[VIP Chat Group]
[Ash]: Charge in?!
She’s giving up her ranged advantage and charging straight at it?!
What’s Aoi thinking?!
[Gary]: …She figured something out.
[Ash]: What did she figure out?!
[Gary]: No idea.
But she’s smiling.
[Ash]: Smiling?
At a time like this?!
[Gary]: Haven’t you noticed?
Every time she comes up with a plan, she smiles.
Just like her dad.
[Brock]: …That’s actually true.
[Misty]: …
[Daisy]: Misty, why aren’t you saying anything?
[Misty]: Come on!
Can’t you all just watch the battle?
[Violet]: We’re just curious about how you’re feeling right now~
[Misty]: I don’t know.
It’s just…
hard to put into words.
[Lily]: A mother’s pride in her daughter?
[Misty]: You three, shut up!!
The video continued.
Mega Blastoise charged straight toward Mega Steelix.
No attacks.
No defensive stance.
Just a pure, all-out sprint.
Brock frowned even deeper.
“Steelix, don’t let it get close!
Stone Edge!”
Mega Steelix slammed its tail into the ground.
Hundreds of crystal spikes erupted from the earth, covering the entire path ahead.
But Blastoise didn’t slow down.
It lowered its body and forced its way through.
Shattered crystal fragments scraped across its shell, throwing off showers of sparks.
Its speed never dropped.
“Close the distance!
Skull Bash!!” Aoi clenched her fists.
Blastoise stomped the ground and shot forward like a rocket.
“Steelix, Protect!” Brock ordered immediately.
A pale green barrier appeared in front of Mega Steelix.
Aoi looked at that glowing shield and smiled.
She had been waiting for Steelix to reveal its final defensive trump card.
“Got you.”
Brock froze.
Then realization hit him.
“Wait…
you did that on purpose?”
Aoi raised her arm.
“Blastoise!!!”
All three cannons unfolded at once.
The light gathering at their muzzles was brighter than ever before.
Blue energy condensed into a rapidly spinning sphere.
The instant Blastoise slammed into the barrier…
BOOM!!!
The shield shattered.
“Now!
Maximum-power Hydro Cannon!!!”
Three massive streams of water fired simultaneously, twisting together into a single devastating torrent.
“Steelix, hold on!” Brock’s voice carried urgency for the first time.
The attack struck directly at Steelix’s joints.
The enormous body was blasted backward nearly twenty meters, its tail carving a deep trench across the battlefield.
Broken rocks and shattered crystal spikes flew everywhere.
For a brief moment, the entire Gym fell silent.
Dust slowly settled.
Blastoise remained standing, breathing heavily as raindrops pattered against its shell.
Across from it, half of Steelix’s body was buried in a collapsed rock wall. This story is hosted at novelping.com.
It struggled to raise its head.
Failed.
Its eyes turned into spirals as Mega Evolution faded away.
Jiro stood there with his mouth hanging open.
Two full seconds passed before he finally reacted and raised his hand.
“S-Steelix is unable to battle!
Blastoise wins!
The victor is…
Aoi from Cerulean City!!!”
Aoi stood there, gasping for breath.
Then she rushed forward and threw her arms around Blastoise’s leg.
“We won!
We really won!!”
“Blastoise!”
Blastoise supported her with one arm, equally delighted by their victory.
Brock recalled Steelix and looked down at the Poké Ball in his hand.
“I got careless…”
He couldn’t help laughing.
“Asher, the daughter you raised is every bit as ridiculous as you are.”
Walking over, he gently patted Aoi on the shoulder.
“You battled well.”
“You’ve surpassed me.”
Aoi looked up.
Her eyes were red with emotion, but her smile was brighter than ever.
“Thank you, Uncle Brock.”
[VIP Chat Group]
[Ash]: SHE WON!!!
SHE WON!!!
SHE WON SHE WON SHE WON!!!
AAHHH PIKACHU STOP SHOCKING ME AGAIN!!!
[Lorelei]: This Blastoise has completely redefined my understanding of the species.
[Steven Stone]: No.
It’s not just the Blastoise.
The trainer deserves equal credit.
