Chapter 80: The Power of Bonds!!

"Mega... Evolution?"

Cynthia stared at those two familiar yet strange words, suddenly realizing something in that moment.

No wonder she'd felt a sense of déjà vu when seeing those two words just now.

Wasn't this exactly the name of that glass marble-like stone she'd obtained before?—"Mega Stone"?!

According to this game's description, this kind of item might be able to unleash incredible power in battle.

Could it be that this power could make a Pokémon undergo yet another evolution?

But such a thing... was impossible, right?!

As Cynthia's mind reeled with shock, the crystal in Norman's hand and the stone hanging around Kangaskhan's neck seemed to form a brilliant connection.

This connection grew wildly stronger over time, eventually enveloping Kangaskhan's entire body in dazzling rainbow light!

But unlike evolutionary light, this radiance was even more brilliant and magnificent, like a galaxy spanning the heavens.

The entire battlefield was shrouded in this ethereal, powerful, and profound light. The incredibly stirring music constantly stimulated the nerves of everyone witnessing this scene, making their blood boil!

Within the brilliant, radiant light, Kangaskhan's body suddenly began undergoing dramatic changes!

Its form became even more massive, muscles bulging like rock-covered hills, filled with explosive power.

Its originally gentle brown fur now stood on end, gleaming with metallic hardness, especially on its shoulders and back, forming more aggressive angles.

The most significant change was in its belly—that pouch was no longer a soft pocket, but had been torn and reshaped by violent energy, becoming like solid dark armor with dangerous golden light patterns flickering at the edges.

And that little Kangaskhan that had originally nestled in the pouch was now completely wrapped inside this enhanced pouch, with only a pair of eyes in sync with its mother's—gleaming with sharp golden light—visible from the pouch opening, radiating intimidating brilliance!!

At this moment, an indescribable heavy pressure exploded outward with it as the center!

It still appeared to be a Kangaskhan, yet was completely different.

Like it had truly undergone another evolution, completing a leap of life!

At this moment, looking at this brand-new Pokémon on the battlefield, the entire livestream fell silent. Everyone stared wide-eyed, their gazes fixed on the Pokémon, unable to look away.

Several seconds passed before a tsunami of chat messages erupted in the livestream!

[Holy crap, what is this thing?? Mega Evolution? Did the author make this up?]

[Is this the effect that stone our streamer has can produce? This is terrifying!]

[Why does this Kangaskhan feel so powerful after evolving again?]

[So cool, oh my god...]

...

The tide of chat messages completely flooded the livestream screen, everyone marveling at this Pokémon's impressive appearance and amazing presence.

And Cynthia, looking at this Pokémon before her, deeply furrowed her brow, feeling her heart surge with turbulent emotions.

She knew very clearly that this type of Pokémon had no evolutionary forms—from the time the baby Kangaskhan was in the pouch, it would gradually grow toward becoming an adult Kangaskhan.

This was a very typical Pokémon that didn't evolve to improve its strength and complete transformation...

Yet now this Kangaskhan had completed another evolution right before her eyes.

An evolution completely unrecorded in scientific research, defying all logic—an extra evolution!

This was no different from a miracle!

But now Cynthia's attention remained focused on this battle.

She had already discovered that with this special evolution, Kangaskhan's name had changed from the original "Kangaskhan" to "Mega Kangaskhan"!

And while its HP bar had recovered somewhat, it had only barely recovered to about one-third remaining.

Looking at her own side, she still had Ludicolo with a bit of HP left, Sceptile at full condition, and Bewear still on the field with both Attack and Defense raised one stage...

That meant even if this "Kangaskhan" had undergone this incredible evolution, she might not necessarily lose!

She took a deep breath and unhesitatingly gave the command.

"Bewear, finish it! Brick Break!"

"Roar!"

Kangaskhan's abnormal performance in battle clearly surprised Bewear as well.

At this moment, facing its trainer's command, it resolutely and unhesitatingly raised its claws.

Brown light gathered on its claws, preparing to attack again!

However, this time, the opposing Kangaskhan moved first!

Magnificent brown light suddenly blazed on its fists as it struck Bewear's face with amazing speed.

[Mega Kangaskhan used Power-Up Punch! Super effective!!]

Fortunately, at this moment, white light flashed across Bewear's body once again.

[Bewear's Fluffy ability activated—the damage it received was reduced!]

With that strike, Bewear's HP bar began rapidly falling. Even with damage reduction, this punch actually took away one-third of its HP!

Not only that, deep red light began surging around Mega Kangaskhan's body, suddenly boosting its already incredibly powerful presence.

[Mega Kangaskhan's Attack rose!]

...

Seeing this scene, Cynthia couldn't help but slightly furrow her brow.

Honestly, she couldn't quite understand why Norman had this Kangaskhan use this move.

Power-Up Punch was a Fighting-type move whose biggest feature was that while it was an attack move, using it would 100% raise the user's Attack stat.

