The second lecture was a lot more fun. Professor Laurel brought a few of her Pokémon out for demonstrations. Throughout the hour, her Salazzle, Golisopod, and Dhelmise showcased specific attacks and transformed them into other attacks without stopping. For example, Salazzle was able to Ember into Flamethrower, Golisopod turned Water Gun into Hydro Pump, and Dhelmise turned Bullet Seed into Seed Bomb. It was a fascinating lecture and I couldn't wait to study her presentation in depth.

After the lecture, I left to grab some lunch. I decided to hit the PokéCenter since the food was cheaper than the restaurant I went to yesterday and of similar quality/taste. When I entered the PokéCenter, Nurse Joy called me over.

"We have received the results of your interview. It's in this envelope. I was also told you will need to meet with Professor Sycamore before going forward with anything else regarding your status as a trainer," she told me with a pleasant smile.

"Thank you," I replied. I took the envelope and walked over to the cafeteria. I had totally forgotten about the interview and exam for becoming a Senior Trainer with the League. I released both of my Pokémon after I ordered our food. I opened the letter while Inkay and Ferroseed talked.

[ Marco, thank you for partaking in the interview conducted by Agents Booker and Shadow Cat. After thoroughly examining your interview, we have decided to let the decision regarding your opportunity to take the Trainer Exam fall on Professor Sycamore. Please meet him at the earliest convenience. We implore a prompt meeting.

We will keep in contact no matter the decision.

Pokémon League, Kalos Branch ]

'Hmm, interesting.'

Inkay left the table to grab our food while I rubbed Ferroseed's head. She preferred the spot roughly 8cm (3 in) behind the center of her head. A few soft scratches later and she was relaxing as best as she could. Inkay returned with the food, which was quickly enjoyed by us.

I went for a walk around Magenta Plaza. While I didn't like extremely busy areas, which was the entirety of Lumiose City, it was nice to take a stroll. The temperature was nice and cool, with the sun shining down on us to keep us from really getting cold. Bright blue skies and a few white puffy clouds drifting in the sky matched perfectly. The air had a faint flowery scent to it and almost everyone had smiles on their faces.

Ferroseed bounced happily as Inkay swam in the air around my head.Once we had 15 minutes before the lecture started, we headed back. I found an empty seat, an astounding feat given the sheer number of people trying to pack themselves into the lecture hall.

'Guess he's a popular Professor.'

Prof. Sycamore walked through, sweeping the crowd with his eyes lingering a few seconds more on some individuals including myself. I gave him a slight nod, which he returned. He then turned his gaze to the screen, which showed pictures of different trainers and their Pokémon. He fixed his hair before addressing us all with a loud and welcoming voice.

"Hello, everyone! I see we've all gathered here, so I'll get started with the lecture. As many of you know, I study Mega-Evolution and the bonds between trainers and Pokémon. In my years of research, I've discovered some things that are truly étonnant."

With this, he released a few Pokémon: Pangoro, Charizard, and Gogoat. To the left of the Professor, Pangoro slammed onto his feet with a loud grunt as his narrow eyes keenly observed every single one of us. He chewed on his twig before crossing his arms. Charizard let out a roar as she hovered in place right next to Prof. Sycamore. She scanned the room for a threat before relaxing and snuggling into the Professor's extended arms. Gogoate let out a loud bleat right in front of Professor Sycamore before shaking his body and laying down on the floor.

"One thing I have discovered is that there are actually some benefits to creating bonds with Pokémon. I'm not just referring to catching one and having it listen to your commands. I mean true bonds between the two creatures, something that can only really be found among friends and family.

"When a trainer and Pokémon develop strong bonds, a special energy is created. Normally, Pokémon are only able to use this energy to strengthen their attacks and bodies. This leads to Pokémon having a noticeable edge against others who don't have that bond."

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At this, Gogoat and Pangoro stood up. They both used what Prof. Laurel called a basic move. They both used Tackle, but it was much stronger than when Inkay or Ferroseed used it. Normally, a Pokémon is enveloped by a translucent white aura, looking more like wisps of smoke than anything, when Tackle is used. This is a visual cue that Normal-type energy is being condensed to deal damage.

For both Pangoro and Gogoat, the white light shimmered around their bodies, acting like some sort of armor. Though you could still see through it, it was much denser than normal. They crashed into each other, a white barrier, courtesy of Charizard, enveloped both. This prevented damage to their surroundings. We could still feel a shockwave, however, showing us just how strong the attacks were.

"Thank you, Goro and Bouc. Impressive, as usual. Now, Flamber, get ready. Some Pokémon, including Charizard here, are able to harness that energy and use it to transform themselves. We call this-."

With a bright light, Charizard began to absorb energy from her surroundings. Her skin began to darken while her flame grew hotter and brighter. The energy condensed enough for all of us to see it coalesce around Charizard, flowing into her as she roared into a black version of herself with blue flames spewing out of her tail, mouth, and the top of her head. Her scales hardened and became shinier than before, enhancing the new color scheme. She looked more draconic than before, showing how the mega-evolution changed her.

"Mega-evolution!"

