A/N: Apologies if this disappoints anyone, but I currently have no plans on having Riolu evolve into a Lucario at all. That might change in the future, but as of the current time, such an idea is not on my list of things to do.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

[Pokemon Speech]

"Riolu, Force Palm!"

"Block it!"

Both Azure and Gurkinn could be heard shouting their commands from within what appeared to be a massive arena inside of a large building of sorts, the building itself being none other than the Shalour City Gym itself. Having arrived here not too long ago as the battle between them immediately commenced.

Korrina along with Ash's group had left not too long ago from Geosenge Town as Gurkinn and Azure had bid farewell to McGinty as they quickly made their way to Shalour City. Upon having arrived in the city, they immediately headed towards the gym so they could get it underway, and thus bringing them to the present time.

Speaking of the battle, Lucario was seemingly only a bit winded as Riolu was definitely showing big signs of exhaustion. Azure knew at the start that Riolu really wasn't ready yet to take down a pokemon with so much more experience, and Gurkinn's Lucario was just far too experienced for him to defeat as of right now.

Give it some time, and Azure knew that Riolu could very well match up and go beyond what Gurkinn's Lucario is capable of. However, as of right now, the chance of victory for the young pup was far too beyond his reach. At the least, Riolu was giving it his all as he currently had his Ren activated.

When Riolu had first utilised Ren during the battle, they were certainly shocked by the sudden increase in power as it kind of reminded them as if Riolu had gained power through mega evolution, but it was seemingly just a superficial boost of power as well. Riolu was obviously reaching his limit right now as well.

At least it would be a good experience for him.

"You know, Azure." Gurkinn voiced as the younger male looked across the field towards the older man. Gurkinn had a small smile on his face, though one that was suspicious of the younger male. "During this battle, I've learnt that your Riolu is incredibly proficient in the use of aura. Using it in ways that I have never seen before, just where did he learn it?"

"Just through simple training and experimenting." Azure responded simply without adding anything else as Gurkinn narrowed his eyes. Azure could tell the older male was suspicious of him, but he did very well with hiding his emotions so the guy couldn't read him. A little thing Killua helped him do just in case he found himself in situations like this. "Riolu, we'll do one final push! Show me your Ren!"

Riolu hardened his eyes and pushed himself off the ground before releasing a powerful cry, his aura exploding outwards as Lucario was pushed back slightly due to the force as he had to use both arms to cover his face. Riolu then stopped shouting before glaring towards Lucario, who held a slightly narrowed gaze.

"Aura Sphere!"

Both trainers commanded as both of the aura pokemon charged up their attacks while keeping their eyes trained on one another, to which both pokemon then tossed their attacks forwards with incredible power. As the attacks sailed through the air, the ground cracked beneath them before they collided at the centre.

When they collided, both trainers watched as a massive explosion occurred, resulting in a wave of dust to kick up from the ground as they all had to cover their eyes, aside from Azure. Azure gritted his teeth as the dust cloud began to clear away, to which the result of the attack could now be seen.

Azure sighed as he saw a scene that he pretty much expected, Riolu had been sent flying back and was now lying on his back with swirls now replacing his eyes as Lucario had ended up skidding back a good few meters from the force of the explosions. Lucario appeared winded, but not to any extreme levels.

"It seems that this match is over..."

"Indeed. You did well, you trained Riolu well."

Gurkinn praised honestly as he saw the incredible control that Riolu had over his aura during the battle, it amazed both himself and also his Lucario, they could tell Azure was training Riolu well. Azure walked on over towards Riolu, who was now slowly waking up and sitting up while rubbing his head.

[We lost... didn't we?]

"Yeah. Don't be disappointed, just get stronger and we can challenge him again one day."

[Right...!]

Riolu sighed as he activated his Zetsu to help himself recover faster, to which both Gurkinn and Lucario noticed as they rose their eyebrows when the aura around Riolu completely vanished. Riolu knew he had very little, if any at all, chance of winning that match. Though, he did get a good battle at least.

However, that didn't mean he was happy, the complete opposite really. He could tell that throughout the whole battle, Lucario had been holding back. He also knew that Azure was stronger than Lucario, by a very large margin as well. That only spoke volumes about how much of a gap there was between them.

