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The principle of Gigantamax is to utilize energy, forming a giant energy body that doubles one's physical strength, while one's own moves are converted into powerful Gigantamax moves due to the Gigantamax energy.
Ordinary evolution, on the other hand, increases a Pokémon's base stats and helps it advance in level. If this MEGA Evolution also possesses those characteristics of ordinary evolution, then this newly emerged system is truly not inferior to, and perhaps even surpasses, the Gigantamax system!
While Gigantamax is powerful, it has many limitations. Not only can it only be used once per battle, but it can also only be used in the Galar Region.
In contrast, Ash's MEGA Evolution can even be used in the Kanto Region, and perhaps not just in the Kanto Region, but in other regions as well.
If this is a system that can be used across all regions, its value would far exceed that of the Gigantamax system!
But then the problem arises... if Ash loses this battle, he will be forced to serve Team Rockets, and the secret of this MEGA Evolution might, with Ash joining Team Rockets, temporarily become Team Rockets' exclusive power.
Now that they already know that MEGA Evolution exists, and that it's a form achieved by borrowing a certain item, discovering the true application method of this system is only a matter of time.
However, if Ash truly joins Team Rockets due to this contract, then this MEGA Evolution will certainly be mastered first by Team Rockets, and Team Rockets will also be the first to collect items related to MEGA Evolution.
In short... Ash absolutely cannot lose this battle!
If it weren't for the contract with Arceus, they wouldn't even be watching here; they would have directly stormed the Viridian Gym to rescue Ash!
After all, the value Ash is currently demonstrating is even more important than a Champion!
You have a system that can overturn the Pokémon world, why didn't you say so earlier! If you had told us, how could we have let you take such a risk! Even if it was for training, we wouldn't have let you go find the leader of Team Rockets!
However, now it was too late for regrets. They could only pray that Ash would unleash the power he displayed when he battled Koga, and directly defeat Giovanni... Inside the Viridian Gym, with Venusaur's MEGA Evolution, his overall strength also broke through the Professional-level and reached the Gym-level. At the same time, a brilliant blue light shone on Ash, linking the power of the trainer and his Pokémon. Venusaur instantly unleashed an aura only slightly weaker than Rhyperior's.
Giovanni's mouth twitched at the sight. This was also possible? Professional peak to Elite-level in the blink of an eye. That special power on Ash was truly not to be underestimated.
However, he didn't care. The outcome of this first battle didn't really matter. He had originally anticipated that Ash might choose Professional-level, or even Superior-level Pokémon to fight, but who knew Ash would choose Elite-level.
One could only say that Ash was still too naive, treating this as an ordinary Gym battle. But in reality, from the moment the contract was made, this battle concerned the destinies of two people.
If he won, he would gain an unprecedented advantage, and Team Rockets would absolutely soar to prominence because of Ash, completely overthrowing the League's dominant position!
If he lost, Team Rockets, with half its strength gone, would practically be disbanded.
So, from the very beginning of this battle, he had decided to send out his highest current combat power when deploying his second Pokémon, to take down Ash in one fell swoop.
He had finally managed to lure Ash into this trap; how could he possibly let Ash escape?
Who would have thought that Ash would give him an opportunity with his very first Pokémon? Now Ash's chances of winning were even slimmer... That's what he had thought, but the fact that this Venusaur could evolve one more time truly shocked him.
That was Bulbasaur's final form; how could it evolve further?
His question to Ash went unanswered, as they were now truly mortal enemies. How could Ash reveal Venusaur's information in such a crucial battle?
Giovanni, unable to get an answer, took two deep breaths, suppressing the shock in his heart. Now was not the time to be disturbed by the opponent's evolution. Whatever the secret of this evolution, as long as he defeated Ash, all these secrets would be his!
Because the condition he set was for Ash to unconditionally and wholeheartedly devote himself to Team Rockets, and revealing his secrets was part of devoting himself to Team Rockets.
So, as long as he defeated Ash, it was equivalent to gaining all of Ash's secrets, whether it was his abilities, the power to boost Pokémon, or the mystery of Venusaur's evolution.
"Let's go, Venusaur, try out your new power, Frenzy Plant!" Ash waved his hand, immediately having Venusaur use the Grass-type ultimate move—Frenzy Plant!
"Bana!!" Venusaur roared, stomping his foot heavily on the ground. Immediately after, the entire ground began to shake, and countless root plants surged wildly from the ground!
The dark green root plants were covered with countless sharp thorns. If struck, one would not only bear the rich Grass-type energy contained within but also suffer secondary damage from the thorns.
"Rhyperior, Stone Edge." Giovanni's cold voice rang out. Rhyperior lifted his massive foot and stomped it heavily on the ground, causing countless sharp rocks to rise from within the earth!
"Boom!"
The massive rocks and dark green roots collided, and amidst the violent Roar, rocks and roots squeezed and shattered each other, sending debris flying.
A glimmer of light flashed in Venusaur's eyes. More of his vitality poured into the roots, and a greater number of green plants continuously surged from the Gym floor, twisting like giant pythons, attempting to directly entangle Rhyperior.
"Rhyperior, Hammer Arm." Just as Frenzy Plant was about to strike Rhyperior, Giovanni's cold voice suddenly rang out.
Rhyperior, receiving the command, showed no fear. He swung his thick, pillar-like arms, creating a howling gust of wind, and fiercely smashed the approaching roots to pieces.
Those massive arms were as swift as a whirlwind. All the Frenzy Plant in their path was completely destroyed, leaving not even a speck of residue. Rhyperior quickly cleared an open space around himself.
The offensive of Frenzy Plant seemed to have stopped. Even a MEGA Evolved Venusaur couldn't use an infinite amount of Frenzy Plant. After two consecutive moves blocked Frenzy Plant, it was Rhyperior's turn to counterattack.
