Chapter 364: Zoroark and Lucario

“Arf! (Please, Lucario Senior! I want to become stronger, so please fight me!)”

Under the moonlight, on a patch of grass surrounded by shrubs, Zorua gazed at the blue figure before it, its short gray-black tail wagging rapidly from side to side.

“Arf arf~ (Senior, I want to fight too! I want to become a Waveguide Guardian and help Lord Aaron, so please help me~)”

Faced with Zorua’s coquettish pleas, Lucario’s expression was clearly tinged with helplessness.

After thinking for a moment, it glanced at the hopeful Zorua and finally nodded gently.

“All right. Since that’s what you want, I’ll use the power of Waveguide to fight you.”

“Arf! (Yay!)”

After receiving Lucario’s agreement, Zorua immediately jumped excitedly. It quickly ran backward, putting some distance between itself and Lucario before turning around again, its little face adopting a serious expression.

“Arf! (Senior, don’t let my size fool you. I’ve only just joined Lord Aaron’s team, but I’m actually very strong. Please be careful!)”

“I understand.”

Lucario assumed a fighting stance and beckoned to Zorua.

“You can attack first.”

“Arf!”

Zorua gave another excited cry and immediately launched its attack.

However, knowing just how powerful Lucario was in close combat, Zorua didn’t choose to approach directly.

Instead, it transformed into another senior it was familiar with—

Pidgeot!

At the same time, Double Team activated instantly.

The number of Pidgeot on the field rapidly multiplied, directly surrounding Lucario.

“Arf! (How about it, Senior? My move is amazing, right!?)”

Zorua’s true body was hidden among the many Pidgeot, waiting for the moment Lucario revealed an opening.

Just then.

As Zorua raced around the field, it suddenly noticed something.

Despite being surrounded, Lucario showed no sign of panic.

Instead, it calmly closed its eyes.

“Waveguide… resides within my heart!”

A mysterious energy began to emanate from Lucario.

Zorua’s eyes lit up.

Knowing that the real show was about to begin, Zorua desperately maintained its Double Team, unwilling to let the Lucario in the center discover the slightest flaw.

But the next second—

Before Zorua could react, a blue sphere of energy had already shot toward its position.

“Arf! (Oh no!)”

Boom!

Aura Sphere struck Zorua’s true body with pinpoint accuracy.

The Pidgeot illusion covering its body and all of the surrounding Double Team copies vanished in an instant.

Seeing Zorua rolling across the ground and crying out repeatedly, Lucario hurriedly rushed over.

“I’m sorry, Zorua. I—”

Before Lucario could finish, the Zorua that had been covered in dust just moments ago suddenly flipped over and leapt out of Lucario’s arms.

Its face was filled with excitement, its eyes practically sparkling.

“Arf! (Amazing! What move was that just now!? It was incredible! Back in the forest, none of the other Pokémon could hit my real body in one shot!)”

Faced with Zorua’s question, Lucario paused before honestly answering.

“Aura Sphere. It’s an extension of the power of Waveguide.”

“Arf! (What an amazing Aura Sphere!)”

Zorua’s little tail wagged rapidly like a propeller.

“Arf! (Senior! You have to teach me! I want to learn Aura Sphere! I want to become as outstanding a Waveguide Guardian as Lord Aaron and you!)”

“This…”

Lucario was troubled.

It wasn’t unwilling to teach Zorua.

The problem was that Waveguide, although present within all living things, wasn’t something that could easily be mastered. And as far as Lucario knew, it had never heard of a Zorua learning to control Waveguide.

Seeing that Lucario remained silent, the movement of Zorua’s tail gradually slowed, and its expression began to fall.

Seeing this, Lucario hurriedly said,

“If you’re willing to learn, Lord Aaron and I will do our best to teach you!”

“Arf! (Of course I’m willing! Thank you, Senior!)”

Zorua’s expression immediately brightened, and it quickly thanked Lucario.

Lucario extended a paw and gently rubbed Zorua’s head before slowly explaining.

