Chapter 359: The Feather Dance Substitute, and an Initial Understanding of Mega Evolution

[Wait, it's already over? Before evolving, Pidgeotto was getting completely crushed by Aerodactyl, but the moment it evolved, it immediately turned the tables and took Aerodactyl down. This Pidgeot is way too badass!]

[I only looked away to take a sip of water, and Aerodactyl was already on the ground?]

[Forget it, now I want to raise another Pidgey. This is way too cool!]

[Actually, it wasn't as simple as everyone thinks. Judging from the final contest of speed, Pidgeot was still inferior to that strange Aerodactyl.]

[Yeah, I think the main reason was Teacher Mo's incredible command. The moment Aerodactyl showed even the slightest opening, he immediately seized it and launched a counterattack.]

[Teacher Mo's command? Didn't Teacher Mo barely say anything?]

Many viewers in the livestream couldn't understand.

But the numerous Trainers participating in the Extreme Challenge Summer Camp understood perfectly.

As an Aura User, the Ideal Hero, the world's number-one Pokémon Trainer, and someone with countless tricks up his sleeve, Teacher Mo had probably long since reached the level of being able to communicate telepathically with his Pokémon.

One thought was enough to issue a command.

Why would he need to say it aloud?

However...

After finally calming down the little Munchlax, Chen Haoran still wore an expression of confusion and shock.

"What exactly were those white feathers?"

Everyone looked at one another, but no one spoke.

During the chase between Aerodactyl and Pidgeot, that burst of white feathers had undoubtedly been the most crucial turning point.

If Aerodactyl had managed to land its attack at that critical moment, Pidgeot would never have had the opportunity to launch its counterattack.

Just as everyone in the room fell silent in thought, a cool, clear voice rang out.

"Feather Dance."

"Feather Dance?"

Ah Hui glanced toward Zhao Xue'er, looking thoughtful.

He had actually suspected Feather Dance as well.

But Feather Dance was a move meant to lower the opponent's Attack. Under normal circumstances, a Pokémon would scatter a large number of feathers, with the wider the coverage, the better, in order to maximize the chance of hitting the target.

But what had happened just now...

Ah Hui recalled the scene.

The way Pidgeot had emerged from the mass of feathers and retreated backward had made the feathers look more like a Substitute.

It really was strange.

Just as Ah Hui shook his head in confusion, Chen Mo's voice came through the livestream again.

"That's right. It was indeed Feather Dance."

Chen Mo stroked Pidgeot's lowered head.

Even before evolving, Staraptor's body had already exceeded that of an ordinary Pidgeot.

Now that it had successfully evolved into Pidgeot, its size had increased even further. It was probably even larger than most Mega-Evolved Pidgeot.

But its personality remained the same.

Whenever it accomplished something significant and became excited, it would always run over to its Trainer and ask for praise.

After praising Pidgeot, Chen Mo watched as Pikachu and the other Pokémon surrounded it.

Seeing this, he decided not to join in on the celebration and instead looked at the flood of comments filling the screen.

With a smile, he said:

"I think everyone may have fallen into a misunderstanding regarding the moves Pokémon can learn."

"Actually, moves aren't fixed in the way they're performed. Depending on a Pokémon's own characteristics and areas of expertise, there's nothing wrong with using your imagination and developing an existing move further, finding the method of using it that's most suitable for your own Pokémon."

"For example, my Pidgeot has extremely precise control over its Flying-type energy. After a long period of training, when it uses Feather Dance, it's able to precisely control every falling feather and rearrange them into a simple model."

"At critical moments, it can use that model to deceive the enemy's vision and have it take an attack in its place."

"As for a name? If we really had to give it one, I suppose we could call it a Feather Dance version of Substitute."

The livestream exploded into an uproar.

Actually, the Feather Dance version of Substitute wasn't Chen Mo's original creation either.

The first Pokémon to use this technique was Rowlet, which Ash caught during his journey through the Alola region.

Chen Mo had simply thought of the technique while training Pidgeotto.

Considering how proficient Pidgeotto was at controlling its own energy, he had it try training in this direction.

However.

Although Pidgeotto had mastered the Feather Dance version of Substitute long ago, the technique still had many flaws compared with the actual Substitute move.

