In the VIP section, Steven watched Mega Gardevoir's transformation with open admiration. The evolution was striking, elegant and powerful in equal measure. But when he glanced sideways, he found the Elite Four wearing very different expressions. Lorelei's mouth was hanging open. Lance looked like he'd swallowed something bitter. Agatha's eyes had narrowed to slits.
It was the same look Steven himself had worn when Ash first triggered Mega Evolution.
"What's with the faces?" Steven asked, genuinely puzzled. "You already knew Ash's Pokémon could Mega Evolve. Gardevoir's form is impressive, sure, but you don't need to look like you've seen a ghost."
"It's not that Gardevoir Mega Evolved," Lance said slowly, jaw still tight. "It's that Ash Mega Evolved Gardevoir after already Mega Evolving Blastoise."
Steven blinked. "And?"
"Steven." Lorelei had recovered enough to speak, though her voice was clipped. "You haven't studied the system closely, so you wouldn't know, but Mega Evolution works the same as Gigantamax in one key respect. One use per battle. After a Mega Evolution, the Key Stone in the Trainer's hand goes dark. It needs time to recharge before it can trigger another evolution. What Ash just did should be flatly impossible."
Lance nodded. Among the Elite Four, he was the only one who'd actually obtained a Mega Evolution stone, but they'd all done their homework on the basics. The rule was clear: one Mega Evolution per match, full stop.
The mechanic wasn't complicated. A Key Stone and a Dynamax Band worked on similar principles, both channelled a burst of energy into the Pokémon to trigger a transformation. The difference lay in what happened after.
With Gigantamax, the Dynamax Band poured power directly into the Pokémon. Every boosted move burned through that borrowed energy, which was why the state collapsed after three turns. It ran on fuel from the band, and the fuel ran out fast.
A Key Stone operated differently. True to its name, it was just a key. The life energy it channelled didn't power the transformation itself, it flowed into the Pokémon's Mega Stone and activated dormant genes. From that point on, the Mega Evolution ran on the Pokémon's own reserves. That was why duration depended on stamina rather than a fixed turn count.
But the Key Stone still needed to recharge after use. Just like a Dynamax Band. One shot, then a cooldown.
Two consecutive Mega Evolutions in a single match? That wasn't bending the rules. That was breaking them.
"So what you're telling me," Steven said carefully, "is that consecutive Mega Evolutions are something only Ash can do."
The question hung in the air. Nobody had a clean answer.
Steven leaned back in his seat, turning it over. This kid had discovered Mega Evolution, assembled a team of rare Pokémon, trained them to Elite Four calibre in six months, and now he was pulling off feats that the system itself wasn't supposed to allow. It was starting to feel less like talent and more like the universe had picked a favourite.
"That's the only explanation," Lance confirmed, arms folded. "After one Mega Evolution, my Key Stone takes at least half a day to recharge. Whatever Ash is doing, it's not normal."
Something clicked in Steven's mind.
He'd done his own research on Key Stones, back before anyone was calling them that. He'd named them Life Stones, because the life energy inside them had a peculiar property: it regenerated after being drained. He'd found the phenomenon fascinating enough to keep several for his personal collection rather than handing them all over to Professor Oak.
He'd been less careful with the Mega Stones themselves. Only kept two or three of those.
A cold thought crept in. The Key Stones and Mega Stones that Ash was using, surely they weren't all from Steven's collection?
He ran the logic. No, the Mega Stones might trace back to him, but the Key Stones probably didn't. Ash would have needed a Key Stone in hand before he could have discovered Mega Evolution. You didn't go hunting for an item you didn't know existed.
As for why Professor Oak had wanted so many Key Stones in the first place... well, if Steven had known about Mega Evolution early, he'd have done the same thing. Stockpile materials. Equip yourself, then your allies. It was obvious in hindsight.
Which made Steven, in all likelihood, the single largest unwitting investor in Ash Ketchum's Mega Evolution arsenal.
He thought about every stone he'd cheerfully handed over to Oak's research and felt a faint, unfamiliar twinge of regret.
Down on the field, Conway was feeling pressure of a different kind. Mega Blastoise alone had steamrolled two of his Pokémon, and without Trick Room warping the speed tiers, those two probably wouldn't have landed a meaningful hit at all.
Setting up Trick Room was Dusknoir's job, and it had already paid a price for it, tanking a attack from Blastoise earlier in the match. That had been before the Mega Evolution. Given how Mega Blastoise had performed afterward, that same attack would have left Dusknoir barely functional instead of sitting at half health.
But that was then. Now the situation was worse. Gardevoir had already completed its Mega Evolution, and even without knowing its exact strength, the pressure rolling off the transformed Pokémon was suffocating.
Conway didn't have the luxury of hesitation. Trick Room had to go up. Without it, his entire roster was dead weight, too slow to compete, too bulky to matter when they couldn't land a hit. Losing the room dropped his win probability by at least thirty percent, and that was being generous.
"Dusknoir, Shadow Sneak!"
A priority move. Regardless of Dusknoir's sluggish speed, Shadow Sneak would hit first. Conway wasn't ready to commit to setting up the room blind, not against an unknown Mega. If Dusknoir were at full health, maybe. In its current state, he needed to test the waters first.
Dusknoir cupped its hands together and a sphere of dark energy swelled between them. It fired, and the shadow tore across the ground toward Gardevoir like a streak of black lightning.
Gardevoir didn't dodge. She raised one arm, and a pulse of deep blue psychic energy bloomed around her fingers, Confusion, the most basic telekinetic technique in a Psychic-type's arsenal.
The Shadow Sneak hit the wall of psychic force and stopped dead. Gardevoir's fingers closed, and the attack crumpled like paper in a fist.
