NOVEL NEXT Chapter 112: Chapter 112: Mew: Did I Come at a Bad Time?
Chapter 112: Mew: Did I Come at a Bad Time?
For aura training, Hikaru ultimately discovered that only Greninja showed exceptional sensitivity to it. The other Pokémon didn't seem to have this talent.
The anime described it as "everything has aura."
However, it was clear that only a few special Pokémon could actually harness this power.
Even though Greninja showed promise, reaching Lucario's level of mastery was nearly impossible.
In fact, it couldn't even reach Hikaru's own level.
Aura was simply too extraordinary.
---
June 30th, the Final Day of the Preliminary Rounds
Today's competition was especially intense. On the last day, the air was filled with the thrill of battles.
Those who had already secured their rankings had nothing to worry about. The real struggle was for those hovering around 50th or 60th place—they fought the hardest.
As the highest-tier competition in the High School League, the judges were eight Elite Four-level trainers from Huaguo.
They used their own Pokémon to create unique battlefields for the matches.
Even the commentators were master-level trainers providing insights during the battles.
The grandeur of the event was undeniable.
The streets of the capital were filled with not only battles but also promotional activities.
Two more weeks had passed, and once again, it was time for the weekly perks.
June wasn't particularly lucky—of the four weekly perks, only one turned out to be blue-tier.
The perk, [Wish Fulfillment], didn't bring him any blessings from a goddess.
However, it was an upgradeable perk with excellent effects:
[Blue Upgradeable Perk (Bladesman)] — When landing physical attacks, there's a 10%–30% chance to bypass the opponent's defense. Additionally, there's a small chance to bypass the effects of moves like Protect.
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A defense-piercing perk!
The upgrade conditions required bypassing Protect 100 times and bypassing defense 100 times.
It wasn't hard to upgrade.
With Gardevoir or Latias repeatedly triggering these conditions, he managed to upgrade it to purple-tier in five days.
[Purple Upgradeable Perk (Bladesman)] — When landing physical attacks, there's a 20%–40% chance to bypass the opponent's defense. Additionally, there's a small chance to bypass the effects of moves like Protect.
The effect hadn't changed much, but the difficulty of further upgrades had increased significantly.
Upgrading further would take at least half a month, so Hikaru temporarily set it aside.
Ultimately, he equipped this perk on Greninja.
---
"Ding dong!"
As night fell over the bustling capital, a deep chime echoed across the city.
All the trainers paused in confusion, feeling a sense of loss.
The preliminary rounds of the High School League had officially ended. Those who had barely secured their spots sighed in relief before joy overwhelmed them.
Making it into the National High School League meant being able to choose almost any university in the country.
With only 128 spots each year, no university, not even the top institutions in the capital, would reject these students.
On the other hand, those who missed the cut by a narrow margin were filled with sorrow.
For most, this was their last chance as senior high school students.
This was their final opportunity to compete on this stage.
The regret of coming so close yet falling short would haunt them for life.
"Once, I almost made it to the National High School League..."
Wasn't the Grass Path Gym Leader of Shuimu City a prime example of such regret?
---
Inside the Room
A knock came at the door.
Sensing someone at the door, Hikaru quickly stepped out of the Training Room.
Outside stood sakura Hayashi.
Lately, Hikaru hadn't seen her much.
"Hey, bro, why are you all sweaty this late at night? What were you up to?"
She smirked mischievously and winked. "Can I come in? I won't find anything I shouldn't, will I?"
"What are you imagining?"
Hikaru tapped her smooth forehead.
Of course, he had been in the Training Room, helping Greninja train its aura sensitivity.
He had Greninja close its eyes while he and Lucario launched Aura Spheres, letting Greninja practice dodging.
It was a form of sensory training. Naturally, it made him sweat—it wasn't anything like what she was implying!
Stretching in front of him, sakura's elegant figure was fully displayed as she casually walked inside.
"Ah, the preliminaries are finally over. So, bro, what's your plan after the High School League?"
"Me? I guess I'll travel around. The world's so big—I want to see it all."
Hikaru spoke nonchalantly.
In the Pokémon world, what's the point of staying in one place?
"I see..."
Sakura looked a bit disappointed but quickly changed the subject. "You didn't lose that stone I gave you, did you?"
"Of course not! Wait here."
Hikaru pretended to retrieve it from his room, but in reality, he took the Dragon Secret Stone out of his system storage.
"Good. After the competition, stay in the capital for a while. I have a secret realm I'd like to explore with you."
"Alright~"
She pouted playfully, her sky-blue eyes shining like autumn water as she looked at Hikaru with a pitiful expression.
Her endearing look tugged at Hikaru's heart.
When they were younger, Hikaru could never resist this tactic.
Even now, it still worked.
"Fine, fine, I promise."
Hikaru relented with a sigh, pinching her cheek out of habit.
Hmm, still soft.
To Hikaru, he was just a wanderer—he could go anywhere.
"Yay, bro."
Sakura felt relieved.
How could this not be about the Dragon Pool on Dragon Island, which would open shortly after the High School League?
Ever since they were kids, Hikaru had never broken a promise to her. Now that he had agreed, he wouldn't back out.
As Hikaru released her cheek, sakura smiled cheekily, "Was it nice to touch?"
But Hikaru wasn't one to let things slide.
He raised his eyebrows and said, "Teasing your brother, huh? Be careful, or I'll spank you."
He lunged playfully at her.
Sakura shrieked, "Ah, no!"
Though their bond was strong, they'd had their share of clashes.
Hikaru remembered the time he rescued her from a Rattata's territory.
He had been so angry that he nearly spanked her in the orphanage. That was the first time he had ever gotten mad at sakura, and she avoided him for a while after.
Unfortunately, now that she was older, he couldn't do that anymore.
---
"Mew?"
A sudden appearance of Mew broke the moment.
Seeing the playful chase, Mew tilted its head.
It felt like it had come at a bad time.
It wanted to hear more stories...
But why was one pretending to catch, and the other intentionally slowing down?
Mew faded into invisibility, deciding it didn't understand.
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