Chapter 365: Fist Against Fist!

“Bam!!!”

Zoroark’s body slammed into the rock wall like a cannonball. In an instant, shattered rocks flew everywhere, and clouds of dust billowed into the air.

One had to remember—

this was inside the World-Origin Tree.

Although the Regigigas depicted in the murals could casually tear enormous chunks of rock from the World-Origin Tree, that was the Colossal Pokémon King himself, an existence capable of dragging entire continental plates with its own strength!

In terms of the hardness and defensive properties of the World-Origin Tree’s rock itself, it could absolutely be considered among the strongest materials in this world.

Yet even so—

that Lucario, despite being in a Weakened state, could still create such a tremendous impact.

It was practically a monster!

“This Lucario, at its peak, should have been very close to that level. In fact, there’s a good chance it had already reached it.”

Marshadow’s solemn voice echoed in Chen Mo’s mind.

“Mm.”

Chen Mo nodded lightly.

The level Marshadow was referring to was naturally the Legendary level.

As the Wave Hero Aaron’s best and strongest partner, it wasn’t particularly surprising that Lucario had possessed such strength at its peak.

However…

“Cough, cough, cough…”

A violent coughing sound came from within the dissipating dust.

Then—

Zoroark’s figure slowly emerged.

“Senior’s punches… are still just as powerful as I remember…”

Its beast-like yellow eyes calmly gazed at Lucario in the distance.

“If Senior wants to fight, then I’ll fight with you. Just like you used to train with me.”

One reason Zoroark normally disguised itself as an ordinary Zoroark was that it didn’t particularly like this form, which had been created from resentment.

But there was another important reason.

It wanted to be recognized at a glance whenever it met Aaron and Lucario again.

However—

that clearly wasn’t possible now.

Knowing exactly how powerful Lucario was, Zoroark didn’t dare hold anything back.

It stopped suppressing the energy within its body.

In an instant, countless streams of pitch-black energy, almost solid in appearance, began pouring from its wild red-and-white mane.

The entire battlefield seemed to descend into a realm of ghosts!

[What’s going on with this Zoroark…? The Pokédex doesn’t mention anything about this…]

[It looks kind of terrifying.]

[Has anyone considered this? Given the environment Teacher Mo discovered inside the Mystery Realm, could an ordinary Pokémon really survive there?]

[That’s true. Teacher Mo mentioned before that some Pokémon can change their forms according to their environments. Could this white Zoroark be a Ghost-type regional form that evolved to adapt to such a terrible environment?]

The livestream viewers had also guessed the correct answer.

Although the several Legendary Pokémon that had appeared in the murals had already provided more than enough shock, this Ghost-type Zoroark, as the first regional form to appear on the livestream, still caused quite a stir.

Chen Mo, however, wasn’t particularly concerned about that and had no intention of stopping to explain.

His eyes remained fixed on Zoroark and Lucario.

He supported Zoroark’s decision.

But if Zoroark encountered any real danger, he would have his own Pokémon intervene immediately.

After all—

Zoroark was a partner he had personally acknowledged!

On the battlefield.

Influenced by the World-Origin Tree and driven into a berserk state, Lucario demonstrated perfectly what it meant to charge headfirst into battle.

Foresight activated.

Lucario once again rushed toward Zoroark.

Chen Mo knew very well that engaging this Lucario in close combat was absolutely not a wise decision.

Furthermore, with Foresight in effect, Zoroark’s Normal/Ghost typing was completely countered by Lucario’s Fighting type. Its previous type advantage had been entirely reversed.

If Zoroark wanted to defeat Lucario, the best approach would be to avoid its strongest attacks, keep pulling it around, search for an opening, and only strike at the right moment.

And sure enough.

Faced with Lucario charging straight toward it, Zoroark, having experienced so much and no longer being as impulsive as it once was, didn’t choose to clash head-on.

Instead, it retreated several steps before letting out a low growl.

[Curse!]

In an instant.

The resentment energy surrounding Zoroark seemed to come alive, surging toward Lucario and enveloping it completely.

