The battlefield is set on rocky terrain, with only a few large rocks providing cover, and the ground is uneven. It's an open space, perfect for battles where Drake's straightforward Dragon-type Pokémon can charge around without constraints.
Mihawk's lineup:
Psyduck, Slowpoke, Lotad, Natu, Numel, and Croconaw.
Among the six Pokémon, three have names that include "dull," and the other three also embody a "dull" personality trait. No wonder Mihawk, once renowned as "Hawkeye," is now humorously called "Dull-eye Mihawk."
Mihawk himself doesn't seem to mind the nickname.
When Mihawk appears in the arena, he draws not cheers but a torrent of murmurs.
"No matter how many times I see this trainer, he always seems strange."
"Right? What's with those Pokémon of his?"
"They seem strong at times, weak at others."
"Maybe there's a seal on them that requires specific actions to unlock?"
The crowd is split on Mihawk's strength.
Is he weak?
Well, he has shown an overwhelming side, effortlessly knocking some fairly well-known trainers out of the arena.
Is he strong?
On the other hand, there have been battles where his six Pokémon are chased around by a single Beedrill, barely hanging on.
So, no one really knows Mihawk's true strength.
But one thing's certain among tournament participants: they'd rather not face him.
For the fighters from the seafaring world, particularly those who've reached the knockout rounds, they'd prefer to lose in a straightforward battle with a stronger opponent than to fall to someone as unpredictable as Mihawk.
Sabo's lineup on the other side:
Typhlosion, Infernape, Emboar, Blaziken, Throh, and Sawk.
For this battle, Dak glanced at the backstage lineups and headed to the arena to watch in person.
This time, he wanted to figure out what's up with Mihawk's six Pokémon.
But to get to the bottom of it, he might have to dig deep into his resources.
"This is the first time I've encountered something my psychic senses can't pick up."
Dak opened the Mystic Store.
This store is something he frequents to replenish the League's or the breeding centers' supplies.
Currently, the Pokémon League doesn't lack funds, mainly from the spoils of clearing out pirate crews like the Beast Pirates, Big Mom Pirates, Golden Lion Pirates, Donquixote Family, and other notorious pirate groups and dark forces.
Even the "Golden Emperor" Tezoro was stunned by the sheer volume of treasures, suspecting that at least a third of the world's wealth had been amassed by these people.
These treasures, though not directly convertible to Pokécoins, could support the League's daily expenses and the development of new cities.
Now, the system's Pokécoin reserves were ample enough for Dak to redeem powers like [Aura Power], [Viridian Power], and [Anti-Matter Power] all at max levels in one go.
After all, each of these max-level abilities costs only one million Pokécoins, the same price as a Legendary Pokémon.
As for why he doesn't redeem all Legendary Pokémon, it's out of a mindset to "keep things simple."
Kyogre and Groudon.
Cresselia and Darkrai.
Tornadus and Thundurus.
Xerneas and Yveltal.
Even the legendary bird trio.
It's not that he couldn't redeem them, but their inherent traits or territorial instincts would inevitably lead to clashes.
Even if Dak intervened, they might show him respect but still harbor discontent, possibly fighting when he's away from Pokémon Island.
Such grudges would only deepen over time, creating relationships between Legendary Pokémon like those in the Pokémon world.
Aside from Dak, no one on Pokémon Island could stop these Legendary Pokémon from fighting, and even if Giratina intervened, it could trigger catastrophic damage, potentially leading to Pokémon Island's downfall.
In the future, these Legendary Pokémon may appear, but certainly not in Pokémon Island's current fragile state.
Some Legendary Pokémon could be redeemed without issue, but certain combinations or specific Pokémon were best left alone.
As for Dak's visit to the Mystic Store this time…
It was because he had previously observed Mihawk's Pokémon from the stands, using psychic power to scan their bodies.
These Pokémon's energy levels weren't low, surprisingly high, in fact, averaging around Lv.45.
The Psyduck was even Lv.50.
Dak was baffled by how they reached such levels.
A strong bond between trainer and Pokémon can accelerate a Pokémon's growth, even allowing bursts of power in battles.
Mihawk and his Pokémon do seem to share a deep connection.
But that wouldn't explain Psyduck's rocket-like progression.
Dak speculated that Mihawk's relationship with his laid-back Pokémon was one of indulgence, without forcing them into training.
At most, Mihawk would practice his swordsmanship while these little ones played or trained on their own.
Under these circumstances, these Pokémon shouldn't have grown this quickly.
Most crucially, whenever Dak used [Aptitude Scan], all six of Mihawk's Pokémon showed a "white" aptitude.
This white aptitude doesn't limit a Pokémon's potential but may slow its progress or indicate a genetic flaw, a "problem child."
Despite reaching energy levels fit for evolution, Mihawk's Pokémon hadn't evolved, and their battle performance was akin to freshly graduated young Pokémon.
This confirmed them as "problem children."
How could these problem children grow so extraordinarily fast?
Dak's curiosity was piqued.
After discovering his psychic abilities couldn't solve the mystery, Dak decided to redeem a new power for investigation.
His target: the all-encompassing [Aura Power].
Healing, telepathy, combat, sensing, sealing, mind-reading—Aura Power is a versatile life energy distinct from psychic or mental powers.
Psychic power is an internal force, driven by the strength of one's spirit and soul.
Aura Power, however, is external, requiring rigorous training and body honing to master.
Aura Power has a low floor, as minimal as sharpening the five senses slightly, but its ceiling is high, able to activate the Time Flower and replay a moment in time.
It can even transfer one's Aura Power to another person at the cost of one's life.
"Aura Power…"
A million Pokécoins vanished from the system balance.
In exchange, [Aura Power] Lv.10 appeared in Dak's ability list.
"Hmm?"
Dak tried using Aura Power, gathering it into an Aura Sphere in his hand.
The Aura Sphere appeared like a small Rasengan of energy.
However, it was not blue as in the anime but instead dark red, like his psychic and Conqueror's Haki.
This may reflect the differences in inner strength and mental energy across individuals, leading to different hues in their psychic abilities.
Dak's Aura Sphere was a beautiful amber-like dark red.
Dak quickly dispelled the Aura Sphere.
In the spectator stands, his brief display attracted countless eyes.
On Pokémon Island, only the League Leader could use powers beyond "normal human" abilities.
People standing behind Dak, even without seeing his face, recognized him as the League Leader from the display.
Sensing people trying to approach, Dak teleported away.
His psychic power detected their approach.
Aura Power sensed their intent, although psychic power could achieve the same, but Dak preferred not to use it to avoid muddling his mind with others' thoughts.
For instance, Dak sensed a woman approaching with a mischievous intent.
After testing the basics of Aura Power, Dak turned his attention back to Mihawk's Pokémon.
Mihawk had already deployed two Pokémon: Numel and Croconaw.
The two were chased around by Typhlosion, unable to deal much damage even when following Mihawk's instructions, and were soon sent off the field.
Now, his third Pokémon was up: Slowpoke.
Dak focused his Aura Power into Slowpoke's body, quickly detecting an anomaly.
Like with psychic sensing, Slowpoke's energy level was an impressive Lv.48.
But Aura Power revealed something deeper.
Slowpoke's energy seemed sealed by a "barrier," limiting it to drawing a trickle of energy from the gaps in this barrier when using moves.
(End of Chapter)
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