Chapter 71: The Battle of the Finale
Without any prior agreement, the two Pokémon vanished from their spots simultaneously.
An azure blue light cut across the sky; a purple and white figure transformed into a meteor.
"Bang," "Bang," "Bang," "Bang," "Bang."
The sound of fists and feet colliding continuously echoed in the air. The azure blue ball of light and the purple and white ball of light made contact in an instant, separated, made contact again, and separated again. Appearing here one moment, they would vanish in the next, only to reappear elsewhere.
Various afterimages, phantoms, and illusory figures filled the space of the battlefield.
Rio, the Aura Emissary.
Mewtwo, the man-made divine beast.
Neither of them used various powerful moves, but instead engaged in the most primitive form of hand-to-hand combat, relying purely on their fists and feet.
From the sky, they fought down to the ground.
"Hah!" The azure blue figure stomped the ground hard. Using its right foot, its body twisted rapidly to the left rear. With a sidestep, it dodged Mewtwo's straight kick and countered with a left hook.
"Exhilarating! Exhilarating!"
Mewtwo met Rio's hook punch, raised its elbow, and thrust the point out forcefully. The force was so fierce it even tore a screeching sound from the air.
"Boom!" Rio didn't dodge or evade, taking the elbow strike head-on with his external Aura energy armor. He used the opportunity to grab Mewtwo's arm, brought his right leg up, and delivered a sharp knee strike.
Mewtwo, its arm held fast, was struck hard in the waist.
Taking a knee strike, Mewtwo's face grew even more excited, its fighting spirit soaring.
"This is it! This is it!"
Just like that, back and forth, the close-quarters combat continued to unfold.
Although Mewtwo was a Pokémon that excelled in psychic power, the rich combat skills artificially implanted in it and its innate, keen combat awareness made its fighting techniques no less inferior to Fighting-type Pokémon that specialized in combat.
And Rio, with the empowerment of Aura, possessed extremely outstanding perception and observation skills. The Aura stirred up by Mewtwo's every punch and kick was accurately perceived by him, and then he would meet them one by one with his agile movements.
"Boom—"
Rio's right fist and Mewtwo's right fist collided heavily. After an explosive aftershock of air, the two separated to opposite sides.
"Warm-up's over," Mewtwo twisted its wrist, its eyes gleaming as it spoke. "It's time to get serious."
"[Psycho Cut]! Rapid fire!"
Unlike the previous time when it concentrated all its psychic power to form a single, super-large blade, this time Mewtwo dispersed its psychic power. And so, before It, densely packed blades, shimmering with a cold light, appeared.
"Swish, swish, swish—"
The blades cut through the air, shooting forward like a torrential storm.
An impenetrable wall of blades. Seemingly impossible to dodge?
Not at all!
"[Detect]!"
Rio activated the [Detect] move. The instantly arriving blades, in his vision, were like slow motion, their trajectories displayed with perfect clarity. And so, he began to dance among the blades. At the hair's breadth moment just before each blade was about to cut him, he would step and dodge.
Mewtwo's full-concentration [Psycho Cut] was more than twice as fast as its previous casual attacks. However, for Rio to be able to dodge even this terrifyingly high speed was naturally thanks to the layer of Aura energy covering his entire body. This armor-like Aura energy, besides providing defense, had Aura flowing across it that acted as Rio's keen tentacles, heightening his perception to its limit, enough to contend with Mewtwo's terrifying speed.
"[Psystrike]!"
Seeing its sure-fire [Psycho Cut] being neutralized by Rio, Mewtwo gave up on the idea of overwhelming with quantity and switched to a new move.
Dark pink psychic energy generated from within Mewtwo's body, spreading out in a ring shape with Mewtwo as the core. Wherever the psychic energy passed, even the formless air vibrated with visible ripples. It spread out like this, sweeping across.
Having just barely avoided the assault of all the [Psycho Cut] blades, Rio now faced an unavoidable psychic wave.
But as Mewtwo used a new move, Rio was naturally not to be outdone.
At this moment, as an Aura Emissary, he naturally chose the most signature skill.
"[Aura Sphere]!"
Rio's figure stood as still as a mountain. At the same time, he placed his hands to one side, right hand above, left hand below. The moment the pose was struck, a huge suction force gushed from it.
The azure blue Aura originally flowing on the surface of his body suddenly flared up as if ignited by a blazing fire. It was forcefully drawn by the suction and adhered between Rio's hands. Soon, an energy orb emitting a dazzling blue light rapidly formed.
