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Umbreon was hit in the head by Brick Break and fell directly to the ground with a loud bang.
Lucario landed lightly from the sky, almost silently returning to the field, a stark contrast to Umbreon's fall.
As the dust on the field settled, the sideways-lying Umbreon appeared before everyone.
"Umbreon is unable to battle, Lucario wins!" As expected, Umbreon, directly hit by Brick Break, lost its ability to battle. Even though Umbreon's defense was quite good, its level was too far below Lucario's.
First, it was hit by Extreme Speed, and then by a full-power Brick Break. Forget about being just Professional Junior Level; even Professional Senior Level wouldn't be able to withstand these two moves.
Gary recalled Umbreon and then released his next Pokémon, Gyarados!
Its level was still Professional Junior Level. Although it had a type advantage against Lucario, its low level rendered it completely ineffective. Lucario used Extreme Speed, sending Gyarados flying directly into the wall of the arena's audience seats.
This strike showed no mercy, as Ash was ready to end this battle.
Gary's strongest Pokémon had already been used earlier. The Pokémon Gary was using now were not even on the same level as his previous ones, not to mention that his Lucario was not on the level of an Annihilape.
In a battle with such a vast difference in strength, what Ash needed to do was end it quickly.
However, Gary had not used all of his powerful Pokémon. He still had one last one, his trump card.
"Hiss... exhale..." Gary took a deep breath, put Gyarados's Poké Ball back on his waist, and then took out his last Poké Ball.
"This is the last one... I'm counting on you, Blastoise!!" With a flash of light, Gary's strongest and final Pokémon appeared on the field: Blastoise!
The strength of Gary's Blastoise was beyond doubt. In previous battles, it had even broken through to Gym Leader Level, becoming Gary's only Gym Leader Level Pokémon, and it could also undergo MEGA Evolution.
If there was any Pokémon in Gary's possession that could contend with Ash's main force, then this Blastoise was absolutely the only one.
"Finally, Blastoise has arrived." Ash's expression became a bit more serious after seeing Blastoise appear. This opponent was different from the previous ones; it was not something Lucario could easily one-shot. Even after MEGA Evolution, with Lucario's current strength, dealing with it would be quite tricky.
"Come on, Ash, for this final showdown, I will defeat your Lucario!" Gary said he would defeat Lucario, not Ash. His goal was already clear: to defeat one more of Ash's Pokémon!
And if even the god-slaying Lucario were taken down, regardless of whether Lucario currently possessed its former strength, you could still say it was taken down!
For Gary himself, that would definitely boost his confidence significantly, greatly helping him in the upcoming third-place match and his future development. So this final showdown was not an insignificant, irrelevant battle; he wanted to win!!
"Blastoise, MEGA Evolution!!" Gary raised his arm, and the colorful gem in the bracelet on his wrist glowed brilliantly. A mega stone also appeared on Blastoise's body, making Blastoise evolve immediately at the start!
MEGA Evolution and Gigantamax are both skills that are better used as early as possible. After Gigantamax, a Pokémon's stamina can be said to double, which means its damage resistance undergoes a qualitative leap.
As for MEGA Evolution, after evolving, the state will not disappear as long as the user doesn't want it to, even if it's returned to a Poké Ball. Coupled with the increase in all stats after evolution, initiating MEGA Evolution at the very beginning is the best choice.
As the light on Blastoise's body gradually dissipated, Mega Blastoise once again appeared in the eyes of the many spectators. Although they had seen it many times, many people were still marveling at the wonder of MEGA Evolution.
To allow a Pokémon to temporarily evolve, break through its own limits, and enhance its power in all aspects, also has great benefits for future level breakthroughs. Besides MEGA Evolution, what other system can achieve this?
It is precisely because of this that the unannounced MEGA Evolution is already being heavily praised online. Although Ash has not released any information, a lot of information about MEGA Evolution has appeared online.
As for how much of it is true, only Ash and the Elite Four probably know.
"Blastoise's MEGA Evolution, huh? Then we'll do it too, Lucario!" Ash shouted at Lucario, his arm raised high at this moment. On his wrist, there was also a Mega Bracelet equipped with a key stone!
Previously, because MEGA Evolution had not been officially announced, Ash did not wear such a conspicuous bracelet. He even took out the key stone directly from his sleeve for Blastoise's first MEGA Evolution.
Now that everyone was somewhat accustomed to MEGA Evolution, Ash also took out his key stone and openly wore it on his wrist.
Following Ash's shout, a mega stone also appeared on Lucario's body. Immediately after, Lucario's body burst into a brilliant light. Amidst the stunned expressions of the people around, Lucario presented a brand new form!
After evolving, Lucario's surface had more black stripes, the fur behind its head increased, its skin color became darker, and its feet turned red.
The creamy white fur on its body became longer, its thighs became thinner, and more spikes grew on the backs of its hands and soles of its feet.
Compared to the original Lucario, the MEGA Evolved Lucario appeared more slender and also more majestic!
The surrounding audience was already somewhat numb. Ash repeatedly refreshed their perceptions and overturned their common sense.
Following Blastoise and Gardevoir, another Pokémon capable of MEGA Evolution appeared, and it was the already rare and cool Lucario.
After evolving, Lucario not only looked cooler but also had a much stronger Aura than before.
Speaking of which, although Ash was the discoverer of MEGA Evolution, he had too many Pokémon that could MEGA Evolve!
And with so many Pokémon capable of MEGA Evolution, why did none of the professors or researchers discover even one? Yet Ash kept revealing one MEGA Evolved Pokémon after another. You never know if Ash's next Pokémon will be able to MEGA Evolve.
This was where the audience was shocked this time: how did Ash have other MEGA Evolved Pokémon?
