In the forest along the cliff-side on Route 8, not only Team Flare but also the Vaniville kids are startled by the unexpected arrival of the Champion Diantha, Shalour Gymleader Korrina, and Gurkinn, the Mega Evolution Guru. Without much hesitation, Diantha and Korrina have Mega Evolved their Gardevoir and Lucario, and are holding down Trevenant and Aegislash while Gurkinn's Gengar works to free X from the vines.

Sitting on a tree branch, Malva watches the scene with her Braixen, and remarks that with the emergence of the Mega Evolution Successors, every key player has finally arrived at the scene. She finds it odd, however, that Gurkinn isn't taking part in the battle, and Essentia believes that he is perhaps still be suffering from the injury she inflicted on him when she attacked the Tower of Mastery earlier. She explained that while she only intended to immobilize him, she still caused some serious damage on him, but queries if it is the only reason. Malva recalls that Chalmers has tried to drown Gurkinn with Skrelp's poison during their fight, and figures that it must have eroded and further irritated the wounds on his leg.

At that moment, Gengar successfully frees X from the vines that restrained him, and X gasps in shock as he recognizes Gurkinn. The old man is glad that the Junior Champion remembers him, but doesn't feel surprised because he was indeed cool and heroic when he saved him from the paparazzi. Korrina gets annoyed and barks that it isn't time to brag, and Gurkinn pouts that Korrina is really scary sometimes. The Mega Evolution Guru turns to X, and tells him that he wishes to present him with a gift again like before. He gestures to the Gengar who just rescued him, and the ghost Pokémon nonchalantly rests itself against a tree and steals a glance at the boy as it keeps its signature grin. Gurkinn explains that he owns this Gengar, but as X probably can see, it has quite the attitude and doesn't really obey most of the time. Being egoistic and enjoying attention, it only acts when it can take the center of focus in a situation. However, it is also extremely powerful. Gurkinn wants to know if X thinks he can command such a Pokémon, and X falls silent as he drops his head to ponder in thought. Yet, Korrina has no patience for indecisiveness and yells at X's stupidity. She hollers that with all his team members and friends restrained by the enemy, he doesn't really have a choice but to rely on Gengar's help.

Just then, Trevor bolts up as he recalls the Mega Stone list they obtained from the Team Flare Grunt, and states that Gengar is also a Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution. Gurkinn giggles that Trevor is really knowledgeable, and confirms his words by showing them to Gengarite which Gengar already possesses. He grins that the only question is whether X believes himself capable of bonding with it, and once again turns to the boy. X pauses for another moment, and walks over to Gengar to whisper something in its ear. He then orders a Shadow Punch, and to Gurkinn's surprise, the ghost Pokémon obeys the command and swiftly strikes out at Trevenant.

Gurkinn wants to know what exactly X said to Gengar, and X explains that he simply said whoever beats Trevenant and saves all the people and Pokémon from this crisis would be extremely cool, and asked if Gengar would let Gardevoir and Lucario take all the glory. His answer causes Gurkinn to break out in laughter, and the Guru compliments that the Junior Champion certainly has his talents. However, X sulks at the comment, and voices out his despair that he has just lost the ability to Mega Evolve his Pokémon, with both Kanga and Elec failing to react to the Keystone. Knowing what the problem is, Gurkinn grins sheepishly, and says it isn't actually X's fault but his, because he hasn't explained things clearly when he passed the Mega Ring to him. Gurkinn admits that part of the reason was his own uncertainty at that time, and wants to know what exactly X felt when he first received the Ring. X thinks back on the moment he first put on the Mega Ring, and recalls how he experienced a rush of his power and emotions towards the Ring, or rather, the Keystone that is embedded in the Ring. He states that it almost felt as if he gained an extra brain and heart on the left wrist, and the sensation overwhelmed him.

Gurkinn wears a smile upon hearing X's answer, and remarks that it is the correct feeling which not everyone possessing a Keystone manages to experience. The old man now feels genuinely grateful about his decision to pass on the Mega Ring to X, and decides to explain the reason why X failed his Mega Evolution. The fact is, when a trainer activates Mega Evolution, it can only occur with one single Pokémon at any one time, which means that although X is capable of bonding with Kangaskhan, Manectric, and possibly Gengar, he may only Mega Evolve one of them for this battle. Gurkinn's explanation startles both X and Trevor, and Trevor finally realizes that X failed to initiate Mega Evolution earlier because he attempted to activate both Kanga and Elec at the same time.

