After sending the two dragons, still in their orb forms, off to Alola, Axel was finally free.
Giratina remained cooped up, refusing to appear, and for now Axel had no idea how to enter the Reverse World.
As for Eva, he wasn't too worried, he just called her once a day like usual.
The progress on the Black and White Dragons' recovery was quite encouraging. For now, they were still mostly in spirit form, but they could occasionally manifest physically to fight.
As long as Necrozma didn't show up, the Aether Foundation shouldn't be able to stir up much trouble.
"Cynthia, do you think Gyarados could possibly awaken the Dragon type?"
Looking at the "Attribute Enhancement" tag on Gyarados, Axel couldn't help but sink into thought.
This tag was strange. Most other tags simply boosted power in a specific aspect, with the strength of that boost depending on the color tier.
But this one's description was very simple, through the infusion of a specific kind of energy, it alters the body's internal attribute.
At first, Axel had thought it would work like Terastallization or Silvally's RKS System. Attach it, and it takes effect. But after he did, nothing happened.
It was really annoying.
"Adding Dragon typing?", Cynthia, who was nestled in Axel's arms, was stunned by his wild idea.
But thinking about all the strange Pokémon Axel had trained, she started to feel like… maybe this wasn't impossible either.
After all, before she met Axel, she never would've believed that Garchomp could learn Dragon Dance, either.
She thought for a moment, gently curling a strand of hair around her finger.
"Emmm… changing typing isn't impossible, actually."
"Remember Mega Evolution? A lot of Pokémon change their type after Mega evolving."
Hearing Cynthia's words, Axel's eyes instantly lit up.
'Right, how can I forgotten about Mega Evolution?'
'Gyarados is the perfect example!'
Originally, Gyarados's typing was Water and Flying. But after Mega evolving, it became Water and Dark.
If Mega Evolution can change a Pokémon's type, then maybe it's possible to achieve something similar through resources and attribute tags.
Though no professor had ever researched that angle, that didn't mean it was impossible.
"What a pity I sent the Black and White Dragons out so soon… just one of them would've been enough to show Lusamine some face."
The thought suddenly flashed through Axel's mind, but he immediately pushed it away.
They were his own dragons, after all. He wasn't about to exploit them.
Besides, those two had become inseparable; if they were apart, they'd probably lose sleep and appetite both.
Rather than using them, maybe he should turn his attention toward Dialga and Palkia.
Those two bastards had been lounging around for days without dropping even a single tag. Eating his food, drinking his drinks, it was about time they paid some "nutrition fees."
"Gible, come on, let's go out for a walk!"
At his call, the little Gible, who had been chewing on the fake mountain in the middle of the pond, immediately gave a cheerful roar and ran to his side.
Over the past few days, Axel had realized just how terrifying the little guy's tags were.
With its innate racial talent and the "Razor Fangs" tag, it could practically bite a chunk out of anything.
And its growth was incredibly fast.
At first, when it was teething, Gible had been chewing on those little aluminum cookies shaped like bridges.
Later, it started eating the rocks from Flint's house.
And just like Flint had said, his house had been built by Elite-level Pokémon, and its durability was exceptional.
It had become a huge help for Gible's development.
These past few days, Gible had been devouring the house, rebuilding it, then eating it again, so much so that several construction teams had shown up to open nearby branches just from the fame.
At this point… who even knew how many times Flint's house had been rebuilt?
Even the thick-skinned, battle-hardened General had been used as a teething stick these past few days.
"Rooar!", A dragon's roar burst out. Gyarados swung its massive body and shot up into the clouds.
Although Flint's home wasn't far from Cynthia's, Axel still chose to ride Gyarados.
Not for convenience, just to give it some mental prep work.
"Ahem~ Gyarados, how long have you been on the team?"
Hearing that, Gyarados suddenly froze mid-flight.
'What's going on?'
'He's not… kicking me out, is he?'
In less than a second, Gyarados's imagination was already running wild, picturing itself being deemed unworthy, demoted to the secondary team, doomed to serve as nothing more than a mount…
'But… I've worked so hard!'
Gyarados looked miserable, full of hopeless despair.
Had it been working hard? Absolutely!
At the very least, among Axel's Pokémon, Gyarados was definitely one of the most hardworking.
But in this team? Either you were an Ultra Beast, or like "Sister Garde", uh, one of those adorable and ever-changing oddballs, or you were a god. Or one of the many dragons all blessed by the Dragon King himself, it was just him and Gholdengo left behind, lonely and pitiful.
At least Gholdengo still had some unique uses. But as for Gyarados, its only function at this point was probably… an alarm clock.
In such a situation, it was only natural for the Trainer to ease the burden and, like most others, separate main team from reserves.
"Hey, what's with that face?", Axel chuckled, sensing Gyarados's gloom.
"I'm just asking if you want to get stronger."
"Relax, I'm not doing that 'second team' nonsense."
"As long as you want to grow stronger, you're all main team material, got it?"
"Rooar?", Gyarados's eyes widened in an instant.
'So it isn't abandonment, then it must be something else.'
'Could it be… Master's going to give me special training?'
'Finally, the day has come! Please, do whatever you want to me, Master'
"You said it yourself, right?"
"Rooar!", Gyarados slapped its tail hard, echoing with pride.
'Yes! I said it myself!'
"Good. Then I can relax. We're heading straight to Cynthia's place, I've got plans for you."
Axel grinned, feeling confident that things with Gyarados were about to work out.
Earlier that day, while chatting with Cynthia, Axel had suddenly thought of the basic principle behind Mega Evolution.
At its core, Mega Evolution is just using the immense power within certain stones to activate a hidden switch in the Pokémon's body.
In some special cases, that can even change a Pokémon's typing.
Thinking deeper, why could Gyarados become Dark type?
Because that species is naturally brutal by instinct; the Dark-type power lies deep in its very genes.
Coincidentally, when Axel had been studying the process of infusing energy into tags, he'd come across a certain treasure, the Dragon Fang.
Putting all these pieces together, an idea struck him.
He couldn't change Gyarados's genes, but he could change its fangs, couldn't he?
What if he swapped them with Palkia's fangs, could that solve the problem?
Maybe he wouldn't even need Mega Evolution.
With the divine power of a Legendary, Gyarados's typing might just change entirely.