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Four months had passed since the timeflower's mysterious power allowed Lucario to master the move Future Sight. During that pivotal moment, Roy had conceived an ambitious idea—to combine the Aura's exceptional sensing abilities with the temporal mechanics of Future Sight itself.
Roy wasn't certain whether this fusion would succeed, or what effects it might produce. Neither in the Pokemon world nor anywhere else had such a combination of powers ever been attempted before. The only way forward was to let Lucario experiment with this unprecedented technique.
Perhaps it was the Tree of Beginning's harmonizing influence that greatly enhanced Lucario's control over its abilities, or maybe Future Sight possessed unique properties that made this fusion possible—or perhaps both factors played a role. After three months of relentless practice, just when Roy was beginning to lose hope, Lucario finally achieved the breakthrough they had been working toward.
By combining Future Sight's prophetic vision with the Aura's perceptive capabilities, an entirely new power emerged. This ability allowed Lucario to perfectly predict an opponent's next attack with uncanny precision.
The most remarkable aspect was that this power could be activated at any time, not merely when using the Future Sight move itself. The technique had evolved into a passive, constantly active skill that enhanced Lucario's combat awareness beyond anything previously seen.
Roy mentally dubbed this ability "Ultimate Combat Sense," borrowing inspiration from legendary tales of perfect battle awareness. This power transformed combat prediction from a conscious effort into an instinctive reflex.
The meteor shower tactics that Takeshi Aihara and his Emboar had carefully developed became mere child's play when faced with Lucario's newfound predictive abilities. Every fiery projectile's trajectory was anticipated before it was even launched.
Recognizing that his primary strategy had been completely neutralized, Takeshi Aihara was forced to adapt his approach. Fortunately, Emboar's constant protection through Heat Crash created a blazing barrier that kept the flame-wary Lucario at a distance, effectively preventing any close-quarters combat attempts.
Rather than relying solely on his original plan, Aihara had prepared alternative tactics based on another application of Emboar's fiery aura.
"Heat Wave!" Takeshi commanded with calculated precision.
Emboar drew in a massive breath, its belly expanding to its absolute limit before unleashing a devastating attack. The Heat Wave that emerged was infused with explosive flames, and wherever the scorching wind touched, tiny sparks scattered across the battlefield like seeds of destruction.
Within moments, the entire arena floor was covered with these seemingly harmless sparks, creating a hidden minefield of potential explosions.
As Lucario moved to a new position, its enhanced senses detected an imminent change in the environment. Without hesitation, the Pokemon leaped into the air just as the ground beneath its previous location erupted in a violent explosion.
This was Aihara's fire-type variation of the Spikes strategy—a clever adaptation that turned the entire battlefield into a potential weapon. Unless Lucario could maintain constant teleportation or somehow remain airborne indefinitely, it would eventually be caught in one of these explosive traps.
"Flamethrower!" Takeshi called out coldly, his voice carrying the confidence of a trainer who had spent months preparing for this exact moment.
Emboar responded by launching a crimson pillar of fire that detonated mid-flight, creating another meteor shower of flames. The combination of Heat Wave Spikes and the aerial fire rain created a truly overwhelming assault that would challenge even the most skilled Pokemon.
Heat Wave Spikes combined with the meteor fire rain—two tactics that relied entirely on the explosive properties of Emboar's flames, creating a battlefield where safety seemed impossible to find.
Faced with this genuinely overwhelming barrage, Lucario used its Ultimate Combat Sense to weave through the chaos, dodging every explosion with perfect timing and grace. The Pokemon's movements were so precise and fluid that many trainers in the audience watched in amazement, witnessing what could only be described as an art form of combat evasion.
However, this spectacular display was exactly what Takeshi Aihara had been hoping to achieve.
While Lucario's teleportation ability appeared to have remarkably low energy consumption—as natural as breathing—even breathing could become dangerous when pushed beyond its limits. The constant use of high-frequency teleportation would eventually exhaust even Lucario's impressive stamina reserves.
On the Capital University bench, the team members quickly recognized Aihara's true strategy.
"Doesn't Emboar's continuous flame attacks consume more energy?" Anya asked with concern in her voice.
"That's true," Elon replied, adjusting his glasses as he analyzed the situation. "But Emboar has a significant advantage in stamina compared to Lucario, whose strength lies in explosive speed rather than endurance."
He continued his tactical assessment: "Even if Emboar exhausts its energy first, Lucario will likely be near its limit as well, which still benefits Takeshi Aihara. Don't forget—he still has two Pokemon capable of battle, while Roy only has one remaining."
Blastoise's physical condition had deteriorated significantly, making it essentially unusable as a combat asset in any meaningful capacity.
"The continuous fire attacks serve another purpose beyond exhausting Lucario," Elon observed. "They're also designed to prevent Lucario from finding an opportunity to use a Z-Move."
"Will Lucario actually use a Z-Move?" Philip asked with genuine curiosity.
"I'm not certain," Elon replied, his expression growing more serious, "but Takeshi Aihara has clearly considered that possibility in his planning."
For four months, driven solely by the desire for revenge, this Japanese prodigy had come thoroughly prepared for this encounter. In contrast, Roy probably hadn't taken his opponent as seriously as he should have.
When it came to tactical preparation and depth of strategy, there was a significant gap between the two trainers. This kind of sophisticated psychological and strategic warfare could only be fully appreciated by trainers whose tactical understanding was advanced enough to recognize the layers of planning involved.
The vast majority of the audience remained focused on the spectacular visual display, holding their breath as they watched the intense action unfold. Their breathing grew heavier as the tension in the arena continued to build.
At this crucial moment, Roy's voice suddenly cut through the noise of battle.
"You are very skilled," he said, his tone surprisingly relaxed, as if he were making casual conversation rather than engaged in serious combat.
