Chapter 367: Mega Origin

The thick smoke did not last long.

As both Pokémon simultaneously chose to retreat and create distance.

The gusts they stirred quickly dispersed the smoke, revealing a devastated battlefield.

And what surprised Baimu was that Garchomp, a Pokémon with neither the Levitate ability nor the Flying type, hovered in midair using its broad shark-like fins in a highly unscientific manner.

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It and Dragonite eyed each other warily, both having sensed the other's strength from their brief clash.

"Dragon Pulse!"

"Kanbu!"

»

Dragonite sharply inhaled, and three-colored dragon flames erupted violently from its three mouths, instantly merging into a snarling, clawed energy wyvern that roared as it charged toward Garchomp, shaking the air with its passage!

Though it had used no boosting move, the power of Dragon Pulse had grown with its aura, making the energy wyvern appear increasingly lifelike and utterly terrifying!

Zhenya shouted urgently: "Charge in with your Dragon Claws!"

"Kanbu!"

Garchomp swung its massive fins, enveloped in emerald-green light, like a giant bird caught in an updraft and hurtling forward, its fin-blades slashing wildly against the energy wyvern like twin blades!

In an instant, the energy wyvern was once again sliced into pieces by Garchomp and exploded violently!

Boom!

Intense firelight and smoke instantly engulfed the debris.

But before Dragonite could even react, Garchomp let out a long howl and burst through the dust, its emerald-green fins resembling two razor-sharp blades!

"Kanbu!"

"Dragon Breath!"

Baimu gave a swift command, and Dragonite's three heads whirled, firing torrents of sky-blue dragon flame like beam cannons at Garchomp.

Among close-range attacks, this was the fastest—and it had a chance of paralyzing Garchomp.

Ground-type Pokémon aren't immune to paralysis; they're just unaffected by Electric-type moves, so the secondary effects can't trigger.

Thus, Glare, Dragon Breath, or Paralysis Powder—all work against Garchomp—

Provided they land.

The two giants clashed in midair; no matter how many dragon flame beams Dragonite fired, Garchomp effortlessly sliced them apart with its emerald-green fins.

Of course, every time Garchomp tried to close the distance and attack Dragonite, the latter easily dodged.

Their battle range expanded relentlessly, forcing Baimu and Zhenya to keep moving, and causing the onlookers to repeatedly retreat.

But continuing like this was extremely disadvantageous for Dragonite.

After all, it had just fought two other Pokémon and suffered significant energy depletion—it couldn't match Garchomp's full stamina.

So.

Baimu exchanged a glance with Dragonite in the sky, deliberately leaving an opening.

Zhenya seized this fleeting moment without hesitation!

"Dragon Rush!"

Garchomp extended its fin-blades like wings; blue-green Dragon-type energy ignited into blazing flames that visibly wrapped its body, then coalesced into a monstrous energy dragon that roared wildly!

Simultaneously, a terrifying aura surged toward Dragonite like a solidified wave, pounding against its heart like a thundering drum, crushing it with oppressive pressure!

"Don't be afraid! We'll use Dragon Rush too!"

"Shasong!"

Dragonite roared in response to Baimu's command; its three heads glowed with brilliant blue light, and vast Dragon-type energy flowed like water backward, engulfing its entire body, then leaping like spirits!

The next instant.

A terrifying aura far surpassing Garchomp's surged outward in all directions, leaving the onlooker Dragon Tamers stunned at the astonishing sight!

"Is this… Dragon Rush?"

"How is this possible!"

Under everyone's gaze, Dragonite transformed into a colossal energy dragon with three massive heads, all three staring intently at the other energy dragon taking shape above it.

The colliding auras created an unimaginably terrifying pressure.

Even among the onlooking Dragon Tamers, a shiver of dread rose in their hearts; the youngest Yuzi hid in her elder cousin's arms, too terrified to look at the battlefield anymore!

From above and below, two utterly different energy dragons roared toward each other!

"Kanbu—!"

»

"Shasong—!"

»

Like meteorites crashing into Earth, the two roaring energy dragons collided violently; dragon flames entwined, and two ear-splitting, bone-chilling shrieks exploded instantly!

