Chapter 96: Fierce Battle

Chapter 96: A Fierce Battle

The savage genes of antiquity were awakened in the depths of the bloodline, roaring as they tore apart the chains woven from stable heredity.

The profound bond between human and partner Pokémon, like countless threads rising from the heart, bound Noren and Scizor so tightly together that they seemed no longer separate beings.

A brilliant rainbow radiance blossomed across the empty field, accompanied by a soft, humming sound.

The rarest gift of nature was being revealed before the eyes of everyone watching this match.

It looked like the light of evolution, yet it was not quite evolution.

Bang!

The sound of a hand striking a table suddenly rang out through the broadcast.

"This... this light?"

"Could it be... Mega Evolution!?"

Audrey also cried out in shock, paying no heed to the cluster of long-lensed cameras lined up in front of her.

"Hahaha!"

Dr. Treefield burst into hearty laughter.

"This match has been delivering one surprise after another! It never stops!"

"Even Mega Evolution has shown up?"

No wonder the two of them were so shaken. Compared with previous League Conferences, this year's event was indeed far too exciting.

Setting aside Lu Yun's mid-match evolution and his stunning feat of sweeping two opponents in a row, the Mega Evolution unfolding before their eyes alone was already enough to astonish anyone.

Mega Evolution was a special form of evolution only discovered in recent years.

Rather than evolution, it was more like a temporary reversion to an ancestral state.

The trainer carried a Key Stone, while the Pokémon bore the corresponding Mega Stone. Through the strange items they wore, the deep bond between them was awakened in an almost surreal and illusory way, becoming a mysterious force that stirred the ancient genes sleeping within the Pokémon.

Thus the effect of a temporary evolution was achieved.

Once a Pokémon completed Mega Evolution, the reversion of its form would be accompanied by a tremendous leap in power.

Some well-established pseudo-legendary Pokémon, after Mega Evolving, could even begin to touch the threshold of the strength possessed by those legendary beings.

Although the excavation of countless ruins in recent years had led to the discovery of more and more Mega Stones, the number of Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution remained exceedingly small, and most of them were still held by powerful forces.

People knew the concept of Mega Evolution, but could only ever witness it on rare occasions, usually in championship matches.

And now, at the final stage of the League Conference, Mega Evolution was happening for all to see...

As the legitimate eldest son of the ancient Kalos family White Oak, Noren had been raised from childhood to be the future heir of the clan.

Scizor was rare and formidable, but if it were to serve as the ace Pokémon of the future patriarch of such an old and venerable house, it still seemed a little modest.

According to the original plans of his elders, Noren's ace Pokémon was supposed to be a descendant of the champion-grade Goodra held by a family elder.

Until one day, a branch of the White Oak family uncovered an entire relic set in an ancient ruin, complete with both a Key Stone and a Mega Stone...

Under the cover of darkness, a vast power had carried out a meticulous plan in secret, pressing forward step by step.

Countless speculations regarding the Mega Stone's compatible Pokémon were raised in relentless meetings, only to be one by one ruled out in the laboratory.

At last, after an enormous and inexhaustible investment of manpower and financial resources, the Pokémon corresponding to that Mega Stone was revealed to the White Oak family:

Scizor from the Johto region.

Thus, Noren's training plan was altered by a sudden archaeological discovery.

He was still a pseudo-legendary trainer, but now he bore another identity as well:

The bond partner of a Mega Evolving Scizor!

Looking at the dazzling light on the field, a different brilliance rose in Lu Yun's eyes.

"Mega Evolution... is it?"

Brilliant, blinding.

Rainbow-like bands of dazzling light flowed over Scizor's body, and a vast, powerful aura gradually began to rise.

A mechanical, buzzing hum abruptly sounded, and a billowing white heat haze surged forth.

The Scizor that already wore a metallic shell became even more mechanical after Mega Evolution.

In some ways, it even seemed almost futuristic.

Its two great pincers lengthened, covered in jagged, razor-sharp serrations so fierce that no one would doubt their lethality. Its two needle-like steel feet drove straight down, sinking into the ground as though it were soft tofu. In its eyes burned a cobalt glow like that of a future machine, while its dark green pupils held not the slightest trace of emotion. Behind it, the two translucent insect wings became thinner still, a metallic sheen spreading across them until they resembled sheets of the thinnest iron foil.

Behind Scizor, Noren's gaze was distant, as though he were staring into the void.

A faint gray-red aura slowly rose from his body.

After Mega Evolution, if Noren wished to command Scizor, he no longer needed to rely on spoken orders.

The deep bond between the two, strengthened abruptly by the Key Stone's power, had created a telepathic link akin to that of psychic-type Pokémon.

Whatever command Noren issued to Scizor would be transmitted to its mind in an instant, faster than light itself.

With a quiet exhale, a ghostly blue light flared suddenly in Scizor's blue-gray eyes.

Humm...

A soft hum.

As if teleporting, Scizor vanished from its spot. The next second, it appeared directly in front of Lu Yun.

That terrifying speed was utterly unlike the Scizor of moments before; the difference was as vast as heaven and earth.

Its ferocious red steel claws snapped open wide, silver-white metallic energy condensing and bursting within their depths.

"Flash Cannon!"

Too late!

A thought flashed through Lu Yun's mind, and he made the decision instantly.

With a press of both hands, countless soft masses of white, snowflake-like cotton sprang from every part of his body.

"Cotton Guard!"

White light threaded like fine strands through the abundant fluffy cotton, weaving it together into a strange shield formed of warm white radiance and springy cotton.

Boom!

Metallic light, gleaming with a mercurial luster and carrying an air of solemn heaviness, burst forth and smashed fiercely into the cotton shield.

Strangely enough, that seemingly fragile shield, soft enough to shatter at a touch, absorbed and merged with the incoming Flash Cannon as though it were a sponge drinking in water.

If one magnified the scene countless times, one would see that the metallic particles of Flash Cannon were like countless tiny motes drifting through a smog-filled sky, clinging to and being halted by the pristine fibers of the cotton.

Seeing that Cotton Guard had successfully blocked the attack, a chill gleamed in Lu Yun's eyes.

A surge of searing fire instantly gathered around his right fist.

Fire Punch, highly effective against Bug- and Steel-type Pokémon, was formed in an instant.

With a fierce swing, he forced back the crimson figure before him.

His left hand moved lightly, and the endless cotton dispersed into the air with the white energy, vanishing without a trace.

"I underestimated you," Lu Yun said, a serious look rising in his dark eyes.