The announcement of Mega Evolution sparked a worldwide frenzy in the search for Key Stones and Mega Evolution Stones.
However, for the average person, obtaining a Mega Evolution Stone and a Key Stone—or more specifically, the ones that match their Pokémon—is extremely difficult.
Two weeks passed, and not only were ordinary civilians empty-handed, but even the strongest Gym Leaders and Elite Four members within the League had only managed to acquire a handful.
The only person who obtained a Mega Stone corresponding to their ace Pokémon was Cynthia, and even she didn't find it herself—it was gifted to her by Professor Sycamore.
According to Giovanni, the timing of Pryce's plan to make a move was heavily influenced by Cynthia obtaining her Mega Evolution Stone.
Sheena had been staying at the Sinnoh League headquarters, with bodyguards accompanying her wherever she went.
This made it increasingly difficult for Pryce to act.
Originally, Pryce had hoped that Stephen's push for this Mega Evolution craze might lure away Sinnoh's top battlers, including Cynthia, thereby creating an opportunity for him to strike.
Although Pryce didn't take Sinnoh's high-ranking trainers too seriously, getting a few nuisances out of the way would still be beneficial.
If Cynthia had taken Sheena with her while searching for Mega Evolution Stones, that would've been even better.
However, to Pryce's frustration, as soon as Cynthia returned to Sinnoh, Professor Sycamore immediately sent her the Garchomp Mega Stone.
Naturally, Cynthia no longer had a reason to leave Sinnoh.
This made Pryce increasingly impatient.
Over the past few days, Cynthia had also begun training intensively for Mega Evolution.
While Pryce still didn't take her seriously, he realized one troubling fact: the new generation of Champions was growing stronger, and the longer he waited, the worse it would be for him.
With this in mind, Pryce made a decisive decision.
"It's time to act immediately!"
"Let's go."
Stephen hung up the phone and gestured to Will.
This time, Will didn't hesitate and quickly followed.
...
Kalos Region, Arche Valley.
"Hoopa, did my brother leave?"
Walking around the house and not seeing her brother Baraz anywhere, Meray asked the floating Hoopa.
"Baraz got a call earlier and then happily told me he was heading to Dahara City before leaving."
Hoopa replied in a playful, childlike voice.
"Happily… I can guess who called him."
Meray sighed in mild exasperation.
Truth be told, she felt something was off about Malva.
Not that Malva had revealed any obvious flaws in front of her, but her enthusiasm toward Meray's brother seemed… excessive.
Of course, Meray personally thought her brother was pretty great—blessed by Arceus, a manager of the Valley of Creation, and good-looking too.
But… that was only when compared to average people.
As a member of the Elite Four and Kalos' top news anchor, could Malva have feelings for someone younger than her, like her brother?
When Meray tried to put herself in Malva's shoes, she couldn't help but feel something was not right.
At that moment, a commotion broke the silence.
"Hey! Who are you? Outsiders aren't allowed here…"
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The sound of objects falling echoed repeatedly through the Arche Valley.
Meray and Hoopa Confined instinctively turned in the direction of the noise.
They saw their fellow valley residents collapsing one by one.
This scene was eerily reminiscent of what happened months ago when Stephen brought his Bewear to the Indigo Plateau battlefield and unleashed its Conqueror's Haki.
But this time, it wasn't Stephen and his Bewear entering the valley.
Instead, it was a figure with a sinister aura, difficult to discern whether they were male or female.
Beside them stood a Pokémon radiating dark, eerie energy, like the embodiment of a nightmare.
"Who are you!?"
Meray's instincts screamed of danger. She immediately pulled Hoopa Confined behind her in a protective stance.
Although she wasn't well-versed in world affairs, she had some knowledge of external events.
However, she didn't recognize the intruder in front of her.
Sird had already become one of Team Rocket's Three Beasts, but due to the overwhelming fame of Joker, it wasn't surprising that someone from a region like Kalos wouldn't know who she was.
"Heh… who I am doesn't matter, little girl."
Sird placed her hand over her heart and gave a mocking bow, though it carried no trace of genuine respect.