Experienced Pokémon could see through it quite easily.

Therefore, Pidgeotto rarely had a chance to use it under normal circumstances.

Only during close-range engagements, combined with an opponent's carelessness, could the Feather Dance version of Substitute produce unexpected results.

Chen Mo didn't explain these details during his demonstration.

After all, what he wanted viewers to understand, and what he hoped more Trainers would try, was the deeper development of different moves.

Reality was different from the games.

Expanding a Trainer's imagination was the most important thing.

Perhaps one day...

Chen Mo might even see a Pokémon tournament where countless creative applications of different moves bloomed in spectacular variety.

Just then, an especially eye-catching comment floated across Chen Mo's field of vision.

[The Feather Dance version of Substitute is indeed impressive, but I'm more interested in the Aerodactyl that Pidgeot defeated. I don't know if everyone noticed, but when Teacher Mo decided to have Pidgeotto fight Aerodactyl, he immediately identified Aerodactyl's ability as Tough Claws.]

After this reminder, the viewers who had shifted their attention to Pidgeot's evolution and its Feather Dance Substitute once again focused on the strange Aerodactyl.

[I checked the Pokédex. Aerodactyl has three known abilities: Rock Head, Pressure, and Unnerve. It doesn't have Tough Claws.]

[Wait, why do I get the feeling that Teacher Mo knows that strange Aerodactyl extremely well?]

[Don't just get the feeling. Teacher Mo definitely knows!]

Facing the barrage of curious comments, Chen Mo understood that the time had come.

He organized his thoughts before slowly explaining to the camera.

"I remember that quite some time ago, viewers in the livestream asked whether Aerodactyl, as the king of the skies and a dominant species during ancient times, seemed a little too weak based on its current performance."

"After all, compared with Aerodactyl, the Hydreigon in Viridian Forest was simply several levels stronger."

"How should I put it... It's perfectly normal for everyone to have this doubt."

"Ordinary Aerodactyl really are at a disadvantage compared with those Pokémon species that are 'late bloomers' and evolve into their final forms."

Inside the livestream.

Countless viewers who had already learned to pick out key words immediately noticed the phrase 'ordinary Aerodactyl.'

Chen Mo looked at the comments filling the screen and nodded.

"That's right. The Aerodactyl that appeared in Viridian Forest wasn't actually the form that Aerodactyl possessed when the species ruled the skies in ancient times."

"And the Aerodactyl we just saw fighting Pidgeot, the one covered entirely in sharp rocks, is the true ancient form of Aerodactyl."

"In that state, the potential of the Aerodactyl species is completely comparable to those 'late-blooming' Pokémon of the present day!"

"As for how powerful it is, everyone just witnessed it themselves."

"If Aerodactyl hadn't underestimated its opponent and let its guard down, Pidgeot wouldn't have had such an easy time defeating it."

Anping City Pokémon Battle Center.

The many Trainers in the lounge were all wearing expressions of shock.

After Chen Mo's explanation, the doubts in everyone's hearts were finally cleared up.

No wonder that Aerodactyl that emerged from the pit in Viridian Forest had been so ferocious.

Even when facing a Tyranitar-class Hydreigon, it had dared to charge straight into battle.

The Aerodactyl of ancient times simply hadn't been afraid of a Hydreigon, a pseudo-legendary Pokémon.

It was just that the Aerodactyl had been asleep in that underground cavern for far too long.

After awakening, it probably hadn't even realized that the era in which it now lived was no longer ancient times.

It was no longer the ruler that had once dominated the skies.

"What a pity..."

Someone in the room let out a sigh.

The livestream's chat was also filled with similar sentiments.

[The Aerodactyl just now was a Pokémon revived by the World-Origin Tree. In theory, it should be extremely difficult for us to find another ancient Aerodactyl.]

[Forget ancient Aerodactyl. Even ordinary Aerodactyl are incredibly rare. Other than the one Teacher Mo encountered, I haven't found any reports online of anyone else encountering one.]

[Aerodactyl: I'm a remnant of the old era. The future belongs to you.]

