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Late September.
The Kalos region, having experienced three major events in succession, finally quieted down for a moment.
Originally, Aiden's victory over the two Battle Legends and his dominant championship win alongside Cynthia should have generated quite a bit of discussion online.
But in the face of the subsequent Hoopa Unbound crisis and the great crisis of the two Kalos deities' awakenings, it obviously fell a bit short.
Fortunately, the crisis didn't cause any serious consequences. The heavily damaged Lumiose City had also begun its reconstruction, and everything was getting back on track.
However, speaking of subsequent impacts—
There were actually some.
First was the famous Kalos philanthropist, Mr. Lysandre. He was accused of conspiring to activate the Ultimate Weapon, and relevant evidence was found in the basement of Lysandre Café.
—The intel came from a certain person who wished to remain anonymous. (*cough cough* Aiden)
Once this was announced, the entire Kalos region was stunned.
After all, that was something that almost destroyed the Kalos region three thousand years ago. Although no one had seen it, it sounded terrifying just hearing about it—
Regarding this, Lysandre has not yet made any public statement.
As for another minor but not insignificant matter, it naturally concerned the Kalos region's Professor Sycamore.
This young professor, who had always been teased for "academic misconduct," recently suddenly announced that some of the papers he previously published were controversial, and that more mechanisms regarding Mega Evolution needed further confirmation.
Previously, everyone was just memeing; who would have thought that joking around would actually become reality?
[When Professor Sycamore found out Teacher Azure's Mewtwo could Mega Evolve on its own, did he feel like the sky was falling?]
[And Salamence too, it can even maintain Mega Evolution as a norm, even more ridiculous than Mewtwo!]
[Also, do these two actually have Mega Stones? I feel like I've never seen them before—]
[Teacher Azure: Thought you knew the truth about Mega Evolution? Let me show you a whole new world!]
[Teacher Azure's criminal evidence +1, how can there be such a bad person in the world!]
Memeing online was one thing, but everyone could actually understand.
After all, researching Mega Evolution really wasn't that easy. Overturning previous conclusions out of rigorous consideration was certainly the right thing to do.
It's just that no one knew when they would see Professor Sycamore's new paper next—
However, the matters of these two brothers in misery didn't actually make much of a splash online.
Because on the last day of September, PokeTV's sole top streamer, Teacher Azure, finally released a new video.
The video title was:
Pokémon Legends: XYZ!
Once the video was released, it immediately firmly occupied the number one spot on the trending list, directly squeezing out all other content.
[Pokémon Legends × Teacher Azure Legends √]
[Teacher Azure takes one trip to the Kalos region and directly gathers material for three or four videos; going to other regions for material is definitely the right move!]
[The only one on the entire internet who dares to shove a camera in a Legendary Pokémon's face, Teacher Azure is just too powerful!]
[Only Teacher Azure dares to find material like this. But combining all three Kalos Legendaries into one video makes me feel like there's going to be another hiatus for a while—]
[Nooo! What are we going to binge on if Teacher Azure doesn't post videos?]
At the beginning of the video, countless bullet screens were scrolling wildly.
In the previous videos, Teacher Azure had fully proven his strength and the authenticity of his intel; now, there probably wasn't anyone left who doubted the credibility of his videos.
After all, he could actually pull in the "protagonists" of his videos, those once-in-a-millennium Legendary Pokémon, to make a cameo. If there were discrepancies between his video content and the mythological legends of various regions, then it must be that the legends were passed down incorrectly, not that he was wrong!
However, this time, Teacher Azure's iconic opening "Networking Display" segment did not appear.
Replacing it was a mural that looked extremely ancient.
"The story begins three thousand years ago—"
After the video started playing, Aiden drew out his voice, seemingly wanting to lead the audience back three thousand years to witness the major events that had happened.
"Three thousand years ago, a war broke out between the Kalos region and the Galar region."
"That war left the Kalos region devastated, and even the Pokémon friend of the then-King AZ, Floette, tragically lost her life in that war."
"Her passing drove the already lonely AZ into complete madness. Being a talented man, he quickly developed the 'Ultimate Weapon'."
"Its power could make the aggressors pay a heavy price, but at the same time, it would easily destroy more than half of the Kalos region."
[??? Kalos and Galar fought a war?]
[Even though it was three thousand years ago— this matter indeed has been passed down, it's just that very few people know about it now.]
