Head Smash, sharpened by brutal Rock-type energy.
Blazing Dragon Rush, wrapped in wind, fire, and Armament Haki.
The two ultimate attacks collided head-on.
VMMMM—!
For one breath, the entire mountaintop went still.
Then the explosion tore everything apart.
KRAKOOOOM!
A deafening blast ripped across the battlefield and roared up into the clouds. The shockwave surged outward like a tidal wave, sweeping over the summit with crushing force.
BOOM! BOOM! KRAKOOOM!
The forest around them was flattened in an instant. Trees snapped in half, and others were ripped out by the roots and hurled into the air.
Aaron planted his feet and raised both arms against the impact, eyes widening slightly.
He had known the clash would be powerful.
He had not expected this.
"Gren!"
"GRAAAH!"
"SNOOORLAX!"
"INFERNAPE!"
Greninja, Charizard, Snorlax, and Infernape appeared in front of him almost at the same time, shielding him from the raging energy.
Charizard spread its huge wings and wrapped them protectively around Aaron.
"Grrr..."
It gave a low, worried rumble.
Aaron looked at them, and his expression softened.
"Guys..."
He smiled.
"I'm fine. Don't forget, I'm pretty tough too."
He tried to laugh it off.
The Pokémon nodded.
None of them moved away.
...
At the center of the explosion, the smoke slowly cleared.
Inside the massive crater, two colossal figures still stood facing each other.
Tyrantrum and Gyarados.
"Grrr..."
Tyrantrum stared across the crater and gave a low growl.
Then pain caught up with it.
THUD!
Its massive body crashed heavily to the ground.
Its eyes spun in circles.
Tyrantrum was unable to battle.
"RRRROOOAAH!"
Gyarados, panting hard, raised its head and let out one last victorious roar.
A moment later, the strength went out of its body.
The light of Mega Evolution faded, returning it to its original form, and its enormous body collapsed into the crater as well, kicking up a cloud of dust.
It had reached its limit.
Gyarados had defeated four of the faceless man's Pokémon by itself.
That was a record worth being proud of.
But after four battles in a row, its stamina was gone.
Both Pokémon were unable to battle.
But Tyrantrum had fallen first.
This was Gyarados's victory.
"Come back, Gyarados."
Aaron took out its Poké Ball and recalled it.
Looking down at the ball in his hand, his voice softened.
"You were amazing."
"Rest well."
The Poké Ball shook slightly in his palm, as if answering him.
Aaron smiled.
"Aaron."
Across from him, the faceless man had also recalled Tyrantrum. His tone was serious now.
Aaron looked up.
"Yes, sir?"
The faceless man walked toward him.
His face was still blurred, but from the outline of his figure, Aaron could vaguely tell that he had long hair.
He stopped a few meters away.
"In all these years," he said, "you are the first person to defeat all six of my Pokémon with only three of your own."
His gaze shifted toward the Poké Balls at Aaron's waist.
"That Gyarados and Sceptile must be your aces."
As for Beedrill?
He did not mention it.
In his mind, that little Beedrill had been taken down almost instantly by Carracosta. His impression of it was already starting to fade.
At Aaron's waist, Beedrill's Poké Ball trembled slightly, as if it had heard his thoughts.
Let me out!
I'll stab so many holes in you that you'll look like a Beedrill nest.
Beedrill was so angry it nearly exploded.
Aaron's mouth twitched.
For a moment, he had no idea how to answer.
He really wanted to say, You're overthinking it.
If I brought out my actual strongest Pokémon, you might have been swept six to zero.
Instead, he forced out a polite smile.
"You have sharp eyes, sir. I thought I'd hidden it well, but you still saw through me."
"Hahahaha!"
The faceless man laughed heartily.
Aaron's praise clearly pleased him.
"My Pokémon may not be stronger than yours," he said with a trace of pride, "but I have faced countless genius Trainers over the years."
He tapped his own chest lightly.
"When it comes to judging Pokémon, I still trust these old eyes."
Aaron: "..."
His eyelid twitched.
For a moment, he truly had no idea what to say, so he simply kept smiling.
The faceless man looked at him again.
"Aaron, you are very strong."
"But three of your Pokémon are already unable to battle, and two of them are your strongest."
His tone became gentler.
"My advice is to leave for now. Heal your team, then challenge the ninth floor after they have recovered."
He paused.
"That is your best chance."
Aaron smiled and nodded gratefully.
"Thank you for the warning."
Then his gaze turned toward the path ahead.
"But I still want to try first."
His smile did not waver.
"If it doesn't work, I'll come back out."