Lunchtime at the Breeding Center.
Metagross, with the Metagrossite securely strapped to his wrist, stood confidently in the center of the training field, while Wayne , wearing a Key Stone glove, positioned himself behind the shining Silver Metagross with his eyes closed in concentration.
Steven, holding his Key Stone brooch carefully, stood at a measured distance away, with his own magnificent Silver Metagross positioned in front of him.
Steven softly guided them through the process. "Adjust your breathing carefully. Synchronize your breathing rhythm. Let your Aura frequencies gradually align and harmonize with each other..."
Arcanine, Dragapult, Milotic, and Drakloak had all gathered nearby, watching the proceedings with obvious curiosity.
Lucario, gently holding Shaymin securely in his arms, carefully sensed the Metagross's Aura beginning to surge powerfully.
Aura exists as an invisible force between all Pokémon and humans. The only question was whether someone possessed the ability to properly harness and utilize it.
A fierce wind suddenly surged across the training field, with the Silver Metagross at its center, creating a swirling tornado that appeared almost solid in its intensity.
"Such incredibly strong wind!"
Shion felt like she was about to be completely blown away by the force. Her twin ponytails whipped violently in the wind, and her skin felt tight from the pressure.
Alan quickly moved sideways to shield Shion protectively behind his larger frame, then turned his head and shouted over the roaring wind, "Hold onto me tightly! Hide behind me!"
At this critical moment, Leon, Alan, and even Incineroar—all possessing considerable weight and mass—proved extremely useful as anchors.
Steven called out loudly over the wind, "Now! This is the moment!"
Wayne opened his eyes decisively and clenched his right fist with determination.
"Here we go, Metagross! Let's do this!"
At the exact same moment, Steven gently kissed his Key Stone brooch with practiced elegance.
"Let the stone's radiance become our eternal bond!"
The evolution Key Stone embedded in the special groove of Wayne's glove suddenly burst forth with brilliant, dazzling golden light.
The Mega Stone attached to Metagross's massive arm hammer blazed with intense, brilliant silver light!
The golden light and silver light intertwined beautifully, forming what appeared to be a substantial chain of pure energy that completely linked Wayne and his Metagross together.
Steven and Wayne spoke in perfect unison, their voices overlapping. "Metagross, Mega Evolution!"
"Meta!" Metagross cried out powerfully.
The silver light instantly covered Metagross's entire body like an overwhelming tide, and within that radiant cocoon of light, Metagross's physical form continuously transformed as its Aura steadily rose higher and higher.
The brilliant white light gradually began to recede and fade away.
The Metagross, which had previously been standing firmly on four sturdy legs, now floated impressively in mid-air. Its four limbs had transformed dramatically into thick, powerful arms extending forward.
The hard, gleaming claws on its evolved forelimbs shone with an intimidating cold light.
The distinctive alloy cross marking on Mega Metagross's face had changed color from its original gold to a striking blue, and a prominent golden spike had grown from its jaw.
When the evolution Key Stone's glowing emblem appeared briefly on Metagross's body and then dissipated completely, it signified that the Mega Evolution had been successful!
"How can there possibly be such an incredibly cool Pokémon as Mega Metagross!"
"Wow! Two Metagross Mega Evolving simultaneously at the same time!"
"This is genuinely my first time seeing a Mega Evolution happen in person!"
The gathered onlookers were incredibly excited and amazed by the spectacle.
Steven quietly observed Wayne and his Metagross with careful attention. The main event and true test were yet to come.
Because of the overwhelming power released during Mega Evolution, there existed a significant possibility that Mega Metagross could lose control of itself.
Of course, as long as the bond between the Pokémon and its Trainer ran deep enough and strong enough, this dangerous situation could be completely avoided.
Fortunately, this concerning situation did not occur at all. Mega Metagross simply stopped and hovered calmly in front of Wayne, patiently awaiting his next command.
Steven's lips curved upward into a satisfied smile.
"Wayne, let's have a friendly little practice match to test your control."
"No problem. I'm ready."
Alan efficiently directed everyone to clear out of the designated battle area for safety.
"Metagross, use Meteor Mash!"
A brilliant blue aura of energy covered Metagross's entire body, and the rapidly spinning Metagross charged forward at tremendous speed.
After Metagross achieved Mega Evolution, not only had its raw strength increased dramatically, but its speed had also improved greatly.
Steven's lips curved into a slight, confident smile. "We'll counter with Meteor Mash as well."
Steven's experienced Metagross also began spinning rapidly in response.
With a violent, explosive collision sound, the two powerful Metagross locked into an intense stalemate in the center of the field.
