"Metagross! You're okay now… sob… that's… that's great… sob sob!"
After Xerneas left, Steven impatiently released Metagross.
After carefully checking Metagross's injuries, the grown man began sobbing uncontrollably, hugging Metagross's thick arms in front of the entire town.
No one would laugh at Steven for this because everyone understood the bond between them.
Meanwhile, Diantha called out Gardevoir, observing the two stones of different sizes that were formed from Xerneas's power. She muttered to herself, "Could this thing give Gardevoir a new power…"
As for Stephen, he was catching up with Serena, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.
"Thank you, Brother Stephen," Serena said with eyes full of gratitude.
"It's nothing. Even if I hadn't come, Zygarde would've dealt with that guy," Stephen replied with a smile.
"But if that had happened, we would've been caught in the crossfire," Serena said, clearly not foolish. She could immediately tell that if Stephen and Xerneas hadn't arrived in time, Yveltal and Zygarde's battle would've obliterated Vaniville Town from the map.
Stephen smiled and listened to Serena recount the interesting events that had happened in her life over the past six months.
"Whirr-whirr-whirr—"
The sound of helicopter blades came from above the group.
Everyone looked up to see a large transport helicopter bearing the logo of the Kalos League.
"Everyone! Is everything alright?"
The cabin door opened, and Lysandre, who had just taken over as the Chairman of the Kalos League, called out to those below.
"Chairman Lysandre!" Diantha waved up at him.
Steven, wiping his tears and regaining his composure, smiled and said, "The Yveltal incident has been resolved, Metagross's old injuries have been healed, and Dr. Stephen, as well as Champion Diantha, have gained new strength—everyone's happy, everyone's happy~"
"With Dr. Stephen watching over Yveltal, the Kalos region won't face disasters for a hundred years. That's truly a relief," Diantha added with a smile.
Yveltal, the legendary Pokémon of the Kalos region, had been captured by a trainer from another region.
If it had been someone else, Diantha might've felt a bit dissatisfied.
But if it was Stephen, she had no objections at all.
For one, Stephen had saved the League a few months ago, and for another, he was already strong enough. Adding Yveltal to his roster didn't make much difference.
It was like Elon Musk going from being the richest man in America to the richest man in the world—it didn't impact ordinary people much.
Lysandre disembarked from the transport helicopter, followed by Malva, who reported the situation.
"Brother Stephen, are you going back now?" Serena asked reluctantly.
"Serena, you can come study at the Pokémon School in Alola in the future. The kids there are all very friendly," Stephen said, crouching down and patting her on the head.
Since he was taking the Cocoon of Destruction with him and Xerneas was traveling around Kalos, Stephen, despite being a transmigrator, couldn't predict how things might develop. Letting Serena study in Alola could at least ensure her safety.
"Then… I'll go talk to my mom about it…" Serena said, clearly tempted by the idea.
"Should we take the Cocoon of Destruction now?" Malva whispered to Lysandre.
She had just quickly reported the entire sequence of events to him.
Both Xerneas and Yveltal were indispensable to Team Flare's grand plan, but if they had to prioritize, Yveltal was more important than Xerneas.
If they let Stephen take the Cocoon of Destruction back to Alola, it would be extremely troublesome.
Lysandre furrowed his brows deeply.
To be honest, he did want to demand it back.
But the question was, on what grounds? For what reason?
It was worth noting that Lysandre wasn't the only one hiding his true strength—Malva wasn't the only one keeping her power under wraps. Lysandre himself was also a Champion-level trainer.
Although he had only just stepped into the Champion level, he was indeed a genuine Champion-level trainer.
Ironically, to outsiders, it seemed like the Kalos League didn't have any Champion-level trainers at all.
Drasna, the previous Champion, had always been at the peak of the Elite Four level. She was only pushed into the Champion position because the League required a Champion and eight Gym Leaders for its establishment.
The current Champion, Diantha, while talented, had not yet reached the Champion level.
So when Rose and Geeta ranked Kalos last during a televised discussion, they weren't wrong.
But in reality, Kalos did have two Champion-level trainers—both of whom were undercover agents.
Even as Stephen boarded the private jet Lusamine had sent to return to Alola, Lysandre still hadn't found an opportunity to demand the Cocoon of Destruction back.
After the League's high-level meeting regarding the incident concluded, Lysandre, accompanied by Malva, rushed to Prism Tower in Lumiose City.
While one floor of Prism Tower served as the Lumiose City Gym, no one knew that the other floors were entirely occupied by Team Flare's secret base.
Upon learning of the current situation, Team Flare's top brass gathered for a discussion.
"Ugh! If you ask me, Lady Malva should've shown her true power then and there to prove she's capable of controlling Yveltal," said one of the executives, Celosia, shrugging.
