"What's happening? Why is that light appearing on the battlefield?"
"Could that be the light of evolution?!"
"Of course it's evolution light! Do you think I can't recognize it?"
Agatha and Bruno stared at the scene before them, their eyes widened in shock.
Then Agatha suddenly remembered that a renowned Pokémon Professor was sitting beside her.
However, when she looked toward Professor Oak, she discovered that he wasn't nearly as astonished as everyone else.
Instead, he appeared remarkably calm, as though he had expected this to happen all along.
Agatha looked incredulously between Professor Oak and Red.
"Oak, did you already know about this?!"
Professor Oak hurriedly waved his hands, pretending he knew nothing.
However, there was no chance such an act could fool Agatha.
She snorted and stared at him.
"This must be something you discovered. I can't understand why you would hand such an important research achievement over to Red."
"Could he secretly be your illegitimate son?"
Professor Oak's eyes widened in disbelief at Agatha's outrageous speculation.
...
Even the Elite Four were stunned by Swampert's sudden evolution, let alone the ordinary spectators.
Everyone stared blankly, completely unable to understand what had just happened.
It wasn't only the spectators and Gym Leaders who were confused. Even Red's friends were astonished.
"Wait! Why did Gym Leader Red's Pokémon suddenly evolve again? Did it break through its limits another time?"
"I have no idea! This obviously isn't normal!"
With multiple Pokémon surpassing their ordinary forms appearing one after another, there was no longer any way to explain the phenomenon as normal evolution.
Among everyone present, Gary was perhaps the most shocked.
Because he was standing relatively close to the battlefield, he had clearly seen that the rainbow-colored energy first emerged from the stone hanging around Swampert's neck.
Most astonishingly, Gary seemed to possess a similar stone!
He suddenly remembered that Red had given him one after he defeated Ash.
"Master was telling the truth! That stone really is an incredible treasure!"
...
If anyone present was more shocked than Gary after seeing Mega Evolution, it was undoubtedly Ma Zhiji, who stood directly across from Swampert.
His face nearly twisted from the mixture of jealousy and disbelief.
"Why?! Why are you always the one who obtains things like this?!"
"This isn't some bullshit evolution! You're blatantly cheating!"
Red replied disdainfully,
"So what if I am?"
"You make it sound as though someone who borrowed a Pokémon to enter this competition has any moral high ground."
The instant Red mentioned borrowing a Pokémon, Ma Zhiji felt his heart turn cold.
"Only my cousin and I know about that! How did Red find out?!"
Even now, Ma Zhiji believed he had concealed the matter perfectly and that no one else knew.
In reality, practically everyone already knew.
"Stop wasting time and make your move. Haven't you always wanted a rematch? I'm giving you that opportunity!"
Red gave Ma Zhiji one final, meaningful look.
"After all, if you don't attack now, you won't get another chance."
"G-Gh...!"
Blood rushed to Ma Zhiji's head, and veins bulged across his forehead.
"Electabuzz, use Brick Break!"
The moment Ma Zhiji issued his command, Red raised one finger.
"Tch. Even when I give you an opportunity, you're still useless."
Before Ma Zhiji could understand what Red meant, he was horrified to discover that Swampert had vanished.
Cold sweat instantly broke out across his body.
"Where is it?! Where did it go?!"
By the time Ma Zhiji finally located Mega Swampert, it was already swinging a fist as large as a cooking pot.
All Ma Zhiji heard was an explosive crash comparable to two supersonic missiles colliding.
Then, before his very eyes, Electabuzz's body folded at an unnatural angle and shot backward!
It moved so quickly that Ma Zhiji's eyes couldn't follow it.
Only after a deafening impact and the sound of breaking bones came from behind him did Ma Zhiji finally turn around.
Electabuzz had once been his ace.
It was the opponent that Marshtomp had only barely defeated after bombarding it with several Max Moves.
Yet Mega Swampert had now defeated it with a single punch!
Electabuzz had suffered multiple fractures throughout its body and was severely injured. It wouldn't be able to leave its bed for at least two or three months.
...
Ma Zhiji fell silent at the sight.
In stark contrast to him, the spectators and reporters in the stands erupted!
"My goodness! Gym Leader Red's... Swampert just defeated Ma Zhiji's Electabuzz in a single blow!"
"This is unbelievable!"
"Can Red truly rely on this special Swampert to overcome that enormous level difference and defeat Gym Leader Ma Zhiji?!"
The audience's reaction was even more intense.
Watching Swampert defeat its opponent with a single punch made countless people's blood boil.
That power!
That speed!
That overwhelming, invincible presence!
The sheer strength to defeat an opponent with one punch!
That single attack won Swampert countless fans throughout Kanto.
For a time, it even surpassed Squirtle to become the region's most popular Water-type starter.
Demand for Mudkip surged throughout Kanto, and the Pokémon Day Cares that bred them made a fortune.
Of course, those were all effects that would emerge in the future.
For now, the battle was still ongoing.
Nurse Joy hurried onto the battlefield and carefully extracted the severely injured Electabuzz from the wall before taking it to the Pokémon Center for treatment.
"It seems I truly underestimated you, Red."
Ma Zhiji stared at Red with unwillingness, helplessness, and a trace of deep despair in his eyes.
He had believed Electabuzz would help him avenge his previous defeat.
Instead, the Pokémon he had placed so much hope in was instantly defeated.
As time passed, the difference between their strength hadn't narrowed.
It had only grown wider.
However, the atmosphere changed completely when Ma Zhiji took out another Poké Ball!
Whether it was Ma Zhiji, the spectators, or the other Gym Leaders, everyone knew that the Pokémon inside was his greatest trump card.
It was also the source of his confidence in reaching the finals.
"Go, Ampharos!"
With a cry that wasn't particularly imposing, the Level 56 Ampharos officially entered the battlefield!
The moment Ampharos appeared, the spectators greeted it with thunderous cheers.
Ma Zhiji might have been detestable, but who could hate an Ampharos that was both adorable and endearing?
Ma Zhiji spread his arms arrogantly and stared at Red.
"Come on! Do you think you're the only one with a trump card?!"
"The only one with special abilities?!"
"The only one who can cheat?!"
"Go tell that to my Ampharos!"
Looking at the wildly arrogant Ma Zhiji, Red smiled.
He smiled with genuine delight.
"I was afraid you wouldn't send out Ampharos."
Red looked at Mega Swampert.
Although he hadn't issued Swampert a single battle command since it entered the field, Mega Evolution served as a bond between them.
Through that connection, Red could clearly transmit his thoughts to Swampert and sense its emotions in return.
Mega Swampert's body was trembling.
It wasn't trembling from fear.
It was trembling with overwhelming excitement at the thought of personally ending Ampharos's undefeated legend!
"Mega Swampert, go!"
"Frozen Hell!"
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