Chapter 22

Now that Snotlout and Charmeleon were getting along, the gang had made their way into Fallarbor Town which they are going to use as a rest stop before heading to Meteor Falls.

After a quick trip to the Pokémon Center, they decide to take a moment to look around the town and see what's there. They see that Fallarbor is a fairly small town, like Dewford or Oldale towns, but unlike the aforementioned towns, Fallarbor looked more like a barren wasteland with a few buildings due to it being damaged by ashes from Mt. Chimney.

They soon come across an old man with a bushy, white beard that says to Hiccup, "You there, boy. You a trainer?"

Hiccup nods. "Y-yeah."

The old man smirks. "I thought so. Care for a little battle?"

Hiccup shrugs and says, "Uh, ok. I'm Hiccup by the way."

The old man nods. "Name's Ben. Well then, follow me." Ben takes Hiccup and the gang to an area just outside the town. Once there, he says to Hiccup, "Rules are simple. We each use one Pokémon, whoever's Pokémon is out first, loses."

Hiccup nods. "Alright then."

Ben smiles and says, "Then let's go. Blaziken, take him down!" He throws a Pokéball and out pops a red humanoid chicken. Though it seemed to have some sort of collar with a red and yellow stone on it. "Blaziken!"

Hiccup checks the Pokédex. "Blaziken, the Blaze Pokémon and the evolved form of Combusken. In battle, Blaziken blows out intense flames from its wrists and attacks the foes courageously. Its powerful legs can allow it to jump over tall buildings."

Snotlout comments, "A Blaziken? It's good but I bet you it can't beat my Charmeleon."

Hiccup ignores Snotlout as he puts the Pokédex away and says, "So, that's what my Combusken will become in the future. Interesting. Alright, Marshtomp, go!" He throws his own ball and sends out the blue bipedal fish.

"Marrrrr!"

Ben smirks, "Why don't we kick things up a notch?" He pulls his left sleeve back and reveals a wristband with a stone that had a symbol that looked like a flame with lines going through it. Ben presses the symbol and it glows which seemed to cause the stone on Blaziken's neck to glow as well. Ben raises his fist into the air and says, "Beyond evolution. Blaziken, mega evolve!"

Suddenly a pink globe of energy forms around Blaziken. When it fades, Blaziken is shown to have lines of flame coming out of its wrists plus black patches on its upper legs and chest. "BLAAAAAZE!"

Hiccup's eyes widen. "What just happened? Did Blaziken evolve?"

Ben smirks again. "What? You've never heard of mega evolution, kid?"

Astrid explains, "It's a phenomenon first discovered in the Kalos region. It works if you have a special keystone, which is what Ben has on his arm, and your Pokémon has a special mega evolution stone. Then, through the power of the trust and bond between trainer and Pokémon, that Pokémon can change into a form that makes it even more powerful."

Fishlegs adds, "Mega evolution doesn't last forever, it pretty much fades once the battle is over, but boy is it something. The Pokémon's stats skyrocket, some even gain another type, they get a new form, and it's just so cool to watch."

Hiccup nods and says to Marshtomp, "Alright, I guess I'll see how strong it can get. Marshtomp, use Muddy Water!"

"Mar-shtomp!" Marshtomp slams his hands onto the ground and causes a wave of brown water to form, heading right towards Blaziken.

Ben orders, "Blaziken, jump then use Blaze Kick!"

"Blaze!" With the speed of a jet, Blaziken jumps over the wave before its leg flames up and it kicks Marshtomp so hard that it goes right through a few trees.

Hiccup's eyes widen even more. "Whoa, that was so fast."

Ben shrugs. "That's mega evolution for ya, kid. For Blaziken it supercharges its speed so it's nearly unavoidable."

Hiccup nods and sees Marshtomp get back up before saying, "Dang. Well, I've faced tough challenges before. Marshtomp, get in there with a Mud Bomb!"

"Marrrrr." Marshtomp leaps towards Blaziken with a ball of mud that he forms in his arms.

However, before Marshtomp could get any close to Blaziken, Ben commands, "Blaziken, circle it then use Sky Uppercut!"

Blaziken then dashes around Marshtomp in a circle, going so fast that Marshtomp couldn't even see it. Hiccup suggests, "Just go for it!" Marshtomp throws the mud ball but it ends up missing and Blaziken gives it a powerful upwards kick on the back of the head, taking Marshtomp out instantly.

"Marshtomp!" Hiccup yells.

Ben nods. "Great job, Blaziken." Blaziken smiles as its mega evolution fades and it returns to normal. "Hey kid, no hard feelings right?"

