The moment Aaron's Beedrill appeared, the spectators froze.
Beedrill was one of the most common Pokémon around. To most of the people in that dining hall, it belonged in roadside weeds, beginner areas, and the teams of Trainers who had no better options.
They would normally dismiss it without a second glance, and some of them probably thought even looking at it too long would lower their status.
No one expected a Pokémon like that to appear on the battle stage of a place like the Dragon Tamer Banquet.
And against Orion, no less.
The crowd erupted almost immediately.
"Wait... Beedrill?"
"Is this a joke?"
"Someone brought a Beedrill here?"
"Get off the stage already. This is embarrassing."
"Look at its Trainer. Cheap clothes, cheap Pokémon. Makes sense."
"Some nobody walks in here and thinks he can battle Orion? Does he not know where he is?"
"This is boring. I thought we were getting a real match."
"Let's just eat. This isn't worth watching."
Their voices were not quiet. Aaron heard every word from the stage, but his expression did not change. If anything, the contempt in their voices only made something inside him settle more firmly into place.
Below the stage, Blaze looked like he was about to explode, while Liora's cheeks puffed up in anger. Even Braveon's eyes turned cold as his gaze swept toward the loudest man in the crowd.
...
Orion was stunned for a second too.
Then he burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha... sorry. I really tried not to laugh."
His eyes returned to Aaron, full of mockery.
"So you weren't lying after all. You really are just an ordinary Trainer."
He looked at Aaron the way someone might look at a beggar who had wandered into the wrong building.
Aaron only smiled faintly.
"If your Pokémon loses to a Beedrill, what do you think happens to your reputation?"
Orion laughed again, this time with open pity.
"I can tell you exactly what happens. Nothing."
His smile sharpened.
"Because that's impossible."
Aaron's expression did not change.
"Then let's stop talking and start."
The referee raised his flag.
"Battle begin!"
...
"I'll even let you move first," Orion said, crooking a finger with a casual smile.
"How generous."
An unreadable look flashed through Aaron's eyes as he turned to Beedrill.
"Beedrill, today you're going to make every bastard who looked down on you watch carefully."
His voice cooled.
"Show them what you can do."
"Bzzzz..."
Beedrill's wings vibrated sharply, its eyes gleaming with cold light.
It knew exactly how these so-called elites saw its species: weak, common, disposable. That quiet, nameless anger had already started burning in its chest, and today, it would make them swallow every word.
Aaron's eyes narrowed.
"Flash Step. Twinneedle."
"BZZZT!"
Beedrill blurred, then vanished.
In the next instant, it appeared beside Gholdengo. Its twin stingers, marked with mysterious patterns, drove straight into the golden Pokémon's body.
"Ghol?"
Gholdengo flinched slightly, almost confused, as if it had only been pricked by an insect.
Orion's pupils shrank.
"When did it—"
Only then did he realize Beedrill had already reached his Pokémon. But when he saw Gholdengo barely react, his shock quickly turned back into laughter.
"Hahahaha! I'll admit, your Beedrill is fast."
His voice filled with contempt.
"But is that supposed to hurt? My Gholdengo barely felt it."
Aaron looked at him calmly.
"Are you sure?"
Just then, Gholdengo swayed.
"Ghol...!"
A pained cry escaped it as a wave of weakness spread through its body. Its golden limbs stiffened, its eyes lost focus, and then it collapsed straight onto the stage.
THUD!
It did not move again.
For a moment, the entire dining hall fell silent.
Completely silent.
No one spoke. No one even seemed to breathe.
Everyone stared at the yellow-and-black figure standing calmly on the battlefield, then at Gholdengo lying motionless on the ground.
What just happened?
How had Orion's Gholdengo gone down?
The same question flashed through every mind in the room.
Two full seconds passed before the referee finally snapped out of it. He hurriedly raised his flag, his voice cracking slightly.
"G-Gholdengo is unable to battle!"
He turned toward Orion.
"Trainer, send out your next Pokémon!"
...