After Lila successfully caught Mawile, Ange also extended an invitation to Solrock.
"Solrock, would you like to come with me?"
Upon hearing this, Solrock was stunned. It looked at everyone, and seeing them all nodding encouragingly, it nodded to accept Ange's offer and flew to his side.
Seeing this scene, Lunatone couldn't help but feel a flicker of loss and envy in its eyes.
It had always been with Solrock; what would it do now that Solrock was leaving?
Ange happened to see this, and after a moment of hesitation, he also extended an invitation to Lunatone.
"Lunatone, would you like to come along too?"
Catching the sun without catching the moon made Ange, who had obsessive-compulsive tendencies, feel very uncomfortable.
Besides, it wasn't as if he couldn't afford to raise another one, so he might as well catch the moon as well!
Upon hearing Ange's words, Lunatone's eyes lit up. It nodded happily and flew to Solrock's side. The two Pokémon looked at each other, their eyes full of joy.
It was truly wonderful not to have to be separated.
With the desired Pokémon successfully captured, Ange and Lila bid farewell to everyone. The group bid a reluctant goodbye to the two, as well as to Mawile, Solrock, and Lunatone.
Escorted by the Pokémon all the way to the cave entrance, Ange and Lila looked at everyone and said, "Well then, everyone, see you again."
Solrock, Lunatone, and Mawile said goodbye to everyone with tears in their eyes.
When the farewells were over, Ange and Lila each returned their Pokémon to their Poké Balls, then released Braviary and Mandibuzz and climbed onto their backs.
At this time, the sun was already setting outside. The two Flying-type Pokémon carried Ange and Lila as they took off into the sunset. Ange and Lila waved to the Pokémon below while flying off into the distance under the setting sun.
By the time they returned to Geosenge Town, it was nearly dark.
After returning Braviary and Mandibuzz, Ange asked Lila, "I'm staying at the Pokémon Center, how about you?"
Lila replied, "I'm staying at a hotel."
Ange said, "Then we aren't going the same way. It seems we have to part ways here."
Lila said, "See you tomorrow."
Ange nodded, "See you tomorrow."
The two then separated and walked toward their respective lodgings.
Upon returning to the Pokémon Center, Ange first took his Pokémon to have dinner.
Releasing his Pokémon, Ange introduced them to Tyrunt and Magearna, "These are Solrock, Lunatone, and Doublade, who have just joined us. From now on, you are all partners, so please take care of each other."
Duki~ Magearna greeted the three Pokémon in a very friendly manner.
The three Pokémon also greeted Magearna back in a friendly way.
Awu~ Awu~ The lively and energetic Tyrunt had been cooped up because Ange hadn't released it, so as soon as it was out, it started rolling around and acting up.
Ange quickly retrieved its teething toy from his system backpack. Calmed by the toy, Tyrunt instantly quieted down.
After everyone finished getting to know each other, Ange said, "Alright, let's eat quickly, you must all be hungry!"
Gang~
Awu~
Munchlax and Tyrunt nodded quickly.
Ange then distributed the food to everyone, and the Pokémon immediately began to feast.
Solrock, Lunatone, and Doublade were all eating human-made food for the first time, and they were instantly conquered by the delicious taste.
The food at the Geosenge Town Pokémon Center was quite good.
Watching everyone eating with satisfaction, a "kind" smile appeared on Ange's face.
Right! Ange suddenly realized he hadn't checked Doublade's data yet!
According to Chandelure, the Doublade that followed him and Lila had been carefully selected and was the most talented junior among the Aegislash community. He wondered if that was true.
Thinking this, Ange opened his Eye of Observation.
Doublade (Holding Everstone)
Type: Steel, Ghost
Ability: No Guard
Gender: Female
Level: 48
Moves: Fury Cutter, Shadow Sneak, Autotomize, Aerial Ace, Metal Sound, Slash, Payback, Night Slash, Iron Defense, Iron Head, Swords Dance, Sacred Sword, Wide Guard.
