"Lucario, show me the strength you have now."
Ethan smiled faintly and looked at Lucario with anticipation.
"Luuucaarr!"
Lucario nodded enthusiastically. Then he walked to the open space and gently closed his eyes. When he opened them again, a blue glint flashed in his gaze.
At present, Lucario had mastered a total of three eye-type moves: Mind Reader, Foresight, and Detect.
The function of the move Mind Reader is to perceive the opponent's actions with the heart, ensuring that the next attack will hit for certain.
This move and Detect—one focused on offense and the other on evasion—were mastered by Lucario to a very high level. When combined with the power of aura, both could unleash extraordinary combat strength.
The move Foresight allows moves that normally do not affect Ghost-type Pokémon, as well as those with a high evasion rate, to hit after being used.
Previously, the reason Riolu's Aura Sphere had been able to strike Gengar was precisely because it had used the move Foresight during the battle.
Next, Lucario displayed other moves. After opening his eyes, he raised his hand and directly launched the move Aura Sphere.
At the same time, he also used the move Helping Hand, causing the Aura Sphere to transform into a Super Aura Sphere.
"Aura Sphere and Helping Hand..."
Ethan nodded and took out his notebook to record the moves Lucario had shown.
The move Helping Hand can enhance the power of other moves, making it an extremely powerful support move. Once Lucario fully mastered Helping Hand, the power of all his moves would increase considerably.
Just as in the previous battle, thanks to Helping Hand reinforcing the move Shadow Ball, even when Lucario had just mastered Shadow Ball, under the enhancement of Helping Hand it was still able to unleash impressive power.
After showing the move Helping Hand, Lucario gently closed his eyes, as if sensing something.
Then, it could be seen raising its hand as Water-type energy suddenly condensed.
"Is this... a Water-type move?"
Ethan narrowed his eyes and began recalling which Water-type moves Lucario could learn.
Could it be the move Water Pulse?
While he was thinking, Lucario had already finished gathering the energy.
Immediately, a faint watery mist began to rise across the field, and an extremely soothing sensation spread throughout the body.
Lucario had suffered some injuries after the battle, but under the drizzle of that mist, they began to recover rapidly.
"Is this... Life Dew?"
Ethan's pupils widened slightly as he recalled the Pokémon Researchers' Guild records about this move.
According to the information, the move Life Dew has an effect similar to that of the move Grassy Terrain: both are area-of-effect healing moves.
"I didn't expect Lucario to have learned the move Life Dew."
After mentally reviewing the data on the move Life Dew, Ethan could not help but sigh in admiration.
This move had not appeared in the anime of his previous life; it was a completely new move that Ethan had come to know in this world.
The first time he saw it, he was deeply shocked. However, as news began to arrive from the West about Pokémon he had never seen before, he came to understand that the Pokémon world was not limited solely to what he knew.
When he had arrived in this world, Pokémon only went up to the seventh generation, and these new Pokémon and moves were clearly products of the eighth generation.
This sounded an alarm within him: learning has no end. There were still many things he needed to study, and he could not become arrogant based solely on his current knowledge; even as a traveler between worlds, there were many things he did not know.
"But... a group healing move, huh?"
"I remember Lucario can also learn the move Heal Pulse, right?"
"With his powerful mental strength and the support of aura power, maybe Lucario even has the potential to become a healing Pokémon!"
Ethan reflected silently. Right now, his team lacked a Pokémon specialized in healing. Perhaps Lucario could be trained to fill that need, at least as first-aid support on the battlefield. There was no need for his healing ability to be extreme; for that purpose, Lucario was more than sufficient.
"Mm, not a bad idea."
After thinking it over a bit, Ethan wrote this idea down in his notebook, intending to discuss it with Lucario later.
"Lucario, now show me your other moves."
After finishing recording everything, Ethan looked at Lucario again and spoke.
However, this time Lucario showed a troubled expression, as if he did not know how to execute the moves.
"Huh? Did you forget how to do them?"
Ethan could not help rolling his eyes and said, "There are still Shadow Ball and Will-O-Wisp, right? Don't tell me you just used them and already forgot them?"
Hearing this, Lucario scratched his head in a very human manner and suddenly pointed at the Poké Ball hanging from Ethan's waist.
"All right... Litwick, come out for a moment and show Lucario how to use Shadow Ball and Will-O-Wisp."
After hearing Ethan, Litwick let out a couple of cheerful sounds and first launched the move Shadow Ball.
Lucario watched attentively and immediately imitated the move perfectly. Then he did the same with the move Will-O-Wisp, executing it without any problem.
However, when Ethan asked him to use them again, Lucario managed to use Will-O-Wisp, but could no longer execute Shadow Ball.
"Did you forget again?"
"Wait... could it be that you never actually learned Shadow Ball or Will-O-Wisp?"
Suddenly, Ethan seemed to realize something and narrowed his eyes.
Lucario nodded rapidly, as if relieved at being understood.
"Hold on... you didn't learn them, yet you were still able to use them..."
"Don't tell me it was that move... the move Copycat, which can copy the opponent's moves?"
Ethan's eyes widened as he recalled that Lucario could not learn Will-O-Wisp, yet had still managed to use it.
"Litwick, use Inferno toward the sky."
After thinking of this possibility, Ethan gave the order immediately.
Though somewhat confused, Litwick obeyed and used the move Inferno, raising a pillar of fire that soared into the sky.
To the side, Lucario's eyes shone, and he immediately opened his mouth and spat out an identical scorching flame—Inferno!
"So it was the move Copycat!"
Seeing that Lucario had successfully copied Litwick's move, Ethan exhaled deeply and then showed an excited expression.
The effect of the move Copycat is to copy the last move used by the opponent and execute that same move.
With Copycat, Lucario can reproduce the opponent's moves, greatly expanding his offensive coverage. In real combat, where it can be used flexibly, this move is without a doubt a god-tier move!
(End of chapter)