To these two challengers, the process of evolution was nothing unfamiliar.
However, as Trainers from the Kanto Region, they weren't very familiar with Pokémon like Altaria.
When they saw Altaria undergo Mega Evolution, they still thought it was just a regular evolution.
After Altaria flew out of the magma, the two of them were stunned. And when they saw Altaria shining with the light of evolution, they were even more bewildered.
They never expected that, upon just entering the Gym, they would run into such an unexpected situation.
At the same time, Terrance stopped meditating, opened his eyes, and slowly stood up to look at the sky. This was Altaria's eighteenth attempt at fusing the Flame of Life.
By sensing Altaria's condition, Terrance knew this was a crucial attempt.
The previous seventeen times were all laying the groundwork for this moment. Without those seventeen attempts, Altaria would never have accumulated enough experience!
Over the past month, Altaria's power of fire had already become quite strong. Besides trying to fuse the Flame of Life, absorbing fire energy had always been its main training focus.
And these seventeen fusion attempts had allowed Altaria to become much more familiar with that point where life energy and the power of fire could harmoniously blend.
If the power of fire was stronger than life energy, it wouldn't work; if life energy was stronger than the power of fire, that wouldn't work either. Only when the two energies reached a relatively stable point of balance could they be fused together.
Of course, even upon reaching this balance point, it wasn't necessarily a good thing. Terrance had long experienced that the violent force unleashed by the fusion of the two energies was something Altaria had never been able to control.
Inspired by Pikachu's fusion with the Light Ball, Terrance decided to have Altaria try fusing the Flame of Life in a desperate situation, and added two prerequisites for the fusion.
"All things have Aura, and all living beings have life energy. Life energy is the foundation of a living being, the essence of its vitality. Ho-Oh can use life energy to revive living beings, Xerneas possesses the power to grant life, Entei can use the Flame of Life to help people recover their health, and Moltres' Flame of Life carries no heat. All these things demonstrate the uses of life energy."
"Although Altaria doesn't have Pikachu's 'Reversal' move for turning adversity around, it does have the move 'Roost'," Terrance thought to himself.
At this moment, Terrance also noticed that two people had just entered, but none of this really mattered.
Altaria had always been searching for a suitable opportunity, and now, it had found the best one. As far as Terrance was concerned, the process wouldn't be stopped just because outsiders had entered.
When Altaria flew out from the magma, its entire body was already scorched by flames. In order to find the right feeling, it hadn't used Safeguard to protect itself before.
And once it found that feeling, it immediately soared upward, rising with the pillar of fire. In the air, it began Mega Evolution, first mobilizing its life energy to achieve a higher state of life, transforming into a more advanced form, which was...
Mega Altaria.
As its ribbon-like tail feathers and cottony fur floated in the heat, Mega Altaria stood in the sky like a sovereign of flames!
"What is that, Moltres?!!" The two challengers who entered Cinnabar Gym were wide-mouthed, completely shocked.
And as for Blaine, who was in the back. After noticing the commotion, he observed the changes inside the Gym through the surveillance camera and his jaw dropped in amazement.
Altaria's even fluffier feathers seemed to be burning in flames. At the very moment it completed Mega Evolution, Mega Altaria mobilized the even richer life force within its body, as well as the vast power of fire it had accumulated over the past month.
After the two energies fused with a thunderous roar, a wild blaze instantly surged up, roiling within Altaria's body. Not only that, it burst out from every part of its body, making its entire body look as if it were engulfed in a fire whirlpool.
"Altaria's Flare Blitz?" At this moment, Blaine had no intention of going out to greet the challengers; he stared unblinkingly at the screen, unwilling to look away from Altaria.
Blaine didn't even have to think to know. This was certainly no Flare Blitz move. This fire was completely out of Altaria's control. It wasn't any kind of offensive move; it was obvious Altaria was playing with fire.
As a master of Fire-type Pokémon, even Blaine was confused by Altaria's current state. He'd always known that Terrance was using the power of the volcano to help Altaria train its fire moves. Although Altaria's mastery over fire had improved rapidly in the past month, in Blaine's eyes, it was still immature. But right now…
The blazing flames erupting forth were so intense that even through the screen, Blaine could feel their power. As an expert of fire, Blaine was intimately familiar with every kind of flame. The flames before him—he'd seen them at the opening of the Indigo Plateau Conference; he'd also seen them in his youth, when he'd tried to capture Entei!
The flame of life.
"This guy has been trying to master the fire that contains life," Blaine said in shock, realizing that he had underestimated Terrance's ambition all along.
The Flame of Life was a domain he himself had never managed to touch.
When Altaria emerged from the magma, its mind and body had already been burned to their limits. Only Terrance knew how long it had lingered inside the magma this time.
In order to find that feeling, Altaria forced itself into a desperate situation, even using life energy to elevate its life level. After Mega Evolution, it still had not fully recovered.
Although the negative effects had been eliminated, as the wild Flame of Life erupted, the previously accumulated fire damage and the wild Flame of Life instantly burst forth again, mercilessly burning Altaria's body.
"It's up to you now, Altaria." Terrance, Carbink, Kirlia, Ninetales, and Pupitar; all of them solemnly looked at Altaria.
Altaria, as if flying through fire, didn't try to control this wild power as it had before. Instead, it took a different approach, slowly landing on the arena, spreading its wings, and began to use Roost to channel the wild Flame of Life!
Since it couldn't control the most violent side of the Flame of Life from the start, it would approach it from its gentler side!
Whoosh!!
In that instant, the wild Flame of Life burned Altaria's mind and body even more fiercely. Even with Altaria's physical resilience, the damage appeared incredibly severe. Yet, Altaria's eyes shone brilliantly, because it could feel the power coming from Terrance. Through the effect of the Fairy Mark, Terrance was constantly supporting Altaria, keeping it clear-headed and lifting its spirits!
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