We all stood in awe, taking in this rare moment to absorb as much as we could about seeing a mega-evolution up close like this. The power emanating from Charizard was above anything I could ever imagine. It felt oppressive, as if nothing less than utter submission and reverence was demanded. It also gave fleeting feelings of warmth and protection, as if nothing could harm me in her presence.

"Only a few Pokémon species have been found to harness the energy of bonds in this way, though we believe all Pokémon are capable with the proper bond and trainer. However, there is another little known bonus that comes with such a strong bond. Though there are few studies, what has been studied has shown definitive results. It is these results that show positive effects in trainers that I want to talk about today."

The screen behind Professor Sycamore turned on to show three different trainers: Bruno Shiba of the Kanto Elite Four, Satoshi Red, who looked a lot like Red from the games, and Caitlin Katorea of the Unova Elite Four.

"For some trainers, the bonds they have with their Pokémon have led to impressive physical enhancement, as seen in Bruno Shiba, the Fighting-type Elite Four member who can go toe-to-toe with his Machamp."

At this, A clip began playing. It showed Bruno sparring with his Machamp, both grappling the other and slamming each other onto the floor and sending out flurries of kicks and punches. Every once in a while, Bruno would catch one of Machamp's punches, using that as leverage to lift the Pokémon and slam him down hard.

"For others, these bonds have developed into Psychic abilities or boosts to already present abilities. Caitlin Katorea, an Elite Four member of Unova, has said her Pokémon have helped her with controlling her Psychic abilities."

Another clip played. This one showed a young girl with poofy brown hair with several bows throughout keeping it in place, a white dress and white dress shoes. It spanned out to a battle between a Klinklang and Solosis, in which Solosis fainted after taking a point-blank Flash Cannon. The girl shouted in anger, several items floating in the air and then being sent flying towards the Klinklang and its trainer, who was pelted by rocks and twigs crashing towards her.

Another clip played after, this time showing the same girl clad in white, this time older and resembling Caitlin much more, also losing a Pokémon battle. She once again shouts in anger, but this time nothing happens apart from glowing blue eyes. The other trainer flinched, apparently expecting an attack of some sort, sighing in relief when nothing happened.

"For Caitlin specifically, her bonds have increased the subconscious control of her Psychic abilities, no longer responding to her emotions as they did previously."

Now, a clip of Red, or Satoshi, began to play, showing him mid-battle against MewTwo. His Charizard had mega-evolved already, the same evolution as Professor Sycamore's own Charizard. Satoshi's Charizard was flying around, swiftly dodging MewTwo's attacks while sending Air Slashes and Dragon Pulses at it. They exchanged blows when they got close to each other, deciding close-quarter combat to be the focus of the battle. Charizard seemed to be taking more damage and losing whatever stalemate was present.

Satoshi gave an encouraging shout, getting closer to the battle in an effort to try to support his Pokémon. After this, Charizard roared, newfound energy surging through it to help squash whatever advantage MewTwo was taking advantage of. This boost put Charizard back on the same level as MewTwo. Satoshi jumped onto Charizard's back, which somehow massively boosted Charizard's speed. MewTwo was able to send a Psychic wave towards Satoshi, who swiped his hand out to disrupt the attack and rendered it useless.

"For others, such as Satoshi Red of Pallet Town, the original Pokédex Holder for Professor Oak, the bonds they have with their Pokémon can lead to temporary boosts mid-battle, more than what can be used by the Pokémon themselves. This boost is stronger the closer the Trainer and Pokémon pair are and can even lead to Trainers helping their Pokémon in battle with some supporting acts, as we just saw from Satoshi disrupting MewTwo's attack.

"There is still a lot we don't know, mostly because these bonds are extremely difficult to form for the average trainer. Those we can study are very diverse, leading to us studying the same few phenomena. Cependant, we believe there are countless different ways for this bond energy to interact with trainers and Pokémon."

Prof. Sycamore paused for a bit. He scanned everyone in the room, this time taking at least ten seconds to scrutinize each person he had observed earlier. When he looked at me, he smiled and waved me up. I sat there in confusion.

'Is he actually calling me up?'

"Mister Marco, do you mind coming up for a minute?"

'I guess he is.'

I nodded, standing up and walking down the steps. A few people stared at me as I walked down. The closer I got to the professor, the more his Pokémon stared me down. I don't know about the other trainers, but having three large Pokémon gaze harshly at me was really intimidating. Professor Sycamore smiled brightly and patted my shoulder when I got close enough.

"Thank you for joining me down here Marco. Don't mind the three of them, they're just ready to protect me at all times. Now, I want to explain to everyone the bond you have with your Pokémon and the differences between our bonds. Can you call out your Pokémon?"

"Uh, sure thing Professor," I responded. I grabbed the Pokéballs and released Inkay and Ferroseed. They looked around before seeing the three fully evolved monsters, immediately taking defensive poses. "Inkay, Ferroseed, no danger here. Just relax for now."

They both looked hesitant for a few seconds but eventually did so. Ferroseed happily jumped into my arms while Inkay slowly floated to the top of my head, staring warily at Charizard.

"Well, look at that! Merveilleux!"