A visible shockwave mixed with blinding light flung Baimu and Zhenya away from the battlefield's edge, then instantly engulfed the surrounding young Dragon Tamers!

Flames capable of destroying everything surged into the sky; the deafening explosion nearly burst eardrums; the pitiful wild grass soared high into the air, and countless shards of stone rained down in all directions.

From afar, it looked like a mushroom cloud of fire and dust slowly rising.

With a sense of annihilation.

Throughout Meteor Village, Dragon-type Pokémon turned their heads toward it; the villagers gazed at the slowly rising miniature mushroom cloud—and instead of worry, they laughed.

"Today's youth are full of energy, aren't they?"

"Yes, yes."

The elder beside the Dragon Shrine watched the mushroom cloud, a hint of relief crossing his brow.

She had actually always been worried that Baimu wouldn't be able to fit in with the younger generation of dragon tamers, because their different upbringings and vastly different ways of thinking could easily lead to conflict.

But looking at it now, nothing worrying had happened.

Being able to hold a Pokémon battle and push it to this extent — given that group's personality, they were sure to really look up to Baimu.

Her gaze returned to the field.

Completely unscathed, Baimu quickly got to his feet; the casual lava outfit made by Team Magma had held up better than expected, and the mere aftershock of an explosion couldn't affect him at all.

The surroundings were filled with dust and smoke.

But he didn't pay it much mind, simply covering his mouth and nose as he carefully watched the battlefield.

However.

Before Baimu could judge the situation inside the smoke, the furious roars of Garchomp and Hydreigon suddenly rang out — sound waves pounding like war drums instantly scattering the dust!

In the ravaged battlefield, two massive dragon beasts were seen hovering in the air on opposite sides, panting heavily as they stared at each other.

Smoke curled around both of them, their bodies covered in all manner of small scrapes and burns, but compared to those, the drain on their stamina was clearly far more severe.

Under the head-on clash of Dragon Rush against Dragon Rush, both sides' stamina had been put to an extremely grueling test.

However, Garchomp's physical-attack talent was far higher than Hydreigon's, so the fact that they could match each other in the clash was proof enough of just how strong Hydreigon truly was.

"Roost!"

Seeing the result, Baimu immediately issued the command.

Without hesitation, Hydreigon descended to the ground, its body enveloped in Bai Guang; pure-white feathers formed of energy slowly drifted down, and wherever they touched it, ring after ring of pale-green healing light pulsed outward.

Its weakened aura rapidly recovered.

Meanwhile, Garchomp waited and waited for Zhenya's command, and seeing Hydreigon's condition steadily recovering, in its urgency it took the initiative to raise its shark fin and attack!

It had to interrupt its Roost!

"Kabu!"

Garchomp swung its pale-green shark fin and roared loudly, scales seeming to jet streams as it shot forward at extreme speed; even with its stamina sharply depleted, its movements seemed largely unaffected.

But just as it reached Hydreigon and was about to slash down, a shout from Zhenya came from behind it.

"Dodge, quick!"

Garchomp froze — and then saw that Hydreigon had, with its left and right heads, bitten down hard on the shark fin it had swung down!

Boom! Boom!

Dragon-type energy corroded Hydreigon, and two bursts of smoke exploded violently.

But it also left Garchomp's twin fins locked in a death grip, making it impossible to dodge the near-zero-distance attack from Hydreigon's central head!

"One last Dragon Pulse."

Baimu calmly issued the command.

Tri-colored dragon flame surged from the mouth of Hydreigon's central head, continuously scouring Garchomp's body; and as the former released its twin fins, it transformed into a colossal, ferocious energy wyvern that hurled Garchomp skyward.

Boom!

The energy wyvern detonated like a bomb, becoming an incomparably dazzling firework!

"Ah… sigh…"

Looking rather disheveled from the impact, Zhenya saw this scene and helplessly held his forehead.

It seemed not only was there a gap between dragon and dragon, but also a considerable gap between dragon tamer and dragon tamer…

Zhenya didn't feel at all that Baimu's ordering an attack before he had adjusted his own condition was anything underhanded — after all, dragon and dragon tamer were one.

In the smoke cluster in the sky.

The unconscious Garchomp fell into a deep crater on the field, its two golden dragon pupils replaced by black swirls.