The next moment—

Lucario, which was in the middle of changing direction, had no time to evade.

Its body was corroded by the incoming resentment energy, and its footsteps abruptly halted.

Chen Mo silently nodded.

An extremely intelligent approach.

In the games, Curse could reduce the PP of the opponent’s most recently used move.

But in reality, the number of times a move could be used was directly related to the amount of energy within a Pokémon’s body. It wasn’t governed by a fixed numerical value like in the games.

Therefore, Curse manifested somewhat differently in reality.

After repeated tests by the Countermeasure Bureau, its greatest practical effect was essentially to reduce the energy and stamina within the opposing Pokémon’s body.

And Lucario was currently weakened.

It already had very little stamina and energy remaining.

If it were hit by Curse repeatedly, Zoroark might not even need to attack. Lucario could potentially collapse on its own.

“Arf…”

Just as Zoroark was preparing to take advantage of Lucario’s momentary paralysis and unleash Curse again—

a faint blue light suddenly flashed through Lucario’s eyes.

Immediately afterward—

a blue energy barrier surged from Lucario’s entire body, rippling outward like waves and dispersing the resentment energy surrounding it.

“…”

Chen Mo froze.

He recognized it.

This wasn’t a move.

It was another application of Waveguide.

After enveloping its body in Waveguide energy, Lucario’s speed seemed to rise another level.

It slammed one foot into the ground.

A blue afterimage flashed.

And in an instant, Lucario was already in front of Zoroark.

[Close Combat!]

In a flash, a storm of fists descended.

Zoroark’s reaction was already extremely fast.

Realizing that it couldn’t escape, it thrust both hands forward and formed an indigo barrier.

[Protect!]

However—

Close Combat wasn’t a single attack.

Lucario used both fists and feet, unleashing one ferocious attack after another.

Zoroark was forced backward repeatedly.

The Protect barrier creaked under the assault, cracks beginning to spread across its surface.

Finally—

with a powerful kick from Lucario—

Crack!

The barrier shattered.

The tremendous force struck Zoroark directly in the abdomen.

“Bam!” “Bam!” “Bam!”

Zoroark’s body bounced across the ground like a ball.

Every time it hit the ground, it left behind a large crater.

On its third impact, Zoroark finally found its center of gravity.

It scraped its feet against the ground, sliding for a considerable distance before finally coming to a stop.

“Watch out!”

Chen Mo spotted the blue figure pursuing Zoroark and shouted a warning.

But Zoroark’s next action left Chen Mo stunned.

In his field of vision—

Zoroark clearly still had enough time to dodge.

Yet instead of evading Lucario, it lowered its body and suddenly sprinted forward, charging directly toward Lucario.

“Bam!”

A deep collision echoed across the battlefield.

The instant the two sides collided—

the ground beneath them collapsed once again.

A powerful shockwave kicked up a violent gale.

Chen Mo stood against the wind, his black hair whipping wildly around him, his expression momentarily blank.

“Fighting techniques…”

“Listen carefully, Zorua. Although Waveguide is a kind of mental and spiritual energy, it differs from ordinary Psychic power.”

“Waveguide relies heavily on the user’s physical body. The stronger a Waveguide Guardian is, the stronger their body tends to be.”

“That is also one of the main reasons Waveguide is classified as a Fighting type.”

Under the sunlight, a young man wearing a blue top hat spoke gently.

Zorua quickly responded.

“Arf! (I understand! I need to train an extremely powerful body!)”

“Very clever.”

The young man gently stroked Zorua’s head.

“To build a powerful body, you naturally need to master and utilize Fighting-type energy. Lucario, I’ll leave the rest to you.”

The blue Pokémon standing beside the young man nodded and took over.

“First…”

Pain.

A piercing, bone-deep pain spread through Zoroark’s body as the Fighting-type energy surged inside it.

Zoroark gritted its teeth and stared at those crimson eyes before it, forcing itself to endure the pain while desperately adjusting its stance.

