Chapter 67: Strongest VS Weakest
"Hahahahaha..."
Not far away, Team Rocket executive Jerrod's crazed laughter continued unabated, his heart filled with the smugness of having everything under control.
Mewtwo, floating before Jerrod, remained as overwhelmingly powerful as ever.
Officer Jenny and the police, the Blastoise Boss, the Growlithe, Machoke, Poliwhirl, and the other Pokémon were strewn across the floor—some injured, some unconscious—with no ability to fight any longer.
"I'm the only one left..."
Rio said silently in his heart.
The lv39 Blastoise Boss, the lv20 Growlithe, the lv29 Poliwhirl, the lv31 Machoke—not a single Pokémon was Mewtwo's opponent. No, they couldn't even be called opponents. Just a casual move from Mewtwo was enough to crush their offenses and defenses.
Rio once again looked at his own [Status]. After participating in the Toxic Swamp siege battle, his level and stats had slightly increased.
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[Status]
Pokémon: Elite - Riolu (Semi-Aura State) (Male)
Level: lv18
Type: Fighting
Ability: Inner Focus (Prevents flinching)
HP: 62
Attack: 50
Defense: 37
Sp. Atk: 46 (+10)
Sp. Def: 36
Speed: 46
Special: Aura Perception (Can perceive the Aura of living beings)
Moves: Quick Attack (lv2), Detect (lv2), Metal Claw (lv2), Counter (lv1), ??? (lv1), Dig (lv1)
Evaluation: Swift as a startled rabbit, a valiant and battle-skilled Fighting Pokémon, can perceive the Aura of beings to assist in battle, and also possesses unknown immense potential.
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He had gained 2 levels, his stats had seen a considerable increase, and both [Metal Claw] and [Dig] had leveled up. Unfortunately, the move that was always displayed as "???" still had not been revealed.
But even so, the gap between lv18 and lv95 was simply deeper than the deepest abyss in the world.
And, most fatally, Mewtwo's Psychic-type was a natural counter to Riolu's Fighting-type.
This entire gap was something no League Champion or Elite Four member could make up for. Basically, anyone would have the same thought: It's hopeless. Just wait for death.
But Rio felt he could still be salvaged.
By relying on his special ability: Aura.
"The power of Aura can make my perception even keener. As long as I can feel, or even observe, the movement of energy, I'll have a sliver of a chance..."
Since the battle with the Pidgeot Leader, after gaining the ability to observe Aura at any time, Rio had gradually discovered that his perception and observation skills were becoming increasingly unusual. When he normally watched Pokémon use various moves, the trajectory of the energy flow in their bodies was displayed with perfect clarity in his eyes, leaving nothing to hide.
And this was the only method he could think of.
Rio subconsciously tightened his grip on the necklace around his neck. The azure blue gem on the necklace flashed for a moment, then quickly returned to its dim state.
Unconsciously, his eyes began to flicker with a blue light as well.
"Running is impossible. There's no running away in this life. It's only through something like fighting that I can maintain my livelihood."
Muttering a worn-out meme that no one else could understand, Rio walked out to face Mewtwo.
"Looking at it this way, Mewtwo is really tall."
Mewtwo, over 2 meters tall, stood levitating slightly in the air. Compared to Rio's height of about 0.8 meters, it truly had the feel of a giant versus a child.
Mewtwo paid no attention whatsoever to Rio's appearance, instead frowning as it looked at its own hands, which were continuously emitting black qi.
A Pokémon so weak in Its eyes that it could be almost completely ignored did not arouse the slightest bit of Its interest.
"Inhale... Exhale..."
Rio took a deep breath, letting his body relax.
He made a few grasping motions in the air. The pitch-black armor began to cover his body, his fists were encased in sturdy gauntlets, and the several jet nozzles on his back faintly sputtered with airflow.
A tremor of excitement gradually began to spread through his body.
"First move, [Quick Attack]!"
"Swoosh!" Still as a virgin, moving like a galloping thunderbolt. Rio vanished from his spot in a flash. Amidst a flicker of electrical light, he had already charged to Mewtwo's side.
"Next, [Metal Claw]!"
Sharp claws popped out from Rio's hands, as sharp as steel, carrying a metallic luster as they slashed towards Mewtwo in a cross pattern, propelled by the high speed of [Quick Attack].
"Bang!" The metal claws seemed to have hit some kind of barrier and were blocked.
As expected, there's a protective barrier of psychic power...
Rio, who had seen all of Mewtwo's previous battles with the other Pokémon, showed a look of expectation.