"Go!"
With a push of both hands, the energy orb, [Aura Sphere], was launched by Rio. When it collided with the spreading psychic wave, the [Aura Sphere] paused slightly, then continued to shoot towards Mewtwo.
"Hmph, what's the use of a move that can't hit?"
Mewtwo, watching this energy orb come at It, immediately used its swift speed to dodge to the side, letting the [Aura Sphere] fly past its side.
"That's not necessarily true... because the characteristic of [Aura Sphere] is... it never misses!"
Facing Mewtwo's disdain, Rio's lips curled into a mysterious smile.
"Swoosh!" After flying past, the [Aura Sphere] actually drew an arc in the air and returned to charge at Mewtwo again.
Mewtwo didn't believe in such heresy and immediately flew into mid-air.
"Swoosh!" The [Aura Sphere] made a ninety-degree turn, continuing its charge upwards from below.
No matter how Mewtwo dodged, the [Aura Sphere], as if equipped with a targeting scope, locked onto Mewtwo and relentlessly continued its assault.
Mewtwo was getting a bit flustered by this tenacious move. It also gathered a ball of dark Ghost-type energy in its hand and threw it over, wanting to cancel out this annoying energy orb.
Rio saw it clearly. The moment the [Shadow Ball] and [Aura Sphere] were about to collide, a sharp glint flashed in his blue-tinged eyes.
"Hmph, swoosh—"
The [Aura Sphere] nimbly dipped, dodging the [Shadow Ball], and then, slammed into Mewtwo's body, actually sending Mewtwo flying.
"[Aura Sphere] is a sure-hit because it targets your Aura. As long as your Aura doesn't change, it will continuously attack the targeted Aura."
"Just now, the [Aura Sphere] dodged your [Shadow Ball] because the [Aura Sphere] is formed by my own Aura, and I can control it as I wish."
Rio waved his hand, dispelling the [Shadow Ball] that was no longer controlled by Mewtwo, then explained to Mewtwo in a faint tone.
Mewtwo flew back with a grim face. "Again!"
Next, one after another, [Aura Sphere] attacks were continuously launched from Rio's hands. Whether it was the rock-splattering [Ancient Power], the blade-shaped [Psycho Cut], or the ray-like wave of [Psychic], all the various resistance moves used by Mewtwo were dodged by Rio's masterfully controlled Aura, and then, they hit Mewtwo.
"I don't believe such a move exists..."
Mewtwo, having been hit by [Aura Sphere] several times, changed its strategy again.
"[Ancient Power]!"
A large amount of rubble rose from the ground and, after a tremor, fell abruptly like a goddess scattering flowers.
Rio raised his right hand.
"Aura Projection, Barrier!"
Azure blue light concentrated, forming a thick barrier that blocked the bombardment of rubble.
"Hmph! [Psycho Cut]!"
Mewtwo used [Psycho Cut] again, but this time the blades did not shoot out from its body. Instead, they coated its two arms as it slashed towards Rio.
"What! How did its speed increase so quickly!"
Watching Mewtwo's speed, which was now fast enough to break the sound barrier, Rio's brain almost couldn't react.
"Can't take it head-on, must retreat!"
Nothing is unbreakable before absolute speed. At Mewtwo's speed, coupled with the sharp blades, it could create extremely terrifying destructive power.
Rio retreated hastily, even using [Quick Attack] to aid his evasion, just barely avoiding Mewtwo's first blade assault.
His thoughts were also racing at extreme speed. "That's right, the [Ancient Power] used just now, its purpose besides using the rubble to wear me down, was also to use [Ancient Power]'s other characteristic: it can enhance all of the user's abilities. That's why its speed and move power suddenly increased by a level."
"In that case..." Rio stared intently at the relentlessly pursuing purple and white figure. "You can have a taste of this move of mine too!"
The thought had just passed when a massive amount of azure blue energy bullets rapidly formed around Rio.
"[Aura Sphere]'s... Super Great Ball Spiraling Multi-Barrage!!!"
"Boom, boom, boom—" Countless [Aura Sphere] attacks successively bombarded Mewtwo. Even if Mewtwo could withstand the first, the tenth, faced with a seemingly endless bombardment of energy bullets, it had no choice but to flash away.
"…"
Mewtwo's face was extremely dark. A light shone on its body, and the wounds caused by the [Aura Sphere] hits gradually healed in the flow of light.
