The purple-blue dragon head and the brilliant blue Aura Sphere slammed into each other!
The Aura Sphere barely managed to hold back the Dragon Pulse.
And right now, the field situation was undeniably disadvantageous for Professor Kukui!
"...Lucario, Extreme Speed—again!"
That ghost-like burst of acceleration from Naganadel earlier had shocked even Kukui and Lucario.
But this time, they were ready for it!
This Extreme Speed… wouldn't be the same as last time!
"Naganadel—use Sludge Bomb! Sweep it!"
Spectators: ???
Champions: ???
Professor Kukui: "..."
Poison-type… against a Steel-type?
Ash, if you want to throw, can't you at least pretend?
You're making this really hard for me to explain!!
On the screen—
Kukui froze for a second when he heard Ash's command.
Then the corner of his mouth curled up into a sly smile.
"Now! Charge in—Dragon Pulse!"
"Luca!"
Facing a massive Sludge Bomb barrage, Lucario charged straight through!
Twin dragon heads flared to life at his fists—
and he struck with a heavy, explosive blow!
Boom!!
Because Naganadel was mid-cast, Naganadel had no room to dodge.
The Dragon Pulse struck it head-on!
Ash blinked, then pulled a full comedy-shock expression.
"Aaaah! I forgot—poison doesn't work on steel!!"
[Lance: …So this is 'Fully Awakened Ash'? Hilarious.]
[Leon: Hahaha! Ash is always full of surprises!]
[Alder: This kid… sometimes a genius, sometimes a gremlin!]
[Professor Oak: Now this is the Ash I know! I thought someone replaced him earlier!]
[Ash: Professor Oak!! How could you say that about me?!]
Ash protested loudly—
Though even he had to admit, his earlier perfect commands didn't feel like… him.
Back in the viewing room—
"Pfft—Ash is so funny!"
Lillie burst into laughter at Ash's exaggerated reaction.
Lana and the others joined in.
Yeah… this is the Ash they know.
On the screen—
Dragon Pulse struck Naganadel hard—
a super-effective blow!
But first, Lucario's Dragon Pulse wasn't a STAB move.
Second… Naganadel was an Ultra Beast—
a being on par with legendary Pokémon.
Its stamina was anything but low.
Blasted backward, it wobbled mid-air—
then rose again!
"As expected of an Ultra Beast. This is going to be tricky!
Lucario—Extreme Speed!"
"Luca!"
Lucario once again vanished into a streak of white light!
"Now—Aura Sphere!"
"Luca!!"
Using Aura Sphere during Extreme Speed required incredible wave control.
This alone proved—with no doubt—
Professor Kukui's Lucario was no ordinary Lucario!
Naganadel spun its head-tipped stingers, searching desperately for Lucario.
The first time it dodged Extreme Speed was luck—
Lucario had paused behind it for a split second.
But now?
At this speed?
With ranged attacks coming?
Impossible to track.
"—shhh!"
A blue Aura Sphere burst into view beside Naganadel's flank.
Ash shouted instantly:
"Poison Jab—smash it!"
"Ayoh!"
Green energy coated the stinger—
Naganadel fired it like a lance!
It smacked the Aura Sphere away like a baseball!
But it wasn't over.
After the briefest pause—
More Aura Spheres rained in from all directions!
"Knock them all away!"
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Each Aura Sphere was deflected like a ping-pong ball—
exploding harmlessly in the air.
"Unbelievable… this thing reacts like a true legendary Pokémon!"
Lance felt its strength was easily comparable to Melmetal's.
Definitely Champion-tier.
Ash's Alola team was absurdly stacked.
"Professor's Lucario is easily Elite Four ace level…
But it still can't suppress Naganadel, even with Extreme Speed + Aura Sphere.
This is a problem."
Cynthia spoke with certainty—
She had a Champion-tier Lucario herself.
It looked like Lucario and Naganadel were evenly matched.
But in truth?
Lucario was burning through stamina at a frightening speed.
If they didn't break through soon—
Lucario would fall first.
"So strong… Naganadel…"
Ash's eyes sparkled.
He still found it unbelievable that his future self would have such a powerful Pokémon.
"Pika~…"
Is this thing stronger than me…?
Wait—don't tell me Naganadel is the real ace?!
Pikachu suddenly felt insecure.
On the screen—
Professor Kukui was beginning to sweat.
He understood the Extreme Speed + Aura Sphere drawback—
High power.
High speed.
High stamina cost.
But Ultra Beasts were terrifying.
There was no other way to stay competitive.
He had to gamble everything!
"Lucario—Extreme Speed! Hit Naganadel directly!"
"Shff!"
Lucario blinked behind Naganadel—
And his elbow struck the Ultra Beast's lower back with a brutal crack!
"Ayoh!!"
Naganadel's body bent sharply—
That looked like a spine-breaker.
"Now! Close Combat!"
"LUCA!"
BAM BAM BAM BAM!
Orange fighting aura erupted from Lucario's fists—
And he unleashed a storm of strikes,
pummeling Naganadel straight down into the ground!
Dust exploded upward!
"Dragon Pulse!"
"What?!"
Kukui's eyes widened.
After taking Extreme Speed AND Close Combat…
Naganadel should need at least a moment to recover!
Right?
Wrong.
From inside the smoke—
A massive purple dragon head blasted upward,
aimed right at the airborne Lucario!
"We'll use Dragon Pulse too!"
Lucario had no room to dodge.
A second hit would knock him out for sure.
Lucario clashed with his own Dragon Pulse—
BOOM!!