[I have a question. When Teacher Mo encountered Dusknoir before and explained the Spirit World, he mentioned that the souls of dead Pokémon would return there. So why was that Aerodactyl able to retain a relatively clear consciousness after being revived?]

As he led his Pokémon into an investigation of the lowest level of the World-Origin Tree, Chen Mo slowly answered the viewers.

"As for why Aerodactyl was able to retain its consciousness after being revived, I'm not entirely sure either."

"After all, we don't really understand the relationship between the Spirit World and reality. And now we're inside the World-Origin Tree, this enormous lifeform that has existed since the birth of the world and possesses countless unsolved mysteries."

"In short, we don't know whether the revived Aerodactyl actually possesses a true soul."

For a complete living being, the soul and body were inseparable.

When life ended, the soul left the body, but the physical remains could still retain traces of what the creature had been in life.

Perhaps the World-Origin Tree was simply using its own miraculous abilities to recreate the consciousness that remained within Aerodactyl's bones.

One idea after another flashed through Chen Mo's mind before quickly fading away.

He glanced at the comments and suddenly smiled again.

"Although I can't answer the question about Aerodactyl's consciousness, I can answer another question for everyone."

"For example, how can we temporarily return Aerodactyl to its ancient form?"

The moment these words were spoken.

The entire livestream fell silent for a brief moment.

Then it exploded.

"What the hell?! What does Teacher Mo mean? Can he reverse time!?"

Song Qingyun had already jumped to his feet.

Xiao Fan said solemnly,

"Could it be a special ability of Teacher Mo as the Ideal Hero or an Aura User?"

Beside him, Qiao Cheng quickly shook his head.

"No. Judging from what Brother Mo said, it sounds like this is something that all of us can potentially use. It isn't limited to some special class of people."

Everyone began discussing it excitedly, but no one had an answer.

Zhou Yichuan, who knew more about Chen Mo's methods than most, frowned deeply.

"Don't tell me it's some new piece of black technology... Xiao Mo, you're broadcasting live. So many people overseas are watching you. You really need to be careful..."

However.

Just like the countless viewers in the livestream, Zhou Yichuan had already been completely hooked by Chen Mo's words.

Feeling the anxious curiosity practically overflowing from the screen, Chen Mo calmly continued.

"Pokémon and Trainers form a single whole. I've emphasized this countless times in the livestream."

"But I don't know whether everyone has ever thought about what exactly the connection between a Pokémon and its Trainer is."

"And what kind of realm can that special connection allow a Pokémon and its Trainer to reach?"

"Actually, there's no need to guess. This is how the vast majority of ordinary people think about it."

"A professional Trainer makes plans, helps their Pokémon grow stronger, and gives them proper commands during battle."

"And the Pokémon fights with all its strength in return."

"There's nothing wrong with that explanation."

"But it's missing something."

"I wonder if everyone remembers some of the phenomena during the Pikachu Cup that were difficult to explain scientifically."

"For example, the Axew that surpassed its own limits during the Double Dragon Battle."

"Butterfree, which ignited flames in the midst of a blizzard during the battle to determine the strongest Bug-type Pokémon."

"And Electivire, which fell down again and again on the day of the finals, only to stand back up each time."

"At the time, everyone's attention was focused mainly on the Pokémon."

"But people often overlooked the Trainer standing on the battlefield, whose entire heart was tied to their own Pokémon."

"Why could those Pokémon surpass their limits again and again?"

"The reason is very simple."

"It was a manifestation of the deep bond between Pokémon and Trainer."

"At that moment, that bond transformed into a force that allowed the Pokémon to persevere and become stronger."

"It sounds rather mystical, doesn't it?"

"But that's simply how it is."

"In the original Pokémon world, why does a combination like Trainer and Pokémon exist in the first place?"

"Because the resonance between the two can produce a phenomenon that science cannot explain."

"And this phenomenon can even manifest itself in a much more tangible form."

"Its power can completely draw out a Pokémon's potential, allowing a Pokémon like Aerodactyl to temporarily return to its ancient form."

At this point, Chen Mo suddenly stopped walking.

He looked toward the camera, his expression becoming solemn.

Then, he slowly spoke.

"In another world, people call this method of transforming bonds into energy..."

"Mega Evolution!"

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