"It's just... over?"
Ash stared at the departing Bruno, finding it a little hard to accept.
"It's over."
Green said with certainty, putting on her hat. "We should go our separate ways for now. I have things to take care of. You two can inform Professor Oak."
"You should get going too; I also have things to deal with."
Ace said to Ash and Gary, "I'll leave Professor Oak to you both."
With a shared understanding, Ace and Green walked back into the house to quickly pack their things, leaving Ash and Gary in the courtyard, speechless.
"Since when did those two get so close?" Ash asked Gary, watching Ace and Green move in sync.
"Something's up," Gary sighed and turned to go pack his own things.
With the Elite Four confirmed to be gone, there was no need for them to stay here any longer.
Besides, he was busy, too!
Of the four, Ash was the most reluctant to leave. At Ace's house, he had an opponent of comparable skill to spar with every day. If he returned to Pallet Town, he would go back to easily defeating everyone.
"Sigh, I'll try to pass the Gym Leader exam soon," Ash sighed again. He was currently waiting for the review process to be complete. To fulfill his promise to a certain someone, he was moving forward on the path to becoming a Gym Leader.
After a farewell lunch at Ace's house, the four of them soon went their separate ways.
Ace was heading to the Johto region to see how Pryce was doing.
Green was going to the Sevii Islands, as she had received information that Moltres might be there.
Gary and Ash were first returning to Pallet Town to update Professor Oak on the situation. After that, Gary planned to study with his own professor for a while.
Ash was headed to Viridian City to check on the status of his League review.
And so, the four of them went their own ways, moving quickly toward their respective goals.
Over Cianwood City, in the Johto region.
A Mega Evolved Aerodactyl descended rapidly, bringing Ace to the Mahogany Town Gym once again.
Deactivating the Mega Evolution was a training method Ace had devised.
In the games, Mega Evolution could only be used in battle. Ace had found a different approach: he planned to keep Aerodactyl and Gengar in their Mega Evolved forms as much as possible in their daily lives.
This would not only train their stability in this form but also serve as a way to train Ace himself.
Mega Evolution requires a Key Stone and a Mega Stone to work together. Maintaining the Mega Evolved form also requires the trainer to expend a significant amount of stamina.
So, while Mega Evolving one Pokémon was fine, Mega Evolving several at once would be a considerable burden for a trainer.
Ace's solution was to maintain the Mega Evolved state for extended periods, allowing him to get used to it and increase his own stamina.
And more importantly, a Mega Evolved Aerodactyl was much faster, significantly shortening travel time.
The flight from his home to Mahogany Town took just a little over a day.
When Ace first came to Goldenrod City in Johto, he had to stop and rest frequently, and the journey took a full week.
Now, Aerodactyl had grown a lot, and with the boost from Mega Evolution, it took a little over a day to bring Ace to the Mahogany Town Gym.
It was still the same gym built of ice. Ace pushed the door open and walked in.
As soon as Ace entered, a beam of Ice Beam shot toward him.
"Flamethrower!"
A Poké Ball was thrown, and Ninetales leaped high. A stream of fire from its tail shot toward the Ice Beam, blocking it.
But just then, a Blizzard roared toward them. Ace threw another Poké Ball, and Lapras appeared, landing in front of him.
"Absolute Zero!"
Crack, crack, crack...
As soon as Ace's words fell, a burst of cold air erupted from Lapras, quickly forming a wall of ice in front of them.
The Blizzard hit the ice wall. While it slowly added to the wall's thickness, it couldn't reach Ace and his Pokémon behind it.
But in the next moment, a Delibird burst out, its right wing coated in an extremely sharp blade of ice. It mercilessly slashed the ice wall.
"Boom!"
The ice wall, which had been able to withstand the Blizzard, instantly shattered. The Delibird charged through the gap in the ice wall, its ice blade aimed directly at Ace's throat.
"Whoosh!"
Ninetales unleashed its psychic power, and Psychic instantly restrained the Delibird mid-air.
Delibird looked a little surprised, but the cold air around its body surged, and it broke free from Ninetales' Psychic.
Ace used this opportunity to dodge the Delibird's attack.
"Will-O-Wisp!"
Nine eerie, purplish-red Will-O-Wisps shot out from Ninetales' tails, flying quickly toward the Delibird.
Bang, bang, bang!
Delibird didn't dodge. It swung its single blade like a master swordsman, slashing the three quickly approaching Will-O-Wisps to pieces.
The burning property of the Will-O-Wisp tried to corrode the ice blade, but it was quickly devoured by the ice. The unharmed ice blade then slashed toward the remaining Will-O-Wisps.
"What a grand welcoming gift," Ace said, getting serious.
"Fire Spin, consecutive shots!"
Nine fireballs formed and shot toward the Delibird. As soon as one set of fireballs left Ninetales' tails, a new set formed, continuously bombarding the Delibird.
Bang, bang, bang...
Delibird sliced through each fireball, but it began to feel the pressure. The continuous bombardment was forcing it back into a specific position.
Delibird was certain that once it reached that spot, it wouldn't be met with more of these fireballs, which were designed to control its movement!
"Fire Blast!"
As the Delibird was pushed back to the position Ace wanted, Ace didn't hold back. Ninetales' nine tails stood straight up, and a three-meter-wide, great character-shaped flame blasted toward the Delibird!
Delibird looked at the Fire Blast hurtling toward it, then looked down at the ice blade on its right wing and shook its head slightly.
It knew well that this ice blade couldn't slice through that attack.
"You've grown a lot, but it's still not enough. Absolute Zero."
Pryce's voice rang out. In an instant, Ace saw what true Absolute Zero was.
In just a moment, countless ice crystals appeared in front of them. Even the Fire Blast that Ninetales had launched was frozen solid within the crystals in an instant.
Looking at the forest of ice crystals in front of him, Ace knew that with this one move alone, he was no match for Pryce...