Riolu wanted to be as strong as Azure, so that meant he needed to surpass Lucario first!

"Azure."

"Hm?" Azure heard Gurkinn speak as he looked up to see both him along with his Lucario having walked over towards him as he stood back up as Riolu remained sitting on the floor resting. Gurkinn stared into Azure's eyes seriously before narrowing them slightly, Azure narrowed his own as he had a bad feeling about this...

"I believe you have some explaining."

"Whatever do you mean?"

"You know what I mean." Gurkinn smirked slightly as he stared unblinking at Azure. "From that battle, Lucario and I took notice of how Riolu's use of aura differed quite a bit from any other Riolu we have ever seen. From what we have learnt over the time we've known you, you seem to be the reason behind Riolu's power. Just what training did you do? Who are you really?"

"Just a simple trainer, and someone who is only training like any other trainer would with their pokemon." Azure answered simply as he kept his composure. Azure had to admit, Gurkinn was a very observant person, his Lucario as well. There weren't too many people that could see through the facades he put on.

"Half-truths, those are what you've been telling me." Gurkinn stated firmly as he crossed his arms. "You have been giving me short and simple answers. They hold truth, but not entire truths. I will ask again, just who are you really?"

Azure didn't say anything as their eye contact didn't break. Riolu watched nervously as he couldn't properly read Azure's emotion's, despite it being his species's specialty. Lucario also was the same as Gurkinn as he stared at both Azure and Riolu, he also being curious about their power. It wasn't long before Azure closed his eyes and gave a small scoff.

"Very impressive, Gurkinn."

The sound of rustling could be heard from within what appeared to be a large forest as a number of pokemon were seen running around and such minding their own business, though a few flinched and ran off as something or someone suddenly walked out from the bushes. The figure walking out onto the dirt path.

"This is getting ridiculous!" The sound of a female voice was heard complaining as she dusted off her clothes and pulled off a number of sticks and twigs that had gotten caught in them or in her hair. She then gave a long sigh before looking around in confusion and annoyance as she placed her hands on her hips. "Just where is this?"

As she looked around, her eyes soon caught sight of what appeared to be a large cave of sorts. The cave strangely giving off a sparkle, causing her to raise an eyebrow. When she went to investigate, she widened her eyes as the cave suddenly revealed countless green beautiful crystals that were all shining beautifully all around.

"Beautiful!" The girl awed with clasped hands as her eyes were replaced with stars.

Without a second thought, the girl then sprinted full pace into the cave while admiring every single crystal that was placed around. Strangely enough, the crystals appeared to be naturally formed minerals and not manmade, despite how fake the shape honestly appeared to here since finding such a thing naturally formed was difficult. Though, this had only made the girl more excited as they all shone beautifully with light.

[Uhhh... Azure, what is this?]

"Hm? Oh, it's the next training."

Riolu, along with both Gurkinn and Lucario, watched in confusion as Azure had collected a large number of rocks along with a large rope that he had requested from Gurkinn. They watched as Azure swung the rope through a hook he embedded into the wall of the building that was a good deal high up.

Riolu was seriously confused, what in the world was this next part of his training going to be?

"It'll be around four hours before it'll be midnight, so we'll be able to get some training in real quick for the next few hours." Azure stated as they then watched as he walked over towards the centre of the open field behind the gym. They all watched as Azure scanned and tapped the ground before nodding his head. "This looks good."

[Eh? What are you doin-!]

Riolu stopped his sentence and widened his eyes immensely, along with both Gurkinn and his Lucario, as they witnessed something incredible. Azure had suddenly leapt easily more than a fifty meters into the air while performing a few spins. They then saw his aura spike before he began plummeting downwards.

None of them said anything before Azure threw his fist forwards towards the ground. The result being a massive explosion of aura that caused everything to shake and the sea around them to violently shift. All three of them having needed to cover their faces as rocks came flying all over and dust clouds stirred up, blocking their vision.

'Incredible... this is the power of a Nen-user?' Gurkinn marvelled with eyes full of immense shock. It had only been an hour since he had learnt of the existence of Nen from Azure, and he wanted to see just what new training he was about to give Riolu. But for right now, he was awed by the power Azure had just displayed.