Before it evolved, as a pure Dark-type Pokémon, Zorua had suffered through countless hardships just to comprehend Fighting-type moves that conflicted with its own elemental affinity.

But—

to Zorua—

although it hurt, it had truly been happy.

Whenever it made even the slightest bit of progress, whether it was Lord Aaron, Lucario Senior, or any of the other seniors, they would praise it without reservation.

The time I spent traveling with all of you… I was truly, truly happy!

So—

I absolutely won’t run away.

I absolutely have to awaken you.

Lucario Senior!

“Bam!” “Bam!” “Bam!”

The dull sounds of fists colliding continued to echo through the surroundings.

Anping City Pokémon Battle Center.

The numerous Trainers watched the two Pokémon fighting at close range on the screen.

Song Qingyun’s face was filled with confusion.

“Why is Zoroark doing this? Why did it choose to fight Lucario head-on?”

“Following the previous strategy, it could have kept its distance and looked for opportunities to wear Lucario down!”

Everyone began discussing the matter.

Qiao Cheng gazed at the screen, his expression thoughtful.

He frequently trained alongside his Machamp, and he himself had come from the military.

He could see that the fighting techniques being used by Zoroark and Lucario shared striking similarities.

It was obvious.

The two Pokémon had practiced this kind of sparring extensively in the past.

“Could it be that Zoroark is trying to awaken Lucario through this kind of battle?”

Qiao Cheng’s guess was correct.

Zoroark really was trying to awaken Lucario by using the fighting techniques it had learned from Lucario itself.

However—

not only were Zoroark’s fighting techniques inferior to Lucario’s, but as a Normal/Ghost-type Pokémon, its control over Fighting-type energy was nowhere near Lucario’s level.

After just a few exchanges, Zoroark was covered in injuries.

Its arms and legs had even become twisted from the tremendous impacts.

Fortunately—

as a Ghost-type Pokémon, its physical body was fundamentally different from that of ordinary Pokémon.

After its reincarnation, Zoroark could quickly reconnect bones that had been broken or displaced.

But even so—

under Lucario’s relentless assault, Zoroark gradually reached its limit.

Its consciousness and vision began to blur.

Then—

a voice suddenly rang out from nearby.

“Zoroark!!!”

Zoroark’s entire body jolted.

It saw the fist rapidly growing larger within its field of vision and instinctively raised a hand to block it.

But suddenly, it noticed something.

Lucario’s movements were much slower than before.

Zoroark saw it.

The expressionless face of Lucario was now trembling slightly.

Its expression seemed to carry a trace of pain.

Obviously—

after being sealed for such a long time and being eroded by the resentment energy earlier, Lucario’s ability to continue fighting had also reached its own limit.

From nearby, Chen Mo’s voice rang out again.

“Don’t give up!!!”

That’s right.

It’s not time to give up yet!

Zoroark’s eyes sharpened.

It couldn’t dodge Lucario’s attack.

But so what?

When both sides had pushed their bodies to the limit, what remained was a battle of will.

Looking at Lucario’s hollow eyes, Zoroark clenched both fists.

The last remaining traces of Fighting-type energy within its body gathered entirely into its fists.

The will to see you all again!

I absolutely won’t lose!

Bam!

Lucario’s fist slammed into Zoroark’s chest.

Zoroark’s insides churned violently, as though its organs were about to be vomited out.

But as it twisted its body, golden-yellow energy began to shine intensely from its fist.

Its entire body trembled uncontrollably under the tremendous strain.

Then—

Zoroark threw one final punch.

It poured every last ounce of strength into Lucario’s chest.

[Aura Sphere!]

This was the move Zoroark had trained for the longest.

It was also the most powerful Fighting-type move in its arsenal.

Even Lucario itself had been astonished when Zoroark first mastered it.

And now—

the very move Lucario had personally taught Zoroark was being returned to its teacher.

“Lucario Senior! Please wake up!!!”

The immense energy exploded against Lucario’s chest.

Under the impact, its body was instantly launched backward, crashing into the wall like a kite with its string cut.

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