“Aura Sphere has been classified by human Trainers as a Fighting-type move. Although I feel that Waveguide and Fighting-type energy are quite different, there are indeed some similarities between them.”

“How about this, Zorua? Since you want to learn Waveguide, we’ll start by teaching you Fighting-type moves. Then, we’ll gradually transition toward Waveguide.”

“However, there’s something I should warn you about first. You’re a Dark-type Pokémon, Zorua. Learning Fighting-type moves may be extremely difficult for you, so you need to be prepared for that.”

Zorua nodded repeatedly at Lucario’s warning.

“Arf! (I’m not afraid! I’ll study hard!)”

Full of energy, Zorua was just about to urge Lucario to begin teaching it immediately when a rustling sound suddenly came from the bushes nearby.

The next moment.

A handsome young man wearing a blue casual suit walked out, accompanied by Pidgeot and the other Pokémon.

“So you’re here. The tents are already set up, and dinner will be ready soon. Lucario, Zorua, come back with us.”

The young man’s expression was as gentle as the moonlight overhead.

“Lord Aaron…”

Lucario slowly stood and walked toward Aaron.

Zorua followed closely behind Aaron, excitedly running around and telling him everything that had just happened.

However.

Soon, Zorua noticed something strange.

Aaron, who normally listened gently to every Pokémon’s wishes, was now simply walking forward with the other seniors.

Faster and faster.

Zorua tried to catch up, but even when it ran with all its strength and desperately called Aaron’s name, he still didn’t turn around.

Darkness surged forward like a tide.

“Lord Aaron…”

Gasping for breath, Zorua stared at the increasingly blurry figure in the distance.

It chose to continue forward with difficulty, desperately lifting its heavy legs.

Then.

The tall figure ahead suddenly stopped.

“He” turned around and looked toward Zorua in confusion.

“Zorua, what’s wrong? Aren’t you coming?”

“Lord Aaron… I…”

In a daze.

Zorua saw “him” running toward it, his face filled with anxiety and his voice becoming increasingly urgent.

“Zorua!”

“Zoroark!!!”

In an instant.

The endless darkness retreated wildly, as though driven away by something.

Zoroark saw a familiar face.

“Chen Mo… Lord Chen Mo…”

“Thank goodness you’re all right.”

Chen Mo breathed a sigh of relief.

“Lord Chen Mo, what happened to me…?”

“You were caught in the energy released when the Waveguide Crystal exploded. I’m sorry. I was too careless.”

“…”

Zoroark frowned slightly.

The next second, scenes of what had happened earlier began flooding back into its mind.

Realizing what had happened, Zoroark reflexively stood up.

“Lucario Senior!”

Nearby.

When Zoroark followed the sound, it saw Lucario, enveloped in a crimson glow, engaged in a fierce close-range battle with Pikachu.

“Lucario Senior…”

Having once gone berserk because of an excess of resentment energy, Zoroark immediately sensed the incomparably violent aura radiating from Lucario.

“What exactly is this…?”

“Lucario was most likely sealed away. And since the Waveguide Crystal is connected to the World-Origin Tree, the influence of the World-Origin Tree as it enters its death throes caused Lucario to go berserk.”

Chen Mo spoke slowly.

In the movie Pokémon: Mew and the Wave Hero, another member of the Aaron family, Aaron, had once used a scepter to seal his partner Lucario.

The scepter itself was made from Waveguide Crystals.

Therefore, logically speaking, using Waveguide Crystal to seal a Lucario was entirely possible.

After this Lucario belonging to Aaron broke through its seal and emerged from the Waveguide Crystal, Chen Mo discovered that his Eye of Detection could finally examine Lucario.

Although the status section only displayed Weakened and Continually Affected by an Unknown Force, after a brief moment of thought, Chen Mo had more or less figured out what had happened.

However.

Chen Mo looked toward the two figures battling fiercely ahead, his brows tightly furrowed.

Aaron’s Lucario was simply absurdly strong.

Despite being weakened from spending such an incredibly long time sealed away, it was still completely suppressing Pikachu.

