Floaroma Town, Gratitude Flower Field.
The vast sea of flowers swayed in the wind, surrounding the Gratitude Flower Field, with pollen forming a thin mist.
Leader Shaymin's recognition battle against Li Wei was about to begin.
"Guruluru~"
"Aowu!"
"Kohkin!"
Drakloak and Arcanine all wanted to participate.
As long as Li Wei could gain Leader Shaymin's recognition, he would be able to catch Shaymin.
After touching a gracidea flower, Leader Shaymin had already transformed into its Sky Forme.
Intermediate Identification provided information about Leader Shaymin.
Name: Shaymin (Sky Forme)
Attribute: Grass, Flying
Ability: Serene Grace (Makes the additional effects of moves more likely to occur)
Skills: Seed Flare, Air Slash, Earth Power, Healing Wish, Substitute, Leech Seed, Magical Leaf, Energy Ball, Hidden Power...
Strength Rating: Elite Intermediate
If Li Wei brought Arcanine, fighting Shaymin wouldn't be a big problem.
After all, Arcanine's strength was also Elite Intermediate, but that wouldn't work.
Seed Flare was also a Shinny move, which could very likely trigger Arcanine's condition again.
Although Li Wei's Arcanine had a type advantage, its strength was only Gym Advanced, so there was a chance of failure.
Especially since Shaymin knew Leech Seed.
Given Sky Shaymin's high speed, after careful consideration, Li Wei quickly made a decision.
"Lucario, prepare for battle!"
After consuming a Speed Enhancer (Potent Version), Lucario's speed became even faster.
He had also eaten dragon fruit, Mist Lotus Fruit, Sand Scale FruitEnergy Cube, Mapo Tofu, and Crab Roe Lion's Head...
These were for increasing special attack, speed, and stamina, making Lucario an absolute dual-wielder.
One day, Lucario would become a well-rounded fighter, especially after Mega Evolution.
Now was the time for Lucario to build up its strength.
Li Wei looked at the eager Metagross and the others, "You all just cheer from the sidelines."
"Aowu~~"
"Lucario, eat these."
Li Wei threw a few Energy Cubes to Lucario, every bit of enhancement helped.
"Luca!"
Lucario swallowed them all in one go.
Sky Shaymin was stunned.
Who fights so steadily?
What Shaymin wanted was recognition, not defeat.
As long as Li Wei and Lucario displayed their proper strength, it would be enough; they didn't necessarily have to defeat it.
Since Li Wei misunderstood, Shaymin didn't bother to explain.
However, Shaymin did notice the pure energy contained within the Energy Cubes Li Wei carried.
[I wonder if he has any more…]
As a vegetarian, Shaymin was more particular about berries.
"Battle start!"
With Steven's command, Sky Shaymin flew into the sky with the strong wind, its head-wings shaking and unleashing countless Air Slash attacks.
The fluttering petals and Air Slash intertwined, like a rain of petal swords falling from the sky.
This was Serene Grace + Air Slash.
Lance's Salamence had suffered from it once.
Li Wei said loudly, "Swords Dance!"
As soon as the command for Swords Dance was given, Steven, Jenny, and Sky Shaymin were all momentarily stunned.
Lucario understood.
Six tangible longswords revolved around Lucario, rapidly spinning.
This was something only Lucario and a few other Pokemon could do: manipulate Swords Dance with Aura.
It could both boost abilities and defend.
Lucario had been practicing this all along.
This should be its first proper combat experience.
Swords Dance was naturally inspired by Ash's Counter Shield.
If it were Dragon Dance, its versatility would be higher; as long as one could learn to spin, they could spin Dragon Dance.
Shaymin's Air Slash was not only completely blocked by the spinning Swords Dance, but Lucario also gained a stat boost.
Steven was slightly surprised and murmured, "It can be done like this… I've learned something."
As the six longswords of Swords Dance dissipated, Lucario's Aura rose again.
Although Lucario's attack power increased, the advantage of the situation was still with Shaymin.
There were no rock walls around to use as springboards, only some tall trees, but they required Shaymin to be nearby.
Sky Shaymin, being able to fly, still held the aerial advantage.
Even if Lucario's attack power was boosted, its Comet Punch, Ice Punch, and Extreme Speed couldn't reach Shaymin.
"Aura Sphere!"
A Cham blue orb of light condensed in Lucario's palm, and Aura Sphere instantly locked onto Sky Shaymin.
Aura Sphere was a guaranteed hit, even for flying Sky Shaymin.
Sky Shaymin initially wanted to dodge using its speed advantage but didn't expect Aura Sphere to pursue relentlessly.
Bang—
Aura Sphere successfully hit Sky Shaymin, and the resulting dense smoke from the explosion instantly enveloped it.
"Shaymin~"
The Shaymin below looked up at the sky with some concern.
As the dust cleared, Shaymin, surrounded by green leaves, let out another long cry, "Shaymin~"
Steven quickly reacted, "Did it use Magical Leaf to protect itself at the last moment?"
It seemed this Shaymin was quite experienced in battle.
It just hadn't encountered anyone using Aura Sphere before.
"Flash Cannon!"
Li Wei chose to continue the war of attrition with Shaymin, first knocking Shaymin down from the sky, and then using the hidden trump card, Ice Punch.
Under the clear weather, Shaymin let out a long cry, and a green beam of energy poured down!
It was the Grass-type ultimate move—Solar Beam!
Flash Cannon and Solar Beam collided, causing a violent explosion.
Both moves were equally matched.
However, Solar Beam had a side effect; after use, there would be a period of exhaustion, making it temporarily unable to move.
"Lucario, now's your chance, Extreme Speed!"
Seeing Li Wei point to the nearest large tree, Lucario understood, stepping back with its right leg, approaching the tree like a bullet, and leaping up the tree with several powerful pushes!
Extreme Speed!
Lucario's entire body was covered in white light, and in the blink of an eye, it was about to reach Shaymin.
Li Wei clenched his fists, [It's going to succeed!]
As long as Lucario got close, Close Combat and Ice Punch would be enough to give Shaymin a hard time.
But the next scene left both Li Wei and Lucario completely stunned!
Extreme Speed missed!
Even Steven was a little surprised.
Shaymin, which should have been unable to move, suddenly ascended higher into the sky, a range Lucario couldn't reach!
Lucario was forced to land, rolling on the ground to dissipate the force and stop.
Metagross's crimson eyes flickered; its super brain replayed the situation just now and analyzed how Shaymin managed it.
"Kohkin!"
(It's the wind!)
"It's the wind! Riding the wind!"
"It used the wind direction!"
Metagross, Li Wei, and Steven understood how Shaymin moved in a short moment.
???
I understand all the words you're saying,
But why does it sound so incomprehensible!
Jenny was disheveled in the wind.
You're all ganging up on me!
Steven sighed, "This is truly a Shaymin with incredible battle intuition."
Just then, a beam of light suddenly shot out from a distance!
Posted August 18 at 8:01 AM