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A mountain roared and the sea surged.
No creature's cry was as loud as the sound of the forest itself when it became active.
It seemed to come from within people's hearts, yet it also vibrated wildly in reality.
Branches rubbed together, a gentle breeze swirled, water babbled, rocks tumbled, and even plants grew in utter silence.
Everything merged into an indescribable music, like the roar of the entire stadium's crowd during the World Cup.
Within the jungle, invisible ripples spread like ocean waves, passing through large trees, through the island, across the lake, filling every corner of space.
It was an established fact that every single Pokémon possessed Aura. And at this moment, all the Pokémon on Mist Island resonated briefly with these ripples.
Whether in the sky or at the bottom of the lake, a very small number of Pokémon discovered the source of the ripples and focused their gaze on this island with sparse habitation.
At the same time, they gazed up at the silvery-white light connecting to the heavens.
"What in the world..."
Li Xiang clutched his chest, feeling his heartbeat synchronize with the blue light.
This feeling was truly rare, something he hadn't experienced since Incineroar evolved and he had a close-quarters battle with the target, achieving initial success with his Three-Blind Perception Method.
But why was it happening now?
And what about these sounds and sights?
Suddenly, he felt a wave of heat beside him.
He turned his head and saw Mewtwo holding a deep, sky-blue spiraling sphere in its hand.
'An Aura Sphere?'
Li Xiang opened his mouth slightly, unable to hide his surprise. He remembered that Mewtwo hadn't known Aura Sphere before.
'It learned it just by being swept by that Aura?'
He turned again.
From the direction of Trophy Mountain, a dazzling silver light shone brilliantly.
He didn't need to think to know that the light came from the Adamant Orb; the Steel-type energy was unmistakable.
But how could it be related to Riolu's evolution? And more fundamentally, why was it evolving suddenly?
A breakthrough in mental state, unlocking the old shackles on its body, finally realizing its true self?
Li Xiang was utterly perplexed and didn't have much time for extra thoughts. Watching Riolu's form change rapidly, he quickly approached where it was.
It was too late to go back for a camera now; evolution was brief, but he could etch this scene deeply into his heart.
In the future, he might recall this genuinely joyful scene in his dreams.
Li Xiang's arrival gave the flustered Pokémon like Corviknight a sense of stability, and they quickly gathered around him.
Incineroar, closest to Riolu, remained stunned in place, its eyes refusing to miss a single detail of Riolu's evolution.
"It's okay, it's okay."
Li Xiang comforted the others, looking at Riolu, waiting for its evolution to finish.
But the end didn't come.
An ordinary evolution took less than half a minute. But almost two minutes had passed, and the evolution light still hadn't dimmed.
Riolu itself showed no reaction either.
Li Xiang's expression changed, but he dared not speak rashly and disturb it. The forest, or rather the nature of Mist Island, was alive and possessed its own will.
This was obvious and had been confirmed earlier by Uxie.
The fact that it had just resonated with Riolu's evolution was something even someone with eyes could see.
The reason Riolu's evolution was taking so long might be related to that, and perhaps even to the Adamant Orb at Trophy Mountain.
As if confirming his thoughts, shapeless, formless ripples drifted over from Trophy Mountain, making Li Xiang's hair stand on end and putting Mewtwo on high alert.
Then, the evolution light around Riolu shattered like fluttering butterflies and vanished into the air, revealing its new body.
At this moment, complete silence fell.
Nature's cheer receded silently, leaving the stage to the Pokémon that seemed reborn from nirvana.
A golden light flashed and disappeared as it opened its eyes, replaced by a calm, dark red.
Its dog-like ears became slender, perched on its head with four spindle-shaped appendages behind them. Its blue-and-black fur, combined with its expression, gave it a slightly cold and aloof look.
On its chest was a conical spike, connected to a vest-like pattern of pale yellow fur.
The bone plates on the backs of its hands had turned into blade-like spikes, the fur on its lower body looked like a pair of fluffy shorts, and a slender tail wagged behind it.
It was taller than before.
Lucario, the Aura Pokémon.
It was synonymous with Aura, possessing an innate sense of justice.
It could easily understand human language, regardless of whether the human was its trainer.
The best of them could even communicate with humans through telepathy.
But Li Xiang felt he didn't need that. From the very first moment he looked into Lucario's eyes, he knew they didn't need telepathy.
A glance, an expression, a gesture, even a single short syllable. They could understand each other perfectly.
This was the bond forged through years of companionship and relentless training.
"Roo."
'Li Xiang, I've evolved.'
Lucario showed a shy smile and touched its own neck.
"Yeah, I saw."
Li Xiang nodded in response, then realized his eyes were stinging slightly and his voice had become nasal.
This was emotion and relief, the joy of seeing a child he had high hopes for finally "grow up."
