"Go, Lucario."
The Poké Ball in Ethan's hand opened, and Lucario's figure appeared on the field.
And the moment Lucario came out, the spectators were stunned.
Naturally, they were more than familiar with that Lucario that had defeated the God of Nightmares, Darkrai.
"Lucario?!"
"This really is a problem...!"
Seeing Lucario on the field, Harvey's expression became grave.
After a moment, even so, he gave the order: "Will-O-Wisp!"
As soon as Harvey spoke, a ghostly flame appeared in Gengar's hands and was thrown immediately.
"Psychic!"
Ethan also reacted instantly and gave the order directly.
As Lucario's eyes turned blue, a terrifying psychic force fell directly on Gengar.
Boom!
In the air, the move Will-O-Wisp and the move Psychic collided with each other.
The move Will-O-Wisp was directly pulverized by the move Psychic!
Just as the move Psychic was about to hit Gengar, its figure suddenly faded away.
But in front of Lucario's aura power, that had no effect at all.
Once again, the move Psychic shot toward empty space, forcing Gengar to reappear.
"This... the two Pokémon on the field are not even on the same level!"
Seeing Gengar being chased by Lucario all over the field, the spectators were speechless.
"Damn it... it seems I can only use that move."
Harvey gritted his teeth and secretly made a signal to Gengar.
"Heh... are you finally going to use it?"
"Lucario, Psychic with all your strength!"
Seeing Harvey's gesture, Ethan smiled slightly.
The synchronization between Ethan and Lucario could practically be described as heart-to-heart communication.
A trace of expectation appeared in Lucario's eyes, and the Psychic power in its hands became almost tangible.
Boom!
A terrifying energy erupted throughout the field.
"Gengar, take it head-on!"
Harvey's eyes showed seriousness as he gave an order that left many people puzzled.
With a rumble, the move Psychic struck Gengar directly and sent its body flying.
"What is going on?"
"Why would Harvey make Gengar take that attack head-on?!"
Seeing that, everyone frowned, completely confused.
No matter how good your plans were, if Gengar was instantly knocked out, what use was everything else?
"Is he trying to get defeated? He can't be that stupid..."
"If we're talking about moves that only serve after dying..."
Of course, there were still some calmer spectators in the stadium. They narrowed their eyes, as if they were waiting for something.
"Now! Accompany Gengar to its grave!"
When he saw that Gengar had lost the ability to battle, Harvey, instead of becoming distressed, seemed to let out a sigh of relief.
"As I thought, it was Destiny Bond!"
The spectators, hearing Harvey's words, also breathed more easily.
If that was the case, then that absurdly strong Lucario should also lose all its energy.
The move Destiny Bond was that domineering!
Unless the difference in power was truly enormous, it was impossible to resist it.
But just as everyone looked expectantly at Lucario and Ethan, they suddenly discovered that the latter was smiling.
"What's going on?"
"Could it be that the move Destiny Bond didn't work?"
The hearts of the audience tightened again.
"It activated, the move Destiny Bond did activate!"
At that moment, another spectator let out a cry of surprise.
Immediately afterward, wisps of black energy began to emerge from Lucario's body, while Ghost-type energy enveloped it.
"It's coming, Lucario. Feel that power well."
Ethan's voice sounded right then.
And so, under the stunned gaze of the entire stadium, Lucario remained motionless.
Then, a faint green light suddenly appeared on its body and began to intertwine with that darkness.
Using a method unknown to everyone, Lucario was resisting the effect of the move Destiny Bond!
"Ghost energy and life energy... the relationship between the two really is deep and mysterious."
Ethan smiled slightly while fixing his gaze on Lucario.
At that moment, Lucario was using the life energy it mastered to oppose the power of the move Destiny Bond.
And, at the same time, during that process, it was also feeling the way in which the move Destiny Bond robbed it of life energy.
Through this method, Lucario continuously deepened its understanding of life energy.
In fact, at the beginning of the battle, the reason Ethan had chosen precisely Lucario to face Gengar also included that intention.
After all, there were very few Pokémon capable of using the move Destiny Bond.
And even fewer that were powerful enough for their Destiny Bond attack to affect Lucario.
Fortunately, the strong Gengar before him mastered an especially powerful Destiny Bond move.
"It neutralized it!"
"Lucario neutralized the move Destiny Bond!"
Seeing Lucario slowly open its eyes, the entire stadium erupted.
Such a powerful Destiny Bond move had been directly deactivated!
"How do you feel, Lucario?"
Looking at Lucario, now wrapped in a soft green light, Ethan's eyes shone with expectation.
"Luucaarr!"
Lucario responded and closed its eyes again, as if reflecting.
From the way it looked, it really had obtained something from that battle.
"Come back and rest well."
Seeing it like that, Ethan took out the Poké Ball and recalled Lucario.
As one of the great technological wonders of the Pokémon world, the Poké Ball possessed an environment very suitable for Pokémon to rest.
Inside it, Lucario could calmly review everything it had learned before.
"He recalled it... It seems he sent Lucario against Gengar on purpose. His objective was probably to feel the power of the move Destiny Bond in battle. Although we don't know exactly for what purpose, for a short time, it is likely that he won't use that Lucario again."
Harvey made his own conjectures and suddenly felt a little relieved.
Immediately afterward, after hesitating for an instant, he threw another Poké Ball and sent his ace, Dragonite, onto the field.
"Dragonite, huh? Then I'll leave the next battle to you."
Ethan detached a Poké Ball from his back belt and threw it high.
With a flash of white light, Garchomp's figure appeared!
"The battle of the Dragons... let's continue!"
Ethan smiled broadly, and Garchomp also adopted a battle stance.
"Dragon Valley's Garchomp!"
Harvey took a deep breath, and his expression became even more serious.
"Let the battle begin!"
"Garchomp, Air Slash!"
Upon hearing Ethan's order, Garchomp crossed its claws in front of its chest.
As it moved them, air blades condensed directly on the wings of its arms.
Then, with a strong push of its legs, it launched itself into the sky and unleashed a slash with its air blades.
"Dragonite, Extreme Speed!"
Seeing that Garchomp had directly initiated an aerial battle, Harvey naturally did not think of giving in.
With a flash, Dragonite raised its speed to the limit and dodged Garchomp's Air Slash.
Then it chained the move Aerial Ace: its body ascended toward the sky, turned sharply midway through its path, and, taking advantage of its terrifying speed, launched itself directly at Garchomp!
(End of chapter)