"Oh!?"
"You two are setting up a duel!?"
"Great... I'll be the referee."
The moment Brutus heard the two were about to have a Pokémon battle, he immediately became interested and spoke cheerfully.
"Then we'll have to trouble you, Brutus..."
Aaron smiled and said to Brutus.
...
At the peak of the mountain, in front of the Insight Secret Zone,
Aaron and Selena stood facing each other, while a crowd gathered around them.
Champion Drake, Psychic Champion Lilith, Sylka, and many others were present.
The top two students of the College Entrance Exam were about to battle.
How could anyone miss a show like this!?
Everyone canceled their plans to escort the students back and stayed to watch.
The other thirteen youths were also spectating. They were all curious about the true strength of the mysterious young man, Aaron.
Standing beside Lilith, Sylka stared fixedly at that "sheep," a strange glint flashing in her eyes as she murmured,
"Let me see just how capable you really are..."
...
Champion Drake stood silently, his cloak snapping sharply in the wind.
Beside him stood a short-haired girl.
It was Liora.
"Little sis... I saw you come out with Aaron. Do you two know each other!?"
Drake glanced at Liora, whose cheeks were faintly red, then asked curiously.
If Aaron had been here, his jaw would have dropped.
That's right.
Liora was Drake's biological younger sister!
He never would have imagined that the soft and delicate Liora was actually the younger sister of the imposing Champion Drake.
Their personalities were complete opposites.
"W-we know each other."
"In the secret zone, he treated me to grilled fish... I really liked it."
Hearing her brother's question, Liora's ears turned red as she stammered out her reply.
A teasing look flashed in Drake's eyes.
"Oh!?"
"That's rare indeed... Little sis, you actually praised a man?"
"Don't tell me you like him? Hahaha..."
Drake laughed as he teased her.
"N-no!"
"Don't talk nonsense..."
Liora's cheeks reddened even more as she glared at Drake with a cute but fierce expression.
"Alright, alright... but your brother has to remind you of something."
"Aaron's future is immeasurable. Sooner or later, he'll surpass me."
"A man this outstanding... you'd better hold on tight, or someone else will steal him away."
Drake said with a grin.
Liora froze slightly when she heard that. She turned to look at Aaron's slender figure and fell into thought.
...
"Ahem..."
Standing between the two in the referee's spot, Brutus cleared his throat, then loudly announced to Aaron and Selena,
"To save time, this match will use a 3-on-3 Pokémon battle format."
"When all three Pokémon on one side lose the ability to battle, the match will end."
"Now... I declare the battle officially begun!"
"Both sides, release your first Pokémon!"
As Brutus's words fell,
Aaron and Selena both took out a Poké Ball and threw it at the same time.
"Come out... Togekiss!"
"I'm counting on you... Sceptile!"
Two flashes of light appeared, and a white and green figure emerged on the battlefield.
The Pokémon Aaron released was Sceptile.
The white Pokémon across from it had a pure white body, a pair of wings, and three feelers on its head.
It was the Pokémon nicknamed the airplane.
Togekiss.
[Name: Togekiss]
[Gender: Female]
[Nature: Carefree]
[Type: Fairy/Flying]
[Ability: Serene Grace]
[Base Stats: 545]
[Level: Elite (Late Stage)]
[Potential: Champion Level]
[Moves: Magic Leaf (Perfect), Sweet Kiss (Perfect), Fairy Wind (Proficient), Ancient Power (Proficient), Safeguard (Proficient), Double-Edge (Proficient), Yawn (Proficient), Charm (Proficient), Encore (Proficient), Command (Proficient), Wish (Proficient), Last Resort (Proficient), Sky Attack (Proficient), Extreme Speed (Proficient), Aura Sphere (Proficient), Air Slash (Proficient), Flamethrower (Proficient)...]
[Description: Togekiss, the Jubilee Pokémon and evolved form of Togetic. It never appears where conflict exists. It has rarely been seen lately, making it an extremely rare Pokémon.]
...
Aaron's eyes rested on Togekiss's information panel.
Togekiss truly was a rare Pokémon.
It had Elite Level (Late Stage) strength, and it resisted Grass-type moves twice over.
Sceptile was already at a disadvantage from the very start.
But was his Sceptile an ordinary Sceptile!?
"Togekiss... we strike first. Use Extreme Speed!"
Selena took the initiative and immediately launched an attack.
"Togeee!"
Togekiss cried out as brilliant white light burst from its body.
It shot toward Sceptile like a jet plane, moving at astonishing speed.
A confident smile curved across Selena's lips.
Extreme Speed was the fastest move.
That Sceptile was definitely going to take the hit.
For a fragile Pokémon like Sceptile, how many times could it survive being rammed by her airplane... ahem, Togekiss!?
In Selena's mind, the outcome of the battle had already been decided.
"Sceptile... Agility!"
Aaron wore a faint smile as he gave the command.
Huh!?
Agility!?
Selena nearly laughed out loud.
Could Agility really dodge Extreme Speed!?
But had she considered that Sceptile's Agility was an Apotheosis-level skill?
"Scepti!"
Sceptile gave a sharp cry as pink light surged from its body.
Then, in an instant, it vanished from where it stood.
Togekiss's Extreme Speed smashed straight into empty air.
An awkward miss.
"What!?"
The smile on Selena's face instantly froze.
"Where's Sceptile!?"
"Where did Sceptile go!?"
"Sceptile... use Leaf Blade!"
At that moment, Aaron's clear voice rang out.
In the next second, Sceptile silently appeared above Togekiss as if it had teleported.
White light glowed from both its hands, and the twin white blades on its wrists slashed down fiercely.
"BANG!"
A violent impact rang out as Togekiss was struck directly by Sceptile's Leaf Blade.
"Togehh!"
Togekiss let out a faint cry of pain.
Its body was nearly smashed down from the sky by the blow.