Chapter 360

Although there was high-definition replay of Rotom's game, it didn't feel like an official Pokémon League -recognized Competition to the audience. It was more like a friendly sparring session between friends, which wasn't quite as exciting as it seemed.

"I never expected... that someone could actually pull out Key Stone."

In Qiao Ran's knowledge, among the people he knew, only Sabrina and Cynthia possessed Key Stone. Brock might have one too, and as for Anabel... she hadn't mentioned anything about it, so he assumed she didn't have one.

Logically speaking, no Mega Evolutions should have been discovered in this world, and logically, the Gym Leader of this world shouldn't be pulling out something like this at this time. But now...

--No, perhaps it was precisely because of his and Sabrina's arrival that everything changed. Ever since they announced the existence of Mega Evolution, Pokémon Trainer all over the world have been desperately searching for and exploring the secrets of this evolution. Now, several months have passed, and maybe someone has actually found something.

--Just like the person standing in front of Qiao Ran.

"That's right, this is the Evolutionary Stone."

Chen Leizhong held the Key Stone in his hand and brought it in front of him. The golden light emanating from the electricity in the arena reflected on his face, illuminating his entire body with unparalleled clarity and brightness.

"This was a gift from a Collector in Yangcheng, and to match it, there's a Mega Stone that corresponds to my Ampharos."

"Den--!!!"

As if in response to Chen Leizhong, the Ampharos also raised its head and let out a somewhat shrill Growl. On its tail, there was indeed a small bead tied. However, before...

They went unnoticed throughout the battle.

"From today onwards, the Yangcheng Gym will be one of only two Gym in all of China that possesses Mega Evolution!"

Chen Leizhong raised the stone in his hand high, and seven-colored light and energy surged from his body, almost exactly the same effect as Qiao Ran had produced before. The power gradually gathered and condensed into the Ampharos's body, enveloping the Ampharos in dazzling light.

The combined light of the electric current and the light of Mega Evolution made the Ampharos's body resemble a small Sun, so bright that it was impossible to open one's eyes. And within that light, its body began to undergo significant changes.

From its head and tail, the fur that it had lost after evolution grew back. Its pure white color was like the clouds in the sky. Furthermore, there were many red spheres between the fur to store energy. When it condensed electrical energy, it would emit a dazzling light like a lighthouse.

At the same time, the dragon blood dormant within the Ampharos was awakened, making its body more upright and its arms and legs more powerful. Originally Electric-type, it was now endowed with additional Dragon-type, making it perhaps the true Ampharos at this moment.

"Den--!!!!!!!"

The Ampharos, standing on the Battle Court, roared once more. This time, however, it was clearly much more confident than before. Like other Dragon-type Pokémon, its Growl carried an inexplicable sense of power, like the beating of war drums, making people's hearts race and their blood boil.

"It really did Mega Evolution..."

This was the first time Qiao Ran had ever seen Ampharos after Mega Evolution. Every Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution must possess considerable strength and have a high degree of synergy with its Trainer. These two factors alone are enough to eliminate most Trainer and Pokémon in the Pokémon World.

And it has to be said that compared to its previous appearance, the Ampharos is indeed much better looking now; perhaps this is all thanks to the hair it has grown?

"Ampharos! Ampharos! Ampharos!!!"

The audience outside the arena was also in an uproar. Compared to Latias, which they had just seen, they clearly had a deeper affection for Ampharos. Not to mention many Trainer who had trained at the Yangcheng Gym, their teams might have even trained Mareep and Flaaffy. Now that they had seen Ampharos' latest evolution, how could they not be excited?

Moreover, just looking at their appearance was enough to make them quite satisfied.

"I've trained for Mega Evolution for a long time. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but thankfully we didn't fail this time."

Chen Leizhong looked at his partner on the field and couldn't help but smile.

"As expected, you still need a good opponent, right? Without a suitable opponent, you can't muster the Vital Spirit, can you?"

He understood Ampharos and knew that his opponent's personality was similar to his own. Without proper pressure, he wouldn't get into that extremely serious state. But this time, their opponent was indeed qualified.

"Show them what you're capable of now!"

Chen Leizhong pointed, and the Ampharos stomped its foot hard. The Light Orb hidden in its fur flickered frantically, and a terrifying blue-purple ray of light gradually brewed in its mouth.

