The soul penetrates Xiaozhi and destroys Gou Hao at the beginning

Back to the present.

Although Professor Kukui has lost three Pokémon, there is no rule for a break during this tournament, so the battles continue without pause.

"Come back, King Naboo, you've had a long journey."

That was a beautiful strike, Ash! You unleashed the power of the Nine-Tails to its fullest potential.

“No, Professor Kukui, your Pokémon are all very strong too,” Ash said.

"Thank you for the compliment! I'm really happy. It was such a pleasant surprise to have a battle with you like this... This is what Pokémon battles are all about!"

As Dr. Kukui spoke, he couldn't help but jump up with joy, raising his arms and shouting out his last words.

This statement drew cheers and applause from the entire audience.

"That's precisely why I need to concentrate even more and do everything in my power to defeat you."

"This time, you'll have to fight it! Come out, Lucario!"

"Luca!"

This Lucario is level 61, has the ability Inner Focus, and cannot be affected by Flinch or Intimidate.

"Professor Kukui's fifth Pokémon is Lucario!"

"Wow, so handsome!" Mamane exclaimed.

"Looks strong."

Although Lucario is not a Water-type Pokémon, Lana was immediately captivated by it, perhaps because Lucario, like most Water-type Pokémon, is blue and belongs to the same color family.

Ash smiled upon seeing this, and used his Aura to greet Lucario.

Professor Kukui's Lucario seemed to sense Ash's aura as well, and was somewhat surprised, but quickly became filled with fighting spirit.

"Come back, Nine-Tails. You performed very well. Sweet and beautiful queen, I've decided on you. Get ready to fight."

"sweet!"

"Faced with Professor Kukui's Lucario, Ash recalled Ninetales, which had already fought two battles, and sent out Selene to fight again."

"This is going to be a very interesting battle. Let's get focused, Lucario, use Close Combat."

"After the sweet and cold beauty, she used the triple spin attack."

Upon receiving the order, Lucario immediately ran towards Tsundere. Tsundere also raised her foot, gathering Ice-type energy to prepare for the battle, and kicked out three times in succession. Unfortunately, Lucario leaped up and dodged them all. Then, Lucario also raised his foot and kicked Tsundere wildly, knocking her back several steps and causing considerable damage.

Previously, it was always Sweet Cold Beauty Queen who kicked people, but now she's being kicked by someone else, which makes her very resentful.

Furthermore, many of Queen Sweet Cold's skills involve leg attacks, such as the Tropical Kick, Stomp, Triple Spin, Flying Kick, Rapid Turn, Kickdown, Acrobatics, Low Kick, and Brute Force, etc. After all, she is a queen.

But why does Lucario also use his feet to initiate close-range attacks?

Shouldn't normal close combat involve just punching your opponent repeatedly while yelling "Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora?"

Although Sweetie took a lot of damage from Lucario, Lucario also lowered its defense and special defense by one stage each because it used close combat.

Lucario was already quite fragile, and now with its defenses reduced, it's even more vulnerable.

Therefore, Ash's side didn't suffer a loss in this round of combat.

"Lucario jumped up, and Ash's Sweet & Cool Triple Spin missed. Instead, Professor Kukui's Lucario landed a direct hit with Close Combat," Shi Kuang exclaimed excitedly.

"That's amazing!" Mao exclaimed.

“Not a single movement of Lucario is superfluous,” Kaki exclaimed.

"We cannot let our guard down. Although the first move was effective, our opponent is still very strong."

"Charge forward, Lucario, use Dragon Pulse!"

Lucario launched another attack, leaping into the air and raising both hands towards Sweetie, clenching his fists. A purple dragon-shaped aura appeared on each fist.

Lucario suddenly waved his hand, and two Dragon Pulse beams shot out simultaneously, attacking Sweet and Cold Queen.

"Holy crap, it's actually a Dragon Pulse that I personally love. Sweet and cold, I dodged with a powerful whip strike."

Sweet and beautiful then lashed out with two whips, striking the ground and using the recoil to leap into the air, successfully avoiding the two Dragon Pulse attacks.

"Ash's Sweetie reacted very quickly and successfully dodged Lucario's Dragon Pulse."

"Very good, that's how it should be, Lucario, go ahead and use close combat."

"After the sweet and cold beauty, use a strong whip to stop it from getting closer."

Lucario immediately gave chase, leaping up to engage in close combat and charging at Tsareena. Tsareena then swung her powerful whip, binding Lucario's hands. Both landed on the ground, successfully stopping Lucario's attack.

"This is a formidable opponent. Lucario, use Dragon Pulse."

Although Lucario's hands were bound, he unexpectedly still managed to use Dragon Pulse. The double Dragon Pulse struck again, hitting Tsareena directly amidst her shocked expression.

They were almost about to defeat Sweet Cold Beauty, and upon seeing this, Dr. Kukui immediately gave instructions.

"It's still not enough, Lucario, use Extreme Speed."

"Sweet, cold beauty, stop it!"

Sweet Cold Beauty immediately stomped her foot forward, activating the Queen's Majesty ability, which rendered Lucario completely immobile.

"My Sweet and Cool Queen trait is the majesty of a queen," Ash said with a smile.

“The Queen’s Majesty trait can prevent all priority moves. The priority +2 Extreme Speed ​​is completely ineffective. Lucario’s attack was stopped, and its movements were completely anticipated,” Shi Kuang said.

"Now's the time, Sweet Cold Beauty Queen, use Rapid Reversal."

Ash realized that Selene was exhausted and decided to switch battle partners. Selene mustered all her remaining strength and launched herself at Lucario like a rocket, kicking it squarely.

Although the four-times resistance wasn't very effective, and since this move wasn't used for damage anyway, Sweetie quickly transformed into a red light and returned to the Poké Ball hanging on Ash's waist. Ash then threw out his next Poké Ball.

"Mimikyuu, it's decided that it's you. Get ready to fight."

"Q!"

"Sweet and cold beauty's rapid return takes effect, replacing her teammate on the field."

Ash's fifth Pokémon is Mimikyu!

This Lucario has used three moves: Close Combat, Extreme Speed, and Dragon Pulse. It hasn't even shown any of its own Steel-type moves. Given the current situation, Mimikyu could easily shut down this Lucario. That's Ash's intention.

"Oh, it's a little mystery," Hanako said with a smile.

"Little mystery?" Dr. Barnett asked in confusion.