Shandou's declaration of getting serious had barely faded when Ash felt a tangible pressure rushing toward him.
Was this the oppressive fighting spirit of a martial artist?
Martial artists often possess extremely firm wills. When they decide to do something, this intense will is easily felt by others. Perhaps an ordinary person's perception wouldn't be sensitive enough, but for Ash, whose senses were keen, it was very obvious.
Shandou's previous offensive, though fierce, was more like a guiding practice session—feeding him moves. The strength was reserved, and the speed was controlled within a range that allowed Ash to react and learn.
But now, that gentle shell had completely peeled away, revealing the rugged, thoroughly tempered nature of a fighting expert underneath.
"Watch out!"
Shandou gave a low shout, and his figure suddenly blurred.
Agility?
Shandou could use it too! Even Brock, a Trainer not specialized in close-quarters combat, could use it. How could Shandou, a fighting expert, not know it?
In fact, this could be considered a basic skill for martial artists. ...Uh. The basic skill of a martial artist isn't a Fighting-type move, but a Psychic-type one... I wonder if this counts as some kind of joke?
—So fast!
Ash's pupils constricted slightly. Instinctively, he pushed [Agility] to the limit, while simultaneously spreading his newly born [Aura] perception with full force.
[Aura] expanded the range of perception.
[Psychic] increased the brain's information processing speed.
[Aura] for the external, [Psychic] for the internal. The two abilities coordinated perfectly.
Ash could feel Shandou's trajectory rushing in like a cannonball fired from a chamber, the power concentrated on his fist ready to burst forth.
—Left side!
—Detected it!
Ash's brain clearly issued the command, and his body muscles instantly tensed, sliding to the right.
However, perception is one thing; the body's absolute speed and reaction are another. He was now in a situation where his thought speed was far faster than his physical speed.
"Too slow!" Shandou's voice seemed to ring right beside Ash's ear.
The straight punch that originally seemed aimed at the left side weirdly changed its line mid-way, turning into a tricky knife-hand strike, chopping toward the side of Ash's neck with speed far exceeding before. The change in the move was so fast it even exceeded Ash's prediction.
"Ugh!" Ash only managed to barely raise his arm to block.
"Bang!"
A force far beyond imagination was transmitted; his arm felt like it had been struck by an iron rod, instantly going numb. His entire person staggered uncontrollably to the side for several steps before he barely managed to offload the force and avoid falling. Just blocking a single knife-hand strike made half his body go numb.
"Not done yet!" Shandou was unforgiving, his steps sticking close like a shadow.
His movements no longer had the slightest gap; fists, elbows, knees, and legs turned into an incessant violent storm. Every strike contained power capable of cracking steles and splitting stones, and the speed was so fast that Ash's [Agility] seemed stretched to the limit.
Shandou: Ora ora ora ora—
Ash: Muda muda muda muda—
Ash gritted his teeth, raising his perception and speed to the limit. He tried his best to dodge and block within the stormy attacks.
He could "see" the path of every move and foresee the landing point of the attacks, but his body felt like it was stuck in viscous mud, always half a beat too slow.
Just like in Naruto, where Sasuke couldn't beat Rock Lee even after awakening the Sharingan. His dynamic vision could keep up, but his physical reaction speed couldn't.
"Bang!"
A heavy elbow strike grazed Ash's ribs. Even though he avoided a direct hit, the wind pressure and residual force churned Ash's blood and qi.
"Smack!"
Although Ash jumped to dodge a low sweeping kick, the wind from the leg swept across his calf, still bringing a stinging pain.
The gap was too big.
This wasn't a gap in technique or will, but a comprehensive crushing in terms of pure physical fitness, strength, speed, and the combat instincts formed through thousands of temperings. In the face of absolute strength, the power of the mind that had just crossed the threshold appeared so pale.
After exchanging only three or five moves, Ash appeared to be in grave danger—because Shandou wasn't aiming for vitals, it only looked dangerous. But how long had Ash been training? To possess this level of strength without having trained for long was already terrifying.
Of course, the main issue was the physical constitution bonus given by the five Badges. Even if the bonus from a single badge was small, stacking five of them added up to a lot. Physical fitness is something where being just a little bit worse is the difference between "can" and "cannot."
Finally.
After a swift feint with a jab, Shandou's true killing move arrived.
Turning to borrow force, a heavy, powerful, and trickily angled front kick aimed abruptly at the opening in Ash's chest like a lurking venomous snake.
Theoretically, this move should have kicked the stomach. But Shandou was just training with Ash. Who aims for the opponent's vitals during physical training? Although Shandou aimed for vitals with every move when battling his own Pokémon, he couldn't do that when battling a rookie.
Ash's [Aura] perception screamed frantic warnings, but his old strength was spent and new strength had not yet generated; his body was in the stiffness following the dodge of the feint. He could only watch helplessly as that large foot, clad in a dojo-specialized shoe, rapidly expanded before his eyes.
The only thing he could do was curl his body and block with his arms.
"Bam——!"
The sound of a solid hit echoed through the dojo.
Ash felt as if he had been hit head-on by a speeding Snorlax. Severe pain came from his abdomen, and his entire person flew backward like a kite with a broken string. He traced a helpless arc in the air, finally crashing heavily onto the mats several meters away, kicking up a bit of dust.
