'Lucario, don't be surprised by the power in your body. It's temporary and will last for about ten minutes. Until the time is up, you can use this power perfectly. Listen to my command, and let's pull that guy out of the abyss.'
Aura Ash's voice echoed in Lucario's mind. For Lucario, Aura Ash felt anything but unfamiliar and was rather all too familiar.
In every parallel world, besides the constant best partner Pikachu, there's also an ace second only to him. In some worlds, it's Charizard, in others, it's Sceptile, in others, Infernape... But in the world of Aura Ash, it's Lucario.
As the ace second only to Pikachu, Lucario had been trained by him to the peak of the world. After many reincarnations, Pikachu still lags behind Lucario in level.
However, when it comes to a real fight, without Aura Ash's backing, Pikachu is still slightly stronger.
While Pikachu's level might be weaker, its ability value has grown stronger with multiple reincarnations.
But for this battle against Mewtwo, Aura Ash chose to use Riolu. On one hand, Riolu in this world grew slightly slower compared to Ash's other main Pokémon.
On the other hand, he could teach Riolu more applications of Aura Power, techniques that were discovered in battle and had not been passed down to this world's Ash.
As Aura Ash's voice resonated, Lucario's mind quickly calmed down. Though he didn't know where this power came from, he had unconditional trust in his trainer!
When his trainer says there's no problem, then there's no problem!
Even if it seemed that the trainer had changed in some way—in appearance and voice, no less—his personality and speaking style had subtly changed.
But none of that mattered; the main focus now was to face the battle ahead!
Ash said that they needed to rescue the Pokémon called Mewtwo from the abyss. Lucario wasn't sure about the specifics, but he knew one thing clearly: they had to defeat the opponent first!
Only the victor has the right to talk about rescue or not.
"It seems you do have some skills, but to think you can defeat Mewtwo with this level is sheer arrogance! Mewtwo, Psychic!" Giovanni, seeing that Ash wasn't responding, also decided not to say more and directly commanded Mewtwo to attack.
Mewtwo, entirely encased in machinery, raised its palm and aimed at Lucario as a powerful psychic energy burst forth from it. Though invisible, the energy carried a clear sense of pressure.
Observing Lorelei and Agatha's expressions turned extremely grave the moment Mewtwo acted. Earlier, wrapped in Frenzy Plant, they couldn't ascertain Mewtwo's actual strength, but now it was crystal clear—Champion!
And not an ordinary Champion. Just this Psychic alone was enough to present a formidable challenge to a Champion Advanced Level Pokémon!
Is this what Blaine referred to as an artificial Pokémon?
The power is indeed terrifying. If it could be mass-produced, then Team Rocket could be unstoppable.
But in the end, only one such Pokémon was created. With just this level, Team Rocket couldn't overthrow the league, nor would it make Blaine feel threatened. Could Giovanni have another trick up his sleeve?
On the battlefield, faced with the incoming Psychic, Lucario neither dodged nor flinched. In a split second, Psychic enveloped Lucario. The pale blue light bound him and tightened abruptly, and the powerful psychic energy began eroding Lucario's body.
Ash just stood there, watching Lucario being hit by Psychic without giving any commands.
Giovanni's brow furrowed slightly, feeling something was amiss. Even though the evolved Lucario had gained the Steel Attribute and wasn't particularly afraid of psychic powers, Mewtwo's power was undeniable. Such a powerful Psychic move hitting—even a Champion-level Lucario should suffer significant damage. Why didn't it dodge?
Seconds passed, and Lucario, continuously eroded by the Psychic, showed no signs of pain; instead, he seemed extraordinarily calm, as if untouched by any harm.
"Break free," Ash's calm voice instructed. At these words, Lucario's body shuddered, and the blue light enveloping him emitted a muffled sound!
"Bang!"
The shattered light scattered in the air, and Mewtwo let out a muffled groan, stepping back several steps. Though hidden behind a helmet, her expression couldn't be seen, but it was clear she was in a state of extreme shock.
From her heaving body and slightly trembling arms, one could tell.
Indeed, since birth, she was almost synonymous with invincibility. When had she ever been so casually broken free like eating or drinking when unleashing most of her power?
Besides Mewtwo, Giovanni was the most shocked. He knew well how strong Mewtwo's power was. A little Lucario, without using any moves, with just a shudder, broke free from Mewtwo's Psychic!