"You... you're Aaron?"
The cat-eared volunteer stared at him for a second.
Then she burst out laughing.
"If you're Aaron, then I'm Lilith."
Aaron went completely silent.
Was it really that unbelievable?
Did he seriously look that incapable of being a strong Trainer?
"You're killing me," she said between laughs. "Aaron is number one on this year's Hidden Dragon Rankings. I heard the university practically begged him to enroll."
She wiped at the corner of one eye, still trying to catch her breath.
"Do you honestly think someone like that would come all the way here and stand around waiting for freshman registration like everyone else? The university would've handled everything for him already."
She gave Aaron an amused look.
"He'd have to be an idiot to turn that down and come do all this himself."
Aaron: "..."
That one hit a little too close to home.
Champion Edmund really had offered to handle the enrollment process for him. Aaron had declined because registering for university hardly seemed important enough to bother a Champion over.
Besides, he had actually wanted to experience this for himself.
In his previous life, never attending university had been one of his lingering regrets. Now that he had the chance, he wanted the full experience—even something as mundane as registration.
Apparently that made him an idiot.
Aaron felt personally attacked.
...
Back on the battlefield, Ricky finally lost some of his earlier swagger.
He recalled Blastoise, then pulled out another Poké Ball and looked across the field at Darren.
"Don't get cocky. I just got careless."
Darren raised an eyebrow.
"And your Luxray had the matchup advantage. This battle's nowhere near over."
Darren chuckled.
"Sure. Then show me what else you've got."
Ricky's expression sharpened.
"Kingdra, you're up!"
A flash of light burst across the battlefield, revealing a blue, seahorse-like Pokémon with a long tubular snout.
Kingdra.
The Water- and Dragon-type Pokémon immediately drew attention from the crowd.
Kingdra was rare, powerful, and difficult to obtain. With a base stat total of 540 and the Dragon typing to go with it, it was among the more impressive Pokémon available outside the pseudo-Legendary class.
The spectator area immediately came alive.
"Holy shit, that's a Kingdra!"
"Okay, this freshman definitely isn't normal."
"No wonder he had the guts to challenge a sophomore."
"I've always wanted one, but Horsea are already ridiculously expensive."
"I heard a good Horsea can go for around twenty million. A trained Kingdra could easily be worth fifty million or more—and that's assuming you can even find one for sale."
"Fifty million?!"
"So Ricky's a rich kid too?"
"Hey, Ricky! You single?"
"Girl, give it a rest."
Even the cat-eared volunteer looked at him a little differently now.
Aaron, meanwhile, checked Kingdra's information.
[Name: Kingdra]
[Gender: Male]
[Nature: Modest]
[Type: Water/Dragon]
[Ability: Swift Swim — Doubles Kingdra's Speed while rain is active.]
[Base Stats Total: 540]
[Level: Elite (Mid Stage)]
[Potential: Champion]
[Known Moves: Dragon Pulse (Perfect), Water Pulse (Perfect), Twister (Master), Hydro Pump (Master), Focus Energy (Master), Ice Beam (Master), Dragon Dance (Master), Agility (Proficient), Scald (Proficient), Rain Dance (Proficient), Brine, Yawn, Bubble Beam, Smokescreen...]
[Description: Kingdra, the Dragon Pokémon. It evolves from Seadra and is known to dwell in the depths of the ocean, where its movements can create powerful whirlpools.]
Aaron raised his eyebrows.
Champion potential.
And Swift Swim on top of that.
Ricky really did have some impressive Pokémon.
...
The next exchange began almost immediately.
"Kingdra, Rain Dance!"
"Kingdra!"
Blue energy gathered around Kingdra as dark clouds rapidly formed overhead.
Thunder rumbled.
Then the rain came down hard.
Darren's grin widened.
"Rain?"
He almost laughed.
"You just made this easier for me."
Ricky's expression changed slightly.
"Luxray, Thunder!"
"Lux!"
Electric-type energy surged through Luxray as lightning flashed overhead.
A massive bolt came crashing down toward Kingdra.
In rain, Thunder was effectively guaranteed to connect.
"Kingdra, Dragon Pulse!"
Ricky knew there was no point relying on a normal dodge. If the attack was coming, they would have to meet it head-on.
"Kingdra!"
Draconic energy gathered at the end of Kingdra's snout before erupting upward in a powerful blast.
Dragon Pulse collided with the descending Thunder.
"BOOM!"
The impact exploded across the battlefield.
For an instant, the two attacks seemed evenly matched.
Then the lightning tore through the Dragon Pulse.
Ricky's eyes widened.
"Kingdra, move!"
Swift Swim immediately kicked in. Kingdra shot across the rain-soaked battlefield at tremendous speed.
But Thunder was already coming down.
With the rain driving the move's accuracy to its limit, even Swift Swim was not going to make dodging easy.
The shattered lightning continued racing toward Kingdra.
...