"You won! Your Hydreigon is far stronger than I imagined!"

Zhenya came to Garchomp's side, gently soothing it before saying to Baimu: "Perhaps only a dragon tamer as exceptionally gifted as you can bear the glorious history of the People of the Meteor."

"—Huh? What do you mean?"

Baimu paused slightly, not quite understanding what Zhenya was saying — were the People of the Meteor always this strange with their compliments?

But before he could ask in detail, the young dragon tamers watching swarmed around him, ceaselessly praising him and Hydreigon, looks of admiration on every face.

Dragon tamers generally set their sights very high and deeply revered the strong — no matter what Baimu's situation had been before, as long as he and Hydreigon were strong enough, that was all that mattered.

Meanwhile.

Surrounded by a crowd, Baimu brought Hydreigon to the Pokémon Center of Meteor Village.

Of course there was no Young Lady Joy here, but the medical facilities were fully equipped and no worse than those outside; the one in charge of treating Pokémon was also a proper doctor with a medical license.

Not some shaman left over from ancient tradition.

While waiting, Baimu and Zhenya and the others chatted idly, the topics ranging from how Hydreigon had been raised to why he only had one dragon Pokémon.

"As a dragon tamer, how can you do without raising a few more dragon Pokémon!"

Even Zhenya, who looked the most steady of them, said with a serious face: "Although right now there aren't any dragon Pokémon in the village that can be assigned to you, there are tons in Meteor Falls! If you're free this afternoon, why not go have a look — we're heading to Meteor Falls on patrol anyway."

Peng Peng nodded solemnly. "Precisely so!"

"Uh, I have a different idea."

He skipped straight past the earlier part and asked curiously: "Patrol? Wasn't that…?"

"That's right — me, Peng Peng, and Lienzuo are all on the village guard."

Zhenya replied with a smile.

Peng Peng struck a muscle-flexing pose, while Lienzuo scratched his head sheepishly.

Baimu suddenly understood. "Ah~ then was it a bit inappropriate for you guys to casually use Pokémon to battle me just now?"

"Small problem! We've got more than one dragon on us! And actually, the reason we became the village guard isn't the dragons — it's other Pokémon."

Zhenya rolled up his sleeve to reveal a spiral-shaped bracelet. "I wonder if you've heard of Mega Evolution?"

Under the lights of the Pokémon Center, a small Key Stone reflected a rainbow of colors.

—

Meteor Falls could be called the birthplace of Mega Evolution in the Hoenn region.

So the People of the Meteor, who lived in Meteor Falls, were also the faction that held the most Key Stones and Mega Stones.

Of course.

The People of the Meteor weren't numerous enough for everyone to have a Key Stone and Mega Stone of their own, and since Mega Evolution was an extremely fearsome power, the Dragon Elder, as their chieftain, strictly controlled this strategic resource.

Only those People of the Meteor whom she approved could obtain or inherit the Key Stones and Mega Stones of their forebears.

Zhenya, Peng Peng, and Lianzu, although stationed in Meteor Village and not out traveling, had passed the Dragon Elder's trial and were excellent Dragon Tamers capable of Mega Evolving their Pokémon.

Other young Dragon Tamers had always greatly admired them.

Seeing Baimu looking quite curious, the three of them—Zhenya and the others—very enthusiastically grabbed him and shoved him out the door, saying they wanted to show him a thing or two.

"Mega Evolution is a special ability. When a Pokémon and its Trainer form a strong bond, it causes the Key Stone and Mega Stone to resonate, leading the Pokémon to evolve to the next level and unleash its hidden power."

Zhenya pulled out a Poké Ball and tossed it forward.

Poof!

Light flickered.

A pink, hippo-like Pokémon appeared, its tail clamped in a shell.

"Yadon~"

Slowbro stared blankly, letting out a not-very-bright cry.

"This is my partner, Slowbro."

Zhenya proudly patted its head and said with great confidence, "Maybe my Garchomp can't compare to your Hydreigon, but if you let it battle, your Hydreigon definitely wouldn't be a match!"

Meanwhile.

Peng Peng and Lianzu also released their Pokémon.

Poof! Poof!

