"The first attack is mine. In that case, I'll finish you off directly."
"Gengar, use Shadow Ball!"
Max Sterling frowned and immediately gave the order.
A battle he had thought would be an opportunity to show off had ended up turning into this, and his mood could not have been worse.
"Kehehehe!"
Gengar also showed an indifferent expression and casually launched the move Shadow Ball.
"The attack is coming, Riolu, dodge it!"
Ethan, naturally, had no idea what his opponent was thinking and gave the order with absolute seriousness.
"Dodge it?"
"Relying on Riolu to dodge Gengar's Shadow Ball?"
After hearing Ethan's words, Max shook his head with a mocking smile. But in the very next instant, he was completely stunned.
Right in front of him, Riolu actually dodged Gengar's Shadow Ball, and moreover, did so with astonishing ease.
Boom!
With a loud explosion, the Shadow Ball that Riolu had effortlessly avoided slammed into the arena floor, raising a cloud of dust.
"The power of that Shadow Ball is impressive!"
"And yet Riolu dodged it so easily!"
"Could it be that this Riolu is also very strong?"
Voices full of surprise began to ring out in the stadium.
"Do not underestimate any of Ethan's Pokémon. Even if it's only a Pokémon in its initial form."
Patrick Mills' expression became serious. He suddenly recalled Ethan's Litwick.
That terrifying monster which, even in its initial form, was capable of unleashing attacks with a power of 526 points!
Now, seeing Riolu dodge Gengar's attack so easily, he could not help but begin to feel anticipation.
At the same time, among the audience there were some students who had witnessed the Cross Cup. Upon seeing Riolu, they immediately recalled that astonishing Litwick and began to talk about it with those beside them.
Word of mouth spread the story of Ethan's Litwick throughout the entire stadium, causing everyone to look at Riolu with growing expectation.
"Litwick?"
On the stage, Max also heard his companions' reminders, and his gaze became a bit more cautious.
Ethan smiled faintly. He was not surprised at all that Riolu could dodge Shadow Ball so easily, since that had been one of the main abilities intensively trained during that period.
"Now it's our turn to attack. Riolu, use Aura Sphere."
Upon hearing Ethan's order, Riolu's eyes shone with excitement.
He raised one hand, and Fighting-type energy began to gather in his palm.
At the same time, the light blue power of aura surged from his body and fused with the Fighting-type energy that was condensing into the shape of a sphere.
On the other end of the field, when Riolu began to concentrate energy, Gengar felt as if a presence had locked onto it.
This made the darkness-loving Gengar feel extremely uncomfortable. Without waiting for its trainer's orders, its figure faded away as it used its invisibility ability, trying to escape that oppressive sensation that was pinning it down.
At the same time, the Aura Sphere in Riolu's hand was fully formed. The Fighting-type energy mixed with the power of aura made the sphere emit an extremely powerful energy fluctuation.
"That is... Aura Sphere!"
"Why can a Riolu use Aura Sphere!?"
Seeing this scene, Lucas Silver's pupils contracted and his face filled with disbelief.
It should be known that Aura Sphere was the signature move of his mother's Lucario, a move of tremendous power. Once a target was locked onto by that move, there was practically no way to escape.
Moreover, they had vaguely discovered that within Aura Sphere there was a very peculiar special energy hidden. Through communication with Lucario, they learned that it was a special energy called aura power.
The move Aura Sphere was nothing more than a way to apply aura power, but even a small portion of this power could be transformed into an attack of terrifying might, which showed just how formidable aura was.
However, aura power was far too mysterious. His family had been researching it for a long time without achieving any significant progress, and Aura Sphere seemed to be a move exclusive to Lucario, as until now no other Pokémon had been able to learn it.
And yet, that day he was seeing the second Pokémon capable of using the move Aura Sphere. How could he not be shocked?
Besides, how long had Ethan been with Riolu? What method had he used to allow Riolu to master the move Aura Sphere?
While Lucas was still full of doubts, he saw that Riolu had already thrown the Aura Sphere from its hand.
But what left all the spectators completely baffled was that the Aura Sphere was thrown seemingly at random toward a point in the air.
In the next instant, before everyone's astonished gazes, a loud explosion was heard in the air, and Gengar's figure was violently blasted out, revealing itself after the explosion.
Although at first glance Gengar did not seem to have suffered any damage, the fact that Riolu had been able to accurately locate its invisible position and still hit it left everyone deeply shocked.
"How did this Riolu detect Gengar?"
"Also, wasn't that a Fighting-type move?"
"Why can a Fighting-type move hit a Ghost-type Pokémon?"
Seeing that Riolu's Aura Sphere had successfully struck an invisible Gengar, the spectators could not hide their bewilderment.
"Could it be the move Foresight?"
Max narrowed his eyes, and suddenly a suppressed anger began to surface.
Had he become nothing more than a mere backdrop for his opponent's exhibition?
"Gengar, use Shadow Ball continuously!"
"Kehehehe!"
Gengar also became serious.
It raised both hands, condensed Shadow Ball, and hurled it at high speed.
"Riolu, dodge it and then use Aura Sphere."
Upon hearing Ethan's order, a blue glow began to envelop Riolu's eyes.
Just as Gengar raised its hand to begin condensing Shadow Ball once again, Riolu had already moved.
As if it had foreseen everything in advance, the moment Riolu left its original position, Gengar's Shadow Ball had just finished forming and violently crashed into the spot where Riolu had been.
Fiu, fiu, fiu!
The sound of air being torn rang out incessantly as Gengar continued to condense Shadow Ball again and again. But without exception, Riolu accurately predicted every attack trajectory and dodged at high speed.
Boom, boom, boom!
A series of explosions thundered across the arena, but all of them were avoided by Riolu.
This time, the spectators were able to clearly see each of Riolu's evasive movements, and everyone opened their eyes wide in amazement.
"Could it be... future prediction?"
"That can't be possible, right?"
"Even though theoretically there is a possibility of foreseeing the future..."
"I've never heard of any Pokémon actually managing to master such an ability!"
One spectator voiced the conjecture, which was quickly refuted by another beside him, though the latter also could not understand how Riolu was able to anticipate every move of its opponent.
(End of chapter)