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When that massive, deep blue energy sphere, azure at the center and brilliant blue on the outside, appeared spinning in Riolu's raised paw, the emotion welling up in Li Xiang's heart was simply overwhelming.
This thing... you could call it a Giant Rasengan or a Spirit Bomb. Either way, it belonged to Li Xiang's childhood memories. He even felt like singing a song about it. The sense of déjà vu was just too strong.
And as he was lost in emotion, Riolu slowly hurled the Aura Sphere, larger than itself, down at the target below.
Thump!
It sounded like a ten-thousand-ton weight had hit the ground, followed by a sky full of brilliant blue light!
The destructive power of the giant Aura Sphere was considerable, even though Riolu itself hadn't consumed many Special Attack candies and had a pitifully low base Special Attack stat.
"Another Pokémon that can charge its moves?" Xu He was somewhat surprised. After the charged Flare Blitz, he now saw a charged Aura Sphere. And a Riolu that could use Aura Sphere.
Of course, the most important and noteworthy aspect was still Riolu's speed.
Although speed no longer absolutely guaranteed the first move, significantly reducing its importance, possessing extraordinary movement speed could still lead to a considerable increase in combat power. At the very least, it offered advantages in burst attacks.
"A speed-oriented attacker, with excellent supportive capabilities too." Xu He fell into deep thought. Riolu's performance was naturally outstanding, but with Incineroar setting such a high bar earlier, his ability to withstand surprises had strengthened. So, Riolu didn't shock him too much.
Inside the training area.
"Good work." Li Xiang silently returned the panting Riolu to its PokéBall.
The pup's performance lacked the dramatic flair of Incineroar's, so the "audience's" relatively calm reaction was normal. As a Fighting-type Pokémon, Riolu inherently didn't need flashy tricks. If one punch could solve the problem, there was no need for a second. If one Aura Sphere could take down an opponent, why waste time with a second? Simple and steady was the truth.
Furthermore, Riolu's talent for Beng Quan far surpassed his, the trainer's. It had already entered the stage of "nurturing the fist."
What was "nurturing the fist"? It meant no longer obsessing over daily Beng Quan practice, transitioning from form to heart, having the fist in mind, striking with power. Gathering essence, energy, and spirit into a single punch...
Honestly, Li Xiang didn't really understand it. He was still far from Riolu's level; this was mainly what his senior sister had explained.
In short, to summarize: After the "fist nurturing" period ended, the power of Riolu's punching-type moves would increase, and its explosive power would rise rapidly.
So this is what a martial arts prodigy is like? Terrifying. Was it developing towards Saitama? A One-Punch Dog... just thinking about it was exciting.
Li Xiang shuddered slightly and decided to check Riolu's head for signs of hair loss when he got back. Such a pretty pup losing its hair like Xu He wouldn't be a good look.
By the way, Riolu was now also level 49.
Third up was the dear Mr. Greninja.
The moment it landed, it adeptly entered its Camouflage state while simultaneously activating its Divine Concealment ability, its presence almost completely disappearing, including its breathing and air flow being minimized.
Its displayed level was 48, consistently following closely behind.
Li Xiang quietly retreated to the window edge and explained Greninja's situation to the others.
"Camouflage? Reducing presence?" Xu He and the others listened, confused, while Song Jie silently tried to locate Greninja. It felt like playing a game of spot-the-difference, especially thrilling.
"Correct. By the way, it has already deactivated Camouflage. Can you see it now?" Li Xiang said softly.
The remaining three also began searching for Greninja.
However, Greninja had been standing beside Li Xiang for a while now.
'Hmm... as expected, people from the martial arts school are all monsters. Except for those few, who can actually see Greninja!'
Li Xiang silently complained, then snapped his fingers for Greninja to deactivate its concealment.
Only then did the four "blind" people notice the dark Pokémon beside Li Xiang.
"This..." Xu He rubbed his eyes, showing an incredulous expression. "It wasn't using Camouflage just now?"
Su Qian pinched the bridge of her nose and even took out a pair of plain glasses from her pocket.
Song Jie turned his face away, annoyed at himself for having his perception fooled again.
Gong Xu looked intrigued, as if he had seen some interesting toy, even though he had experienced it before.
"Yes," Li Xiang nodded, emphasizing, "Absolutely not lying."
To prove it, he had Greninja demonstrate again, even recording a video of the four people staring right at Greninja while trying to find it.
Divine Concealment was constantly improving. That's why Li Xiang worried that if left unchecked, Greninja might one day completely "vanish" from this world. By then, Divine Concealment would no longer be a battle talent but a torment.
And as Xu He and the others watched their own "idiotic" performance in the video, they fell silent.
If Incineroar provided visual and auditory impact, then Greninja brought psychological terror. The target was right in front of them, yet they couldn't detect it. If they hadn't experienced it themselves, they would never have believed it.