After Mega Evolution, Ampharos's abilities are enhanced once again. Its already impressive Special Attack increases to a terrifying 165 points, which is higher than both Attack and Special Attack of Dianxi after Mega Evolution. However, due to the growth of more fur on its body, its Speed is slightly reduced to a pitiful 45 points, which is exactly the same as Caterpie's.

"... Dragon Pulse!"

The terrifying beam of light had taken shape, and the Ampharos released it in an instant. The Dragon Pulse released by the Ampharos was extremely fast, and it had found its own balance between power and release speed.

Within this Battle Court, it knows exactly which powerful skills won't affect buildings, thus limiting the damage to a certain range. And even this alone is enough to pose a deadly threat to its opponent.

The Pressure emanating from the Ampharos was unprecedented. When the Dragon Pulse Spit Up from its mouth, it directly triggered the surrounding lightning, creating a golden storm. Qiao Ran knew without even looking that if he were hit by this attack, well... even a slight graze would likely leave him Paralysis and stuck in place, just like before.

Furthermore, Qiao Ran himself wasn't entirely sure if, in the Real World, the effects of Paralysis had different levels, such as a stronger electric current causing a stronger Paralysis effect. Although this concept didn't exist in the game, he had long since learned—never to apply game-based common sense to reality.

In short—this time we absolutely must avoid it.

"Latias! Take off!!!"

Latias, after Mega Evolution, was clearly no pushover. With her arms outstretched at her sides, she spun through the air like an airplane, taking flight at high speed. After Mega Evolution, although Latias's speed...

While its speed stat didn't increase, other aspects—such as aerial agility—were significantly improved.

If it were a typical Flying type Pokémon, after being Sheer Force accelerated to a certain level, it would find it difficult to turn around or change direction. This was also the case for Yi Ruoyun, who was an Elite Four. However, after Mega Evolution, Latias overcame this limitation. The wing-like extension that stretched from her wrist allowed her to perform any fancy maneuver in the air, even small spins at maximum speed.

Although its speed itself did not increase, Latias did become more "agile" on another level.

Using its own mobility, Latias maneuvered through the air and managed to dodge the Dragon Pulse. Seeing that his first attack had missed, Chen Leizhong planned to continue his attack.

"Ampharos! Thunder!"

Latias! We also Dragon Pulse!!

Mega Evolution Ampharos gains the Dragon-type, which Qiao Ran can exploit. While the previous Ampharos didn't have any moves that were super effective against it, the Ampharos Latias a weakness that makes it doubly super effective against Latias.

The Dragon Clan's civil war is a battle where both sides are each other's nemesis.

Blue light Spit Up from Latias's mouth, while black clouds gathered indoors on the Ampharos's side. Rumbling lightning brewed in the air, reflecting the lightning on the ground. Both the sky and the ground were completely dominated by electricity.

"This really is..."

The brewing Thunder hadn't even struck yet, but the apocalyptic scene alone was enough to send a chill down Qiao Ran. It wasn't that he was afraid Latias would be defeated, but rather... as a human being, deep down, he still held a natural reverence for lightning.

"..."

The audience outside the arena were also stunned, staring blankly at the scene unfolding in the Battle Court. Among all the Gym Leader, Chen Leizhong might not be the strongest, but his performances were always the most spectacular and grand, bringing an unparalleled sense of awe every time.

This is probably why his Gym was placed in a "tourist attraction".

"Boom!!!!"

Latias's Dragon Pulse struck Ampharos directly. As before, Ampharos made no attempt to dodge. After all, Chen Leizhong knew that with Mega Ampharos's 45% movement speed, it was pointless for him to move actively. He might as well spend more time thinking about how to defend.

A fine Electroweb formed in front of it, which reduced some of the damage from the surging torrent, but it still showed a hint of discomfort when the remaining attacks struck it.

"... So... does the advantage of attributes disappear after Mega Evolution?"

Chen Leizhong also saw this, but at this moment he did not regret his decision. After all, both he and Ampharos were looking forward to a Mega Pokémon battle. They just wanted to have a good fight.

"But... let's do it too! Dragon Pulse!!"

Bide the physical pain, the Ampharos raised its long neck and Spit Up a blue beam of light into the sky.

Latias!

