"This," Enzo said, holding up the stone between two fingers, "is a Mega Stone."
He stepped toward Steelix, who lowered his massive head without hesitation. With practiced care, Enzo placed the gem inside the iron serpent's mouth, letting it rest safely between its metal teeth before turning back to Ronnie.
"And the one in your hand is a Key Stone," he continued. "When the two resonate, they force out a transformation called Mega Evolution."
Ronnie looked down at the small stone in his palm, then back up at Steelix, his expression blank with confusion. He scratched the side of his head, clearly trying to follow, but Enzo could already tell the explanation was slipping past him.
He let out a deep breath.
"Forget the theory," Enzo said, his voice softening just enough. "You don't need to understand every part of it. Just focus on Steelix."
Ronnie straightened slightly.
"The stone in his mouth belongs to him. The one in your hand answers to you. What links them is the bond between you two." Enzo pointed at Steelix. "So stop thinking and feel for him. Pour that feeling into the Key Stone until you find something pulling back."
Ronnie swallowed and looked at Steelix properly this time.
The giant serpent stared back in silence, immense and unshakable, just as he always had. Memories began rising in Ronnie's mind without him even trying to summon them—the first time Onix had obeyed him without hesitation, the brutal training sessions they had survived together, the battles where Onix had taken hit after hit and still refused to fall. There had never been elegance between them, never anything refined or poetic.
Just trust. Simple. Absolute. Unbreakable.
Ronnie slowly tightened his grip around the Key Stone.
For a few seconds, nothing happened.
Then his eyes widened.
A faint pulse stirred inside his clenched fist. It was weak at first, little more than a tremor, but it grew sharper with every breath he took. Something on the other end was answering him. Calling back to him.
Enzo saw the shift in his face immediately and smiled.
"There," he said. "Now give the order."
Ronnie raised his fist, his whole body suddenly taut with excitement and disbelief.
"Steelix," he shouted, "Mega Evolve!"
The reaction was immediate.
Light exploded from the Key Stone in Ronnie's hand, wild and blinding, spilling through the clearing in waves of color. A beam of radiant energy shot toward Steelix and connected with the Mega Stone hidden inside its mouth. For a single breath, the two lights pulled against each other—
Then the world seemed to ignite.
A roaring sphere of multicolored brilliance swallowed Steelix whole. The ground trembled beneath them. Wind burst outward from the center of the transformation, forcing everyone nearby to shield their eyes as dust and loose pebbles were thrown into the air.
Inside the storm of light, Steelix's shape began to change.
Its already monstrous body grew even more oppressive, denser, heavier, as if the earth itself were forging it anew. Jagged metallic formations burst outward along its segmented body, filling the gaps between its massive pieces of steel. Shards of gleaming metal rose around it and began to orbit, suspended by the sheer force of the energy pouring from its new form.
Then the light shattered.
Mega Steelix emerged with a deafening roar, its armored body looming over the clearing like a living mountain of iron and stone. The pressure pouring off it was overwhelming—far greater than before, far more savage, far more real.
And for the first time in his life, Ronnie looked at his partner and felt like he was staring at a legend.
For several long seconds, Enzo could do nothing but watch.
Mega Steelix towered over the clearing like a creature dragged out of some ancient nightmare, its body larger and denser than before, with jagged masses of metal suspended around it as though the force pouring out of it was so overwhelming that even the surrounding steel had no choice but to answer. The pressure in the air felt wrong in a way Enzo had not expected.
He had seen Mega Evolution once before, back in his last life and during the tournament, when Steven had used it on Aggron in the hotel, but this was different. Aggron had looked stronger after transforming, that much was obvious, yet the power radiating from Steelix felt heavier, rawer, almost as if this form had not merely awakened more strength, but had reached deeper into something that had always been there.
That thought alone was enough to make Enzo pull up his system.
[ SYSTEM SCAN — TARGET IDENTIFIED ]
Specimen: Mega Steelix (VIRUS ACTIVE)
Level: 43 (+5)
Potential: LIGHT BLUE
Ability: Rock Head
Typing: Steel / Ground
Moves Detected: Iron Tail, Rock Slide, Dig, Screech...
Obs: "Mega resonance active. Connection link with trainer: exceptionally high."
His eyes moved quickly over the results as the scan settled into place.
Steelix's moves had not changed, but its level had.
The screen still displayed Level 43, yet beside it, the system had added a clear modifier: (+5). That alone was absurd.
Steelix was still using the same move set, but while in its Mega state, the system was reading its combat output as the equivalent of a Pokémon five levels higher.
At Steelix's current stage, that kind of increase was very good, but after level sixty, every single level became painfully difficult to gain. At that stage, even a one-level advantage could decide a battle. A temporary increase of five whole levels beyond that point would be monstrous.
