John watched as Mega Sharpedo circled the battlefield, its massive form adorned with striking yellow markings and gleaming white fangs protruding from its head. Some already fearsome Pokémon became even more terrifying after undergoing Mega Evolution, Tyranitar and Garchomp included.
Mega Sharpedo was more than just physically imposing. Its enhanced abilities across the board, save for raw physical power, allowed it to completely ignore the suction force of Black Hole Eclipse. With an eleven-level advantage over Greninja, coupled with Mega Evolution, victory seemed almost assured for the shark Pokémon.
The pressure in the arena was palpable.
Greninja kept its eyes fixed on Mega Sharpedo. As its natural rival, Greninja felt that oppressive force most acutely.
"Do you want to become stronger?" John's voice came from behind. "Like Garchomp and Gardevoir?"
"Greninja!" Greninja's response was immediate and resolute.
"Then feel my will and accept my strength!" John touched the Soothe Bell that Saul had given him, a bell blessed by Mesprit, the legendary being of emotion.
The bell had granted John more than the ability to hear Pokémon voices and detect their thoughts; it had awakened in him a sensitivity to the power of emotional bonds. John could feel his connection with Greninja strengthening with each passing moment.
Greninja closed its eyes, sensing John's power. An invisible thread wrapped around them both, linking their bodies and hearts in an extraordinary union. It was as though they shared an additional lifeline, their flesh and souls blending together.
In an instant, surging water enveloped Greninja, and its form began to change.
Unlike the accidental Bond Phenomenon that Ash and his Greninja had stumbled upon, John had methodically explored this power after mastering Mega Evolution. His ability to sense emotions allowed him to fully connect their feelings and harness the power of their bond on their very first attempt.
The result was Greninja's first "Bond Transformation", flawlessly executed and wholly successful.
Water burst from Greninja's body with a thunderous boom. Its skin shifted from deep blue to a lighter azure, giving it an appearance of exceptional agility and strength. To onlookers, this was clearly a transformed Greninja, but not one they recognized.
Black streamline patterns decorated its head, converging at the back to form a massive shuriken made of flowing water, not an ordinary throwing star, but a massive shuriken!
Unlike standard Mega Evolution, where any Pokémon evolved through a Mega Stone looks identical regardless of its trainer, Greninja's unique Bond Transformation resulted in different appearances depending on the trainer.
This wasn't "Ash-Greninja" but "John-Greninja." The massive Shuriken was John's "signature," and the coloration on Greninja's head differed markedly from what had been seen with Ash's partner.
"Greninja can Mega Evolve too?" Archie couldn't hide his surprise. As far as he knew, Greninja wasn't among the Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution.
"Your lack of knowledge doesn't define what's possible," John replied coldly. "The real battle begins now."
The corner of Archie's mouth curved upward. "You're becoming more intriguing by the minute!"
"Sharpedo, use Hydro Pump!" Archie commanded.
Mega Sharpedo attacked immediately. This Hydro Pump was completely different from before, surging water wrapped around its body and formed a massive shark head that rocketed toward Greninja.
This was clearly a signature move!
Greninja raised its hand high, then swung downward. A massive black hole manifested above, descending from the sky to intercept the shark's head. The black hole wasn't quite as large as the water shark, so it could only "devour" it bit by bit, like someone eating an ice pop.
As the shark head continued its forward momentum, the two energy streams collided, melded, and exploded.
"Aqua Jet!" Archie responded without hesitation.
Mega Sharpedo pierced through the explosion's black smoke, moving at extraordinary speed with its body wrapped in water. It charged toward Greninja while its teeth gleamed with light blue frost.
Not only was Mega Sharpedo using Aqua Jet, but it was combining it with Ice Fang!
After Mega Evolution, Sharpedo's Ability had changed from "Speed Boost" to "Strong Jaw," increasing the power of biting moves by fifty percent. Ice Fang, being a biting move, gained significant power from this boost.
Watching Sharpedo's approach, John took a deep breath. It was time to see Greninja's true strength after transformation.
"Ultmate Water Shuriken!" John raised his hand to direct.
Greninja reached behind its back, grasped the massive Shuriken, and leapt forward. Soaring high into the air, it hurled the shuriken with tremendous force!
The blades rotated through the air, slicing downward like a razor-sharp guillotine!
The Ultimate Water Shuriken collided with Mega Sharpedo in mid-air. After just a second of resistance, Mega Sharpedo was blasted to the ground, sliding seven or eight meters before finally coming to a stop.
Archie's confident expression froze, then transformed into astonishment.
"This is..." he whispered.
Originally, his Sharpedo had been able to match Greninja. But now, even after Mega Evolution, it was outmatched? Could Greninja's transformation be stronger than his own Mega Evolution?
The truth was exactly as Archie suspected. While Sharpedo's Mega Evolution provided balanced improvements across all stats, Greninja's Battle Bond was different. After evolution, its base power increased by 110 points, 10 points allocated to speed, and the remaining 100 split evenly between physical and special attack.
Battle-Bond Greninja's offensive capabilities reached terrifying heights. This was precisely why John had dared to confront Sharpedo head-on.
Seeing such obvious dominance, it was John's turn to smile. Time to end this fight.
He raised his hand for one final command.
"Come on Greninja! Let's Finish this! Ultimate Water Shuriken!!!"