Individual Values
HP: 31
Attack: 31
Defense: 29
Special Attack: 31
Special Defense: 27
Speed: 31
After reading it, Ange was stunned. "Good" was no longer enough to describe these stats.
Its level was actually as high as 48, and its move set was extremely complete. Among the six individual values, four were maxed out, except for Special Defense and Defense.
Although Special Defense and Defense weren't maxed out, they were still quite high.
However, why was it wearing an Everstone? No wonder it hadn't evolved despite being level 48.
Typically, a Doublade would meet the evolution conditions around level 35.
Thinking this, Ange asked directly.
"Doublade, why are you wearing an Everstone? Is there a special reason?"
Yo~ Yo~ The eating Doublade floated up and answered Ange.
It turned out that it and Lila's Doublade were both Pokémon specially cultivated by the community for trial-takers. To prevent them from evolving before meeting a trial-taker, Chandelure had specifically given them Everstones to wear.
The reason they were able to learn so many moves was also due to the careful teaching of their kin.
Ever since they were chosen, the elders of the community had become very strict with them, striving to make them strong enough to better protect their followers.
Despite being in their initial form, they were actually no longer young.
It was just that they had waited too long for a trial-taker, which made the elders very anxious. They had all long wanted to finish the trial, fulfill their promise to the King, and then live freely.
Because they really couldn't wait any longer, Chandelure took the initiative and threw the key to open the ruins out, which was then picked up by Lila, who had gone to Glittering Cave to adventure.
After listening to Doublade's explanation, Ange was dumbfounded, "So, our ability to enter the ruins was actually Chandelure's doing?"
Yo~ Doublade nodded.
These Ghost-type Pokémon were simply too smart! Ange couldn't help but sigh.
"Then, are you going to take off the Everstone now?" Ange asked.
Yo~ May I?
Doublade asked.
Ange said, "Of course, whenever you want. I respect your choice."
Yo~ Yo~~ Take it off! Take it off!
Doublade immediately did somersaults in the air in excitement.
"Where is your Everstone? I'll help you take it off," Ange asked.
Yo~ Yo~ Upon hearing this, Doublade flew closer to Ange and showed him the spot where it had hidden the Everstone.
Only then did Ange notice that a stone was stuck in a hole on Doublade's scabbard; it was indeed the Everstone.
After he pried the Everstone off, a dazzling light immediately radiated from Doublade's body.
It was the light of evolution.
Enveloped in the light, Doublade's body was changing rapidly, transforming from the original single blade into a pair of crossed twin blades.
This was Doublade's evolution—Aegislash.
Chu~ Chu~
After evolving, Aegislash was very happy and immediately started drawing its blades with enthusiasm, slashing back and forth in the air, with cold light flickering along with it.
Because it was Shiny, the color of the evolved Aegislash was also different from an ordinary Aegislash.
The blade of a normal Aegislash was white, its eyes were pink, and its sash was generally light purple, while the tips were pink.
In contrast, the blade of Ange's Shiny Aegislash was deep red, its eyes were yellow, its sash was generally deep purple, and the tips were yellow.
Ange quickly said, "Aegislash, come back and eat. This is a public place, be careful not to hurt anyone."
Chu~~ Upon hearing this, Aegislash quickly flew back to continue eating.
At this moment, Munchlax walked to Ange's side and pointed at the Everstone in Ange's hand.
Gang~ Gang~~
Ange asked in confusion, "You want this Everstone?"
Gang~ Gang~ Munchlax nodded.
Ange asked suspiciously, "What do you want it for? Don't tell me you don't want to evolve either?"
Gang~ Gang~~ Munchlax shook its head, indicating that it was still training and would evolve once it reached the level of satisfaction it desired.
Of course, another reason was that it knew that after evolving, its body would become huge, and it would no longer be able to act spoiled in its master's arms or sleep in the same bed as its master.
It still wanted to spend some more time with its master in its current form.
