A new day dawned.
Meteor Village was gradually becoming livelier.
Word of the attack had reached almost every Draconid living abroad within twenty-four hours.
Worried about their families, they were flocking back to the village, some arriving in hours, others taking a bit longer.
Once they found their loved ones safe and sound, a collective sigh of relief swept through the community.
However, the matter was far from over.
According to Zinnia, the returning Dragon Tamers had held a council and unanimously agreed to unite with Dragon Clan members from other regions. Their goal? A full-scale retaliatory strike against Team Rocket.
Usually, Dragon Tamers were a reclusive bunch, preferring to stay out of the friction between the League and criminal syndicates. At most, they'd lend a hand if they happened to cross paths with trouble.
But today, their elders had been bullied. That crossed a line.
Forget Dragon Tamers—any self-respecting adult would find this intolerable.
How long would the retaliation last?
No one knew.
Probably until everyone's tempers cooled down.
Recalling the unmasked excitement on Zinnia's face when she talked about the plan, Kashiwagi couldn't help but wonder:
Has she always had such a burning sense of justice?
She had been targeting Team Rocket for a while now. It seemed that without the heavy burden of "saving the world" on her shoulders, this Lorekeeper was really letting herself cut loose.
By that afternoon, Zinnia announced her departure.
With a heart racing like a Rapidash, she didn't plan on lingering in the village.
She had only returned to check on her grandmother. Finding that the Elder was still healthy and eating well, Zinnia saw no reason to stay.
As she put it: "If I don't get out and travel while Grandma is still around to mind the fort, I might not get another chance in the future."
She spoke as if it were a foregone conclusion that she was the next Elder in line.
Seeing Zinnia's brazenly confident expression, Kashiwagi felt a sudden urge to announce his candidacy for the next—or next-next—Elder position just to mess with her.
It was just a thought, though.
His base was in the Orre region; aiming for Dragon Elder would be a major detour on his path to the future.
Before leaving, Zinnia told Kashiwagi that the best time to contact her for the Lorekeeper Trial would be when he had six Gym Badges. If everything went smoothly, it wouldn't take long.
He agreed readily and gave her a quiet send-off.
...
In the days that followed, Kashiwagi's life consisted of two things: accepting endless thank-yous and gifts from returning Dragon Tamers, and offering a moment of silence for poor Boss Giovanni.
He was certain that after this wave of fury hit, even if it didn't dismantle Team Rocket entirely, the financial losses would be enough to give Giovanni insomnia—maybe even leave him crying into his pillow.
A middle-aged man works so hard to build an empire, only to have his blood pressure spiked by a massive deficit...
It was almost enough to make Kashiwagi laugh.
While he didn't hold a personal vendetta against Giovanni, seeing the bad guys suffer because of his actions provided a nice bit of moral satisfaction.
Stay strong, Boss, he thought mockingly.
With that, the little knot in his heart caused by Team Rocket was finally untied.
This positive energy translated directly to his Pokémon, leading to a breakthrough in the rhythmic coordination between Blissey and Mawile.
"Excellent! That was great!"
As the music faded, Kashiwagi clapped enthusiastically. "Break time! Everyone, take a breather!"
Blissey and Mawile were both panting heavily, but they looked at each other with triumphant smiles.
This was the first time they had completed the entire performance fluently. They both knew the hardest part was moving from zero to one; now that they'd cracked it, success would only come more frequently.
"Happy~"
"Maw-wile!"
Kashiwagi looked at Mawile and felt a sense of relief. It had been the right choice not to force Mega Evolution into the routine yet.
Even though he now possessed three Pokémon capable of Mega Evolving and the corresponding stones, they weren't all ready to pull it off.
Aggron could Mega Evolve primarily because their hearts were already in sync.
Mawile was a different story.
On the second day after receiving the Key Stone, Kashiwagi had tested it with Mawile. While the stones glowed when held together, the process of raising mutual empathy and releasing the "Heart Link" was far from smooth.
The bond simply wasn't deep enough yet.
The old man Aoyagi once said that the compatibility between a Trainer and a Pokémon stems from shared characteristics—personality, appearance, or habits.
Perhaps without realizing it, Kashiwagi and Aggron shared a core trait that had been magnified over time, leading to their resonance.
In other words, to achieve Mega Evolution with Mawile, he needed to find that common ground and nurture it.
That wasn't something that could be finished overnight.
So, despite the temptation of adding the "wow factor" of Mega Evolution to the performance, Kashiwagi stuck to the original plan.
He would finish the Fallarbor Contest first, then worry about Mega Evolution later.
However, he wouldn't stop practicing with Aggron. Since they had succeeded once, they needed to master it.
Aggron's current task was to handle the massive strain that the surge of energy placed on his mind and body. Once he could hold that power without pain, the "Steel Behemoth" would truly be complete.
As for Steelix... its empathy with Kashiwagi was even lower than Mawile's. They still had a long road ahead.
...
Amidst the excitement of the Key Stone, Kashiwagi didn't neglect his other Pokémon.
