Chapter 339: Chapter 339

January 4th, Monday. Inside Orudoran Castle, the final festivities were coming to a close.

Lucario gently touched the mural on the grand hall’s wall — the Aura Hero holding a scepter. “Lucario,” Ash’s voice called out. Lucario turned around, catching the look in Ash’s eyes. “When parting, there’s no need to show a gloomy face, Ash,” Lucario said. “No matter where we are, we share the same aura. Perhaps it’s fate... or maybe...” The proud warrior, sworn to defend his honor to the death, gazed straight at Ash. “It’s our bond.”

At the same time, Lu Ye was inside the castle, mining together online with Steven.

“Mr. Steven, where did you learn that swing-hook mining technique?!” Lu Ye stared at Steven’s smooth mining moves, twitching at the corner of his mouth. “No secret.” Steven smiled faintly. “Just practice.” A question mark popped up over Lu Ye’s head.

Then, he noticed a small profile window on the platform. The avatar was a tiny Ditto, with a total online time of just 24 hours. The choice of avatar made sense — generally, people didn’t use their own faces. For example, Lu Teacher himself used a grinning Gengar. But whether this user was even human was... a bit confusing.

Especially since Lu Ye knew it had only been 24 hours since Meowth installed the Wi-Fi... “These days, you can’t even tell if your teammates are humans or Pokémon...” Lu Ye shook his head, feeling oddly emotional. Even my little Togepi at home isn’t that much better!

As the sun set behind the mountains, Teacher Lu was sitting in his room, inspecting his fingerless gloves. Gotta admit, the enhanced version really was great... especially with that red and black color combo — surprisingly stylish. Lu Ye smiled to himself.

Suddenly, voices floated up from outside the room. Lu Ye walked to the balcony.

Down below, a circle of people had gathered. In the center, Blastoise and Lucario were having a push-up contest.

But even after a long time, Blastoise’s form remained perfect, no signs of wavering. Meanwhile, Lucario’s muscles were trembling, and suddenly, it widened its eyes.

“Ka-meh!” Blastoise switched from both hands to a single-finger push-up, humming smugly at Lucario.

Lucario’s face froze instantly. “You, me, uh...”

Standing on the balcony, Lu Ye’s eye twitched. Of all things to compete in, it had to be push-ups... against my Blastoise...

You know, my Blastoise... He’s the kind of guy who levels up by doing push-ups anywhere, anytime!!

The event came to an end. Team Rocket’s trio made their exit first, heading off to continue making their Trainer Cards. Lu Ye finally had some free time to review the mission at hand.

“I came here to supervise Ash’s evaluation...” Lu Ye sighed. “And not only does Professor Oak stiff me, now I have to buy potions for Blastoise too?!”

Regular Full Restores weren’t even enough for Blastoise’s needs anymore. Teacher Lu made up his mind: Once he got back, he’d see if he could start experimenting with "traditional medicine" instead.

As for the final reward for this mission, Lu Ye’s eyes fell on a small line of text in his retinal interface:

【Mission Reward: Special Talent · Aura Power】

Lu Ye had asked about it before. Special talents like these couldn’t be unlocked by simply exchanging points in the system.

However, the World Tree storyline this time was a rare and extremely important Aura-related event. That must have been why the "Aura Power" had been unlocked.

Lu Ye closed his eyes, recalling the description of Aura. All things possess aura. It’s similar to basic concepts like the Force or Qi in other settings.

“Materialist realism isn’t going to cut it here...” Lu Ye muttered, “You might as well say everything can turn into light.”

Aura Power, in essence, strengthened one’s perception of aura. Those who trained in Aura could communicate with Pokémon hearts and achieve Mega Evolution easily. That’s also why Gurkinn from Kalos kept pushing his granddaughter to train together with Lucario.

In practice, it enhanced things like reaction speed, perception, and visual acuity.

Higher-level uses involved telepathy, creating barriers, or aura transfer. Lower-level applications included night vision... or, accidentally lifting a girl’s skirt with an aura gust (cough).

Obviously, right now, Teacher Lu was just a low-level nobody.

“I get it!” Lu Ye snapped his fingers. “This is just freakin' Qigong!”

Lu Ye imagined: If he faced Lt. Surge’s punch again, He could counter it calmly, then blast him away with Qigong...

Lu Ye grumbled, “Man, this Aura Power feels kinda scammy!!”

Of course, the benefits were clear. Teacher Lu could now give battle commands even more smoothly. Fighting Gold would be even easier...

And thanks to his Aura synergy with Blastoise, Right now, Blastoise was actually stronger than Gengar.

Lu Ye felt a headache coming on. Honestly, his steady Blastoise might really have reached a level beyond even Masters.

And if they threw Mega Evolution into the mix... Was Teacher Lu supposed to evict himself from his own house?!

Lu Ye looked up at the sky and muttered, “What was I even thinking back then?”

“Oh right.” Lu Ye facepalmed with a groan. “I went to Modu University’s Breeding House... looking for a slacker...”

Fireworks bloomed across the night sky. The celebration officially came to an end.

Queen Eileen and Lucario stood on the castle’s balcony, watching Ash and his friends walking away.

“Ash has a truly outstanding mentor,” Queen Eileen said softly. Lucario nodded slightly.

Thinking of that terrifying Blastoise, Lucario raised his head and gazed at the starry sky. “With him around... Ash will surely grow into a true Aura Hero soon!”

Steven’s luxurious off-road vehicle was almost too comfortable. Driving Lu Ye and Ash to the airport, Steven rested his elbow on the window and smiled.

“Teacher Lu, looking forward to our next trip.”

For some reason, Lu Ye suddenly pictured the pale-blue-haired Steven standing heroically before the Three Regis, kissing the Keystone.

Is this what it means to be both handsome and strong?

Teacher Lu was moved. “No problem!”

The taillights faded into the distance.

“Crap, I forgot to give him the Mega Stone!” Steven tapped the steering wheel, frowning, but then smiled. “I’ll just send someone to deliver it once he gets home.”

At the airport, Togepi was gleefully holding Lu Ye’s phone, kicking its little feet happily.

Lu Ye glanced at the chat interface — a Ditto avatar had sent a long string of ■■ symbols. “Doo-yii~!” Togepi responded with a matching string of ■■ symbols.

Lu Ye blinked. You two can actually communicate ?

But then he remembered — infants had their own "baby language." Even though Mew had lived for thousands of years... it was still a baby at heart.

“Hmm... makes sense,” Lu Ye nodded.

The airport’s announcement system chimed.

Lu Ye noticed that Togepi had already started a new online session with Mew...

Smiling helplessly, Lu Ye stood up and said, “Let’s go, Ash, time to head home.”

“Oh, right!” Ash jumped up, still lost in thoughts of his meeting with Lucario.

Then he looked up nervously and asked: “Teacher Lu, did I... really pass my evaluation?”

“Pikachu and I caused so much trouble for everyone...”

Lu Ye placed his hand on Ash’s cap. “Of course.”

Lu Ye smiled and said, “Now it’s up to Professor Oak to decide what title you’ll earn next!”