Chapter 70: The Aura That Crosses Time and Space
Just then, Jerrod's voice came from behind Mewtwo, "Alright, Mewtwo, capture this Pokémon for me."
Mewtwo turned its head, its purple eyes filled with fierceness.
Jerrod once again raised the black Poké Ball, his tone becoming heavier, "I'll say it again. This is an 'order'!"
"…"
After a moment of silence, Mewtwo said coldly, "Noisy! Get out of My sight!"
"What? You dare to disobey my 'order'!"
Jerrod, seemingly not expecting Mewtwo to disobey the "order," immediately became somewhat flustered and angry, pressing the button on the black Poké Ball, attempting to recall Mewtwo.
"Silence!"
Mewtwo waved its free left hand, stirring up a wave of psychic power.
"Golduck, block it for me... Ahhh..."
Golduck summoned a wave of water, attempting to intercept the incoming psychic wave. But even a casual blow from Mewtwo was something Golduck couldn't handle. The psychic wave directly dispersed the just-forming wave, and even sent Golduck and Jerrod flying together.
Jerrod received the same treatment as the Blastoise Boss and the others, being sent flying directly into a pile of building debris, groaning in pain.
He momentarily lost his grip on the black Poké Ball. The ball flew from his hand, bounced around, and then fell to the ground.
"Crack, crack," the pitch-black Poké Ball cracked with countless fissures upon impact. Wisps of black smoke leaked out from the cracks.
The moment the black Poké Ball shattered, Mewtwo trembled violently.
"Roaaarrggghhh—"
As if struck by immense pain, Mewtwo felt a sharp pang flash through its head. It clutched its head with its left hand, roaring in agony. A large amount of black qi abruptly erupted from its body. The black qi swirled around It, entangling and fighting with the dark pink energy emanating from within Its body, seemingly wanting to return to Mewtwo's body.
"Cough, cough... haah, hooh..."
Perhaps because Mewtwo was desperately fighting the pain, the psychic power that was tightly gripping Rio unconsciously loosened somewhat, allowing the latter to breathe freely again.
Rio gasped for fresh air, but the psychic hand still held him firmly, preventing him from breaking free.
"Wh-what do I do?"
Watching the energy struggle around Mewtwo, with the dark pink energy continuously devouring the black qi and gradually gaining the upper hand, Rio knew in his heart that he only had this one brief moment of opportunity.
"But, what can I do..."
As if sensing its prey in its palm was about to struggle free, Mewtwo, despite fighting hard against the bizarre black mist, still diverted a bit of its concentration to strengthen the psychic restraint.
The psychic hand squeezed even tighter, pinning Rio's hands and feet together, leaving him no room to move. Rio had also thought of instantly releasing the energy within his body, trying to blast open the restraint through a momentary energy clash. But his own internal energy was weak to begin with; compared to Mewtwo's energy level, the difference was like an ant trying to shake a great tree. Furthermore, he had already consumed most of his energy in the previous battle; at this moment, he simply couldn't squeeze out much energy from his body.
For a moment, it seemed there was no way to save Rio.
"Damn it, at a time like this, if only I had a large amount of energy..."
As if hearing Rio's innermost thoughts, the necklace gem that had been flickering around his neck suddenly blazed brightly. Azure blue brilliance bloomed from the gem, forming a pillar of light that connected heaven and earth. Viewed from afar, it was as if the dark pink psychic hand was grasping a long blue spear.
"This is..."
Rio was enveloped in the azure blue brilliance, feeling that familiar Aura appear once more.
…
"This... what is this place?"
Before him was a vast expanse of white.
In this space filled with endless white light, only Rio stood alone in the distance, looking around in a daze.
Just then, a wave-like fluctuation suddenly appeared in the white space. At the same time, a voice sounded in Rio's ear.
Unlike the voice from last time, which was full of gentleness and affection, the voice that appeared this time was deep, heavy, and filled with immense majesty.
"To have reached the Aura Glimmer State at thy age is truly not easy. Truly worthy of being My..."
The mysterious voice was full of gratification.
"But if thou wishes to defeat a formidable enemy..."
"It is not enough. Thy power is still not enough..."
In the bright light, a blurry, indistinct figure slowly emerged.
"Then, what should I do?"
Rio couldn't help but ask. He was very unwilling to give up. Knowing the plot of his previous life, he knew how much disaster and suffering would be brought to the entire world once a villainous organization like Team Rocket obtained the supreme power of Mewtwo. Moreover, behind him were Pokémon, and humans, that he wanted to protect.
Unfortunately, the not-yet-grown Riolu, facing the lofty, unparalleled super divine beast—Mewtwo—could only barely resist one or two blows even with all his might, let alone achieve victory.
The tall figure strode before Rio, bent down, and extended a phantom hand to pat Rio's head.
To Rio's astonishment, although this was just an illusory figure, the warmth from that palm landed tangibly on his head.
It was a warmth that seeped into the depths of his heart.
"Along the way, thy heart has been trained to be strong enough. What thou lacks is the power to reach even greater heights..."
