Perhaps because Pokémon Champion was the first to introduce Kalos and Hoenn's exclusive Mega Evolution mechanics to mainstream trainers, letting them experience this miraculous phenomenon.
Barely two months after the game update, many elite trainers at this Master Tournament had already grasped its potential. They began experimenting with this practical method that drastically boosted real-time combat power.
This surprised not just Aiden—most viewers hadn't expected it either.
Yet upon reflection, it made perfect sense…
The Master Rules never banned this power. Universal usage created balance and served as indirect promotion.
Aiden understood this.
However, the short preparation time exposed another issue—
Trainers' Mega choices were wildly varied, but most hadn't thoroughly refined them. Merely grasping rough usage around their core Pokémon, they treated it as a tournament secret weapon.
Other Top 8 competitors who hadn't yet revealed theirs might be hiding something too.
But under time pressure, it largely became luck-based.
The fortunate ones—like Sabrina—already had Alakazam and Gengar as partners. After a brief adaptation, she chose Gengar as her core.
As a Ghost-type, Gengar naturally countered Psychic opponents. Its Mega Evolution triggered Shadow Tag—a near-unbreakable lock forcing opponents into direct confrontation. This effortlessly eliminated targets, letting Sabrina dominate the top eight.
Cracking Mega Gengar's near-unstoppable Shadow Tag in such a short time wasn't easy.
Even Aiden admitted—he hadn't found a good counter yet.
If placed in Sabrina's bracket, he'd be in trouble too.
As for the unlucky…
Caitlin before Aiden was the perfect example.
Gallade was already powerful. Its Sharpness ability synergized perfectly with its style. Theoretically, Mega Evolution only needed stat boosts to remain dominant.
But the result? Post-evolution, it lost Sharpness—gaining Inner Focus instead.
Immune to flinching and Intimidate, but this paled compared to Sharpness' offensive explosion.
For physical attackers, Intimidate immunity was valuable—but Mega Evolution didn't trigger automatically at battle start. Facing an opponent's Intimidate starter would still cripple it.
All things considered, Mega Gallade was a poor choice—its overall strength barely surpassed its base form.
Of course, this was Aiden's game-knowledge perspective. Real battles couldn't be copied directly.
So Aiden chose a steady approach.
As he spoke, both Pokémon on the field began moving.
After revealing her Key Stone, Caitlin's Gallade resonated with its Mega stone. White light gathered around it, forming a sky-piercing column that swallowed it whole.
Meanwhile, Aiden's Indeedee stood still. Sensing the psychic energy beneath its feet, it remembered the item in its pocket. Calmly, it pulled out a Psychic Seed and began munching it methodically.
By the time the white light faded—revealing white-robed Mega Gallade—Indeedee had finished eating. It immediately moved.
"Indeedee~"
Imitating a certain street wanderer's teachings, Indeedee shook its body, attempting to lower the opponent's aggression through endearing behavior.
The result was…
Unnaturally effective!
In ancient times, Gallade was revered as a martial god. It could keenly sense pleas for help, possessing a delicate emotional nature.
Thus, when Indeedee displayed its soft, cute side, the male Gallade was instantly captivated. For a split second, it even faltered.
"Gallade—don't be swayed! Use Night Slash to attack!"
Sensing trouble, Caitlin commanded urgently, forcing Gallade into a fierce assault.
Night Slash was Dark-type—super effective against Indeedee. If Gallade noticed Indeedee's weakness during attack, a critical hit would negate Charm's effects regardless.
That's what Caitlin thought.
But clearly, she'd been overly optimistic.
Though snapping back to reality, Gallade's blade slowed instinctively when meeting Indeedee's pitiful gaze. As a chivalrous Pokémon, it couldn't bring itself to strike fully.
So even with type advantage, the blow barely scraped Indeedee.
"Tsk…"
Watching this, Caitlin's expression darkened behind Gallade. She shot Aiden a resentful glare.
'This guy's definitely doing it on purpose!'
'Using dirty tricks on such a cute Pokémon? Despicable!'
Unnoticed by Caitlin…
As negative emotions surged from her and Gallade, Aiden opposite them smiled—everything unfolding exactly as he'd planned.
Simultaneously, faint flickers of light appeared around Indeedee's feet.
But the glow was so dim—almost sinister—that few noticed this subtle change.
Only in a corner of the stands did a red-haired youth frown slightly, gazing at Indeedee below.
'That…'
During his wandering childhood, he'd witnessed similar phenomena.
A move called Frustration—learned by Pokémon whose bond with trainers was deliberately damaged through cruel shortcuts.
The lower the friendship, the stronger Frustration's power—unleashing immense strength in short bursts.
Young Silver had memorized this technique upon first seeing it.
Though mature trainers scorned such methods… for rapid strength gains…
He'd considered using it himself.
Now, the anomalies on Aiden's Indeedee eerily resembled his memory of Frustration…?
"No—it must be my imagination," Silver shook his head.
If their bond was weak, Indeedee couldn't possibly smile so warmly.
There must be another reason.