[Don't think that just because we live in a peaceful world now, there were no wars in the past. Thousands of years ago, there were actually quite a few conflicts between us humans and 'magical beasts'.]
[True, even now there are some Kalos and Galar people who haven't entirely let go of their hatred.]
[So the Ultimate Weapon Mr. Lysandre was trying to activate was that same thing that ended the war three thousand years ago?]
The bullet screen discussions about the "Ultimate Weapon" didn't reach any conclusion.
A few seconds later, Aiden's voice came from the video again.
"King AZ was indeed a genius; he profoundly realized that whether human or magical beast, power had insurmountable limits."
"So, he turned his gaze to the two Legendary Pokémon of the Kalos region."
"Yveltal, known as the God of Death—the Dark Aura stirred up by its blood-red wings could turn any living thing to stone and plunder the life energy within them."
"And Xerneas, the God of Life, which absorbed natural energy and converted it into a Fairy Aura, selflessly gifted vigorous life energy to living beings."
The scene changed, and photos of the two deities taken by the Rotom Phone appeared in the video.
Although the photos couldn't directly display the auras they emitted, just seeing the powerful energy erupting when the two Legendaries used their moves was enough to corroborate Aiden's statement.
"As long as these two Legendary Pokémon with opposing abilities provided energy, the Ultimate Weapon could release two completely different powers."
"And once he obtained the power of the two deities, whether to grant life death or immortality was entirely up to the king's whim."
"Under the intervention of this mighty power, the war between Kalos and Galar thus came to an end."
[—Why do I feel like King AZ did a good thing?]
[Defeating the aggressors and protecting the region's safety, if you look at it from this angle, it seems like there's really nothing wrong.]
[But Kalos people should all know what happened next, right.]
[Sigh—]
No one in the bullet screens spoiled it, or perhaps hadn't had time to spoil it yet, before Aiden spoke up again, spilling all of King AZ's deeds.
"His close friend Floette was dead, and King AZ no longer had the heart to distinguish right from wrong."
"He could not forgive this stupid war, so he decided to punish those who had hurt his beloved Pokémon, but this power was not something he could control."
"To resurrect Floette, a massive amount of life energy was needed first."
"Therefore, AZ used Yveltal's power to indiscriminately destroy both sides of the war with the Ultimate Weapon, directly leading to the devastation of the Kalos region and the near-collapse of the ecological order."
"And he finally achieved his goal, successfully resurrecting his Floette using the absorbed life energy."
"The resurrected Floette became the 'Eternal Flower,' gaining immortality alongside King AZ."
"King AZ's goal was achieved."
Speaking of this, even Aiden couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
"It's just a pity that when the Eternal Flower realized her resurrection was accompanied by the deaths of countless humans and Pokémon, she could not forgive her former closest friend."
"So she left King AZ."
"Having lost his close friend once again, AZ was completely disheartened. After stepping down from the throne, he wandered everywhere, trying to use his own story to warn future generations not to repeat his mistakes."
The story from three thousand years ago came to an abrupt end, and the audience could only shake their heads helplessly.
[So, Mr. Lysandre and Team Flare, which he funded, should have known all this, yet still chose to secretly use the Ultimate Weapon?]
[Extreme ideas really don't work; almost all villain organizations are the same—]
[King AZ made a mistake; eternal life is more like atonement for him. I wonder if he's still alive now.]
[Even if we really met him, we wouldn't know what a king from 3000 years ago looks like, right?]
The video didn't end here, and soon Aiden's voice came drifting back.
"Let's pull our perspective back to the Legendary Pokémon."
"When there are no external factors interfering, Xerneas and Yveltal have long formed a tacit understanding."
"Every thousand years, Yveltal, whose energy is depleted, will awaken first, frantically plundering the life energy of other creatures to replenish its consumed stamina."
"And Xerneas will also awaken at the same time, transferring the life energy it has absorbed from nature over the millennium to Yveltal, causing it to fall back into a thousand-year slumber."
"As for the excess life energy, it is transferred into Kalos's land, forming a special kind of energy."
"People call it Infinity Energy."
"That's right, the product of this power is precisely the Mega Evolution phenomenon we are so familiar with today."
[Huh?]
[Didn't Teacher Azure say before that Mega Evolution was brought by meteorites? How did it become generated by Kalos leylines now?]
