Simon's father, Richard Wright, searched extensively for outside reinforcements and ultimately managed to secure only one candidate.
Although that person hadn't made the Hidden Dragon List, his strength was nothing to dismiss—he had already reached Elite Level.
Even so, Richard remained uneasy. Their opponent was, after all, a prodigy ranked on the Hidden Dragon List.
That was when Simon thought of Aaron—the freak.
His strength was almost impossible to gauge. During the attack at the awards ceremony, he had taken down a Gym-level opponent single-handedly in a matter of seconds.
Of course, Simon had signed a confidentiality agreement and never mentioned it to his father. Richard had no idea Aaron even existed.
Simon strongly recommended him, which left Richard hesitant.
The challenge tournament would begin tomorrow. They hadn't found any other suitable candidates. At this point, they could only take a gamble.
After some reluctance, Richard agreed to Simon's proposal and asked him to invite Aaron to participate in the two-on-two Pokémon battle.
And that was how Simon and Victor ended up seeking Aaron out.
...
After hearing Simon out, Aaron was at a loss for words.
He could only let out a quiet sigh. Rich people really did have creative ways of entertaining themselves.
"Aaron… don't worry. No matter the outcome, we'll pay you one million credits…"
Noticing Aaron's lack of enthusiasm, Simon grew anxious.
At that moment—
"Ding~ Quest Triggered: Head to Simon's place and put on a proper show…"
"Your guy's in trouble. You're not seriously going to miss a chance like this, are you?!"
"Accept Simon's request. Go to his house, crush the so-called genius from the Hidden Dragon List, and complete the quest in style!!"
"Mission Rewards: Water Shuriken Barrage (Skill Card) x1, Pokémon Candy (Advanced) x1…"
The system's excited voice suddenly echoed in Aaron's ears.
Aaron shot to his feet, startling Simon.
With a righteous look on his face, he turned to Simon and declared,
"This is outrageous. Isn't this blatant bullying?!"
"Don't worry… I'll step in!!"
"I'll make sure your father keeps his position."
"As for the money, that's not important. We're classmates, right?"
"When the time comes, just transfer it straight to my bank account!!"
Aaron gave Simon's shoulder a firm pat, his expression utterly sincere.
"Uh…"
Simon was momentarily speechless before excitement took over.
"That's fantastic!!"
"With you on our side, Aaron, this match is basically ours!!"
"Thank you so much…"
Victor, standing off to the side, allowed himself a small smile.
"Aaron, thanks. I'll hand over all my Gardevoir review materials later!!"
A sharp gleam flashed in Aaron's eyes as he replied with solemn conviction,
"Between brothers, no thanks are needed."
"Aaron… remember to help me… review them too!!"
Yuri tugged at Aaron's pant leg, his eyes shining.
The four exchanged looks.
A knowing smile passed between them.
The light of righteousness seemed to shine on their faces—like… angels.
...
That evening, after school, Aaron made his way to the hills behind his neighborhood.
He released all four of his Pokémon.
"Grenin…"
"Snor—"
"Roar…"
"Groo—"
Greninja, Snorlax, Gyarados, and Grovyle appeared in the clearing.
After more than ten days of training inside the Pokémon Space, their status panels had undergone a complete transformation.
[Name: Greninja (Shiny)]
(Shiny effect: Both Attack and Special Attack +10%)
[Gender: Male]
[Nature: Relaxed]
[Type: Water / Dark]
[Ability: Protean]
[Base Stats: 530]
[Level: Advanced (Peak Stage)]
[Pokémon Potential: Champion Level]
[Known Moves: Power-Up Punch (Perfect), Bubble (Perfect), Rasengan (Perfect), Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu (Perfect), Quick Attack (Apotheosis), Water Pulse (Perfect), Ice Punch (Mastery), Smokescreen (Mastery), Smack Down (Mastery), Water Shuriken (Mastery), Shadow Sneak (Proficient), Mat Block (Proficient), Night Slash (Proficient), Self-Motivation (Proficient), Rasenshuriken (Proficient), Substitution (Proficient)…]
[Special Skills:
Tailed Beast Cloak — Upon activation, drastically boosts all attributes (Speed, both Attack and Special Attack, Defense, HP), and allows control of the Tailed Beast Cloak to launch attacks!!
Sage Mode — Upon activation, drastically boosts all attributes (Speed, both Attack and Special Attack, Defense, HP), converts normal skills into Sage Arts, increases the power of normal skills by 100%, and changes their attribute to "Sage" type!!
(Note: Sage type is a special attribute that deals 1.25x damage to all 18 elemental types. Against dual-attribute Pokémon, it deals 1.5x damage…)
Flying Thunder God Technique — Allows permanent spatial markers to be engraved onto any object. Greninja can teleport freely between these markers.
[Description: Greninja, the Ninja Pokémon, the first Sage Frog of the Pokémon world, known as the Black Flash—Frog Boss…]