Instructor Zane stepped out of the vehicle and swept his gaze across the group. His eyes paused briefly on Aaron before he spoke.
"Congratulations… you've completed the wilderness survival training."
"This will become invaluable experience before you officially become true Trainers."
"It will also give you an advantage in the College Entrance Exam."
"All of you—"
"Form up and board the vehicles."
…
And just like that, the wilderness survival training came to a successful close.
For those pampered rich kids, the experience had been miserable and humiliating, yet it also granted them something priceless—experience money could never buy.
For Aaron, this training had been just as fulfilling. He had captured Gyarados and helped it fulfill its long-held dream of transforming into a dragon.
On top of that, several days of intense training had brought earth-shaking changes to all three of his Pokémon.
Frog Boss in particular had been improving at an outrageous pace every single day.
Its Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu could now create fifteen clones—completely absurd. Skill proficiency had skyrocketed.
[Name: Frogadier (Shiny)]
(Shiny effect: Both Attack and Special Attack +10%)
[Gender: Male]
[Nature: Relaxed]
[Type: Water]
[Ability: Protean]
[Base Stats: 405]
[Level: Intermediate (Peak Stage)]
[Pokémon Potential: Champion level]
[Known Moves: Power-Up Punch (Perfect), Bubble (Mastery), Rasengan (Mastery), Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu (Mastery), Quick Attack (Perfect), Water Pulse (Mastery), Smokescreen (Proficient), Smack Down (Mastery)…]
[Special Ability: Tailed Beast Cloak — Upon activation, drastically boosts all stats (Speed, both Attacks, both Defenses, HP), and allows the cloak itself to be controlled for attacks…]
[Description: Frogadier, the Bubble Frog Pokémon. Possesses exceptional control, capable of striking a can thirty meters away with a pebble…]
…
After ten days of "cheating"… ahem—
Hard work.
Frog Boss successfully pushed the proficiency of its two most practical moves—Power-Up Punch and Quick Attack—to the Perfect tier.
Absurd.
Was this the joy of cheating?
No—this was the joy of hard work.
At the Perfect tier, Power-Up Punch and Quick Attack now had base power of 60. With Frog Boss's Protean Hidden Ability factored in, their effective power climbed to 80.
Aaron was extremely satisfied. If Frog Boss were to learn Sage Mode in the future, the power would rise even further.
As for Snorlax, days of near-suicidal training had also brought clear improvements.
Seeing how disciplined and hardworking Snorlax had become made Aaron feel a bit distressed. Snorlax possessed an intense determination to grow stronger, and Aaron suspected something significant must have happened in its past to cause such a drastic change in temperament.
Snorlax's current status was as follows:
[Name: Snorlax (Shiny)]
(Shiny effect: HP +10%)
[Gender: Male]
[Nature: Hardy]
[Type: Normal]
[Ability: Thick Fat]
[Base Stats: 540]
[Level: Advanced (Early Stage)]
[Pokémon Potential: Champion level]
[Known Moves: Tackle (Mastery), Defense Curl (Mastery), Power-Up Punch (Mastery), Body Slam (Perfect), Mega Punch (Perfect), Amnesia (Proficient), Whirlwind (Proficient), Rest (Beginner), Belly Drum (Beginner)…]
[Special Physique: Hito Hito no Mi, Mythical Zoan — Nika Form]
Gear 1 Skills: (Omitted…)
Gear 2 Skills: (Omitted…)
Gear 3 Skills: (Omitted…)
Gear Fourth:
Bouncy Man Form — Skill: Gum-Gum King Kong Gun (Physical) (Power 320)
Snake Man Form — Skill: Gum-Gum King Cobra (Physical) (Power 300) (Guaranteed Hit)
(Note: Gear Fourth power values already include Haki amplification.)
Gear Fifth: (Not yet unlocked…)
(Note: All rubber-based skills are Normal-type.)
[Special Skill: Armament Haki — Greatly enhances the Pokémon's Defense and Attack. Can also be combined with certain skills to increase their power by 100%…]
(Note: Normal-type skills infused with Haki can strike Ghost-type Pokémon.)
[Description: Omitted]
Snorlax had finally broken into the Advanced (Early Stage).
It had also learned Rest and Belly Drum.
Belly Drum halved its HP while directly boosting its physical attack by six stages—an absurdly powerful effect.
When paired with Snorlax's massive HP pool and the defensive boost from Armament Haki, the move was nothing short of devastating.
A Snorlax that had used Belly Drum and then activated Gear Fourth could unleash a single King Kong Gun capable of shaking the battlefield itself.
As expected, advancing to the Advanced tier unlocked Gear Fourth.
This time, Gear Fourth only granted two moves—but their power was overwhelming.
Bouncy Man and Snake Man each came with one exclusive skill.
King Kong Gun hit harder, while King Cobra came with a guaranteed-hit effect.
A 300-power guaranteed-hit move—how could anyone not love that?
This was nothing short of an epic-tier enhancement for Snorlax.
Aaron felt that even an Elite Pokémon would be blown apart by a single punch from it.
He felt delighted.
Gyarados hadn't changed much in raw strength, but it had raised the proficiency of Crunch and Aqua Tail to Proficient level. Combined with its previously learned Dragon Dance, Gyarados was now far from weak.
Dragon Dance—an ability coveted by all Dragon-type Pokémon. Each use increased physical attack and speed by one stage.
An incredibly powerful move.
On the market, a Dragon Dance skill learning device sold for over five million—and even then, supply couldn't meet demand.
That alone spoke volumes about how sought-after it was.
Aaron gazed at the evening glow outside the car window.
Pidgeotto flew alongside the fading sunset as the road stretched farther and farther away.
The setting sun, the evening breeze, himself and his Pokémon—
Aaron truly loved this feeling.
A faint smile curved at the corner of his lips.
They were heading back.