[Mega Rayquaza: Then what did I eat?]
The question mark storm in the bullet screens was clearly anticipated by Aiden in advance.
"At this time, there will definitely be some friends who want to ask—"
"Teacher Azure, Teacher Azure, didn't you say before that Mega Stones were formed by meteorites in the Hoenn region?"
"Friends who ask this question can go back and review my explanation!"
After teasing a couple of sentences, Aiden continued to explain.
"The Primal Reversion forms of Groudon and Kyogre were actually caused by the massive energy released when meteorites impacted the leylines, which allowed them to regain the immense power they had at the dawn of creation."
"And the principle of Mega Stones is the same. This energy doesn't only exist in the Hoenn region; theoretically, the same power is buried underground in every region."
"Even the '∞ Energy' technology utilizing Infinity Energy used by the Devon Corporation actually has a considerable portion derived from the Ultimate Weapon."
"It's just that in Alola, Galar, and Paldea, this Infinity Energy was converted by other deities into new forms of energy."
"As for the meteorite that allows Rayquaza to Mega Evolve—"
"A meteorite is also a type of stone, right? The energy contained within it has been precipitating in the universe for who knows how long; essentially, it is the same energy."
[—Seems like there's nothing wrong with that?]
[It's actually quite reasonable, and with Teacher Azure saying it, the credibility is even higher.]
[Professor Sycamore after hearing this will probably have to destroy his old papers overnight again.]
[Teacher Azure: No one understands Mega Evolution better than me!]
[Wait— does that mean as long as you master Infinity Energy, you can hand-craft more Mega Stones?]
Naturally, Aiden was unaware of the bullet screen's associations.
"Alright, now let's return to the main topic."
"The video is already more than halfway over, and the 'Z' in 'XYZ' hasn't even appeared yet."
The scene shifted, and a black-and-green steel behemoth suddenly appeared on the screen.
"Just like in other regions, our Creator, Lord Arceus, also left a balance mechanism in the Kalos region."
"The Z God, Zygarde, as the guardian of the ecosystem, usually exists in the form of Zygarde Cells distributed in every corner of Kalos."
"But once they sense the ecological balance being broken, they will quickly aggregate, using the power of Cell Condensation to temporarily gain their peak strength, strangling a crisis in its infancy."
"Most of the time, its opponent is Yveltal."
"In this way, the three deities formed a delicate balance, and the Kalos region therefore hardly experienced any crises."
"As for their last collective awakening, it happened exactly a few days ago."
"Teacher Azure had the honor of witnessing their battle and, as a war correspondent, recorded this precious content~"
The final part of the video was footage recorded by the Rotom Phone.
From the resurrection of Xerneas, to Yveltal being dragged back to Allearth Forest by Hoopa with a massive case of waking rage, and the "magical artillery duel" between them.
And what left the deepest impression on the bullet screens was naturally the "Power Herb bomb" thrown by Aiden.
[Teacher Azure came prepared; can you even predict what moves a Legendary Pokémon is going to use!]
[No seriously, is this reasonable? Teacher Azure, are you sure you're not hacking?]
[Yveltal: Why does my back feel a bit chilly, is winter coming—]
With Aiden's intervention, the battle fell into a completely one-sided situation.
Not long after, Yveltal was beaten back step by step, and was even directly elbowed to the ground by Xerneas at the end, unable to get back up.
What happened next was also within the expectations of the bullet screens.
Up until the appearance of King AZ, and his reunion with the "Eternal Flower"—
Aiden did not add a single commentary. After playing the final shot of the man and the flower leaving, he only left a few meaningful words.
"If immense power is not restrained, it will only lead to bad endings that everyone regrets."
"Fortunately, King AZ woke up in time. The Mega Stones and Infinity Energy emerging in Kalos today also seem to be connected to the Ultimate Weapon buried underground."
"Therefore, when using this power, it's best to hold a sense of awe for it~"
The video came to an abrupt end here.
[Now I understand why Teacher Azure had to bring up King AZ—]
[To be honest, this should be considered a good ending, right!]
[Didn't expect the homeless guy I've seen many times in Lumiose City to be a king. If I'd known, I would have asked for his autograph—]
[A reunion spanning three thousand years, is Teacher Azure also working part-time as a dream fulfiller?]
[A very Kalos-style romantic ending, tearing up!]
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