"Cough... Cough, cough..."
Ash curled up on the mat, clutching his abdomen, and coughed violently. He felt as if his internal organs had shifted, and his vision went black in bursts. Even blocking with his arms, it still hurt.
But—
The feeling of venting the pressure in his heart felt truly awesome.
Pain?
Even the pain felt awesome!
"Again!" Ash let out a low growl, climbed up from the ground, and actively initiated a charge toward Shandou!
Stimulated by the pain, adrenaline secreted in large amounts. His vision darkened in waves, and he seemed to lose his sight and hearing. The world was a chaotic mass; it was a fluctuation mixed together.
—Aura, I feel it!
—This is the Wave of the Dark World!
—That's right, I can use it!
Ash no longer dodged blindly; instead, he poured all his strength and speed into his fists and feet, launching a storm-like onslaught. Fists, kicks—although his technique was slightly immature, that reckless momentum and the fighting spirit burning in his eyes actually suppressed Shandou for a short time, forcing him to switch from offense to defense, blocking repeatedly.
Ash: Ora ora ora ora!
Shandou: Muda muda muda muda!
Shandou responded calmly, the look of appreciation in his eyes growing thicker. He parried a straight punch from Ash and keenly captured a tiny opening revealed by the boy's excessive exertion—an opening under the right ribs!
Right now!
Just as Shandou was about to counterattack, a sudden change occurred. He felt as if an invisible membrane instantly wrapped around him. Sight, hearing, touch... all sensory signals were completely cut off in an instant.
The world fell into an absolute, heart-palpitating pitch-black silence; he couldn't even feel the existence of his own body.
"What?!"
This unprecedented experience caused even the battle-hardened Shandou to freeze for a moment. His mind went blank, and his body's movements completely stagnated.
This was the opportunity Ash had been waiting for!
He finally utilized the [Power of Aura] that had boiled under extreme pressure and become clear amidst the pain. Like a bursting dam, it all erupted out!
—Wave of the Dark World!
—Come out!
This power not only interfered with Shandou's five senses but also flowed through Ash's entire body like a cardiotonic, boosting his neural reaction and muscle strength to an unprecedented peak in an instant.
Although he couldn't create a tangible Aura Sphere yet because he had just crossed the threshold, under the lock-on of his fighting spirit, the chaotic Aura poured onto Shandou all at once, interfering with his perception.
"Haaah——!"
Borrowing the momentum of his forward charge, Ash spun his body rapidly. He twisted his whole body's weight and the instantaneously exploded power into a single strand—a flashy-less, full-power spinning step-in side kick.
Like a heavy cannon firing, it kicked ruthlessly right into Shandou's chest and abdomen, which were wide open due to his stiffness! The step-in side kick is the move with the greatest force a normal person can produce; clearly, in such a blood-boiling battle, Ash had gotten carried away.
"Bam——!!!"
A loud noise, dull as a beating war drum, exploded within the dojo.
Shandou's burly body was actually kicked off the ground and sent flying backward, as if thrown by a catapult, tracing a short parabola. With a "bang," he crashed heavily against the solid wall at the rear.
The impact shook the scrolls on the wall, making them rustle, before he slowly slid to the ground.
The entire dojo was silent.
Shandou, stuck against the wall, was also a bit dazed—What?
All the onlookers, the Fighting-type Pokémon, widened their eyes, looking at this scene in disbelief. Charmeleon opened its mouth wide. Misty and Brock were so shocked they couldn't speak.
Having succeeded with one strike, the power of [Aura] that had been supporting Ash receded like a tide, followed by a severe sense of exhaustion as if his soul had been drained, and intense protests from everywhere in his body.
Ash's vision went black. His legs, drained of strength, could no longer support his body, and he slumped forward directly. He could only kneel on one knee, barely propping himself up with both hands, gasping for breath in large mouthfuls, sweat dripping from his forehead like a stream.
How should one put it?
...Aura had just been learned, yet it could already be used in actual combat. This was only because Lucario wasn't there. If Lucario were here, the dog would probably be dumbfounded.
Lucario: Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!
Lucario: Am I the Aura Pokémon, or are you the Aura Pokémon?
It was just a pity that the big blue dog wasn't here right now.
"Cough... Cough, cough..."
In the corner, Shandou clutched his chest and coughed a few times somewhat wretchedly, then slowly stood up. He looked at Ash, who was kneeling and panting on the ground. Instead of the slightest anger in his eyes, an unprecedented scorching light erupted.
"Good kid... you really have something!" Shandou's voice carried a trace of hoarseness, but was full of carefree joy and excitement. "That move just now... was that Aura?"
"You actually achieved this step in battle!"
Those who knew Aura were few. But with so many martial artists in this world, there were still a few. It was just that the Aura intensity of those people could only be described as barely satisfactory.
The last time Shandou battled against Aura, it was still a Lucario. That was why Shandou had been so interested in Sorrel and his Lucario earlier.
Fighting feels awesome—
Lucario could be said to be the dream lover Pokémon of martial artists. It was just a pity that the number of this Pokémon was quite scarce.
____
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