Is that the power formed by the forces of nature? If so, why does it cause a regression effect in the bloodline within the Pokemon? And why does it require a bond between the Pokemon and the Trainer for MEGA Evolution?
Countless questions still exist, but those are concerns for the researchers and professors. What these Trainers need to do is simply find the corresponding MEGA Evolution Stone for their team.
"Enough with the pleasantries, the second one now... Go, Slowbro!" Lorelei interrupted the casual chat between the two and threw out her second Pokeball.
With a flash of light, a pink, dopey-looking Pokemon appeared on the field. This was Slowpoke's evolved form, Slowbro. Slowbro's evolution method is different from ordinary Pokemon; it requires the fusion of two Pokemon to evolve, which is quite an unusual method among all Pokemon.
The fused Slowbro possesses both Psychic and Water Attributes. Although it doesn't have the Ice Attribute, the origin of ice and water is similar. For Lorelei, this is about the same, and having the Water Attribute makes it better to counter the Fire Attribute, which targets the Ice Attribute. Having a team with only one attribute would make it too easy to counter, as Lance is the classic example.
"A Slowbro, huh... It fits perfectly against that particular Pokemon. Miss Lorelei, are you afraid I'll lose, so you specifically sent out Slowbro?" Upon seeing Slowbro, Ash smiled. If he were up against Lorelei's other Pokemon, he might need Charizard to set the stage for battle; otherwise, the next Pokemon might not be able to take down the opponent.
The weakest main force in Lorelei's hands is at the Champion Intermediate Level, which is that Cloyster. Apart from that Cloyster, the other Champion Intermediate Pokemon is the Slowbro before us.
After all, facing a young boy who has been in the field for less than a year, using the ace main force would be too much of a bully. Even during the exhibition match with Ash, Lorelei only used the main force from the second team, a Glaceon at the Elite Peak.
The main aim is to have an evenly matched showdown, which is why Lorelei chose to use these two Pokemon. Ash is not what he used to be. Using the second team's Pokemon against Ash is hardly effective, so she had to choose the two weakest main force Pokemon instead.
This coincidentally hit Ash right on the mark. If facing Lorelei's other Pokemon, Charizard would be needed to assist in lowering the opponent's Physical Strength. However, Slowbro does not require this.
"Return, Charizard!" Ash took out the Pokeball and recalled Charizard.
"Ash chooses to withdraw Charizard when facing Elite Lorelei's Slowbro. Does he feel there's a disadvantage in the attributes? However, a Dragon Attribute against Slowbro's Water Attribute shouldn't have much of a disadvantage. Based on Charizard's battle power, it can surely continue fighting. Could it be that Ash's second Pokemon is better suited to deal with Slowbro?"
The host voiced his doubts. Ash's Charizard clearly still had the fighting capability, yet Ash chose to recall it at this moment, saying it was to let Charizard rest... Just after Charizard defeated an opposing Pokemon, it was in high spirits. Rather than letting it rest, continuing on the field would be more advantageous for Charizard's battle power.
Thus, Ash's decision to recall Charizard is likely because the second Pokemon is more suitable to handle Lorelei's Slowbro.
"Could it be that Ash has another Pokemon capable of competing with a Champion-level Pokemon? No way!"
"Wow, can you believe this is just a fifteen-year-old kid! Just a year into his career, and he has two Champion-level Pokemon? That's a bit too much!"
"Didn't you hear Elite Lorelei say? Ash relies on his special abilities to forcibly elevate the Pokemon's strength; it's not that he has Champion-level Pokemon!"
"That's funny. The strength elevated by his special abilities isn't his own power? A Trainer and a Pokemon are a unit! It's a power shared by Ash and his Pokemon!"
"Exactly! A special ability is a skill in its own right! But what exactly is Ash's second Pokemon? Could it be Pikachu?"
"Well, Ash's Pikachu is indeed his signature and trump card, and it does have a type advantage over Water Attributes. So, he might actually send out Pikachu!"
"..."
There's a lot of speculation about what Ash's second Pokemon will be. Many believe Ash's second Pokemon will be Pikachu, as Pikachu is famously the strongest in Ash's team and is recognized as his trump card.
Furthermore, Pikachu's Electric Attribute counters Slowbro's Water Attribute, making it more suitable than Charizard for handling Slowbro.
But in reality... Pikachu is currently in a weakened state. Although it's recovered to a level near the Gym Intermediate, it's still no match for Champion-level Pokemon. Even with the hat on and using Aura Power, it's still not enough.
So Ash's second Pokemon is not Pikachu, but—
"It's you, Lugia!!" Ash tossed the black-and-gold Pokeball, and with a flash of light, a pitch-black large bird appeared on the field.
The Sea God—Lugia! This is Ash's second Pokemon!
The entire place fell into a stunned silence after Ash brought out Lugia. You could hear a pin drop, and even some people were breathing heavily.
Shortly after the silence, the venue erupted with discussions ten times more intense than before!
"Whoa! What's this?! Lugia!! Is it that Sea God, Lugia?!"
"It looks very similar, but... when did Lugia become black?"
"Have you ever seen a real Lugia, just making assumptions? Maybe Lugia was originally this color, and the snow-white bird in the legends is just a myth."
"Nonsense! According to you, then not only the snow-white appearance but even the big bird and all its features are fictional? The reason legends are passed down is because they have a basis in reality, and while we haven't actually seen the real Lugia, we've seen plenty of pictures of it!!"
"Exactly! As the emblematic totem of our Orange Archipelago, if we can't recognize even this, that's just a waste of life! Lugia is definitely supposed to be white!"
"Then can anyone explain why this Lugia is black?"
"Whether it's black or white, can someone explain why Lugia is with Ash!"
"..."
The appearance of Little Lugia undoubtedly caused a massive stir on the scene, as the legendary Sea God Lugia appearing unexpectedly shocked everyone.
In other regions, they might have heard of the name of the Sea God, but very few have actually seen Lugia, and even fewer know much about Lugia's images or legends.
But here, on the Orange Archipelago, the legendary habitat of the Sea God, it's rare not to recognize Lugia. Although they may not have seen Lugia in person, many have seen pictures of Lugia, some have seen blurry shadows, some have seen it etched in stone, and others have seen it in old black-and-white photos...
In short, Lugia's existence is widely known in the Orange Archipelago. Even if they haven't seen pictures, they've definitely heard of Lugia's name. And with Ash proclaiming Lugia's name so loudly when releasing it, you'd have to be clueless not to recognize that it's Lugia!
The problem lies in why Ash has Lugia, and not only that, but a black one! Isn't the legendary Lugia supposed to be a white bird?
No one anticipated that a small exhibition match would lead to the appearance of the legendary Sea God, and not only its appearance but also its battle against one of the Elite Four, Lorelei!
This is unbelievably dramatic!