Up on the tree branch, Malva believes that she should join the fight to make it a 3 versus 3 battle, and thinks the time has come to take down the great actress from her throne, clearing referring to Diantha. She gestures to Braixen, and hops down from the tree to join her comrades. Celosia is surprised that Malva has decided to show herself, and Malva tells the Scientist to focus on transporting the 'Tree' and getting rid of the Gymleader. She orders Essentia to keep Gengar engaged, and declares that she shall take on Diantha and Gardevoir herself. Diantha, shocked that the Elite 4 fire expert is part of Team Flare, wears a pensive look, and Malva wastes no time in unleashing Braixen's Magic Room to create a globe of energy shield to engulf Diantha and herself, blocking out everyone else. Korrina and Mega Lucario pound hard on the energy shield to try and break it, but to no avail. Gurkinn cries that Korrina should focus on her own opponent, and states that the Tree and the Vaniville residents have already taken off. Korrina knows that her grandfather is right, and reverts Mega Lucario back to its normal state before starting to give chase.

Meanwhile, Gengar continues to unleash a barrage of Shadow Punch on Trevenant but unfortunately misses narrowly every time. Gurkinn observes that Trevenant seems to be able to read and predict Gengar's movements, and thinks it will be a tough battle. Before long, Gengar gets fed up, and turns it back on Trevenant. X is shocked that Gengar has simply stopped fighting, and Gurkinn sweatdrops that it has probably lost motivation because it no longer has the upper hand in the situation. Shauna scoffs that Gengar is a troublesome guy, but Tierno thinks X will try to tame it even though it seems impossible.

At that moment, Trevenant delivers a strike on Gengar from its back, and the ghost Pokémon points an angry finger at X, as if blaming him for his poor commanding skills. Trevor, Tierno and Shauna sweatdrop at its behavior, but X remains unfazed, and calmly calls out to Gengar, addressing it as Lasma. Both Gengar and Gurkinn are shocked that X has come up with a nickname, and X wants to know if the ghost Pokémon is capable of using Confuse Ray. Lasma responds by unleashing the move, and X thinks it is perfect. He thanks Lasma for saving him earlier, and thinks what it did was extremely cool, which he hopes to see once more. X's sincere words make the proud Gengar immensely happy, and it begins to envelop itself with a blinding light as it uses Confuse Ray again. The move creates multiple shadows on the ground, and Essentia gets alarmed as she loses sight of Gengar. She ponders on X's words about Gengar pulling off what it did once more, and immediately realizes that it has dipped into the shadows again. She hurriedly orders Trevenant to attack the shadows and the ghost tree Pokémon quickly slams its fists down repeatedly. However, it doesn't seem to do anything, and in that instant, Lasma materializes from Trevenant's own shadow from behind. This catches both Essentia and Trevenant by surprise, but before they could do anything, Lasma strikes out with both arms to deliver a Shadow Punch, and knocks Trevenant out with the supper effective hit.

As Trevenant faints, the tree vines restraining the Vaniville kids and their Pokémon instantly regress, and Trevor sees that Lasma has taken on an alternate appearance, gaining bigger arms and a third eye on its forehead. He gasps that X has successfully Mega Evolved it, and at that moment, X fakes a cough as he steals a glance at his friends. Taking the hint, Y, Trevor and Tierno immediately praise the Gengar for his coolness, but Shauna refuses to join the party and scoffs that she maintains that it is troublesome.

On Korrina's side, she continues to give chase to Celosia, and has noticed the blinding light from where the Vaniville kids are. She recognizes it as the light emitted during Mega Evolution, and knows that X, whom she calls the Pajama Kid, has succeeded. She recalls how she refused to recognize the boy as a Successor during their first encounter since he did not inherit the Keystone through a proper successor ceremony. However, what her grandfather said to her when they lost the Tower of Mastery caused her to change her mind. At that time, Gurkinn stated that the essence of Mega Evolution does not like in glamorous buildings, and it will live on even if the Tower of Mastery is gone. Indeed, she now sees that ceremonies are nothing but rituals, and the soul of Mega Evolution exists in the strong bond a trainer builds with Pokémon.

Reaching Route 8's cliff side, Korrina catches sight of the 'Tree' down below, and tells Lucario that they must take a leap of faith. She locks hands with Lucario, and hops down the cliff, landing right on top of the 'Tree', which is being moved on a truck maneuvered by the possessed Vaniville residents. Celosia quickly notices the arrival of Korrina, and the Shalour Gymleader demands that the Team Flare Scientist return what she has taken. Celosia barks that she will not let Korrina take the 'Tree', and orders Aegislash to attack. Lucario easily fends off the strike, and Korrina states that it isn't only the 'Tree' that she demands back, but also all the Vaniville people that have been mind-controlled. She hollers that Team Flare has not only taken away the homes, lives, dreams and loved ones of the Vaniville kids, but also the dignity of the precious people they live with. As a Mega Evolution Successor, she shall use all of her might to reclaim these for the sake of the kids, and declares that it is time to burst with life as she Mega Evolves her Lucario…