Rio watched this scene. Although his expression remained unchanged, his heart sank.
"Damn it, [Recover] allows Mewtwo to fight continuously. If this battle drags on, there's really no chance of winning."
"Moreover..."
Rio very discreetly glanced at the Aura on his body. The brilliance of the azure blue Aura energy was still dazzling, but only Rio himself knew that this "borrowed" power was continuously dissipating.
Mewtwo, having recovered its energy with [Recover], flew high into the sky with a low-pressure air, without saying a word.
Rio also stopped his movements, panting slightly as he watched Mewtwo's next move.
"Hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss," Mewtwo raised its hands high. Terrifyingly powerful psychic energy rapidly gathered. An incomparably giant energy ball gradually formed. The gathering energy even stirred the surrounding sky, pulling in dark clouds that blackened the heavens.
"This is not good..."
Rio looked up at the super-duper-giant psychic wave ball, then turned to look at his heavily injured companions on the ground.
"If that move is allowed to come down like this, all living beings present will be killed."
"I must block it!"
"Finally, let's settle this with one move!"
Rio's eyes were resolute. He reached out and grasped the necklace around his neck.
Letting out a deep breath, Rio relaxed his body and struck a pose.
It was still the posture with his right hand above and his left hand below.
"Hah, ahhhhhhh..."
He let out roars from his mouth, gathering and rotating all the Aura in his body into the center of his palms.
The blue light on his body gradually dimmed. Even the azure blue cape hanging from his neck vanished into nothingness. The external blue armor on his body also shattered piece by piece.
Even the blue brilliance in his eyes dissipated.
Finally, all that remained was a crystal-clear, fist-sized energy ball in his palms.
"Not good!"
An alarm of extreme danger blared in the Blastoise Boss's perception. He clutched his continuously bleeding abdomen and struggled to crawl near the fainted Poliwhirl, Machoke, and Growlithe. At the same time, he shielded Officer Jenny and the others under his body, barely deploying a green barrier with his hands.
Then, his eyes watched the two opposing energy projectiles.
In the sky on the left, a giant, immeasurable energy ball of intertwining dark pink and purple-black. On the ground on the right, a fist-sized, extremely condensed azure blue energy ball.
"[Psy-chic]!!!!!!!!"
"[Au-ra... Sphere]!!!!!!!!"
In that instant, stillness.
It was as if only the pink-purple light and the azure blue light existed in the world.
And then.
Explosion! Explosion! Explosion! Explosion! Explosion!
"BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—"
The blast wave swept over everything. The entire experimental base was completely destroyed. Countless rubble and debris were crushed to powder. The after-flames of the explosion shot into the sky, churning away all the dense dark clouds.
Even space itself seemed to be distorted by the shockwave. Beside Rio and Mewtwo, the distorted space suddenly shattered. A powerful suction gushed from this spatial rift, sucking both Rio and Mewtwo in.
"Bang," the black Poké Ball that had fallen to the ground also couldn't withstand such high pressure and directly turned to powder.
However, after it was crushed, a wisp of black smoke, seemingly unaffected by the turbulent environment, swirled in place for a few rounds, then "swoosh," floated into the air and disappeared.
The explosion continued for some time.
After the explosion finally stopped, the dispersed dark clouds revealed the sun. The clear sunlight could now shine down, illuminating the deep crater below, which was more than 10 meters in diameter, and the green barrier that had teetered but ultimately held, reflecting a bright light.
High above this place, a Pokémon that was entirely black and bird-like had been quietly watching from below. After the explosion subsided, It gave a flap of its giant, hand-shaped wings and flew away into the distance.
…
In a mysterious place, a figure in a cloak was half-kneeling, reporting to a figure sitting in a high-backed chair.
"Boss, news has come back. Test Product Number One has been destroyed, and Experimental Subject Number One has disappeared."
"Hmph, fool!"
The figure sitting in the chair grunted angrily, playing with a few small Poké Balls in his hand.
"Contact... them. It's time to begin... the next phase of the plan."
"Yes, sir!"
The cloaked figure bowed respectfully, then exited through the room's door.
The figure in the chair slowly turned around. The dim light hit the figure, faintly revealing a pair of eyes filled with black qi.
The few Poké Balls being played with in his hand were all black-shelled. Some of the Poké Balls faintly glowed red, some were condensed with frost, and some had wisps of electricity flickering on them.
(End of Volume 1)