Qiao Ran wanted Latias to dodge as before, but before Latias could fly very far, Qiao Ran already noticed that dark clouds of Thunder had already formed near Latias's range of movement.

The Ampharos hadn't unleashed its Thunder before; it had been waiting for this moment!

"Charge out!"

Qiao Ran gritted his teeth and made a decision. Rather than standing here timidly and waiting to be hit by the Dragon Pulse, he might as well go directly through the lightning field created by the Ampharos. Even if he was hit, he could be blocked by double the resistance.

As for abilities like Teleport, Latias isn't Pokémon like Alakazam that relies on Teleport. While such abilities are fine for everyday use, using them in a battle of this level could easily disrupt the rhythm of the fight if the opponent doesn't dodge in time.

In the Pokémon games, only a few common Pokémon can use the Teleport: Alakazam, Gardevoir, Xatu, Claydol, and Beheeyem. The remaining Legendary Pokémon are Deoxys and Cosmog.

In reality, this doesn't mean that other users of Psychic can't Teleport, but rather that their Teleport is slightly inferior to that of these Pokémon who have mastered it to a Teleport degree, far from being worthy of being called a "skill".

Take the "Tackle" skill, for example. What's the difference between this skill and directly charging in and crashing into something? But if we have to compare, when using the skill, Tackle is definitely more powerful than directly charging in and crashing into something.

Returning to the Battle Court, facing the rolling thunder, Latias could only shrink her body and try to speed up and rush out. Behind her, blue light broke through the dark thunderclouds, struck the gray ceiling, and then gradually disappeared. Under the control of the Ampharos, its skills were always perfectly timed.

Latias! Danger!

As for Latias,

Despite her best efforts to fly, she was still unable to resist the trap that the Ampharos had already set up. A Golden lightning bolt fell from the sky, piercing through Latias's body and enveloping her in Golden light. Then, the lightning bolt continued its momentum, striking the ground as if a Golden nail had been driven between heaven and earth, completely piercing Latias.

"--!!"

Latias shuddered and nearly fell from the sky. Despite having double resistance to Electric-type moves, taking a direct hit from a 165 Special Attack stat and then being hit by a Thunder from Electric Terrain- based Ampharos was still a painful experience.

Latias and Raichu went back and forth, each trying their best to inflict more damage on the other. As Trainer, Qiao Ran and Chen Leizhong were also under great tension. In order to maintain the state of Mega Evolution, Trainer must maintain a high level of mental concentration; otherwise, it would be absolutely impossible to maintain this state.

While in the game, Mega Evolution can easily sustain a Competition for an entire game, in reality, many factors can cause a player to prematurely exit Mega Evolution.

If you don't take it seriously, there's absolutely no way to Defeat your opponent in a Mega Evolution civil war.

"Ha... ha... I didn't expect this state to be so physically demanding..."

As the battle continued for a while, Chen Leizhong on the other side also visibly started to pant slightly. Qiao Ran could also tell that he was trying his best to maintain this state. Judging from his previous words, the other party was not necessarily weaker than him in terms of physical strength and mental strength. Perhaps he just hadn't been exposed to Mega Evolution for long enough and was not very familiar with this state.

Compared to Qiao Ran, who has been familiar with Mega Evolution from the beginning and has a deep relationship with Pokémon, Chen Leizhong is just a novice when it comes to Mega Evolution.

However, thanks to his qualifications and experience as the Gym Leader, he is still able to maintain his fighting strength and is doing his best to keep it afloat.

"It seems... our Pokémon are really similar."

The battle raged on for a long time, and Chen Leizhong increasingly felt that Latias was an incredibly tanky creature, and its attack power was not bad either, even surpassing that of most Pokémon. These characteristics were almost identical to his Ampharos.

Two Pokémon high damage were locked in a fierce battle, neither able to defeat the other outright, resulting in an exceptionally long tug-of-war—at least, from Chen Leizhong's perspective, that was certainly the case.

"Ampharos! Rest!"

After expending most of his energy, Chen Leizhong decisively had his Ampharos use the Rest, which could restore all its energy. However, due to the inability to enter a sleep state in the Electric Terrain, the Ampharos woke up almost as soon as its head lowered.

Qiao Ran didn't understand whether this operation could be performed in the game, but in reality, when it happened in front of him, he did feel that the Ampharos on the other side was much more energetic. He just didn't know how much stamina the dragon could recover during the process.

