If Gengar were here, he would definitely feel a strange sense of solidarity.
Finally, someone else knew what it felt like.
Compared to Magmar, Gengar had it even worse, that ghost had lived for over two thousand years and had seen countless ancient warriors. Even back then, the strongest humans could at most handle regular Pokémon. Once a Pokémon reached true power? Humans were nothing.
But Ash?
Ash sent Gengar flying with a single punch back then.
What the hell indeed.
Now, after Ash shattered Fire Blast in mid-air, he stepped on thin air with a burst of Aura and launched himself at Magmar like a blue comet.
"Magmar, dodge!"
Blaine reacted instantly, showing the composure of an experienced Elite.
But Magmar could no longer hear him.
His mind had collapsed.
His ultimate move was broken by a single punch. His confidence, gone. His instincts, frozen. The gap was too big; his will cracked.
So, as Ash blurred forward, Magmar stood rooted in place.
"Goodbye," Ash whispered.
Magmar felt a heavy blow to the stomach, and everything went dark.
Ash retracted his fist and caught Magmar's falling body, letting the unconscious Pokémon rest against his shoulder.
Magmar was out in one hit.
But the moment Magmar touched Ash, Ash's clothes nearly burst into flames. His body could handle the heat, his clothes couldn't.
Ash grimaced, instantly coating himself in Aura so his outfit wouldn't combust.
That little accident didn't change the result:
Ash won.
Blaine stood frozen in place. His expression twisted through shock, disbelief… and maybe even a bit of fear.
Monster… he's a monster…
No human Blaine knew, not even famous psychics, could do what Ash just did.
Even the Psychic Elite from Unova, known for being able to destroy a town during a rampage, would lose in physical force to the boy standing in front of him.
Now Blaine finally understood.
No wonder Ash was so confident he could protect Gardevoir.
No wonder he said he was the strongest one in his group. He wasn't bragging, he was just telling the truth.
"I lost…" Blaine murmured.
"As promised, I'll give you the two MEGA Evolution stones. And I won't ask you to hand Gardevoir over to the League again."
It was sincere.
Blaine was convinced.
If Ash couldn't protect Gardevoir, then nobody in the League could.Even the League couldn't assign a Champion to guard her around the clock.
Ash was, ironically, the safest place for her to be.
Because what Ash displayed today was at least Champion-tier.Magmar's Fire Blast was no weak move, if a mid-rank Champion Pokémon had taken it head-on, it would still struggle to neutralize it in one strike.
Ash simply punched it apart.
That was not something normal.
That was terrifying.
After recalling Magmar, Blaine quickly ushered everyone off the volcano.
The battle had shaken the entire mountain, and Cinnabar's volcano was notoriously "touchy." Even slight tremors could trigger an eruption.
What Blaine didn't know was that Ash had quietly used Aura Power to force the rising magma back down, calming the volcano.
This was why certain beings were called "god-tier", they could bend nature itself.
For Ash, suppressing a volcano was easy.
If Blaine knew that, he would've needed several minutes to reboot his brain.
Half an hour later, everyone sat around Blaine's small house with freshly brewed tea.
The atmosphere was strangely quiet.
On the way back, no one spoke. Even Ash only whispered briefly to Gary and Misty before falling silent again.
'Why is everyone acting like we just came back from a funeral?'Ash wondered.
Finally, Blaine broke the silence.
"Sorry. I was thinking… I'll give you the two stones I promised. But before that… may I ask you something?"
He removed his sunglasses, revealing confused, slightly overwhelmed eyes.
Ash nodded.
Blaine inhaled deeply.
"What exactly is that MEGA Evolution? And how did you discover it?"
Ash sorted through the explanation he prepared after consulting the seniors in the chat group and Professor Oak.
Then he said slowly:
"MEGA Evolution is something I discovered by accident. It needs two special items… and a strong bond between both partners to activate."
"Actually," Ash began, "this kind of evolution is already being researched in Kalos.
According to Professor Oak, Professor Sycamore believes that many modern Pokémon carry traces of ancient power in their genes. Over time, as the world changed, they experienced a form of devolution, an irreversible downgrade to adapt to the environment."
Ash continued:
"So the question is… can those ancient genes be reactivated?"
"After his research, Professor Sycamore confirmed that if those dormant genes could be awakened, certain Pokémon could evolve to a higher form than what we know. But he never discovered the method to awaken them."
These were Professor Oak's exact words, and even if Blaine questioned Oak later, the explanation would match perfectly. Before all of this, Ash had specifically gone to Oak to make sure his understanding of MEGA Evolution was accurate.
Professor Sycamore truly was a genius, to reach this level of theory without a MEGA Stone or Key Stone.
If he had those stones, he probably would've discovered MEGA Evolution years ago.
Blaine listened silently, then nodded.