When his [Metal Claw] failed to pierce Mewtwo's psychic barrier, he immediately dug his two hard metal claws into the base's floor, excavating a large hole with extreme speed.
Mewtwo finally paid a sliver of attention to this weak creature. Seeing the large hole before it, as if sensing something, it suddenly levitated itself.
"Boom!" The moment Mewtwo had just floated up, the ground beneath its feet abruptly split open, and a small figure shot out.
"Again!"
Besides fearing Psychic-types, Fighting-type Pokémon also feared Flying-types. This was because when Flying-type Pokémon flew into the sky, no matter how skilled a Fighting-type Pokémon's fists and feet were, it was difficult to do anything against those Pokémon soaring freely in the air.
But Rio had considered this long ago. This suit of pitch-black armor was one of the reasons he dared to battle Mewtwo.
Seeing Mewtwo floating in the air, Rio paused slightly, his right hand quickly making a few adjustments.
"Whoosh—" A powerful jet stream shot out from the backpack's nozzles on Rio's back. Coordinated with Rio's renewed use of [Quick Attack], it was like a thunderbolt exploding from the ground, shooting straight up.
The momentum was so great that Mewtwo could no longer ignore it.
"[Psychic]!"
Mewtwo, floating in the air, used its signature move.
An endless wave of psychic power descended from the sky, colliding with the electric charge rushing up from below.
There was no spectacular explosion, no evenly matched stalemate. As was to be expected, Rio's [Quick Attack] was directly suppressed back to the ground by the overwhelmingly powerful [Psychic].
However, Rio's expression did not change; instead, his heart was abnormally excited.
Because he saw it. He saw the energy emanating from that formless, shadowless psychic wave. It was as dazzling as a spark in the dark night, leaving the psychic wave nowhere to hide. Moreover, the uneven distribution of energy indicated that there must be relatively weak points within the psychic wave!
"Again! [Quick Attack]!"
Rio used the same trick again, once more transforming into a streak of lightning amidst the jet stream.
"[Psychic]!"
Rio was once again pressed back to the ground. He slightly adjusted his direction.
"Again, again! [Quick Attack]!"
Rio adjusted his direction again.
"[Psychic]!"
"Again, again, again! [Quick Attack]!"
"…"
One assault after another, Mewtwo couldn't help but feel a sense of annoyance. Towards the end, It couldn't even be bothered to call out the move's name, just casually waving its right hand, mechanically repeating the psychic wave. It refocused its attention on the black qi spreading on its own body, contemplating something.
"(Mechanical Voice) Warning! Warning! Jetpack reserves are insufficient, only one last burst remaining! Please replenish in time..."
Red warning text and a constantly repeating warning voice appeared on the visor Rio was wearing.
Rio panted, wiping the sweat from his head with the back of his paw, his eyes firmly fixed on the majestic figure above.
He knew he only had one last chance.
"A-gain! Huff, huff... one... more... time! [Qui-ck... At-tack]!!!!"
He roared out the move's name with all his might. The muscles in his body squeezed out a final, surging wave of energy, which overflowed to the outside of his body, circulating from head to toe.
Rio's slender yet powerful legs bent slightly. The black fur on his legs stood on end, stimulated by the energy. His feet planted on the ground. One step, then another push, the airflow from his back jetted out powerfully. The entire Pokémon, like electricity, like light, like a sharp arrow, shot straight into the sky.
Mewtwo once again gave a casual wave, and the formless psychic wave pressed down again, covering the sky and earth.
"[Detect]!"
Unexpectedly, Rio used the other of his two strongest moves during his high-speed movement.
And so, in Rio's vision, the motion of everything instantly slowed down, as if watching a slow-motion playback. The psychic wave, covered in dark purple energy, blanketed the entire sky, slowly descending.
Within it, the light of the energy in some places was dazzlingly bright, while in other places, it was so dim it was almost impossible to find.
"It's there!"
A sharp glint flashed in Rio's eyes. He flipped in mid-air, adjusting his charging direction.
"Pop!" Like a needle piercing a balloon, Rio burst out of the [Psychic] blockade.
Caught off guard, Mewtwo had only just come to its senses when the Pokémon, doubly accelerated by the jet stream and [Quick Attack], had already arrived by its side.
Without using any moves, without employing any power, just the mortal body, and the hard gauntlets enveloping the fists.
Rio simply and plainly drew back his right hand—down, past his side, past his ear.
Then, with force, he swung it upwards!
Delivering a solid uppercut straight to Mewtwo's cheek!
"Bang!"