When Steven saw the MEGA Evolved Lucario, his heart was bleeding. Who knew if this mega stone was taken from him? When Lucario evolved, there was a glow surrounding it, making it impossible to clearly see the color of the mega stone on its body.
That's why Steven couldn't determine it, but whether he could determine it or not was actually meaningless. In any case, he had undoubtedly lost five mega stones and three key stones.
As long as the evolution stones he gave away didn't include Metagross's mega stone, then it didn't matter... Cameron Palace —
Queen Ilene was in her room, watching the live broadcast of the Indigo Plateau Conference on television. Although they lived in a place like a paradise, technology kept up with the times; televisions, including the latest smartphones, were all readily available.
In previous Indigo Plateau Conference battles, Ilene usually wouldn't watch them, as there wasn't much to see in such entry-level competitions. But this year's Indigo Plateau Conference was different; Ash was participating in this one.
If you were to ask who first recognized Ash's potential and knew that he would definitely achieve great things and shine brightly, Ilene would definitely be one of them.
Because Ash successfully awakened and saved that Pokémon Egg, the meaning of that Pokémon Egg in Cameron Palace was extraordinary, as it could have been the descendant of the ancient hero Lucario!
Leaving aside that the Pokémon Egg was already on the verge of death, even in a normal state, no one could hatch that Pokémon Egg. Therefore, Ash, who was able to hatch the Pokémon Egg, must have something in common with the hero Aaron of yesteryear.
It might even be the new generation's... Aura Guardian.
Coupled with that mysterious prophecy, Ilene paid even more attention to Ash's movements.
Ash did not disappoint Ilene's expectations, growing rapidly in a very short time. However, while Ash's fame rose, there was no news of the Riolu in his possession; it hadn't even battled in public.
This caused some people in Cameron Palace to worry: had Riolu been neglected by Ash? Or perhaps, Riolu's talent hadn't fully returned, leading to Ash disliking it... Various suspicions arose within Cameron Palace, but from beginning to end, Ilene never doubted Ash's attitude towards Riolu or his love for Pokémon.
It was precisely because she learned through various channels how much Ash loved Pokémon that she was willing to confidently entrust Riolu to him.
And finally, today, she saw the grown Riolu. He had already evolved into Lucario, and on this stage watched by millions, he evolved once again, into an unprecedented form!
"Is this Lucario's MEGA Evolution? It looks very similar to the image in that painting. So that painting was predicting Lucario's MEGA Evolution all along!" At this point, the image in the last painting was finally explained.
Why did Lucario's appearance in the last painting look somewhat different from its original form? It turned out that Mew had already foreseen the emergence of the power of MEGA Evolution in the future.
And Riolu would also gain this power, successfully reaching a higher state.
But for some reason, Ilene always felt that while the MEGA Evolved Riolu was nine-tenths similar to the image in that painting, there was still that one small difference.
If it were an ordinary painting, Ilene would certainly think it was due to the passage of too much time, and memories getting a bit blurry was normal. Perhaps her feeling that Mega Lucario was slightly different from the Future Sight image was just her imagination.
But that was an image shown by Mew, almost imprinted in her mind, impossible to forget.
Otherwise, Ilene wouldn't have noticed some details were problematic.
However, it was ultimately just some minor differences in details, and Ilene didn't pay too much attention to it. What she was thinking now was when she could truly meet Lucario face-to-face, instead of just seeing it on television as she was now.
For Lucario, everyone in Cameron Palace, including her, had a kind of obsession. It wasn't about doing anything when they met Lucario; they simply wanted to meet it.
Perhaps there would be an opportunity after the Indigo Plateau Conference. She thought, then she would ask Professor Cerise to invite Ash and his friends to visit Cameron Palace, perhaps as a tourist trip... On the field, the MEGA Evolved Lucario and Blastoise had already locked eyes. The battle between them was imminent. For Gary, this was the final battle. For Lucario, this was also a battle it could not lose. If it failed here, how could it become the strongest? So... he had to win!
"Blastoise, Water Pulse!"
"Lucario, Aura Sphere!"
Both sides attacked almost simultaneously. Blastoise's three cannons simultaneously erupted with brilliant blue water jets, while Lucario placed its hands on its waist, and a dark blue Aura Sphere instantly formed, then was fiercely launched!
"Boom!!" Water Pulse and Aura Sphere collided in the middle of the field, erupting with a violent roar. The energy turbulence in the center of the field stirred up gusts of wind, sending surrounding debris flying everywhere.
The blue water curtain and the dark blue energy wave stalemated for a full three seconds. Finally, the water jet of Water Pulse visibly, little by little, overpowered the glow of Aura Sphere.
"Crack—" Cracks appeared on the surface of the Aura Sphere, and it immediately disintegrated into fine energy particles.
The remaining Water Pulse continued its momentum, heading straight for Lucario behind it.
In a direct clash, Lucario's Aura Sphere actually lost to Blastoise's Water Pulse? Brock and Misty had this doubt at almost the same time.
To be honest, Ash's Pokémon, at the same level, would not lose to any other Pokémon in a head-on clash. Not to mention that Lucario was now MEGA Evolved and was using its signature Aura Sphere. How could it lose to Water Pulse? Not even the Mega Launcher ability should be enough!
After Water Pulse passed through Aura Sphere, it directly hit Lucario, but the scene Gary imagined of Lucario being sent flying did not occur. Water Pulse actually passed right through Lucario's body!
Such power? Lucario's body was even pierced? This was Gary's subconscious thought, but he quickly realized something was wrong. This wasn't because Water Pulse was powerful, but because Lucario wasn't real; it was an afterimage!!
In the next instant, Lucario appeared behind Blastoise, holding an Aura Sphere in one hand, and slammed it fiercely into Mega Blastoise's hard shell!