A pillar of fire erupted from the volcano crater, and the Moltres that Zapdos had defeated reappeared. By bathing its entire body in the molten lava, it had managed to completely heal its wounds.
The 'reborn' Moltres emerged from the crater and cried out a few times at Red, its gaze then locking onto Zapdos with clear battle intent. It obviously wanted to continue their previous match.
'Hey! Let's have another match! I was just careless before, otherwise there's no way I would have lost to you!' Moltres projected stubbornly, though the anxious look on its face gave away its desperation.
'Sigh... What a sore loser. Who's going to pay attention to you,' Zapdos thought with an air of pure indifference, shaking its head helplessly. In its eyes, the Moltres before it was already a defeated opponent.
Zapdos felt no desire to battle a Pokémon it had just beaten. It couldn't even be bothered to lift its head to spare Moltres a glance.
Seeing Zapdos show such contempt, Moltres's pride shattered. It grew enraged, spewing flames in all directions to vent its frustration, trying to rekindle Zapdos's fighting spirit.
Unfortunately, Zapdos wasn't falling for it. Instead, it rolled its eyes as if looking at an idiot, clearly thinking Moltres was nothing more than a petulant child. The look was so infuriating that Moltres nearly plummeted from the sky.
"Are these really the legendary birds? This feels more like the relationship between a Pidgeot and a Spearow..." Vincent couldn't help but complain, suspecting this Moltres was just a Spearow in disguise, daring to tarnish the sacred image of Moltres in his mind.
Seeing that Zapdos had no intention of continuing the fight, Charizard, its own battle spirit not yet faded, prepared to step forward to accept the challenge. Just as it spread its massive wings, ready to duel Moltres, the ancient Gengar anxiously stopped it.
"Big brother Charizard, I just got this brand new power of Mega Evolution. Please, let me have this Moltres, let me show off a little!"
The ancient Gengar pleaded, pouting and putting on a cute act as it looked pitifully at Charizard, whose fighting spirit was gradually waning.
This antic from Gengar thoroughly disgusted Charizard, so it gave up on its plan to battle Moltres. After all, Charizard had only wanted a warm-up.
"Moltres, even though Zapdos won't fight you, this guy's strength will definitely satisfy you," Red said teasingly, pointing at the eager ancient Gengar.
"You bet! So satisfied it'll be stuffed!" Gengar chimed in, impatiently licking its lips. It carefully took the Mega Stone from within its body, clutching it excitedly in its hand.
"Cousin Lance, do Mega Stones really have the miraculous ability to make Pokémon evolve temporarily?" Vincent asked curiously.
"Of course. Mega Evolution was first discovered in the Kalos region. It's an evolution that surpasses the known limits of Pokémon, a higher level of evolution."
Lance slowly explained to Vincent beside him, signaling with his eyes for his younger cousin to lower his head and listen carefully.
Though he didn't understand why Lance specifically wanted him to lower his head, Vincent, out of respect for his elder cousin's authority, obediently did so and listened closely.
"A Pokémon that has Mega Evolved will temporarily release its hidden power, displaying abilities that cannot be obtained through normal evolution. This evolution currently only occurs in specific Pokémon, and it is a temporary state. After Mega Evolution, a Pokémon's base stat total will increase, and its type and ability may also change."
"There are two conditions required for Mega Evolution in battle. First, the trainer must have a special item called a Key Stone, which resonates with the corresponding Mega Stone held by the Pokémon. Second, there needs to be a deep bond between the Pokémon and the trainer."
"But there are always exceptions," Lance continued, glancing at Red. "According to data recently uploaded by Mr. Red, powerful Pokémon can achieve Mega Evolution through their own power. This also indirectly verifies the hypothesis that Mega Evolution is actually a Pokémon returning to its primordial form."
After hearing Lance's explanation, just as Vincent was about to praise his cousin's vast knowledge, he noticed Lance had already taken out a stack of research papers and was preparing to fluently recite them.
"I see... Cousin Lance, if you hadn't taken out those papers right in front of me, I might have respected you even more," Vincent grumbled, turning his head to watch the impending duel between Gengar and Moltres, eager to see what this so-called Mega Evolution would look like.
"Boss, there's no need for a warm-up between us. Let's go straight to Mega Evolution!" the ancient Gengar said excitedly, clutching the ready Mega Stone in its hand.
"Naturally. I wouldn't want to spoil your fun!" Red teased, pressing the Key Stone clenched in his palm.
"Break the shackles, return to your origins! Answer my call, Gengar—Mega Evolve!"
Astonishing auras erupted from both Red and the ancient Gengar simultaneously. A light born from the power of their bond transformed into countless threads, connecting their bodies. Then, a dazzling light of evolution burst forth.
"This feels amazing! I'm so hyped I can't even stand it!" Gengar exclaimed, its mouth even starting to tremble with anticipation.
The white light dissipated. The Mega Evolved ancient Gengar presented its brand new form to everyone.
After Mega Evolution, half of Gengar's body was hidden in another dimension. Its body had grown larger, with spikes on all parts. The lower half of its body was reddish-purple, its once-pointed tail had grown spikes, and in the center of its forehead was a yellow, coin-like object with a hole in the middle.
What surprised Lance and Vincent was that the skin of the Mega Evolved Gengar was not the usual purple, but an eerie, pure white. Its new ability, Shadow Tag, would prevent any non-Ghost-type opponent from escaping.
"Woohoo! I feel like I'm bursting with power!" the ancient Gengar shouted excitedly, eager to battle Moltres.
"Gengar, since Moltres doesn't have a trainer to command it, you can fight freely this time," Red said, stepping back to let Gengar battle on its own.
"You got it, Boss! A small fry that can be beaten by Zapdos, how could it possibly be my opponent!" Gengar said with an inflated ego, its arrogant tone clearly not taking the Moltres before it seriously at all, even though Moltres was a descendant of the three legendary birds.
To teach this 'arrogant' Ghost-type Pokémon a lesson, Moltres immediately used Flamethrower. Scorching flames spewed from Moltres's mouth, forming a thick pillar of fire that shot toward the Mega Millennium Gengar.