Aaron nodded in satisfaction.
Armament Haki had previously increased move power by 100%, but after the upgrade, Conqueror's Coating raised that boost to 150%. That number was already terrifying. If Snorlax entered its Titan form on top of that, its attack power would be like a walking nuclear bomb.
And now it had Conqueror's Aura too, which could intimidate enemies and lower their Attack. It was basically an upgraded version of Intimidate.
Finally, Aaron looked at the Pokémon Candy (Gym) in his backpack and used it on Snorlax without hesitation. With that, Snorlax successfully stepped into Gym-level, reaching the early stage.
It had become Aaron's third Gym-level Pokémon.
"Greninja."
Aaron glanced at Greninja, who was sitting in a chair, completely absorbed in the two new episodes of Frog Ninja: Legend of the Whirlwind that had just dropped.
"Turn off the light and stop watching anime. We're challenging the Hidden Dragon Tower tomorrow, so we need some actual sleep."
"Grenin..."
Greninja let out a low cry. The tongue wrapped around its neck stretched out and tapped the light switch, plunging the room into darkness with a click. Then it turned off the computer, walked over to the other bed, lay down, and went to sleep.
...
The night passed quietly.
Early the next morning, Blaze, Braveon, and Liora came knocking on Aaron's door and woke him up. He had no choice but to wash up quickly, then head downstairs with the three of them for breakfast at the hotel.
"So," Aaron said, taking a bite of red date cake, "tell me about the Hidden Dragon Tower."
Blaze froze and stared at him.
"Wait, you actually don't know?"
Braveon and Liora looked surprised too.
"I know it tests young Trainers and their Pokémon's potential," Aaron said, a little embarrassed. "But as for how the test actually works? No clue."
Before this, he really had been an ordinary Trainer. His potential was the kind people could see through at a glance. Why would someone like that need a legendary tower to test him?
Not like these gifted rich kids.
Blaze, Braveon, and Liora all rolled their eyes.
Liora was the one who spoke first.
"Then I'll start with the tower's origin."
Aaron set down the food in his hand and leaned in with interest.
"Go ahead. I'm listening."
Liora began explaining the history of the Hidden Dragon Tower.
No one knew when it had been built, and no one knew who had built it. It had existed in Hualis for as long as history had records of it.
Some unofficial accounts even claimed the tower had not been built by humans at all. According to those stories, it had descended from the heavens and remained standing on Hualis's land for thousands of years, never collapsing, never aging.
Since ancient times, people had known that the tower possessed strange powers. Only young Trainers under eighteen could enter.
The tower had nine floors in total. On each floor, it would create Pokémon based on the strength of the challenger's own team. Defeat the opposing Pokémon, and the Trainer could move on to the next floor.
But every floor was far harder than the last. The higher a challenger climbed, the greater the increase in difficulty. Every step upward was a real test.
...
After listening to the tower's history and rules, Aaron's interest grew.
He looked at the three of them with a smile.
"So, how far did you all get?"
Blaze immediately grinned.
"Sixth floor, baby. Pretty good, right?"
Liora smiled as well.
"I reached the sixth floor too, but my clear time was slower than Blaze's. That's why he's ranked second on the Hidden Dragon rankings, and I'm third."
Aaron nodded, then turned to Braveon.
"And you?"
"Eighth floor," Braveon answered calmly.
Aaron's pupils shrank slightly, surprise flashing through his eyes.
"No wonder you're ranked first."
Blaze clicked his tongue.
"Don't compare yourself to him too much. This guy's a freak."
He glanced at Braveon with obvious resentment.
"He's the same type as Drake. Some people just exist to make everyone else look normal, so don't put too much pressure on yourself. Just focus on climbing as high as you can."
Liora immediately widened her eyes.
"Blaze, did you just call Drake a freak?"
Blaze's expression changed on the spot.
"What? Me? No way. You must've misheard me. I said Drake is amazing, inspiring, and a role model to us all."
His tone was so exaggerated that the others could not hold back their laughter.
Braveon smiled too, but his gaze soon shifted back to Aaron.
"I have a feeling you might reach the ninth floor."
Blaze and Liora froze.
"The ninth floor?" Blaze blurted out. "That's basically a legend."
Liora nodded, looking serious.
"Even Drake said the ninth floor isn't something normal people can reach."
Aaron laughed.
"Don't hype me up too much. What if I don't even clear the first floor? Then I'll make you lose face."
"I don't think that will happen," Braveon said.
Aaron smiled, then stood up.
"All right, let's go. Now I'm getting impatient."
Blaze grinned and pushed back his chair.
"Then let's head out."
Braveon followed them with a faint smile.
"Who knows? Maybe we really are about to witness something historic."
Together, the four of them left for the Hidden Dragon Tower.
...