Seeing the brilliant light surging from Froakie's body, Aaron immediately knew—
Froakie was evolving!!
"Buzz—"
Within the glow, Froakie's body slowly lifted upward. A low humming sound followed, and as the light dispersed, a tall, upright frog-shaped Pokémon with deep blue and light blue coloring appeared before Aaron.
This was Froakie's evolved form—Frogadier!
Having broken through to the Intermediate level, Frogadier was now able to learn the Tailed Beast Cloak skill. Aaron activated it without hesitation.
He then used the system to scan Frogadier and obtained its updated status panel:
[Name: Frogadier (Shiny)]
(Shiny Effect: Both Attack and Special Attack +10%)
[Gender: Male]
[Nature: Relaxed]
[Type: Water]
[Ability: Protean]
[Base Stats Total: 405]
[Level: Intermediate (Early Stage)]
[Pokémon Potential: Champion-Class level]
[Known Moves: Power-Up Punch (Proficient), Bubble (Proficient), Rasengan (Mastery), Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu (Mastery), Quick Attack (Proficient), Water Pulse (Basic), Smokescreen (Basic)…]
[Special Ability: Tailed Beast Cloak — Upon activation, greatly increases all attributes (Speed, both Attacks, both Defenses, and HP), and allows the cloak itself to be controlled for attacks…]
[Description: Frogadier, the Bubble Frog Pokémon. Possesses exceptional control and can hit a can from 30 meters away with a pebble…]
...
It had comprehended two new moves—Water Pulse and Smokescreen!!
And with the Tailed Beast Cloak finally unlocked, Frogadier's combat power had taken a massive leap forward.
Once it learned Senjutsu Mode and the Flying Thunder God Technique, put on a forehead protector, and donned a cloak emblazoned with "Fourth Hokage"—
Wouldn't that just be a Minato Namikaze version of a ninja frog!?
Aaron couldn't help but feel that Minato Namikaze and a ninja frog actually looked somewhat alike…
That was absurd!!
What if, in the future, it even obtained the Gamabunta Summoning Technique and summoned a giant toad?
Wouldn't that be outright cheating!?
After all, a giant toad looked a lot like a Pokémon too!
The thought amused Aaron greatly. He could already imagine the referees standing there, completely dumbfounded. Hahaha…
"Boom—boom—boom…"
Suddenly, a series of thunderous crashes echoed through the forest, accompanied by the sound of trees being smashed aside. Aaron turned his head sharply.
Ahead, clouds of dust rose as trees toppled one after another.
Moments later, a girl came sprinting toward them with a Dratini at her side. Chasing closely behind was a massive serpent composed entirely of jagged stone—
An Onix!!
Aaron recognized the girl at once. She was Grace, the class monitor of Class 1.
She looked disheveled and pale, fleeing at full speed. When she spotted Aaron, she froze for a split second before urgently shouting:
"You—run!!"
"That Onix is at Intermediate Peak strength!"
"Run, now!!"
At this moment, there was no trace of that perfect-girl image left in Grace.
She was fleeing for her life.
Turns out, a girl's survival instinct could be just as strong…
Hearing her warning, Aaron merely smiled faintly and made no move to escape.
Instead, he tossed out Snorlax's Poké Ball.
"Snorlax… come out. This will be your first battle since returning."
"Click—"
A flash of light erupted, and a massive Snorlax appeared on the battlefield.
"Snorlax… Armament Haki, then Gum-Gum Bazooka!!"
Aaron's calm voice rang out lightly.
Yet those words made Grace, who was still in mid-escape, freeze on the spot.
She stared at Aaron as if he were an idiot.
Was this guy crazy!?
Hadn't she just said it!?
That Onix behind them was at Intermediate Peak strength—only one step away from becoming an Advanced Pokémon!!
And he wasn't running—
He actually wanted to fight!?
Grace didn't know whether to praise his courage or curse him for being brainless…
At that moment, a black energy shimmering with a metallic sheen suddenly enveloped Snorlax's body.
Immediately afterward, Snorlax's arms stretched backward at extreme speed, elastic like rubber. Then they snapped forward violently, generating immense momentum.
Propelled by that immense force, Snorlax's enormous body slammed straight into the Onix.
"BOOM—!!!"
A deafening explosion shook the entire forest.
The Onix's colossal body was sent flying backward.
"CRASH—"
It crashed heavily onto the cold ground, black spirals appearing in its eyes as it was knocked out.
This sudden reversal left Grace utterly stunned.
She stood rooted to the spot, her clear eyes filled with disbelief.
Her small mouth hung open wide enough to fit an entire sausage.
A gentle breeze passed by, leaving Grace standing there in utter chaos.
A Snorlax whose arms could stretch!?
One move to instantly defeat an Intermediate (Peak Stage) Onix!?
Someone please tell me what the hell just happened!
Grace felt her brain wasn't keeping up anymore.
Her mental CPU was burning at full load.
"Come back… Snorlax."
When Aaron recalled Snorlax, Grace finally snapped back to her senses.
"You… what exactly is going on with your Snorlax!?"
"What level is it!?"
"How can its arms stretch like that!?"
"How did it one-shot the Onix!?"
Still shocked, Grace unleashed a rapid-fire barrage of questions.
"Hey, I just saved you. Don't I at least get a thank-you?"
Aaron ignored her questions and smiled as he spoke.
"Ah… thank you!"
Grace finally reacted and awkwardly thanked him, then immediately pressed on:
"Now can you answer my questions from before!?"
Her eyes were filled with intense curiosity.
"My Snorlax is at Intermediate (Late Stage)" Aaron said calmly… "As for everything else… that's my secret."
Gum-Gum Bazooka had a base power of 80. With Armament Haki layered on top, plus same-type bonuses, its power skyrocketed to a staggering 200.
Could an Onix possibly withstand that?
Add in Snorlax's heavyweight body crashing into it—
It was practically a living nuclear bomb.
The Onix never stood a chance.
...