Afterwards, Li Xiang told them about the limitations and other characteristics of Divine Concealment.
"Once locked on, can only attack once. If attention shifts, needs to relocate..." Xu He looked at the squinting Greninja, somehow feeling that this guy might be even stronger than Incineroar. After all, in battles, if the opponent can't hit you, you're practically invincible. Moreover, Greninja had the Protean ability, allowing it to silently change its type and immune itself to some area-of-effect attacks.
A perfect combination! Seamless!
This thought in Xu He's mind grew stronger when Greninja used a Substitute that could attack independently.
How favored was this boy by heaven! Each of his Pokémon could be called one in ten thousand... no, one in ten million! Extremely rare! It was normal for Pokémon to have unique traits, but for every single one to have them? Wasn't that a bit much?
Watching Greninja display move after move, Xu He's expression grew increasingly complex, until it used the giant Water Shuriken.
"?"
His complex expression instantly turned somewhat strange. What was he seeing? The fast Water Shuriken, typically used for priority, had also been turned into a charging move by Li Xiang? Charging again?
"How exactly are you doing this? Turning non-charge moves into charge moves?" Xu He couldn't help but ask aloud. Su Qian, seeing the coach ask the question for her, silently breathed a sigh of relief.
"Uh... just lucky, I guess." Li Xiang scratched his head. The root cause of these phenomena was something called the Three-Blind Perception Method. But his senior sister had forbidden him from spreading it. The reason was that it wasn't mature enough, considered a shortcut method, and the learning conditions were relatively strict, not something everyone could learn. Plus, it required personal guidance from his senior sister...
Seeing Li Xiang being evasive, Xu He didn't press further. Everyone had secrets. Today's goal was to showcase strength, not to strip Li Xiang of all his secrets.
After Greninja's demonstration, it was Corviknight's turn.
Now at level 51, this guy was as simple and direct as Riolu. After showcasing its moves and super resilience, it was time for fancy flying techniques. And, of course, the trash talk.
"Stop, stop, stop! Wrong thing! That's not necessary!" Li Xiang yelled awkwardly, watching Corviknight morph into a foul-mouthed berserker, ordering it to shut up.
Seeing this, Corviknight reluctantly closed its beak, though it actually wanted to showcase its singing voice too.
Su Qian couldn't help but laugh, covering her mouth, while the other three also smiled. A Corviknight that could speak so clearly and articulately was relatively rare.
Next was the light-reflecting ability of its Mirror Armor.
At first, Xu He thought it was Mirror Coat, but upon closer look, he realized Corviknight wasn't using any attribute energy. Such precise reflection was achieved purely through its own micro-adjustments?
This Corviknight was also incredible!
The balding middle-aged man was gradually growing numb.
Fifth was the Wash Rotom, level 49.
Compared to its four monstrous seniors, Rotom, whose talent was all in programming and data networks, wasn't as outstanding in direct combat, only "decent." Mobile spellcasting was indeed hard to master fully, but it was just difficult, not extraordinary. It was similar to generally talented Pokémon.
Seeing Rotom, Xu He felt a slight sense of relief.
Until the sixth one appeared – the shiny Metagross.
Golden psychic waves, punching style like a high-speed train, the famous technique of the Psychic Elite, the so-called impervious Psychic Shield. The Zen Headbutt, representing the power of thought, superficially more terrifying the deeper the bond with the trainer, but actually more powerful the more it wanted to play computer games. And even the forbidden two words – "Dinner Table." These were like Metagross's trigger points; just saying them would make it explode on the spot.
He really didn't know what to say. He could only convince himself that this one was relatively "normal," relatively normal. Its level was only 46, after all.
Seventh, the level 38 Doublade made its entrance.
"Huh? Why haven't you let it evolve?" Seeing Doublade, Xu He was stunned. Generally, trainers would let their Pokémon evolve as soon as possible if they could. After all, moves could be learned through effort later.
No Dusk Stone? Impossible, right?
"There are various reasons..." Li Xiang touched his face, glanced at the four people, and despite being bursting with shame, he still recited the introductory poem. Doublade's combat power subsequently skyrocketed.
Then came the Aerial Ace Quick Draw. The flash of cold light almost blinded the onlookers. Along with the strange sight of one sword grabbing the other to fight. And—
"Another non-charge move turned into a charge move. Why do you like charging so much?" Xu He asked, utterly bewildered, looking at the two towering golden pillars of light.
"Uh." Li Xiang turned his head away. He wasn't really sure why he liked charging moves either. Maybe he thought using ultimate moves was cool?
"Actually, charging isn't necessarily a bad habit. If you find the right timing, a charged move can turn the tide of a battle," Xu He said, actually defending Li Xiang upon seeing his embarrassment. After all, for such a treasure of a student, he'd spoil him if he could.