"Lucario, Agility, then Close Combat!" Time was running out, and every drop of remaining strength was being staked on this one strike.
After two stacks of Power-Up Punch boosts, Lucario's attack power had effectively doubled. In this state, Agility into Close Combat had a high chance of ending the match in one blow. Because Mega Lucario's ability was Adaptability, the usual 50% STAB bonus on his Fighting moves climbed to a full 100%.
That was why the Power-Up Punch boosts had been so much more effective than just the Agility stacks. If this Close Combat landed clean, the round was over.
"Roar!"
Lucario let out a deep growl, body half-crouched, every muscle drawn taut like a bowstring at full draw.
A second later, a deafening explosion rolled across the field. Lucario vanished from where he stood. The raw acceleration and burst alone were terrifying. He carried a bone-chilling gust of wind behind him as he flickered straight to Kangaskhan's front, fist already wrapped in glaring white light, the form perfect.
Close Combat at maximum power, primed to drive Kangaskhan into the dirt.
At that critical moment, Norman's voice cut across the arena.
"Kangaskhan, Endure!"
"Roar!"
Kangaskhan answered with a low, steady cry, and a layer of transparent emerald light snapped into place around its body, like an unbreakable shield, sealing it entirely.
Almost the instant the shield formed, Lucario's fist slammed home.
A deafening crash rolled out, white light and green light tangling violently together. A shockwave of raw energy spread out in every direction, kicking up debris across the arena. Lucario's all-out attack landed flush on the shield, and yet it couldn't break through that seemingly fragile barrier. Instead, the force the shield rebounded outward sent Lucario himself flying high into the air.
Kangaskhan stood unmoved. The shield flickered a few times before slowly fading. The defense had held.
A relieved smile broke across Norman's face. With that attack deflected, he could effectively call the match. He'd also clearly registered Lucario's stamina problem. That attack had been the desperate, last-resource gamble between Ash and Lucario. With it failing, Lucario would be drained, while Kangaskhan still had plenty in reserve. Lucario's prized speed couldn't be used freely anymore either.
One more Agility, and Lucario would likely struggle to stay on his feet. Without that terrifying speed boost, even a Mega-Evolved Pokémon would be at a substantial disadvantage in raw power. Lucario was unlikely to keep up with Kangaskhan from here.
And then the unexpected happened.
"Lucario, now! Last ounce of strength, Close Combat!" Ash's command rang out again, and the single sentence forced a stiff smile onto Norman's face.
How could this be? Lucario still had strength? It made no sense. Going by Lucario's state a moment ago, the attack that had been blocked should have been Ash's and Lucario's truly final play. How was there still juice left?
In the air, a sharp light flashed in Lucario's eyes, and another deep roar echoed across the arena. The aura around him suddenly surged, fiercer than anything before.
This was Lucario truly unleashing his full strength. Adaptability erupted to its limit, pushing Close Combat's power to its peak.
Norman understood now. Lucario's previous attack hadn't been a full-power strike. Ash and Lucario had clearly anticipated it would get blocked, so they'd held back the real blow for the follow-up. Ash hadn't said any of this out loud, of course, but given the synergy between Trainer and Pokémon at their level, a glance, a tone, a slight shift in stance was enough.
They'd predicted Norman would call Endure. They'd been saving the real strike for after it.
"Roar!"
At lightning speed, Lucario's body became a blurred line of white light, several times faster than before. There was barely an afterimage as he dropped on Kangaskhan from above.
"Endure again!" There was nothing else to call. The only thing that could block Lucario's attack was Endure. Using Endure a second time only had a fifty percent chance of succeeding, but Norman had no other option. He had to gamble on it.
Luck wasn't on his side. Kangaskhan's body glowed faintly for a moment, then the shield refused to form. The attempt failed.
Lucario was already on it. A dazzling white fist, packed with earth-shattering power, slammed into Kangaskhan's body. A full-force Close Combat, unleashed without reservation.
One punch. Two. Three.
The barrage rained down on Kangaskhan. Each impact carried a heavy crack, and the violent energy from the blows poured into its body. Kangaskhan let out a pained groan, body recoiling under the repeated strikes, limbs trembling, fur disheveled by the shockwaves, the previously rock-solid stance shattered.
Finally, under Lucario's last, full-power punch, Kangaskhan couldn't endure any longer. Its massive body crashed into the boundary barrier, and the watching children instinctively covered their eyes.
Lucario couldn't keep watching either. He held the final punching stance, breathing hard. A second later, a beam of light wrapped around his body and he reverted from Mega form back to his original appearance. At this point, while Lucario hadn't lost the ability to battle by the rules, he was finished in practical terms. Every drop of strength was gone. If Kangaskhan hadn't fallen, Lucario would have had no choice but to concede.
In the silent arena, Kangaskhan didn't stir. The result was clear.
"Kangaskhan is unable to battle! Lucario wins!" Ms. Lily waved her arm, calling the round for Lucario.
Max stared blankly at the field, clearly struggling to accept the result. He recovered quickly, though. It was just one Pokémon down. Dad hadn't lost yet.
Even with Ash winning, Lucario was in terrible shape, dropped out of Mega form. He hadn't lost consciousness, but he was incapable of fighting on. The first match was essentially over. A fight to the brink. By any honest read, this first round should have been counted a draw.
Max consoled himself with that small thought, and reluctantly accepted that his father had lost the opening battle. He knew how strong Kangaskhan was. In his father's hands, that Pokémon was considered only middle of the pack. In the next two matches, Dad would certainly defeat Ash with ease.