While Azure specialised more in his use of his Transmuter abilities, he did train himself in the Enhancer category of Nen as well. He was like the bridge between both Gon and Killua, Gon being the one who focused solely on Enhancer and Killua being in Transmuter. Azure was just the person who balanced them out.

Lucario and Riolu were no different, they were full of shock as they witnessed the massive amounts of damage Azure just caused with a single punch. Riolu, while he knew Azure was immensely powerful, hadn't expected a single punch from the male to cause such damage as he could only shake from the amount of aura he felt.

Lucario felt the same as Riolu. When he first met Azure, he knew for a fact that he was no ordinary male. He couldn't see or sense the boy's aura at all, and that struck him as odd real quick. But, now that Azure had switched off what the boy told them was called In, he could feel and see the massive amounts of aura Azure possessed. It astonished him...

What also disturbed him a bit was that he was certain Azure was holding back... greatly.

As the dust clouds began to fade away, they all jaw dropped as Azure was now seen standing at the bottom of what appeared to be a decently large crater that had also been smoothened out from the force of the punch. Azure nodded his head as he looked around at the size of the crater he had just created and jumped up back towards them.

"Alright, that should be big enough for our next phase of training." Azure stated as he walked over and stared down at Riolu. Riolu having shook his head to regain his composure, although still visibly shocked at what he had just witnessed. "Alright, this next phase of your training will be rather simple. Though difficult."

[Wh-What is it?]

"Your next task will be to try and hit me." Azure smirked. Riolu blinked in confusion before Azure leapt back into the crater and then sat down in a crossed-legged position while resting his arms on his legs. Azure looked up as the three others all looked down from the edge. "Your job is to land a punch or kick on me. I won't move from this spot, or it's your win."

[Wait, so I just need to punch or kick you?]

"Don't think I'll make it easy on you. It'll be a lot harder than you think." Azure smirked slightly as Riolu gulped slightly. Riolu then shook his head before spiking his aura, he didn't need Azure to say that. He knew very well that while this seemed to be an easy task, it was anything aside from that. Azure was fast, faster than anyone he had ever met.

[Alright then, here I come!] With that, Riolu launched himself down into the crater and straight towards Azure. Azure just calmly sitting unmoving as Riolu then threw a punch towards the male, who just slightly shifted his head as Riolu sailed right past the male. Azure turned his head slightly to look over his shoulder.

"You'll need to be way faster than that to hit me."

[Oh, I know...]

Riolu narrowed his eyes as he knew the speed he had just used was far from enough. Though, he wasn't going to give up as he continued his attacks, switching up tactics every now and then as well to try and confused Azure. It didn't seem to work though as Riolu had yet to get much of a reaction from Azure.

As Riolu continued, Gurkinn and Lucario just watched as the young aura pokemon's attacks were futile, none coming close to landing on their mark. That mark being Azure. Once again, they can't help but marvel at the incredible skill and power Azure had, They had never seen anyone utilise their aura to such a degree, not even close.

They could only become even more awed as Azure then proceeded to close his eyes entirely, all the while still dodging all the attack sent at him by Riolu without moving off of the spot he was sitting on. How he was managing this was beyond them, Azure was most definitely an anomaly to them, even after everything they've heard from him.

"Alright, that's enough!"

Riolu fell to the ground in exhaustion as Azure stated this as Azure then began standing up from the position he had been in for the past four hours. Riolu had yet to come close to being able to land a strike to Azure, despite the fact that the experienced Nen-user had his eyes closed the entire time throughout the hours.

Azure had noticed Gurkinn and Lucario both still watching from the top, neither of them having lost focus on what the two of them were doing. Right now, he could tell they were both looking at the panting form of Riolu. Speaking of, Azure then walked on over towards Riolu and looked down at the pokemon.

"Well done, you did well for your first time trying this. We'll continue doing this for the next week." Azure stated as Riolu just gave a tired nod in response to the statement. They then heard footsteps and turned to see Gurkinn and Lucario walking over, Lucario going over to Riolu and handing him some water.

[You did well, young pup. I'm impressed]

[Thanks...]

"I must say, I didn't expect such a spectacle..."

"Hehehe~, surprising, right?"

"Nen-users, truly incredible." Azure just gave a small smile before shrugging as Gurkinn gave a small smile of his own in response. Gurkinn then turned his attention upwards towards the sky, which was now dark out and the moon was high into the sky. "It's rather late, so I believe it is time for us to get some rest."

