But from Ash's side, things could be a bit more straightforward and forceful.
The Aerodactyl lunged at Ash, its foul-smelling mouth almost touching Ash's head. In the next moment, it felt an incredible blow to its chin!
The mouth, which was wide open, suddenly clamped shut!
Luckily, it hadn't stuck its tongue out; otherwise, given the sharpness of its teeth, its tongue might have been severed.
Besides the mouth closing, its body was also lifted by that terrifying force!
"Boom!"
The massive body of the Aerodactyl was slammed into the ceiling of the underground cave, and the colorful round stone it was holding in its claws was released.
Ash caught the round stone and examined it closely.
The stone was only slightly larger than a marble. The reason the Aerodactyl could hold it was that it had wedged the stone between its claws, so once its grip loosened, the stone would fall.
After observing it for a while, Ash confirmed that this item should be the Evolution Key Stone that the bigwigs in the group spoke of.
To achieve MEGA evolution, both the Evolution Key Stone and the MEGA Evolution Stone are indispensable tools, but the Key Stone is harder to find and is one of the very precious items.
In other parallel worlds where MEGA evolution has already been discovered, a Key Stone could sell for over a billion and would still be in high demand, the kind you can't find even if you have money.
Among trainers of the same rank, if one side only has Dynamax, while the other side has Dynamax, Z-Move, Terastal, and MEGA evolution, the latter would undoubtedly have a comprehensive advantage in battles!
Not to mention having three more systems, even having just one more could lead to a qualitative change in a trainer's strength!
And in other parallel worlds, the most difficult system to acquire is the MEGA evolution system.
Not to mention that a Key Stone is hard to come by, a Pokemon capable of MEGA evolution needs a corresponding MEGA Evolution Stone.
MEGA Evolution Stones are already scarce, and their origins are still unexplored. There is no definite place of production and can only be discovered by pure luck.
Thus, this system is the hardest to obtain and the most valuable, offering the greatest overall enhancement to Pokemon.
In Ash's current world, the MEGA evolution system hasn't appeared yet, though Ash has subtly learned from Professor Oak that Kalos seems to be researching further evolution possibilities after final evolution.
Once the MEGA evolution system is discovered, the information gap Ash enjoys will vanish, and market claims of MEGA Evolution Stones and Key Stones will be directly acquired and taken away.
Previously, Ash had no MEGA Evolution Stone or Key Stone, so he couldn't provide specific images for Professor Oak to watch out for. Now that he's obtained a Key Stone, there might be an Evolution Stone out there too.
Once he reaches the next Pokemon Center, he can ask Professor Oak to keep an eye out for the MEGA Evolution Stone and Key Stone.
He'll aim to gather more MEGA Evolution Stones and Key Stones before MEGA evolution is exposed.
"According to the bigwigs in the group, I have a bunch of Pokemon that can evolve, but there are only a few dozen Pokemon that can MEGA evolve. I should be able to get at least one MEGA Evolution Stone for my Pokemon, right?" Ash muttered to himself, putting the Key Stone back in his pocket.
Now isn't the time to study the Key Stone. Meanwhile, the Aerodactyl, stuck on the cave ceiling, had regained its senses and was glaring suspiciously and fiercely at him.
Better capture this Aerodactyl first.
If I let such a gifted Aerodactyl go, it would be truly against reason!
"What, you still want to eat me?" Ash taunted, waving at the Aerodactyl provocatively.
The Aerodactyl, initially hesitating whether to flee, was instantly enraged. It let out a furious roar towards Ash, its colossal wings flapping as turbulent energy gathered within it.
In the next second, several sharp rocks shot up from the ground, speeding toward Ash with lightning speed!
Stone Edge, a Rock Type's ultimate move!
Ash's body emitted a faint blue glow, Aura Power surging inside him. He then chopped outward with his hand in a slashing motion.
The fragile hand met the incredibly sharp rocks, and as expected, Ash shattered all of them.
Aerodactyl: ????
Watching its most powerful attack shattered by the seemingly weakest human with just a swipe, Aerodactyl's mind was full of question marks.
You've got to be kidding...are you even human?!
Charizard, who wanted to protect its trainer, quietly stepped back behind its trainer.
Having fought at the frontlines for so long, it had almost forgotten how extraordinary its trainer was.
The reason they were able to defeat that terrifying frog earlier was all thanks to its trainer's power.
Now, facing such a bloodthirsty opponent that even it felt pressured by, its trainer effortlessly shattered a move that could have severely injured it.
When will it ever be able to catch up with its trainer's pace? Charizard wondered in its heart, as Ash steadily approached the Aerodactyl, saying, "I've heard that ancient Pokemon are all about survival of the fittest. If I don't defeat you head-on without using my Pokemon, will you acknowledge me as your Trainer?"
"Roar! Roar roar!" I don't know what a trainer is, but if you can defeat me without using a monster, why not acknowledge you as my master?
In ancient times, there was no concept of trainers and Pokemon. Back then, they called Pokemon monsters, creatures capable of wielding magic.
In those days, humans' exploration and study of Pokemon were quite shallow, and they treated Pokemon using brute force methods to enslave, unable to connect with Pokemon.
Only in a later era did the Pokeball get invented, finally allowing humans to understand Pokemon, partner with them, and evolve into the state we have today.
Ash didn't understand much about ancient history, but he could grasp what Aerodactyl meant by monsters.
"Being a Trainer and a master isn't the same. Becoming your Trainer means being your partner, fighting alongside, growing stronger together...it seems you're not interested in listening. Maybe I'll need to defeat you first." Mid-sentence, Ash saw the Aerodactyl baring its teeth as it flew toward him like the wind.
Faced with the gaping maw, Ash shook his head helplessly, then clenched his fist: "You never learn, do you?"
With those words, Ash sidestepped Aerodactyl's Crunch, punching ferociously from below. Just as the punch was about to land on Aerodactyl's chin again, three long green energy claws suddenly extended from its claw.
The green energy claws swung towards Ash's face as Aerodactyl's wings flapped!
At this distance, both Ash's punch and Aerodactyl's Dragon Claw would hit simultaneously.
Ancient Pokemon fought with reckless abandon, brutal in their tactics, even willing to sacrifice a thousand to defeat eight hundred!
The word "retreat" wasn't in Aerodactyl's vocabulary!
Though surprised, Ash promptly responded, instantly forming a blue energy ball in his free hand—an Aura Sphere!
"Boom!!"
"Bang!!"
The Aura Sphere collided with the Dragon Claw, resounding through the cave with an explosive crash. Meanwhile, Ash's punch launched Aerodactyl skyward again, smashing it into the cave ceiling once more.
This time, the entire cave trembled thrice from the impact!
Ash shook his hand, glancing worriedly at Aerodactyl.
Due to Aerodactyl's desperate fighting back, he couldn't help but increase his strength in that punch...hopefully, it didn't kill Aerodactyl, right?