MEGA Lucario Z is like a super specialist; it has epic-level enhancement in Special Attack, but its Physical Attack is weakened compared to its pre-evolution.
This type of evolution, which excels in a specific direction, is actually more suited for battling beyond one's level, while a comprehensive enhancement is better for endurance battles.
Both forms have their pros and cons; it's not about which is better, but which to use depending on the situation.
Overall, the enhancement Lucario receives in both forms is quite similar.
Against a powerful attacker like Electivire, Lucario is at a disadvantage in level, so Ash would certainly not use normal MEGA evolution to engage in a head-to-head battle.
Besides the enhancement in Special Attack, the Z form also has an extremely terrifying increase in Speed!
Volkner suppressed the surging shock in his heart.
The transformation of that Lucario's form, or the Aura Sphere comparable to Champion Level, was impressive. But a battle is a battle, not the time for a Trainer to stop and marvel.
His Electivire has never relied on long-distance moves to decide the victory.
"Electivire, get close and use Thunder Punch."
Electivire excels at close combat; pressing forward at this moment is indeed the simplest and most brutal way to break the stalemate. As long as it doesn't play the long-range attack game, the opponent's attack advantage will be nullified!
Level suppression is level suppression; it's not something that can be easily overcome!
Electivire let out a low growl, swinging its sturdy arms, while gold electric light exploded at its feet. Its entire form rushed towards Lucario like a meteoric bullet, with a roaring sound.
Such momentum alone made it feel as if the ground was trembling.
Facing such a terrifying onslaught, Lucario... closed its eyes.
Electivire charged forward, its fist enveloped in golden thunder already high in the air. The sound of thunder exploding pierced the eardrums, and just as the fist was about to land, Lucario took a gentle step back.
The golden fist light nearly grazed the fur on Lucario's chest, smashing into the ground, causing rocks to fly and leaving a grisly pit on the gym's field.
Electivire didn't pause; the other fist followed closely, as such close combat attacks are no difficulty for it to execute consecutively.
Yet, facing this fist, Lucario didn't assume a defensive stance, nor did it open its eyes, merely moving aside as the fist glided past its shoulder, the gust of wind stirring its fur.
Electivire quickened its punching speed; its fists became a curtain of golden thunder, with dense shadows covering every angle in front of it, the sound of exploding thunder forming a continuous roar throughout the gym.
But Lucario navigated through the curtain of thunder, each time seemingly predetermining Electivire's punching angle and target, avoiding just in time before the fist landed.
Electivire's offensive grew fiercer and faster, yet that agile silhouette remained not far ahead of its fists.
Several times, Electivire felt close to touching the opponent, but it was just slightly off.
After dodging several attacks from Electivire, Electivire finally caught up with Lucario, both fists wrapped in more violent thunder smashed down, thinking Lucario had no more room to dodge.
But as the fists descended, Lucario leaned back, finding a space to evade from an almost impossible angle.
And at the moment of retreating, Lucario's palms closed in front, a deep nearly black blue energy condensed into an Energy Ball—Aura Sphere in its palms.
At such close range, Electivire could not adjust its posture in time, and could only hastily cross its arms in front, residual Thunder Fist Power barely condensing a thin layer of golden electric light on its fists.
"Boom!!"
The two energies clashed violently in mid-air, the golden thunder and deep blue aura blasted into a glaring light sphere.
The shockwave sent surrounding stones flying, Electivire's massive body shaken back several steps, the golden electric light on its arms shattered!
After launching so many attacks, not only did Electivire fail to harm Lucario, but it was attacked by Lucario, despite a huge level gap between them, what was going on?
Alex was puzzled, unable to figure out how Lucario, with such a huge level gap and eyes closed, kept dodging Electivire's attacks.
Volkner already guessed something. He is familiar with Lucario, as he had battled Cynthia's Lucario a few times, though all ended in miserable defeat.
But he knows Lucario has an Ability, which is Aura Power.
Aura Power allows Lucario to foresee many attacks, the more skillful the control over Aura Power, the stronger the ability to predict attacks.
Even with a huge level gap, Lucario can rely on Aura Power to defeat stronger foes.
Ash's Lucario has evidently reached the pinnacle of using Aura.
Despite undergoing MEGA Evolution, Lucario's overall ability is still inferior to Electivire. Electivire may not be fast, but with level suppression, it can completely chase down Lucario.
However, Lucario relies on Aura Power to effortlessly dodge all of Electivire's attacks. Until the opponent's physical strength is depleted or attention lowered, Electivire will find it challenging to inflict any damage.
In fact, the situation is worse than Volkner imagined, because Lucario's current application of Aura even surpasses Ash!
Besides significantly boosting Lucario's special attack and speed to an epic level, Z-Form has also elevated Lucario's Aura control to a divine level!
In terms of pure control of Aura, Lucario is now on par with Ash, who has Divine Domain Level Aura, and might even surpass him!
Though using Aura in this manner imposes a substantial burden on physical strength and spiritual power, Electivire won't be able to touch Lucario until its strength is exhausted!
"Dragon Pulse fused with Aura Sphere!" Ash's voice echoed as Volkner was deep in thought, leaving him momentarily stunned. Dragon Pulse fused with Aura Sphere? Are these moves even combinable?
Lucario spread his palms wide, a deep purple dragon-shaped energy burst forth from his palms. As soon as it formed, Lucario clasped his hands together again, conjuring an Aura Sphere out of thin air and launched it directly, embedding it into the dragon-shaped energy's mouth!