"Come, at this time, at this very moment, borrow My power. Go and protect what thou must protect. Go and fight to thy heart's content..."
In the white light, an endless azure blue brilliance instantly bloomed!
…
"Whew—"
Mewtwo let out a long breath. After circulating all the energy in Its body, the black qi that had originally been swirling around It was now completely purged.
Its purple eyes, no longer holding any trace of black light, stared at Its own hands.
"I feel... I have become stronger..."
Those "things" that seemed to have been binding It within Its body, making It feel uncomfortable, were now completely eliminated. It only felt that not only had Its thoughts become clear again, but Its somewhat cumbersome body had also become incomparably light.
In the eyes of the other humans and Pokémon, the expression on Mewtwo's face, which was originally full of ferocity, had also softened.
"No... cough, cough..."
Only Jerrod on the scene knew what had happened. The shattering of the black Poké Ball and the change in Mewtwo brought a look of despair to his eyes.
"My, my power... No, you can't..."
He seemed to have gone mad.
Mewtwo only glanced coldly at the human It detested, then returned Its attention to the Pokémon It was holding in Its psychic grip.
Because an unprecedented warning of danger was echoing in Its heart.
"Thump-thump," "Thump-thump," the sound of a giant heart beating resounded through the now dilapidated building.
"Heh heh hahahaha, interesting..."
Mewtwo became excited, Its whole body trembling uncontrollably.
The psychic hand suddenly expanded at extreme speed.
The swelling energy within it was constantly battering the psychic hand. The expansion was so fast and fierce that it almost made Mewtwo's psychic power waver, nearly losing its grip.
"Hmph!"
Mewtwo snorted coldly, increasing its psychic power to strengthen the psychic hand. Instantly, dark pink and purple energy extended from its body. The dazzling light of the flowing energy lit up half the sky.
But then, a seemingly endless azure blue brilliance erupted.
A blue pillar of light that shot straight into the clouds expanded outwards, instantly tearing the restraining hand phantom to shreds.
Mewtwo retreated violently, then stared at this suddenly erupting pillar of light.
In the center of the light pillar, a small figure appeared.
Then, the brilliance of the light pillar suddenly contracted, receding into that figure.
The small, dog-shaped Pokémon had not evolved or mutated; it still maintained its original appearance. The only difference from before was that its eyes, which had originally glowed blue, now had their light drawn inward, leaving only a pair of deep blue eyes. And the thin layer of blue light on its body had disappeared, replaced by a blue phantom-like armor covering its body.
Rio stared at the light screen before him as the [Status] information scrolled past.
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[Status]
Pokémon: Legendary - Aura Pokémon - Riolu (Aura Emissary Form) (Power Inheritance) (Male)
Level: ??
Type: Fighting
Ability: Inner Focus (Prevents flinching)
HP: ??
Attack: ??
Defense: ??
Sp. Atk: ??
Sp. Def: ??
Speed: ??
Power: Aura (Emissary of Aura, possesses extremely keen perception and control, move power is greatly increased when using Aura)
Moves: Aura Sphere (??), Quick Attack (lv2), Detect (lv2), Metal Claw (lv2), Counter (lv1), Dig (lv1)
Evaluation: A legendary Aura Emissary who has received an inheritance, skilled in all Aura techniques.
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There were no special stats anymore; in their place, the Power attribute had appeared.
And this was not what surprised Rio the most.
"Aura Emissary?!"
Although the Riolu or Lucario clan were all known as "Emissaries of Aura," for this title to now appear concretely on Rio's panel still surprised him greatly. Moreover, looking at that row of question marks and the incomparably powerful force filling his own body, Rio, at this moment, felt that even Mewtwo was not unbeatable.
"Also, that question mark skill... it really was [Aura Sphere]?"
With a light chuckle, Rio had vaguely sensed this result for a while now. Ever since he had awakened the ability to perceive Aura some time ago, Rio had faintly felt that he could control Aura energy. And [Aura Sphere], as the signature move of an Aura Pokémon, was one of the proofs of flexible control over Aura.
The power of [Aura Sphere] depended on the user's control over Aura. If one could gather the Aura of all the Pokémon in the world, the power of [Aura Sphere] could even reach a world-destroying level.
"Come, fight Me!"
Mewtwo looked at Rio with burning eyes. It sensed a faint threat from Rio's body, which made the fires of battle within Its heart burn even more fiercely.
Battle had become the only remaining thought in Mewtwo's mind.
Rio, under the power of Aura, also stood levitating in the air, a burning fire of battle also appearing in his eyes.
"Come on, let's fight!"
"Swish," a cape composed of azure blue brilliance appeared behind Rio. It billowed with the gentle breeze, looking exceedingly cool.
"That's it!"
The Blastoise Boss took a deep breath. Finally, the scene he had seen in his dream was appearing realistically before his eyes.
Under the overwhelming purple light, a single azure blue light charged upward against it!
"You can do it, Rio!"
He silently cheered for his companion in his heart.