By wearing the Everstone, it could evolve whenever it wanted once it had accumulated enough.
Ange didn't know what level of satisfaction Munchlax was talking about, but since it had said so, he didn't object.
He pinched Munchlax's cheeks and said, "Fine, whatever you say!" As he spoke, he stuffed the Everstone into Munchlax's hand.
Gang~ Munchlax happily stuffed the Everstone into its thick fur, then trot back to finish its meal.
Munchlax's fur was like Gengar's stomach; it could hold anything.
Afterward, Ange also took a look at Solrock and Lunatone's data. Their data was much more normal; it was just at the level of ordinary wild Pokémon.
However, Ange didn't care; after all, he didn't intend for Solrock and Lunatone to go into competitive battles.
After dinner, Ange took the Pokémon for a walk outside, watched some battles in the backyard of the Pokémon Center, and finally returned to his room.
Then, he had a video call with the Pokémon at home for a while before finally going to bed.
The next morning, Ange took his Pokémon to meet Lila at a breakfast shop, and they had breakfast together.
Upon seeing that Ange's Doublade had evolved into Aegislash, Lila was very surprised.
"How did your Doublade evolve after just one night?"
Ange feigned mystery and said, "Want to know the reason?"
Lila nodded repeatedly and looked at Ange with anticipation, "I want to know, I want to know!"
"What should I do? This is a secret; I wouldn't tell an ordinary person," Ange said, keeping her in suspense.
Lila patted Ange impatiently, "Tell me quickly!"
Only then did Ange stop being mysterious, "Our Doublades were actually already at a very high level and had long reached the stage where they could evolve. It's just that they were wearing Everstones; as long as the Everstones are removed, they can evolve immediately."
"Eh???" Lila widened her eyes in surprise. She looked at her Doublade and asked, "Is that so, Doublade?"
Yo~ Yo~ Doublade nodded.
Then, with Ange's help, Lila removed the Everstone from her Doublade, and her Doublade also successfully evolved into Aegislash.
Ange used the Eye of Observation to check Lila's Aegislash and found that the data of her Aegislash was almost the same as his, and the moves were exactly the same.
Because both of them planned to leave Geosenge Town in the afternoon, they decided to explore the town together after breakfast.
They first went to the Geosenge Town Aquarium, as it was famous for it.
In the aquarium, Ange and the others saw all kinds of Water-type Pokémon, from schools of Luvdisc and the living fossil Relicanth that had survived from ancient times, to Kingdra that only lived in the deep sea, and so on!
They also went to the Pokémon Shop, where Ange and Lila each bought an Eviolite for their Aegislash.
It would take a Dusk Stone for Aegislash to evolve further, but neither of them planned to let them evolve immediately, so Eviolite became a very suitable held item for Aegislash.
Aegislash's attack was not low, and its base defense stat was even outrageously high at 150. If equipped with an Eviolite, it would become even more terrifying, so it was a very cost-effective item for them to wear.
After buying the Eviolite, the two walked out of the Pokémon Shop with their Pokémon, talking and laughing.
Just then, a man suddenly appeared in front of them and looked at Lila, asking:
"Excuse me, are you Lila?"
Lila nodded and said, "It's me, do you need something?" She looked at the young man in front of her with confusion.
The young man was handsome, had black hair, and was tall. More importantly, both Ange and Lila noticed that he was wearing a Mega Ring on his wrist, inlaid with a Mega Stone.
The young man introduced himself, "My name is Alain, and I am here to challenge you."
Lila said, "Challenge me?" At the same time, she wondered inwardly, am I that famous?
"Mega Evolution, you have one, don't you!" Alain said concisely.
Lila realized upon hearing this; it turned out he had come to challenge her for Mega Evolution.
She had never feared a challenge, so she nodded and said, "I accept your challenge!"
Then Lila asked curiously, "How did you know I was in Geosenge Town?"
Alain replied, "The video of you battling someone in Geosenge Town was posted online. I saw it by accident, and since I happened to be near Geosenge Town, I came over to take a look."
