"Dodge it?!"
For a moment, Korrina's grandfather doubted his own ears.
Aura Sphere is a guaranteed-hit move that locks onto the target's Aura. Aside from neutralizing it head-on with a more powerful move or having something block its path, there is no other way to defend against it—this is common knowledge to everyone.
But what had Ash just said?
He actually told Lucario to dodge? Even if he had ordered Lucario to use a move to counter it—even if it didn't fully neutralize the attack—that would still have been better than telling it to dodge!
Yet, the very next second, his pupils contracted sharply.
Ash's Lucario stood motionless on the field; it wasn't until the massive Aura Sphere was a split-second away from impact that it shifted its body slightly to the side. The Aura Sphere did not alter its trajectory to follow Lucario's sidestep; instead, it surged straight ahead, whistling past his body before slamming into the wall at the back of the gym.
*BOOM!!*
The Champion-level Aura Sphere shattered the gym wall completely. The entire structure began to teeter, with debris raining down from above, though the shaking soon subsided.
It was as if something had suddenly stabilized the building.
Gurkinn's eyes widened. His attention wasn't on the gym's strange behavior, but rather on his shock that Ash's Lucario had managed to dodge the Aura Sphere.
He had actually dodged it!
The Aura Sphere hadn't reacted at all to the dodge—what was going on? Was there a glitch?
"Great chance, Lucario! Aura Sphere!"
Ash's voice snapped Gurkinn back to reality. He looked sharply at the battlefield to see Ash's Lucario gathering a deep-blue Aura Sphere between its hands; the color was darker than usual, indicating an incredibly high density of Aura.
"Dodge it, quick!" Gurkinn shouted instinctively.
But it was already too late.
Ash's Lucario thrust the Aura Sphere forward. It streaked through the air, leaving a deep trail of light in its wake as it flew straight toward Gurkinn's Lucario.
Gurkinn's Lucario narrowed its slit-like pupils and attempted to sidestep. Possessing keen Aura perception, it viewed a move traveling at this speed as sluggish—like a crawling turtle—and felt certain it could easily dodge.
Yet, in the very next instant, the Aura Sphere traced a bizarre arc through the air, precisely tracking down the dodging Lucario and striking it head-on!
"Urgh...!"
Gurkinn's Lucario let out a muffled grunt and skidded several meters backward, wisps of white smoke rising from the fur on its chest. While the hit wasn't enough to deal critical damage, it had undeniably connected. Despite having a massive level advantage, he was actually the one to get the short end of the stick?!
A deathly silence fell over the arena.
Korrina's eyes went wide, and her mouth dropped open—wide enough to fit a Poké Ball inside.
"W-why?! Why could Ash's Lucario dodge the Aura Sphere, but Grandpa's couldn't? They're the same species of Pokémon—and Grandpa's Lucario is at a higher level, too! Why couldn't Grandpa's Lucario do what Ash's Lucario just did?"
Brock and the others didn't answer Korrina's question, because even they didn't know the reason.
In all the time they had been traveling with Ash, this was the first time they had ever seen something like this.
An Aura Sphere locks onto a Pokémon's aura to guarantee a hit; under normal circumstances, dodging it is absolutely impossible. Ash's Lucario must have performed some unknown maneuver to divert the Aura Sphere away.
Gurkinn slowly composed himself, though the look of admiration in his eyes remained undiminished.
"Impressive lad—to think you could dodge an Aura Sphere. Would you mind explaining to an old man like me exactly how you pulled that off?"
Asking for the secrets behind an opponent's move in the middle of a battle was highly unconventional, but Gurkinn was genuinely curious.
"It's fine to share," Ash said with a smile. "The reason an Aura Sphere always hits is that it locks onto the opponent's aura. But what happens if the position of that aura shifts at the very moment of impact?"
Gurkinn was taken aback.
Shifting the position of one's aura? How could that possibly be done?
Humans, Pokémon, and all other living beings possess an aura—it is the source of life, residing deep within the body.
If the living being itself hasn't moved, how could its aura possibly shift?