Then, his tone shifted slightly.
"But if this represents the extent of your tactical preparation..."
"Then I'm sorry to say..."
"The outcome has already been decided."
Unlike Takeshi Aihara, who had spent four months studying Roy's battle style and developing countermeasures, Roy genuinely hadn't devoted much thought to his opponent. This wasn't born from arrogance or disrespect toward his rival.
The situation had fundamentally changed since their last encounter. Four months ago, during the European Championships, Roy had worked tirelessly to develop multiple tactical approaches specifically to defeat Takeshi Aihara. At that time, Roy had been the underdog, while Aihara held the position of strength.
But now, their roles had completely reversed.
Roy had become the apex predator, while Aihara remained the prey. Standing calmly on the sidelines, Roy had carefully observed and analyzed all of his opponent's escape routes and tactical options. Now it was time to begin the hunt.
"The time has come, Lucario."
The moment Roy's words concluded, a swirling space vortex suddenly materialized above the arena. Anyone present with basic trainer knowledge immediately recognized the source of this phenomenon.
Future Sight!
The realization hit the audience like a thunderbolt—this Lucario had actually mastered Future Sight! Did this explain the source of its seemingly prophetic reflexes and perfect prediction abilities?
Takeshi Aihara's pupils contracted sharply, and his heart felt as though it had plunged into an icy abyss of despair.
From the spatial vortex, a concentrated mass of psychic energy suddenly shot forth, locking onto Emboar with unerring accuracy.
Future Sight was both unavoidable and unstoppable by its very nature. The move calculated the optimal future conditions, targeting the precise moment when an enemy would be most vulnerable and unable to defend effectively. It was an attack that struck at a predetermined point in time when resistance would be impossible.
Imagine having a stick suddenly thrown at the back of your head—you would normally have every opportunity to block it with your hand, but at that exact moment, your hand suddenly cramps and becomes useless. This exemplified the nature of Future Sight's temporal attack.
The established future could not be changed once set in motion.
As Emboar became aware of the psychic energy mass hurtling toward it at tremendous speed, the Pokemon was theoretically capable of blocking the attack. However, its body suddenly felt overwhelmingly exhausted, as if it lacked the will to move at all.
This represented the theoretical possibility that would manifest after extended high-intensity flame attacks—a moment of complete physical and mental fatigue that Future Sight had calculated and targeted with perfect timing.
The concentrated psychic energy struck Emboar directly in the head, and the violent mental impact caused its eyes to roll back as consciousness fled. The Heat Crash flames surrounding its body instantly went out of control, creating a dangerous backlash that damaged Emboar even further.
As the realization dawned on Takeshi Aihara that Lucario now had the opportunity to use a Z-Move, Roy's voice rang out like a harbinger of doom.
"To defeat Emboar, no Z-Move is required."
Lucario temporarily suspended itself in mid-air using Confusion, raising both hands high above its head as it began rapidly condensing Aura energy. Within moments, a massive Aura Sphere formed in its grasp—five times larger than any ordinary Aura Sphere anyone had witnessed.
The most astonishing aspect was how the energy within this Aura Sphere flowed in chaotic, irregular patterns while being compressed to incredible density. The high-speed energy flow created a powerful hurricane that swirled around the attack itself.
The hurricane generated merely by the energy's aftermath already possessed the destructive force of a Pokemon using Twister. The terrifying destructive potential contained within the attack made everyone's scalp tingle with apprehension.
With a thunderous sound, this enormous Aura-enhanced sphere was hurled by Lucario directly toward the helpless Emboar.
By the time Emboar recovered from Future Sight's mental impact, the massive Aura Sphere was already upon it. With no time to dodge and no energy to defend, Emboar was completely engulfed by the attack.
The compressed Aura energy exploded with tremendous force, violently consuming everything in the surrounding area. When the dust and debris finally settled, a circular crater with a radius of nearly two hundred meters dominated the landscape where the arena floor had once been.
Emboar lay motionless at the deepest point of the crater, its body partially buried under rubble, appearing lifeless and defeated.
Lucario descended gracefully to land near Emboar, gazing down at its fallen opponent with an expressionless demeanor.
The arena fell into complete silence as the audience stared in shock at the utterly transformed battlefield. This level of destructive power represented a finishing move that would be considered impressive even at the professional level.
Wasn't Lucario supposed to be a speed-type Pokemon? How could its destructive capabilities be so overwhelmingly powerful?
Most importantly, after delivering this incredible attack, while Lucario appeared slightly tired and was breathing more heavily, it clearly hadn't reached its limits.
"What tremendous Aura power!" Sebastian exclaimed in admiration.
Even during Rock had never displayed such powerful Aura abilities. This Lucario's true talent clearly lay in its mastery of Aura energy.
How had he failed to recognize this potential initially?
The application of Aura Sphere was also fascinating and innovative. While this technique was undeniably powerful, Sebastian was already planning to have Rock study and adapt it for their own use.
Questions of originality aside—wasn't Roy's Ninetales' Ice Field technique also adapted from the European Ice-type Elite Four member's strategies?
After Emboar's defeat, Takeshi Aihara sent out Toxicroak and Heracross in succession to continue the battle.
However, neither of these Pokemon possessed the necessary abilities to counter Lucario's teleportation tactics, leaving Lucario in complete control of the battle's flow and timing.
As his disadvantage continued to grow more pronounced, Takeshi Aihara became increasingly silent and withdrawn. Eventually, he stopped giving commands altogether, allowing his Pokemon to fight according to their own judgment and instincts.
When Heracross, despite its Overconfident ability, finally fell to Lucario's relentless assault, the referee stepped forward to make the official announcement.
"Takeshi Aihara has no more Pokemon able to battle. Roy is the winner!"