Thanks to the level gap in that battle—combined with the Exp. Share in their backpacks—the three Pokémon gained an enormous amount of experience.
All three leveled up.
Gyarados and Snorlax finally stepped into the Elite tier.
And Snorlax unlocked its Nika Form.
Aaron immediately opened Snorlax's status panel:
[Name: Snorlax (Shiny)]
(Shiny Effect: HP +10%)
[Gender: Male]
[Nature: Hardy]
[Type: Normal]
[Ability: Thick Fat]
[Base Stats Total: 540]
[Level: Elite (Early Stage)]
[Pokémon Potential: Champion level]
[Known Moves: Tackle (Mastery), Defense Curl (Mastery), Power-Up Punch (Perfect), Body Slam (Perfect), Mega Punch (Perfect), Amnesia (Proficient), Whirlwind (Proficient), Rest (Proficient), Belly Drum (Proficient), Rollout (Proficient), Heavy Slam (Mastery)...]
[Special Physique: Hito Hito no Mi, Mythical Zoan — Nika Form
Possesses Special Skills: (Tiers 1–4 omitted...)]
Gear 5: Nika Form Skills:
Sun God's Flame (Transformation) (Special):
Generates white flames born of emotion—"Freedom and Smiles." Skills infused with Sun God's Flame gain 50% increased power and have a chance to inflict an unremovable burn on the target.
Liberation Form (Transformation) (Special):
Allows the body to freely contract and expand, enabling unrestricted use of all Tier 1–4 abilities.
Drums of Liberation (Transformation) (Special):
The heartbeat never ceases, vitality never fades. Upon activation, instantly restores full HP and returns all stats to peak condition. Usable twice per day.
Gomu Gomu no Bajrang Gun (Physical) (Special) (Normal) (Power 240):
A sacred punch enveloped in Sun God's Flame, delivering catastrophic damage to the target.
Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika (Transformation) (Special):
Passive: Permanently increases HP by 50%. Damage taken from Fighting-type moves is halved.
[Special Skill: Armament Haki (omitted...)]
[Special Skill: Observation Haki (omitted...)]
[Description: Snorlax is no longer merely a round, sleepy Pokémon. It now bears a new name—Sun God: Nika Snorlax...]
...
"Whoa…"
Aaron's pupils tightened as he stared at Snorlax's updated panel, drawing in a slow breath. The shock on his face lingered.
"Strong."
"Way too strong…"
"No wonder it's Luffy's Devil Fruit… this is insane."
Excitement surged through him.
With this, Snorlax's combat power had skyrocketed. In terms of sheer destructive force, it now stood at the very top of his team.
But overall—
Frog Boss still held the crown.
There was no denying it. Flying Thunder God was simply broken.
You could stack all the raw power you wanted—but what was the point if you couldn't even land a hit?
Frog Boss remained firmly in first place.
...
At the same time, inside the monitoring conference room, Aaron's score suddenly jumped by another 1,000 points, instantly sparking a wave of discussion.
"How long has it been… and he's already up another 1,000 points? Does that mean he just defeated a Gym Leader–level Pokémon?"
"That's correct. He did take down a Gym–level target."
"But that was only five minutes ago! Five minutes to defeat a Gym-level opponent?"
"Aaron's strength is outrageous…"
"Or he encountered one he had a clear advantage against. If multiple Pokémon focused their attacks, it's not impossible."
The officers spoke in quick succession, voices overlapping.
Even Xander's expression shifted slightly in surprise before he issued an order.
"Technical team—display the surveillance feed from Aaron's location on the main screen."
"Yes, Deputy Commander."
Beep… beep…
Moments later, the main display switched over.
A fair-skinned, sharp-featured teenage boy came into view, wearing an easygoing smile as if nothing in the world could trouble him.
Four Pokémon walked at his side:
A Shiny Greninja.
A Shiny Snorlax.
A Sceptile.
And a… Gyarados?
A Gyarados with dragon horns—and limbs?
The entire room fell silent.
No one spoke.
They were utterly stunned.