As the trainers scattered and made their way down the mountain, Su Bai's attention remained fixed on one particular pair—Pei Jingguo and Xiao Zhang.
It wasn't because of their exploration progress. In fact, after the battle with the Tier-2 legendary Pokémon, the team with the highest progress was actually Ding Yue and Li Xiaoyu.
Su Bai's focus was entirely due to one Pokémon—Lucario!
Although it had joined the team as a wild Pokémon and only fired off one Aura Sphere during the battle, that single attack had been enough to distort the trajectory of a Tier-2 legendary's ultimate move.
That feat alone was proof of its formidable strength.
Even the fully evolved starter Pokémon—battle-hardened and leveled up by defeating countless mutant beasts—hadn't demonstrated such raw, individual power.
Lucario had since recovered from its injuries, thanks to Xiao Zhang's application of healing spray. Now, it moved gracefully—swift as a leaping rabbit, fierce as a diving hawk—drawing waves of cheers from those watching.
The descent down the snowy mountain was far quicker and easier than the climb up.
At the base, Pei Jingguo stood silently, holding his long sword, watching Xiao Zhang and Lucario as they stared at each other.
Xiao Zhang clearly still wanted to capture Lucario. His eyes sparkled with longing, but he didn't even dare take out a Poké Ball. He knew he hadn't done much in the group battle and felt unworthy.
Lucario calmly stared back at him, then suddenly spoke:
"Ruuu~~"
Its voice was deep and composed as always, but… Xiao Zhang couldn't understand a word.
Thankfully, Su Bai had been watching closely. He immediately had Diancie translate:
"Lucario is very straightforward," Diancie relayed.
"It said—it will use the power of Aura to guide you. If you can comprehend Aura, it will accept you as its partner."
The words left Xiao Zhang stunned.
Even Pei Jingguo's expression shifted, showing rare surprise.
"Aura? You mean that power?"
Xiao Zhang's eyes widened.
He had witnessed Aura in action before. The way it projected outward from the body had been far beyond anything he ever imagined. But it was clearly more than just external energy release.
This power felt like a vast invisible web, expanding outward from the user's body. Every node of that web could perceive changes in the environment—even detect a person's intentions.
For a martial artist like Xiao Zhang, this kind of power was utterly irresistible.
"You're willing to teach me Aura? Really?!"
He dashed up to Lucario, his voice filled with disbelief and excitement.
Originally, he had only hoped to observe Aura and possibly gain some insights. But Lucario was offering to personally guide him?
He was genuinely overwhelmed with joy.
Lucario tilted its head slightly, puzzled by Xiao Zhang's exaggerated excitement.
Watching this scene, Su Bai couldn't help but smile.
"Just as I thought… Pokémon with kind hearts don't hoard their knowledge."
Especially a Pokémon like Lucario—righteous and just—was probably moved by Xiao Zhang's sincerity.
After all, Pokémon had no concept of treating knowledge like a secret weapon.
But humans were different.
Even in this post-apocalyptic world, where the future was uncertain, few people were truly willing to share the techniques behind power.
Even in Haicheng, rankings determined everything.
The higher you were ranked, the more resources you had access to.
Mastering a powerful ability meant gaining the leverage to shape your own destiny—and that wasn't something people shared lightly.
That, Su Bai thought, was one of the most fundamental differences between humans and Pokémon.
Pokémon could be strong or weak. They might have nasty tempers—like Articuno—but very few were truly malicious.
And that was precisely one of the reasons Su Bai loved Pokémon.
Lucario didn't hesitate any further.
It gazed calmly at Xiao Zhang, then extended one arm. The two pointed spikes on the back of its hands glowed faintly as it pressed them against Xiao Zhang's chest.
The two spikes touched lightly.
In that moment, a surge of invisible Aura burst forth—rippling outward and engulfing Xiao Zhang completely!
Xiao Zhang's mind was one of the most open and receptive among all the trainers.
He had countless teachers—school instructors, professional A-rank trainers—and he had always respected every one of them.
Whenever he absorbed new knowledge, he would instinctively clear his mind, putting himself in a completely unguarded, receptive state.
That made him the ideal student for Lucario.
The Aura swept through him like gentle, lapping waves—layer after layer of sensory information washed over his body.
Though his eyes were wide open, his gaze turned vacant.
His sight—his hearing—his sense of touch, smell, and taste—were all silenced.
A chaotic flood of disordered, seemingly meaningless "thoughts" clashed inside him. His five senses were completely overridden by the raw data of Aura!
"Xiao Zhang?! Xiao Zhang!"
Pei Jingguo immediately sensed something was wrong.
His martial instincts were screaming. From his perspective, it was as if Xiao Zhang had ceased to exist.
He was standing right there—he could be seen, even heard breathing in the slow, deliberate rhythm unique to martial artists.
Biologically, everything was normal. But Pei Jingguo couldn't feel him anymore.
"Lucario! What's going on?!"
He spun toward Lucario, hand on his sword.
But Lucario didn't react aggressively.
It looked at the dazed Xiao Zhang, then slowly pointed to his own chest and gave a calm "Ruuu~~."
Then, Lucario sat down cross-legged, closed its eyes, and entered a meditative state.
Pei Jingguo's expression turned uncertain.
If Lucario were an enemy, he'd have already drawn his sword. But deep down, he knew—Lucario didn't belong in that category.
After spending so long around Pokémon, Pei Jingguo had learned something important:
Pokémon don't plan with malice in their hearts.
Especially not a Pokémon like Lucario.
Believing it meant Xiao Zhang harm? Pei Jingguo would sooner stab himself.
From the communicator orb, Su Bai's solemn voice rang out:
"Don't act rashly. I think Lucario is… guiding Xiao Zhang."
"If Xiao Zhang truly manages to learn the power of Aura—then this moment will decide everything."
Note:
I' m back, everyone..