For Hiccup, it was strange how Ben could go from this super tough battler to a much kinder old man in just a second, but he says, "Uh, yeah. No hard feelings. I-I'll see ya." He retrieves Marshtomp into its Pokéball before heading off to the Pokémon center to heal up.

While at the center, Astrid pats Hiccup on the back and says, "Look, you and Marshtomp did fine. You just didn't know what to do with that Mega Evolution, that's all."

Hiccup sighs. "Yeah, you're right. I gotta say, though, Mega Evolution does seem really cool. Sure wish I could do that."

"Well, perhaps you can." Said a voice coming from behind Hiccup. He turns around and sees a man wearing some sort of miners clothing. "Sorry to bother you but, I did see that battle you just had and I have to say that while you did loose, the determination in your eyes was quite impressive."

Snotlout then asks, "And who exactly are you?"

The man chuckles. "Oh, where are my manners? My name is Professor Cozmo, I am a professor here in Fallarbor who specializes in Pokémon fossil research."

Fishlegs then becomes giddy all over again. "Fossils? You mean ancient relics that if revived can create some of the coolest rock type Pokémon in the history of the world?"

Snotlout rolls his eyes. "And there he goes with his rocks again."

Cozmo nods. "Well, you are correct my fat friend. Anyway, you're Hiccup right? I actually heard about you on the news and how the bond between you and your Pokémon has lead you to do amazing things."

Hiccup's eyes widen. "Wait, really? I'm on the news?"

Cozmo nods. "Why yes, haven't you been watching lately? I heard about how your Abra revived on its own at the Dewford Gym and that lead you to victory. I heard about how you tamed a Zapdos at Mauville and got it to stop terrorizing the city, and I heard about your recent battle on Mt. Chimney and how all of your Pokémon sprang out to help you. You really seem to have a special bond with your Pokémon like none other."

Hiccup nods. "Wow. I guess that's true."

Cozmo then adds, "Anyway, I figured you'd be coming by Fallarbor at some point and I've actually been in contact with Professor Sycamore in the Kalos region and, upon request, he sent me this…" He pulls out a wristband just like the one Ben had. "This wristband contains a keystone which enables a trainer to use mega evolution. I think you will make good use of it."

Hiccup takes the wristband and stares at it for a moment. Knowing the power that mega evolution can bring, he got pretty excited about it. "Wow. Th-thank you, Professor."

Cozmo nods. "One more thing." He pulls out a blue stone with a black and orange symbol like the one on Blaziken. "This is the Swampertite. If a Swampert holds it, then it can be capable of using mega evolution."

Hiccup raises a brow. "Swampert?"

Fishlegs replies, "Marshtomp's evolution. If we want to get it to a Swampert, we'll need some training."

Hiccup nods. "Then that's what we'll do."

The next half hour was spent with Hiccup's Marshtomp battling Fishlegs, Astrid and Snotlout in an attempt to get Marshtomp experience. Both Fishlegs and Snotlout went a little easy on Hiccup because they knew he was just battling for experience, although Snotlout chose to really make Hiccup work for the experience.

It was during one last battle with Aron when Hiccup says, "Ok, Marshtomp, this should do it. Use Mud Bomb!"

"Marrrrrr!" Marshtomp makes a ball of mud that if flings towards Aron.

Fishlegs responds to this with, "Look sharp, Aron. Iron Defense!"

"Arrrrrr!" The armored shrew's body glows silver as it's armor becomes even harder, but the Mud Bomb proved to be just enough to take Aron out, and defeating Aron proved to be enough to cause Marshtomp's body to glow white as the fin on top of its head splits into two, it's body grows bigger, the spikes on its cheeks split into two, and it becomes a darker shade of blue. "Swamperrrrt!"

Fishlegs exclaims, "Alright! Marshtomp evolved!"

Hiccup happily pulls up the Pokédex. "Swampert, the mud fish Pokémon and the evolved form of Marshtomp. Swampert uses its powerful arms to swing at its opponents and knock them out. Its vision allows it to see even in muddy water."

Hiccup pats Swampert on the shoulder. "Swampert, you are definitely going to win now. Here, let's fit this on ya." He pulls out the Swampertite that he attached to a wrist band that he slips onto Swampert's left bicep. He then says, "Alright, let's see if we can find Ben again."

"No need to go looking." Ben says as he approaches Hiccup from behind. "So, I see you got a keystone yourself. Fascinating. I suppose you're interested in another battle."

Hiccup nods. "You bet I am. And this time, things are gonna go a bit differently."

Ben nods. "By all means, let's get to it. Right here, right now. Blaziken, show em we mean business." He tosses a Pokéball and sends Blaziken back out.

"Blaaaaze!"

Cozmo comments, "Ah, it's wearing a Blazikenite, the stone necessary for Blaziken to mega evolve. Very fascinating."