Correspondingly, as a move that attacked while strengthening, its power wasn't high—it ranked among the lowest of all Fighting-type moves.

Yet even so, when that punch landed on Bewear, the damage it caused was quite massive!

You have to remember this was damage reduced by half from the Fluffy ability, plus with a one-stage Defense boost from Bulk Up.

This showed just how powerful Kangaskhan's base Attack really was—completely comparable to that earlier Slaking.

If it had used Giga Impact instead, or some other normal-power output move, Bewear would undoubtedly have no chance of withstanding it.

But Norman's current behavior... using such a low-power move yet leaving her Bewear with one-third HP—was he deliberately going easy?

Just as Cynthia was completely puzzled and thinking rapidly, a scene she never expected occurred.

From within Kangaskhan's pouch, the little Kangaskhan with golden pupils suddenly swung its fist!

Another Kangaskhan phantom suddenly materialized in the air, carrying terrifying might and perfectly replicating Mega Kangaskhan's previous punch toward Bewear!

A notification also popped up at this moment.

[Kangaskhan's "Parental Bond" ability activated!]

The phantom's strike crashed down on Bewear's body, actually taking away its remaining one-third HP.

The system's notification ruthlessly followed.

[Bewear fainted!]

Seeing this sudden turn of events, Cynthia froze completely in place.

Parental Bond??

What kind of ability was this???

Wasn't this Kangaskhan's ability Inner Focus?

Could it be that after this special evolution, even its ability had changed again??

With this thought, she quickly hovered her mouse over the game's notification panel, and information about that ability appeared before her.

[Ability: Parental Bond]

[Description: Pokémon with this ability, after using a move once, will use the same move again in the same turn with half power, and this additional move can also trigger any effects the move carries.]

This information wasn't complex—Cynthia could understand it at a glance.

But now she felt completely bewildered, her eyes wide.

Meanwhile, the chat in the livestream had exploded.

[Holy crap?? What kind of overpowered ability is this—can it move twice in one turn?]

[No wonder I was wondering why he'd use such a low-power move. Turns out using this move was already enough to take down Bewear.]

[What if he used Swords Dance? Wouldn't that boost Attack four stages in one turn???]

[Invincible, absolutely invincible. Who can beat this thing?]

[Looking at it this way, Norman really was holding back—he just didn't activate this Mega Evolution thing when Kangaskhan was at full HP... and didn't send out this Kangaskhan from the start, or it would've been over long ago.]

...

As the chat discussed intensely, Cynthia frowned and was forced to send out Ludicolo.

The only winning strategy she could think of now was using Ludicolo's speed advantage to inflict confusion on Kangaskhan, making it attack itself like that earlier Slaking, thus taking away its remaining HP.

But the next moment, as Ludicolo appeared and the new turn began, a scene that filled her with despair occurred.

Although Mega Kangaskhan's ability had changed after evolution and was no longer Inner Focus, five turns had now passed, and the Psychic Terrain covering the field had quietly dissipated at some point, meaning...

Kangaskhan's body transformed into a brown blur and disappeared from its original position. The next moment, it appeared directly in front of Ludicolo, swinging its fist and striking Ludicolo's body hard.

[Mega Kangaskhan used Quick Attack!]

This punch made Ludicolo's HP bar plummet rapidly.

Since its battle with Kirlia had already left its HP like a candle in the wind, it lost its ability to battle before Mega Kangaskhan's second attack could even trigger...

[Ludicolo fainted! The challenger has only one Pokémon left!]

The system's cold notification popped up again, reminding Cynthia she'd reached her final moment.

At the same time, Cynthia couldn't help but clench her fists and furrow her brow.

After countless schemes and calculations, after countless attempts, this was her closest approach to victory yet.

All her decisions could be described as perfect, and she'd fully utilized every Pokémon's moves and characteristics on her team.

Yet before this so-called "Mega Kangaskhan," all her efforts seemed so laughable.

—Was she going to fail again this time?

She looked at that Mega Kangaskhan and Norman standing behind it with arms crossed and an unreadable expression, instinctively wanting to click the button in the upper right corner and restart.

But just then, a golden notification suddenly appeared before her.

[Your Pokémon Sceptile wishes to volunteer for battle!]

Cynthia saw this notification and couldn't help but stare wide-eyed.

On screen, a red and white Poké Ball suddenly popped out, shaking violently before her.

Another notification followed.

[Will you respond to its expectations?]

This scene seemed familiar.

The confusion and disappointment that had just appeared in Cynthia's eyes instantly vanished, replaced by unwavering determination and resolve!

This moment was just like that moment—when even her own Pokémon hadn't chosen to give up, what reason did she have to refuse battle?

She took a deep breath, selected Sceptile's Poké Ball, and released it.

"Sceptile, it's just you and me again... So, I'm counting on you!"

