"Lilli…gant…"
Seeing its weakened Grass type allies, Lilligant turned her gaze toward Aven.
Perhaps only by truly entering the same state they had once used against Yveltal could they stand a chance against Groudon!
"Not yet. Hoopa and the final Legendary Pokémon haven't appeared. We can't reveal all our trump cards here."
Aven's expression was grave as his eyes locked onto the Capture Ring in the sorcerer leader's hand. "Gardevoir, this battle is yours now!"
Hearing Aven's words, Gardevoir nodded gently. Golden light surged around her body—the power of the Lake Trio: will, emotion, and knowledge, all converging within her.
This was the blessing of the Lake Trio. When Aven had once gained their recognition, Gardevoir too had undergone a complete transformation of her psychic power through their strength.
As he spoke, the power of the Lake Trio within Aven was also activated. Golden light connected him and Gardevoir, tightly linking their souls together!
"Lilli—gant!"
Seeing this, Lilligant infused grass, natural and life energy into Gardevoir, causing her aura to surge explosively!
In the next instant, Gardevoir's figure began to transform within the golden radiance. She successfully evolved into her Mega form—her gown elongating into an elegant black evening dress, with powerful energy fluctuations surging across her body!
BOOM!
Energy erupted violently as Mega Gardevoir appeared.
She raised her head to look at Groudon in the distance, lifted her hands horizontally before her, and psychic energy surged, forming a psychic beam that blasted forward!
BOOM!
The sudden attack struck Groudon squarely, forcing it to step back. Roaring furiously, it stomped the ground, unleashing countless rock blades!
Facing this terrifying assault, Mega Gardevoir floated upward. Space before her suddenll warped, swallowing all the rock blades completely, erasing them without a trace!
From afar, the sorcerer leader had been watching intently. Upon witnessing Gardevoir's transformation, his eyes widened—he instantly recognized Mega Evolution.
After all, Mega Evolution originated in Kalos, and he himself had mastered it. Naturally, he was extremely familiar with this power.
Yet he had never imagined that Aven, who hailed from the Sinnoh Region, could also wield Mega Evolution—and more importantly, he hadn't seen any Key Stone or Mega Stone. This Mega Evolution was entirely different from the conventional method!
Moreover, the power Mega Gardevoir displayed after evolving left even him shocked. This strength had clearly surpassed the vast majority of Guardian Deity-level beings!
If Lilligant had surpassed Guardian Deity-level power through the combined efforts of numerous Grass-type Pokémon, then the Mega Gardevoir before him had achieved this feat purely through her own strength, elevating her power to a terrifying level!
"Gardevoir, Spatial Rend!"
At this moment, Aven spoke again.
"Garde—voir!"
Gardevoir nodded, and a beam of light appeared at her forehead.
A moment later, she actually unleashed Palkia's Spatial Rend. A spatial rift opened suddenly, stretching directly toward Groudon in the distance!
The spatial attack was incredibly fast. Groudon barely had time to raise its right arm before the attack swept across it, carving deep wounds into its limb!
"Groudon!" The sorcerer leader's pupils shrank sharply. His gaze locked onto Gardevoir's forehead as he slowly spoke, "This spatial attack… this is Palkia's power!"
"That's right. Mega Gardevoir now possesses the power of the Lake Trio and Palkia," Aven said with a slight smile. "It's a pity time is limited—otherwise, if Gardevoir could also master the Adamant Orb's power, she could control both time and space and wield true spacetime power!"
The corners of Aven's lips curled upward. Aside from spatial abilities, Gardevoir's control over future foresight was already extremely strong—something closely tied to the domain of time. Perhaps with the Adamant Orb, she truly could master time itself!
If Gardevoir were to gain the power of spacetime, combined with the Lake Trio's psychic force and the power of the Creator God, it might truly be possible to nurture a Pokémon possessing Mythical-level power!
Of course, all of that was hypothetical. Even so, with Mega Gardevoir's current strength—augmented by Lilligant's life energy and Aven's own power—she had undeniably reached Champion-level, capable of contending with certain Legendary Pokémon!
"Gardevoir, ignore Groudon—attack the sorcerer leader directly!"
Hearing Aven's command, Mega Gardevoir nodded. Her figure vanished instantly, and when she reappeared, she was already above Groudon. Locking her gaze onto the sorcerer leader, she immediately used Ally Switch!
Almost instantly, the sorcerer leader felt psychic energy enveloping his body. He hurriedly used the power of the Capture Ring to break free, narrowly avoiding being displaced by Mega Gardevoir's spatial manipulation.
At the same time, Groudon's attacks were evaded through Teleport. With precise control over her spatial power, Mega Gardevoir blinked repeatedly, appearing on the opposite side of Groudon and unleashing Spatial Rend once more toward the sorcerer leader.
Directly confronting Groudon was extremely difficult, but dealing with the sorcerer leader alone was far easier by comparison. By restraining Groudon, Mega Gardevoir bought precious time for the other Pokémon to attack.
"Naganadel, the rest is up to you."
Aven and Darkrai hovered in midair.
At this moment, Naganadel streaked across the battlefield below. Its Ultra Beast Aura was fully unleashed, absorbing the last remnants of power from the Grass-type Pokémon. Its Ultra Beast trait activated completely, continuously amplifying its strength.
In the next instant, Naganadel vanished. When it reappeared, it was already beside Groudon. Its tail stinger stabbed down viciously, piercing Groudon's solid armor and injecting every last drop of the deadly poison it had accumulated over time straight into Groudon's body!
With a pained roar, Groudon swiped its claw and sent Naganadel flying. Yet by then, all the toxin had already entered Groudon's system. A purple hue spread across its right leg, rapidly expanding throughout its body!
"This is… poison?"
"How is this possible?! How could Groudon be poisoned?!"
The sorcerer leader noticed the anomaly and stared wide-eyed in disbelief. He could not accept that any toxin could harm Groudon!
"Ordinary toxins can't," Aven said with a slight smile. "But Naganadel is a Poison-type Ultra Beast—its venom is extremely powerful and venomous."
Poison-type power had always been a weapon capable of challenging opponents far beyond one's level.
Now that Groudon had entered a badly poisoned state, Aven's chances of victory had increased dramatically. Even though a Legendary Pokémon possessed an astonishingly powerful body, prolonged attrition could still wear it down.
Moreover, battles involving such super divine beings placed an enormous burden on them. After each fight, they needed long periods of slumber. The scales of victory were slowly tilting.
"We need to end this quickly—especially while Hoopa Unbound still hasn't appeared."
Gazing deep into the continent, Aven's expression grew solemn once more.
"Gardevoir—Air Slash! Froslass, use Shadow Sneak!"
In midair, the two Pokémon nodded, unleashing their strongest attacks toward the sorcerer leader on Groudon's arm. If they could successfully kill the sorcerer leader, it would undoubtedly be the fastest way to end everything!
"Hah! You think this is enough to finish me?" the sorcerer leader suddenly sneered. "The power of the Demon God is far beyond what you imagine. Darkness devours everything—and in doing so, grows even stronger!"
As his words fell, black aura poured endlessly from the Capture Ring, gradually merging into Groudon's body below. Slowly, Groudon's form was swallowed by darkness…
(End of Chapter)