"Bang!!"
Lucario's fist smashed into Mewtwo's abdomen with monstrous force.
A visible shockwave rippled outward, blasting dust and gravel across the battlefield.
Mewtwo's mouth flew open, blood sprayed from her lips, and though her expression was hidden behind her helmet, the twisted contortion of her body said everything.
The punch rattled her brain.
For the first time since her creation, Mewtwo felt dizzy, her thoughts scattering like broken glass.
She hadn't even seen Lucario move.
One moment Lucario was yards away, the next, he was already in front of her, fist buried in her abdomen.
The blow carried pure Fighting-type force, an energy she should have easily resisted, but instead, it ripped through her as if she were made of paper.
Never, not once in her life, had she been struck so hard.
Lucario slowly lowered his fist.
Mewtwo's body curled forward like a bent shrimp, both hands clutching her stomach, unable to straighten, unable to respond, unable to breathe.
Giovanni stood on the opposite side, eyes bulging, mouth slightly open, completely unable to process what he was seeing.
Mewtwo… beaten? Just like that? Is this a nightmare?
Misty, Brock, and Gary froze in place, gasping out loud.
They lacked Giovanni's eye for power, but they could feel it, Lucario's Aura was many times stronger than any Champion-level Pokémon they had ever witnessed.
Perhaps they might guess Lucario had reached Champion-peak…
But to imagine God Realm level?
Impossible. Ridiculous. Beyond comprehension.
This was a level spoken of in legends.
A level ordinary Pokémon had no hope of touching.
Yet here it was, standing before them, so plainly, so quietly.
And even if Lucario were only Champion-peak, Mewtwo should not be in this condition.
But after one punch, she couldn't stand.
So just how powerful had Lucario become?
And what in the world had Ash done to achieve this?
Inside a small house outside Viridian Gym, Agatha and Lorelei watched the surveillance feed in utter silence, lips moving with no sound.
Their sharp eyes didn't lose to Giovanni's. Even through a screen, they could tell:
This Lucario wasn't Champion-tier anymore.
He had broken through the ceiling.
He had stepped into the realm all Champions dreamed of reaching—
The God/Divine Realm.
It was unbelievable.
A Lucario who had evolved only minutes ago, now stood in a domain most Trainers spent their entire lives failing to touch.
"Agatha… I'm not seeing things, am I?" Lorelei asked, voice trembling.
"My eyes are old, but not that old," Agatha replied, her expression a tangle of awe and disbelief. "And the chances of both of us being wrong are nearly zero."
"I thought the first to reach that realm would be Lance, or Leon," Agatha murmured. "But a boy who debuted less than half a year ago? And a Lucario who evolved minutes ago…?"
The two women stared at the screen, stunned.
There was no way Ash did this alone.
His short debut time aside, Riolu had just evolved! There was no universe where a Superior-level Pokémon transformed into a Divine Realm being in seconds.
By all logic, this was impossible.
Even Victini couldn't explain this.
Victini granted power, ignited potential, but Victini itself wasn't Divine Realm-level. Only a handful of Mythical Pokémon like Mew reached that height.
If Victini wasn't God-tier, how could it push another Pokémon to God-tier?
Maybe Victini could help a Champion-peak Pokémon break through. But Lucario wasn't Champion-peak.
He had just evolved from Superior-level.
Not to mention, the Arceus Contract permitted only the two Trainers and their chosen Pokémon to exist within its boundary. No outside force, no matter how powerful, could pass through the barrier.
Therefore, Victini helping was impossible.
This… was Ash and Lucario's own power.
"You're asking me?" Lorelei sighed. "Who should I ask? I traveled with Ash for a week and found no special trick that could amplify a Pokémon this much. But I have seen him boost a Pokémon's level by one major tier, that's his Aura power."
She pointed at the screen.
"But this isn't Aura Power. Ash's Aura works by merging his energy with the Pokémon's. Even if Lucario could withstand it, Ash's own Aura has definitely not reached Divine Realm level."
Lorelei shrugged helplessly.
She had only spent seven days with Ash. She wasn't there from the beginning. She had no idea how deep Ash's secrets truly ran.
But the layers she did see, just in one week, already stunned her.
He was an endless treasure trove. No matter how much you uncovered, there was always more beneath.
A child like him appearing in Kanto could only mean one thing:
The Kanto League was destined to rise.
