Just as Garchomp's gaping jaws were about to clamp down on Zeraora, Zeraora stepped on its head and launched itself into the sky.
In that instant—
A burst of white light enveloped Zeraora's body!
In the audience, the more knowledgeable spectators all leapt to their feet in shock.
"Is that... evolution?!"
"You've got to be kidding! Zeraora is already the final evolved form of its species!"
"Exactly! Even for rare Pokémon, this has been fully confirmed. How could it possibly evolve further?!"
…
Meanwhile, in a house in Emerald City...
"Evolution? Zeraora can evolve again?"
Tilting her little head, Anna said in a dazed and innocent voice.
"Of course not. Once a Pokémon is confirmed as a final evolution, it can't evolve any further. That's been an ironclad rule since the beginning!"
Shaking her head, Serene, who had rushed over from the Psychic Gym, answered without hesitation.
"Maybe it's some kind of move?"
Wendy said uncertainly, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.
But that white light was unmistakably the kind that only appears during evolution!
In an instant, everyone in the room fell into confusion and doubt.
What?
You're asking about Dyson?
He went to guard the door.
Because of Nathan's strategy, not only a large number of people on the Internet have smeared the studio, but there are also some people in real life who are eager to see the world in chaos.
Fearing it might be the work of a dark organization, Serene had practically moved in here to stay.
She had little choice.
Maybe she had initially wanted to refuse, but the studio offered too much money.
After all, most of their funds came from the Mist family, and the studio had only just begun turning a profit.
As for why they were able to watch the match on TV—it wasn't a broadcast channel.
It was a live-stream projection.
Serene had even specially hired professional paparazzi to livestream the event.
…
Back at the battle arena in the Magic City Regional Tournament—
The white light around Zeraora had already faded, but its form had changed slightly.
The overall structure was still recognizable, with golden fur, but it had shifted toward a more platinum-white tone, reminiscent of a Super Saiyan.
Zeraora now sported a wild, untamed hairstyle, and black lightning markings ran down its calves and forearms.
Blue and white lightning strikes Zeraora from time to time. In his previous life, he would probably have been sued for copyright infringement!
Yet the most eye-catching change was Zeraora's claws.
Its cat-like paws had transformed, looking almost like they were covered in armor.
The dominant color was white, with blue claws that no longer resembled feline claws at all.
To Nathan, they resembled the armored claws he had once seen in High School DxD back in his previous life.
Without a doubt—
Under Zeraora's deep thirst for strength, its most potent weapons had seen the greatest enhancement through this bond evolution!
However, since the source of its new power came from Raikou, this transformation bordered on a species mutation.
Of course, that wasn't the main point.
The real highlight was—
After landing, Zeraora clenched its newly armored claws.
An overwhelming sensation of endless power surged up from deep within its body!
Even Nathan, who was synchronizing with Zeraora, felt the same swelling sense of strength, as if he could stomp even Arceus's alpaca form into submission!
If anyone had looked closely at Nathan, they would have seen that after Zeraora's bond evolution, his eyes had also changed—
They had turned a brilliant, dignified gold, with vertical pupils like a cat's.
Although there were no powers like Sharingan or giant robots hidden within, these eyes were a symbol—
Just like the key and the Mega Stone—
They marked the joint evolution of Nathan and Zeraora!
…
"So bright... Why? Why is the thing I've longed for appearing on you instead?"
Moose muttered in disbelief, staring blankly at the scene before him.
No one knew that because of the strict limits of combination techniques, the Dark Spirit Organization had long sought another path—
A way to counter the League's hopes—
By forcing evolution again after a Pokémon's final form!
But without Mega Evolution, the Dark Spirit Organization had to rely purely on scientific methods, wasting vast resources in the process.
Moose and Garchomp were among their experimental subjects—
And among the few nearly successful ones!
Yet after enduring constant inhuman torture that twisted their very souls, they had still failed to truly succeed.
And now...
Moose was witnessing it unfold before his very eyes—
Evolution, bond, friendship...
Far from bringing salvation, the sight burned his already distorted soul with savage cruelty.
Why?! Why him?!
A surge of jealousy tore through Moose's broken spirit, driving him to roar in blind rage:
"Garchomp! Kill that Pokémon! Tear it to shreds for me!!"
Before anyone could react, Moose's eyes began flashing an ominous crimson light—
Very similar to when Nathan was forcibly bound by the black crystal pendant earlier, but now flickering intermittently, exposing its counterfeit nature.
Even so, despite being fake, dark smoke still began pouring from Garchomp's body!
"Graaaarrrgh!!"
With a thunderous roar, the berserk Garchomp lost all reason, becoming a mindless beast.
Its thick dragon blood was fully ignited, and its bodily potential completely overdrawn!
"Zeraora, don't dodge. Block it head-on!"
Nathan's voice rang out simultaneously across the arena and directly within Zeraora's heart.
This was a far more perfect synchronization than before!
"Zoar!!"
Hearing Nathan's voice, Zeraora extended its right claw without even the slightest intention to dodge.
Seeing this, Moose's crimson eyes flashed even more violently, his face twisting in hatred and madness.
Correspondingly, Garchomp's speed and strength grew even greater!
Yet—
When Garchomp finally slammed into Zeraora, the slender Zeraora easily blocked the monstrous blow with just one paw!
No matter how violently Garchomp struggled, it couldn't break free!
Absolute domination!
The true difference between genuine and counterfeit power!
"It's time to end this—free Garchomp from its suffering."
Seeing the overwhelming gap, Nathan said calmly.
He had no intention of killing Garchomp.
Maybe Moose, the human, had become a twisted monster through endless torment,
But the Pokémon were innocent!
Before Moose ordered it, Garchomp had shown no hostility toward Zeraora at all!
Hearing Nathan's voice, Zeraora's eyes flickered.
Finally, with a burst of brilliant blue-white electricity from its right claw, it struck Garchomp!
Without even a chance to cry out, Garchomp immediately fell unconscious.
It could be said—
Even though Zeraora was only Level 44, after bond evolution,
its strength surpassed the average Gym tier!
Unfortunately, bond evolution was still a form of mega evolution.
Even with Raikou's seed of power as its source, Zeraora's strength was still below that of a true Elite Four member.
After dealing with Garchomp, Nathan's brilliant golden eyes faded back to normal.
Zeraora also reverted to its original form.
"Return, Zeraora!"
After recalling Zeraora to its Pokéball, Nathan's body, utterly drained, finally collapsed.
The moment his mind relaxed, he blacked out instantly—
Fainting right there on the battlefield.
…
[Is this a bond? I want, I desire... I want, I desire...]
As Nathan fell, the black pendant around his neck began flashing wildly.
Its flickering frequency kept increasing!
Originally, the black pendant's purpose was simply to find a suitable host to nurture its awakening, preferably one that could fully unleash its potential.
But at that moment—
It sensed a new world!
A miracle beyond its previous limits!
Hope beyond that damn, unreasonable alpaca!
[The final judgment is to communicate with each other from the heart! ]
Having made its decision, the pendant's frantic flashing stopped.
At the same time, pure, harmless energy began flowing into Nathan's severely depleted body.
What would normally take a week—or even longer—of unconsciousness to recover from,
potentially causing Nathan to miss the National Tournament entirely,
was now healing at a speed that made onlookers gape.
…
Meanwhile, outside—
Many spectators in the stands wore thoughtful expressions, but far more were just completely baffled.
They had no idea what had just happened.
At that moment, security personnel finally arrived—belated, but present.