But the level increase was not what truly stunned him.
His eyes locked onto the next line of data.
Potential: LIGHT BLUE.
For a moment, Enzo genuinely thought he had misread it.
Before the transformation, Steelix had been Deep Green. Now, in its Mega state, the system was reading it as Light Blue. Not a fluctuation in mood. Not a burst of unstable energy. A full increase in potential.
Enzo felt his mind sharpen at once.
Mega Evolution was doing more than drawing out stored power. At least when performed under the right conditions, it was dragging hidden capability to the surface and forcing it into view. The stones alone could not explain this.
The process had to react to the bond between trainer and Pokémon. That was the only explanation that made sense.
Steven's Aggron had grown stronger when it Mega Evolved, yes, but it had not shown anything like this. No increase in potential. No sign of its ceiling being pushed higher. Which meant Steven, for all his knowledge, resources, and talent, might never have reached the true peak of Mega Evolution with Aggron.
Before Enzo could follow that thought any further, a sharp thud cut through the clearing.
He looked up and saw Ronnie on his knees.
The grunt had one hand braced against the grass and the other pressed tight to his chest, his face pale beneath the sweat already running down from his forehead. His breathing had turned ragged, each breath sounding like it had to be dragged out of him by force, and the strain in his eyes made it obvious that maintaining the connection was costing far more than he had expected.
"Stop it now, Ronnie," Enzo said at once, the command leaving no room for argument.
Ronnie gave a weak nod, then forced his head up toward the massive serpent. "Steelix... that's enough."
The response was immediate. Light surged across Mega Steelix's body once more, not with the same violent explosiveness as before, but in a collapsing wave that folded back into itself as the temporary form began to unravel.
The floating metal around its body lost cohesion first, dropping away or fusing back into place as the immense pressure flooding the clearing slowly weakened. Segment by segment, the monstrous body shrank back toward its normal form until the light finally faded and Steelix stood there once again as itself, breathing hard but stable.
Enzo checked the scan again the moment Steelix returned to normal.
The temporary boost was gone. Level 43 (+5) had dropped back to Level 43, exactly as expected. The moves had not changed either.
But when his eyes fell on the potential line, he froze.
Potential: LIGHT BLUE.
For a second, Enzo simply stared.
It had not gone back down.
The Mega Evolution had ended. The extra combat levels were gone, and yet Steelix's potential had remained one full grade above where it had started.
That had not happened with Steven's Aggron.
Enzo stepped closer, his pulse quickening as he studied Steelix more carefully.
The serpent's body had changed in subtle but undeniable ways. Fresh traces of steel had formed between several of its segments, reinforcing spaces that had once been rougher and more exposed, while the energy lingering around it felt denser than before, tighter and more dangerous.
Mega Evolution had not simply borrowed power and returned Steelix unchanged.
It had improved him.
Enzo turned back to Ronnie, who was still recovering on the ground, and the seriousness in his expression returned immediately. "Ronnie, what happened here is a secret. You can't talk about this with anyone."
Ronnie wiped the sweat from his face with the back of his hand and nodded. "I understand, boss. I won't tell anybody."
"I'm working on this with Steven Stone," Enzo said, lowering his voice slightly. "If word gets out before I'm ready, it won't just ruin months of work. It could put me in real danger."
That seemed to land properly. Ronnie swallowed, then nodded again with more conviction than before. "Then I'll keep my mouth shut."
A second later, despite the exhaustion still clinging to him, some of the earlier excitement crept back into his face. "Can I do it again later?"
Enzo almost laughed at how quickly Ronnie had bounced back mentally, even if his body had not. "Yes, but not today."
Ronnie hesitated, then opened his hand slightly as if remembering the stones. "Can I keep them?"
Enzo extended his hand toward him. "Not yet. I need time to figure out how you and Steelix can carry them properly without something going wrong, and until then, they stay with me."
Ronnie looked disappointed, but only for a moment. He handed the Key Stone over first, then carefully retrieved the Mega Stone from Steelix and passed that over as well without complaint.
Enzo closed his fingers around both stones and glanced once more at Steelix, whose breathing was finally beginning to settle.
Ronnie had started with an ordinary Onix.
Now he has a Steelix with a Light Blue potential that can mega evolve. His future looked very different from what it had been in the beginning.
The next few days passed in a steadier rhythm than usual.
Hidden deep in the forest, the camp settled into something that almost felt routine. Training filled most of their daylight hours, meals were taken around the same fire, and for a little while, the pressure hanging over the group seemed lighter than before. Even so, progress did not slow. If anything, the quiet gave their Pokémon room to grow.