"All you need to know is that I'm here under orders from the King of Team Rocket to take custody of the Pokémon behind you."
"Not a chance!"
Meray immediately raised her hands, shielding Hoopa Confined behind her.
"Heh… Without power, you can't protect anything. Right now, you're no better than a newly hatched Rattata. Even your anger is laughable."
...
...
Lily of the Valley Island, the annual venue of the Sinnoh League Conference and home to the Sinnoh League Headquarters, boasts a population nearing seven figures.
Today, it seemed like any other ordinary day.
"Haah~"
Flint, one of the Sinnoh Elite Four, walked out of the headquarters building with his hands in his pockets, moving in a crab-like sidestep.
"Hey, Lucian, have you ever thought about training a Metagross to let it Mega Evolve?" Flint yawned as he casually asked the fellow Elite Four member walking beside him.
Their conversation revolved around the hottest topic in recent times, not just in Sinnoh but across the entire Pokémon continent—Mega Evolution.
Lucian shook his head. "Did you forget that my Bronzong is also Steel and Psychic-type?"
Metagross is one of the few confirmed Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution, but Lucian dismissed the idea of raising one solely for that purpose. To him, it felt unnecessary and redundant.
Moreover, his starter and ace, Bronzong, overlapped too much with Metagross in terms of type and role. Training a pseudo-legendary Metagross from scratch would be time-consuming and energy-draining. Even if successful, it would inevitably take Bronzong's place in his lineup—a situation Lucian was unwilling to accept.
"Fair enough," Flint replied. "But I might consider giving my Houndoom a shot at it…"
Flint stroked his chin thoughtfully. In his Fire-type lineup, Houndoom was a secondary team member. However, if it could Mega Evolve, it could easily ascend to the main lineup.
It reminded him of Drasna from Kalos. Originally, her ace was Noivern, but after obtaining an Altarianite, her ace shifted to Mega Altaria.
"Hmm? Why are so many people gathering over there?"
As the two exited the building, Lucian suddenly noticed a crowd gathering in the plaza, all gazing skyward.
Instinctively, the two Sinnoh Elite Four members followed the crowd's gaze upward.
About 30 meters above the ground, a Delibird hovered in midair, carrying a figure cloaked entirely in black.
"Hey! Up there! Don't you know it's against League regulations to fly on Pokémon in city areas?" Flint, ever the outspoken one, shouted without thinking.
Lucian frowned slightly. That silhouette… it looked familiar.
High in the sky, the masked figure muttered to himself, "I can't waste any more time."
This was no ice puppet—this time, Pryce himself had come in person. After all, his opponent was none other than Dialga, the god of time. There was no room for carelessness.
Over the past two days of observation, Pryce had noticed that Cynthia was growing increasingly proficient in mastering Mega Evolution. This gave him a faint sense of unease.
Of course, it wasn't Cynthia he feared.
What could that little girl possibly do? She was of no real threat.
What Pryce truly feared was Stephen.
As one of the only five trainers in the world currently capable of using Mega Evolution, Stephen had yet to reveal his Mega Pokémon.
Most trainers speculated it was simply Mega Altaria, which Stephen had already showcased during the Indigo Plateau battle.
But Pryce couldn't shake a nagging concern: What if Bewear could Mega Evolve?!
Every time he met Stephen, the boy always managed to pull off something unexpected. How could anyone be sure he wasn't holding back?
Even as a master-level trainer, Pryce had to admit that Stephen's Bewear was terrifying.
Not to mention, Stephen also had a Shadow Lugia and Super Umbreon capable of freely changing forms.
After much thought, Pryce decided he couldn't wait any longer. He knew perfectly well that Stephen disliked him. To avoid complications, there was no better time than now—today was the day to act.
"Hey! Up there! The guy on the Delibird! Didn't you hear me? Get down here already!" Flint shouted again, his tone more forceful this time.
"Shut up, brat!"
Already in a foul mood, Pryce grew even more irritated by Flint's yelling. With a casual wave of his hand, the Delibird below him tilted its head and unleashed a freezing gust of wind from its beak.
Whooosh—!
