Fighting without using moves is almost heretical. Yet sometimes, it works exceptionally well.
When Dragapult was kicked, its mind went blank for an instant. Fortunately, it was a seasoned veteran, a Pokémon well above level sixty.
The moment its Flamethrower missed, it didn't hesitate for a second. It turned and fled.
Getting into close quarters with a Fighting-type Pokémon would be foolish, but Lucario clearly wasn't about to let it off so easily.
You're fast, but I'm not slow either! It's not like I can't see you.
"Dragon Pulse!"
Lucario raised both paws. Two majestic, energy dragon heads, one cyan and one crimson, materialized. Then, they merged into a single, fierce-looking energy dragon that charged toward Dragapult with claws bared!
ROAR!!
A faint roar echoed through the air!
"Dragon Darts!"
Knowing it couldn't dodge, Dragapult didn't bother trying. It turned decisively, locked onto its target like a fighter jet, and launched the two Dreepy attached to its wings!
Bang! Bang!
The Dreepy shot forward like missiles, crashing into the Dragon Pulse that had already closed in!
Boom!
Fiery light illuminated half the sky!
Watching from below, Li Xiang wondered if those two Dreepy would take damage.
If they fainted, wouldn't that mean Dragapult could no longer use Dragon Darts?
Just as his curiosity peaked, three figures burst through the smoke. The largest one struck the air fiercely with a fist radiating intense cold.
Thud!
A dull impact!
The cold surged forward, tracing the shape of wings against the empty air.
"Ruu!"
The light shifted, and Dragapult's pained form flickered into view before vanishing along with the frost, the two Dreepy returning to it as well.
Down below, Chao decisively recalled Dragapult.
The two little Dreepy returned to the ball along with it.
All three living together? Do they combine when entering the ball and separate when coming out?
Pokémon like Dragapult are truly fascinating.
Li Xiang smiled. Chao's Dragapult was strong. Fast, quick to react, high attacking power, and capable of turning invisible.
But its advantages couldn't surpass Lucario's, so they naturally became disadvantages.
And what's the best strategy against a fast Pokémon?
Trick Room.
But Chao's team didn't seem to have a Pokémon that could use that move. So his choice—
Bang!
A flash of light.
A Primarina appeared, with long blue hair, pink accessories across its pure white body, and sparkling, translucent blue eyes.
Primarina?
Li Xiang wasn't sure why Chao made this choice, but it didn't stop Lucario from charging in to teach it a lesson with Thunder Punch.
Crackle—
The sound of electricity crackled!
Lucario deliberately avoided using any stat-boosting moves, waiting for the switch to complete, leaving its opponent no time to dodge!
Its slender body instantly became a blur!
Too slow to react!
Primarina couldn't throw up a shield and couldn't dodge. The electricity exploded against its tail fin!
Thud!
Lightning trembled in the air. Primarina was blasted far away, putting significant distance between them!
"..."
Lucario withdrew its fist and frowned slightly.
It wasn't that it didn't want to aim for the head, but Primarina had deliberately offered its tail instead.
Under Aura vision, Primarina's movements were slow, but Lucario itself couldn't change its punch's trajectory that quickly.
If its body couldn't keep up with its visual reaction, the move would likely miss. So it had to go with the flow.
It prepared to take the hit from the very beginning, positioning its tail near its face?
Then used the force of the attack to create distance.
Lucario clicked its tongue, stomped the ground again, leaving slight depressions, and shot off like an arrow!
Still Thunder Punch!
It didn't believe Primarina could block with its tail every time!
The two closed in. Lucario threw its punch!
The electricity crackled like frying beans!
Pfft!
A strange sound.
Lucario's fist met a translucent bubble rapidly blown from Primarina's nose tip. Surprisingly, it didn't break through on the first hit!
It was like punching an incredibly tough balloon. The force of the punch was dampened, and the power visibly rippled outward in waves to the other side!
Boing~
Using the transmitted force, Primarina created distance from Lucario once again.
Pop!
The bubble finally burst, but the power and electricity of the Thunder Punch had already begun to fade.
Water Balloon!
Li Xiang's gaze sharpened. He knew Primarina could create extremely tough, hard-to-break bubbles by singing. Those bubbles were called Water Balloons.
Primarina often used them to bounce around and toy with its opponents.
He pricked up his ears to listen. Beneath the crackle of electricity was a faint, almost imperceptible melody.
You could barely hear it without paying close attention.
Lucario watched Primarina bounce away, its expression growing more serious. It hadn't expected a Thunder Punch to be blocked by a bubble.
Looks like it needs to put more force into it.
It began gathering even stronger punching power, intending to press the attack again.
High speed and high offense, leaving the opponent no chance. It didn't believe Primarina could block it every time.
Just as it was about to move, it saw Primarina transform into a water spout and fly far away through the air!
Aqua Jet!
It was flying extremely fast, clearly a well-practiced move.