That became obvious when Ronnie's Alolan Rattata and Proton's followed their trainers through another punishing afternoon session and finally reached their limit.
The two small dark rodents changed almost at the same time, their bodies swelling and stretching until two Alolan Raticates stood in their place, heavier, fiercer, and already baring sharp fangs at anything that came too close. The moment food was brought out later, they were at each other's throats over the best scraps, making enough noise for Ronnie to laugh and Proton to swear at them both.
By evening, the forest had grown dark around the campfire, and the small circle of orange light cast by the flames made the rest of the woods feel even deeper and more distant. The group had just started eating when Enzo felt his TR device vibrate in his pocket.
He pulled it out, glanced at the screen, and found a short message from Professor Leni.
Turn on the television right now.
Enzo's eyes narrowed slightly. "Proton, get the portable screen."
Proton did not waste time asking questions. He got up, rummaged through their supplies, and returned with the small television they kept packed away for emergencies and major news.
After a bit of fiddling with the signal, the screen lit up and cycled through a handful of channels before landing on a live broadcast that seemed to be airing everywhere at once.
Bright headlines crowded the bottom of the screen.
BREAKING NEWS
The camera opened on a packed press room, so crowded that several reporters had been forced to stand along the walls with microphones already raised. Flashes of light went off every few seconds as photographs were taken in rapid succession, filling the room with a restless energy that was obvious even through the television.
At the front stood a wide podium framed by holographic projections and rotating charts, and behind it were the two men commanding every eye in the room.
Professor Birch stood on the right, calm and composed, his posture relaxed in the way only someone used to public attention could manage.
Beside him stood Professor Leni, visibly more tense. His shoulders were a little too stiff, and although he was doing his best to remain composed, the camera was close enough to catch the slight tightening of his jaw and the way his fingers hovered near the edge of the podium before pulling back again. He looked like a man standing on the edge of the biggest moment of his career, fully aware that the next few minutes would change everything.
Around the campfire, nobody said a word.
On the screen, Birch stepped forward first and adjusted the microphone slightly. The room quieted little by little, though not completely, and when he finally began to speak, his voice carried the steady confidence of someone who knew exactly how important this moment was.
"Thank you all for coming on such short notice," Birch said. "What we are about to present today marks a major development in Pokémon history."
The room stirred again, pens already moving, cameras shifting for a better angle.
Birch glanced toward Leni, and when he spoke again, his tone carried a note of genuine respect.
"This discovery was only made possible because of Professor Leni's work. He was the one who discovered it, and through his research, field observations, and persistence, he was able to demonstrate that what many might have dismissed as an irregularity was, in fact, evidence of an entirely different Pokémon typing."
Leni lowered his eyes for just a second, clearly fighting not to look overwhelmed.
Birch continued.
"The scientific community has only recently completed its review of the data and formally accepted the conclusion. Which means that today, it is my great pleasure to let Professor Leni present to the world the newly recognized Pokémon type."
He turned slightly, opening the space beside him.
"The Fairy type."
Even through the television, the shift in the room was immediate.
A wave of murmuring spread through the reporters. Questions were already beginning to form before Leni had even stepped closer to the microphone, but Birch gave him a small nod, the kind meant more for support than ceremony.
Leni inhaled once, visibly steadying himself, then leaned toward the microphone.
"Good evening, I'm Professor Leni," he began, his voice a touch tight at first, though still clear. "And over the past years, I have been investigating a pattern of energy signatures that did not properly align with our current understanding of known Pokémon types. At first, I believed these were rare anomalies. But the more data I gathered, the clearer it became that they were not exceptions at all. They were evidence of something missing from our system."
As he spoke, the holographic display behind him changed. Familiar Pokémon appeared one by one, their images rotating slowly in the air while streams of pink-tinted data scrolled beside them. Energy graphs followed, highlighting a wavelength clearly distinct from every existing type classification.
"This newly identified type," Leni continued, gaining confidence as he moved deeper into the presentation, "possesses its own unique energetic structure, its own interaction profile, and its own set of battle properties. We have classified it as Fairy-type energy."
The words FAIRY TYPE appeared in massive glowing letters behind him.
The room was no longer merely interested. It was hooked.
Leni began moving through the interaction charts, showing how Fairy energy responded when placed against several known elemental structures. Birch remained silent beside him, letting the younger professor take the lead.
Some reporters leaned so far forward it looked as though they might climb onto the tables if it meant seeing the next chart sooner.
Then Leni reached the section that mattered most.
He paused.
Even through the television, Enzo could see the nerves return for half a second. Not because Leni was unsure of the data, but because he knew exactly what would happen the moment he said it aloud.
He adjusted his glasses, looked down once at his notes, then back up at the crowd.
