Chapter 347:
The grassy terrain dissipated into energy, and with the field now clear, the entire scene was laid bare before the eyes of every spectator.
For a moment, they were all stunned.
Lucario lay on the ground, clearly unconscious, while Meowscarada toyed with a flower bud in its hand, its pale red eyes gleaming with the joy of victory.
From their perspective, one moment Lucario had been raising its bone club to strike down, and the next—after the grass vanished and a loud crash echoed—Lucario had already lost the ability to battle.
The entire sequence had taken, at most, ten seconds?
"What happened?"
"What just went on?"
A brief silence fell over the audience seats, soon broken by a wave of murmurs and discussions.
All eyes turned to the announcer, Satoshi, hovering in the sky.
But even Satoshi himself was momentarily baffled. "Lucario is unable to battle?" he uttered.
Even from his aerial vantage point, he hadn't clearly seen what transpired. He had witnessed Lucario's movement trajectory, but initially, Meowscarada showed no signs of detecting Lucario's position.
Quickly, however, he found a way to steady the situation. "In the blink of an eye, in a place none of us noticed, Lucario was defeated! Let's watch the replay and see exactly what happened within that Grassy Terrain!"
In battles of this level, it was natural that not every move could be clearly seen by all spectators. Therefore, when mass confusion arose, the broadcast would replay the sequence, often in slow motion.
The battle was paused at the audience's request.
The replay began. Though the clash had lasted only seconds, the video was slowed down nearly tenfold.
Within the grass, Lucario darted about. Once it reached the area around Meowscarada, it began circling incessantly.
The crowd stared intently at the central large screen, searching for the reason behind Meowscarada's decisive victory over Lucario.
Frame by frame, they scrutinized the footage.
Soon, they reached the critical moment.
A sudden, crucial turn by Meowscarada?
Just as the surrounding grass rustled intensely, it spun around and accurately used Grassy Knot to ensnare the pouncing Lucario.
Then, came Hayashi Kaede's command for Meowscarada to use Flower Trick.
But this sudden, inexplicable moment only deepened their confusion.
How had it been detected?
Lucario had even used Agility within the grass to further confuse its opponent.
"Aura! It's Aura! Contestant Hayashi is using Aura!" An excited, slightly electric voice burst from the microphone.
"It's the trainer's Aura power! Everyone, look—Meowscarada discovered Lucario's position with no prior indication! But direct your attention to Hayashi Kaede, Meowscarada's trainer! His eyes are closed! He was using Aura to guide Meowscarada!"
As a professional announcer, Kondō Satoshi had sharp eyes. He quickly noticed Hayashi Kaede's closed eyes.
His words were like a wake-up call.
After Kondō's explanation, the spectators shifted their gaze to Hayashi Kaede at the edge of the battlefield.
The central large screen zoomed in and focused on him.
Sure enough, with the enhanced focus, they could see that at the exact moment Meowscarada detected Lucario, Hayashi Kaede's lips had moved.
Though the sound was faint, amplifying it revealed the words: "Watch the left! Use Grassy Knot!"
"Aura? You're kidding? Humans can possess Aura?"
"Hayashi... he has Aura too?"
The truth, now revealed, stunned everyone momentarily.
Aura?!
Wasn't that Lucario's exclusive domain?
Some couldn't comprehend how a human could wield Aura.
But the overwhelming reaction was sheer astonishment.
This shattered their conventional understanding!
"Aura... it's really Aura?"
Even the widely experienced Kondō Satoshi was momentarily at a loss.
He had blurted it out in the heat of the moment, further spurred by Lucario's association with Aura.
But after speaking, he froze.
Could a human truly possess Aura?
...
'They seem to be discussing me...'
During the battle pause, Hayashi Kaede stroked Meowscarada's head beside him, inwardly noting the commotion.
The discussion grew increasingly heated, even veering into debates about "If he uses Aura, is he even human?"
The speculation was so intense he felt the need to stand up and defend himself.
He was definitely human, okay?
Just then.
"Quiet, everyone, please quiet down."
A voice descended from the highest part of the spectator stands.
At the sound, everyone instinctively looked upward.
They hardly needed to see the figure; the voice alone identified him as Kazephyr.
The crowd gradually quieted.
"Regarding Aura, it is not exclusive to Lucario. The League will later release an official educational video on Aura."
"For now, Contestant Hayashi Kaede has not violated any rules. The match will continue."
His words promptly calmed the audience.
After speaking, Kazephyr rode his Moltres and returned to his position.
Seeing the Champion himself step in to control the situation, Satoshi quickly announced, "Alright, the match continues! Haruki, please release your next Pokémon!"
"Whew..."
Haruki let out a long sigh. He hadn't expected a somewhat unusual match to draw the intervention of the Champion himself.
But with the match resuming, he could only collect himself and focus on his opponent.
With his Lucario defeated, the opponent now had the advantage of choosing the next Pokémon to send out.
At this stage, with two of his own Pokémon already unable to battle, and his opponent still having all three—including the formidable Serperior looming like a mountain, plus one Pokémon yet unseen—the hope of victory was virtually nonexistent.
If that was the case...
He might as well savor this battle to the fullest!
With that thought, he shouted over to Hayashi Kaede, "Hey, you!"
"Hm?" Hayashi Kaede looked puzzled.
"Show me your strongest pokemon!" Haruki exclaimed with eager excitement.
"Ah?!" Hayashi Kaede was taken aback.
"Yes, that's right! Let me see the true gap between us!" Haruki pulled out a Poké Ball, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit.
"Uh..."
A flicker of contemplation passed through Kaede's eyes…