*Note: guys, the first battle of the Pokémon League has started already, suscribe to my Patreon if you want to see before anybody! Link at the end of the chapter as always.
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"It's time to Mega Evolve!" Miyamoto said.
She smiled and touched the small Key Stone hanging from her neck.
Suddenly, the Key Stone shone brightly and multicolored rays burst from it. But that wasn't all — the Mega Stone Swampert carried around its neck reacted as well, releasing its own rays that collided with the others.
The rays from the Mega Stone soon merged with those from the Swampertite and enveloped Swampert in the light of Mega Evolution. Unlike normal evolution, this light was multicolored. Little by little, Swampert's body began to change until it took on a form we all know. The light dissipated, revealing the figure of Mega Swampert — an imposing figure with extremely muscular arms, even more muscular than a bodybuilder's. Its body shape didn't change much, but it was perfectly clear that it had Mega Evolved into Mega Swampert.
"SWAMPERT!" Swampert roared.
A terrifying roar echoed throughout the entire battlefield. Swampert's power had taken a qualitative leap and was now much stronger than before.
"This is our secret weapon: Mega Evolution. So? Aren't you going to use yours?" Miyamoto asked.
But she soon noticed something. Venusaur had just evolved and she hadn't seen any Mega Stone equipped on it, while Mew and that strange Floette couldn't Mega Evolve. So why had Ash told her he had access to Mega Evolution? He even had a Mega Bracelet with a Key Stone!
"We will," I nodded.
Then I looked at Floette.
"Ready, Floette?" I asked.
"Flo!" Floette nodded.
From the bud of its strange flower, a small stone emerged — one that anyone with even basic knowledge would recognize.
"What?" Miyamoto exclaimed.
Why did that Floette have a Mega Stone?
"Let's hope this works," I sighed.
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, exhaled, and then opened them suddenly.
"It's time to Mega Evolve!" I exclaimed.
I raised my arm and, using my other hand, touched the Key Stone.
This was the decisive moment. Would the stone activate or not? If it didn't, the battle might get complicated. If it did… it might turn into an easy fight.
Suddenly, the Key Stone began to shine with a dazzling brightness far greater than Miyamoto's Key Stone, and multicolored rays twice as large as the ones from her Key Stone shot straight toward Floette. At that exact moment, Floette's own Mega Stone shone with the same intensity, releasing identical multicolored rays that collided with the ones from the Key Stone. Soon those rays merged and enveloped Floette's entire body.
Floette's body began to change… or that would be the case in every Mega Evolution, but in this case the change didn't happen to Floette's body itself. Instead, its strange flower began to grow considerably until it reached a surprising size, like a prehistoric flower, enormous. The stem seemed to come to life and lengthened, attaching itself to Floette's tail and wrapping around it.
Soon the light dissipated, revealing Mega Floette — a unique Mega Evolution in the world, a Mega Evolution that technically shouldn't even exist, a Mega Evolution that put Florges to shame in every sense.
Everyone present, except Ash, was stunned by Floette's new form. How could a Pokémon that wasn't in its final evolutionary stage access Mega Evolution? Celeste and Roxanne already knew that Floette's former trainer had given them that Mega Stone saying it was to make Floette Mega Evolve, but honestly they hadn't believed it, because everyone knew that only Pokémon in their final evolutionary stage could Mega Evolve. And if that wasn't enough, Mega Evolution in real life wasn't the same as in the games — it was completely different.
In the games, once you captured a Pokémon that could Mega Evolve, you could do it immediately. But in real life it was different. For a Pokémon to be able to Mega Evolve, it had to share a strong bond with its trainer — a bond forged over time, formed by the experiences each Pokémon had with its trainer, an extremely deep bond. Only when both shared that bond could the Pokémon Mega Evolve. So then… how was it possible for Ash's Floette to access the power of Mega Evolution? That was a question whose answer we would learn in the future.
{Note: Basically I'm not going to reveal the whole story now. For the moment it's something superficial, but when the time comes I'll go deeper into Floette's backstory. In fact, I'm already starting to form an idea in my head.}
With that said, the Mega Floette in front of everyone was not an illusion — it was reality, a reality none of them thought they would ever see in their lives. A pre-evolved form accessing Mega Evolution? This was unheard of!
Outside, while Naria watched the battle and recorded it at the same time, she was also shocked.
"A pre-evolved form that can Mega Evolve? The number of followers I'd gain with this news would be astronomical!" Naria said excitedly.
Her whole body trembled with excitement as she imagined the amount of followers she would gain by posting this battle online, but that trembling soon stopped.
"No, I can't upload the video without that trainer's consent. My reputation would be ruined and no one would want to subscribe to my channel when I start it. Besides, it's illegal to post a battle online without the consent of both trainers, and I'm someone who always respects the law," Naria told herself.
Even though she would love to post the battle, she couldn't do it without Ash's consent. Besides, she wasn't even sure she could post a Gym Leader battle even with consent.
"Anyway, I'll try!" Naria encouraged herself.
More motivated, Naria decided to keep recording the battle, which was reaching its end.
On the battlefield, both Pokémon stared at each other intently. Mega Swampert had its gaze fixed on Mega Floette, which looked back at Mega Swampert with a calm and serene expression.
