At this moment, the musclebound instructor was full of confidence.
A smug glint flashed in his eyes, his whole demeanor charged with energy.
Damn it… if I lose this one too—I'll lose all respect!
He snarled inwardly.
The battle began!
"Electabuzz—use Thunder Shock!"
The instructor barked the command with full confidence.
"Bzzzz—!"
Electabuzz roared as a bolt of yellow lightning shot straight toward Frogadier.
"Frogadier—use Quick Attack to dodge!"
Aaron responded calmly.
Thunder Shock was fast, but Frogadier's Quick Attack was even faster.
In an instant, Frogadier flashed to Electabuzz's side, and the electric attack struck nothing but air.
"Frogadier—Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"Then use Power-Up Punch!"
Aaron's voice rang out again.
"Khss—!"
White smoke erupted around Frogadier. In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen Frogadiers appeared, completely surrounding Electabuzz.
White light flared on every right fist as they all rushed in at once.
"Electabuzz—use Quick Attack to evade!"
The instructor copied Aaron's tactic without hesitation.
In his mind, only one Frogadier was real—the rest were just afterimages.
Even if Electabuzz was surrounded, none of those clones should be able to block its movement.
"Bzz—!"
Electabuzz picked a direction and burst forward with Quick Attack, charging straight at one of the Frogadiers.
Boom!
A heavy collision rang out as Electabuzz slammed directly into the Frogadier.
Bang!
That Frogadier turned into a puff of white smoke—but Electabuzz was also knocked off balance, tumbling to the ground.
"What the hell!?"
"What just happened!?"
"Did I seriously get that unlucky and hit the real one!?"
The instructor cursed furiously in his mind.
But something was wrong.
If that was the real body… why did it turn into smoke!?
Before anyone could answer, the remaining Frogadiers' Power-Up Punches had already landed.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Electabuzz was completely mobbed, forced to clutch its head as it was beaten down.
What little brainpower it had screamed internally:
Why the hell do afterimages hit this hard!?
"Electabuzz—use Thunder Punch!"
The instructor shouted anxiously.
Electabuzz roared in anger, lightning crackling around its raised fist as it smashed forward, shattering two shadow clones in a single blow.
"Frogadier—disperse the clones and pull back."
Aaron's voice was calm and unhurried.
All the shadow clones dissolved into wisps of white smoke, leaving only the real Frogadier, which hopped back several times to create distance.
At that moment, a crushing presence radiated from Frogadier.
A wave of pressure washed over the instructor.
"Huh!?"
The instructor's pupils shrank violently. Something was very wrong.
How could Frogadier's presence suddenly become this overwhelming!?
"Frogadier—end it."
"Rasengan."
Aaron's voice remained calm—but to the instructor, it was like a thunderclap in his mind.
End it!?
With my Electabuzz!?
In your dreams!
"Electabuzz—take it head-on!"
"Thunder Punch!"
The instructor roared in fury.
He was already seeing red.
No tricks—just brute force.
Let's see who breaks first!
"Khss—!"
"Bzz—!"
The Rasengan in Frogadier's hands collided head-on with Electabuzz's Thunder Punch.
BOOOOM!!
A massive explosion rocked the entire Pokémon battle arena.
The deafening blast stunned everyone nearby.
Battles all around the field abruptly stopped as students and instructors alike turned to stare at the source.
"What the hell!?"
"What just happened!? That's Aaron's battlefield—why did it explode!?"
"Did a Weezing self-destruct or something!?"
"Aaron is insane—how did he cause that kind of commotion!?"
"A regular-class student being this fierce!? Unbelievable!"
"Seriously…"
...
The surrounding students erupted into discussion.
Other instructors also paused their own matches, watching with astonishment.
At that moment—
The battlefield was shrouded in thick smoke.
Aaron stood quietly in the center, expression unreadable.
A gust of wind swept across the field, slowly dispersing the smoke.
Two figures emerged.
Frogadier stood upright, steady and unmoving.
Electabuzz lay on the ground, eyes spinning, completely unconscious.
"Gasp…"
The surrounding instructors sucked in sharp breaths. Their faces were etched with disbelief.
"T-That's the musclehead instructor's ace Pokémon, Electabuzz, isn't it!?"
"That Electabuzz… defeated by a student!? You've got to be kidding!"
"That Electabuzz was Advanced (Late Stage)—how could a student possibly beat it!?"
"Did the musclehead instructor mess up… or was he holding back!?"
"This is absurd!"
"Are high schoolers really this strong now!?"
"But the student I was fighting was average at best—I had him completely under control…"
...
The instructors instinctively gathered closer, whispering among themselves.
But the most stunned of all was the musclebound instructor himself.
He stood frozen in place, eyes wide as he stared at his fallen Electabuzz.
"Gulp…"
He swallowed hard, then looked at Aaron, his voice unsteady.
"Y-you… your Frogadier…"
"…is it a bullfrog or something!?"