"What did you see in your dream?" Rayquaza asked.
"Some pretty scary stuff," Jethro said. "We had found the Sinister Division's base… somewhere in a mountain, no less. We hit them head on, but… they seemed to know we were coming. They caught you guys in Dark Balls and turned you against me… I didn't see Elly or Valin, but Felicia…" he trailed off and looked down.
"They used me to hunt her, didn't they?" Rayquaza asked. Jethro stopped, and Rayquaza lowered its head to him.
"Yes, that's what I saw in my dream," he said. He was silent a moment before continuing. "Rayquaza, I want you to promise me something, if I may, please."
"What is it, Jethro?" the black dragon asked.
"I want you to promise me, that no matter what happens, if you or any of the others are caught in a Dark Ball…" he looked to one side and shrugged, "well, I'd like you to promise me that won't happen, either, but what I really want you to promise me is… if anything should happen… promise me that you'll do what you can to keep her safe," he said. He took a deep breath and let it out. "And if I don't make it after this battle… look after her. You know how she can be."
"You know cousins," Rayquaza said, grinning. "Closest you can ever get to being actual siblings." Jethro guffawed.
"Yeah, just like Flannery," he said. He looked Rayquaza in the eye and put a hand on its nose. "Can you promise me that?" he asked. Rayquaza pushed forward a little so that they were touching foreheads.
"I promise," it said lowly.
"We all do, boss," a voice said from behind. Jethro turned around to see that all his other Pokémon had silently released themselves and were standing behind him. Burner stood in front, arms crossed and grinning. They all walked forward and huddled together in a group hug. Jethro closed his eyes and sighed, relaxing into the hug.
A small light began to shine, and Jethro looked down. His Mega Badge was glowing, and five streams of light suddenly burst out from it. Each light touched the Mega Stones of his Pokémon, and one touched Rayquaza's forehead in the middle of the circle pattern on its head. A bright light began to surround them and pulse, causing Jethro to cover his eyes. When the light dimmed and he lowered his hand, he couldn't believe his eyes.
His Pokémon had Mega Evolved! He pivoted in place several times, trying to take all the changes in.
"I thought only one of you guys could Mega Evolve at a time!" he said, exhilarated. "This is… this is incredible!" Garchomp looked itself over again, beaming widely.
"This ain't getting old anytime soon!" it said excitedly, almost jumping up and down in glee.
Mega Tyranitar had more gaps in its armor than its normal shiny form, with four new triangular holes along the sides of its neck and one on its throat. The four on its chest were larger with the top two containing purple ovals. While the spikes along the back of its neck had grown shorter, it the ones on its head elongated to form prominent ridges along its brows. The center spike on its head was now a long, upright horn. Its chest plate expanded, curving over its shoulders and along its back to form three long, irregular spikes on each side of its body. It gained two sharp spikes on its knees, as well as more prominent leg joints. Its tail had lengthened, with the three spikes surrounding its tip growing upward and outward.
Metagross's Mega form was quite a sight. It was floating in midair, and its legs had become four massive, forward-facing arms. The claws on each arm were right next to each other, forming massive hooks. The cross on its face had turned from gold to blue, and it gained two small holes and a spike immediately below the cross on its chin, giving the impression of a goatee. Two golden triangular pieces of metal protruded from the sides of its head, and four small legs, two on top and two on bottom, stuck out of its back.
Burner's Mega evolution was most impressive. Its yellow markings had changed to black markings on its upper legs and chest. Its hair-like feathers took on a wing-like shape and pointed upward, and the portion around its chest was rough around its shoulders. The crest on its head had changed from two horns changed into a flat horn that angled backward. The flames on its wrists had become long streams.
The most stunning, elegant change of all, however, was Rayquaza's. Its body had lengthened, and its features had all changed. Its head was slightly longer with a strange Δ symbol appearing on its forehead. Its eyes had changed and now had yellow pupils and red irises, and black, tree-like markings trailed behind its eyes. Its red lips and teeth connected to lines on the inside of its lower horns, which took on a broad, triangular shape. At the outer edges of its lower horns were long, golden, glowing tendrils that each extended to black, fin-like structures. The tendrils had ring patterns that strongly resembled the yellow markings running along the length of Rayquaza's normal form. Its two upper horns became longer with a red line running over them in a V shape, and each upper horn had another glowing tendril that ended in a circular shape with a spike. Along the length of its body were red, glowing orbs placed where its ring patterns used to be. The chin, part of the neck, and the underside parts of its serpentine body had gained a flat shade of black. The fins running along its body were also marked with red lines, and had gained angled points on the backside; the fins on its tail became entirely yellow and substantially longer, like some sort of ribbons. The two fins on its back behind its head had grown and became curved, the fronts of them connecting to its body and the backs of them were raised off of it. Particles streamed from the long tendrils that extend from its jutting jaw. The upper part of its black hide sparkled in the moonlight with a metallic quality.
Jethro stood staring at it for a few minutes, his jaw hanging open in speechlessness. Burner waved a hand in front of his face but he merely raised his hand halfheartedly.
"No, no," he said absentmindedly. "Just let me admire it and take it in a minute."
"Yeah, you folks enjoy it," Torterra said. "I'll just stand here… same as always." Jethro looked over to his unchanged Grass- and Ground-Type companion and knelt down to it, putting a hand on its head.
"Don't worry, big guy," he said. "You'll get a Mega Evolution eventually, I'm certain of it. Besides, we don't want to scare the opponents too badly." He grinned. "You and Metagross are tanks enough as is, and two Mega tanks would seem a bit unfair." Torterra looked to one side and nodded. "That, and you already have a power-up when you swallow an Energy Ball."
"I suppose patience has its rewards," Torterra admitted. Jethro smiled and tapped his forehead to the massive Grass-Type. He stood up and exhaled slowly.
"I'm glad you all made that promise," he said. "Made me feel a lot better. I think we can all get some sleep now." In a flash of light, the other Pokémon reverted back onto their normal forms, looking at their Mega Stones. Tyranitar lifted the necklace that its Tyranitarite was set in, and Metagross looked to the harness that was on the upper part of its right front leg.
"The Sinister Division's sure got quite a fight coming to them," Tyranitar said. "I can't wait to take them down."
"Patience, big guy," Jethro said. "For now, let's get back to the Center and get some sleep." With that, they all walked back to the Pokémon Center, where Rayquaza returned to its resting spot outside. The others walked in with Jethro all the way to the room, falling asleep around the free space that was left.