A thunderous boom echoed across the field as Frog Boss made his entrance.
"Ribbit… ribbit…"
Frogadier's half-lidded eyes swept lazily over the Scyther facing him, his lips curling with open disdain.
The expression looked exactly like Aaron's.
As expected—like trainer, like Pokémon.
"Mantis—!"
Provoked by Frogadier's contemptuous stare, Scyther let out an angry cry. The scythes on its arms flashed with a cold gleam under the sunlight.
"Hmph… Scyther, Fury Cutter!!"
Victor snorted coldly and issued the command without hesitation.
"Scyther—!"
Scyther let out a sharp cry as white light flared along its scythes. Its powerful legs kicked off the ground, charging straight toward Frogadier. A cold glint flashed in its eyes as it lunged forward, intent on cutting that infuriating frog down in one strike.
Aaron wore a faint smile as he spoke calmly.
"Frogadier… Smack Down."
"Ribbit—!"
Frogadier stomped a foot into the ground. With a sharp crack, the earth fractured beneath him. He casually scooped up a stone and hurled it at the onrushing Scyther.
BOOM—
The stone shot forward like a bullet.
Scyther tried to block it, but it was far too fast. He couldn't even track its path.
The rock slammed straight into Scyther's body, sending him flying. He crashed heavily onto the ground, eyes spinning as he completely lost the ability to continue fighting.
"How is this possible?!"
Victor's pupils shrank as he roared in disbelief.
In the spectator stands, Grace, Simon, and Ethan all reacted differently.
Grace remained calm, as though she had expected this outcome all along.
Simon's face darkened, his expression grim.
Ethan, on the other hand, was bursting with excitement, shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Aaron is insane!!"
"Frog Boss is way too strong!!"
"6666666——!"
He looked like an overzealous fan cheering for his idol.
…
Aaron wasn't surprised in the slightest.
Frogadier's level was already higher than Scyther's, and Smack Down was a Rock-type move with a four-times type advantage. Add in the Protean Ability—
A 360-power Smack Down.
And it still wouldn't one-shot a frail Scyther like that?
Victor's expression was ugly as he recalled Scyther. With a gloomy face, he threw out his final Poké Ball.
"Come out… Ampharos!!"
"The Magnus name won't be disgraced here."
The light faded, revealing a yellow, sheep-like Pokémon standing on the battlefield.
It was none other than Ampharos.
[Name: Ampharos]
[Gender: Male]
[Nature: Rash]
[Type: Electric]
[Ability: Static]
[Base Stats Total: 510]
[Level: Intermediate (Mid Stage)]
[Pokémon Potential: Gym Leader level]
[Known Moves: Tackle (Proficient), Electric Shock (Proficient), Dragon Pulse (Proficient), Thunder Wave (Basic), Cotton Spore (Basic), Charge (Basic), Electro Ball (Basic), Thunder Punch, Fire Punch…]
[Description: Ampharos, the Lamp Pokémon. The evolved form of Flaaffy. The red orb on its tail emits light, serving as a beacon to guide lost travelers home…]
...
An Intermediate (Mid Stage) Ampharos did hold a clear type advantage over Frogadier.
Ampharos itself was a solid Pokémon. In the future, it could even Mega Evolve, gaining Electric and Dragon typing—a true special-attack turret.
But Victor's Ampharos?
It didn't impress Aaron in the slightest.
With strength like that, he still dared to run his mouth in front of him?
A walking loot box.
Aaron suddenly thought of his class monitor.
Magnus.
…Huh?
Same surname?
Were they from the same family?
What a generous bloodline, handing out loot boxes left and right.
Aaron snickered to himself.
At that moment, Victor had already issued another command.
"Ampharos—Thunder Wave!!"
"Elect—!"
Ampharos growled as it prepared to release an electric pulse toward Frogadier.
Victor clearly intended to cripple Frogadier's speed. If Thunder Wave landed, paralysis would turn Frogadier into a sitting duck.
Aaron's voice sounded calmly.
"Frogadier… Quick Attack."
Before Ampharos could release Thunder Wave, Frogadier's perfect-level Quick Attack exploded forward like a bolt of lightning.
A flash of light—then Ampharos was smashed backward. The Thunder Wave was interrupted completely.
"Ampharos—get up!!"
"Use Electro Ball—!"
Victor's face turned pale as he shouted urgently.
"Frogadier, finish it!"
"Again—Quick Attack!"
Aaron's voice rang out once more.
Poor Ampharos barely had time to gather itself before Frogadier struck again. The second Quick Attack slammed into its body, sending it flying before it collapsed onto the cold ground, completely knocked out.
Frogadier's Quick Attack was at perfect proficiency, with a base power of 60.
Boosted by Protean, it hit with 90 power.
Two Quick Attacks were more than enough to deal with Ampharos.
"You… this can't be!!"
"How is your Frogadier so strong?!"
"Is your Frogadier an Advanced Pokémon?!"
Victor was still in utter disbelief. He couldn't accept that both of his Pokémon had been instantly defeated by Aaron in just a few seconds.
It was too much for him to swallow.
"Enough nonsense. Transfer the money."
"And don't even think about backing out—I recorded everything."
Aaron pulled out his phone and waved it at Victor as proof, pressing him without mercy.
Ever since getting scammed by that damn Zane last time, Aaron had learned his lesson. Now he recorded everything in advance—hard evidence in hand.
Let's see who dares to welch now.
He'd expose them without hesitation.
Just thinking about how Zane had scammed him out of 30,000 made Aaron's heart ache all over again.
...