"Who exactly are you!?"
After finally calming down, Ice stared at Aaron with undisguised shock in her eyes and asked coldly.
She had been training in the secret zone during this period, so she didn't know Aaron was the top scorer on the college entrance exam.
But she wasn't stupid.
A teenager with this kind of strength couldn't possibly be ordinary.
"Me?"
A faint smile appeared on Aaron's face.
"I'm just an ordinary Trainer passing through."
"An... ordinary Trainer!?"
Disbelief flashed through Ice's eyes.
Then anger and humiliation surged up. She glared at Aaron and said,
"You damn bastard... you call yourself ordinary!?"
"Then what does that make me!?"
Aaron seriously thought about it for a moment.
Then he looked at Ice with a solemn expression and said,
"Your worst nightmare."
Aaron was secretly delighted.
Finally.
Payback.
This woman had tried to mock him earlier. Now he had thrown it right back in her face.
Ice froze on the spot.
The corners of her mouth twitched violently, and intense fury flashed in her eyes. She widened them like she was about to explode and shouted,
"I swear... I'll kill you today!"
After saying that, she took a special Poké Ball from her backpack. It seemed to contain a Pokémon unlike any ordinary one.
Beep, beep.
"Boss! Boss!"
"Pull out, now! An elite Regional Police trainer is coming!"
"If you don't leave now, it'll be too late!"
At that moment, the anxious voice of another burly Pokémon Hunter sounded through Ice's earpiece.
"Damn it..."
Ice's expression shifted again and again, and she nearly ground her teeth to pieces.
Then she gave Aaron a murderous glare and said coldly,
"I'll let you off this time."
"Next time, I'll take your damn life!"
As she spoke, an ice-blue light flashed in her eyes.
A blizzard instantly appeared in the air and swept toward Aaron.
"Charizard... Heat Wave!"
Aaron's eyes narrowed, and he immediately gave the command.
"ROOOAR!"
Charizard roared, opened its mouth, and spat out a scorching gale.
It slammed head-on into the incoming blizzard.
BOOOOM!
A muffled explosion rang out, and thick steam instantly filled the air, blurring his vision.
Right after that, Aaron only saw an ice-blue glow light up around Ice's body.
She shot toward the aircraft like an ice arrow and boarded it at high speed.
BOOOOM!
The aircraft's engines erupted with scorching flame, then it vanished into the sky like a meteor.
Aaron: "..."
Aaron watched the aircraft disappear beyond the horizon, the corner of his mouth twitching.
Didn't you just swear you were going to kill me today?
Then why did you run faster than a scared dog?
Aaron was speechless.
Did this woman ever mean a single thing she said?
Still, that escape speed really was impressive.
Without the Flying Thunder God mark, even Frog Boss would probably be left staring in silence.
"Interesting... very interesting."
"I hope next time you'll actually let me enjoy myself."
Anticipation flashed in Aaron's eyes. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly, forming a faint smile.
He had seen Ice take out that special Poké Ball at the very end.
That was how he knew she still had a trump card.
How could that not excite him?
How long had it been since he had fought a battle to his heart's content?
Among the younger generation, only Braveon, Blaze, and Liora were qualified to fight him.
As for the other geniuses, Aaron did not even have the slightest interest in battling them.
Being invincible was far too lonely.
Now that he had encountered another powerful opponent, how could he not be excited?
Just then, a rumble came from the sky.
A Regional Police aircraft appeared above Aaron, then descended to the ground.
BZZZZZ...
The cabin door slowly opened.
Several uniformed officers appeared in front of Aaron. They saluted him and said,
"Trainer Aaron?"
"We were sent here by Champion Brutus. Did you locate the Elite Hunters?"
Aaron returned the salute and said,
"Yes, but you're a little late. They fled in that direction. Maybe you should go after them?"
Aaron thought of his medal.
Technically speaking, it should have given him a fairly high standing in official circles.
Unfortunately, he was too low-key and had never shown it off, so ordinary officers like these didn't recognize him.
When Aaron first saw the Pokémon Hunters, he had contacted Brutus.
Brutus had told him to hold them off and said he would send people over right away.
These officers were probably the people Brutus had sent.
"Thank you. Let's move! Pursue them!"
The officers nodded, saluted once more, then boarded the aircraft and flew off after the Pokémon Hunters.
Aaron figured they probably wouldn't catch up.
That woman ran way too fast.
"Venusaur..."
At that moment, heavy footsteps sounded behind him.
Aaron turned around and saw Venusaur leading the other Ivysaur over to him.
"Venusaur..."
"Ivy... saur..."
Venusaur and the many Ivysaur bowed their heads deeply to Aaron and cried out softly, their voices filled with gratitude.
Aaron knew they were thanking him.
He smiled slightly, crouched down, patted an Ivysaur's round head, and said with a smile,
"Bulb turtle... pfft, I mean, Ivysaur. You're all so cute. How could I let you get captured?"
"Hurry up and go. Don't get caught again, okay?"
The Ivysaur Aaron was patting blushed slightly, then nodded gently at him.
"Venusaur..."
Venusaur raised its head and let out a long cry, then turned and walked step by step toward the tree hollow.
The other Ivysaur nodded to Aaron again in thanks, then ran into the forest.
The basin soon fell silent.
If the surrounding forest hadn't been torn apart beyond recognition, no one would have known that a fierce battle had just taken place here.
Aaron watched the Ivysaur leave, a faint smile appearing on his lips.
If he didn't already have Sceptile as his Grass-type, maybe he really would have caught an Ivysaur.
Aaron jumped onto Charizard's back and said,
"Let's go, Charizard."
"ROOOAR!"
Charizard let out a loud cry, flapped its wings, and soared into the sky.
Its figure slowly disappeared beyond the horizon.
The incredible garden Aaron encountered tonight became a precious memory for him.
But he still had to keep moving forward.
...