Above the vast ocean, dark clouds pressed down like a city, completely obscuring the sky. Thick, impenetrable black clouds were interspersed with fleeting flashes of lightning, followed by deep, terrifying rumbles of thunder.
Not long after, as if receiving a signal, a world-shaking peal of thunder heralded a torrential downpour that cascaded onto the equally turbulent sea.
Layer upon layer of waves rolled back and forth, each one building into a towering wall of water. As each giant wave reached its peak, it burst into a cluster of snow-white foam in mid-air.
Amidst this furious seascape, an agile Pokémon was flying, maintaining its altitude perfectly. Had it been a little lower, it could have surfed the waves, experiencing what it truly meant to be a master of the tides. Had it been a little higher, it could have soared alongside the lightning in the sky, transforming into a new generation's god of thunder.
This Pokémon had a very imposing appearance.
Its two wings were twisted and fused together, forming a single, massive crescent-shaped wing. Combined with the wing's color, it resembled a curved, icy blood moon.
Its head, neck, and torso were slender, its limbs were not long, and its tail was also very thin and elongated. Its body structure clearly indicated that it was designed for a streamlined form, allowing it to fly even faster.
On the upper sides of its head were a pair of very large triangular wings, with another pair extending forward to its nostrils in the middle, and the lowest pair sloping downwards.
The underside of this Pokémon's jaw and neck were also blood-red, giving it an incredibly dominant look, like an arrow shooting forward without hesitation.
Its abdomen was protected by a vest-like shell, guarding its softest part and leaving it with no obvious weak points.
It tucked its forelegs into the gaps of its shell to achieve even greater speed, this being its fastest flying state.
Upon closer inspection, one would notice a figure standing upright on its back, an dark red cape billowing wildly in the howling wind.
Neither the strong winds from its rapid flight, nor the large raindrops falling from the sky, nor the spray from the waves below, seemed to affect him in the slightest.
Wind, rain, and seawater alike were all blocked by an invisible barrier about ten centimeters in front of him.
The man's expression was also somewhat grim; his rather handsome face showed no trace of a smile.
He lowered his head and took out a communicator from his pocket, which displayed a considerable amount of text.
"Although I prepared early, for it to happen so quickly is still quite sudden. Is this a chain reaction caused by my intervention?" the young man muttered to himself.
If one focused on the information displayed on his communicator screen, the first two lines would reveal the young man's name.
Aoki!
That's right, he was Aoki, who had emerged from the Dragon's Den. And the Pokémon he was currently riding was none other than the recently evolved Salamence!
Or rather, Mega Salamence!
Its cold, curved wings, like a blood moon, were the best proof of its identity. No wonder Salamence also had another name: Blood-Winged Dragon!
It was a very fitting name.
Inside the Dragon's Den, after Aoki brought out the Mega Stone and Key Stone, Salamence Mega Evolved without any issues.
Carrying Aoki, it burst out of the Den at its fastest speed, only to see the turbulent sea and oppressive dark clouds.
A suffocating atmosphere permeated the air.
Fortunately, although Salamence's level wasn't high, its flying speed was incredibly fast, in no way inferior to Aoki's usual private jet.
After Mega Evolving, Salamence's ability transforms into Aerilate.
Aerilate is an incredibly powerful and special ability, one that can be said to represent Salamence's obsession with the sky during its Bagon and Shelgon stages.
As far as Aoki knew, it was an ability only possessed by Mega Salamence and Mega Pinsir.
In battle, it converts Normal-type moves into Flying-type moves and also increases their power.
This truly maximizes Salamence's flying capabilities.
This means that when Salamence uses powerful Normal-type moves, they will transform into Flying-type moves, thus also receiving the Same-Type Attack Bonus (STAB), and on top of that, Aerilate further boosts the power of these moves!
This is truly astonishing.
For example, powerful Normal-type moves like Double-Edge and Hyper Beam, when used by Mega Salamence, become Flying-type moves.
Taking Double-Edge as an example, in the official Alliance definition, this move has a base power of 120. When converted to Flying-type, Salamence's STAB will provide approximately a 50% increase, making it 180.
Then, adding the roughly 20% boost from Aerilate—the exact percentage depends on the Pokémon's mastery of the ability—the move's power becomes 216, which is incredibly terrifying, nearly doubling its original power.
In other words, when Mega Salamence uses Normal-type moves, their power is essentially doubled, making them even more powerful than its original Flying-type moves.
And this is without any item assistance for Salamence. Currently, Salamence is carrying a fragment of the Sky Plate, one of the top-tier Flying-type treasures in the Pokémon world.
Although it's not the complete Sky Plate, it's still an incredibly potent boosting item. Aoki couldn't estimate how much its power would increase then.
Furthermore, Salamence also needs some time to familiarize itself with the Sky Plate fragment.
But even so, Mega Salamence's offensive capabilities could already be somewhat predicted.
Besides that, Aerilate also has a significant effect outside of battle.
For instance, right now, Mega Salamence's incredible speed while flying at full power is largely due to Aerilate.
Of course, the Sky Plate fragment also helps, making Salamence feel as if the entire sky is its domain, its territory.
With a flap of its wings, its speed reached its absolute peak.
After Salamence completed its Mega Evolution, Aoki's joy gradually subsided.
When he emerged from the Dragon's Den, although he tried his best, the situation was still very urgent.
The communicator he had just pulled out and looked at displayed the reason for his anxiety.
Team Magma and Team Aqua had truly reappeared!
Although it wasn't as grand an appearance as last time, this time they were even more difficult to deal with because they appeared only in small groups, making them more mobile, and each individual was very strong.
They were extremely difficult to combat.
And for some unknown reason, Team Magma and Team Aqua once again moved almost simultaneously.