Red light flashed, and Sceptile's form stood proudly on the field. Strictly speaking, this was its first official battle since evolving.

But at this moment, the chat in the livestream began discussing.

[Although Sceptile should be much stronger after evolving, I feel like this time it probably won't make much difference.]

[The bond between Cynthia and Sceptile is pretty touching, but this really seems unwinnable...]

[It's not just hard to win—it's impossible. After all, that Kangaskhan after this evolution has output comparable to or exceeding that earlier Slaking, and now with two Attack boosts from its ability, its damage is doubled. Probably just one Quick Attack would be too much for Sceptile.]

[Right, don't forget this thing still has that ability that lets it attack twice...]

...

Naturally, the chat was unanimously pessimistic about Sceptile's final appearance.

There was no helping it—this situation already looked like an inevitable dead end.

Unless Rotom was here and could be immune to the opponent's guaranteed first-strike Quick Attack... that might create a slim chance.

Unfortunately... what remained was Sceptile.

However, at this moment, Sceptile didn't know so many people in the chat weren't optimistic about it.

Facing such a powerful opponent, it simply followed Cynthia's command, fearlessly raising its head and roaring. Brilliant green light suddenly appeared on the blades of its arms, with a faint tendency to condense into a sphere before it.

This was exactly the Grass-type special attack move "Energy Ball" that it had mastered after evolution!

But the next moment, that Mega Kangaskhan radiating powerful presence moved first!

Its body again transformed into a lightning-like figure, instantly appearing before Sceptile.

Its massive form looked down at Sceptile like a king.

This forest monarch seemed utterly insignificant before it, ready to be easily trampled underfoot.

Brown light struck out with surging power!

[Mega Kangaskhan used Drain Punch!]

This time Kangaskhan's attack wasn't Quick Attack, but Drain Punch!

Also a Fighting-type move, it could convert half the damage dealt into HP, healing itself.

Yes, even without priority move bonuses, Sceptile's speed couldn't match this Kangaskhan at all.

Drain Punch crashed heavily into its body, scattering leaves all around it in the air. Terrible damage instantly exploded as Sceptile's HP bar crashed down, instantly bottoming out.

But this wasn't over—another identical phantom appeared with mighty force, striking Sceptile's body with another heavy punch!

[Mega Kangaskhan's Parental Bond ability activated!]

[Critical hit!]

Sceptile's figure flew backward like a broken kite.

"Sceptile!"

Cynthia couldn't help but cry out loudly.

At this moment, the chat fell completely silent.

Sceptile's defeat was too crushing—many couldn't bear to watch anymore.

But just then, Sceptile... stood up again!

A familiar golden notification suddenly appeared before Cynthia!

[Not wanting to worry its trainer, Sceptile forcibly endured the fatal attack!]

[Is this the bond between trainer and Pokémon?]

With this notification, Sceptile's plummeting HP bar froze at the final red dot.

However, the livestream viewers and Cynthia didn't feel inspired by this notification.

Because Mega Kangaskhan's "Drain Punch" had dealt massive damage, already restoring its HP from the previous one-third to a quite healthy level.

Even if Sceptile's "Overgrow" ability triggered, plus a critical hit...

With this Kangaskhan's durability that had only increased after its special evolution, there probably wasn't any possibility of defeating it!

Viewers in the livestream shook their heads at this scene.

[Too bad, this Sceptile is really stubborn to hold on like that.]

[It's just too weak... If it were Bewear that clutched, there might've been a slight chance.]

...

However, just as the chat discussed with regret.

A voice rang out in the livestream.

"Sceptile! You can do it!"

—This was Cynthia's voice!

She clenched her fists, entering an unprecedented state of seriousness.

Even though this was just a game, as a trainer, seeing her Pokémon endure the opponent's attack with everything it had for the sake of winning together with her...

Besides pride and emotion, she only regretted not being able to truly stand beside Sceptile and battle alongside it!

But at this moment, she still had something she could do.

That was to use her voice to accompany Sceptile to the very end!

Cynthia leaned close to the microphone, pressed the interaction key with all her strength, and shouted with everything she had!

"No matter what, no matter win or lose... it doesn't matter!"

"Because you're my best partner and my pride!"

"So..."

"Please, give it everything you've got! Sceptile!!!"

Cynthia's shout echoed around Sceptile's ears, lingering for a long time.

At this moment, it suddenly closed its eyes.

A humming sound, accompanied by a series of rapidly appearing notifications!!

[Sceptile seems to sense the connection between you and it!]

[Something seems to be... resonating between your souls?!]

A line of colorful text appeared.

[This appears to be...]

BOOM!!!!!

The next instant, an incomparable force suddenly burst forth from Sceptile's body with brilliant rainbow radiance!!!

[—Even without a Key Stone, the Mega Stone carried by Sceptile has been activated!!!]

[Because this is]

[The power of bonds between Pokémon and trainer!!!]