Outside the Hidden Dragon Tower stood a stone monument connected to the tower itself.
The monument had one very special function: like a massive display screen, it showed the real-time floor progress of every Trainer currently challenging the tower.
Braveon, Blaze, and Liora stood in front of it.
Behind them, the crowd was packed shoulder to shoulder.
At that moment, almost everyone was staring at the monument in disbelief.
Aaron was climbing way too fast.
Only a few minutes had passed, and he had already reached the sixth floor.
Was this guy even human?
Did he have some kind of VIP pass that let him take an elevator straight up?
The crowd was completely stunned by his ridiculous pace.
"Holy shit... is this Aaron guy cheating? Everyone else is climbing the tower. He's on the express elevator."
"Sixth floor in a few minutes? That's not a challenge run. That's a delivery route."
"He has to be the tower's favorite. No other explanation. It gave him premium access."
"Premium access? It's the Hidden Dragon Tower, not a hotel membership program."
"Then explain this. Not even Braveon climbed that fast. What kind of monster is Aaron?"
"Wait... Aaron? That name sounds familiar. Hold on, let me look him up."
A few seconds later, the same person nearly dropped his phone.
"Holy shit."
"What?"
"He's this year's College Entrance Exam top scorer. The guy who broke Hualis's all-time score record."
"No way. That was him?"
"Then maybe this is real. Maybe he actually did reach the sixth floor in a few minutes."
"I still don't know if I believe it, but I'm running out of excuses."
In almost no time, people had dug up everything they could find about Aaron online.
Once the crowd realized he was the record-breaking top scorer from the College Entrance Exam, another wave of excitement swept through the square. More and more onlookers gathered around, all discussing him with growing enthusiasm.
Some believed Aaron might break Braveon's record and take first place on the Hidden Dragon Rankings in one climb. Others insisted that was impossible and that the sixth floor would be where he finally hit a wall.
Everyone had an opinion.
No one looked away.
All eyes were fixed on Aaron's name on the stone monument, as if the entire crowd had been hooked by the same invisible thread.
...
Sixth Floor of the Hidden Dragon Tower.
Aaron calmly watched as the opposing Pokémon appeared across from him.
It was still the same lineup.
But the aura coming from them was far stronger than before.
The opposing Greninja, Charizard, and Snorlax had all reached late Champion-Class level, while the other four were around early to mid Champion-Class.
The gap had widened dramatically.
Anyone capable of clearing this floor was already a true monster.
The challengers ranked second, third, fourth, and fifth on the Hidden Dragon Rankings had all cleared this floor, which showed just how strong they were.
At this moment, Aaron's own Pokémon had already activated their special forms.
Greninja had entered its Tailed Beast Sage Cloak.
Snorlax had activated Nika Form.
Gyarados had used Dragon Dance twice, red energy surging around its massive body and making it look terrifying.
Charizard had entered Lightning Flame Dragon Mode.
Infernape had activated Super Saiyan Mode.
Beedrill had activated Spiritual Pressure Infusion, entering its Shinigami Bee Form.
The air on the sixth floor felt heavy beneath their combined pressure.
Pokémon on both sides gathered power, ready to move at any moment.
For a brief second, neither side attacked.
Then the opposing Pokémon lost patience first.
"GRAAAH!"
With a furious roar, the battle erupted.
The enemy Gyarados and Charizard shot into the air. Pale red energy surged from Gyarados's body as its huge tail lit up with white light, then swung toward Aaron's massive Gyarados.
Dragon Tail.
The opposing Charizard gathered flames in its mouth and fired a powerful blast toward Aaron's Charizard.
Below them, the other Pokémon launched their attacks as well, each carrying terrifying energy as they charged toward Aaron's team.
In an instant, violent waves of power swept across the battlefield, making Aaron's black windbreaker snap sharply in the wind.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Then his commands came one after another, calm and precise.
"Greninja, Water Shuriken first. Follow with Flying Thunder God: Second Stage, then Rasenshuriken."
"Snorlax, use Conqueror's Coating and hit it with King Kong Gun."
"Gyarados, coat your claws with Armament Haki. Thunder Dragon Claw."
"Charizard, eat those flames, then answer with Thunder-Fire Dragon's Roar."
"Sceptile, Wood Release. Wood Dragon."
"Infernape, Super Blaze Fist."
"Beedrill, Flash Step Six. Twinneedle: Death Strike."
His voice stayed steady from beginning to end.
Not a trace of panic.
"GRAAAH!"
In the sky, Gyarados roared. Its powerful dragon claws were instantly coated in black Armament Haki as lightning flashed around them.
Thunder Dragon Claw tore forward, colliding head-on with the enemy Gyarados's Dragon Tail.
BOOOOM!
Lightning burst, thunder rolled, and the collision shook the air.
Aaron's Gyarados tore straight through the opposing Dragon Tail.
"GRAAAH!"
The enemy Gyarados let out a pained roar as Thunder Dragon Claw ripped open a deep wound across its body. Unable to hold itself in the air, it plummeted from the sky.
BOOOOM!
It crashed heavily into the ground, blasting open a deep crater and sending dust billowing into the air.
...