Aliana, an executive, scoffed, "Are you an idiot? If she did that, how would you explain why she's been hiding her strength all these years? Not only would we fail to retrieve Yveltal, but we'd also expose Team Flare's grand plan."
Another executive, Bryony, said, "Then what do we do? Yveltal is an essential part of the boss's plan. If we can't secure it…"
Lysandre's ultimate goal was to create a world without evil, one that could eternally preserve its beauty.
This was hinted at in his dialogue with Diantha in the original story—he believed that as a movie star chosen by fate, it was her duty to maintain her beauty. All beautiful things should remain eternally beautiful.
To achieve this, Lysandre needed the powers of Xerneas and Yveltal—or, more precisely, he needed them as the keys to activating the ultimate weapon.
The ultimate weapon had two functions: destruction and eternal life.
This duality was symbolized by Yveltal and Xerneas.
First, Yveltal would be used to unlock the weapon's destructive power, erasing the existing filth.
Then, Xerneas would activate the weapon's eternal power, creating a reborn, eternally youthful world—at least, one that fit Lysandre's vision of beauty.
This was the full scope of Team Flare's plan.
Since destruction had to precede rebirth, Yveltal's importance to Team Flare ranked higher than Xerneas's.
Team Flare's chief scientist, Xerosic, stroked his chin and said, "In that case, we'll have to rely on Hoopa. We'll retrieve the Cocoon of Destruction while Dr. Stephen is asleep or taking a bath…"
Xerosic's idea mirrored Lysandre's thoughts.
If they hadn't kept Hoopa as a trump card, Lysandre might've flipped the table and tried to snatch the Cocoon of Destruction outright.
Malva suddenly thought of a question and interrupted, "Then how can you ensure that when Hoopa takes action, Dr. Stephen is either sleeping or bathing? What if he gets discovered?"
Hoopa's abilities are indeed very useful, but only on the premise that they can act without Stephen noticing—or without his Pokémon noticing.
"Can you seize the right moment?"
Malva couldn't help but recall the miserable scene in the morning when Yveltal was beaten into a pulp.
If you can't grasp the timing, the outcome will be the same as Team Flare's.
"… This matter requires careful planning," Lysandre said in a deep voice.
"How to get Hoopa to follow our orders and obediently help us obtain the Cocoon of Destruction.
How to ensure the Cocoon of Destruction is successfully stolen when Dr. Stephen and his Pokémon are distracted.
And, if Dr. Stephen discovers us, how we'll defend ourselves against him."
Lysandre's tone grew even heavier. "Find a way to resolve these three issues."
"The last two problems are tricky, but the first one is quite simple," Aliana said with a sly laugh.
"Isn't Hoopa's other master quite fond of Lady Malva?"
As soon as she said this, the other three female executives couldn't help but stifle their laughter.
It's true—Baraz's behavior as a simpering sycophant is impossible to hide.
This is why men shouldn't act like desperate followers. Not only will your goddess look down on you, but even her friends will mock you behind closed doors.
...
On the other side, at the Aether Paradise.
"Karen, here you go."
Stephen handed a Poké Ball to Karen.
Inside was her Houndoom. Along with it, there was also a Key Stone and a Houndoom MEGA Evolution Stone.
When he left home this morning, Stephen had casually brought Karen's Houndoom along with him.
"Stephen! Why don't I get one!?" Will shouted in protest.
Didn't he say that his Slowbro also had MEGA Evolution potential?
"I couldn't help it, we were in a hurry to leave," Stephen said, spreading his hands helplessly.
Since Stephen and Karen shared the same bed, he had simply grabbed the Houndoom from her team, which had MEGA Evolution potential.
As for Will, he was naturally left out.
"Then how about I sleep with you tonight?" Will joked in a grumbling tone.
Karen immediately responded with a flurry of punches. Even Mary couldn't resist giving him a couple of kicks.
Regardless, Stephen, Karen, Steven, Diantha, Drasna, and Giovanni's Beedrill became the beneficiaries of this operation, gaining the power of MEGA Evolution.
Later, in the League group chat, Steven couldn't wait to announce to the group that his Metagross had fully recovered with Xerneas's help and had even awakened a new evolution.
Stephen, who rarely spoke in the chat, popped in to name this evolution "MEGA Evolution."
At the same time, Stephen reminded everyone not to make it public that Xerneas could help Pokémon awaken MEGA Evolution. Otherwise, Xerneas would undoubtedly be subjected to endless harassment.
"Let's give it a break since it finally has a holiday," Stephen said.
Everyone in the group unanimously agreed with this point.
Finally, at the joint suggestion of Steven and Diantha, the group decided to credit the discovery of MEGA Evolution to Stephen.
They would claim that MEGA Evolution was discovered by Stephen.