Lila realized, "So that's how it is." She had indeed sparred with someone in Geosenge Town.
Now that network and communication technologies were so developed, it was not surprising that her battle video had been posted online.
Because there was no proper battle field in Geosenge Town, Lila and Alain came to a grassy area outside the town. It was spacious here, and it didn't matter how they fought.
Ange was asked to act as a temporary referee.
"If both sides are ready, then release your Pokémon!" Ange, the unprofessional temporary referee, said loudly.
As Ange's voice fell, the two simultaneously took out their Poké Balls and released their Pokémon.
On Lila's side, there was no surprise: it was Absol.
As for Alain's side, it was Charizard.
Seeing the Mega Stone inlaid on the collar of Charizard's neck, a realization simultaneously flashed through Ange and Lila's minds.
From the moment Alain took the initiative to ask Lila to use Mega Evolution, Ange and Lila had vaguely guessed that this Alain was probably also a possessor of a Mega Stone.
Speaking of Alain, his background was not simple.
He was originally an assistant to Professor Sycamore, a famous Pokémon professor in the Kalos region.
Professor Sycamore was a pioneer and authority on the study of Mega Evolution in the Kalos region.
To help the professor research Mega Evolution, his assistant Alain embarked on a journey with Charmander, visiting various ruins just to find more Mega Stones.
During the journey, he and Charmander kept getting stronger, and Charmander eventually evolved into Charizard.
During this period, he met another person who changed his will: Lysandre, a famous entrepreneur and philanthropist in the Kalos region, who was also the BOSS of Team Flare.
Later, Alain cut off contact with the professor and became a subordinate of Lysandre, following Lysandre's instructions to find people in various places who possessed Mega Stones, battle them, and collect Mega Evolution energy.
The Key Stone and Charizardite in Alain's hands were both obtained from Lysandre.
Of course, Alain didn't know about Lysandre's idea of destroying the world and then creating a new one; he only thought Lysandre wanted to study Mega Evolution and could help him become stronger.
Ange didn't know Alain, nor did he know that Alain was Lysandre's subordinate, so he still thought he was just an ordinary trainer.
"Then, the match begins!" Seeing that both of them had released their Pokémon, Ange said loudly.
As soon as Ange's voice fell, he saw Lila take the lead in commanding Absol to attack Charizard.
"Absol, Psycho Cut!"
Absol~~
Absol roared, and a huge purple blade swung from the horn on its head, cutting toward Charizard.
"Charizard, Flamethrower." Alain commanded Charizard to counterattack.
Woo~~
Charizard also roared, flapped its wings, and flew into the air. After dodging Absol's Psycho Cut, it opened its mouth and spat out a pillar of fire toward Absol.
"Absol, Double Team!" Lila shouted.
Absol~~ Absol's figure flickered and turned into more than ten.
Then Lila shouted again, "Psycho Cut!"
Seeing more than ten Absol simultaneously swinging the horns on their heads, purple blades cut toward Charizard at the same time.
Alain shouted, "Charizard, Dragon Claw!"
Awu~ Charizard opened its arms, and its claws were instantly wrapped in two huge green energy claw gauntlets.
Charizard swung its claws rapidly, and Absol's Psycho Cuts were defeated one by one.
The probing was over, and Alain said to Lila, "Let's both use our real skills!"
Lila said, "Just what I wanted!"
She reached her left hand toward the earring on her right ear, touched the Key Stone, and said, "Absol, release your power, Mega Evolve!"
At the same time, Alain pressed his index and middle fingers on his Key Stone and shouted, "Respond to my heart, Key Stone! Beyond evolution, Mega Evolution!"
As their words fell, seven-colored light emerged from the Key Stones on both sides, as well as from Absol's Absolite and Charizard's Charizardite, until it completely enveloped Absol and Charizard.
In the light, the appearance of the two Pokémon changed drastically.
After the light dissipated, Mega Absol and Mega Charizard appeared on the stage.