So MEGA Evolution involved ancient gene activation. He himself had spent years researching genetics, yet never encountered anything like this.
But their fields were completely different. Sycamore studied ancient genetic potential. Blaine studied fusion, replication, and modification.Same field, different worlds.
"So," Blaine said slowly, "the exact thing Sycamore was missing… just happened to fall into your hands? And you just happened to combine the items and discover MEGA Evolution?"
His tone was strange, half shocked, half amused.
Even with Sycamore's research, without the MEGA Stone and the second stone Ash mentioned, MEGA Evolution would've been impossible.
And Ash just stumbled into it.
Typical Ash luck.
Ash scratched his cheek.
"You could call it coincidence. But mostly, it's because my Aura lets me see the connection between these two items. Once I noticed the link, I had Gardevoir wear the MEGA Stone. Then I used my Aura to connect both stones, and she evolved."
As Ash spoke, he released Gardevoir.
She gently removed her MEGA Stone and handed it to him. Ash placed the Evolution Stone and his Key Stone on Blaine's table.
He wasn't worried about Blaine stealing them.
Blaine wasn't that kind of man, and besides, even if someone like Lance came storming in, nobody was taking these stones from Ash by force.
Blaine picked up the Key Stone, examining it closely. He had barely glimpsed it during the battle.
"So this is the second item required for MEGA Evolution?"
Ash nodded.
"I call it a Key Stone, the key that unlocks higher evolution.The name fits… and it sounds like 'key'."
It was, of course, a name borrowed from another world, but in this world, he was the discoverer.
"Key Stone…" Blaine murmured. "What a remarkable item. If you placed these in front of Professor Sycamore and told him they triggered higher evolution, he'd probably bankrupt himself trying to buy them."
He handed both stones back to Ash, then asked:
"You mentioned evolution through bond. What exactly does that mean? Besides these stones, what other conditions are needed?"
Ash nodded.
"Yes. I said MEGA Evolution works by linking the two items through Aura to awaken ancient genes.
But if someone doesn't have Aura Power… how do they activate the stones?"
He pointed between Trainer and Pokémon.
"Bond.
A deep, genuine connection serves as the bridge between the Key Stone and MEGA Stone. Without that bond, MEGA Evolution is impossible."
Ash wasn't explaining this just for Blaine, Misty, Brock, and Gary were listening closely too. They didn't know anything about MEGA Evolution yet, but they would inevitably encounter it in the future.
Gary groaned loudly.
"This whole system is way too complicated. Gigantamax is so much simpler."
Everyone could hear his annoyance. MEGA Evolution required special Pokémon, special stones, a special bond, and special conditions.
In Gary's eyes: Way too much work.
Compared to MEGA Evolution, Gigantamax in the Galar region was far simpler. As long as a Trainer had a Dynamax Band, Gigantamax could be activated instantly.
However, Gigantamax required specific battlefield conditions.If it could be used anywhere, the Galar League would have dominated the entire world long ago.
Blaine shrugged.
"Strict requirements are normal. Have you seen how ridiculous the power boost from MEGA Evolution is? If the conditions were easy, the system would be completely broken."
Gary muttered under his breath, clearly dissatisfied:
"That's only because Ash's Pokémon get that kind of power boost. Ash can pump his own energy into his Pokémon. No one else can do that. Without Ash's power mixed in, who knows how much MEGA Evolution actually boosts?"
He had already learned from Misty and Brock that Ash's strength and his Aura-fusion ability were anything but normal.
He had never heard of a human who could merge their power with a Pokémon.
That was the definition of broken.
If Ash was allowed to MEGA Evolve his Pokémon on top of that? Of course the result would look insane.
MEGA Gardevoir looked overwhelmingly strong, but that was because half of the power came from Ash shoving his Aura into her.The real boost of MEGA Evolution alone was still unknown.
Ash thought for a moment before answering:
"On average, MEGA Evolution can push a Pokémon up by about one meaningful tier in strength. Their abilities spike, their stats increase, and even a low-level trainer could temporarily fight an opponent far above their normal range."
"But," he continued honestly, "the higher the level, the smaller the advantage becomes. Once a Pokémon reaches the upper tiers, like the Elite range or higher, the boost from MEGA Evolution isn't huge. It's still powerful, but the gap might only be one tier."
He was giving an honest, measured explanation, one that didn't include his Aura fusion, which greatly distorted the results.
MEGA Evolution boosted raw power and ability across the board.
Gigantamax, on the other hand, didn't rely on stats.It provided: massive stamina, overwhelmingly strong moves, battlefield-altering secondary effects
As for Z-Moves…
Ash resisted the urge to sigh.
He had only learned about Z-Moves from the group chat. Hardly anyone in the Alliance even knew the Alola region's system existed.
It was safe to say:
Alola's reputation was… practically nonexistent.