The appearance of Alolan Ninetales caused Rowan's popularity to soar. Even some viewers from Gallia instinctively felt the urge to applaud this Alolan Ninetales.
Mysterious and aloof, it gave off an aura that made people want to learn more about it.
Meanwhile, Benjamin's third Pokémon was Klinklang.
Although Klinklang wasn't exclusive to Gallia, it was one of the primary regions where it was found.
Additionally, because Klinklang and its evolutionary line resembled interlocking gears, they were widely used in mechanical engineering fields.
Their synchronized gear rotation generated strong kinetic energy, making them usable as power sources—some large ocean liners even used Klinklang as a backup power system.
This Pokémon, much like Machamp, was a typical utility-type Pokémon.
Whether used as a battle Pokémon or for everyday purposes, it was exceptionally good.
Klinklang's level was lower than Alolan Ninetales—it was at the late-stage Elite-level.
Even though this was Alolan Ninetales' first appearance in a major tournament, Rowan was full of confidence in it. After all, this was the Pokémon he had raised with the intention of making it his second ace.
Alolan Ninetales did not disappoint him. In just over ten minutes, it managed to defeat Klinklang, with significantly less damage taken compared to the previous match.
It clearly still had strength left to continue fighting.
Now both sides had the same number of Pokémon remaining.
Benjamin's fourth Pokémon was Aggron, with strength at the peak of Elite-level, on par with Alolan Ninetales.
"Aggron, Mega Evolve!" Benjamin shouted.
This caused Rowan's expression to shift slightly.
'How does this guy still have enough energy for Mega Evolution?'
He had already Mega Evolved his Steelix earlier, and it had been maintained for a relatively long time. That should have consumed a significant amount of both physical and mental strength.
Now, he was having his Aggron Mega Evolve as well—wasn't he afraid that excessive mental energy consumption would prevent him from sustaining the latter part of the match?
Mega Evolution was a double-edged sword for trainers.
Because Mega Evolution consumed a great deal of the trainer's physical and mental energy, if the opponent wasn't defeated after Mega Evolution, the trainer's body would become very weak, potentially leaving them without even the strength to command effectively.
In the wild, this would be an extremely dangerous situation.
In public competitions, Trainers typically use Mega Evolution only in the final match. After all, it's the last battle—win or lose, the impact on them is minimal.
But Benjamin had already used Mega Evolution twice. This kind of behavior was absolutely not advisable.
But the other party did it anyway.
'Is it possible that this guy is a Psychic ability user?'
Suddenly, the thought crossed Rowan's mind.
When a trainer Mega Evolved their Pokémon, it consumed both stamina and mental energy—but the greatest drain was always on mental energy.
The amount of mental energy directly affected the duration of the Mega Evolution.
And a Psychic-ability user possessed far more mental energy than an ordinary person, so naturally their Mega Evolution duration would be much longer.
'I wonder if he's an Intermediate or Advanced Psychic,' Rowan thought, looking at Benjamin with a somewhat serious expression.
They were only in the mid stages of the match, and the opponent had already used Mega Evolution twice. That meant this guy very likely still had the capacity for a third use.
Although Julian had been playing on his phone, he occasionally glanced at the match out of the corner of his eye.
"Coach, is Benjamin a Psychic?" Sky had also thought of this possibility.
"Mm. The psychic fluctuations emanating from him suggest he's an Advanced Psychic," Julian nodded.
Internally, however, he felt somewhat puzzled.
Last time, when so many countries dispatched young trainers to that Top-tier secret realm to compete for opportunities, Gallia had also sent five people.
Given the strength Benjamin was displaying now, why wasn't he among those five back then? Otherwise, Julian would definitely have taken him out.
As it turned out, Benjamin was exploring a Ruin in Gallia at that time, so he had missed the event.
It was fortunate for him that he had missed it; otherwise, he really would have been killed by Julian.
Because back in that secret realm, Julian had killed people from Gallia, Wyvernia, Celestria, and several other regions whose relations with Drakoria weren't great.
All those people were exceptionally talented members of their generation within their countries—either heirs or potential heirs to their families.
And Julian had killed them all.
If they hadn't died, there was a high likelihood those individuals would be here now.
So, in a way, Julian's actions in the secret realm had somewhat reduced the pressure on Pierce and the other nine.
"Advanced Psychic? Damn, that strong?" Sky's jaw dropped slightly as he stared at Benjamin in disbelief.
The vast majority of special ability users in the world, once their abilities awakened, they were essentially fixed at that awakened level for life.
Over ninety percent of all special-ability users awakened at the Beginner-level, and only a very small number awakened at the Intermediate-level.
As for those who awakened at the Advanced-level, they were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.
Benjamin was one of those rare exceptions.
"What's there to fuss about? My Psychic and Aura abilities are both at the Advanced-level too," Julian said casually.
In reality, both of his abilities were at the Master level—he just wanted to keep a low profile. Besides, no Master-level special ability users had ever appeared in this world; the highest publicly recorded was Advanced.
Dual-ability users did exist, but someone like Julian, whose both abilities were Master-level? He was the only one.
Sky fell silent, indicating he didn't want to talk to Julian, who was clearly showing off.
"Why are you sulking? Isn't your Electric Affinity more practical than his Psychic abilities?" Julian remarked lightly.
Sky possessed an Affinity for Electric-types, which made it easier for him to gain the trust of Electric-type Pokémon and even slightly enhance their combat strength to some extent.
The boost wasn't huge—only about 8%—but it had no side effects on him. As long as he was commanding Electric-type Pokémon, he could provide them with that buff.
In terms of pure practicality in battle, it was indeed more useful than Psychic.
"Well, I guess you're right."
Sky grinned foolishly, his expression turning somewhat silly after Julian's comment.
And Alolan Ninetales was ultimately defeated.
Rowan's fifth Pokémon was Glaceon, a peak Elite.
Perhaps to conserve energy for a third Mega Evolution, Benjamin voluntarily ended the Mega Evolution state, causing Aggron's level to drop back to peak Elite.
The two sides battled for over half an hour, ending in a draw.
> "Oh no, oh no! Rowan only has one Pokémon left, while the opponent still has two. Is he going to lose?"
> "Rowan's last one must be his ace."
> "And Benjamin's ace is probably still in reserve too."
> "Dammit, how can this guy use Mega Evolution twice? I Mega Evolve once for four minutes and I'm exhausted."
> "Same here, I only last three minutes."
> "I'm about the same, barely three minutes. My wife says I'm useless—looks like we're all in the same boat, huh?"
> "BRO WHAT ARE YOU EVEN TALKING ABOUT!!"
> "Don't panic! Champion Walker is still calmly scrolling on his phone. Judging from his expression, Rowan's should be fine."
Julian: 'Even if he wasn't fine, I would still have this same expression…'
*****
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