Facing the musclehead instructor's skepticism, Aaron stroked his chin, thought seriously for a moment, then said with a straight face…
"It should be… Konny-chi-wa!!?"
The musclehead instructor: "..."
The onlookers: "..."
What kind of nonsense was that!?
Yamete!?
He even blurted out some strange foreign words—what kind of bizarre line of thinking was this…?
But regardless, the battle had already come to a clean conclusion, with Aaron's Frogadier pulling off a flawless 1v4.
Aaron's name instantly made waves throughout Camp 1. Students and instructors alike all knew of Aaron's "Bullfrog" reputation.
In the days that followed, a different instructor was beaten down, battered, and humiliated by Aaron every single day.
Aaron's name became even louder than Instructor Zane's within Camp 1. Instructors would deliberately take detours when they saw him.
And so… ten days of Pokémon battle training finally came to an end.
The students were delighted—and the instructors were even more relieved.
At last, they no longer had to face Aaron in battle.
…
Aaron, all by himself, had beaten every instructor in Camp 1—except Instructor Zane—to the brink of a breakdown.
Every night, they lay awake in their rooms, trying to salvage what little pride they had left after being beaten down by Aaron again and again.
...
Training Camp No. 1
7:00 a.m.
Twenty-five students stood neatly lined up on the Pokémon battle field. The youthful immaturity they once had was gone, replaced by a sharper, more resolute presence. Their expressions were firm as they stared straight ahead.
On the elevated platform, all the instructors of Camp No. 1 stood on either side. Their dark circles were… quite noticeable.
Clearly, they still hadn't recovered from Aaron's overwhelming dominance.
Zane stood at the center of the platform in his military uniform, posture straight, eyes sharp as he surveyed the students below.
When his gaze passed over Aaron, a faint, indescribable look flickered through his eyes.
This kid had completely turned his training camp upside down over the past ten days.
Every instructor had come to him to complain, saying Aaron wasn't human, that his Frogadier wasn't even a frog, and describing in vivid detail how they'd been bullied…
Zane's ears were practically worn out from listening.
As expected of someone he had personally taken an interest in.
Zane thought to himself.
"Students…"
Zane looked down at them from the platform and said solemnly.
"The Pokémon battle training has concluded. How much you've gained, how much you've understood, and how much you've grown—I trust you all know that for yourselves."
"And… this College Entrance Training Camp is also nearing its end."
"You can say you've already completed your mission."
"However, today we will conduct the camp assessment. Although it's called an assessment, it's actually a selection trial for spots in the official training camp competition."
"Those who fail may return home."
"Those who pass will represent Camp 1 in the training camp competition against the other camps."
"The rewards for victory have already been explained, so I won't repeat them."
"Now… the assessment begins."
As Instructor Zane's words rang out, the final assessment of the College Entrance Training Camp began.
…
This assessment would also be conducted in the form of Pokémon battles.
3v3 Pokémon battles.
Each student would still battle against an instructor.
But this time, every instructor's three Pokémon possessed at least Intermediate Mid-stage strength.
This was no longer training—there would be no holding back.
At this point, most students' Pokémon were only at Early to Mid-stage Intermediate. Only a very small number had reached Late-stage Intermediate.
Therefore, this assessment was destined to be brutal!!
Twenty-five students and twenty-five instructors stood facing one another.
Most of the students looked tense. Only Aaron wore a strange expression.
Because…
Standing opposite him was none other than Chief Instructor Zane.
"Can't take it, huh!?"
"You're really singling me out!?"
"Damn it… I was planning to breeze through this assessment, finish the mission, and snag the rewards effortlessly…"
"Looks like it won't be that simple anymore…"
Aaron grumbled inwardly, his face twisting into an awkward, strained expression.
"Ahem… Instructor Zane, why is my opponent you?" Aaron asked, pretending to be puzzled.
"Don't you have any sense of proportion?"
Instructor Zane shot him an indifferent glance.
Every instructor under him had already been beaten into psychological shutdown by Aaron—none of them were willing to face him again.
Besides… Zane genuinely wanted to test just how far Aaron's strength had reached, to see where his true limit lay.
Hearing this, Aaron forced out an awkward smile.
"Instructor Zane… this really isn't my fault. I just wanted to learn a bit more from the instructors, but they all seem to have rather fragile egos…"
Zane's mouth twitched.
With your methods, even a heart of steel would've been shattered.
A full-grown man, a proper instructor, getting violently beaten by a high school student—that kind of trauma lasts a lifetime!!
"Enough talk," Zane said flatly as he stared at Aaron.
"Show me your real strength."
"Otherwise… you'll fail the assessment."
"The match begins!!"
"Come out… Venusaur!!"
Instructor Zane threw out a Poké Ball.
A massive, green, frog-like Pokémon with a huge flower blooming on its back appeared on the battlefield.
It was the Pokémon: Venusaur!!
Aaron immediately scanned its status panel:
[Name: Venusaur]
[Gender: Male]
[Nature: Rash]
[Types: Grass, Poison]
[Ability: Overgrow]
[Base Stats Total: 525]
[Level: Advanced (Mid Stage)]
[Pokémon Potential: Gym Leader level]
[Known Moves: Vine Whip (Proficient), Growth (Proficient), Petal Blizzard (Proficient), Leech Seed (Proficient), Leaf Blade (Proficient), Poison Powder (Basic), Sleep Powder (Basic), Seed Bomb (Basic)…]
[Description: Venusaur, the Seed Pokémon. The evolved form of Ivysaur. It enjoys standing in sunlight to carry out photosynthesis…]
...