Pokémon, Ash is going to become a perfect man from now on.

boom!

Before Ash could even give a clear command, the jackal, with its telepathic connection, immediately activated Extreme Speed. After receiving Ash's Aura, its entire body surged with explosive power, even causing the fine sand beneath its feet to scatter and fly everywhere!

"Retreat immediately and use Earthquake!" Seeing the opponent attacking, Cynthia immediately commanded Lucario to jump backward, intending to release Earthquake upon landing to hinder the opponent's attack!

But just as it put its feet on the ground, its opponent, as if it had anticipated this, leaped into the air!

This leap was several meters high. At this moment, the jackal looked down at his opponent from above. Suddenly, countless tiny orbs of light condensed in his palms and smashed down on Lucario below!

Boom boom boom boom!

The continuous explosions struck everyone's hearts like drumsticks. No one expected that Ash's Jackal would actually use such a 'Prince Strategy'!

"Lucario... Oh no! Use Dragon Pulse immediately, then retreat!!"

As the smoke cleared, Cynthia was about to check on her Pokémon when she suddenly noticed that the Jackal in mid-air had its fists wrapped in dazzling energy and was charging straight down at its partner!

Comet punch!

Ash unleashed his silent battle tactic of telepathy, and Cynthia had to keep a close eye on when Jackal would attack and what special move it would use. She couldn't afford to be careless for even a second!

However, as expected of the soon-to-be champion, she issued her orders extremely quickly.

Having just endured a barrage of attacks, Lucario had no time to adjust before raising his hand and unleashing a roaring dragon-shaped energy into the air. He simultaneously manipulated the trajectory of the Dragon Pulse while quickly retreating from his original position!

Ash's Jackal transformed the surging flames around its body into sharp swords, which broke through the barrier of Dragon Pulse in one fell swoop!

Boom! !

The falling comet shattered the ground, causing Cynthia's Lucario to stagger and then gasp for breath.

Even if it's at a high level, it's already struggling to survive...

However, Ash's Jackal only had its flames dimmed slightly, with no other effects diminishing!

“How is that possible…” Cynthia frowned immediately.

It's one thing to make yourself vulnerable in a silent battle, but this Lucario's endurance is clearly off the charts. It took a Dragon Pulse and the recoil from Comet Punch, yet it's still completely unharmed?!

Furthermore, the power of their ultimate moves has increased significantly!

"In its current state, my Lucario won't get hurt, and its stamina won't decrease," Ash said again. "The aura it uses in battle all comes from me, and it's also my aura that helps it absorb damage... As long as I, its trainer, don't run out of energy, Lucario can keep going at full power!!"

"Luca!!" As if in response to Ash, the Jackal suddenly let out a terrifying roar and launched another attack on its opponent with incredible speed!

"Using mental interference... Oh no..."

Cynthia's Lucario barely held up the last line of defense. Its control over Psychic was indeed extraordinary, and it even managed to keep up with Extreme Speed's priority move... but in the end, its defense was still shattered by Jackal!

"Bone Strike!" Sensing his partner's surging fighting spirit, Ash shouted the command again. Jackal swung the bone club in his hand repeatedly, and Lucario, who was already at its limit, could only passively take the hits!

Bang!

With a final swing, Lucario was launched into the air by the bone club, while Jackal had already clenched his gleaming fist!

"Comet Fist!!" Just as Lucario was about to fall, the fist, which had been charged to its limit, was suddenly unleashed, sending the opponent flying far away!

"Continue, use wave missiles!!"

"Lucario?!" The jackal was stunned. It felt that Lucario had already lost its ability to battle the moment the Comet Punch hit...

However, it quickly understood Ash's intention and immediately tucked its hands into its sides in a calyx shape, then unleashed a giant wave missile with a diameter of over one meter with all its might!

If Ash were to perform this combo, it would probably be a one-hit kill move, Heaven and Earth Overlord Fist, followed by a super move, Mega Power Overlord Roaring Fist... But Jackal doesn't need to go through all that fancy stuff.

Moreover, the final wave of missiles wasn't intended for an attack.

"Lucario!!!" The massive Aura Sphere hurtled towards her, and Cynthia finally couldn't hold back her scream, no longer able to maintain her goddess-like demeanor.

She even began to regret her stubbornness, wondering why she had to fight this battle!

But she couldn't blame Ash for going too far, since she was the one who challenged him to a battle... and she was the one who asked Ash to use this kind of 'powerful' attack!

Boom! !

The terrifying energy exploded with a deafening roar, but instead of creating a cloud of smoke and dust, it transformed into a blue pillar of light that shot into the sky.

Cynthia didn't have time to pay attention to any of that; she just rushed to her partner's side as fast as she could...

"Lucario?" Just as she anxiously rushed towards the fallen Lucario, the latter suddenly sat up from the ground and looked at his body with a puzzled expression.

My whole body aches... but that seems to be all?

"Lucario, you... are you alright?!" Cynthia, who was just anxious, was now taken aback.

She noticed that although Lucario looked unwell, he had no injuries and didn't look like he had been seriously injured at all!

"I was just joking, I hope Miss Cynthia won't mind." Ash stepped forward, a mischievous smile on his face.

"You... that last move wasn't an attack, it was healing?" Cynthia suddenly realized, yet she was still completely baffled. "But wasn't that an Aura Sphere? It was clearly..."

“Aura Sphere is of course an offensive move, but Aura Power isn’t,” Ash explained with a smile. “Lucario and I got a little excited at the end, and we used Comet Punch a bit too hard. If it ended like that, your partner would definitely be seriously injured… So I thought of this way to use Aura Sphere to split my Aura Power away to heal.”

