Therefore, even after capturing Mewtwo, Ash didn't plan to use it in official matches.
As I've said before, unless the opponent plays dirty, like sending out a Legendary Pokémon or something, he can't be blamed—although such situations should normally never occur.
Not to mention how rare it is to encounter a Legendary Pokémon, let alone capture one... would anyone really bring such a powerhouse to the League Conference just for an easy win? That's just playing around!
Seeing Ash maintain such a calm attitude, Lance and the others nodded silently. The world isn't short of Trainers who suddenly capture extremely powerful Pokémon and, in their excitement, forget themselves and lose all sense of humility.
They believe that the captured Pokémon is entirely their own power, but the consequences of such arrogance are often disastrous. Many talented Trainers have stumbled on this notion, yet Ash shows no signs of it, clearly indicating his resilience.
"Well, about Mewtwo, let's keep it that way. We'll keep it a secret for you. If the League asks about it, we'll say Mewtwo has already left, just... you know..." Bruno, usually so straightforward, seems a bit awkward, his large hands rubbing together.
"Could you tell us about MEGA Evolution?" Seeing the usually gruff Bruno looking embarrassed, Lorelei found it rather amusing. Since she was quite familiar with Ash, she candidly stated the purpose of their visit.
Having Professor Oak convey the message is different, even though he's already revealed one of their main objectives this time. But saying it personally shows sincerity.
Regarding the MEGA Evolution system, they were eager to succeed. If they could evolve their ace Pokémon, it would greatly enhance their life force, racial stats, and levels, possibly even glimpsing the level they've never reached before.
"No problem, since this will be revealed during the Quartz Conference anyway. If the Elites know about it first, they can gain some early advantage, and at least make Kanto stronger." Ash, being a true Kanto native, naturally hopes the Kanto League won't remain so weak.
The mid to lower-end new generation strength has Ash and Gary, who will grow quickly. As for high-end strength, Kanto's biggest flaw is not having a Champion, although Kanto's Elite Four are no pushovers, with power comparable to ordinary Champions.
Adding MEGA Evolution now is like giving wings to a tiger, and Kanto's top strength could potentially surpass other regions, greatly benefiting its development.
"Well said, Ash! I didn't expect someone your age to have such insight!" Bruno praised Ash excitedly as he readily agreed.
Granny Juzi tapped the ground with her cane, a peculiar smile on her wizened face: "Ash is right, our improvement means Kanto's improvement, but since two of us are from other regions, it's best not to tell them, which would strengthen neighboring regions."
Upon hearing this, Bruno and Lance turned pale. Wasn't this remark pointing directly at them? Making distinctions and treating people differently!
"Hey, hey, hey! That's not right. Although we are the Elite and Champion of Johto, we are also the Elite of Kanto!" Bruno quickly explained, fearing that without access to MEGA Evolution information sources, they would be left despairing.
The Kanto Elite Four are roughly at the same level, but if we had to point out the weakest in terms of raw power, it would be him.
Now, without access to the MEGA Evolution system, the gap between them would widen further, and he feared he might be dropped from the Kanto Elite Four!
"Hehe, alright, Granny Juzi is just joking with you. Didn't you notice?" Lorelei laughed lightly, covering her mouth.
"Hehe... not a funny joke," Bruno said, twitching at the overly harsh joke, unable to understand it at all.
"I'll just say it directly then, the so-called MEGA Evolution is..." Ash casually pulled up a chair and began to explain everything about MEGA Evolution.
Mewtwo stood quietly behind Ash, having just heard Ash mention MEGA Evolution earlier today. However, this time Ash's explanation was much more detailed, from the appearance of the Key Stones to examples of various MEGA Evolution Stones.
Misty and Brock also pulled up chairs behind Ash, listening quietly. Gary silently appeared at the doorway, while Pikachu jumped from Ash's shoulder onto a nearby table. The shoulder was too narrow; lying on the table was more comfortable.
At that moment, only Ash's voice could be heard at Oak's Research Institute. Everyone, whether they knew about MEGA Evolution or not, was highly interested in what Ash had to say.
This was the first time Ash fully revealed the origins of MEGA Evolution and what he had discovered about its types, things that even Professor Oak had difficulty investigating.
Ash explained that he used Aura Power to probe Pokémon's genetic chains to determine if they had the potential for MEGA Evolution.
After half an hour of explanation from Ash, Agatha and Lance were all smiles, but Lorelei and Bruno had somewhat troubled expressions.
The ace Pokémon of the Elite Four are Gengar, Dragonite, Machamp, and Lapras. However, only Dragonite and Gengar have the potential for MEGA Evolution; Machamp and Lapras do not!!
MEGA Evolution enhances Pokémon in many ways, but more importantly for them, it allows Pokémon at the Champion Peak Level to ascend further. While it remains uncertain if they can reach the Divine Domain Realm, it is currently the method with the highest success rate.
Bruno's and Lorelei's ace Pokémon couldn't utilize MEGA Evolution, although they had other Pokémon to use, but it couldn't compare to evolving their ace Pokémon.
With Lance and Agatha having Pokémon that could MEGA Evolve, if they truly achieved evolution and broke through to Divine Domain Level, the gap between them would become unbridgeable.
Lorelei wouldn't be able to stop Lance from becoming the Kanto Champion.
However, achieving MEGA Evolution is not merely about potential; Key Stones and Evolution Stones are needed, and even their shadows are nowhere to be found, especially for the Quasi-God Evolution Stone, which is particularly hard to find.
So, despite Lance and Agatha having some hope, achieving evolution in a short time seems impossible.
Still, having hope is better than none, unlike Lorelei and Bruno, who have no chances at all.
"Hahaha! Wonderful! So it's heavenly help for me! If I can find Dragonite's MEGA Evolution Stone, even Leon won't scare me now!" Lance, usually calm, even burst into laughter, darkening Lorelei's mood further.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, whether you can find the Quasi-God Evolution Stone or not. Just the types of Evolution Stones Ash mentioned are in the dozens, and their sources are unknown. Just finding the Key Stone is another matter. You want to battle Leon? Try beating me first." Lorelei retorted.
Lance: ...
She's in a bad mood, such cutting words!
Although, after jumping up like this in front of Lorelei, if she hadn't retorted, it would be odd.
And those words were like critical hits!
Even if his Dragonite could MEGA Evolve, the whereabouts of the Key Stones and MEGA Evolution Stones remained a huge hurdle. The only good news was that only a few people knew about MEGA Evolution so far. Once Ash demonstrated MEGA Evolution in the Quartz Conference, MEGA Evolution Stones and Key Stones would be frantically sought after worldwide!
At that time, Dragonite's MEGA Evolution Stone might appear amidst the masses searching for it. If the discoverer chooses to sell it, great; if not, it would be as if the world lost one Dragonite MEGA Evolution Stone!
Lance couldn't afford to gamble on such a possibility.
Thus, he had to exhaust every effort to find Dragonite's MEGA Evolution Stone before the Quartz Conference, as Key Stones should be relatively easier to locate.