"Rhyperior, Earthquake."
"Roar!" Rhyperior roared, stomping his foot on the ground again. The entire Gym shook at that moment.
A massive wave of energy spread in all directions from Rhyperior's position, but most of the force was concentrated on Venusaur.
Not to mention that Venusaur was currently unable to move, even if he could, with his speed and size, it would be impossible for him to dodge such a wide-ranging Ground-type attack.
"It's over." A smile played on Giovanni's lips. As long as Earthquake hit Venusaur, the outcome of the battle would be decided.
Don't let the aura around Venusaur reaching Elite-level fool you; there was definitely still a gap compared to a true Elite-level Pokémon, as this was just a level boosted by some unknown means.
This was Rhyperior's STAB move, and Rhyperior's level still suppressed the boosted Venusaur. If this attack hit, even if Venusaur didn't faint, he would likely end up severely injured.
In Giovanni's eyes, and Misty's eyes, Earthquake struck Venusaur squarely, and the violent tremor caused Venusaur's entire body to tremble.
"Hahahahaha! Hahahaha... Hmm?" Giovanni, seeing that Earthquake had indeed hit, couldn't help but burst into maniacal laughter. If there might have been a chance of an accident before, now, with Earthquake hitting dead center, Venusaur would have no possibility of turning the tide!
He had scored the first point!
Thinking about the scene of Ash joining Team Rockets, Giovanni couldn't help but laugh excitedly.
However, his laughter lasted less than three seconds before it abruptly stopped, simply because MEGA Venusaur's face showed no sign of pain; instead, a hint of pleasure was subtly revealed.
Pleasure? Showing pleasure after being hit by Earthquake? How could this be!
Before Giovanni could react, Ash's command rang out again: "Venusaur, Frenzy Plant."
"Bana!!" Venusaur unleashed an even more powerful force than before, and even stronger roots surged from the ground, containing a greater surge of vital energy than before!
Giovanni racked his brain but couldn't understand what had happened. Why, after Earthquake hit the opponent, not only was the opponent not weakened at all, but he even became stronger.
However, now was clearly not the time to think about this: "Rhyperior, Protect."
A verdant barrier appeared around Rhyperior in the blink of an eye, firmly shielding him.
Countless roots, like dense venomous snakes, furiously slammed into the barrier. Ripples spread across the barrier, but it showed no sign of breaking.
As long as the attacker's level doesn't exceed the user's by a large stage or more, the Protect move is basically indestructible.
Finally, Frenzy Plant slowly lowered its offensive and retracted into the ground. This attack was successfully blocked, but Giovanni was still very puzzled as to why Venusaur took no damage when hit by Earthquake just now.
"What happened just now? Earthquake clearly hit Venusaur, but Venusaur didn't take any damage at all." Gary muttered, a look of confusion on his face.
Although Ash's battles had always been beyond his comprehension, this situation had reached a point where he couldn't understand it at all. Since when could Venusaur be immune to Ground-type damage?
"Brock, this should be related to that power, right?"
"Hmm, yes, it should be the power Venusaur obtained there."
Gary: ???
"Hey, hey, hey, what riddles are you two talking about? What power? What's going on with this situation where only I don't know anything!" Gary asked the two with a bewildered expression.
"We can't say that now; after all, walls have ears." Misty waved her delicate finger, looking secretive.
Hearing this, Gary looked at the arena and saw Giovanni pricking up his ears, seemingly wanting to get information from them.
Information during a battle is extremely important. Once one side's battle secrets are known, it becomes extremely disadvantageous for that side.
Seeing this, Gary also temporarily shut his mouth and stopped delving into the matter. If Giovanni were to decipher this secret, the advantage they had just barely gained would be completely gone.
"Venusaur, Encore, Frenzy Plant!"
"Still going? Frenzy Plant causes the Pokémon to be stiff. Don't you even know such a simple truth, Ash?" Giovanni's mouth curled into a sarcastic smile, but before his smile had fully formed, he saw Venusaur Roar, and countless green plants once again emerged from the ground.
How could this be! Frenzy Plant with no stiffness? Are you cheating?!
Watching the countless green plants close in on Rhyperior, Ash's face finally showed an uncontrollable smile. To be honest, Venusaur's progress this time brought him too much surprise.
As expected of the inherited power of Xerneas, the God of Life, its effect is in no way inferior to the Rainbow Wing!
The reason Venusaur could be immune to Earthquake was also due to Xerneas's power. Besides being the God of Life, Xerneas also had another title: the God of the Earth!
Venusaur's current method of increasing his strength was to absorb the life energy of the earth and green plants, which is why he was able to achieve such significant growth in Oak's Laboratory.
And the Earthquake just now was directly converted by Venusaur into life energy for his own use. Ground-type moves like this, which have no substantial physical attack but are merely energy transfers, are all nutrients for Venusaur!
Venusaur, having obtained Xerneas's power, is the new God of the Earth!
Now, Venusaur effectively possesses Ground-type immunity!
And the reason he could continuously use Frenzy Plant was also due to his application of vitality. Strictly speaking, Venusaur wasn't using Frenzy Plant for a second time just now; rather, the previous Frenzy Plant had not yet ended.
He had already begun to control the growth and shortening of plants, like Champion Ash.
Just now, he had merely controlled Frenzy Plant to retract into the ground. After Rhyperior's Protect ended, he would have the Frenzy Plant, which had been accumulating power in the dark, launch another attack!
In this battle, from the moment Ash brought out Venusaur, Giovanni had no chance of winning!
"Boom!!"
Frenzy Plant completely engulfed Rhyperior, who had just finished using Protect. A violent Roar erupted on the field, and thick smoke filled the arena.