Electrode wasn't an easy target either.
The instant it heard Lt. Surge's command, arcs exploded across its body and condensed into an electric orb of the same size, which it hurled straight at Lucario!
Compared to Lucario's release speed, Electrode's Electro Ball was even faster. A dazzling golden trail whipped behind it, and in the blink of an eye it had already closed in on Lucario—about to hit!
"Lucario!"
At the critical moment, Lucario rolled hard to the side to evade, and the Aura Sphere in its hands was thrown like a bowling ball!
A deep-blue blaze dragged behind it, so fast it was nearly unreal!
"Electrode~"
Seeing the Aura Sphere coming, Electrode—still rolling—burst with surging electricity again.
Another perfectly round Electro Ball launched, slamming straight into the Aura Sphere flying through midair!
BOOM!
Gold and blue light exploded together in the air, electricity and aura bursting wildly outward.
Smoke and dust billowed up, completely blocking both Lucario and Electrode's vision.
With naked eyes, you couldn't see where the other one was.
But for these two Pokémon, vision wasn't the most important thing anyway.
Because…
"Aura Sphere!"
"Discharge!"
Grey and Lt. Surge's shouted commands answered that question immediately.
Neither move required line-of-sight.
Aura Sphere only needed aura-locking, and Discharge was simply electricity spreading outward.
Still, the one at a disadvantage was Lucario.
Aura Sphere was just a single projectile—Discharge was a sustained move.
Right now, Electrode was absurdly fast. The spreading current punched through the smoke, and the distance between it and Lucario shrank rapidly!
"Lucario!"
Another Aura Sphere was thrown. It crashed into the rampaging current and carved out a vacuum-like dead zone again.
"Push through—close in on it!"
Grey had no choice but to have Lucario approach. Otherwise Electrode would keep spamming Discharge to torment them.
"Lucario!"
Lucario obeyed and rushed the gap, launching a direct assault toward Electrode!
"I knew it!"
Lt. Surge's mouth curled into a smile, triumph flashing in his eyes.
This looked like a casual exchange, but it was a kill box Lt. Surge had laid out on purpose.
He wanted Electrode to use Discharge—specifically so Grey would command Lucario to blast open a "safe" gap like this.
If Lucario wanted to ambush, it had to pass through that narrow corridor created by Aura Sphere.
And the size of Electrode's next move just happened to be perfect to cover that corridor completely.
What looked like an opening was actually a lightning cage custom-built for Lucario!
"Thunderbolt!"
Lt. Surge's order snapped out.
"Electrode!"
A terrifying beam of electricity fired instantly from Electrode's front—its size neither too big nor too small, exactly right—completely covering Lucario's field of view in blinding gold.
But would Grey really do exactly what Lt. Surge wanted?
Of course not.
"Bone Rush."
As one of the few Ground-type techniques Lucario could currently use, Bone Rush was the move it handled most naturally.
Maybe not flawless perfection, but forming a barrier-like "isolation" effect on the fly? No problem.
"Lucario!"
Earthy light gathered in Lucario's hands, and two slender bone clubs formed instantly, gripped firmly.
The lightning serpent formed by Thunderbolt hissed forward, arcs leaping everywhere—like a sea dragon bursting from the waves, an overwhelming visual shock!
At the instant they were about to collide, Lucario flicked upward. The Ground-type energy coating the bone clubs stabbed through the current and split the lightning serpent cleanly into two!
"Extreme Speed—dodge!"
Grey suddenly barked the command.
Lucario immediately dispersed the bone clubs in its hands, white light swallowing its body as it vanished from the spot without even leaving an afterimage!
Boom boom boom!
A weaker current arrived a heartbeat later, detonating repeatedly right where Lucario had been standing.
"Gym Leader Lt. Surge, that Thunderbolt chained into Thunder Wave was slick—using the previous move as a conductor to accelerate Thunder Wave's release. If I hadn't caught it, Lucario really would've fallen into your trap."
Grey exposed Lt. Surge's tactic in one sentence.
Lt. Surge didn't get angry. Instead, he started clapping. "As expected of Gym Leader Grey—you figured out the principle at a glance. But do you really think it ends there?"
Bzzzt!
A harsh buzz of electricity rose sharply, and a wave of golden light rippled outward from the ground!
Countless sparks flew, bathing the floor in a sea of lightning!
Surging arcs rolled in waves—if Zapdos were here, it would absolutely love fighting on a field like this.
A battlefield move—Electric Terrain!
"You can stuff that many effects into one Thunderbolt?"
Grey's eye twitched.
He really didn't expect that while chaining Thunder Wave in, Lt. Surge could also set up Electric Terrain.
Is your Thunderbolt even legal?
"Wow~ That's the power of Electric-type Pokémon! Electricity creates everything—every Electric-type move comes from current! Once you truly understand it, you can do it too!"
Lt. Surge didn't think it was anything unusual.
If anything, other types could do similar things too.
As for what Fighting-types could turn it into… he had no idea.
Fighting-type was just too "plain and straightforward."
As he spoke, Lt. Surge noticed the white light around Lucario rushing in again.
"Hah—trying to sneak an ambush?"
He steadied himself and roared, "Electrode—use Eerie Impulse!"
"Lucario—Aura Sphere!"
They called their moves almost at the same time.
Electrode was faster. Strange, twisted arcs flashed over its body—clearly different from normal electricity, with an indescribably unsettling feel.
Just before Lucario could fire Aura Sphere, that pulse spread outward and washed over Lucario!
In the next instant, the Aura Sphere—originally the size of a basketball—shrank to half.
The aura inside it seemed to vanish out of thin air, draining away nearly half its power.
"Lucario!"
Lucario felt its strength falter, but it still forced the weakened Aura Sphere forward with both hands!
RUMBLE!
The Aura Sphere exploded against Electrode, but the power was… disappointing.
It only forced Electrode back a few meters, failing to knock it out.
Both were around Elite Four level—Electrode wasn't afraid of a Lucario that had only just evolved.
"Long range has Discharge, close range has Eerie Impulse, and its ability is even Aftermath…"
Grey felt the pressure. After thinking for a moment, he raised another Poké Ball.
"Come back, Lucario. You did well this battle."
Grey recalled Lucario and chose to send out the next partner instead.
"I choose you—Blaziken!"
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