Among those present, quite a few had originally felt indignant about Cain's immense popularity. They believed that, if given the opportunity, they could do just as well as him — or even better.
They possessed good talent, and within their families they had always been pampered and protected. Those who had never seen true strength inevitably had a narrow perspective.
That was precisely the main reason their elders had brought them here: to broaden their horizons.
The pace at which the era was advancing far exceeded their imagination. The strength of the League's new generation, led by Cain, was far more powerful than they could conceive. So these young people truly needed to see reality for themselves.
After making a full circle and displaying its strength, Salamence returned to Cain's side. Just at that moment, Cain reached the center of the stage.
All the spotlights focused on him. An extremely confident smile appeared on his face.
According to Juan and Drake's plan, this time Cain would not only announce Mega Evolution, but also demonstrate to the world the strength of Hoenn.
Moreover, with the enormous popularity he possessed both in Hoenn and worldwide, this appearance would serve to establish him as the representative image of the Hoenn League.
When Salamence hovered imposingly above Cain's head, a tremendous wave of applause erupted throughout the entire stadium.
The reason Salamence had been chosen was because it was one of Hoenn's pseudo-legendary Pokémon. Although Cain's main Pokémon were Tyranitar, Gengar, and Darkrai, for this occasion Salamence was the most suitable choice.
Then, Cain raised his right hand.
On his wrist was a metallic bracelet that completely covered it. On it were several small circular slots, and in the central slot was embedded a very peculiar-looking stone.
It was the Key Stone!
This bracelet had been specially crafted by League artisans over the past two days, using star sand that Cain had collected some time ago.
As he slowly raised and lowered his hand, all the cameras zoomed in and focused on his wrist.
The two enormous stadium screens also projected the image.
His right wrist perfectly covered the special black tattoo left by the Unown.
"Mega Evolve, Salamence!"
With Cain's low shout, multiple strands of multicolored energy spread outward from the Key Stone on his wrist.
"GROARR!!"
Salamence roared toward the sky. The strands of multicolored energy visibly flowed toward the Salamencite on its neck.
An intense surge of Mega Evolution energy burst from the stone, completely enveloping Salamence.
In the blink of an eye, an entirely new Pokémon appeared before everyone.
Wow!
Although they had already prepared themselves mentally, when the spectators saw it with their own eyes, they were deeply shocked.
The process of Mega Evolution was already spectacular in itself, but under the deliberate control of Cain and Salamence, it appeared even more dazzling.
Mega Salamence!
"GRROOAARRR!!!"
Following Cain's instructions, Mega Salamence aimed at the sky and used the move Hyper Voice. A halo of white sound waves emerged from its mouth.
As the halo separated, it expanded and accelerated sharply, launching directly toward the sky.
There were still some clouds in the air, but under the vibration of the attack, they were instantly shattered, leaving a completely clear sky above the stadium.
The power displayed by Mega Salamence left 99% of those present stunned.
Just as before, it circled around the stadium so that everyone could observe its new form.
"Mega Evolution!"
"Mega Evolution! Mega Evolution!"
"Mega Evolution! Mega Evolution! Mega Evolution!"
No one knew who started it, but gradually the shouts in the stands became unified.
"Mega Evolution!"
Everyone longed for it.
Cain's smile widened even further. Mega Salamence floated beside him as he made a gesture for the crowd to calm down.
Seeing his signal, everyone stopped shouting and looked at him together with Mega Salamence.
Just by sensing the difference between Salamence's presence and Mega Salamence's presence, one could already understand how enormous the increase in power was.
Cain raised his right hand once more, extending three fingers. Each time he spoke a sentence, he lowered one finger.
"Mega Evolution has three requirements!"
"First! The special stone on my wrist: the Key Stone! The key that opens the door to Mega Evolution!"
"Second! The Mega Stone! Each Pokémon has its own corresponding stone, like the one on Salamence's neck. It is the most important element, and also the most difficult to obtain!"
"Third! The bond! There must be a sufficiently deep connection between the Pokémon and the trainer!"
"That's all! If even one is missing, then sorry... you will not have access to Mega Evolution!"
After saying this, he jumped directly onto Mega Salamence's back and, in front of all the cameras, flew out of the stadium toward an unknown destination.
No one had expected that, after so much preparation, the announcement would be so simple.
Cain went straight to the point, clearly explaining the requirements, without going into further detail.
After all, how others used it no longer had much to do with him.
Many researchers in the Pokémon world only needed an entry point. Soon, they would discover everything on their own, just as they had with the Fairy type.
The Pokémon research system was already quite complete. They only needed a lever capable of moving the entire world.
Furthermore, Cain and Juan had prohibited Hoenn's "own forces" from collecting Mega Stones in advance. If they did not provide them with some advantage, dissatisfaction would arise.
But now, without comparison there is no harm. By comparing themselves with others, they could see the advantage they possessed.
As for where Cain went, no one knew.
Those present continued repeating the three requirements in their minds.
Fortunately, the Hoenn League projected images of the Key Stone and Salamence's Mega Stone on the large screens.
It was foreseeable that, after this announcement, the entire Pokémon world would enter a frenzy searching for Mega Stones.
And for Cain, this was no longer very important.
How many stones Team Heaven or Team Flare under his control could collect would depend on their own abilities.
As for Cain, he already possessed enough stones to even supply others.
How much profit they obtained would depend on their own capability.
Cain, riding on Mega Salamence, left Hoenn at great speed, heading toward Kanto.
With Salamence's current speed, practically no one could track his location. Moreover, he could use Teleport while flying. With both combined, no one in the world could follow him.
(End of Chapter)