Gardevoir stood with arms wide open in an almost embracing posture, gathering unimaginable energy before it.
The infinite pink Aura had solidified into tangible form, as if condensing from gaseous to solid state, becoming extraordinarily dense.
If ordinary Psychic attacks were merely emitting Aura in wave-like forms...
Then under multiple enhancements, the Psychic attack Gardevoir was now unleashing had far surpassed that level.
Even if Jon couldn't see it, it could feel the infinite fluctuations radiating around its opponent.
Trembling uncontrollably, its only thought was to flee, but it was already too late.
It was intelligent—as a Golden Giant, it possessed human-level intellect.
Pity it had encountered Gardevoir.
After all its maneuvering, death remained inevitable.
No!
Jon's eyes filled with terror, yet also a desperate hope for survival: I still have a chance!
'I can still live!'
"BOOM!!"
An enormous Psychic attack struck Jon with perfect accuracy, completely dispersing its gaseous body!
Multicolored gases scattered through the air, momentarily forming what appeared like a rainbow materializing from nowhere.
More like a massive cluster of colorful cotton candy, floating gently before splitting into smaller tufts.
The devastating attack shattered Jon's form, scattering it into wisps of gas mingling with the dusty air.
With its remaining consciousness, Jon desperately willed its essence toward a corner, hoping to escape notice.
If the enemy didn't discover it, once they left, it could reassemble and recover!
This was one advantage of being gaseous.
Outwardly, it appeared utterly annihilated, its remains scattered everywhere.
In truth, its body could naturally disperse into gas and create multiple Gas clones, allowing its consciousness to persist.
The damage would merely shrink its reformed body somewhat compared to before.
But survival made such losses insignificant.
Jon was pragmatic—mere survival sufficed.
From eliminating intruders, to fighting seriously, to now desperately preserving its life...
This entire psychological transformation occurred within moments.
And none of this was its fault.
Despite surface-level Aura readings suggesting parity with Gardevoir, their actual disparity was immense.
Even if selecting just one of the three Pokemons to battle these Golden Giants, the Pokémon would inevitably triumph.
They still held too many unrevealed trump cards.
Jon's plan was sound, but remained fantasy.
The moment it tried moving, excruciating pain exploded in its mind.
Agony like countless ants devouring its very soul—utterly unbearable!
In this moment, Jon seemed to comprehend something, directing its fading awareness toward Gardevoir.
The expressionless Gardevoir gazed calmly toward Jon's consciousness, its beautiful eyes utterly placid.
As if nothing could surprise it.
Jon understood—this too was the attack's effect.
It was truly going to die!
Moments later, Jon's consciousness vanished completely, marking its demise.
Then the other gases drifted together into the nearby spatial passage.
Like Jun, these gases were also collected.
Although these were gases and there was no guarantee they would be useful if ingested by Steelix, it was better to collect them just in case.
The reason Jon's consciousness would disappear was simple.
Psychic attacks, as the name implied, had effects on the mental aspect as well, and Jon had fallen victim to this.
If it had been any other enemy, it could likely have survived using this ability.
Unfortunately, it had encountered Gardevoir, a Psychic-type.
Both Jon and Jun possessed enviable survival abilities.
Yet one had encountered a Ghost-type move, and the other a Psychic-type move—sealing their fates in the end.
Of the three Golden Giants, two had already fallen, leaving only Jan, the strongest in overall ability, still battling Lucario.
This wasn't because Jan was too powerful, but because the other two Golden Giants had died too quickly.
So quickly that Jan could hardly believe it!
How was this possible?!
Jon? Jun?
Both of them dead?
"BAM!"
Jan violently swung its arms, crossing them to block Lucario's punch, mustering every ounce of strength to hold its ground.
"Screech—"
Yet its feet couldn't stop sliding backward, the grating sound of friction lasting several seconds.
Under the intense friction, the rocky ground was scorched with two blackened trails, emitting the smell of burnt charcoal.
Looking at its trembling arms, Jan's heart sank, its face darkening with dread.
Stealing a covert glance around, it saw the other two giant beasts standing motionless, coldly watching it.
That gaze was all too familiar.
It had often used the same look toward other creatures.
It was the look of seeing something as already dead!
Though the passage was large, given the size of both sides, Jan could still sense the movements of the other two battlefields.
The results shocked it!
In just the brief moments it had been distracted, fully focused on its own opponent, its two companions had already died!
It knew Jun and Jon's abilities well—without exaggeration, their survival skills far surpassed its own.
Yet despite that, both companions had been decapitated so soon after the battle began?
No matter how much it refused to believe it, after seeing those mysterious passages appear twice in succession to suck its companions away...
Jan knew it was truly over.
Forget whether those two were completely dead—once taken away, it made no difference.
Without its companions to hold off the others, facing three enemies alone was simply impossible.
It couldn't even handle the one in front of it, let alone wait for the others to finish and come assist.
What Jan didn't know was that Jun and Jon had thought the same—they'd just left a little sooner.
Jan's heart pounded as it glanced left and right, then fixed its gaze on Lucario ahead.
What the hell? How had they taken down Jun and Jon so quickly?
Jan felt utterly overwhelmed—not only were its arms trembling from the heavy blows, but its entire body was shaking too.
This was the trembling of fear!
Now, it no longer wanted—nor had the chance—to figure out how they'd done it...
It just wanted to survive!With Jun and Jon gone, it could only hope for the leader inside to come out quickly and help it out of this predicament.
As everyone knew, it hadn't even considered what assistance the other clan members could provide.
It was well aware of the gap in strength between the rest of the clan and them—a chasm that no amount of numbers could bridge.
Even if all the remaining clan members rushed in together, they wouldn't be a match for any single one of the Golden Giants.
Let alone these bizarre yet formidable enemies.
