"Success!"
The light of evolution had completely faded, and a new Mega Beedrill appeared on the spot.
Compared to before Mega Evolution, the Mega Beedrill's transformation was striking: its double‑arm stingers had shifted to resemble knightly spears, its feet became two pincers, and a huge stinger had grown from its tail.
Its aura was even more fierce and imposing than during Mega Evolution.
"Fantastic! Now we've got the basis to fight Team Rocket as well."
Steven breathed a sigh of relief; he was genuinely happy.
They already had strong capabilities, and with Mega Evolution mastered, the pressure on Steven was enormous.
After all, Cynthia and the others had borrowed from other regions. If they couldn't deal with Team Rocket, once Cynthia and the others returned to their home regions…
How would Hoenn's League handle Team Rocket?
With Mega Evolution, at least they'd have a foundation to contend with Hoenn's Team Rocket.
Next, Cynthia and the others would also let their main roster Pokémon try to sense the Mega Stones they needed.
Result: Steven found Metagross's Mega Stone, Leon found Charizard's Mega Stone, and notably, Leon's Charizard sensed two Mega Stone.
Testing showed one form turning black‑blue buffed both offenses, with a likely change in typing.
Another form with less change in shape but a huge buff to Special Attack, and the Ability changing to sunny weather via Drought.
Leon was happy and a bit conflicted—both Mega Evolution forms were great!
Cynthia meanwhile found ace Garchomp's Evolutionary stone; she was very satisfied and even tried it. Mega Garchomp's offense was astonishingly strong!
Was it just under a illusion that Mega Garchomp's speed had slowed a bit?
As for Nemona, she got a Mega Stone for Altaria—one of her main roster last year included an Altaria.
This left Nemona torn. She'd planned to train up this year's new team and drop Altaria to the second team, but now with Altaria's Mega Stone in hand, she faced a dilemma.
Most importantly… Mega Altaria looked gorgeous!
Wallace was sad; his ace Milotic still hadn't sensed a Mega Stone, while Gyara‑dos did.
Well, after Mega Evolution, Mega Gyarados had successfully replaced Milotic as Wallace's new ace.
Facing Milotic's tears, Wallace swore he would find Milotic's Mega Stone!
Milotic mattered to Wallacei!
Seeing everyone has results, Steven was happy too; otherwise, making Cynthia and the others travel all this way would have felt a bit awkward.
Then they all went to have dinner, and the group at the table discussed their next plans.
"Mega Evolution has boosted our combat power a lot, but what about Damian's Mewtwo and Kyogre?"
Steven wasn't as upbeat as Wallace; he was still very self‑aware.
"Mewtwo is fine enough; though powerful, it's not without chances," Giovanni spoke in his magnetic, deep voice.
"Our ace can now Mega Evolve, and I believe with united effort, beating Mewtwo isn't impossible."
Giovanni's gaze swept Steven and Cynthia, finally lingering on Leon, implying something meaningful.
This Galar Champion, though his first battle here was delayed by a sense of direction, gave a vibe of being both natural and more than a little puzzling.
But in truth, Leon's strength on the ground was the strongest here besides him!
Especially Leon's Charizard; Giovanni had watched Leon and Nemona spar, and that Charizard seemed a bit too strong.
"Gym Leader Giovanni is right!" Wallace approved.
Yep, as long as these Champions work together, what about Mewtwo?
Nemona shot a strange look at Wallace, wanting to say more but holding back.
"But the current key isn't Mewtwo." Giovanni sighed.
"Kyogre!"
Leon frowned, naming the Pokémon Giovanni was worried about.
"Right—Ho‑Oh and Deoxys aren't Damian's Pokémon. According to Officer Jenny, after the battle some people saw Ho‑Oh and Deoxys leave in silhouette."
"But Kyogre isn't gone; Kyogre is Damian's Pokémon!"
Giovanni's voice dropped.
As for what comes next, those who saw the LaRousse City battle knew Primal Kyogre's strength.
"Anyway, we can give it a try. We can't stop just because the opponent is strong, right?" Leon spoke up as the mood grew heavy. As the invincible Champion of Galar, he still had to step up.
"Champion Leon is right," Cynthia agreed. "We should try."
"Yeah, yeah! If we don't fight, how will we know if we can do it?" Nemona nodded vigorously.
"Besides, isn't there another Legendary Pokémon besides Kyogre and Rayquaza?" Nemona suddenly recalled. In Hoenn legends, besides Sky Dragon Rayquaza and Ocean King Kyogre, there was another Legendary Pokémon, right?
Hearing that, Steven and the others froze.
"Nemona—you mean… Groudon?"
Steven frowned.
"Yeah! Since Damian has Kyogre, we could absolutely go find Groudon!"
Nemona spoke boldly.
"Use Legendary Pokémon against Legendary Pokémon!"
"That could work. If we can find Groudon and persuade it to assist us, our odds against Team Rocket would rise dramatically."
Leon nodded in strong support, using legends against legends.
"Champion Steven, as for the legends of Hoenn, Kyogre and Groudon's strengths are said to be even," Cynthia looked to Steven.
"I'm not sure about the exact legends, but I think that's how it is," Steven replied, somewhat troubled.
"But in the great legends, Kyogre and Groudon are rivals. If they meet, a fierce battle would erupt," Steven continued.
He hesitated, worried about consequences once awakened.
"That would indeed be a problem," Leon mused. The potential destruction was enormous.
"But if we don't find Groudon, our chances to beat Damian are miniscule," Nemona pressed on with her face a little strained.
Explaining further, the Legendary Pokémon lineups are potent.
Cynthia nudged Nemona gently; this is Hoenn, and Steven is the Hoenn Champion.
If Groudon and Kyogre fight, it affects Hoenn—the land and civilians—and they couldn't risk it.
Steven took a deep breath, deciding.
"I'll send people to find Groudon!"
Steven finally spoke with resolve.
"If we don't take action now, Team Rocket will keep growing in Hoenn. Our first priority is to drive Team Rocket out of Hoenn!"
Leon praised Steven's decision.
As a strong champion, he supported it fully.
"Since that's the case, finding Groudon is the most important thing now," Cynthia agreed.
"By the way, there's a Team Magma admin named May who reportedly captured a Team Magma base; perhaps she knows Groudon's slumber site."
Steven spoke coolly.
"I'll go ask personally. Team Magma has been pursuing Groudon for ages, and maybe they know where it sleeps."
" workable. And Champion Steven, if one of us can gain Groudon's approval, your concern about things spiraling out of control would be gone."
Giovanni said.
Hearing that, Steven froze, then showed a hint of joy. If someone among them could be chosen by Groudon, they wouldn't worry anymore.
Moreover, that would put them on par with Damian's Legendary Trainer holdings, and future concerns about Damian would lessen.
"I'll go ask that Team Magma admin right now!"
Steven's spirits lifted. They could do this.
"Hey! Senior Steven, I'll go with you!"
Nemona was excited; she'd never interrogated a prisoner before, and this would be her first time!
"Sure." Steven didn't reject. He and Nemona headed out of the room together.
Seeing this, Giovanni quietly sent a text to his beloved son.
"Damian, Hoenn League wants to awaken Groudon to deal with you."
In other words, a mole in the camp? Perhaps an inside source.
Steven and the others couldn't imagine that they'd already spawned a traitor.
~~~
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