The distance between them grew even larger!
Bang!
Lucario's gaze sharpened. It turned and chased at top speed. Just as Primarina landed, it immediately propped itself up.
Accompanied by an ethereal sound, countless bubbles of varying sizes flew out, spinning around it. Meanwhile, dark clouds rapidly gathered overhead!
A single Pokémon can't use two moves at the same time, but special abilities obviously don't count.
However, so many resilient Water Balloons couldn't stop Lucario's advance, especially since it had used Swords Dance.
In an instant, Lightning flashed brilliantly!
Boom!
After the blinding white light faded, faint traces of electrical discharge lingered in the air, followed by a fierce wind that scattered the falling rain.
Lucario was nowhere to be seen, or rather, it had vanished from many people's view.
When it reappeared, it was right in front of Primarina!
Countless Water Balloons that had tried to block its path burst apart!
Primarina couldn't react at all. Lucario had already flashed past it, leaving a blue glow on its chest.
Growing brighter and brighter!
The lightning seemed to awaken once more, roaring as it transformed into a tree of thunder, crashing down from the sky!
Boom!
A deafening explosion!
In the blue lightning, Primarina's expression twisted in pain. This was clearly damage it couldn't withstand.
An ordinary Thunder Punch had produced an effect almost like Thunder!
And so, when the light dimmed, Primarina, covered in smoke and with its eyes rolled back, collapsed limply to the ground.
Defeated in one punch!
Lucario's right fist gave off wisps of smoke, but its face showed no joy because it had ultimately given Primarina a chance. It had managed to summon the rain, setting the stage for the next Pokémon.
Chao reacted quickly. The moment Primarina fell, he recalled it along with the whistle.
At the same time, he sent out Dragapult again, its Taunt status now gone.
The moment it landed, it turned invisible.
Lucario spun around and gave chase. Its eyes glowed blue with Aura, immediately spotting Dragapult moving so fast it left afterimages!
"Agility!"
Chao's command came a moment too late.
Trying to outrun me?
Lucario's gaze sharpened. It launched itself into the air, its right fist radiating intense cold, nearly freezing the surrounding air!
Given Dragapult's physical defense, like Primarina, it was a one-punch knockout.
But the problem was—
Crack!
A roaring thunder dragon descended from the sky!
Lucario braked just in time, narrowly avoiding the lightning!
Bang!
The thunder struck the ground, blasting a small crater and leaving scorch marks, smoke curling up.
Its startup was so fast! The rain gave its Thunder a speed boost!?
Lucario's eyes narrowed. It hadn't expected Dragapult to have that trick up its sleeve.
But it wasn't too concerned. At its current speed, it could brute force its way through!
A green shield lit up. Lucario charged toward Dragapult at tremendous speed, Protect active!
Dragapult had boosted its speed again with Agility, but it was still too inexperienced to match Lucario.
The distance between them shrank rapidly. Li Xiang thought it would use Dragon Darts again, but instead, as if unafraid of death, it used Dragon Dance!
Its intention was all too obvious!
"Bullet Punch!"
Protect went up but hit nothing. Lucario's speed increased slightly as a silver glow turned it into a bullet shooting toward Dragapult!
At this speed, Dragapult couldn't keep up. The already short distance closed to the limit!
The two were now face to face!
Bullet Punch slammed into Dragapult's jaw!
The air howled!
Swoosh—Bang!
Smoke exploded outward, but Li Xiang didn't relax. Instead, he grew more tense.
"Ice Punch!"
He shouted, his tone urgently reminding Lucario not to give Dragapult a chance to use Baton Pass, but Dragapult hadn't taken that Bullet Punch just for nothing.
As its stamina dwindled, a white light glowed.
The sound of clapping hands rang out sharply! Mixed in were the crackle of frost forming and a pained grunt!
Dragapult's form twisted and, in an instant, returned to Chao's hand as a white light!
The Ice Punch had landed!
Li Xiang was certain, and Lucario confirmed it with its gaze.
But Dragapult had also used Baton Pass to return to Chao's Poké Ball, completing that crucial step.
It hadn't been interrupted.
Now, the most important thing was to determine whether Dragapult had fainted.
Miao Shuang quickly walked onto the field, holding a special pistol-like device, and placed it over the Poké Ball.
This device, like the Pokédex in the original, was a piece of black technology.
"Beeeep!"
She blew her whistle, confirming that Dragapult had indeed fainted!
Ice Punch had taken out Dragapult!
Li Xiang looked at Chao, and the senior looked back at him. Neither felt the match was decided. Neither felt they were certain to lose.
Because the next one was the ace!
Bang!
The Poké Ball opened!
A figure, completely crimson and powerfully built, appeared on the field. The clapping sound of Baton Pass rang out.
The move had triggered successfully!
Red, with horns, three times the speed—burst power surpassing its natural Speed stat.
—Scizor, enters the battle!