémon highlighted Giovanni's coldness like a slap.
Giovanni would recall a gravely injured Pokémon without a word, toss the Poké Ball aside, and move on.
Ash, seeing his Pokémon dangerously low on stamina, would immediately return it to prevent needless suffering.
One discarded Pokémon like trash. The other treated Pokémon like partners.
And now, Giovanni's complete distrust of her, his weapon, his creation, made a deep disappointment settle inside Mewtwo.
Yet at the same time… Ash and Lucario fascinated her.
Since her birth, she had never encountered a Pokémon worth taking seriously. She always had to hold back, restraining her power to avoid killing her opponents outright.
But this Lucario felt different.
For the first time in her life, she sensed a worthy opponent.
Even if she used her full, unrestrained power… she wasn't sure she could defeat him.
Her calm heart trembled, a warmth she didn't understand, but deeply enjoyed.
This battle was no longer for Giovanni. This battle was hers.
She would fight with everything she had.
As Giovanni released another stage of restraints, a far more monstrous wave of Psychic energy roared out of her body. Even a Champion-peak Pokémon would need a fortress wall to withstand it.
Mewtwo raised her hand, her three spherical fingers curling inwards- Psychic!
A far stronger Psychic than before wrapped around Lucario, compressing him with terrifying force.
A sharp creak, creak echoed from his body, bones under pressure. Misty and the others sucked in a breath, panic rising...
Until Lucario clenched his fists and roared:
"Awooooo!"
The thunderous cry shook the air. A tsunami of Aura erupted from him, obliterating the Psychic restraints in an instant.
Giovanni and Mewtwo's expressions changed at the same time.
This was no mere tremor like before.
The power radiating from Lucario now was a domain Mewtwo had chased all her life, only to fall short by the smallest fraction.
God-Tier.
He was overflowing with God-Domain power.
It made sense suddenly, why Lucario could shatter Psychic restraints with nothing but Aura.
He had already stepped into a realm Mewtwo had never reached.
But the absurdity of it defied logic.
This was Lucario, a Pokémon who had literally evolved minutes ago!
He hadn't even fully adapted to his new form, and he was already exuding God-tier power?!
What kind of cosmic joke was that?!
Before Giovanni could process it, Lucario's eyes sharpened like blades.
In the next heartbeat, he vanished.
Then reappeared directly in front of Mewtwo.
He bent his knees, twisted his waist, drew his fist back—
And punched.
"BOOM!"