The stadium went quiet. A priority move, nullified with the lowest-tier psychic technique, executed so precisely it looked casual. That single exchange told everyone watching exactly what tier this Gardevoir operated at.
Conway's stomach dropped. His expression curdled into something between fury and despair.
'If you had this Pokémon, why didn't you lead with it?'
He shoved the thought down. Panic was a luxury he couldn't afford.
"Dusknoir, Shadow Ball!" Conway barked the command through gritted teeth. He wanted to close the distance and use Dusknoir's superior physical attacks, but the raw power difference made that suicidal. Long-range harassment was the only play.
"Gardevoir, Moonblast."
If Conway wanted to trade projectiles, that was fine. Ranged combat was Gardevoir's bread and butter, even though she was more than capable up close.
Both Pokémon charged their attacks simultaneously. A churning sphere of black energy coalesced in front of Dusknoir. Across the field, a luminous orb gathered between Gardevoir's palms, pale and cold as moonlight.
They fired at the same instant.
The two projectiles met in the centre of the field, and for a split second it looked like a contest. It wasn't. Moonblast punched straight through Shadow Ball like it was smoke, scattering the dark energy without slowing down. The remains of the Shadow Ball dissolved before they hit the ground.
It wasn't even close. After Mega Evolution, Gardevoir was fighting with Elite power. In a straight ranged duel, ten Dusknoirs wouldn't have shifted the needle.
Conway had seen enough. The moment his Shadow Ball disintegrated, he played the card he'd been holding since Gardevoir stepped onto the field.
"Now, Destiny Bond!"
Dusknoir's eye blazed with ghostly violet light as spectral chains erupted from its body, lashing out toward Gardevoir. The message was simple: 'if I go down, you're coming with me.'
Conway didn't care about saving Dusknoir anymore. Trick Room could wait. This was the play.
He'd underestimated Ash's roster, he could admit that now. Blastoise wasn't the ace. But Gardevoir? A Pokémon with Mega Evolution access? This had to be one of Ash's strongest. If not the strongest, then close to it. No team had unlimited firepower at this level.
Trading Dusknoir for Mega Gardevoir through Destiny Bond wasn't just acceptable, it was a steal. Conway's real trump card hadn't even touched the field yet.
A pitch-black tendril of spectral energy erupted from Dusknoir's body, streaking across the ground toward Gardevoir like a living shadow. Conway's timing was deliberate, Gardevoir had just committed to Moonblast. Mid-attack, with energy still gathered between her palms, dodging should have been impossible.
"Hit her!" Conway roared.
Destiny Bond missed.
Gardevoir vanished. One instant she was there, the next, nothing but empty air and the Moonblast she'd already launched sailing forward on its original trajectory.
She reappeared behind Dusknoir. In one black-gloved palm, a second Moonblast was already condensed and glowing, charged with casual, almost lazy efficiency.
Dusknoir had nowhere to go. Moonblast from the front. Gardevoir with Teleport at its back, point-blank, a one-handed shot aimed right between its shoulders.
Both hit simultaneously.
The detonation shook the entire arena. Dusknoir disappeared inside a violent eruption of black smoke and pale lunar energy, and a visible shockwave ripped outward from the point of impact. Dust and debris tore across the field in a blinding storm. Conway threw his arms up to shield his face, staggering. The referee nearly lost his footing. Spectators in the front rows ducked behind their seats.
On the other side of the field, Ash stood perfectly still. Pikachu, perched at his feet, didn't so much as twitch. The gale whipped past them like they were rooted to the earth.
The storm faded. The dust settled in slow, lazy curtains, revealing the aftermath.
Dusknoir lay crumpled on the ground, completely spent. A few feet away, Mega Gardevoir hovered with her gown drifting gently in the last traces of wind. Her expression was serene, as though she'd done nothing more strenuous than swat a fly.
"Dusknoir is unable to battle, Gardevoir wins!"
The referee lowered the arm he'd thrown up to shield his eyes, confirmed the result, and brought his flag down.
The scoreboard painted a brutal picture. Three of Conway's Pokémon were down. On Ash's side, only Blastoise was out of play, and even that was generous, since Blastoise hadn't actually fainted. It was sitting in its Poké Ball with a sliver of health intact, benched by choice rather than defeat.
Conway was in freefall. Destiny Bond had whiffed. His Trick Room setter was gone. And the Pokémon responsible for all of it hadn't taken a scratch.
He recalled Dusknoir and took a slow breath, visibly forcing his composure back into place.
"It seems I misjudged your lineup," he said, voice steady despite everything. "Pikachu was the smokescreen, wasn't it? This Gardevoir is your real ace, and she's far beyond what I prepared for." He reached for a new Poké Ball, turning it over once in his fingers. "Fine. Then I'll show you mine."
He threw.
The ball burst open, and a pink Pokémon materialized on the field. It stood upright on two stubby legs, a Shellder clamped onto its head like a ornate crown, the shell's front adorned with a sparkling red gem. A ruffled collar ringed its neck, and its eyes, unlike the vacant stare of its pre-evolved relatives, were sharp, calm, and deeply intelligent.
Slowking. The other evolution of Slowpoke, and everything its family line was not.
Where Slowpoke and Slowbro were famously dim, Slowking was the opposite, a product of the rare reaction between a Shellder's bite and a King's Rock stimulating the brain rather than dulling it. The result was a Pokémon whose intelligence was said to rival or surpass the sharpest human scholars. Some research institutions even partnered with Slowking as genuine collaborators, and more than a few academic breakthroughs had come from those partnerships.
The choice fit Conway perfectly. A Pokémon built around intellect, strategy, and quiet power, the ideal trump card for a data-driven trainer.
He'd kept Slowking hidden through every prior match, never once revealing it. Only now, pushed to the edge, did he finally play his last hand.