Before Mega Evolution, Swampert stood around 1.7 meters tall, making it slightly shorter than Red.
After Mega Evolving, however, Swampert's height shot past two meters!
It had become the tallest Pokémon on Red's team.
The muscles that had already made Swampert far more powerful than others of its species became even more exaggerated after Mega Evolution.
Its forearms alone were considerably thicker than Red's thighs.
Aside from those massive muscles, Mega Swampert also radiated a primitive, wild aura.
Mega Evolution drew out a Pokémon's hidden power, while the influence of the Paradox bloodline was causing Swampert to revert toward a more primal state.
Looking at the faint patterns covering Mega Swampert's body, Red said,
"The longer I look at you, the less this resembles Mega Evolution. It feels more like Primal Reversion."
Red patted Swampert's shoulder.
Hearing the solid thud from its muscles, he couldn't help clicking his tongue.
"Hiss... If someone took a punch from you like this, wouldn't they die?"
Red then glanced toward Pupitar.
Pupitar immediately understood what he meant and proudly thrust out its armored body.
"Come on! Hit me! Hit me as hard as you want!"
Faced with Pupitar's provocation, Mega Swampert revealed an exceptionally honest smile.
"Swampert, use Ice Punch!"
At Red's command, Mega Swampert raised its fist high.
Terrifying Ice-type energy gathered around its fist as its muscles bulged. Its blue skin looked as though it might burst from the pressure.
Even more astonishingly, Mega Swampert didn't attack immediately.
It continued gathering power!
As Mega Swampert's aura grew increasingly terrifying, Pupitar reluctantly admitted to itself that it was beginning to panic.
Pupitar, whose defenses were supposedly unmatched below the Elite level, was genuinely panicking.
Before it could say anything, Swampert vanished from sight.
The next thing Pupitar remembered was an enormous blue fist filling its entire vision.
After that, Pupitar found itself wondering whether its defenses were truly unmatched below the Elite level.
How had it been knocked flat with a single punch?
"Does that make any scientific sense?! Is that remotely reasonable?!"
Looking at the bewildered Pupitar, Red explained,
"Relax. There's nothing wrong with your defenses. Your level is simply too low right now, so you still can't properly control your defensive power."
Red wasn't lying.
Pupitar was only Level 41, while Mega Swampert's level had risen directly to Level 49 after Mega Evolution.
With such a significant level difference, coupled with the tremendous increase in base stats brought about by Mega Evolution, there was nothing embarrassing about being defeated in one blow.
Pupitar slowly raised its head and extended a hand toward Mega Swampert—or more accurately, an arm formed from condensed sand.
Mega Swampert looked at Pupitar and silently bumped the sandy fist with its own.
"Once I evolve, let's battle again. The result definitely won't be the same next time!"
"I look forward to it."
That was Mega Swampert's only reply.
Standing there, Mega Swampert felt its emotions surge.
"I will continue advancing until I stand at the summit. Those defeated by my hand will never again be regarded as my rivals. I will give you time to catch up—until you can no longer see me even from afar."
Mega Swampert looked at Red in confusion.
Why did that declaration come with its own voice-over?
Still, Mega Swampert felt that the words suited it perfectly.
They might have been slightly pretentious, but they sounded incredibly cool!
However, when Mega Swampert heard those words, it felt more than a surge of excitement.
It also sensed an invisible thread of fate.
"You've gotten used to the feeling, and our preparations are complete. It's time for the final."
Red rested a hand on Mega Swampert's body.
"I'm counting on you to handle this battle."
Mega Swampert looked at Ninetales, Pupitar, and Castform before finally meeting Red's trusting gaze.
It nodded slightly.
A flash of rainbow-colored light swept across Mega Swampert's body, and it returned to its normal form.
Behind Swampert, the wasteland was covered with traces of astonishing attacks.
Aside from the massive crater where Pupitar had been smashed into the ground, several enormous cracks had spread across the earth from a single punch. There were also huge, water-filled pits scattered throughout the area.
Most terrifying of all was a massive fist print that continued radiating an intense chill even now.
...
The next morning finally arrived.
The previously unremarkable battlefield was surrounded by layer upon layer of spectators, leaving no room to squeeze through.
After yesterday's buildup, the battle between Red and Ma Zhiji had completely taken over the front-page headlines.
Red's declaration that "one punch will decide the match" had utterly ignited public interest.
Many spectators who had already left the Indigo Plateau even rushed back, eager to see who would emerge victorious.
That was what created this unbelievably enormous crowd.
League Chairman Charles Goodshow, two members of the Elite Four, and the other seven Gym Leaders had all arrived early, eagerly anticipating the battle.
Xiao Wen, Ash, Paul, Gary, and the others had naturally arrived even earlier.
"Where's Master? We haven't seen him since he left the battlefield last night."
"The match is about to begin..."
Just as everyone was growing increasingly anxious, the two central figures of the competition—Red and Ma Zhiji—finally arrived under the expectant gazes of the crowd.
Standing opposite Red, Ma Zhiji raised both arms and basked in the audience's attention as though he had already won.
With excitement written across his face, he looked at Red and said,
"Gym Leader Red, although I once disliked you—even hated you—considering the grand stage you've prepared for me, perhaps I can..."
Red remained unusually calm, as though he weren't even one of the main participants in the battle.
Ma Zhiji clicked his tongue.
"Tch. I originally wanted to let you enjoy that feeling of expecting victory for a little longer. But since you're so impatient, I'll completely crush your dream of winning!"
"Go, Electabuzz!"
Rather than immediately sending out Ampharos, Ma Zhiji chose Electabuzz, his former ace.
He had never truly gotten over their previous battle.
Deep down, Ma Zhiji had always believed Red only won by using a cheating device.
But this was an outdoor battlefield.
The Dynamax device couldn't be used here!
Therefore, Ma Zhiji intended to use Electabuzz to reclaim the pride he had lost that day.
"Electabuzz? It seems you've seriously underestimated us."
Red patted the Poké Ball at his waist.
"Castform, use Rain Dance."
Castform was the first Pokémon Red sent onto the battlefield.
With Castform's current mastery over weather, summoning something as basic as rain required only a small amount of power.
"Electabuzz, Thunder—"
Seeing Castform transform into a Water type through its Ability, Ma Zhiji was about to order Electabuzz to attack.
However, Red suddenly recalled Castform into its Poké Ball.
"Good work. Leave the rest to your teammate."
"Go, Swampert!"
The next instant, Swampert appeared on the battlefield, its body covered in powerful muscles and its fins as sharp as blades.
Swampert's expression was every bit as calm as Red's.
"So quickly?!"
Ma Zhiji immediately recognized it as the evolved form of the Marshtomp that had defeated Electabuzz during their previous battle.
What shocked him was that Marshtomp's level had once been far below Electabuzz's.
Now, not only had it evolved into Swampert, but its level had nearly caught up to Electabuzz's as well.
That realization left Ma Zhiji deeply alarmed.
"Fortunately, I still have my trump card—Ampharos!"
"An evolution beyond evolution—Swampert, Mega Evolve!"
Red raised one hand.
Countless rainbow-colored ribbons of light appeared, connecting Red and Swampert.
Before the eyes of every spectator, the assembled Elite Four, and countless people watching the livestream, Red finally stopped holding back.
He revealed one of his trump cards—
Mega Evolution!
✨ Bonus Chapter Goals ✨
10 Reviews = 1 Bonus Chapter
100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
◇ You can read Advance chapters ahead on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/ElaraVance1