Frogadier spat out a mass of black smoke, instantly enveloping itself.
With its target lost, Arbok's Glare failed to take effect.
"Damn it… this kid isn't simple at all!"
"His on-the-spot adaptability is this strong!?"
"Don't tell me today's really not my lucky day…!?"
The musclebound instructor groaned inwardly, feeling a headache coming on.
"But—don't think I can't find you like this! Don't forget, Arbok is a snake!"
"Arbok—locate it, then use Thunder Fang!"
By now, the instructor's voice was already a little unsteady as he barked the command.
"Hiss—hiss—"
Arbok continuously flicked its forked tongue, using scent and heat perception to pinpoint Frogadier's position.
A cold glint flashed through its serpentine eyes. It opened its massive jaws, lightning crackling as it lunged toward a spot within the smoke.
Crack—crack—crack—
As the black smoke slowly dispersed, Arbok's Thunder Fang clamped down on Frogadier.
"Nice!!"
Seeing this, the instructor couldn't help shouting in excitement.
But his joy didn't last even a second.
The Frogadier caught in Arbok's jaws suddenly turned into a puff of white smoke and vanished into thin air.
"What the—!?"
The instructor froze, instinctively blurting out a curse.
"Frogadier—use Rasengan."
Aaron's calm voice rang out.
No one knew when it happened, but Frogadier had already appeared behind Arbok, a blue, spiraling ball of energy rapidly forming in its hands.
It slammed the Rasengan straight into Arbok's body.
Boom—
A thunderous explosion echoed as Arbok was blasted away, crashing to the ground and struggling violently.
"Arbok—hang in there!"
"Use Glare—!"
The instructor shouted urgently, eyes wide.
"Hiss—!"
Arbok forced itself upright, preparing to use Glare once more. As long as it could paralyze Frogadier, there was still a chance to turn things around.
"Frogadier—finish it."
"Quick Attack."
Before Arbok could even react, a flash of light streaked across the field.
In that instant, Arbok felt a tremendous force slam into its body—and then… nothing.
Its eyes spun as it collapsed onto the cold ground, completely motionless.
The musclebound instructor stared at the scene in disbelief.
An Advanced (Early Stage) Arbok with Intimidation… defeated by a mere Intermediate Pokémon!?
His face burned hot.
This was humiliating beyond words.
Ugh—
If he'd been present back when Aaron's Frogadier defeated Instructor Zane's Advanced (Mid Stage) Aggron, he probably wouldn't feel quite so ashamed right now.
"Ahem…"
"Student Aaron, well done."
"Your battle logic is clear, and your adaptability is outstanding. Very commendable."
The instructor's face was red as he forced himself to look calm and composed while speaking to Aaron.
"But… this still isn't enough. I believe there's even more potential you haven't tapped into yet."
"Come on—let's continue the battle!"
As he spoke, he shamelessly threw out another Poké Ball.
The light faded, revealing a yellow Pokémon covered in lightning-like markings.
Electabuzz.
It was actually an Electabuzz.
One had to know that Electabuzz could evolve into Electivire, boasting a base stat total of 540 and overwhelming combat power.
However, Aaron noticed that in this world's Pokédex, Electabuzz was already classified as a final evolution.
Clearly, the method for evolving it into Electivire hadn't been discovered yet.
That wasn't too surprising—after all, Electabuzz's evolution requirements were rather strict. It needed to be traded while holding an Electirizer to evolve into Electivire.
Once he entered university, maybe he could publish a paper on Electabuzz's evolution.
In this world, discovering unknown Pokémon or hidden evolution paths would draw immense attention.
Pokémon scholars held an extremely high status here.
If he walked the path of a Pokémon scholar, he would undoubtedly receive even greater protection from the Pokémon League.
Knowledge—no matter the world—was priceless.
The more the League valued him, the safer both he and his family would be.
It wasn't paranoia.
Having lived two lives, Aaron knew that darkness always existed in the world.
It just hadn't reached you yet.
Better to be prepared.
Always plan for the worst.
Aaron looked at the powerful aura radiating from Electabuzz and activated the system scan. Its status panel appeared before his eyes:
[Name: Electabuzz]
[Gender: Male]
[Nature: Jolly]
[Type: Electric]
[Ability: Static]
[Base Stats: 490]
[Level: Advanced (Late Stage)]
[Pokémon Potential: Gym-level]
[Known Moves: Thunder Shock (Proficient), Quick Attack (Proficient), Shock Wave (Proficient), Thunder Punch (Basic), Swift (Basic), Low Kick (Basic)…]
[Description: Electabuzz, the Electric Pokémon. It has an intense fondness for electricity and is often found near power plants…]
...
Aaron shot the musclebound instructor a strange look.
What a monster.
Using a Pokémon that hard-countered Frogadier was one thing—but bringing out an Advanced (Late Stage) Electabuzz!?
That was blatantly shameless.
Since when did instructors bring out Pokémon of this level just to bully trainees like this!?
Aaron's mouth twitched as he stared at the instructor, utterly speechless.
Sensing Aaron's stunned gaze, the instructor's face flushed red. He coughed awkwardly and said:
"Student Aaron… this lesson is about teaching you how to properly use type advantage and level advantage—cough—to defeat your opponent!"
As shameless as it sounded, there was… unfortunately, some truth to it.
"Hmph… Instructor."
"Since you're being merciless, don't blame me for returning the favor."
Aaron thought to himself, a sharp glint of fighting spirit flashing through his eyes.
Then let's fight.
A completely one-sided battle was about to erupt.
...