"Agreed."

[Finally, sleep!] Riolu gave a sigh of relief as he finished off the water and fell onto his back. The other three having watched in amusement as he had done so, though Azure soon snapped his fingers as he then stated. "Alright, I do agree that we should get some sleep. But, if you're going to be sleeping, then sleep while sitting up, Riolu."

[Huh?]

Riolu, along with the other two, blinked at this as Azure then motioned them to follow him, which they did as he led them back up to where he had set up the rope. They watched in confusion as he then seemingly used his flames to somewhat mould the rocks together into a ball before having tied the ball onto the top end of the rope.

"Come here, Riolu." Azure voiced as the small pokemon just nodded before walking next to him. Azure then pointed at the ground in front of him, to which Riolu then stood on. "Alright, take a seat and hold onto this rope. This will be your next training that you will be going through for a good while from now."

[Huh? What am I supposed to do?]

"It's simple. While you're sleeping, you will have to keep hold of this rope the entire time, if it falls then you will have to put it back up. It's a strange training practice, but will prove helpful." Azure explained as Riolu just nodded dumbly as he looked up at the stack of rocks above him. "I will progressively add more rocks each day."

[Alright, sounds simple enough]

"I wouldn't be so sure, it's a lot more difficult than you'd think. Also, you'd better be careful, I might cut the rope at any given time." Azure stated with a smirk on his face as Riolu blinked before gulping slightly. Azure didn't say anything else before sitting down a meter in front of Riolu, to which he then closed his eyes.

[Alright...] Riolu frowned slightly before closing his eyes and making sure to keep his grip on the rope. Though, after a few seconds, Riolu could feel his consciousness slipping away into sleep as his head slightly tilted downwards. As soon as that happened, Riolu's grip let loose as the rocks came crashing down fast onto his head. [Ow~! That hurt!]

"Remember, if it falls, put it back up."

Azure had stated this as Riolu grumbled and rubbed the top of his head before proceeding to pull the rocks back up. A bulging red bump was on Riolu's head as Gurkinn and Lucario sweatdropped at the sight, and they couldn't help but wince as they had seen the stack of rocks crash down onto the young pup.

While the training was rather strange, Gurkinn and Lucario could see just how it would help. From what they are seeing, it would help Riolu's train his muscles body to continue functioning physically even while unconscious. Also, from what they have heard about Azure saying he'll be cutting it at random times, it will train Riolu's instincts to react to such.

"Interesting, a simple yet effective practice." Gurkinn stated as Lucario nodded his head in agreement. Azure kept his eyes closed as Riolu ended up getting another bump on his head, though he then spoke without looking back towards Gurkinn and Lucario. "We'll be here for the entire night, so you guys should probably go get some sleep."

"Very well, we'll see you two in the morning then."

[Good luck, young pup]

Riolu just responded with a nod to Lucario as he tried to sleep again. It was just as Azure stated, this training was proving to be a lot more difficult than he had first thought it was going to be. It sounded so simple, yet it was difficult to actually succeed. Though, he was going to need to focus as much as he ca-

[Oww~!]

[Ugh... my head. Is it finally morning?] Riolu had groaned as he opened up his eyes due to a light that had invaded through the gaps of his eyelids. When he did, he looked around to see that he was sitting in the same position that he had been when he first started this hellish form of sleeping. [I-I made it!]

Riolu smiled as he looked to see that his paw was still gripping onto the rope, the massive stack of rocks still present above his head. The rope was a bit winded due to the constant rehanging after each fail, but it seemed that he had managed to actually get to sleep while still holding onto the rope.

His head still felt like a hammer was hitting it though...

"Ahh~, Riolu. I see that you're awake. Good morning." A familiar voice sounded as Riolu turned his head to see Gurkinn after having placed the rocks back onto the ground. Riolu walked on over to him before scratching his head in confusion and gave a small bark. "I wish I could understand you like Azure can. But, I assume you want to know where he is?"

[Yeah, that's right!]

Riolu nodded his head as he had noticed that Azure was no longer sitting in front of the Pokemon as he was doing his sleeping training. He couldn't sense his aura either, though that was most likely due to the fact that Azure was utilising In, Azure always did. Gurkinn handed him a small bag, confusing Riolu.