Hiccup nods. "So we're just gonna get to it then? Very well. Swampert, go!"

"Swamp." Swampert steps in front of Hiccup and stands in a battle ready position.

Ben then adds, "And while we're heating things up." He pulls out the keystone on his wrist and presses it, making it and the Blazikenite glow.

Hiccup nods. "Let's go then." He presses his own keystone, causing it and Swampert's Swampertite to glow.

Hiccup and Ben both raise their fists before saying, "Beyond evolution. Swampert/Blaziken Mega evolve!"

Both Swampert and Blaziken have pink fields surround them for a moment before fading and Blaziken is revealed with the flaming wrists and black lines while Swampert's torso became wider, the spikes on its cheeks grow a third, and its forearms become bigger.

Fishlegs comments, "Wow. I never thought I'd see a Mega Swampert in real life. This is like a dream come true. Now if only I could get Aron to mega evolve."

Hiccup then says, "Here we go. Swampert, use Muddy Water!"

"Swamp-ert!" Swampert slams its arms on the ground and causes a wave of brown water to appear.

Ben rolls his eyes. "This again? How predictable. Blaziken, jump then use Blaze Kick."

"Blaz." Blaziken jumps up quickly and charges up a flaming kick.

That's when Hiccup says, "And you say I'm predictable. Swampert, hit it with a Hammer Arm!"

"Swamp!" Swampert's arm glows as it swings it and strikes Blaziken, causing Blaziken to fall into the wave.

Ben comments, "Well, you managed to get a hit on me, but this is not over. Blaziken, Sky Uppercut, now!"

Blaziken kicks upwards in a way that it seemed to slice through the wave of muddy water. Hiccup says, "Swampert, jump!" Swampert jumps up and just barely manages to dodge Blaziken's kick. When Swampert lands, however, it lands with such strength that it ends up making the ground shake a little.

Snotlout asks through the shaking, "Whoa, what's going on?"

Astrid, "Feels like an Earthquake attack to me. One of the strongest Ground Type attacks."

Despite being smacked by Hammer Arm, washed up by Muddy Water and now shaken by Earthquake, Blaziken was still able to stand tall and even make the flames coming out of its wrists longer. Ben comments, "That's it, Blaziken, keep it up! Give it an Overheat!"

"Blaaaaaaaaaaze!" Blaziken's body glows red hot as he charges up an attack before firing it right at Swampert. Swampert holds its arms up to block the attack.

Fishlegs comments, "Overheat is a powerful attack, but it can lower the using Pokémon's attack power each time it's used."

Hiccup says to this, "Come on, Swampert. It's all on you, bud." This motivated Swampert to push his feet into the ground and ride out the attack. Hiccup then says, "Now Swampert! Earthquake!" Swampert smirks before stomping it's foot and sending a fissure that trips up Blaziken, causes it to stop attacking, and thanks to the hits from earlier, knocks it out.

Hiccup pumps his fist up. "We did it, Swampert! That was amazing!" Swampert turns around and smiles as his mega evolution fades.

Cozmo comments, "That was fantastic, Hiccup. I knew you'd put the keystone to good use."

Ben sighs before walking over to Blaziken and kneeling in front of it. He pats Blaziken on the shoulder and says, "It's time, old friend." Blaziken nods and takes off the collar with the Blazikenite and handing it to Ben. Ben stands before Hiccup and says, "Son, of all the years my Blaziken and I have been together, that was the first time we had ever lost. I think it's about time Blaziken and I stop battling all together."

Hiccup's eyes widen. "Wait, what? You're retiring from battling?"

Ben nods. "Indeed. You see, I've had Blaziken when he was a little Torchic and we have been through everything together, thick and thin, good and bad, and when we took a trip to the Kalos region we discovered mega evolution and how it hadn't made its way to Hoenn yet so, after Blaziken evolved, I decided to challenge trainers using it. Ever since, we've become known around here as the unbeatable duo of Fallarbor, that is until you showed up. You beat my Blaziken and I do believe that's a good enough reason to retire."

Hiccup nods. "I see. Well then I guess I wish you and Blaziken good health in your later years."

Ben nods again. "Thank you. One more thing, I'd like you to have this." He holds up the Blazikenite necklace. "I figure I won't be needing this anymore, so you can take it. With this, you'll be able to mega evolve a Blaziken of your own."

Hiccup knew that he had a Combusken that will likely become a Blaziken at some point so he figured he might as well take it. "Thank you, Ben."

The next morning, the gang packs up and heads off towards Route 114 on their way to Meteor Falls, one of which couldn't be more excited to learn more about mega evolution and what it could bring for him in future battles.