This move was actually learned by Ash from the movie. Aura can be shared with others to restore their life force. Ash helped Mew in this way in the original story.

This practice is dangerous... but only for the average person.

Ash's Aura power is indeed innate, but its subsequent growth comes from the protagonist's halo, an extra advantage. It is the power he accumulates after repeatedly forging ahead and being judged as a 'hero' by the halo. Of course, there are also times when he chickens out and his power is reduced.

He was used to reducing his waveguide strength like this; as long as he didn't overexert himself, there wouldn't be any risk.

Looking at Cynthia's excited expression, as if she had opened a new world, Ash seemed to have guessed why she insisted on this battle.

As expected of Miss Cabbage, she's already thinking about what happens after she's crowned champion even before she's been crowned...

Chapter 279 Lucario, who took Miss Cabbage as his apprentice~

"I lost this battle. You and your Lucario are truly extraordinary. You really opened my eyes."

Having confirmed that her partner was safe and sound, Cynthia readily admitted defeat.

Allowing Ash to have an advantage in battle was her initial request, and she wouldn't dwell on whether it was fair or not.

Cynthia, on the contrary, was very interested in the power that Ash displayed. In her opinion, Lucario's power after borrowing Ash's Aura had even surpassed that of a Champion!

Even if she used her strongest Garchomp, she would probably be utterly defeated by that fierce attack!

Moreover, this power seems to have no side effects at all... it just makes trainers a bit useless.

After a fierce battle, Ash appeared even more exhausted than Lucario, something that would be impossible in a normal battle.

"You flatter me." Ash waved his hand modestly. "In the end, Lucario and I just lack the raw strength, which is why we have to cheat in battles."

“That’s not cheating!” Cynthia shook her head seriously. “I think it’s a unique and profound bond that can help your partner increase their strength and even take damage for them… As a trainer who can only stand behind my partner, I can only admire it!”

If Cynthia had previously only sought a battle to prove herself and Lucario's path to becoming stronger, she now truly looks at Ash in a new light, even feeling immense admiration for him.

She had previously been in contact with Sinnoh's Aura users and knew that Aura power could actually be considered a kind of life force... Ash sharing his Aura power with Lucario was equivalent to sharing his own life force with the other party!

The power of cheat codes... Even if everyone in the world could use such cheat codes, how many people could do what Ash did?!

"Oh, right, this is for you." After calming down, Cynthia handed a notebook to Ash. "This is Aura's training notes. It should be helpful to you."

"Thank you so much!" Ash took the package and flipped through it casually, immediately feeling like he had found a treasure. "Miss Cynthia, please convey my gratitude to Mr. Yaxuan as well. This is exactly what I need right now!"

Ya Xuan's notebook doesn't record any profound techniques; it's just the specific methods for Aura users to accumulate Aura power, as well as his experience in raising Riolu and Lucario. It could be considered a basic textbook.

But what Ash needs most is this kind of basic teaching material. With this, he won't have to rely on repeated enlightenment and the protagonist's halo to accumulate aura. He can increase his power through daily training, just like a superpower!

Xiao Zhi is absolutely enamored with this notebook. If he didn't have other things to do, he would love to find a place to go into seclusion and study it thoroughly.

"It's good that it helped." A barely perceptible hint of regret lingered in Cynthia's smile. "Aura power is truly amazing, it's a pity I'm not an Aura user..."

"The reason Ms. Cynthia wants to battle me is to investigate Lucario's path to becoming stronger, right?"

Ash had already figured this out. The only reason this cabbage-loving sister insisted on having a Jackal battle was to help her Lucario break free from the constraints of the Elite Four level!

So you see how ambitious they are. They haven't even been crowned champions yet, and they're already preparing to break through the single-core barrier.

“Yes, my Lucario seems to have reached its limit. Even Mega Evolution doesn't seem to offer any real improvement, and it's completely out of reach of Champion level.” Cynthia nodded helplessly, her tone even carrying a hint of complaint. “I asked Yaxuan before, but he said my Lucario can't train according to the information in this notebook…”

"Uh... because this notebook is for cultivation~"

"Hey, is that so?"

Xiao Zhi offered a brief explanation, and then enjoyed the goddess's adorable, bewildered expression.

Some of the settings of the Aura Master are actually quite similar to those in fantasy novels... Lucario, as the Pokémon most skilled in using Aura power, may be able to unleash amazing power, but its training efficiency is actually not as good as that of a human Aura Master.

This is why Lucario, in addition to his companions, also appears as an apprentice of a Aura Master, because they train in Aura power under the guidance of the Aura Master.

Yaxuan's Lucario was like this, and so was Aaron's Lucario a thousand years ago.

Of course, Ash is a bit of an exception. After all, he's a self-taught individual without any guidance, and Lucario is of royal lineage with exceptional talent, so his training efficiency is naturally higher than Ash's.

If it weren't for the protagonist's halo, Ash would have been far ahead of his Jackal by now.

In short, the Waveguide and Lucario have this complementary relationship.

Cynthia's Lucario is actually missing a mentor.

Miss Cabbage is a highly talented trainer who can train Lucario's abilities to the limit in all aspects. However, Lucario's greatest strength, Aura, has become its only weakness.

In fact, this is a problem that many non-Aura users of Lucario trainers will face.

“Miss Cynthia, I do have a way to make Lucario stronger, it just depends on whether you’re willing.” After a moment of contemplation, Ash offered his suggestion, “I’m going to study this notebook next, and if your Lucario is willing to be my apprentice, I can guide it as well.”