He still insisted on sending Hydreigon to the Dragon Den for training.
Despite the dragon's loud protests, he eventually complied—but not before making a demand.
He wanted a "Battle of Dignity" against Aggron, with the position of "Ace" on the line.
It was unexpected, yet made perfect sense.
Kashiwagi was surprised that Hydreigon coveted the title of "Ace."
To be honest, while he called Aggron his Ace, he consciously tried to treat every Pokémon as an equal.
To him, "Ace" was just a title, not a sign of favoritism.
But clearly, the team cared... He realized it wasn't just Hydreigon; even Blissey and Mawile seemed to have a bit of that competitive fire.
Sensing a healthy spark of competition, Kashiwagi agreed and Aggron nodded solemnly.
The battle began.
In the early stages, Hydreigon used his high-octane special attacks to suppress Aggron. He went all out, stacking damage and building a massive lead, looking like he might actually clinch a victory...
Unfortunately for the dragon, in its desperate rush for victory, he forgot about a very important move: Endeavor.
In the end, Aggron's superior grit and iron-willed endurance allowed him to overcome the young Hydreigon.
He stood tall, giving the youngster a stern lesson: don't let a little evolution go to your head; you've still got a long way to go!
Acting as the referee, Kashiwagi could only offer a moment of silent prayer for Hydreigon.
If you can't beat Aggron now, he thought, it's only going to get harder once he fully masters Mega Evolution.
The defeated Hydreigon slunk off to the Dragon Den, tail between his legs.
Later, Jinya mentioned that Hydreigon seemed to have gone a bit mad—he was constantly picking fights with the powerful elder dragons, desperately trying to soak up every bit of their combat experience.
Burning the midnight oil, are we?
Kashiwagi felt a wave of relief and pride.
...
But aside from the dragon's drama, the one who required his utmost attention was the Shiny Feebas.
Day after day, she had practiced Waterfall climbing. And finally, under the watchful eyes of Kashiwagi and Mawile, she successfully leaped over the most difficult and rewarding "hurdle" of her life.
A hurdle known as the Dragon's Gate Waterfall.
The spectating wild Magikarp had no idea how much blood, sweat, and scales this Shiny Feebas had poured into this climb.
If persistence is a talent, then Feebas was undoubtedly a genius.
Early on, she had been lured by the promise that "climbing the falls would likely trigger evolution." But ever since her moment of awakening, she hadn't uttered a single word about not wanting to evolve. In fact, she had put the very idea of evolution out of her mind.
She simply wanted to scale the Dragon's Gate.
She wanted to leave a vibrant, defiant mark on her own humble life.
She climbed to ensure she'd never have a day of regret.
She climbed to answer the expectations of her Trainer and her teammates.
She climbed to reward her own hard work and to say a final goodbye to her "do-nothing" past.
Climb!
The moment the Shiny Feebas broke the surface of the cresting water, she erupted in a brilliant light.
Kashiwagi couldn't tell if it was the glow of a move or a light radiating from within her soul.
It was so dazzling he could barely look, yet he refused to turn away for even a second. A breathtaking beauty unfolded alongside that silhouette, slicing through the spray as she surged against the current.
There are many kinds of beauty.
What the Shiny Feebas displayed was the soul-stirring beauty of a life refusing to bow to nature, charging forward with everything it had!
The spirit she represented and the power contained within that moment far surpassed any physical flaws.
Appearance?
Compared to this, it was a trivial, insignificant thing.
Perhaps people base their first impressions of beauty on looks, but as understanding deepens, that judgment shifts to something else entirely.
Something like—a noble soul.
A soul that never surrenders to fate, an indomitable spirit that screams its defiance to the world!
...
The Dragon's Gate Waterfall.
With an estimated height of over 35 meters, it was a "Heavenly Chasm" for most fish Pokémon—an impossible height, a wall at the edge of the world they could only look up at.
Between the bottom and the top lay two completely different realms.
But if anyone can turn the impossible into reality, it's a Pokémon!
A Pokémon that, if given your absolute and unwavering trust, will show you a miracle!
If he could, Kashiwagi wished time would freeze at the exact millisecond she cleared that last centimeter.
He wanted to savor the sight of the moment that made him so incredibly proud.
A thousand words of gentle comfort couldn't compare to the shared glory of this success.
What does the scenery look like from the top of the Dragon's Gate?
Heart swelling with pride, Kashiwagi and a deeply moved Mawile climbed the adjacent rock wall to reach the summit.
They stood beside the Shiny Feebas, who had turned back to look, and they shared the same view.
They stood high above, looking down at the countless Magikarp still staring up from below.
In this moment, the bullied, rejected Shiny Feebas of the past was gone.
Her heart had undergone a total transformation. Now, she only needed one tiny spark, one specific catalyst, to welcome her new self.
Feebas could feel it.
She realized her Trainer hadn't lied to her. Scaling the Dragon's Gate really did mean she was worthy of evolution. She had already completed half of her life's great leap.
The future... was right before her eyes!
She's so close!