"What... exactly is this?" Lance finally asked.
At that moment, Lance and Wallace were riding on his Dragonite; Cynthia and Diantha were on Lance's Charizard, accompanied by the now-calmed Gardevoir; Steven, for his part, was still alone atop his Aerodactyl.
But Lance, Wallace, Cynthia, and Diantha all wore the same expression of absolute bewilderment.
After observing everyone's faces for quite a while, they finally found a clue on Steven's face: a faint expression of self-satisfaction.
Moreover, judging by what Steven had said earlier, it was obvious that he had a fairly clear idea of what Cain was about to do.
Steven knew more than they did.
That was the most honest thought that crossed the minds of the four.
All gazes landed on Steven.
Steven shuddered as he felt those looks fixed on him.
After all, if no one knew anything, they could simply share their ignorance. But now there was someone who knew more than the rest, and while the others were shocked like "fools," he felt secretly proud.
That was intolerable.
"Well..." Steven had no choice but to speak. "That is Mega Evolution, a special form of evolution discovered by Cain. It hasn't been made public yet, but I'm sure that once all of this is over and we return to the Pokémon world, he'll announce it himself in a way that minimizes any negative impact."
"Before leaving, he said he trusted you completely, which is why he showed it here. I hope that, until he's ready, you won't spread the news. Don't betray that trust."
After a brief pause, he added, "To be honest, this is only the second time I've seen it. The first time, I reacted the same way you did. I can't give more details because I promised Cain. If you want to know more, wait until we rescue Phoebe and ask him directly."
Steven had already said more than he should have. If he continued, he would feel that he wasn't keeping his word.
Mega Evolution...
Those three words were etched deeply into everyone's minds.
The scene of Salamence Mega Evolving had been deeply imprinted in their memories, but everything would have to wait until after Phoebe was rescued.
Meanwhile, Cain was flying atop Mega Salamence at top speed, heading straight toward the place where Phoebe's psychic mark had disappeared.
When the Speed Boost ability reached its maximum number of stacks, Mega Salamence's speed became absolutely terrifying. Any flying Pokémon that tried to intercept it could only watch its tail vanish beyond the horizon.
Cain truly experienced that supreme feeling of: if I'm fast enough, you can't touch me.
During the flight, Cain mentally transmitted to Salamence, "Alright, stop holding back. This may be the best moment to break the limit."
That's right. At that moment, Salamence had reached level 74, just one step away from level 75.
Shortly after entering this continent, Cain had already known that Salamence had reached level 74.
But following Cain's usual training style, he always let Salamence accumulate and mature more before breaking a barrier, in order to maximize subsequent growth.
Now, although the time spent holding back was shorter than ideal, the situation demanded extraordinary measures.
Upon reaching level 75, Salamence would undergo a qualitative change that would further boost its speed.
Upon hearing Cain's words, Salamence felt an uncontrollable urge to roar at the sky.
Mega Evolution, the Speed Boost ability, and the fragment of the Sky Plate...
Its current speed could only be described as lightning.
Having gone through the long stages as Bagon and Shelgon, during which it couldn't fly, its yearning for the sky had become almost an obsession. Now, being able to spread its wings and fly freely was the dream of its entire life as a dragon.
The only thing it now pursued was: faster, even faster, the ultimate speed.
And once it surpassed its limits, that speed would break the limit itself.
"¡¡¡GROOOAAARR!!!"
A draconic roar shook the skies. The Pokémon that still thought about intercepting it froze upon hearing that roar filled with dominance; their most primal instincts screamed that advancing meant death.
BOOOOM!
Mega Salamence's aura exploded all at once, and amid that deafening roar it surpassed its limits, once again breaking its own chains and raising even further the limit of energy it could withstand.
Level 75 Salamence!
Added to the boost of Mega Evolution!
BANG!
A sonic boom echoed beside it, and a ring of white air suddenly appeared around Mega Salamence.
Like a white ring of fire, Mega Salamence burst straight through it.
Supersonic speed!
Sonic explosion!
Even Cain trembled. He hadn't expected that, in this state, Salamence could surpass the speed of sound.
It was the first time he had ever seen a Pokémon break that barrier. Not even Drake's most powerful Salamence, nor Juan's Latios, had shown anything like this—though perhaps they had never flown with such determination.
Once it broke the sound barrier, Mega Salamence became completely unreachable. Even some Champion-level flying Pokémon could only hope to glimpse its afterimage.
Cain clung tightly to Salamence's back; without the protection of psychic power, he knew no one could hold on there, except fighters with absurdly resilient bodies.
Pokémon: Salamence (Light Black) — Mega Form
Gender: Male
Level: 75 (78)
Types: Dragon + Flying
Ability: Aerilate (Speed Boost)
Held Item: Fragment of Sky Plate, Salamencite
Egg Moves: Hydro Pump, Dragon Dance, Fire Fang, Dragon Rush
Basic Moves: Rage, Ember, Leer, Bite, Dragon Breath, Headbutt, Focus Energy, Crunch, Dragon Claw, Protect, Fly, Dragon Tail, Thunder Fang, Zen Headbutt, Scary Face, Flamethrower, Double-Edge
Learned Moves: Dragon Pulse, Snore, Outrage, Aqua Tail, Hyper Voice, Draco Meteor, Heat Wave, Defog
TM Moves: Roost, Earthquake, Brick Break, Aerial Ace, Steel Wing, Shadow Claw, Stone Edge, Double Team
These were the data that the system could scan at that moment. The values in parentheses corresponded to temporary attributes.
The system converted the boosts granted by Mega Evolution—except for racial values—into additional levels overlaid onto the Pokémon's base level.
The Speed Boost ability came from Blaziken through the moves: Role Play and Skill Swap.
At first glance, Mega Salamence's strength looked "normal": a Light Black quality and level 78 were impressive, but they still fell short of a Mega Tyranitar.
However, the most important part of the system data wasn't that, but its flight speed: 350 meters per second, completely surpassing the 343 m/s speed of sound.
Seven meters per second might seem small, but when extreme limits were reached, even that increase was almost unimaginable.
Seeing that Salamence's adrenaline indicator was completely maxed out, Cain understood that it was due to its absolute excitement, pushing every bodily function to the limit.
Flying at full power and breaking the sound barrier, Salamence allowed Cain to approach Phoebe at the greatest possible speed.
...
Elsewhere, a gigantic spatial rift loomed in the air, with several figures moving beneath it.
"Almost... almost there. I can clearly feel the spatial blockade of the entire continent weakening at high speed. When that happens, our people will be able to enter," said excitedly a middle-aged man dressed in yellow.
Not far from him were two other people, though their movements were anything but harmonious.
A young man with his face covered up to his eyes held a thick vine, binding a dark-skinned girl who looked even younger.
She was Phoebe, the one Cain was heading to rescue.
Her expression was full of disbelief, staring fixedly at the one tying her up.
All of her spatial equipment and Poké Balls had already been taken from her, but more than fear, she felt shock and denial. She couldn't believe that it was that person who had defeated her.
The man in yellow, receiving no response, seemed somewhat bored and finally noticed the young man struggling to bind her.
"Why are you still holding onto this girl? She has an external psychic mark. Even though we already erased it, the other side must have noticed by now. I'm no longer the only one who has regained spatial perception."
"Instead of wasting time tying her up, it'd be better to eliminate her and prepare to set traps. Let's see if those coming to rescue her fall into the ambush."
"Of course, if you have some special taste, pretend I didn't say anything."
Although he spoke like that, the young man completely ignored his words and continued with what he was doing.
(End of chapter)