Although the Delibird had not deliberately gathered its strength, the resulting cold air was enough to turn the entire sky silvery-white in the eyes of the citizens below.
For Flint and Lucian, both of whom had participated in the Indigo Plateau battle months ago, the sight immediately brought to mind the Shadow Articuno that had once been controlled by Shadow forces.
Could this much power come from such a casual move!?
"Bronzong! Psychic!"
Lucian acted decisively, sending out his ace Pokémon.
The moment Bronzong emerged from its Poké Ball before the white light of its release had fully dissipated, it unleashed a tide of violet psychic energy that formed a shield to block the freezing wind.
However, after just one second of resistance, the silver wind overwhelmed the violet psychic barrier.
"Magmortar! Flamethrower!"
Flint quickly sent out his team's second-in-command and top special attacker, Magmortar.
In terms of ranged attacks, Magmortar's power even surpassed his Infernape.
Landing on the ground, Magmortar raised its cannon-like arms and unleashed twin streams of fire.
The flames intertwined with the psychic energy, finally pushing back the icy gust, turning the tide of the battle ever so slightly.
"Hmm?"
Behind his icy mask, Pryce raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Perfect."
He muttered to himself.
The combination of flames and psychic powers, which had seemingly made a comeback just moments ago, was immediately suppressed again by the freezing winds.
Delibird intensified its power!
"Since you're going to cause trouble later anyway, I might as well turn you all into ice sculptures right now."
Pryce spoke these words indifferently.
The freezing wind completely suppressed the combination of psychic energy and jet flames.
"It can still get stronger!?"
Flint was dumbfounded.
Even with him and Lucian teaming up, they were so easily overpowered.
"Run! Get out of here, quickly!"
Lucian waved his hand and shouted to the ordinary citizens around them, who were frozen in fear.
"Ahhhh—!"
Finally, the stunned citizens of Lily of the Valley City snapped out of it, screaming in terror as they fled in the opposite direction.
But the reality was far from kind.
Almost the instant Lucian finished speaking, the freezing winds fully descended. From a distance, one could see a silver-white spark fall and then spread out in a semicircle.
"What… what's happening!?"
Some citizens who had heard or seen the commotion rushed over, only to find that everything in the headquarters plaza had turned into a symbolic icy blue and white.
Hundreds of human statues were frozen in terror, still maintaining their fleeing postures.
At the very center of the plaza, the ice sculptures of the two Sinnoh Elite Four members, Flint and Lucian, were particularly eye-catching.
"What… what's going on!? What is happening!?"
The first group of onlookers to arrive fell to the ground in fright.
"Was it… was it him who caused this?!"
Someone quickly noticed the Delibird in the sky and the masked man riding on its back.
"Isn't that… the SSS-class wanted criminal of the League—the Masked Man!?"
At this moment, a punk-styled young girl, about six years old, holding an Electric Mouse Pokémon, cried out in a trembling voice.
She had originally planned to go to Kanto to see if she could join Team Rocket.
However, because she liked a certain Pokémon unique to Sinnoh—Toxicroak—she decided to catch one before heading to Kanto.
Little did she know that as soon as she arrived in Sinnoh, she would encounter something like this.
"Come out, Sheena!"
As for the terrified citizens of Lily of the Valley City and tourists like the punk girl, Pryce paid them no attention at all.
His target had always been Sheena—or more specifically, Dialga, the God of Time, summoned by Sheena!
"Masked Man, what are you trying to do!?"
Less than half a minute after Pryce shouted, Cynthia arrived with a large group of Sinnoh's elite trainers.
A police force led by Officer Jenny encircled the area, leaving no gaps.
"The League's SSS-class wanted criminal, the Masked Man… what is he doing in Sinnoh!?"
Aaron, the only Bug-type Elite Four member in the entire League, was stunned. Two seconds later, he seemed to guess something and muttered to himself:
"Could… could it be for that? The… the Jewel…"
Cynthia frowned deeply. She had the same suspicion.
Currently, the only thing in the Sinnoh region that could attract the Masked Man's attention was likely the Jewel of Life.
When Flint and Lucian first started fighting Pryce, Cynthia had already heard the commotion from the indoor training grounds where she was practicing Mega Evolution.
