The entire gym fell into a deathly silence.
A few seconds later, the referee seemed to snap out of a daze, shakily waving his flag:
"Solrock, and Lunatone are unable to battle! The winner is challenger Lionel!"
"Wow!"
A deafening roar of cheers and gasps erupted from the audience!
"Ah!"
"Is that called Mega Evolution? That's terrifying! An instant kill!"
"When I challenged the Mossdeep Gym before, it was so difficult for me to win, the difference is just too big!"
The live stream chat was completely out of control, the screen almost filled with "Holy crap" and exclamation marks:
[Holy crap! It's over already? It was less than three minutes in total?]
[The streamer said earlier...]
"Is that Mega Evolution? Can my Machamp have that? What kind of ability is this? I want my Machamp to evolve again!"
"Is that the bracelet on the streamer's wrist? I think I saw the streamer throw something to Metagross, and that's when Metagross evolved. Did anyone record it? Quickly find it and watch!"
"Is this a new invention from Devon Corporation? Can we buy it? I want my Torchic to evolve too!"
"Ding~ 10,000 reward received!"
"Reward received, streamer, streamer, can you answer my question?"
Lionel looked at Solrock and Luna Stone, who had lost their ability to battle, and thought to himself...
There wasn't much of a commotion.
He knew it wasn't that Liza and Tate were too weak, but rather that the boost from Mega Evolution was simply too immense. Combined with Metagross's Steel-type advantage over their Rock-type, it was an easy victory.
Liza and Tate silently recalled their Pokémon, their faces showing disappointment. They walked up to Lionel. Liza took a deep breath, took out a badge shimmering with a soft light from her pocket, and handed it over.
"This is the Mind Badge. You won." Her voice was slightly hoarse, but her eyes were sincere. "Your strength deserves it."
Tate, unusually, didn't object, only giving a soft hum but also nodding, acknowledging Lionel's strength.
Lionel accepted the Mind Badge. The badge felt warm and smooth to the touch. He smiled slightly:
"Thank you."
Liza looked at the Mega Evolution bracelet on Lionel's wrist, hesitated for a moment, and didn't utter the question she wanted to ask.
Lionel saw what Liza wanted to ask and knew the confusion among the many fans in the live stream. He zoomed in on himself and explained to everyone:
"This thing is called a Mega Evolution Bracelet. It allows Pokémon to evolve again with the help of their trainers. Don't worry, everyone.
The League will release detailed information about Mega Evolution soon. You can follow the League's official website for updates."
Seeing Lionel's response, Liza smiled knowingly and nodded slightly:
"I see. I wonder if my Solrock can Mega Evolve? By the way, Lionel, did you visit the space Mossdeep Research Institute?"
"My dad's the director there. The museum has a collection of many different meteorite fragments that fell from the sky. Steven always goes there to examine them whenever he comes to Mossdeep City, and occasionally he even takes a piece or two back with him.
If you're interested, I can be your guide and take you around sometime."
"No problem, I'll tell you when I have time. Please show me the way then."
Lionel readily agreed. He also wanted to see what was so special about those meteorite fragments that Steven was interested in, and whether he would encounter anything rare. It was rare for Liza to invite him, so he was naturally delighted.
After chatting with Liza and Tate, Lionel didn't immediately end the broadcast. Instead, he led the Burning Bugs outside the gym, showing the viewers and fans in the live stream the full form of Mega Metagross.
The onlookers were treated to a spectacular sight, with many taking photos and videos with their phones. Fans excitedly chanted "Long live Metagross!" and "Metagross is invincible!" The atmosphere was even more heated than during the battle.
Lionel patiently fulfilled the fans' requests for autographs and photos, finally leaving the gym with his Pokémon more than an hour later.
Meanwhile, the Pokémon League website nearly crashed due to a flood of inquiries about "Mega Evolution," and urgently issued a notice: a press conference would be held in three days to detail the research results and acquisition channels for Mega Evolution.
The news caused an uproar among Pokémon trainers. Forums were filled with discussions such as:
"Can my Pokémon Mega Evolve? What will it look like after evolving?"
"Anyone want to battle me? I bet if my Machamp evolves again, it might grow two more pairs of arms like Metagross, an eight-armed Machamp, hahaha!!!"
Lionel's livestream viewership surged, with donations and gift revenue reaching new highs, and his popularity score on the system panel climbing steadily.
Watching all this, Lionel couldn't help but smile, he'd earned a lot more food for his Pokémon.
The next morning, Lionel stood by the floor-to-ceiling window of his hotel room. His original plan for the day was to visit the Space Center, but he'd received a private message the night before and had to change his plans.
"Time to go."
Lionel picked up Milotic's Dive Ball and looked at Metagross, Larvesta, and Deino, among other Pokémon:
"I'm taking Milotic out to run some errands. Later, I'll take you to the hotel's training area and get you a room. You guys train hard there. Metagross and Larvesta, keep an eye on everyone. I'll take you out to play this afternoon."
Metagross nodded, while Larvesta patted its chest and squeaked, looking like it was committed to completing its mission.
Lionel led them to the dedicated training area behind the hotel, patted their heads one by one, and then left the hotel with Milotic, heading towards the direction of Mossdeep City Plaza.
That was where the The Marina group's "Blue Lagoon" was docked.
Last night, he received a private message on his social media account from Lizabeth:
"Mr. Lionel, this is Lizabeth from the The Marina group.
I watched your gym battle yesterday, it was so exciting! I have some questions I'd like to ask you. Do you have time to come to the Blue Lagoon today?
The thing is this…"
Lionel had specifically been following the Mossdeep City performance because of the The Marina group, and now that they had taken the initiative to invite him, he naturally wouldn't miss it.
There were still two days until the performance… The Blue Lagoon was quietly moored in the center of the plaza. Staff were busy setting up the stage, and several black gulls were leisurely blowing bubbles in the pool beside the boat.
As Lionel approached the boat, a girl in a blue performance outfit greeted him.
"Mr. Lionel, you've arrived!"
The girl greeted him with a smile, her voice clear and melodious.
Looking at her, Lionel couldn't help but inwardly admire her. No wonder Brock gave Lizabeth such a high score in his notebook; she was even more beautiful in person than in the photos.
***************************
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