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As the light faded, a silver-white metallic behemoth, held together by magnetic forces, hovered in mid-air. A cross-shaped metallic pattern was branded onto its face, and its cold electronic eyes locked onto Ariel.
Metagross!
Steven's trump card, the Pseudo-Legendary of the Hoenn region.
Just by appearing, that heavy, steel-like pressure caused the air in the entire stadium to stagnate.
However, this was only the beginning.
Steven did not give anyone time to react. He raised his left hand, which wore a key stone glove, and with his index and middle fingers pressed together, he gently tapped the brilliant key stone on the back of his hand.
"Metagross! Transcend the limits of evolution, Mega Evolution!"
The moment the words fell, the key stone resonated with the Mega Stone carried by Metagross. Billions of brilliant ribbons of light burst forth from between the two, weaving into a massive net of light that completely enveloped Metagross!
"Roar—!!!"
The silver-white metallic behemoth circling in mid-air saw its body constantly reorganize and expand within the dazzling light. Its four arms retracted beneath its body, transforming into even more ferocious and destructive giant Metal Claws, and the lines of its entire body became smoother and more aggressive!
The light dissipated.
Mega Metagross, officially descended!
In the main stadium of the Ever Grande Conference, the breathing of tens of thousands of people seemed to be drained away at the same time.
Dead silence.
After one second of dead silence came an uproar and screams like a volcanic eruption!
"What... what is that?!"
"Metagross's appearance... has changed!"
"Mega Evolution! This is the legendary Mega Evolution!!"
The vast majority of the audience at the scene, including even some veteran Trainers, had only heard of this term in the scraps of magazines or news reports.
Now, when this Pokémon that transcended the limits of conventional evolution appeared alive before them, the visual impact and spiritual shock were incomparable to any written description.
The host stretched his throat and roared at a volume that nearly broke, pushing the atmosphere at the scene to the peak of madness.
"It has appeared! Ladies and gentlemen! This is the first time in the history of the Ever Grande Conference that a Mega Evolution has appeared! Trainer Steven from Hoenn has brought out his strongest trump card!!"
If there was anyone who couldn't smile at this moment, it was definitely those gamblers who had bet their lives on Ariel.
In front of the television, a young man who dreamed of turning a bicycle into a motorcycle turned pale. The bowl of instant noodles in his hands fell to the ground with a "clatter," and he didn't even notice the soup splashing onto his pant leg.
He was finished.
All his savings, and even some money he borrowed from online loans, were all bet on Ariel to win.
He just wanted to jump off the twentieth floor now.
His friend next to him slapped him on the back, laughing gleefully:
"Hahahaha! How could Ariel possibly win? I told you to bet on Steven, but you wouldn't listen! Regret it now, huh! Well, you've lost everything, even your underwear!"
On the field, Ariel was silent.
To everyone, this silence was despair.
Steven looked at Ariel opposite him, feeling no triumph, but rather a sense of calm that felt only natural.
He remembered very clearly that back at Mt. Pyre, facing that Banette with Elite Four Level strength, it was only by relying on the absolute power of Mega Metagross that the two of them were able to escape by luck.
Ariel knew better than anyone what this Mega Metagross meant.
It was an insurmountable wall.
In the audience, looks of sympathy, pity, and mockery intertwined and fell on Ariel.
"It's over, how can he fight this?"
"Metagross was already outrageous enough, and now it has Mega Evolution; this is cheating!"
"Ariel is already very strong; he fought with honor."
In the Elite Four's viewing area, the Dark-type Elite Sidney crossed his arms, his brows locked tight:
"It's over, this kid has reached his limit. Mega Metagross, there's simply no way to fight it."
The Dragon-type Elite Four Member Drake stroked his long beard, but a light that others couldn't understand flickered in his cloudy eyes:
"Don't be so sure, the battle hasn't even started yet."
Just amidst these deafening discussions, Ariel moved.
He silently sent out Gyarados.
Carrying the aura of "Moxie" which raised its Attack by one stage, Gyarados let out a roar, but in front of this silver-white steel god, its aura seemed so insignificant, like a small wave before a tsunami.
Everyone thought this was Ariel's final struggle.
Steven thought so too.
He looked at Ariel, at his face that was a bit too calm, thinking he had been crushed by the huge gap in strength.
However, Ariel's heart was not as calm as it appeared on the surface.
The moment Mega Metagross appeared, what he felt was not despair, but a kind of... trembling and excitement surging from the depths of his soul!
Well done.
This was the duel he wanted!
This was the true strength of someone standing at the peak of Hoenn!
If he couldn't even handle this situation, how could he talk about challenging even higher peaks?
The noise of the audience, the pressure from his opponent, the doubts of the whole world... all of this turned into firewood burning fiercely in his chest at this moment.
His silence was not giving up, but accumulating, waiting for a moment to ignite the whole scene.
Steven, do you think only you possess this power?
Ariel slowly raised his left hand, revealing an inconspicuous black wristband on his wrist.
His movements were very slow, so slow that everyone's gaze was involuntarily drawn to it.
He gently pushed aside the wristband, and a peculiar gem, similar to Steven's key stone, warm and jade-like, with moonlight seemingly flowing inside, was exposed to everyone's view!
Key Stone!
"What is that?" Sidney suddenly stood up from his seat.
The corner of Drake's mouth finally curled into a smile.
Steven's eyes narrowed.
For some reason, he felt that the thing in Ariel's hand looked somewhat familiar?
Ariel looked at the expression on Steven's face, as if he had seen a ghost, and his inner mischief was greatly satisfied.
This was the effect he wanted.
He wanted everyone who thought he was doomed to have their eyeballs pop out!
Ariel held the Key Stone tightly in his hand, feeling the unique Bond established between him and Gyarados.
His voice was not loud, but like a thunderclap, clearly piercing through the entire noisy stadium.
"Gyarados!"
"Mega Evolution!"
In the center of the arena, a brand new behemoth was coiled there, its original deep blue scales even more ferocious!
The armor on the sides of its dorsal fin turned an ominous blood red.
On both sides of its thick neck, huge fins unfolded like blades, and every breath brought out scorching water vapor, hissing on the cold ground.
This was no longer Gyarados.
This was a prehistoric evil beast that had crawled out of the abyss!
Its presence was so intense that even the Mega Metagross next to it seemed a bit thin.
It was a kind of pure, primitive, unreasonable ferocity, as if it would tear the whole world apart and devour it the next second.
The entire Ever Grande Conference main stadium, the noise of tens of thousands of people, was choked by an invisible hand at this moment, falling into a death-like silence.
One second.
Two seconds.
"Roar—!!!"
The earth-shattering roar turned into a tangible sound wave, sweeping across the entire stadium!
The silence was completely torn apart, replaced by fanatical cheers like a volcanic eruption! The sound wave was higher than the last, almost blowing the roof off the stadium!
"My god! My god! The second one! This is the first time in the history of the Ever Grande Conference that two Pokémon with Mega Evolution have appeared in the same match!"
The host was almost roaring, his voice cracking with excitement, but he didn't care.
He pointed at the two behemoths confronting each other in the field, roaring incoherently:
"A miracle! This is a miracle! Trainer Ariel! He actually also possesses the power of Mega Evolution!"