The spectator stands were in an uproar.
When Chao took out his Key Stone and had Scizor Mega Evolve, even though they were shocked to the point of distorted expressions, no one dared to speak.
Everyone watched quietly from the sidelines, afraid of missing even the smallest detail.
After all, this was Mega Evolution!
Throughout all of Zhu Xia, those capable of such a feat were few and far between.
Moreover, not all of those people were trainers; some were coordinators and breeders as well.
A current student possessing this ability was truly astonishing.
It made people extremely curious.
However, just when everyone thought that Scizor, which had been chased down the entire time and pushed to the brink, was finally about to fight back and take down Lucario, unexpectedly, this about-to-rise Pokémon lost in the final exchange of punches.
If it had won, it would surely have followed up with Roost to recover stamina, then perhaps Swords Dance. Even without Swords Dance, it could have cut down any opponent in its path.
But why did it end up like this? Was it out of stamina? Then why didn't it use Roost to recover some first?
The onlookers were full of confusion, but they also understood that sometimes not choosing to defend or recover was due to circumstances beyond one's control, a lack of opportunity.
Off to the side, Su Qian's eyes sparkled with interest. If anyone on the school team knew Chao's strength best, pointing to her would definitely be correct.
In terms of status, one was the main captain and the other vice-captain, but strictly speaking, she believed their strength was actually quite close. Her win rate against him was usually sixty percent, occasionally seventy percent.
They also practiced together most often, but that his Scizor could Mega Evolve was something she was learning for the first time.
Additionally, the way Mega Scizor flew out was also different from how it should have looked after being punched.
At its dashing speed, if both had landed their punches, both certainly would have been sent flying. It was impossible for Lucario to still be standing still in place. Clearly, this was a scenario where neither hit the other, and they simply grazed past each other.
Why didn't it hit?
Su Qian rubbed her chin, lost in thought, wondering whether Lucario had dodged or Mega Scizor had dodged. Or perhaps Mega Scizor had lost consciousness mid-burst?
Down below, Lucario's body swayed. The stabbing pain in its head nearly made it pass out.
Although on the surface it had barely been hit during the battle against Scizor, its physical stamina and energy consumption were both significant.
The greatest consumption was of its mental energy. Due to the opponent's exaggerated instant burst speed, the dog hadn't dared to turn off its accelerated vision. It had stared at Scizor's movements the entire time, looking for its openings.
As a result, after the battle ended, Lucario was weak in the limbs and drowsy with fatigue.
Li Xiang quickly went up and hugged it.
"Are you okay? Did you land a hit?" He glanced sideways at Scizor. The situation just now really didn't look like the result of a move landing.
"Rooo..." Lucario shook its head and briefly explained.
After listening, Li Xiang thought for a moment and gradually understood what had just happened.
Couldn't control the energy inside its body, and suffered a backlash?
This wasn't a particularly difficult thing to understand. The fact that Scizor could remain on the field after taking two consecutive Blaze Kicks was already beyond most people's expectations.
This guy was four times weak to Fire, and its physical defense wasn't particularly high. In the games, even with rain up, a single Swords Dance-boosted Blaze Kick would have sent it home.
Enduring two full hits while still having enough stamina to burst, Mega Evolve, and attempt a counterattack, this in itself proved its strength and that its stamina was at its limit.
Bursting itself is also an extremely stamina-consuming action, not to mention that when Scizor bursts, its body temperature rises so high it steams.
This is similar to the self-damage from Flare Blitz.
And it's important to understand that, by design, Mega Scizor, due to storing too much Mega Evolution energy inside its body, in prolonged battles, meaning when its stamina runs low, its body can be "melted" by the energy, and it becomes unable to bear the weight of its own pincers.
In short, this Pokémon is a speed-based attacker, meant to take down its opponent in the shortest possible time. Either Mega Evolve at the start of the battle, or don't Mega Evolve at all.
Waiting until the most critical moment of the battle, when a single exchange might decide the outcome, to do it was undoubtedly a wrong choice.
Mega Evolution doesn't restore stamina; not a single Pokémon's base stats increase its HP.
But considering that Senior Chao had never brought out Mega Evolution last year, and no related rumors had circulated this semester, it was obvious that he had only obtained it recently.
It was perfectly normal that he didn't fully understand Mega Scizor's characteristics. If he had understood, he would have Mega Evolved at the start. Why would he wait until the end? Catching the opponent off guard doesn't work like that.
Across the way, Chao walked over somewhat embarrassedly.
"Sorry, Scizor and I are still not very proficient. It lost control again."
He knew his own situation well, and besides, this wasn't the first or second time Scizor had acted like this. After evolving, its energy ran wild, and it couldn't follow commands at all.
He had looked at Scizor's condition just now and seen that although its stamina was low, its spirit and energy were both focused to a single point. He thought that if he Mega Evolved now, it might be able to gain control, which was why he used it. After all, actual combat is the best teacher.
Unfortunately, he had been too impatient, or maybe his luck had been bad. Mega Scizor's startup was good; it actively released energy and sent Lucario flying. Its subsequent initiation and attack were very good, and its instantaneous burst speed was even faster than in its normal state.
But it lost control again.
Additionally, the high heat from the instant burst and the collision damage at the end consumed its remaining stamina.
A bit of a pity.
"However, that you've grown so fast is truly admirable."
Chao recalled how during the spring tournament, he had said that he and the other team captains would resist with all their might, that they would never let Li Xiang threaten their positions before they graduated.
He hadn't expected that less than two months later, he would be proven so thoroughly wrong. His feelings were complicated for a moment, and he felt a burning embarrassment.