Light flashed in succession.

A thin, hunched Sableye and an Absolus-like Pokémon with a massive horned head, its body radiating cold air, appeared—the former was Lianzu's Pokémon, the latter Peng Peng's.

"Watch closely!"

Zhenya pressed his left hand against the Key Stone on his right wrist, and brilliant light instantly blazed from the Key Stone and Slowbro's body.

In an instant, the Key Stone shot out several irregular, lightning-shaped energy chains that connected with the lightning-shaped chains fired from Slowbro's light-wreathed body!

The latter's form rapidly began to change.

At the same time.

Peng Peng and Lianzu also began Mega Evolving their Pokémon.

Not long after.

Before Baimu's eyes appeared, respectively, a Mega Slowbro with most of its body swallowed by the shell, only its head, tail, and a pair of front claws showing; a Mega Sableye whose blue eyes had turned red and which constantly clutched a prism-shaped gemstone shield; and a Mega Absol whose jaw had dropped open as if dislocated to an extreme degree, with a single icicle-like horn grown between its brows.

All three successfully Mega-Evolved Pokémon radiated an extremely powerful aura.

He looked at Mega Slowbro. Earlier, when Zhenya had said Hydreigon definitely wouldn't be a match for this fellow, he had been a bit dismissive, thinking whether it could win or not would only be known after fighting.

Now that he took a look, he suddenly felt Zhenya might have been exactly right.

To promote this new system, the animation team had really buffed Mega Evolution far too much. Not to mention Pokémon that genuinely became stronger through Mega Evolution, even some Pokémon that were still pretty useless even after Mega Evolution had their strength rise along with the tide.

Reaching an exaggerated degree far beyond that of other normal Pokémon.

So Hydreigon most likely wouldn't be able to do anything against Mega Slowbro, and would even have to think twice when facing Mega Sableye and Mega Absol.

One of these two Pokémon could let the gemstone in front of it take damage for it, and the other could use what could be called the most exaggerated move in terms of power—Explosion with Pixilate.

If hit by Mega Absol's Explosion, Hydreigon basically shouldn't expect to tank it.

Protect might not even work.

However.

Baimu slightly raised his hand. "I have a question."

"Go ahead and ask."

"Why aren't any of the Pokémon you Mega Evolved Dragon-type?"

He surveyed the three Pokémon with some puzzlement. "You've got both Garchomp and Altaria—shouldn't you be Mega Evolving them instead?"

Speaking of this.

Zhenya and the others immediately looked a bit awkward.

"Uh… as for that matter…"

"I know, I know!" The most restless little Dragon Tamer brat raised his hand. "Big Brother Zhenya and the others couldn't win against the uncles, and they didn't beat Miss Xijiana either! So they had to settle for second best! Later, after going out traveling, they never found Mega Stones for Garchomp and the others—"

"Qiaolong, shut up!"

A slightly older Dragon Tamer girl covered his mouth. "You talk too much!"

Zhenya sighed. "This matter is rather complicated to explain, and you'll find out sooner or later anyway, so I won't go into it here. In short, most of the time we're the ones who have no choice…"

From his account, Baimu gradually learned of a situation—

Practically everyone within the People of the Meteor wanted those few Dragon-type Mega Stones, but there were too many monks and not enough porridge, so those Dragon-type Mega Stones had long been divided up.

Whenever a vacancy opened up, it would trigger a frenzy of competition among numerous Dragon Tamers.

Those who couldn't snatch one naturally had to settle for second best, choosing Mega Stones of other types, or they could go out on their own to search for the Mega Stones they wanted without relying on the village.

But over several thousand years, the People of the Meteor had scoured virtually every corner of the Hoenn region—saying they'd dug three feet into the ground wouldn't be an exaggeration—and where could any Dragon-type Mega Stones still be found?

After hearing Zhenya's rather helpless explanation, Baimu thought, why not go look in the Kalos region?

Meanwhile.

He also learned that the Salamence evolution stone that had finally become available in recent years had been obtained by Miss Xijiana.

The latter, as an elite among the younger generation of Dragon Tamers, ranked among the very best in overall strength even among all Dragon Tamers. Moreover, she had another identity.

"A Successor?"