Early in the morning, waking up well before dawn, Gu Yuan did not go to train. Instead, he waited with an unusual amount of patience.
It was still early for the Regional Battle Tournament, so the only thing that could make Gu Yuan wait like this was the Mega Stones.
With sufficient exchange credits plus a year's worth of Champion-level quota, Gu Yuan had secured three Mega Stones for free.
The only drawback was that it required Gu Yuan to endure an assassination attempt and manage not to die—a process he had long since grown accustomed to.
During his anxious wait, a knock sounded at the door. Familiar psychic fluctuations revealed the visitor's identity; it was Dar, the man Gu Yuan had been waiting for so eagerly.
"Alright, alright, here they are."
Upon opening the door and seeing Gu Yuan's burning gaze, Dar immediately gave up any thought of teasing him. He directly handed the Mega Stones and the Key Stone to Gu Yuan.
Gazing at the stones in his hand, Gu Yuan's excitement grew. He calmly inspected each one.
First was the Gengarite given to him by Elite Agatha, which possessed a deep purplish-red hue.
Next was the Alakazite, which was a brownish-yellow color.
Finally, there were the two stones for Charizard. First was the Charizardite X, blue and black in color, which allowed Charizard to evolve into Mega Charizard X, gaining the Fire and Dragon types.
Second was the Charizardite Y, red and yellow in color. When Charizard Mega Evolved into Mega Charizard Y, its typing remained the same as its base form.
"Agatha must have told you how to perform Mega Evolution. The training rooms here have excellent privacy, so you can go give it a try."
"First, familiarize yourself with Mega Evolution so you can use it proficiently. Second, accurately grasp the power after the evolution to avoid any miscalculations."
"Yes, I understand!"
After putting away the Mega Stones and Key Stone, Gu Yuan regained his composure.
Before receiving them, he might have worried about potential accidents. But now that they were in his hands, he naturally had no further misgivings or concerns.
He headed straight to the hotel's training room and started with Charizard.
"Come, Charizard! Let us witness the power of Mega Evolution!"
After giving the Charizardite X to Charizard, Gu Yuan equipped his Key Stone.
To trigger the power of Mega Evolution, the bond between the trainer and the Pokémon must reach a certain level. With Telepathy, this hurdle was significantly less stressful for Gu Yuan.
"Let's go, Charizard! Mega Evolve!"
As Gu Yuan's voice echoed in Charizard's mind, the Pokémon felt a surge of power emanating from the Mega Stone it wore.
In the next moment, this power burst through the constraints of the Mega Stone, colliding with the power of the Key Stone and enveloping Charizard.
"Roar!"
A deafening dragon's cry rang out, and Mega Charizard X appeared before Gu Yuan's eyes.
After Mega Evolving, Mega Charizard X's limbs remained similar to its original form, but its primary skin color changed to a greyish-black, while the area from its lower jaw to the tip of its tail became sky blue.
Blue claw-like protrusions grew from the front and back of each shoulder, and fin-like spikes emerged from the back of its neck.
The inner side of its wings turned deep blue, the lower edges split into several curved points, and the protrusions on the wings became sharp claws.
The horns on its head turned blue and sharp, and two smaller black horns grew. Its snout became slightly shorter, and the flames on its body turned blue due to the rising temperature.
Unlike Mega Charizard Y, which excelled in Special Attack, Mega Charizard X boasted excellent stats in both Attack and Special Attack, though its Special Defense was slightly inferior to the Y form.
Simultaneously, its Ability changed from Blaze to Tough Claws, increasing the power of contact moves by 30%.
In terms of strength, even with the boost from Mega Evolution, Mega Charizard X still couldn't break through the barrier of the Elite Rank. It could only be described as infinitely close, yet unable to pierce that final membrane.
Gu Yuan wasn't in a hurry; he planned to continue strengthening Charizard's base stats so that Mega Evolution would provide an even greater boost. Furthermore, this was Charizard's first experience with the form; once it adapted, there was no telling if it could take that step further.
After having Charizard revert from its Mega state, Gu Yuan had it evolve into Mega Charizard Y.
Mega Charizard Y's body and flame colors were identical to its original form, but the cream-colored underside started from the lower jaw. A third horn grew between the original two on its head, becoming longer than the other two.
Its neck and snout became shorter, while its limbs, tail, and wings became longer.
Small wings grew on its wrists, the edges of its main wings became more irregular, and three small spikes grew at the end of its tail with a long spike on its back.
Additionally, the flame on its tail burned more fiercely, much like its blazing fighting spirit.
Its typing did not change, but its Ability became Drought. When Mega Charizard Y appeared, the weather turned into harsh sunlight.
Without pausing, Gu Yuan began testing the Mega Evolved power of Alakazam and Gengar.
First was Alakazam. Upon evolving into Mega Alakazam, the armor on its body turned into a purple robe.
A red crystal appeared in the center of its forehead, a sharp horn grew on its head, and its long yellow mustache turned into a massive, pale white beard.
Its two feet tucked together as it used its psychic powers to float in the air. The number of spoons increased to five, which were no longer held in its hands but floated in the air via psychic power, making it look like a mysterious mage.
In terms of strength, Mega Alakazam also made a massive leap, surpassing Sylveon to become second only to Charizard, though it couldn't maintain the form for long.
Its Ability became Trace, allowing it to copy the abilities of other Pokémon, making its offensive methods much more flexible.
Finally, there was Gengar. Mega Gengar had spikes all over its body, with the lower half being purplish-red.
Spikes grew from its originally pointed tail, and a yellow, coin-like object with a hole in the center appeared on its forehead.
Mega Gengar's mouth became enormous, with a long tongue lolling out. The interior of its mouth was a mystery, and its arms were much smaller compared to its gaping maw.
Due to the evolution, Mega Gengar gained the ability to connect to other dimensions, even hiding its lower body within a different dimension to strike at any moment.
Its Ability became Shadow Tag, preventing the opponent from fleeing or being switched out, while also providing a certain degree of immobilization.
In terms of strength, Mega Gengar was only a hair's breadth away from the Leader Rank.
And this was the power Gu Yuan possessed after obtaining Mega Evolution!