"Now, release your energy and try to connect with these two stones. If one of them responds, it's your Mega Stone," said Cain.
With so many Pokémon gathered, testing them one by one would be a waste of time. It was much more efficient to let everyone try to connect their energy directly to the stones.
Upon hearing Cain's words, most of his Pokémon closed their eyes and extended their energy toward the two Mega Stones.
Suddenly, one of the stones slightly rose into the air, causing Cain to feel a faint relief in his hand.
A spark of satisfaction appeared on his face.
If a stone floated on its own, it meant it was responding to a Pokémon who had not only reached its final form but was also compatible with Mega Evolution.
Among Cain's Pokémon who met those criteria, besides Swampert, only Gengar stood out.
One of the two Mega Stones belonged to one of them!
The stone began to slowly float toward Gengar.
Gengar, always grinning, looked a bit stunned. He had only felt a special connection between the stone and himself, and when he channeled his energy into it, he received an immediate response.
He stared at the stone in surprise, and when he finally processed it, his face lit up with joy.
One of the two stones had come to him, while the other remained in Cain's hand, unresponsive to the rest of the Pokémon.
Confirmed.
One of the stones belonged to Gengar. The other, for now, was not compatible with any of his Pokémon.
Gengar carefully held the stone in his hands.
The other Pokémon looked on with envious eyes.
Smiling, Cain pulled out a Key Stone from his storage and said to Gengar, "Try it, Gengar."
"Kekeke!" Gengar exchanged a look with Cain and nodded firmly.
He had already seen how Blaziken transformed after mega evolving, gaining a huge power boost. Now it was his turn to see how much stronger he could become.
As for whether or not he could Mega Evolve... Gengar had been one of the first Pokémon to join Cain—back on Trial Island—and had always acted as his personal bodyguard. Their bond was, without a doubt, one of the strongest—if not the strongest—among all of Cain's Pokémon.
"Mega Evolve, Gengar!" Cain shouted confidently.
The other Pokémon stepped back to give Gengar space.
"Kekekekee!!" Gengar cried out. The stone in his hands released a burst of overwhelming energy that surged into his body like an explosive current.
However, instead of transforming his body immediately, that energy was absorbed by a small amount of dark energy that still lingered inside him.
The very same dark energy that had remained when the elders from Mt. Pyre helped him evolve, using that strange black crystal.
Now that Cain was linked to Gengar through the Mega Evolution, he could clearly sense that lingering energy.
The black energy voraciously absorbed the Mega Evolution energy, expanding and growing uncontrollably.
Soon, all the energy from the stone had been absorbed by that dark mass.
Cain briefly thought the Mega Evolution had failed... until that dark mass throbbed violently, as if it had a rhythm of its own—like a heart.
Thump!
Thump-thump!
Thump!
As that "heart" pulsed, Gengar's body began to transform in sync with the rhythm.
BOOM!
The dark mass burst like a water balloon, releasing all the Mega Evolution energy again into every corner of Gengar's body, now mixed with the dark energy.
Bit by bit, Gengar absorbed it all.
The final portion of black energy was fully assimilated.
Gengar's body began to change.
A sphere of dark energy enveloped him completely.
Now that nothing interfered, the Mega Evolution proceeded without any obstacles.
His fists tilted downward, and sharp spike-like thorns grew from them, making them appear even more powerful.
His feet, on the other hand, began to sink into the ground as if fusing with the shadows, vanishing completely.
On his forehead, right between his eyes, a crack opened and an orb-like yellow eye emerged.
He now had three eyes!
At the points where his body touched the ground, more long, sharp spikes grew. The ones on his back also multiplied and grew longer.
"Kekeekeekekee!" Gengar cried out with his signature sinister grin.
Boom!
The energy sphere dissipated. Just as it disappeared, the multicolored Mega Evolution symbol appeared on its surface.
Mega Gengar was born!
Cain observed carefully as Gengar stared back at him with that same devilish smile.
For Cain, this was his second Mega Evolution experience—the first being with Blaziken—but for Gengar, it was the first time.
It was a feeling of absolute connection.
The new Gengar didn't seem taller—in fact, he had shrunk a bit in height because his feet were fully sunken into the ground—but his body had become noticeably wider.
Cain activated the system to scan his stats.
It was the first time one of his Elite-level Pokémon had Mega Evolved, so he wanted to see how much his stats had increased.
Pokémon: Gengar (Light Purple) — Mega Form
Gender: Male
Level: 60 (+4 levels)
Types: Ghost + Poison
Ability: Shadow Tag
Held Item: Toxic Orb
Egg Moves: Fire Punch, Scary Face, Haze
Basic Moves: Hypnosis, Lick, Spite, Mean Look, Curse, Night Shade, Confuse Ray, Sucker Punch, Payback, Shadow Punch, Dream Eater, Dark Pulse, Destiny Bond, Hex
Learned Moves: Rest, Shadow Ball, Psychic, Skill Swap, Snore, Perish Song, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, Role Play
TM Moves: Protect, Hidden Power (Grass), Sleep Talk, Toxic, Taunt, Poison Jab, Thunderbolt, Venoshock
Light Purple!
The first thing Cain noticed was that Gengar's quality had increased directly to Light Purple.
Though, based on what he saw with Blaziken, this wasn't due to the Mega Evolution itself. Rather, it was that final burst of dark energy—left over from the mysterious black crystal given by the elders at Mt. Pyre—that had elevated Gengar's potential to that level.
"Looks like the energy from that black stone wasn't so simple after all," Cain thought silently, setting the mystery aside for now.
As for his level, it had increased by 4 levels.
This meant Gengar had reached the initial limit of the Intermediate Elite level. Level 65 represented the true start of that tier.
So now, with level 60 and his Mega form, his strength was roughly equivalent to a level 64 Gengar.
Of course, that was according to the system's calculations.
(End of chapter)