"That's true," Agatha said dryly. "If you knew the answer, you wouldn't look like that."
"No matter how Ash achieved this power, as long as he can use it, this battle is already decided." Lorelei exhaled at last. "Mewtwo hasn't reached the Divine Realm. As long as she's below that level, she can't beat Lucario. Divine Realm and anything below it are completely different worlds."
That gap couldn't be overcome by moves, techniques, or stats.
Ash's victory was guaranteed.
Agatha nodded, relief softening the deep lines of her face."We worried for nothing. That boy has methods beyond anything we could ever imagine."
Lorelei smiled lightly. "With Ash's talent and temperament, he'll become Kanto's future pillar. When he fully gains control of the power he's showing now, Kanto will undoubtedly become the strongest league among all regions."
Ash wouldn't just win this battle, he would lead Kanto's future.
Inside Viridian Gym
Lucario stopped after landing his punch.
Aura Ash cast a brief glance at the trembling Mewtwo, then looked directly at Giovanni.
"So this is your 'strongest Pokémon'? With only this much strength, she can't defeat us, much less challenge the legendary Pokémon outside."
Then Ash's eyes sharpened, his voice cutting deeper:
"Mewtwo… is your 'search for meaning' really just following that coward behind you? Bullying weak opponents? Helping him vent his frustrations like a tool?"
The words struck both Mewtwo and Giovanni like blades.
Coward. Bullying weaklings. Tools who lacked dignity.
The accusations burned.
Mewtwo gritted her teeth and forced herself upright despite the agony in her abdomen.
Giovanni, jaw clenched with fury, slammed the remote.
Click. Click. Click.
Every last restraint on Mewtwo fell away, crashing to the ground.
Her true form emerged, sleek, compact, catlike.
Smaller than Lucario, slender, with a long tail swaying behind her.Her face twisted with lingering pain… but far stronger was the indignation burning in her eyes.
Ash had hit a nerve.
All her life, she had crushed weaklings, never meeting a worthy foe.And now, when she finally faced a true opponent, she was the one on the ground.
How could she not be furious?
Giovanni, stung by Ash's mockery, finally snapped.
With a furious snarl, he tore away the last of Mewtwo's restraints. Whether she would obey him afterward no longer mattered, defeating Lucario came first.
He knew Lucario's current power was likely Divine Realm level.
He knew this was unnatural, temporary, something achieved through a special method.
But special methods always had limits.
Short duration. Reduced control.
An inability to unleash the full depth of Divine power.
If Mewtwo could endure until that timer ran out, Giovanni believed victory would be his.
Ash would be his.
And even if Mewtwo was lost, the trade-off would be worth it.
Losing everything? Failing completely?
Impossible.
"So… the restraints are finally gone."
Aura Ash's voice softened, losing the earlier mocking ease. His expression grew more solemn.
A fully unchained Mewtwo deserved respect.
And more importantly, Ash had achieved his true purpose.He had forced Giovanni to remove the devices binding her.
Those machines weren't just external armor, they suppressed Mewtwo down to the genetic level. If she tried to force them off, or if someone destroyed them from the outside, it could damage her body… even her DNA.
To free her safely, Ash had deliberately goaded Giovanni to the brink, provoking him, insulting him, even hurting Mewtwo's pride.
Now, finally, the shackles were gone.
But with them gone, the pressure was far greater.
All of Mewtwo's power returned instantly.
Her level surged back to Champion Peak, and with her six S-tier stats, she was now brushing the edge of the Divine Realm herself.
"Mewtwo, Psystrike!" Giovanni commanded, cold and sharp.
Mewtwo responded instantly. Psychic energy boiled from her raised palm, condensing into a violent, purple sphere. The special attack twisted reality around it, the air shuddered, the ground quaked, and even space showed faint cracks.
This was the power of a god breaking its cage.
Aura Ash didn't flinch.
"Lucario, Aura Sphere."
Lucario thrust his palms forward.
Aura flooded the air, gathering faster than light. In seconds, a colossal sphere formed, a glowing, pulsating meteor of pure Aura.
Super Giant Aura Sphere.
Mewtwo's expression tightened with seriousness. With a snap of her arm, Psystrike shot forward like a purple comet.
Lucario leapt skyward, his body bathed in blue light. Holding the massive Aura Sphere in one hand, he swung his arm downward like a hammer.
The two attacks collided.
"BOOOOM!!"