The deep purple dragon with a blue dragon ball encased within carved a sinuous arc in the air, heading straight for the Electivire that had yet to regain its footing.
Volkner hurriedly shouted, "Use Protect!"
Electivire crossed its arms fiercely in front of its chest, and a green barrier instantly unfolded.
The dragon-shaped energy, clutching the dragon ball, collided harshly against the barrier. The purple dragon was repelled away, and the blue dragon ball exploded violently, creating a deep pit several meters wide in the center of the arena, while thick dust engulfed the entire battleground.
All that remained in the arena was the sound of rolling dust.
In the audience, Alex held his breath, Brock's brows slightly furrowed, Misty subconsciously tightened her grip on Togepi, and even Serena felt her heart skip a beat.
The battle at this level truly offered no breathing room. One careless step into a disadvantage would lead to an unending stream of attacks from the opponent. In a high-stakes face-off, becoming mired in the struggle makes it almost impossible to regain footing.
Volkner slowly exhaled. Blocked it.
Yet just as he breathed halfway through, the dust began to clear.
What first came into view was not Electivire's towering, powerful figure, but a profound purple light.
When the dust completely dissipated, the entire gym fell into silence.
Nine deep purple divine dragons hovered around Electivire, each one clutching a blue dragon ball over half a meter in diameter within its mouth.
They drifted slowly, energy patterns flowing tightly along their bodies, encircling Electivire who stood at the center of the ring, arms still crossed, the green Protect barrier dimmed to near invisibility.
Volkner's gaze froze. What on earth is this thing???
"Nine Dragons Play Pearl." Ash's voice gently drifted out, a hint of excited smile dancing on his lips. "Lucario and I studied this move for a long time and finally managed to use it when Lucario evolved into this form!"
Nine Dragons Play Pearl sounds flashy, but it's actually just nine Dragon Pulses combined with nine Aura Spheres.
It's easier said than done.
Not to mention the practicality of letting someone use nine Dragon Pulses and Aura Spheres during battle; it's nearly impossible to perform these eighteen moves!
To say nothing of conducting a typical match, where how many Pokemon can cast eighteen moves?
A match usually decides the outcome after around ten moves. Eighteen moves happen only in extremely intense battles.
Furthermore, managing to perform eighteen skill moves in just seconds is simply inconceivable, an existence almost impossible!
Now, however, the reality stood clear, leaving Volkner with no choice but to believe—Lucario genuinely performed eighteen skill moves within those brief seconds, appearing simultaneously in the arena!
If this power charged toward Electivire, it would be far beyond a simple 1+1=2!
"Earlier, the Dragon Pulse... was not meant to harm Electivire, but to draw Electivire into using Protect, right?" Volkner quickly realized the prior attack was merely a feint.
Ash never intended for that move to cause damage but wanted Electivire to defend. As long as Electivire started Protecting, it would create time for Lucario to conduct 'Nine Dragons Play Pearl.'
Moreover, after using Protect, the chance of successfully casting it again only halves!
"That's right!" Ash snapped his fingers, with a hint of smugness in his voice.
At the referee's stand, Alex parted his lips without uttering any sound.
Witnessing such caliber of tactics and move combinations truly defines the term monster. That single Dragon Pulse earlier was shocking enough; it turned out to merely be an introduction. What kind of extraordinary creature is this guy!
Even Misty couldn't help but exclaim, "Ash really knows how to conceal! Whose Lucario can simultaneously unleash nine Aura Spheres and nine Dragon Pulses!"
"Don't mention nine; even two are challenging." Brock sighed and shook his head with a helpless smile, even as Ash's companions, they never anticipated Ash could pull this off.
Neither Ash's companions knew about MEGA Lucario's new form, let alone such world-ending level moves.
At this moment, Volkner's brain was rapidly calculating every possible countermeasure.
Having just used Protect, the chance of success was less than half; he couldn't gamble on such an elusive probability.
Furthermore, Electivire's speed could scarcely escape from such dense encirclement. As for enduring... the combined strength of nine Aura Spheres with nine Dragon Pulses, even imagining it makes his scalp tingle.
Only one option remained: reduce the impact as much as possible.
"Electivire, Light Screen!!" Volkner's voice was cool with a hint of tension.
But meanwhile, something within Volkner's heart began to kindle; it was a long-forgotten excitement!
No matter whether this battle resulted in victory or defeat, just engaging in such a duel had already awakened something dormant within his heart. If he were to rate this match in four words: worth the journey!
Electivire roared towards the sky, its robust arms suddenly spreading wide. A formidable spiritual power conjured swiftly in front of it, forming a semi-transparent wall.
Light Screen—special attack damage halved. This was his only defensive strategy now.
Meanwhile, Lucario's right arm lifted high, fist clenched fiercely, then swung down forcefully.
"Woo-ow!!" it issued a spirited yet clearly weary shout.
The nine deep purple divine dragons clutching dragon balls seemed to have received a final command. As one, they raised their heads and roared fiercely, their energy shockwaves expanding mid-air, then diving from nine different directions toward a single target.
That moment, the entire gym filled with deep purple and bright blue light.
At the instant the nine dragons collided with Light Screen, it shattered loudly. The defensive barrier under Volkner's high hopes fragmented into mere scattered remnants in a blink.
Elekivire could only watch powerlessly as that horrifying skill surged towards its face!
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