After watching enviously as its companions grew, Lucario had finally ushered in its own transformation.
Only someone who had witnessed its entire journey could understand how much Lucario had longed for this moment.
It had even woken up from dreams time and again.
Now, the dream had come true. The so-called obsession and pressure were left behind.
"Congratulations."
Mewtwo crushed the Aura Sphere in its hand.
"This moment will surely become an eternity in your hearts."
"Yes."
Li Xiang rubbed the corner of his eye, quickly stepped forward, and embraced Lucario.
The long spike poking into his chest was a bit painful, but it couldn't suppress the excitement in his heart.
"Roo."
Lucario also noticed the spike had pricked Li Xiang and immediately twisted its body, moving the spike to his armpit.
Then, it held Li Xiang tightly.
Incineroar, which had just snapped out of it, decisively pulled them both into its embrace.
...
Morning training was postponed for the time being.
Everyone returned to the camp and breakfast was being prepared.
As Li Xiang busied himself, he asked them what had happened in those brief ten-plus minutes.
The answer surprised him a bit.
"You wanted to evolve, so you just evolved?"
"Roo!"
Lucario nodded.
Its new body felt wonderful; there was no discomfort at all. From the moment the transformation ended, it felt completely integrated.
"This..."
Li Xiang was a bit bewildered.
He had been told the obstacle to evolution was obsession, but they hadn't even figured out what the obsession was.
Had he been fooled by Zhong Hai and Uxie? Or had he misunderstood, and the incident three years ago wasn't Lucario's obsession at all?
But no matter what...
"I'm sorry."
Li Xiang stroked Lucario's cheek, feeling remorseful.
"I'm really sorry for putting such a heavy burden on you."
His own impatience had affected Lucario, putting too much pressure on it, making its heart increasingly restless and unable to understand the so-called "obsession."
If Lucario hadn't possessed strong self-awareness and the ability to think, who knows what trouble might have arisen.
"Roo."
Lucario smiled and shook its head.
Li Xiang had done nothing wrong; he had cared for it from beginning to end.
It was just too immature, held back by such uninteresting thoughts. It should have figured this out long ago and talked to Li Xiang, instead of waiting for him to solve the problem for it.
Working together was what companions did.
The matter of the obsession was settled. More importantly, why had its evolution caused such a huge commotion?
As the one who experienced it, it should have some idea.
They could ask Uxie about the rest.
Unfortunately, Mewtwo, being young, was just as confused.
Just as Li Xiang was about to ask, a large group of Lucario came running from afar, moving quite fast, led by the Aura Sage.
"Was that natural resonance just now from your Pokémon?"
The Aura Sage asked urgently as soon as it arrived at the camp, looking around.
Its eyes lit up when it saw Lucario.
"This must be—"
"Wait a moment."
Li Xiang stopped it from rushing over to grab Lucario's hand.
"Please explain things first, then we can talk about other things."
Coming over so suddenly, trying to grab his dog's hand for no reason? What was it thinking?
"Oh, sorry, sorry."
The Aura Sage looked a bit embarrassed.
It turned and shooed away the other Lucario that had followed, preventing such a large group from startling Lucario.
It familiarly sat down on a stump and coughed twice.
"This matter is a bit complicated. Simply put, your Lucario resonated with the nature of Mist Island, specifically through Aura."
"Through Aura?"
"Yes, all things have Aura, and Mist Island is no exception. Every tree, every patch of soil is part of it."
The Aura Sage nodded.
"To be able to resonate with this land that gave birth to us and raised us is our clan's highest honor."
Having said that, it sighed.
"But we haven't resonated with it for nearly a hundred years. The reason I became a sage was also because I happened to resonate with it when I was young."
'Oh.'
Li Xiang looked at Lucario, which was surrounded by the other Lucario and seemed at a loss.
'My dog has the makings of a sage!'
"But my Lucario isn't from here," Li Xiang couldn't help but say.
"Can an outsider resonate with it too?"
"The facts are right in front of us. The result is what matters; being an outsider or not is unimportant."
The Aura Sage shook its head and added, "The main reason we came was to meet it, and also to ask it to resonate again."
Resonate again?
"Why?" Li Xiang ventured a bold guess.
"Don't tell me you Lucario act as priests, praying for good weather on Mist Island?"
The Aura Sage quickly waved its hands.
"No, no, no. Why would you think that?"
"The reason for the resonance is to ask the land if our development over the years has harmed it."
Its voice was very soft, its expression a bit humble.
It seemed very afraid that the land of Mist Island would be harmed and become barren.
But that was understandable.
However, Li Xiang didn't understand why it didn't just ask Uxie—
Well, trying to get answers out of someone who always spoke in riddles and know-it-alls was expecting too much.