When Fighting-type Pokémon engage in close-quarters combat, the pace of attacks becomes incredibly fast. And in such a state, the biggest threat is being afflicted by a status condition.
And with a perfectly landed Force Palm, Mark's Lucario immediately took the upper hand!
"Nice one~ Use Close Combat!" Mark ordered excitedly. The opponent was paralyzed, speed halved. If not now, when?
"LUCARIO!" Riley suddenly shouted into the field. There was no clear command, but Lucario instantly knew what to do.
["Aura… follows my heart!"]
A faint blue light radiated from both Riley and Lucario. Facing its opponent's attack, Lucario instead closed its eyes.
Close Combat came crashing in!
Shift right, side slide, crouch, block with left arm, flip back to dodge…
What happened next surprised both Sato and Joseph.
Riley suddenly began mirroring the movements in perfect sync with his Lucario.
The powerful Close Combat combo, after being executed completely by Mark's Lucario, didn't even graze the opponent!
"Riley's a martial arts expert. He's synchronizing with Lucario through his own movements to guide its body!"
Joseph quickly deduced the reason, and his expression turned serious as he looked at Riley.
To be able to coordinate with Lucario this way… Riley was definitely not some nobody back in Cameran Palace.
No matter what region he entered: if he wanted to be famous, it would happen fast.
"Lucario, stay calm! Use Swords Dance!"
Looking at his opponent with eyes closed and serene, Mark first steadied his own Lucario.
Since Riley was an Aura user… 'Then let's see just how many techniques you've got up your sleeve.'
Lucario rubbed its claws together as they gleamed coldly, its attack power surged dramatically.
And at that moment, Riley also responded in kind. "Aura Sphere, rapid fire!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~
Three Aura Spheres, each just as powerful as before, flew toward Lucario from different angles.
"BONE RUSH, BREAK THEM ONE BY ONE!" Mark shouted loudly.
Lucario brought its palms together, and as they spread apart, a glowing blue bone materialized in its hands.
In terms of raw power, Aura Sphere completely outclassed Bone Rush.
But pulse-type moves were easy to disrupt, if you broke their internal structure, they'd collapse easily.
Jab, thrust, spin… Mark's Lucario casually swatted away all three Aura Spheres.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three consecutive blasts engulfed the battlefield in smoke. Suddenly, from within the cloud, a spinning Aura Sphere shot out at high speed, targeting its opponent directly!
This time, Riley's human reaction speed finally couldn't keep up with Mark's Lucario. Left with no choice, he crossed his arms and blocked the incoming Aura Sphere.
…Just like that, the advantage was steadily shifting toward Mark.
"Mark's growth…" Joseph glanced at Sato, hesitating.
"Mmm, it's a bit surprising. He hasn't had Lucario for long, and yet their teamwork has already reached this level." With Mark not around, Sato didn't "hold back" in his praise.
"Maybe he's just been holding back too long. Back home he had Challengers to spar with anytime. Now that we're on a journey, you've stolen all the spotlight."
"Is that so..." Sato murmured to himself.
The battle continued. Even though Riley used Aura to minimize the effects of paralysis… humans weren't Pokémon. No matter how skilled Riley was in martial arts, he could only improve Lucario's evasion, not its counterattacks.
What's more, Aura had its limits and would eventually be depleted.
"Lucario, one more time! Use Close Combat!" Mark and Lucario were both getting more and more fired up, their momentum surging.
Same move, same situation.
But the result was entirely different.
This time, Riley's movements finally couldn't keep up with Lucario's attack rhythm. A flaw was caught, and punches and kicks rained down on Lucario in an instant.
The Aura was broken. Riley stumbled back two steps, and his Lucario collapsed to the ground, unable to get up for a long while.
"We lost, huh..." Riley smiled, a bit pale, as he walked over and gently helped his partner up.
"Just lucky, really. If Lucario hadn't gotten paralyzed, we'd have had a hard time winning." Mark was well aware of the circumstances.
"Isn't luck part of strength too?"
"Hehehe~" Mark finally couldn't hold back and laughed proudly.
After the battle ended, the two handed their Lucario over to Nurse Joy for treatment.
"Riri, what are your plans next? Why not travel with us?" Mark glanced at Sato, and seeing no objection, went ahead with the invitation.
"I'll pass. I enjoy traveling alone. I'm planning to visit Kanto, and it's not on your route anyway." Riley declined politely, with solid reasoning.
"If you go to Kanto, be sure to stop by Shadownight Town in Johto! We've got a ton of great food and local events worth checking out!" Mark added eagerly.
"I'll definitely visit!"
Riley nodded to Mark, then looked over to the quiet Joseph.
"If it's alright… I'd like to ask you a favor."
Joseph was stunned, he hadn't expected to be involved. Was it about custom Pokémon food?
"What is it? Go ahead and ask." Joseph figured it was just about food, and it wouldn't take much effort. He had a good impression of Riley anyway.
Riley carefully took out a deep blue Pokémon egg from his bag and handed it to Joseph with a smile.
"This is a Clawitzer egg. I heard from Sato that you're interested in Pokémon that can use Heal Pulse, so I thought maybe… you could take care of it."
Joseph froze, then flusteredly accepted the egg. He turned to look at Sato -who clearly acted like he had nothing to do with it- and finally couldn't help but smile.
"Thank you. I'll take good care of it," Joseph said sincerely.
To him, Clawitzer wasn't just a Pokémon that could use Heal Pulse.
Don't forget, Joseph was from Kalos, and Clawitzer was native to the Kalos region.
When he first saw Riley's Clawitzer back on Iron Island, he couldn't help but feel a surge of complicated emotions.
'It had been six or seven years now…' Should he go back someday?
But Joseph didn't dwell on it long. At the very least, their journey in Sinnoh wasn't over yet.
At that moment, Sato also took out a brand new Poké Ball and handed it to Riley.
"Joseph likes Pokémon that use Heal Pulse. You prefer those who wield Aura. This Squirtle has inherited Aura Sphere. I hope you'll take good care of it."
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150 PS = Chap