Bang!—The resulting explosion scattered dust and debris everywhere, and within that cloud of destruction, Wayne's Metagross was forcefully sent flying backward through the air.
However, Steven's Metagross did not remain firmly in place either. It only retreated a noticeably shorter distance than its opponent.
A strange, thoughtful look flashed briefly in Steven's observant eyes, and he murmured to himself, "Interesting. The power output is actually higher than I initially estimated it would be."
Currently, comparing the overall strength of the two Metagross, Steven's Metagross was undoubtedly superior—and by quite a significant margin at that.
After all, Metagross had been Steven's very first Pokémon partner and had been meticulously nurtured and trained by him for well over ten years.
Wayne had only been actively training his Metagross for approximately four months total.
Wayne called out loudly with determination, "Flash Cannon!"
"Counter with Psychic!" Steven responded calmly.
A destructive beam of concentrated Steel-type energy formed in the palm of Metagross's powerful forelimb, then shot forward at high velocity.
Steven's Metagross, in contrast, began glowing with an intense blue aura all over its body. As the Flash Cannon attack approached its target, the experienced Metagross skillfully used Psychic to manipulate and control the Flash Cannon's trajectory mid-flight.
The Flash Cannon attack thus completely missed its intended target.
Psychic-type abilities were simply that overpowered and versatile.
Such moves performed poorly in competitive game mechanics, even being considered among the worst types strategically, but in actual real-world battles, they proved remarkably difficult to counter.
"Use Agility to close the distance!"
"Agility as well!"
Two impressively large-bodied Pokémon, which logically should have been quite clumsy and slow, moved at blinding high speed across the field, leaving behind trails of shimmering afterimages.
"Bullet Punch!"
"Ice Punch!"
Wayne's grandfather, along with Dad and Uncle who were watching intently from the sidelines, could only gauge and understand the sheer intensity of the ongoing collisions through the repeated sounds of thunderous impact.
Shion strained desperately to keep her eyes wide open to follow the action.
"They're moving so incredibly fast! I can't see them clearly at all!"
Alan smiled slightly with his superior vision. "I can still follow their movements reasonably well."
During one particularly fierce collision exchange, Wayne's Mega Metagross rapidly plummeted from mid-air down to the ground, but then immediately rocketed back upward again at tremendous speed.
Steven's lips curved into an approving smile. "Not bad at all. Quite impressive."
From observing the battle closely, Steven could clearly tell that Wayne's Metagross possessed excellent natural talent. Its strength, speed, and stamina were all genuinely impressive.
As long as Wayne continued to train and nurture it properly, catching up to Steven's Metagross would only be a matter of dedicated time and effort.
However, that promising future remained in the future.
Steven's eyes suddenly sharpened with competitive focus. "The future may belong to you, but the present belongs to me! Heavy Slam!"
"We'll answer with Heavy Slam too!"
Heavy Slam's damage output increased proportionally the heavier the user was compared to its opponent. If power simply increased with greater absolute weight, it would guarantee a knockout.
This worked in Wayne's favor because his Metagross was slightly larger in size than Steven's.
However, one shouldn't underestimate that seemingly slight difference in size. That small variance represented a substantial weight difference of tens to potentially hundreds of kilograms.
With an absolutely earth-shattering roar and the training ground violently shaking beneath them, Wayne's Metagross suddenly reverted from its Mega Evolution form back to its normal state.
Metagross had lost its ability to continue battling.
Wayne didn't feel particularly disappointed or regretful about the outcome.
There had already been a fundamental, qualitative difference in strength between the two Pokémon from the very start.
Steven's partner was a Champion-level Metagross, after all—one of the strongest in the entire region.
Wayne carefully returned his exhausted Metagross to its Poké Ball.
"You did excellent work, Metagross. Rest well now."
After recalling his own Metagross, Steven walked up to Wayne with genuine respect. "You fought remarkably well for your experience level."
Wayne gave a wry, knowing smile. "You still held back considerably during that match."
Steven smiled warmly and shook his head in honest denial.
"I genuinely didn't hold back my Metagross at all, you know."
This intense battle between the two powerful Metagross further ignited and strengthened both Lucario and Arcanine's burning determination to become even stronger.
Steven chuckled with satisfaction. "No problems detected. You can now fully control Mega Evolution safely and effectively."
This Metagrossite now officially belonged to Wayne as his own.
In exchange for this incredibly valuable item, Wayne would provide Steven with premium Energy Cubes and a full year of comprehensive Pokémon maintenance services.
Nurse Joy suddenly interrupted their conversation with professional concern. "Wait just a moment, please. I'll need you to hand over your Metagross to me first for a post-battle examination."