"Indeedee—Trick Room!"
Aiden commanded swiftly. Seizing Gallade's distraction, he aimed to further cripple its mobility with Trick Room.
"Gallade—Taunt!"
Caitlin instantly countered, using Taunt to block Indeedee's setup.
As Indeedee's energy gathered, Gallade reacted—slapping its arm aside while striking a taunting pose.
Enjoy dirty tricks, do you? Love ambushing with Trick Room do you?!
Watch me lock all your support moves with Taunt! What can your precious Indeedee do now?!
Seeing she'd regained control, Caitlin flashed a confident smile.
"Gallade—use Swords Dance to boost yourself!"
With harassment blocked, she seized the chance to reclaim momentum—restoring Gallade's combat power.
Baited.
Aiden raised an eyebrow. He shouted decisively:
"Indeedee—Expanding Force!"
Though not Mewtwo, when Aiden named the move, viewers collectively froze.
Mewtwo's Expanding Force had left such a deep impression with its overwhelming spectacle.
As another of Aiden's core Pokémon—with its innate Psychic Terrain ability—Indeedee's version should be formidable too, right?
"Aiden suddenly shifted tactics! Abandoning support moves and the apparent intention to switch out after creating terrain advantage, he instead launched a fierce offense during Gallade's setup!"
Even the stoic Lance grew excited.
"Was this premeditated? Or instinctive combat brilliance?"
If any other trainer used this move here, Lance might suspect desperation—a reckless bid to trade Indeedee for Gallade.
But against Aiden…
Without reason, Lance simply believed he'd never act without preparation.
Reality aligned closely with Lance's thoughts.
"Indeedee!"
Unlike Mewtwo's terrifying, nearly physical psychic tsunami, Indeedee's Expanding Force was less flashy—but at close range, it still shoved Gallade back several meters.
Fighting-type moves countered many Dark attackers targeting Psychic-types, but they also amplified Psychic damage against Fighting-types.
Gallade, however, remained undeterred. Enduring the hit, it completed Swords Dance—its eyes clearing with renewed focus.
"Gallade—use Night Slash again!"
Relieved that her ace—hidden until eliminations—remained intact, Caitlin's confident smile returned.
'Aiden's trump card is nothing to fear. This Indeedee can't possibly match my Gallade!'
"Both sides' clash has reached its boiling point. Their moves are nearly exposed. This is the decisive moment."
Lance analyzed while calculating both sides' options.
Each had used three moves. Neither could afford Protect now—locking it would make their fixed movepool endlessly targetable.
But could Indeedee survive Gallade's Swords Dance-enhanced blow?
Lance's gaze shifted to Gallade. Its arm blades scraped together sharply—a clear offensive stance.
Perhaps Indeedee's Expanding Force had awakened it. Now Gallade had one thought—
Revenge!
Eliminate the Pokémon that wounded it to calm its raging heart.
However…
Lance frowned.
As a Dragon Master, his eagle eyes caught details others missed.
Earlier, Indeedee's back had hidden anomalies from the commentator's angle.
But this time, he didn't miss the faint black aura seeping from Gallade.
And seeing it, Lance froze.
Normally, using Dark-type moves shouldn't affect the user's body, right?
Then how to explain Gallade's black mist…?
Negative emotions?
Before Lance could ponder, he noticed another detail—
Gallade's wisp-thin black aura seemed drawn by something, rapidly converging toward one direction.
Its target was precisely Aiden's Indeedee on the opposite side.
In an instant, Lance's eyes widened.
Connecting it to Indeedee's lore, a bold yet logical hypothesis formed:
Indeedee is an Emotion Pokémon that feeds on emotional energy. This is why it bonds deeply with expressive humans and integrates into society.
This unique energy seems controlled by the special organ atop its head—the primary storage method.
So what happens if it absorbs opponents' emotional energy during battle?
Lance didn't know—but Aiden was about to show him.
"Indeedee."
As Lance predicted, facing charging Gallade, Aiden's smile remained confident. He spoke calmly:
"Use Last Resort."
Last Resort—a Normal-type move unleashing all hidden strength accumulated during battle, creating a powerful shockwave.
Thus, it had unique restrictions.
If fewer than three distinct moves were used earlier—or power wasn't fully demonstrated—this move became extremely difficult to execute.
Moreover, this move should only be learnable by male Indeedee. But thanks to an excellent teacher at home, Aiden's Indeedee had mastered this technique—channeling emotional energy into explosive power.
Or rather—in Mew's eyes, this was the correct application of its strength.
"Umm!"
Since the battle began, Indeedee had been storing Gallade's emotional energy. Now—it was time to unleash it all!
Indeedee clenched its fists. Its downward-curving horns—designed to store emotional energy—suddenly glowed with ominous black spots.
As it charged the move, black energy coiled around its body…
Witnessing this, the audience's stream viewers froze in shock:
"Teacher Azure, why is your Indeedee spewing black smoke...?"
"This feels off—90% wrong, 100% wrong!"
"This is Last Resort??? I'd believe you if you said it's Dark Pulse!"
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