As Mega Swampert's new form appeared, Dragonite, its sparring partner, froze in shock. Cold sweat broke out on its back, and it felt like it was facing a terrifying beast.
Swampert's aura alone made Dragonite feel as if it were confronting a violent monster.
Swallowing hard, Dragonite's claws glowed green—Dragon energy forming solid claws.
As soon as Dragon Claw formed, the air seemed to tremble.
Dragonite braced itself, ready for Mega Swampert's move.
Mega Swampert felt inexhaustible strength, as if it could smash through any barrier.
For most Pokémon, adapting to Mega Evolution's power took time, but with Swampert's naturally immense power, it was already used to such surges from previous evolutions.
Its control wasn't perfect, but it was close.
Within seconds, Mega Swampert adapted to its new power. Excited, it looked up—dark clouds gathered instantly, and heavy rain poured down.
It had just summoned those rain clouds.
As the rain fell, Mega Swampert felt its heavier body become light again.
Lucas had told it about its new ability post-Mega Evolution:
Swift Swim!
The moist air was rapidly drawn in by Mega Swampert, forming a vacuum around it. Its fists became shrouded in surging water, back arched like a drawn bow, full of power.
In the next instant—
With the ground shattering beneath it, Mega Swampert vanished, leaving a fading afterimage, and instantly closed the distance to Dragonite—a punch flying out!
Dragonite only saw a blur as Swampert's water-wrapped fist grew rapidly in its vision.
What speed!?
Stunned, Dragonite instinctively blocked with Dragon Claw, but as the blows met, the immense force shocked it.
The glowing blue water smashed against Dragon Claw, and a deafening crash erupted as water sprayed everywhere. Under the stunned gaze of all, Dragonite was sent flying!
A brief exchange, but Mega Swampert demonstrated overwhelming power and speed.
Ceruledge found it hard to breathe—there was no chance it could take a punch like that. In a real fight, only hit-and-run tactics would work.
Luxray looked grim. Mega Swampert's speed now rivaled its own when using electric boosts. Before, Luxray could rely on speed and moves to keep up, but now, with the type disadvantage, it stood no chance.
The others were equally shocked, especially Oranguru, who couldn't imagine any way to defend against such an attack—not possible!
Dragonite tumbled tens of meters before stopping itself mid-air, wings flapping, arms numb from the blow.
A few more hits like that and it might lose feeling altogether.
Luckily, Swampert used Liquidation; if it had been Ice Punch, even a legendary flying dragon would have struggled.
When Dragonite returned, Lucas walked over with a Serperior-made vine umbrella, barely hiding his delight.
Mega Evolution's boost depended on the Pokémon's original strength—the stronger the Pokémon, the greater the boost.
Swampert's strength post-Mega Evolution exceeded Lucas's expectations. Now, his team could no longer be called the weakest Champion by the system.
["Oh, wow, I'm in tears, my youth is over!"]
Even the prompt system sent its congratulations—it couldn't hide its excitement.
After testing its power, Mega Swampert calmly returned to Lucas's side, showing its control.
Suppressing his excitement, Lucas explained, "As you can see, Mega Swampert's strength has increased dramatically, but what I want to highlight is its new ability: Swift Swim."
He looked at Politoed, still in shock. "This ability is simple: in rain, Swampert's speed increases greatly, as you just saw. Politoed, you must have experienced this before."
All eyes turned to Politoed, who nodded.
Indeed, even as a Poliwag or Poliwhirl, it had always felt more agile in the rain.
"So, Mega Swampert's best partner is you, Politoed, with your Drizzle ability."
"In doubles, your team will be a nightmare for opponents—Mega Swampert with its overwhelming power, and you, able to support with many moves. In the rain, you're nearly unbeatable!"
Lucas pointed at Politoed, his words inspiring it to imagine dominating battles with Swampert.
Lucas knew that with Pelipper's Drizzle and Tailwind, Mega Swampert became a true powerhouse, able to sweep through entire regions with Earthquake, Waterfall, and Ice Punch.
But there was no need to catch a Pelipper just for this. It was better to let Politoed and Swampert build their teamwork naturally. Chasing perfect stats for everything would just be overkill.