Latias! Roost!

Since the opponent was healing, Qiao Ran naturally wouldn't fall behind. He decisively had Latias take advantage of this time to land from the sky and then heal a large amount of health.

In the game, Roost can restore about half of Pokémon's HP, but at the cost of losing the advantage of flying, the Flying type Pokémon will become a "ground Pokémon", meaning it can be attacked by Ground-type Pokémon.

In reality, the time spent on the ground is only during the period when Roost is activated. However, since the opponent is obviously resting and recovering, Qiao Ran doesn't need to worry about these things.

Watching Qiao Ran and the Gym Leader start healing themselves, Mei and the others in the audience were dumbfounded. The battle was intense, but the question was, "Are you guys even that good?"

"Is this even possible?"

"... It feels like we could play all night long."

"Hahaha."

Mei gave a few dry laughs, her eyes practically lifeless. "If you guys keep playing like this, will I even get a chance to play later?"

If you want to fight, go to the training room.

However, neither Trainer had anticipated this situation. One trainer had a speed advantage but kept wavering between Paralysis and not Paralysis Paralysis, while the other trainer had an attack advantage but was always a little slower and was frequently hit by attacks that were twice as effective against the opponent.

Ampharos struggled to hit Latias, which had a flight advantage, especially after Latias's enhanced spinning ability allowed it to even spiral upwards in the air to dodge. Latias, on the other hand, was hampered by a lack of a finishing move. Latias, being Pokémon primarily focused on defense and supporting teammates, had already taken a significant amount of damage in this battle.

"But Qiao Ran's side should still win, right?"

Listening to Mei Mei, and the others' discussion, Cynthia couldn't help but smile. Neither side was willing to lose, so both sides would try to find ways to continue the battle. However, once it continued, the outcome was already predetermined.

"That Gym Leader's Pokémon are indeed stronger than the current ones."

Latias is stronger, but compared to Qiao Ran's link with Latias, he's still far too inexperienced.

"Mega Evolution doesn't rely entirely on the Pokémon's evolution; it's half on the Pokémon and half on the Trainer. The Trainer's will and intentions also become a force that makes the Pokémon stronger. This bond and synergy can be cultivated by repeatedly entering Mega Evolution."

Cynthia offered her observations and Analytic, and sure enough, the outcome of the battle was continuing to unfold in the direction she had predicted.

Although Ampharos was still in good condition, Chen Leizhong, the trainer, was clearly starting to act strangely. He used to talk to express himself, but at a certain point, he suddenly stopped talking and shut his mouth.

Finally, during one of the attacks he took from Latias 'Dragon Pulse, Chen Leizhong couldn't hold on any longer and swayed, half-kneeling down.

At the same time, a burst of light emanated from the Ampharos. Its body Minimize slightly, its fur began to disappear, and even its original imposing aura seemed to dissipate all at once, causing its once-erect body to slump.

"It's over."

Cynthia shook her head.

"... When Pokémon exits Mega Evolution, its Battle Spirit dissipates, and it's impossible to re-enter Mega Evolution at that point."

"This Competition, though called Competition between Pokémon, is more of a contest between trainers. Only the trainers who can persevere will win the final Competition."

"However, Qiao Ran's victory was actually due to his expertise... If it were one of the trainers in the Pokémon World who is more skilled in Mega Evolution, he certainly wouldn't have been able to win so easily."

Cynthia's gaze fell on Qiao Ran, and she couldn't help but mutter to herself.

"He'll need more intensive training when we get back. This Competition dragged on far too long."

Please take one day off.

September 1st, take a break, purple potato pudding, purple potato pudding, purple potato pudding, purple potato pudding, purple potato pudding, purple potato pudding, purple potato pudding, purple potato pudding, purple potato pudding, purple potato pudding, purple potato pudding, purple potato pudding, purple potato pudding, purple potato pudding. Purple sweet potato pudding, purple sweet potato pudding, purple sweet potato pudding, purple sweet potato pudding, purple sweet potato pudding, purple sweet potato pudding, purple sweet potato pudding, purple sweet potato pudding, purple sweet potato pudding, purple sweet potato pudding, purple sweet potato pudding, purple sweet potato pudding, purple sweet potato pudding, purple sweet potato pudding, purple sweet potato pudding, purple sweet potato pudding.