[Bruno]: And she’s only ten years old!
Her future is limitless!
[Cynthia]: Indeed.
The synchronization between Aoi and Blastoise has reached an extremely high level.
[Diantha]: That’s the beauty of Mega Evolution.
It’s not simply becoming stronger.
It’s trainer and Pokémon truly becoming one as they grow stronger together.
[Professor Sycamore]: Exactly!
Mega Evolution is proof of a bond, and Aoi demonstrated that perfectly in this battle!
The video continued.
At the center of the battlefield, Brock looked at the still-energetic Blastoise and shook his head.
“Well fought.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a badge.
“This is the Boulder Badge.”
He handed it over.
“You earned it.”
Aoi accepted the badge with both hands.
The golden-eyed girl stared at it, her eyes sparkling.
“Thank you, Uncle Brock!”
She carefully held the badge in her palms, stepped back, and bowed deeply.
“Thank you for your guidance!”
Brock laughed.
“No need to be so formal.”
“As for your parents…
give them my regards.”
“Okay!”
Aoi nodded vigorously.
“I’ll definitely tell them!”
Brock crouched down until they were eye level.
“Aoi.”
“Hm?”
“You’re very talented,” Brock said.
“But what’s even more impressive is that you have partners who truly believe in you.”
“Blastoise.
Gyarados.”
“They trust you completely.
That’s how you made it this far.” Visit novelping.com for the full chapter.
“No matter what difficulties you face in the future, don’t ever forget that feeling.”
Aoi nodded firmly.
“I understand!”
Eevee hopped over from the side, rubbing against her leg.
“Eevee!
Look, look!
I got a Badge!”
Aoi crouched down and proudly held the Boulder Badge in front of it.
Eevee tilted its head and stared at it for a while before reaching out a tiny paw to tap it.
“Eevee!”
“Right?!
It looks awesome!”
Watching Aoi’s excitement, Brock hesitated before finally asking the question on his mind.
“Aoi.”
“Hm?”
“Why is your Gyarados gold?”
Aoi blinked.
Then she gave an embarrassed smile.
“Actually…
I’m not really sure either.”
“Dad said he’ll tell me someday when he’s in a good mood.”
Brock’s mouth twitched.
“…Yeah.
That sounds exactly like something he’d say.”
“But!”
Aoi raised one finger.
“Dad did tell me that Gyarados’s color has something to do with what it ate when it was still a Magikarp.”
“What it ate?”
“Yep!”
She nodded.
“He gave Magikarp a special potion.”
Brock froze.
“A potion?”
“I don’t know its exact name.”
Aoi scratched her head.
“Dad said he brought it back from…
um…
a very distant place.”
“It was supposedly an improved version of some ancient formula.”
“He said it can awaken a Pokémon’s hidden bloodline and trigger a qualitative transformation during evolution.”
After thinking for a moment, she added:
“But Dad also said the potion only helped a little.”
“The main reason Gyarados became gold was because it had exceptional potential to begin with.”
Brock fell silent for several seconds.
Then he sighed.
“Ancient potions.
Improved formulas.”
“Just how many secrets is your father hiding?”
“A lot, a lot!”
Aoi answered confidently.
“Mom says Dad is a walking unsolved mystery and that trying to figure him out is a waste of effort.”
[VIP Chat Group]
[Professor Birch]: A special potion capable of awakening a Pokémon’s deeper bloodline?
Another thing that doesn’t exist in our world…?
[Professor Rowan]: Wait.
Remember that earlier quiz?
In that parallel world, a Prism Scale was used as an ingredient in rare potions.
Could it be related?
[Professor Oak]: Very possible!
If our guess is correct, then what Asher possesses isn’t merely one or two ancient formulas.
“It’s an entire lost system of Pokémon alchemy.”
[Professor Sycamore]: That’s a reasonable conclusion.
Judging from the results, a potion capable of awakening hidden bloodlines far surpasses any modern Pokémon enhancement medicine.
[Ash]: So Asher used that potion to turn Gyarados gold?
Then why not feed it to a bunch more Pokémon?
[Gary]: …Have you considered that it might not work on every Pokémon?
[Ash]: Oh.
Right.