"Impressive. In my life I've seen many strange things, but this is one of the strangest I've ever seen. A pre-evolved form that can Mega Evolve? If I weren't seeing it with my own eyes, I simply wouldn't believe it," Miyamoto said.
Ash had given her an enormous amount of surprises, and so far he had been the most interesting challenger she had faced since she started as Gym Leader in this city.
"Thank you," I said.
"But… no matter how surprising it is, you won't be able to beat us! Swampert, use Cascade!" Miyamoto ordered.
"Swamp!" Swampert roared.
It then wrapped its fist in what looked like water, but curiously this water was spinning at high speed, making it look less like clear water and more like a Hydro Pump — pressurized water, I suppose, due to the speed at which it was spinning.
Swampert charged toward Floette at high speed.
"Floette, use Moonblast!" I exclaimed.
"Flo!" Floette cried.
Floette pointed its enormous flower forward, but it didn't launch the attack. Instead, it waited for Swampert's fist to strike its huge flower. Curiously, Floette didn't get sent flying — it didn't even move an inch.
"It can't be! The flower absorbed the hit!" Miyamoto exclaimed in surprise.
Was that flower so tough that it had absorbed the powerful blow from her Mega Evolved Swampert without retreating even a single centimeter?
Basically, after Mega Evolving, Mega Floette's flower wasn't just a means to launch its attacks — it had been strengthened, becoming much harder and more cushioned at the same time. That made Swampert's punch have no effect. If Floette hadn't Mega Evolved, that blow would have definitely hurt it. It was just that its Mega Evolution didn't change its body, but rather the flower it carried, while also strengthening its attacks.
After Swampert attacked, Floette retreated and fired a powerful Moonblast toward Swampert, who didn't have time to dodge it because of its low speed. Swampert had gained extraordinary strength thanks to Mega Evolution — even Floette had to acknowledge that — but its speed had been reduced because of it, while Floette's had increased considerably, making it much faster than Swampert.
{Note: Verified data. Mega Swampert has 70 base speed stats, while Eternal Flower Mega Floette has 102, gaining 10 base stats thanks to Mega Evolution. And although base stats, IVs, or EVs don't exist in this fic, the increase in strength is real and each Pokémon stands out in what it stands out in the games. That's why its speed was increased thanks to Mega Evolution.}
In the games, if I remember correctly, Mega Swampert had 70 base speed stats and Mega Floette had 102 or maybe 100 — I don't remember exactly — but either way, Floette surpassed it by 30–32 base stats, much faster than Mega Swampert. That's why it was able to move much faster than him.
"We're not done yet! Swampert, use Rain…!" Miyamoto tried to say.
But I had already been expecting this strategy from her. Miyamoto wanted to activate Mega Swampert's Swift Swim ability, which doubled its speed and made it much faster than Mega Floette. I had to prevent that.
"Energy Ball!" I ordered.
Floette didn't waste time and launched a green sphere toward Swampert, who was in the middle of executing its attack and couldn't dodge the Energy Ball. It was hit and sent flying.
"Swampert!" Miyamoto cried out.
The blow had been too strong. It had received two consecutive hits from Mega Floette, which had a much higher and boosted special attack thanks to its unique item. Both hits were so powerful that Swampert couldn't withstand them and fell defeated, returning to its normal Swampert form.
Everything fell silent for a few moments. Two hits? Only two hits had been enough to defeat her partner? What kind of monster had she just faced?
{Note: Floette may seem invincible right now, but there are strategies to neutralize it. Miyamoto just didn't realize them, but in the Pokémon League it will be different.}
Once it fell defeated, the Mega Evolution energy around Floette dissipated and it returned to its normal form. The Mega Stone reappeared on top of its flower and was then stored inside, just like before.
"Swampert is unable to battle! Floette is the winner and, by the Gym Leader's own words, the victor is Ash from Pallet Town!" Aurora announced.
After the celebration.
There were lots of hugs, congratulations, and even some quick kisses, but all of that was normal. I had won my last Gym badge and qualified to participate in the Pokémon League!
"Congratulations. That was a battle like none I've ever had before. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but your chances of winning this year's Pokémon League are quite high," Miyamoto said.
Then she handed me the final badge, the iconic Earth Badge.
"Thank you very much," I said with a smile.
"But don't get cocky. You're strong, there's no doubt about that, but you mustn't let your guard down or you could be in for a surprise," Miyamoto warned.
Overconfidence had led many talented trainers to failure — trainers who lost simply because they thought they were strong and had a good team. Not long ago, about two weeks earlier, a trainer like that had come. He had brown hair and was surrounded by an annoying group of cheerleaders who wouldn't stop cheering for him and praising him. Miyamoto had recognized his strength but recommended he not be so arrogant. He ignored her.
"Of course," I nodded.
I won't get overconfident. I don't want to be like Gary.
"Nonsense! My brother is the best and he'll win the Pokémon League with his eyes closed! Only then will everyone see my brother's greatness!" Molly said proudly.
Miyamoto looked at Molly with a smile. Ash didn't just have good Pokémon — he also had a family that seemed to love him very much.