"Old Man Gurkinn, just think about it: what kind of energy is used to create an Aura Sphere?"
"Well, that would be aura, of course... Wait a minute. You didn't have Lucario separate a portion of its aura from its body just as the Aura Sphere was about to strike, did you? You used that to divert the attack away?" Korrina's grandfather stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing something.
Channeling Aura out of one's body wasn't impossible—after all, isn't that the very principle behind the Aura Sphere move?
However, separating a portion of one's internal Aura to manipulate an Aura Sphere—that wasn't something a typical Pokémon could pull off!
An Aura Sphere is a specific move with a fixed method of projection; to separate Aura from the body and use it to guide the sphere, one first had to conceal the Aura within oneself.
Otherwise, the Aura Sphere would inevitably be drawn toward the source of the stronger Aura.
In other words, Ash's Lucario had not only separated a portion of its Aura but also masked its own Aura signature, ultimately allowing it to dodge an attack that was supposed to be unavoidable.
It was absolutely unheard of!
"That's right. My Lucario may not match yours in terms of battle technique or level, but when it comes to Aura control, I don't think there's another Lucario in the world that surpasses him."
After all, his Lucario's Aura control had been taught by a master of the Divine Realm level. While there might be many Pokémon stronger in raw power, when it came to controlling Aura... if his Lucario claimed second place, who would dare claim first?
"Truly, the new generation surpasses the old; the youth are formidable indeed! Old friend, let's continue—I want to see just how many more surprises this young man has in store for us."
At Korrina's grandfather's command, the Lucario before him placed its hands over its chest, and a bone staff formed from condensed energy materialized instantly.
Bone Rush!
"Lucario, Extreme Speed!" The moment the staff appeared in the opponent's hands, Ash issued his command; his Lucario instantly transformed into a blue blur, darting and weaving across the battlefield!
"Incredible speed. Lucario, sense your opponent's movements carefully." Gurkinn's expression tightened; after using Extreme Speed, Ash's Lucario was moving even faster than a Champion-level Pokémon.
Beyond the speed boost provided by the move itself, Lucario's base speed was already high; otherwise, achieving such velocity would have been impossible.
The crimson, slit-like pupils of Gurkinn's Lucario shifted slightly; he spun his Bone Rush staff half a rotation and swung it violently toward his rear-left.
Yet, the very instant the staff swung out, Ash's Lucario had already appeared right in front of him.
*Wham!*
The Extreme Speed attack slammed solidly into the abdomen of Gurkinn's Lucario. The force caused his body to instantly arch, lifting his feet off the ground as he was sent flying backward.
But at the exact moment he was struck, the staff in his hand swept out horizontally—*Bang!*
The Bone Rush strike connected with the back of Ash's Lucario. The immense power threw him off balance; he was sent tumbling backward like a kite with a snapped string, rolling repeatedly across the ground before finally coming to a halt.
Both Lucarios were injured almost simultaneously, and both managed to steady themselves at nearly the same moment. The fierce exchange left Korrina and the others holding their breath, afraid to make a sound.
While Ash's Lucario was incredibly fast, Gurkinn's Lucario was no pushover; his mastery of Aura might not have been as refined as Ash's Lucario's, but that didn't mean he couldn't use it at all.
By utilizing his Aura sensing—combined with the advantage of a higher level—he could track Ash's Lucario's movements, even though the speed of that Extreme Speed attack far exceeded what was typical for his level.
However, Gurkinn's Lucario couldn't manage to dodge the attack entirely, leaving him with no choice but to resort to a mutual-damage strategy.
That said, Ash's Lucario sustained the heavier injuries. After all, Ground-type moves are super-effective against Lucario, and the significant level gap in Gurkinn's Lucario's favor meant the damage dealt was naturally more severe.
"It's not over yet, Lucario—Close Combat!" "
No sooner had Gurkinn's voice faded than his Lucario vanished from its spot.
In the next instant, it reappeared right in front of Ash's Lucario, a right fist charged with terrifying power driving straight for its face!