"Lost control?"
Li Xiang was momentarily stunned, suddenly remembering the Lucario in the anime that had lost itself in power.
The energy after Mega Evolution was too vast; it couldn't control itself, leading to self-backlash and falling into a rampage state.
He thought it was Korrina's Lucario?
And even her grandfather's Lucario had experienced this situation. Combined with Scizor's performance just now, and the initial state of Ash and Greninja's Bond Phenomenon, it was perfectly clear that Mega Evolution was an ability with both immense benefits and particular dangers.
It was not something you could just use upon obtaining it without any barrier, like in the games or special manga.
It was said that Mega Evolution was a manifestation of bond, and being able to completely control Mega Evolution was proof of that bond. It seemed that anything involving both trainer and Pokémon was absolutely tied to "bond."
Perhaps, even if he obtained a Key Stone and Mega Stone, he wouldn't be able to master it so easily.
Li Xiang inexplicably felt like he had just raised a flag for himself.
Chao walked over to his fainted Scizor, looked at its condition, and with some distress, touched its left pincer, which had slight burn marks and was covered in fine cracks.
The Mega Stone was embedded inside the left pincer and didn't affect its opening, closing, or use.
"Uh, sorry. Lucario might have been a bit heavy-handed." Li Xiang said from behind him. He had already recalled Lucario.
"It's fine. It's a practice match; these things happen." Chao showed a smile, waved his hand, and recalled Scizor.
"Now that I've finally obtained this power, I'll have to work harder too."
"Good luck, Senior." Li Xiang responded accordingly, sensibly not asking about the origins of the Mega Stone and Key Stone.
Today's matches ended here.
Obviously, very few people knew that Chao possessed Mega Evolution.
When the two of them reached the spectator stands, Chao was inevitably surrounded by many students. Everyone looked at him with admiration or curiosity, chattering away with questions.
Chao had always been very popular on the school team. As the former sole pillar of the team and a warm-hearted guy, his prestige was no less than Su Qian's.
If Li Xiang was the highly anticipated successor, then Chao was the main captain who had once shouldered the banner. So it was perfectly normal to see a scene where the winner seemed to be Chao, not Li Xiang.
Li Xiang himself was glad for it; in fact, he also wanted to squeeze in and ask Chao some things he wanted to know like everyone else. But some things were just too embarrassing to say out loud.
Xu He obviously knew. He dispersed the students and put a stop to it with one sentence.
"Stop asking. Vice-captain Chao's qualification as a successor came from his mother. Don't spread rumors."
Only then did the crowd reluctantly disperse.
Successors, by their nature, involve inheritance. And the Key Stone and Mega Stone are precisely inheritance items. Like family heirlooms, they never become obsolete, even after hundreds or thousands of years.
Mother?
Li Xiang blinked.
Speaking of which, he still didn't know the details of Senior Chao's family background. He only knew that he was a Sea Folk.
If it was a family of successors, they should be very famous in Zhu Xia. Among the current Master-level trainers, not everyone had Mega Evolution; they were also successors.
Being both Sea Folk and a successor, there shouldn't be many such people. He couldn't resist taking out his phone to search on the side.
The biggest advantage of the big data era is information sharing. With a quick search, he actually found a possible candidate for Chao's mother.
Also Sea Folk, forty-three years old, with the wheat-colored skin that comes from years of exposure to sea wind and sun, blue eyes, and black curly hair.
Her name, like Chao's, is a single character: "Quan."
A top Coordinator.
The Pokémon she can Mega Evolve is Sharpedo. She has eight Master Rank Contest Ribbons, four Super Rank Master Rank Contest Ribbons, and has won the Grand Festival three times.
Wow. That's quite a resume. But it seems she hasn't been reported in competitions for five or six years.
Retired?
Probably. She even gave her Mega Stone to Senior Chao.
"Little brother, what are you looking at?" Zhao Jie's voice sounded in his ear.
Li Xiang turned his head slightly and shook his phone. "I was wondering if this is Senior Chao's mother."
Zhao Jie leaned over to look, nodded, and said, "Yes, it's her."
It really was. Li Xiang's face showed surprise. He continued scrolling down and found another interesting link. It was the entry for Senior Chao's father.
Clicking on it, he found that this man was the world-renowned Water-type Pokémon expert: "Hu."
He was a top-tier marine scholar dedicated to studying the mysteries of fish Pokémon, an undisputed doctoral-level figure.
It said that the first marine scholar to publish detailed papers on the migratory habits of Wishiwashi and Basculin was him. He was also a strong individual who traveled alone to the Wailord Tomb and returned safely.
Furthermore, he had made outstanding contributions to the discovery of the living fossil, Relicanth.
In the Pokémon world, people like this are the most deserving of respect, like Professor Oak and Professor Birch. Their social standing is exceptionally high. Wherever they go, they are guests of honor at the local association.
People often respectfully refer to these individuals as: "Explorers of the World's Mysteries."
Senior Chao wasn't just born with a silver spoon in his mouth; he was practically wrapped in gold leaf!
Li Xiang couldn't help but look at Chao, who was being humble and showing a gentle attitude towards everyone around him.
At that moment, he was certain that the Sea Folk here were definitely the same group as the Sea Folk in the movie "The Sea Prince and the Fire Child."
The Sea Temple... He really wanted to go.
Li Xiang's face was full of longing. His prolonged staring also attracted Chao's attention.
The latter showed a smile and an inquiring expression, as if asking if he had any questions.
Ah. He'd been spotted.
Li Xiang quickly smiled, shook his head, and looked away.
If he got on good terms with Chao now, would he have a chance to visit the Sea Temple?