Inside the training chamber.
Bang!
Aura Sphere exploded against Larvitar.
Lin Yu rubbed his hands excitedly.
After his Wave Guiding Aura reached Intermediate level, he could fire Aura Sphere on his own.
Though weaker than Lucario's, it still hit like a level-15 Lucario's attack.
"Larvi?"
Larvitar tilted its head, completely unfazed.
Under the Thorn Armor Entry, Lin Yu even felt a stinging pain in his own body.
Having inherited its parents' Champion-tier talent,
Larvitar's physical and special defense were practically maxed out.
When Lin Yu tested Aura Sphere on it, the little one even seemed to… enjoy it?
Lin Yu couldn't help but wonder if it had a masochistic streak.
Still, it meant it could take hits for the team later.
"ROAR!"
Above, Charizard's white tail flame blazed as it locked eyes with Greninja below.
Light glinted on its claws, sharp as sunlight through cracks.
Greninja didn't back down, charging Water Shuriken.
The two clashed violently.
Sparks flew.
Greninja was slightly weaker in raw power, so it immediately leaped back after the collision.
Dozens, even hundreds of afterimages appeared.
Pairs of clones formed Rasengans, which merged rapidly into a massive sphere nearly three to four meters wide.
"Gekkouga!"
"ROAR!"
Charizard didn't flinch.
Pale fire blazed in its maw, and it unleashed a wide, funnel-shaped Flamethrower.
Water vapor evaporated into thick mist, turning the chamber into a foggy illusion.
But Charizard's expression shifted.
The fog cleared, and the Rasengan burst straight through!
The piercing power was insane — a Water-type Rasengan had broken through a Fire-type move and still had strength left.
Impressive! Lin Yu was amazed.
Combining all those Rasengans created far more penetration than he expected.
"ROAR!"
Still, Charizard refused to lose.
Pale fire wrapped around its claws, and it slammed into Greninja with Fire Punch.
Boom!
After the deafening crash, both Charizard and Greninja were gasping for breath.
One was exhausted; the other had taken a light wound.
Charizard's injuries healed visibly before their eyes —
Life Flame and Rapid Recovery were working.
"Lucario!"
Lucario activated World King Fist, red aura flaring around it. It charged at Greninja at high speed with a bone staff.
This wasn't 1v1 — it was a three-way battle royal.
Watching the chaotic fight, Lin Yu fell deep in thought.
Last time, his Pokémon had fought with everything they had,
but they still had hidden power — like Mega Evolution.
He'd tried to Mega Evolve Charizard, but ran into a clear problem:
the startup was too slow.
It took time.
In a formal match, that was manageable.
In a chaotic real fight, it was a huge weakness.
Lin Yu didn't think it was a lack of bond between him and Charizard.
It was a matter of practice.
Even with Wave Guiding Aura connecting them, they couldn't master Mega Evolution after just a few tries.
In the anime, Ash and Greninja's Bond Evolution was rocky at first, too — Ash even passed out early on.
So for the next while, training would focus on three things:
move development and power upgrades,
and repeated Mega Evolution practice.
Having mapped out his plan, Lin Yu felt much more relaxed.
He checked the Entry Shop as usual.
Two fixed Entry slots had refreshed — he bought them.
Scrolling further:
[Latias Mega Stone Set] — When bond is sufficient, lets Latias resonate with the Trainer and Mega Evolve into Mega Latias! 3,000 Entry Coins!
Legendary Mega Stones were way more expensive.
Looking at his remaining balance: 1,563.
At his current rate, he earned around 4,000 coins a month.
3,000 would take about 20 days.
[Rock-Type Dual-Defense Energy Cube Recipe] — Boosts physical and special defense for Rock-types; long-term use can permanently raise defense IVs. 500 Entry Coins.
Solid. Bought.
The reason he hadn't sent Larvitar out in the last crisis was simple:
it was still too weak.
As a future desert tyrant, its growth cycle was extremely long.
Lin Yu's job was to shorten that cycle —
to make it battle-ready fast.
The National High School Tournament's semifinal and final rounds were 6v6.
By that stage, nearly everyone would be Advanced-tier Trainers.
It wasn't just about your strongest Pokémon anymore —
it was about how well you'd raised every single one.
In a 6v6, if even one Pokémon couldn't fight,
you started at a disadvantage.
Bang!
Another sharp collision echoed out.
This time, it wasn't Charizard's group.
On the other side, Latias and Gardevoir were clashing in a battle of pure psychic power.
For Psychic-type Pokémon,
mental strength was everything.
Meditation raised the quantity;
clashes like this raised its intensity.
Latias made the perfect training partner for Gardevoir.
As a former Eon Guardian Legendary,
she'd recovered to level 43 after the Ocean Core's boost.
Even with similar energy levels, Latias's experience was on another level.
Lin Yu debated whether to use Latias in the tournament finals.
As the Eon Islands' guardian,
few knew her — but on a national live broadcast, someone would recognize her.
Unless absolutely necessary, it was better to keep her off the field.
But…
if it came down to the wire? He'd use her without hesitation.
"Alright, everyone, take a break!"
Seeing sweat bead on his Pokémon's foreheads,
Lin Yu handed out Energy Cubes and made a fresh batch of dual-defense cubes for Larvitar.
When he finished, he noticed Charizard and Greninja were still going at it.
Charizard burned with fierce, unresolved frustration…
Was it still stung from its defeat last time?