Time passed quietly, and before he knew it, the end of the year had arrived.
With the imminent arrival of the Spring Festival, the day agreed upon between Ethan and Lucas also came.
At dawn, Ethan left the Silver family residence accompanied by Sandslash and Meltan. However, as he stepped outside, there was an additional Poké Ball in his hand.
"Did the Silver family lose this time... or win?"
Ethan looked at the Poké Ball with a peculiar expression.
That Poké Ball naturally belonged to the defective Riolu.
But saying it was a defective Riolu wasn't entirely accurate, either.
As a Fighting-type Pokémon, Riolu having a frail body was indeed a major disadvantage, but it also possessed an extraordinary strength: an innately powerful spiritual force, even greater than that of many Psychic-type Pokémon.
That was something Lucas had personally told him, and also the main reason why he decided to take Riolu.
For the Silver family, a Fighting-type Pokémon with a weak body but tremendous mental power was a complete waste, worthless.
But Ethan didn't think the same. He remembered very well that once Riolu evolves into Lucario, its long-range special attacks were just as strong as its melee attacks.
Lucario's signature move, Aura Sphere, was a powerful special move. In addition, Lucario could learn the Fighting-type special move Focus Blast, as well as the Steel-type special move Flash Cannon.
It could also learn the moves Vacuum Wave, Dragon Pulse, Dark Pulse, Shadow Ball, Psychic... a wide variety of special-type moves.
Furthermore, according to Ethan's tests, this Riolu had the ability Inner Focus, which prevents flinching thanks to continuous mental training.
The name itself made it clear that it was an ability related to strengthening mental power, and that it even allowed further development of it.
In the games it was a common ability, but in reality it was terrifying due to its true effect.
Lucario could also train its mental power with the move Calm Mind. If the ability Inner Focus + the move Calm Mind were combined, its innate spiritual power could be raised to a much higher level.
With all these conditions in Riolu, if it managed to evolve, Ethan was fully confident he could turn it into a powerful long-range special attacker.
Of course—only if Riolu actually evolved. Otherwise, with its current learning and its unevolved special strength... there was still no way for it to stand out.
The Silver family discarded it because they had never imagined that Lucario could be developed as a special attacker. With its innate physique and its dual Fighting/Steel typing, everything pointed toward a close-combat fighter.
Additionally, Riolu's evolutionary difficulty made it impossible for them to know what an evolved version with abnormal mental power might be like.
And in the Silver family there were only two Lucario: one captured in a Secret Kingdom and the other evolved. Both had been raised exclusively for close-range combat.
Indeed, in real life, training Lucario as a close-range fighter was much easier and more efficient. That was its natural talent and its main path.
However, the strong mental energy and the ability Inner Focus weren't the only reasons Ethan chose to take Riolu.
Riolu was born with a special power: it could see and perceive waves called aura, using them to communicate with its allies and to observe the emotions of humans and Pokémon, as well as the natural state of things.
It was precisely this ability to perceive the emotions of humans and Pokémon that made Ethan start having ideas.
Riolu's true strength did not lie in its Fighting-type body, but in its ability to sense—and even master—the power of aura.
Aura was a spiritual force with incredible abilities, one of the most powerful in the Pokémon world.
Many Pokémon could sense aura, but very few could truly master it. Sensing was not the same as controlling.
If Riolu managed to control it, it could become an extremely powerful Pokémon on its own.
And the Silver family was clearly completely unaware of the existence and potential of aura. Had they known, they would never have given away a Riolu with the potential to become an aura master.
Remembering this, Ethan thought of something else: Could its immense mental power help Riolu master aura?
After all, both mental energy and aura were forms of spiritual power. There had to be a connection between them.
As for how to activate aura, Ethan also had ideas: it had to start from emotional energy. Aura was a spiritual energy, and emotions also belonged to that domain.
Moreover, the Pokémon Researchers' Guild was currently studying emotional energy. Perhaps President Beckett and the researchers could help Riolu learn to handle it.
"If I combine its innate mental power with emotional energy as support... Riolu can probably master aura."
"But aside from that, its evolution into Lucario must also be completed as soon as possible."
"Considering emotional energy... friendship surely also counts as a type of emotional energy. Maybe it can help it evolve."
While reflecting, Ethan had already drawn up a plan: take Riolu to President Beckett so it could participate in the emotional energy research project, and from there develop its aura mastery.
Additionally, Riolu's ability to perceive emotions would be extremely useful in that research. The researchers would surely be delighted to have him.
Ethan remembered something else: President Beckett was a Champion-level trainer specialized in Psychic-type Pokémon. If Riolu could receive his guidance, its strength would increase tremendously.
Especially now that Ethan planned to train him as a special attacker: President Beckett would be the perfect mentor.
(End of Chapter)