May wasn't nearly as optimistic. Having spent the past week with Ash, and knowing him to the degree she now did, she could tell Ash wasn't anywhere close to his real strength. Kangaskhan wasn't even her father's strongest Pokémon, either.
Was Lucario even Norman's match? Ash had at least three Pokémon stronger than Lucario, which placed Lucario in the middle of his roster. The next two battles weren't going to be easy.
"Well done, Lucario. You worked hard. Take a rest." Ash drew a Poké Ball and recalled the nearly unconscious Lucario.
He'd just checked Lucario's level. He'd broken through to Elite Four.
The goal of this match was already met. Not only had they beaten the opponent's first Pokémon, they'd also pushed Lucario through his ceiling. As expected, real growth came mid-battle. Sparring with one's own team had its limits. External pressure was still required.
Including Lucario, Ash now had six Pokémon at Elite Four level. Pikachu, Charizard, Gardevoir, Venusaur, Blastoise, and Lucario. If you judged a Trainer's rank by the level of their Pokémon, Ash was now a genuine Elite Four-tier Trainer.
"You worked hard. Get some good rest." Ash murmured to the Poké Ball in his hand, then drew his second one.
"Hearing about you and meeting you in person really are two different things. The Kanto Supernova is said to be the best in the world at fighting above his weight, and now that I've experienced it myself, I see the reputation is well-earned. To defeat my High Elite Four Pokémon with nothing but a High Level Lucario, if I hadn't lived through it I wouldn't have believed it." Norman's voice carried real feeling.
Honestly, even being in the middle of it hadn't softened the shock for him. Even now, he could barely accept that his Elite Four-level Kangaskhan had lost to a High Level Lucario.
Type advantage, Mega Evolution, and so on, before the battle he'd thought none of those mattered next to absolute strength. As it turned out, Mega Evolution provided a much larger boost than he'd accounted for. After Mega Evolution, the gap between Lucario and Kangaskhan was no longer that wide.
Adding Lucario's already formidable abilities on top led to a battle that ended up evenly matched. If Lucario had had more stamina, and could have used Agility freely instead of as a desperate measure, Kangaskhan's defeat would have been even more thorough.
There was a saying. Speed beats every other virtue in martial arts. Even though speed alone wasn't everything, the moment a fighter's speed went up, smaller flaws started disappearing under it. Lucario was exactly that.
His speed advantage was effective enough to mask the gaps in his attack power, his defense, and his stamina. Only because of his terrifying speed could he stand up to a Kangaskhan and ultimately come out on top.
If Ash and his Pokémon could fight above their weight to this degree, that was outright frightening. Hard to imagine what would happen if every Pokémon on his team eventually reached Champion Peak. Would he simply walk over the Champion tier and become an undefeated existence?
Even thinking about it cast a pressure heavier than just about anything else. Even Leon's looming presence wouldn't carry quite the same weight. That was a problem for a later day, though. For now, Ash still had more work to put in.
"My second Pokémon. Go, Blissey!"
A flash of light, and a round, egg-shaped Pokémon appeared on the field. Half pink, half white, with curls of pink hair, white wing-shaped tufts on its shoulders, swirling white patterns across its body, and a pouch with a single egg cradled at its belly.
Blissey, the final evolution of Nurse Joy's signature Pokémon, the helper that practically lived at Pokémon Centers across every region. Blissey had extraordinarily high HP, but its defense was particularly weak on the physical side. Hitting it with physical attacks was the natural angle.
Ash knew Blissey was a Pokémon with solid strength, but in a real combat setting, this was his first time encountering one. Honestly, he had no immediate plan for dealing with it. Most Trainers, no matter how experienced, had never crossed a Blissey on the field. A Pokémon like Blissey rarely appeared in a regular battle in the first place.
"Elite Four. Then I can't slack off either. It's decided. You're up, Charizard!"
Ash threw out his second Poké Ball. A fierce, powerful Charizard took the field. The pick was deliberate. Ash had brought out one of the three pillars of his team, one of his big three. Charizard already sat at Mid Elite Four.
With Mega Evolution, his level climbed to High Elite Four. On top of that, after Mega Evolution X, his fire breath became a physical attack, a perfect counter to Blissey's special-leaning defense.
Norman's face fell. "Charizard? That's another of your ace Pokémon, isn't it? You're bringing him out this early?"
"Can't really avoid it. You brought out Blissey, after all."
"Then I have to respond in kind."
Ash's words made Norman's eyes narrow. From the sound of it, Ash already knew something about Blissey. How was that possible? Was the intelligence from the internet? That didn't quite fit either. His Blissey had appeared on the field very rarely.
The number of people who knew Blissey's level or stat profile was extremely small, and those few wouldn't post it online. Could Ash have read Blissey to that degree just from pure observation?
"I won't hold back, Mr. Norman. Going straight to the top. Charizard, Mega Evolution!"
Ash raised his arm high, the Key Stone on his wrist flaring with dazzling light. This was something unique to Ash. Using Mega Evolution twice in a single match.
As the Key Stone's light enveloped Charizard, his body transformed. In an instant, a pitch-black Charizard stood on the field. Mega Charizard X.
The Mega-Evolved Charizard's striking figure pulled a chorus of high-pitched gasps from the kids on the sidelines. That pitch-black, sleek, undeniably cool appearance was a lethal kind of temptation for children, especially the boys. They had been rooting for their teacher from the start, but now their support was wavering. Some of them were quietly flipping over to Ash's side. The cooler commander had won them over.