"Dodge it, then use Close Combat!" Ash's voice rang out across the arena; Ash's Lucario's crimson pupils contracted as it suddenly ducked low, evading the attack by a mere centimeter.
Immediately following that, it unleashed a punch fueled by its entire body's strength.
*Bang!* The sound of the air exploding echoed out—but Ash's Lucario's punch missed its mark as well.
After a momentary pause, both sides began trading blows furiously; a barrage of attacks rained down like a violent storm, with every single strike powerful enough to deal devastating damage!
*Bang, bang, bang!*
The fists of the two Lucarios collided in mid-air; shockwaves rippled outward from the point of impact, cracking the ground and sending debris flying!
The sound of fist meeting fist echoed through the dojo like a rapid-fire drumbeat. Each clash unleashed a powerful blast of air!!
The shockwaves generated by a battle approaching Champion-level intensity were powerful enough to level the entire dojo. Yet, whenever the radiating waves reached Ash and Gurkinn, they seemed to strike an impenetrable barrier, instantly dissipating without a trace.
Gurkinn, caught up in the moment, failed to notice this, but Korrina spotted it immediately; her eyes widened in sheer disbelief.
The shockwaves from the battle... were being blocked by something?
On the field, the two Lucarios traded blows, neither willing to yield. However, in terms of both speed and offensive power, Gurkinn's Lucario clearly held the upper hand; at this rate, Ash's Lucario would soon be unable to hold out.
Yet, as a full minute ticked by and the close-quarters combat continued, the spirit and vitality of Ash's Lucario seemed to surge, growing ever stronger, while a fierce, almost terrifying expression twisted Gurkinn's Lucario's face.
Gurkinn narrowed his eyes; finally, he realized something was amiss.
Although Ash's Lucario appeared to be trading blows head-on with his own, its evasive maneuvers were incredibly peculiar.
Even though his Lucario attacked with superior speed, only two or three out of every ten punches actually landed. Conversely, Ash's Lucario was connecting with at least eight out of ten—and its accuracy was steadily improving as the fight went on!
Was this... due to the power of Aura?
Aura could indeed predict the direction of an opponent's attack, but given the vast disparity in their strength, simply seeing the attack's trajectory wasn't enough; without predicting the move more than a second in advance, dodging would be impossible.
The depth of Ash's Lucario's mastery over Aura was far more formidable than he had ever imagined.
"Bam!"
Another clash of fists, and both Lucarios stumbled back several paces.
Ash's Lucario dropped to one knee, panting heavily.
His body was pushed to its absolute limit; he was in pain all over, yet he kept his eyes locked on his opponent, his fighting spirit undiminished.
Even though he could predict the trajectory of the opponent's attacks, failing to dodge completely meant taking hits at a Champion-level intensity—and from a Fighting-type move, no less, which was super-effective against him.
The fact that he had held out this long was partly due to the frequent beatings he endured during team sparring sessions.
Korrina's grandfather's Lucario wasn't in great shape either; while his level was indeed higher than Ash's Lucario's, that didn't mean he could withstand Ash's attacks indefinitely.
Compared to Ash's Lucario, he had taken far more hits; all things considered, their remaining stamina was likely neck and neck.
"This is the deciding blow—Lucario, use Aura Sphere!" Ash swept his arm forward, choosing Aura Sphere for one final, all-out effort.
"We'll use Aura Sphere, too," the old man said in a deep, steady voice.
This single strike would determine the outcome of the battle. Both Pokémon were running on fumes; whoever prevailed in this clash of moves would be the winner.
"Aroo!" Both Pokémon let out fierce roars as they gathered all their Aura energy in front of them.
"So, Ash is making that choice... It's a shame, but the victory in this battle belongs to Grandpa," Korrina said with a note of regret.
Clashing with the exact same move turned the battle into a pure test of raw power. Ash's Lucario couldn't fully utilize his unique strengths in a straightforward exchange like this, so the win was surely in the bag for her grandfather.
"Not necessarily!" Misty retorted defiantly. "If it were anyone else, I'd agree with you, Korrina. But with Ash... well, let's just wait and see."
After all, Ash was someone who defied all conventional logic!