Chapter 68: Psychic VS Fighting, Part 1
The power of a Pokémon, combined with the creations of a human—for the first time, their might was displayed upon this man-made deity.
"Huff, huff, huff, huff..."
That one uppercut seemed to have exhausted all of Rio's strength. He stumbled back, hands on his knees, gasping for breath.
Everyone, human and Pokémon alike, was stunned. Even Jerrod, who had been laughing maniacally, was now silent, as if his throat had been seized.
In his memory, ever since Mewtwo had been created in this experimental base, not a single Pokémon had been able to actively get close to Mewtwo, let alone attack it. Whether it was the strongest Hegemon-level Pokémon in Newmoon Forest or those Pokémon with all sorts of strange and varied moves, all of their attacks had been effortlessly neutralized by Mewtwo.
And this utterly inconspicuous Pokémon before them, a "weak" Pokémon that Jerrod wouldn't have even glanced at before he obtained Mewtwo's power, was the first to break through Mewtwo's defense and land an unexpected blow.
"Very good, very good indeed!" Jerrod looked at Rio, his expression one of greed. "To think I actually misjudged. But no matter, this Pokémon... I want it."
An inexplicable chill ran down Rio's spine, but he couldn't afford to be distracted, because the incomparably powerful Pokémon before him showed a different expression for the first time.
"…"
Mewtwo, in mid-air, touched the spot where it had been hit, then suddenly revealed a somewhat satisfied smile. "Very good, very good!!"
In the vision of the others, the black aura that had been swirling around Mewtwo suddenly dissipated by a large amount. Most obviously, its eyes, after the black light faded, once again showed a dazzling purple.
What made Rio's scalp tingle, however, was that an expression called "fighting spirit" had appeared on Mewtwo's face.
"Boom!" Energy erupted from Mewtwo's body. Unlike its previous nonchalant state, this time, it was clear that Mewtwo was getting a little serious.
"I can't let It hit me. At my level, if I get hit by even one of Its moves, I'll definitely lose my ability to fight instantly," Rio warned himself inwardly, looking at the energy flaring up like a blazing fire on Mewtwo's body. "I can only dodge. Just like before, see its energy movements clearly, then dodge, and look for another chance."
Perhaps because he had been pushing himself to the limit just now, Rio currently felt his perception of energy had risen to an extremely sensitive state. The trajectory of energy involved in Mewtwo's every move was displayed before him like a picture, allowing him to predict Mewtwo's next step in advance.
As Rio was concentrating all his attention on perceiving the energy emanating from Mewtwo, the gem on the necklace hanging around his neck flickered even more frequently. A faint, azure blue light seeped from the gem, flowing throughout Rio's entire body, covering him in a thin, faintly glowing, and almost imperceptible layer of blue light.
On one side was a Riolu wearing pitch-black armor, its exterior radiating a blue brilliance. On the other was Mewtwo, standing proud, its whole body erupting with terrifying fluctuations.
This scene gave the heavily injured, fallen Blastoise Boss a sense of déjà vu.
"An overwhelming purple light... a steadfastly standing blue figure, and that cape... No, it's not like that yet... Something's still missing, just a little bit."
The Blastoise Boss recalled the hazy vision from his dream, yet vaguely felt that something was still lacking.
And in the center of the battle, Mewtwo sensed the different aura emanating from the small figure opposite it. The heart within it named "battle" finally began to stir.
"Very good, very good. This is the first time I've encountered something so interesting." Mewtwo raised its hand, composed of three spherical fingers, and wiggled it in the air. "I hope you won't disappoint me."
A trace of ferocity flashed through its purple eyes. Suddenly, with a slash of its raised hand, a crescent-shaped blade came whistling through the air.
It's coming! The moment before Mewtwo used [Psycho Cut], the surging energy had already stimulated Rio's taut nerves. The instant the blade flew out, Rio had already reacted swiftly, rolling forward, letting the blade graze past his back and cut into the ground, leaving a deep fissure.
Immediately after, before Rio could even get up, he felt the energy behind him become as scorching as fire.
Mewtwo had instantly appeared behind him, a pitch-black energy ball held aloft, about to be blasted at Rio's back!
"So it's this kind of tactic!"
Rio thought to himself. So, following the momentum of his forward roll, he quickly dug into the ground with his claws, burrowing inside.
"The same move is useless against me!"
Seeing Rio use [Dig] once again, Mewtwo, whose attack from behind had failed, snorted coldly. It dispersed the Ghost-type energy in its hand, then immediately enveloped its entire body with psychic power, simultaneously guarding its footing.
But this time, Rio burst out from the ground behind Mewtwo.
In Rio's previous life, there was a Chinese proverb he was very fond of: give a dose of one's own medicine. Rio had observed Mewtwo's fighting style. It often started with some extremely oppressive moves, followed by using its extreme speed to instantly flash behind the opponent, and then suppressing the opponent from an unexpected angle.
Although both Riolu and Mewtwo were Pokémon that excelled in speed, due to the difference in stats brought by the level gap, Rio's speed was naturally no match for Mewtwo's. Thus, he couldn't replicate Mewtwo's feat of getting behind an opponent without being noticed. However, Rio cleverly used the move [Dig] and then, through the stealth of being underground, just as stealthily came up behind Mewtwo.
And then.
"[Metal Claw]!"
With a "clang," sharp claws extended, and the armor on his hands immediately covered them, adding hardness to the already sharp claws.
Facing the sharp claw attack, Mewtwo still subconsciously deployed its psychic barrier.
The last time, Rio's [Metal Claw] had been blocked by such a psychic barrier, but this time, it was different.
"The flow of energy can never be perfectly even. So, what I need to do is find its weakest point!"
With this thought swirling in his head, Rio's eyes, which had now turned completely azure blue, rapidly observed Mewtwo's psychic barrier.
At this time, if Rio had the leisure to check his own [Status] information, he would be very surprised to find that the "Semi-Aura State" tag on the panel had quietly changed to "Aura Glimmer State."
Of course, even if Rio knew about this change, he probably wouldn't have the mind to consider other things at this moment, because in his eyes, there was only that seemingly indestructible psychic barrier.
"Left side, no. Right side, no either. Then above, not there... The only place left is... below... It's right here!"
Since the psychic barrier was deployed after Mewtwo had re-levitated into mid-air, according to Rio's perception, it was only natural and expected that the energy intensity would weaken from top to bottom.
The claws, shimmering with a metallic luster, slashed towards the psychic barrier.