The entire arena fell silent.
The Imperial Elite students sat frozen in the stands, staring at the battlefield in disbelief.
"Are... are you kidding me?!"
"Didn't Galen say his Copperajah's Defense was already at +6?!"
"How did that black toad still take it out in one hit?"
"He lost again... That's four in a row! Don't tell me this guy's actually going to sweep all six?!"
"No way... Absolutely no way! If Galen gets swept 6-0, he'll never be able to show his face at Imperial Elite again."
"But what Pokémon does he even have left that could stop that ridiculous Greninja?!"
"Greninja can actually be this strong?! I used to have one, even a Shiny, but it seemed so weak that I ended up releasing it."
"I'm seriously starting to regret that now. I had no idea Greninja could become this powerful."
...
Before long, another wave of commotion swept through the stands.
By this point, however, the spectators were almost numb to it.
Somehow, the result was starting to feel inevitable.
Aaron's Greninja was simply too absurdly powerful.
It had already taken down four Pokémon in a row.
How was Galen even supposed to fight that?
The Imperial Elite students could no longer see any real hope of victory. Deep down, most of them had already accepted that Galen was going to lose.
They had started the match looking down on Aaron.
Four straight knockouts later, none of them were laughing anymore.
Contempt had turned to shock.
Shock had turned to disbelief.
And now, all that remained was a bitter silence.
Aaron's overwhelming strength had completely shattered their earlier confidence.
The students stared down at him with complicated expressions, none of them quite willing to admit how badly they had misjudged him.
...
The other preparation areas had fallen silent as well.
In Imperial Elite's preparation area, Leighton could no longer bear to watch and simply closed his eyes.
Over in League University's preparation area, Edmund was practically glowing with delight, while Ivy looked thoroughly displeased.
Meanwhile, in the Defense Academy's preparation area, Marcus watched Aaron with growing satisfaction.
"I have twin granddaughters. I refuse to believe neither of them can win you over."
His smile widened.
"If I have to, I'll have them both go after you at once."
Marcus looked extremely pleased with himself.
Beside him, Liora's eyes sparkled as she cheered loudly.
"Aaron! You're incredible!"
"Aaron! You're amazing!"
The three male students beside her looked ready to die from jealousy.
Every one of them had the same thought.
How the hell had a bastard like Aaron gotten this lucky?
...
On the battlefield, Galen stared at the unconscious Copperajah lying at the bottom of the crater.
His face had gone completely pale.
"This is impossible..."
"How the hell is this possible?!"
Copperajah's Defense had already reached +6.
On top of that, it had used Protect.
And Greninja had still knocked it out with a single attack.
How did that make any sense?
"Copperajah is unable to battle!"
The referee raised his flag.
"Galen, send out your next Pokémon!"
Galen's hand trembled slightly as he took out a Poké Ball and recalled Copperajah.
Then he looked across the battlefield at Aaron.
After a brief silence, he spoke.
"Aaron... I don't know what's going on with that Greninja of yours."
"But I still have my strongest Pokémon."
His expression hardened.
"If even my strongest Pokémon can't beat it, I'll concede."
Galen had placed his last hope on his final ace.
He still had two Pokémon remaining, but at this point, all he wanted was to defeat even one of Aaron's.
If his strongest Pokémon could not manage that, there was no point dragging the battle out any longer.
"All right."
Aaron smiled.
"Send it out."
A hint of curiosity entered his eyes.
He had to admit, Galen had surprised him.
After everything he had already shown, he still had his strongest Pokémon waiting in reserve.
That alone said a lot about the resources available to someone from a family like his.
Any one of Galen's Pokémon would have been a prized partner for an ordinary Trainer.
Yet for Galen, they were only part of a full team.
The gap between ordinary families and the true elite was enormous.
Galen tightened his grip on the Poké Ball.
"Come out... my strongest Pokémon!"
"Aggron!"
A flash of light burst across the battlefield.
A massive Pokémon materialized in front of him.
It stood roughly two and a half meters tall and had the unmistakable build of an Aggron.
But there was something very different about this one.
Its entire body was covered in gleaming, diamond-like armor.
Under the stadium lights, the crystalline plating sparkled brilliantly, making it look as though the Pokémon had been carved from solid diamond.
Magnificent.
And intimidating.
"AGGRROOON!"
Aggron threw back its head and unleashed a tremendous roar.
The sound rolled across the arena as its imposing presence sent a fierce gust sweeping over the battlefield.
...
Aaron's eyes narrowed slightly.
This Aggron was definitely unusual.
He immediately pulled up its status panel.
[Name: Aggron (Diamond Body)]
[Gender: Male]
[Nature: Adamant]
[Type: Steel/Rock]
[Ability: Diamond Body — A unique Ability developed after years of consuming diamonds. Permanently raises Defense and Special Defense by 3 stages. Moves that would normally be super effective deal neutral (1×) damage instead.]
[Base Stats Total: 560 (Defense +10, Special Defense +20)]
[Level: Gym (Late Stage)]
[Potential: Champion]
[Known Moves: Heavy Slam (Perfect), Head Smash (Perfect), Earthquake (Perfect), Iron Head (Perfect), Dragon Claw (Master), Dragon Tail (Master), Rock Tomb (Master), Rock Slide (Master), Metal Sound (Master), Metal Burst (Master), Rest (Master), Rock Polish (Master), Smart Strike (Proficient), Protect (Proficient), Stone Edge (Proficient)...]
[Description: Aggron, the Iron Armor Pokémon. This unique individual developed Diamond Body after consuming diamonds continuously from birth, giving it exceptionally powerful defenses.]