A streak of blue light pierced the lightning!
[Th-that is…?]
[No way!]
[Is the streamer's Riolu finally evolving?!]
That moment—blue light stabbing through electric light—hit everyone like a shockwave.
As the earliest Pokémon to join the team, Riolu had been around since the same time as Ralts, Shroomish, and Torchic—and all of them had already evolved into their final forms.
Out of Grey's "Elite Four," only Riolu still hadn't evolved.
But today, Riolu finally did.
Everyone watching was locked onto the scene.
Countless viewers recorded the moment of Riolu's evolution.
Right then and there, as Riolu's body kept changing, the stream's popularity suddenly exploded.
Gifts poured in nonstop.
Poké Balls, Great Balls, Ultra Balls—甚至 even classic Pokémon moves as gifts…
Until it all finally culminated in an Aura Sphere.
"Thanks to 'Master Mustard of the Isle of Armor' for becoming a Captain and Star Guardian~!"
"Thanks to boss 'Red' for becoming an Admiral~!"
"Thanks to boss 'Blue' for two months as an Admiral~!"
"Thanks to boss 'Lance the Dragon Master' for the six Ultra Balls!"
"Thanks…"
"And thanks to 'Cameran Palace' for the 'Lucario Aura Sphere'! Thank you, boss—so generous, meow~!"
Taking advantage of the brief moment while Riolu was wrapped in evolution light, Bumiao stepped in front of the phone tripod and smoothly took over the stream.
Staring at the flood of gifts, she fired off thanks at lightning speed, her smile impossible to hide.
If she worked this hard thanking people, surely Grey would raise her pay later, right?
[The dojo girl's voice is really nice—when are you going solo?]
[That comment was totally sent by Gym Leader Grey, wasn't it? Guys, stop testing it—don't mess up her job, okay?]
[Holy crap, so many big spenders today? My eyes have been opened.]
[I'm totally new—first time watching. Is this streamer some kind of legend? Why are so many big names watching?]
[No idea. Rumor says Gym Leader Grey is basically Kanto's succubus—every big spender who watches gets "influenced"…]
[Not gonna lie, I got baited in by that insane tag.]
[The "premium" one?]
[Yeah, that one. It woke me up in the middle of the night. Then it turned out to be Pokémon battles and I just felt ice-cold inside.]
The chat flew by so fast it was a blur. In a single stream, everyone got shocked over and over again.
Riolu evolving, plus a parade of big spenders dropping gifts—it was like having their third eye opened. Unreal.
They couldn't help wondering: what kind of Trainer was Grey?
How could he make so many big names show up just to throw gifts at him?
Grey had no idea what was happening in the stream.
He was staring straight at Riolu as it grew larger, the power of aura in his own body surging like it was about to burst out.
Under everyone's gaze, the blue light erupting from Grey nearly swallowed half the camera—so much that it almost washed out the entire screen.
Across from him, Lt. Surge's eye twitched.
He'd calculated and prepared for everything—except this.
Grey's Riolu was evolving at a time like this?!
So he was just being used as a stepping stone, huh?
Any other time it wouldn't evolve, but it evolves right now?
Lt. Surge felt numb.
He wanted to let loose a string of Unovan profanity, but with the stream running, he swallowed it and cursed silently inside instead.
"Jolt…" (That pressure… this is getting tricky…)
Jolteon bristled like it was facing a deadly threat. Riolu hadn't even finished evolving yet, and it already felt dangerous—if it completed the evolution, what then?
Now, Riolu's appearance was completely different from before.
"Lucaaa!"
As that low roar burst from its throat, the evolution light receded like a tide, and a tall, sleek figure stood proudly on the field.
That upright, wolf-like stance was imposing. The spikes on its chest and the backs of its hands gleamed coldly.
Its newly formed black ears flicked with sharp sensitivity. Compared to its old cuteness, this Pokémon now radiated pure, razor-edged menace!
The Aura Pokémon—Lucario!
[Pokémon: Lucario]
[Type: Fighting / Steel]
[Level: 61]
[Ability: Inner Focus]
[Moves: Extreme Speed, Aura Sphere, Life Dew, Dragon Pulse, Bone Rush, Meteor Mash, Heal Pulse…]
Compared to before it evolved, Lucario had an even wider arsenal.
Extreme Speed and Aura Sphere, in particular, had already been foreshadowed—so after evolving, it learned them naturally.
The other moves were the same. Back when it was still Riolu, it had been following that little Riolu around constantly, learning everything it could.
So the moment it evolved, it "remembered" a whole pile of crucial moves.
You could call it… basically graduating already.
As for a perfect graduation—
That would have to wait until its level climbed higher.
"Lucario, huh? Yeah… that'll be a bit more troublesome."
Lt. Surge crossed his arms. Even facing an evolved Lucario, he didn't back down.
After all, their strength was still in the same ballpark!
"Jolteon—Thunderbolt!"
Same old opener.
At the command, Jolteon snarled, terrifying currents bursting from its fur. A thick lightning serpent twisted forward, trying to pin Lucario in place!
Grey also wanted to test Lucario's power.
It had learned so many moves—why wouldn't he use them?
And since Jolteon was using an Electric-type move, Grey naturally answered with—
"Bone Rush!"
"Lucario!"
Lucario brought its hands together near the spike on its chest. Deep-blue aura flowed like water between its palms.
In an instant, two bone clubs with an earthy sheen took shape!
Facing the screaming Thunderbolt, Lucario's gaze sharpened.
It crossed the bone clubs and slashed—like a hot knife through butter—splitting the raging lightning serpent right down the middle!
The severed electricity exploded into a shower of golden sparks at its sides, yet couldn't harm it in the slightest!
That was terrifying.
Even Lt. Surge just stared, stunned.
Not only did this Pokémon look insanely cool—its move was cool enough to cleave Jolteon's Thunderbolt apart like that?!
For a moment, Lt. Surge was choking on his own frustration.
He had a lot he wanted to say… and none of it could come out.
If he didn't even get to see Zapdos, and Lucario still swept him 1v3…
No. Please. Anything but that.
Just imagining what might happen next had Lt. Surge sweating bullets.
A Gym Leader getting completely shaved bald by another Gym Leader—if that got out, he'd be laughed into the ground.
With that thought, Lt. Surge knew he had to be ruthless. He roared:
"Use Thunder at maximum power!"
If Thunderbolt could be cut open—
Then what about a stronger Thunder?!
//Check out my P@tre0n for 20 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810.