A violent shockwave shook the whole arena!
Even Naganadel—on the ground—was forced back several meters.
Lucario was blown away mid-air,
but twisted and landed safely.
"Poison Jab!"
"Force Palm!"
Both trainers shouted at the same time!
Naganadel shot forward—
Lucario charged to meet it!
CRASH!!!
The green stinger and white energy fist collided—
The impact of blasting wind across the entire stadium!
"Good! Force Palm—second impact!"
Kukui saw his chance.
Force Palm had a second pulse of hidden power—
an internal shock.
But then—
Naganadel raised its other two smaller stingers.
Kukui's stomach dropped.
Wait.
Wait.
All three stingers can fire attacks?!
Naganadel answered with action.
"Dragon Pulse—final!"
"Ayoh!!"
Twin dragon heads erupted from the two remaining stingers—
Lucario couldn't evade—
He released the second pulse of Force Palm—
KRAKOOM!!
The twin Dragon Pulses detonated against Lucario's body.
Naganadel was knocked back several meters—
But Lucario hit the ground and didn't rise again.
Lucario was defeated.
Kukui's fifth and final Pokémon had fallen.
Ash still had three remaining.
[Lance: Incredible! Ash just won despite throwing poison at a steel type!]
[Leon: Ash now… is truly Champion-level. Maybe not weaker than the Masters Eight.]
[Cynthia: Before the match, we thought Ash's non-legendaries couldn't stand up to Kukui's.
We were wrong. None of them is weak.]
Before the match, Ash's lineup looked comically underwhelming:
A mid-stage Torracat.
A first-stage Rowlet.
A dog Pokémon resembling a Rockruff.
But then—
The "dog" fought Incineroar head-on.
Torracat defeated Incineroar outright.
Rowlet beat a massive Braviary in aerial combat.
Not weak.
Not even close.
Then his two "divine beasts"—
Melmetal obliterated Empoleon.
Naganadel was one-v-twoing.
And Pikachu hadn't even entered the battle yet.
[Lance: Still—no matter how good this looks… as long as Tapu Koko remains standing, Ash's chances are nearly zero.]
[Kukui: Um… Lance… maybe keep those thoughts inside…]
[Steven: Hahaha! Lance, even Kukui fears your curse!]
Lance's jinxing powers were horrifying.
[Lance: Just watch! Kukui's bringing out his final Pokémon now!]
Everyone turned their eyes back to the screen.
On the screen—
Kukui recalled Lucario helplessly.
Ash had three Pokémon left.
He had only one.
But he wasn't hopeless.
Because his last Pokémon was…
(Arceus! Necrozma! Marshadow! Rayquaza! Lugia! Lunala! — Any one of them and Ash auto-loses! LOL~)
Kukui lifted his final Poké Ball—
And suddenly, a yellow figure descended into the arena!
Slim body,
black-yellow shell on its arms,
crest-like head.
The entire world recognized it instantly—
Tapu Koko, guardian deity of Melemele Island!
People had assumed Kukui had caught it.
But now…
Tapu Koko appeared—
interrupting Kukui as he prepared to send out his last Pokémon?
[Kukui: See? I knew Tapu Koko wouldn't become my Pokémon. Looks like… it's a substitute fighter.]
[Lance: Capturing a divine guardian would shake the world. I doubted it myself—now the truth is clear.]
[Cynthia: But… why challenge Ash now?]
[Leon: We'll see.]
On the screen—
Tapu Koko circled Ash twice,
then flew up to Kukui,
spouting a stream of… something.
Kukui stared blankly.
He didn't speak Pokémon.
Tapu Koko grew irritated—
and slapped the Poké Ball out of Kukui's hand.
Then screeched even louder.
"You mean… You want to battle Ash?"
Tapu Koko's eyes curved in satisfaction—
and it faced Ash and Naganadel head-on.
Kukui froze, then burst into excitement.
Commanding a guardian deity in battle—
a once-in-a-lifetime experience!
"Ash! What do you say?"
"You want to battle Tapu Koko?"
Ash blinked—
then grinned widely.
"That's perfect!!"
"Tapu Koko! Ever since I arrived in Alola,
you've been watching over me!
You gave me my Z-Crystal, gave me my Z-Ring,
and brought Nebby to me…
Now let me show you my growth!"
"Pika-pi!!"
Pikachu nodded beside him.
Kpu~
Text appeared on screen:
"This is your final trial."
So that was the reason.
Tapu Koko had been testing Ash from the start—
helping him, guiding him, challenging him.
And now, this battle
was the last trial.
(Actually, Tapu Koko saw the high-intensity match and got excited. LOL~)
On the screen—
Tapu Koko burst into golden light—
Not a move.
Its Ability: Electric Surge.
Electric Terrain flooded the arena—
preventing sleep, boosting Electric moves by 50%.
(A pre-Gen-8 value!)
Ash's blood ignited.
"Naganadel—Sludge Bomb!"
Fairy/Electric type.
Sludge Bomb was super effective—
And Naganadel's Sludge Bomb was no joke.
"Koko—shine through it! Dazzling Gleam!"
"KPU!"
Tapu Koko charged in, bathed in shimmering pink light—
and bulldozed straight through the oncoming sludge!
A physical Dazzling Gleam!
Ash's expression shook—
"Not good! Naganadel, dodge!"
But Tapu Koko's speed was overwhelming—
far beyond Naganadel's.
Before Naganadel could even move—
Tapu Koko crashed directly into it!
The Ultra Beast was blasted out of the sky—
And the screen cut out at the moment of impact.
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