So all it had to do was hold out!
Hold out until the leader's battle was over!
In the blink of an eye, Jan settled on its next strategy, exhaling softly before fixing its gaze intently on Lucario.
Leaving aside the other two, the one it was facing was also incredibly strange.
They were just ordinary punches, yet with each strike, the power of the next one increased significantly.
It hadn't been fighting for long, but its attacks were already much stronger than at the start!
Bitterness filled Jan's heart, with no chance to vent its grievances to a companion.
Had it known the enemy was this strong, it should have reconsidered earlier.
But there was no point in regrets—who could have expected the enemy to be so bizarre?
Jan dismissed the chaotic thoughts in its mind, narrowing its eyes as it looked at Lucario.
Though it had decided on a stalling tactic, it was the weaker party here. Stalling wasn't something it could just choose to do.
Even if the other two giant beasts didn't join the fray, it wouldn't be able to hold off the one before it for long.
Because with every strike, its attacks grew stronger.
Wait a minute...
With every punch, it grew stronger, didn't it...?
Jan's eyes flickered, a glint of insight flashing in their dim depths as the corners of its bitter lips curled slightly.
Amidst despair, it had found a sliver of hope!
Lucario stood tall with its arms crossed, its imposing figure exuding an overwhelming sense of intimidation even when motionless.
As a wielder of Aura, it didn't need to look to know the other two battles nearby had already concluded.
Thus, it couldn't afford to lag behind its companions any longer—it had to finish off the enemy quickly.
Seeing the enemy cower, Lucario's expression remained unchanged as it strode forward step by step.
Its massive frame generated noticeable tremors with each step, like drumbeats pounding against Jan's heart.
Halfway there, Lucario exerted more force into the ground, unleashing a surge of pure Aura!
In an instant, Lucario vanished from its original position!
Normal-type skill—Extreme Speed!
Jan's expression changed drastically.
Without time to think, its muscles reacted instinctively—it bent down and slammed both palms into the ground.
"BOOM!"
Its thick diamond palms struck the ground violently, causing it to shatter instantly, fissures spreading like spiderwebs.
Under its controlled force, the ground behaved like a thick stone wall—pressed down at one end while the other suddenly flew upward.
In that moment, a sturdy barrier of Black Tremor Rock erupted from the ground, forming a solid wall before it.
But that wasn't all.
Gritting its teeth, Jan channeled a flood of dazzling crystalline light from its palms, pouring it into the stone wall like a galaxy.
In the blink of an eye, the originally black wall transformed into diamond, its surface covered in sharp, glittering facets.
Not just the surface—even the interior had been transmuted into the same material.
Apart from the stone walls transforming into this substance, a large portion of diamond-like material had also separated from around them, blocking most of Jan's directions.
This type of diamond differed slightly from the Treasure Diamonds crafted by the smaller diamond species—it could be considered a defective version.
Jan's body was also made of this diamond, not a true Treasure Diamond.
While it possessed hardness that the Treasure Diamond lacked, it was missing the ultimate essence of the earth.
Neither tasty enough to eat nor worth discarding.
Fortunately, Jan used it purely as an offensive tool.
After acquiring the properties of the Treasure Diamond, Jan could not only transform its body into this defective version to gain greater defensive and offensive power but also emit beams capable of converting objects into the same diamond material.
With this entire diamond wall in place, Jan believed that even if the opponent could break through, they wouldn't have much strength left afterward.
"Whoosh!"
Lucario appeared before the diamond wall, raised an eyebrow, then assumed a charging stance.
In the next moment, an incredibly dense surge of orange-red Aura erupted violently from its body, like a river bursting its banks.
Its already massive frame now radiated Aura several meters high, making Lucario's aura overwhelmingly conspicuous across the battlefield.
Those observing from a distance all felt a sharp sting in their eyes.
Just looking at that torrential energy was like staring directly at the blazing sun for too long—tears welled up uncontrollably.
Facing that refined, tempered Aura, their bodies felt as if countless silver needles were piercing them, making it unbearable.
****
Beyond stared at Lucario, momentarily dazed, and murmured softly.
"As expected of Akira's Nen beast. Just watching its Aura surge out is enough to make one feel extremely uneasy."
Since Steelix's body was blocking the cave entrance, many turned their backs to observe the battle behind them.
In fact, due to the intensity of Tyranitar's fight, Steelix had to retreat a fair distance—otherwise, even the residual shockwaves would have reached them.
Atop Steelix's head, Akira glanced at the standoff between Tyranitar and Jin before turning his attention to Gardevoir's battle.
As expected, compared to the deadlock here, Gardevoir's side was handling things much more easily.
Victory would be decided in the next moment.
Seeing Lucario's current state, Akira knew exactly what had caused it.
After multiple Power-Up Punches, Lucario's energy had skyrocketed.
Combined with the Fighting-type ultimate move, Close Combat,
the battle was already over.
"ROAR!!"
Lucario let out a furious cry, its massive Aura now so dense that the orange-red hue verged on crimson.
It looked more like a ferocious beast than ever!
With a powerful stomp, Lucario charged straight toward the barrier Jan had created—without the slightest deviation.
Lucario wanted to prove that all the "shields" Jan had painstakingly crafted were nothing more than "paper walls" before it.
"BOOM!!"
In that instant, Lucario's body tensed, its energy peaking to such an extent that even Jan, hiding behind the barrier, trembled uncontrollably.
The massive figure slammed into the diamond wall, and in a single clash, countless diamond fragments exploded outward.
In an instant, the sky and ground were littered with diamond crystals of all sizes.
The diamond wall Jan had entrusted with its hopes barely held against Lucario before collapsing completely.
In an instant, Jan's stunned and fearful expression came into Lucario's view.
Close Combat!
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