"Well, how should I explain this... Azure had come to me very early this morning and wanted me to relay this to you." Gurkinn trailed on as Riolu just rose an eyebrow in confusion. Gurkinn then scratched the back of his head before sighing as he continued. "The thing is, Riolu... Azure has already left Shalour City."

Silence...

There wasn't a single sound as Riolu just stared at Gurkinn as if he had said the most stupid thing in the world, which he wouldn't disagree with. It took a few seconds before Riolu widened his eyes completely as the bag Gurkinn had given him dropped to the ground as he then shouted. [What! What do you mean?! Azure wouldn't leave me!]

"Calm down, Riolu! Azure did this for you!" Gurkinn tried to calm the small pokemon down as he could see small tears gathering in the corner of Riolu's eyes. Just hearing about Azure leaving him was enough to bring him to draw tears. Gurkinn sighed again as he then explained. "Here is what happened..."

[Flashback]

"Morning, Gurkinn."

"Good morning to you as well. I assume you are ready?" Gurkinn asked as Azure walked out of the gym with his backpack swung over his right shoulder. Azure just nodded his head in response as he gave a small smile. Gurkinn then frowned as he looked at Azure. "Are you sure this is the right decision?"

"Yes, this is what's best for Riolu."

"I won't try to stop you, I'll put my faith in you that what you're doing is the right decision." Gurkinn sighed while rubbing his head. He then turned his head to looked towards the direction where Riolu was sleeping. "How do you think Riolu will react to this? Your sudden disappearance from here will certainly be shocking news."

"I'm sure he'll be fine, he's strong mentally and physically." Azure smiled as he began walking with Gurkinn walking beside him. "I can't always be there for him, and I want to make sure he gets stronger and also that he can take care of himself. The skill to be independent is important."

"I cannot argue with that."

"I would like to request a favour from you, Gurkinn."

"What is it?"

"I want you to relay this message to Riolu." Azure said seriously to Gurkinn as the older man gained a serious look of his own upon seeing the shift in Azure's personality. "In exactly two weeks from today, I'll be expecting to see him in Coumarine City. Use the time to become stronger, I have my expectations raised. If we are to cross paths with one another before the stated timeframe, don't expect to see me. I'll be long gone."

Azure didn't wait for Gurkinn to say anything as the old man watched as Azure turned around and began walking away as his figure slowly disappeared into the distance. Gurkinn closed his eyes and sighed, he knew exactly why Azure was doing this. It was needed.

Riolu needed to learn to be independent.

[Flashback End]

After Gurkinn had finished, Riolu was silent as his gaze was trained onto the ground as his eyes were shadowed as a deep frown was present on his face. Gurkinn just kept his firm expression as he looked at Riolu, he could tell many different emotions were going through the small pokemon's head.

It didn't last long though as Riolu's Ren was soon released, surprising Gurkinn as feeling the aura up close was truly a spectacle, it was beautiful. Riolu then raised his head, a determined look appearing on his face as he clenched his paw. Small tears still present, but were overruled by his hardened eyes.

[I understand...] Riolu muttered as he wiped out the tears from his eyes before picking up the bag and took hold of the rope before beginning to walk away from the gym and towards a certain direction. [Don't worry, Azure. There's no chance I'm going to let you down... I'll show you just how much stronger I'll get!]

Gurkinn watched as Riolu began walking off, this time in the opposite direction that Azure had walked in. This was a similar scene as to how Gurkinn had seen Azure having left the city not too long ago. Gurkinn then gave a small smile as he watched the retreating form of Riolu, he could feel the determination coming off the guy.

"He'll certainly grow stronger the next time we see him, don't you agree, Lucario?" Gurkinn asked as his Lucario walked out from behind the wall, having hidden himself away. Though, they had a feeling that Riolu knew Lucario was there, he could sense aura easily after all. Lucario smiled as he looked towards Riolu's direction, giving a nod as they watched him go.

Riolu was going to get stronger, and they were excited to see just how strong the young pup was going to go. Lucario being the most curious as he could see immense potential in that young Riolu, and with a teacher like Azure, that potential may very well be unleashed into the world like a raging tsunami.

"Be careful, Riolu. Azure will be waiting for you."