Chen Mo felt that if Lucario weren’t currently fighting purely on instinct, Pikachu might already have lost.

As expected of the strongest partner of the Waveguide Hero.

Its strength was extraordinary.

“Looks like we’ll have to go all out.”

Chen Mo raised his hand, preparing to borrow Zekrom’s power and allow Pikachu to enter Overdrive Mode.

But the next second—

Zoroark stopped him.

“Lord Chen Mo, can I try? I’m sure I can awaken Lucario Senior.”

“…”

Chen Mo and Zoroark looked at each other.

To be honest, putting aside the fact that Zoroark had still been a Zorua when it and Lucario parted ways, given Lucario’s current condition, the chances of Zoroark awakening it simply through their past relationship were extremely slim.

Not to mention—

Chen Mo wasn’t even sure whether Lucario, after being sealed inside the Waveguide Crystal for so long and being so deeply affected by the World-Origin Tree, could still break free from its influence.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Mo looked at the serious expression on Zoroark’s face and sighed helplessly.

The best option would of course be to temporarily knock Lucario out.

But…

“I understand. You’re a Ghost-type Pokémon, so Lucario’s greatest strength, Fighting-type attacks, won’t be very effective against you.”

“But you also know what this Lucario is capable of. Be extremely careful.”

Chen Mo patted Zoroark on the shoulder.

“Go. Do what you want to do.”

“Thank you, Lord Chen Mo.”

Zoroark quickly walked forward.

Pikachu had just blocked Lucario’s fists once again with Iron Tail.

After hearing Chen Mo’s command, it didn’t hesitate for even a moment. Quick Attack activated, and it rapidly pulled away from Lucario.

At the same time.

Lucario, which had been about to continue its pursuit, suddenly saw a ghostly figure flash into place before it.

“Lucario Senior, I…”

Zoroark had barely spoken when Lucario’s fist was already flying toward it like lightning.

The next moment.

Countless viewers watching the livestream saw Lucario’s devastating punch strike Zoroark—

only for it to pass directly through its body as though it had hit empty air.

[No effect…]

[Wait, Zoroark’s Pokédex entry clearly says it’s a Dark-type Pokémon. Why did Teacher Mo say Zoroark was a Ghost-type Pokémon!?]

[I’m confused.]

[Could it be…]

Some viewers thought of Zoroark’s special ability to create illusions.

Meanwhile.

After its attack missed, Lucario showed no surprise whatsoever.

It suddenly leapt backward, temporarily putting some distance between itself and Zoroark.

Seizing the opportunity, Zoroark hurriedly spoke in the language of another world.

“Lucario Senior, it’s me! Zorua! I’ve evolved now. Do you remember me?”

The Lucario shrouded in crimson light remained unmoved.

Seeing this, Zoroark used its ability again, transforming back into the little Zorua it had once been.

“Arf! (It’s me, Lucario Senior! I came to find you! Do you remember—)”

No response.

Lucario, which had remained silent until now, suddenly stomped hard against the ground.

The stone slabs beneath its feet instantly collapsed, forming a crater more than a meter in diameter.

A violent gust of wind swept through the area.

Lucario’s figure vanished from where it stood.

Chen Mo’s pupils contracted sharply.

Through the power of Waveguide, he saw Lucario’s eyes glowing with a faint blue light.

Foresight!

“Watch out, Zoroark!”

Chen Mo shouted a warning.

But Lucario’s burst of speed was simply too fast for the naked eye to follow.

All that could be seen was a blue afterimage.

BOOM!

With a fierce kick, Lucario’s sweeping low kick struck Zoroark, which had transformed into Zorua.

Under the full force of the blow, even Zoroark couldn’t help letting out a muffled cry of pain.

At the same time, as Fighting-type energy erupted at full force, all the illusions covering Zoroark were forcibly dispelled.

The instant its body was sent flying backward, countless viewers sitting before their screens saw a flash of red-and-white fur—

writhing violently in midair as though carrying an endless hatred.

🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed.

Go check it out and dive into the full experience.

🔥 Your power determines how fast the tale unfolds.