But her first response wasn't to join the fight—it was to notify Officer Jenny to secure the area and instruct Sheena and Bertha to hide the Jewel of Life.
The entire Lily of the Valley Island was soon filled with the sound of sirens.
The arriving officers and police Pokémon, including Arcanine, Granbull, and Manectric, surrounded the plaza.
"I'm looking for Sheena, not Cynthia."
Pryce spat out these words coldly.
"Bring her out."
Pryce's words made Cynthia's eyebrows furrow even deeper.
Sheena was the guardian of the Jewel of Life, but if the Masked Man's goal was the orb, why was he so fixated on Sheena?
Could it be that, aside from her role as the orb's guardian, Sheena had some other special significance?
"Hurry up!"
The Masked Man's tone grew harsher.
He didn't unleash any Conqueror's Haki or anything like that—just a pure killing intent.
But even so, when a master-level trainer gets angry, their intimidation is no less effective than Conqueror's Haki.
At this moment, the ordinary citizens on the outskirts, as well as some rookie officers and their Pokémon, collapsed to their knees like Sasuke during the Chunin Exams when he first saw Orochimaru. They gagged and retched uncontrollably in fear.
"I'll buy us some time—call for reinforcements from other regions immediately."
Cynthia whispered instructions to Aaron as she stepped forward.
"What do you want with Sheena? If it's not too unreasonable, we can negotiate."
Cynthia looked up and shouted at the Masked Man.
However, Pryce had no intention of talking to Cynthia at all. In the end, in his plan, as long as Sheena could stay alive—or more precisely, live long enough to help him summon Dialga—that was all that mattered.
Everyone else? Completely irrelevant.
Not to mention, Pryce had been irritable lately.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the masked man raised his hand slightly.
The Delibird beneath him opened its beak slightly, and a blue-white beam of extreme cold began to condense deep within its throat, ready to fire.
Even this simple act caused everyone to feel the temperature of the island drop significantly.
If that attack were truly unleashed, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Below, Cynthia and the others' faces turned ashen, illuminated by the blue-white light.
No… Was he really this ruthless?
"Stop!"
At that moment, the main party finally arrived.
Sheena came running out of the headquarters building, rushing to Cynthia's side. She looked up and shouted, "What do you want from me!?"
"It's simple. Use your powers to summon Dialga."
Pryce said coldly behind his mask.
His tone carried an uncontrollable excitement.
Summon Dialga!?
Everyone present turned to Sheena with expressions as if they had seen a ghost.
The legend of Dialga—anyone from Sinnoh knew at least a little about it.
But summoning it… Was that even possible?
"How… How do you know about this?"
Sheena's face grew even paler.
This was a secret she had buried deep within herself, something she had never told anyone—not even her best friend Cynthia.
"You don't need to know that. Just summon Dialga already, or else…"
Pryce gestured with the large icy hand of his masked construct, swinging it backward.
The Delibird turned its head, and the freezing beam it had been forming in its mouth suddenly fired.
Boom—!
A deafening explosion shook the ground, and a cloud of dust rose from the earth of Lily of the Valley Island.
"Watch out!"
Cynthia instinctively shouted.
But with her abilities, there was nothing more she could do beyond yelling.
Marnie, who had been standing on the outskirts, could only watch helplessly as the deadly ice beam hurtled toward her.
At that moment, Marnie felt someone grab the back of her collar and violently pull her backward.
Boom—!
The thunderous roar echoed across the land. A glacial ravine, carved by the icy beam, stretched in a straight line from beneath Delibird all the way to the southern tip of Lily of the Valley Island. The beam even froze part of the southern seas surrounding the island.
This was the power of a Master-level trainer!
How many people had been turned into ice sculptures by this attack was unknown.
"You're insane!" Cynthia's eyes were blazing red with rage.
"If you don't want more people dragged into this, then do as I say!"
But Pryce completely ignored Cynthia.
Until his wish was fulfilled, as far as he was concerned, apart from his own Pokémon, neither humans nor Pokémon mattered—they were merely tools.
PS: I added Harem List in the Auxiliary chapter.