Frost frowned as he watched Aaron enter the tower, suspicion rising in his eyes.
Who was that guy?
Braveon, Blaze, and Liora had all come here with him, and not only that, they had actually cheered him on. That alone was enough to make Frost curious.
Keeping his expression calm, he glanced at the three of them with a faint smirk.
"So, who is he? The top three on the Hidden Dragon Rankings came all this way just to send him off. He must be pretty special."
Liora shot him a sharp glare.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Frost looked at her, then let his gaze drift downward for half a second before smiling.
"Nothing. I was just thinking it's a shame you don't own an airport."
Liora froze.
"Why would I own an airport?"
Frost's smile widened.
"Because you've already got the runway."
The teenagers behind him burst out laughing, only to clamp their mouths shut almost immediately when they remembered who Liora's older brother was. Their faces turned red from holding it in, and several of them looked like they were about to choke.
"You... you jerk!"
Liora's face flushed bright red, tears gathering in her eyes from anger.
"I'm battling you for that. If you lose, you're apologizing."
Blaze stepped forward, his expression dark.
"Frost, what the hell is wrong with you? Do you wake up every morning and practice being poisonous, or does it just come naturally?"
The joke had hit one of Liora's sore spots, and she was his friend. That meant Frost had crossed the line.
"A battle?" Frost smiled coldly. "Funny. I was thinking the same thing."
His gaze shifted between Blaze and Liora.
"But not right now. My Pokémon have gotten stronger recently, and I think your second and third places on the rankings are about to belong to me."
His confidence was obvious.
"Once I finish challenging the tower, I'll come back out and battle you."
Blaze sneered.
"Anytime."
Liora glared at Frost, still furious.
"Fine. I'll wait right here. And when you lose, you apologize."
This time, she really was angry. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to beat him senseless in a battle.
Blaze folded his arms and looked at Frost with obvious disdain.
"Just don't go in there and embarrass yourself. Today's supposed to be Aaron's day, so don't ruin the show by making everyone watch you flop around in there."
Frost paused.
"Aaron?"
He looked toward the tower entrance, then laughed.
"You mean that kid who just went in?"
His laughter turned mocking.
"Blaze, you've got to be kidding me. What do you think the Hidden Dragon Tower is, some easy climb for random nobodies?"
He turned toward the entrance.
"Just wait. I'll put all of you beneath me soon enough."
At that moment, Braveon finally spoke.
"The Hidden Dragon Tower is a test, not a verdict."
Frost stopped.
Braveon looked at him calmly.
"It can measure a lot of things, but it can't measure everything about a Trainer or their Pokémon. You care too much about the rankings."
Frost paused for a moment, but he did not answer. He simply continued into the tower.
In truth, he still respected Braveon.
Because Braveon was strong enough that even someone like Frost had no choice but to acknowledge him.
...
First Floor of the Hidden Dragon Tower.
The moment Aaron stepped inside, a spatial ripple swept over him.
When his vision cleared, he was no longer standing in the tower's entrance hall. He had arrived in a vast, empty space that seemed to stretch endlessly in every direction.
At least the area was bright. He did not have to worry about being unable to see his opponents.
"Is this an illusion?" Aaron muttered, looking around. "Or some kind of spatial ability?"
A calm, ethereal voice suddenly rang out from the void.
"Welcome, challenger."
Aaron looked up slightly.
"You are now on the first floor of the Hidden Dragon Tower. Please release your Pokémon."
He had not expected the tower to have something like an automated guide.
Was this ancient technology? A Tower Spirit? Some kind of artificial intelligence?
Whatever it was, it was more advanced than he had expected.
Aaron did not waste time.
"Come out, everyone."
Light flashed.
Greninja, Snorlax, Gyarados, Sceptile, Charizard, Infernape, and Beedrill all appeared around him.
Corviknight's spirit remained quietly at his side as well, invisible to most people but clearly present.
"Grenin..."
"Snooor..."
"GRAAAH!"
The moment they appeared, Aaron's Pokémon let out low cries one after another, all full of energy and fighting spirit.
They were looking forward to this too.
The legendary Hidden Dragon Tower.
What kind of challenge would it give them? Would it finally let them fight all out?
"Please wait, challenger."
The voice rang out again.
"Detecting Pokémon levels. Matching battle opponents."
A brief silence followed.
"Detecting..."
Then the calm voice suddenly broke.
"Detection error."
"This challenger has seven Pokémon."
"No... eight Pokémon detected."
"Detection error. Detection error."
"Manual review required."
"Initiating Tower Spirit manual review."
"Initiating Tower Spirit manual review."
Warnings echoed through the void one after another.
Aaron froze.
Then he slapped a hand to his forehead.
"Damn it..."
He had forgotten.
The rules of this world only allowed a Trainer to carry six Pokémon.
His cheat had just been detected.
...