"As with some other typings," he said, more firmly now, "the Fairy type possesses a complete immunity against one specific category of energy."
The room fell quieter.
A few reporters exchanged glances. One camera zoomed in closer.
Leni continued.
"In this case, that category is Dragon-type energy."
For one suspended second, nobody reacted.
Then he delivered the final blow.
"Which means that Pokémon classified as Fairy type are completely immune to Dragon type attacks."
The press room exploded.
Voices crashed over one another from every direction. Several reporters were already on their feet. Microphones shot into the air. Someone in the back shouted a question before anyone else had even finished gasping. The noise rose so suddenly and so violently that the broadcast audio distorted for a moment under the pressure of it.
On the screen, the lower headlines changed almost instantly.
NEW POKÉMON TYPE DISCOVERED
FAIRY TYPE CONFIRMED
FAIRY POKÉMON IMMUNE TO DRAGON ENERGY
The room did not simply erupt. It seemed to convulse all at once, as if the weight of Leni's words had taken a full second to settle before every reporter in the room tried to react at the exact same time. Voices crashed over one another from every direction, each louder than the last, until the broadcast audio itself began to strain under the pressure.
One reporter near the front was already shouting over the others, demanding to know whether Professor Leni would publish a list of all known species that possessed the new typing, while another called out from somewhere to the left, asking how he had even reached such a conclusion in the first place. A third voice cut in before the second had finished, pressing for the total number of reclassified Pokémon, and several more questions followed so quickly that they blurred together into one continuous wave of noise.
Even through the television, Enzo could see that Leni had not expected the room to descend into madness quite this fast. For an instant, he looked caught between triumph and panic, standing there with every eye fixed on him and every microphone in the room now pointed his way. Still, he managed to lean toward the podium and raise his voice above the noise, answering the question that mattered most.
"We will publish a list of all known Pokémon currently identified with this typing," he said, speaking as clearly as he could. "That information will be made available to the public."
That answer only sent another shock through the room. Reporters immediately seized on it, shouting over one another again, now desperate for details.
They wanted to know when the list would be released, how many species were on it, whether regional variants would be included, whether the League had already received advance notice, and whether Dragon specialists across the regions had been warned before this announcement went public.
Leni tried to continue, but there was no longer any real order left in the press room. The questions kept coming from all sides, too fast and too loud for any one answer to settle before the next demand was thrown at him. At that point, Birch finally stepped forward, lifting a hand and using his voice with the calm authority of someone long used to handling crowds like this.
"Please," Birch said firmly, trying to push some structure back into the chaos, "you will all have a chance to ask your questions, but only if you allow Professor Leni to finish."
It was not enough to restore order, but it did at least stop the room from collapsing entirely into nonsense. The frenzy had already taken hold. What had begun as a historic scientific announcement had become, in the span of a few seconds, a full-blown media storm.
Around the campfire, the reaction could not have been more different.
Ronnie burst out laughing first, nearly choking on his food. Viper followed a second later, grinning as he watched the panic spread through the broadcast.
Even Proton let out a short laugh at the sight of seasoned reporters losing all composure in real time.
To them, there was nothing shocking about what they were seeing. This was simply the rest of the world stumbling into a truth Enzo had already turned into an opportunity.
Ratchet was the only one who did not move.
He sat a little apart from the others, staring at the small screen with such complete disbelief that for a moment he looked almost blank.
Then, slowly, the pieces began falling into place. The Pokémon this squad leader had been buying, the way he had targeted certain species without hesitation, the complete certainty with which he had thrown money at creatures everyone else had dismissed as worthless, strange, or niche.
At the time, Ratchet had thought it was reckless. Maybe even stupid. But now, watching the press room tear itself apart over the announcement, he understood that none of it had been guesswork.
This E guy had known.
A cold sensation crept up the back of Ratchet's neck as he turned toward the young man beside the fire, and for the first time since joining him, he felt the true distance between them.
He turned toward the young man by the fire, his eyes wider now, his voice quieter than usual. "You already knew about this."
No one answered immediately, and that silence told him more than words would have.
Ratchet swallowed.
"That's why you bought them," Ratchet said, almost to himself. "All those trash Pokémon... you already knew."
Enzo turned away from the television and looked at him properly. There was no point denying it now. A faint smile pulled at the corner of his mouth, calm and calculating in a way that only made Ratchet more uneasy.
"Yes," Enzo said.
The answer landed harder than Ratchet expected.
He had known the leader was smart. Ruthless, too, when he had to be. But this was something else.
Enzo held Ratchet's gaze for another second, then nodded once toward the television.
"It's time," he said. "You're about to make the deal of your life."
Ratchet felt his throat go dry.
Enzo's smile deepened just slightly.
"And this time," he said, "we do it big."