Aaron stared at the terrifying Aggron before him, and its attribute panel surfaced in his vision:
[Name: Aggron]
[Gender: Male]
[Nature: Careful]
[Types: Steel, Rock]
[Ability: Rock Head]
[Base Stats Total: 530]
[Level: Advanced (Mid Stage)]
[Pokémon Potential: Gym Leader level]
[Known Moves: Head Butt (Mastery), Harden (Mastery), Metal Claw (Proficiency), Protect (Proficiency), Rock Slide (Proficiency), Iron Tail (Proficiency), Iron Defense (Proficiency), Heavy Slam (Proficiency)...]
[Description: Aggron, the Iron Armor Pokémon. A highly territorial Pokémon—anyone who causes trouble within its domain will face its merciless attacks.]
...
Aggron at the Advanced (Late Stage).
A sharp glint of battle intent flashed through Aaron's eyes.
He couldn't help but wonder what would happen if this monster went head-to-head with his Snorlax.
"Ding~ Quest triggered: Defeat Aggron!"
"As a show-off from the 21st century, how could I possibly miss such a perfect chance!?"
"Defeat Aggron and show off in front of everyone to complete the quest…"
"Quest rewards: Pokémon Candy (Intermediate) ×1, Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit ×1…"
The system's cute voice echoed in Aaron's ears once more.
When he saw the rewards, his mouth practically started watering. He looked at Aggron the same way one would look at a delicious slice of cake.
Instructor Zane glanced at the envious expressions around him and spoke calmly,
"Summon your Pokémon and attack mine with everything you've got. Let me see what the very best students of Sealine Trainer Academy are truly capable of."
Everyone froze for a moment.
Was this… a full-on raid battle against a boss!?
With such an opportunity right in front of them, no one hesitated. Poké Balls flew through the air, and in an instant, thirty Pokémon appeared on the battlefield.
Among them, one Pokémon stood out immediately—Aaron's Frogadier.
After all, it was a Shiny Pokémon, something rarely seen. The moment it appeared, it drew everyone's attention.
Even Instructor Zane's eyes flickered with surprise. This Frogadier looked exceptionally well trained. Its strength was clearly nothing to scoff at.
Aaron had his reasons for not sending out Snorlax.
Against Aggron, Normal-type moves would only deal a quarter of their usual damage—it would have been asking too much.
So his most reliable frog was the only real choice.
He briefly scanned the other students' Pokémon. The highest-level among them was still Grace's Dratini, which had already reached the early Intermediate stage.
It seemed she had gained quite a lot from the previous Elite Training Zone.
As for the rest, they were mostly at the mid to late Beginner stages. These were already the top students Sealine Trainer Academy had to offer.
"All right…"
Instructor Zane said slowly.
"Show me everything you've got."
At his words, everyone immediately issued attack commands.
"Charmeleon, use Flamethrower!"
"Ivysaur, Vine Whip!"
"Machoke, Karate Chop!"
"Rhyhorn, Bulldoze!"
...
Countless attacks slammed toward Aggron, yet Aaron simply watched in silence, giving no orders.
"Aggron, use Iron Defense." Instructor Zane's expression remained calm as he spoke.
"Roar—!"
Aggron threw its head back and roared, a silver light surging across its body. Iron Defense activated, sharply raising its physical defense.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions and impacts rang out one after another, but Aggron stood firmly in place, unmoving. Even Fighting-type moves—despite their fourfold advantage—barely dealt any damage. The level gap was simply too large, and Iron Defense only made matters worse.
"Holy shit…"
Seeing that Aggron had suffered nothing more than shallow scratches, the crowd collectively cursed in disbelief.
Yet instead of discouraging them, it only fueled their competitive spirit, and the barrage of attacks continued.
"Aggron, use Heavy Slam."
Instructor Zane ordered coldly.
Aggron charged forward head-on, plowing straight through the attacking Pokémon.
"Graaaah—!!"
Several Pokémon were sent flying, crashing to the ground with pained cries as they were knocked out on the spot.
The remaining Pokémon fared no better under Aggron's rampage. Before long, only a few of the strongest were still standing.
Grace's Intermediate (Early Stage) Dratini was among them—but it was clearly struggling and wouldn't last much longer.
The most relaxed of all was Aaron's Frogadier.
Thanks to its agility, Frogadier repeatedly slipped past Aggron's heavy, cumbersome attacks.
"Aaron, why haven't you made a move yet!?"
Grace called out anxiously.
She knew exactly how strong he was.
An Intermediate (Peak Stage) Onix had been instantly taken down by his Snorlax before. There was no way this Frogadier was weak.
"Grace, don't count on him," Simon sneered from the side. "What difference would it make even if this trash tried?"
"Hey, stop shouting…"
"Relax," Aaron said with a smile, casting Simon a brief glance.
"I'll take care of it! Frogadier—use Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"Kshh—!"
Frogadier cried out as a cloud of white smoke burst around it. In an instant, ten identical Frogadier clones appeared.
"All Frogadiers, use Power-Up Punch!"
Aaron's command rang out sharply.
Every Frogadier's fist lit up as they launched a coordinated assault, slamming into Aggron's body.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A series of heavy impacts echoed as Aggron was forced back several steps—yet it still refused to fall.
Fighting-type moves dealt four times damage to Aggron.
A Proficiency-level Power-Up Punch with 40 base power, boosted by Protean's 1.5× multiplier, reached 60 power. With the fourfold type advantage, that became a staggering 240 power.
If not for the enormous level difference between Frogadier and Aggron, that single exchange might have ended the battle on the spot.
"Grrrraaaang—!!"
Aggron let out a furious roar.
The sight left everyone stunned.
"T-This Frogadier is insane!?"
"It actually hurt Aggron!?"
"Still, it only did so much… Aggron's defense is just too high!"
...