"Ding~ Can you calm down for two seconds? You've been with me this long. What kind of big scene haven't you seen by now?"
"Relax, anything produced by this system is absolutely safe."
"How could a damaged remnant of consciousness ever detect my existence?"
Just as Aaron was starting to panic, the system's disdainful voice rang in his ears.
He let out a breath of relief.
For a second there, he had felt like he was playing a game with cheats enabled and had just been caught by the anti-cheat system.
The system's words finally put him at ease.
Whoosh.
At that moment, a small, alpaca-like Pokémon appeared in front of him, its entire body glowing faintly.
Its small eyes stared closely at Aaron, white light flickering inside them as if it were scanning his body.
A calm, ethereal voice slowly rang out.
"Physical strength comparable to a Gym-level Pokémon."
"Your soul is being guarded by a Pokémon."
"And you are carrying seven Pokémon with you."
The little alpaca-like Pokémon looked at him with a complicated expression.
"In over ten thousand years, this is the first time I have seen a human like you."
Aaron's heart stirred.
This little thing had actually seen through the secrets hidden in his body.
It had even noticed Corviknight.
"Kraa..."
Corviknight appeared in front of Aaron, staring solemnly at the alpaca-like Pokémon.
Aaron... it can see me.
Aaron nodded, then looked back at the glowing figure.
"Are you... Arceus?"
It looked almost exactly like Arceus, the Original One, just smaller.
The moment Aaron saw it, shock surged through him, and a thought flashed across his mind.
Wait... don't tell me the Hidden Dragon Tower was left behind by Arceus.
When the little Pokémon heard that name, something strange flashed through its eyes.
"You know the name Arceus?"
Its gaze on Aaron deepened.
"This world has almost forgotten that name. Most only remember the legend of the Original One."
It studied him for a moment longer.
"You are a curious human, Trainer. How did you come to carry seven Pokémon?"
Its eyes shifted slightly.
"And the Pokémon within your soul... how did that come to be?"
The little alpaca-like Pokémon stared at Aaron as if trying to find the answer in his eyes.
Then it began to speak.
"A very long time ago, when the first humans were born into this world, they were weak. Too weak to survive in that era."
"Arceus took pity on humanity and created a substance that could capture Pokémon. Then he taught humans how to use it."
"After that, Arceus fell into slumber, and humans began walking the path of Pokémon Trainers."
Its voice remained calm, but the weight behind the words grew heavier.
"Once humanity gained a foothold in this world, they were no longer satisfied. After obtaining power, they began capturing Pokémon without restraint and used that power to ignite a long war across the Pokémon Continent."
"When Arceus awakened again, the continent had already been plunged into misery. War had spread everywhere."
"Furious, Arceus used his own power to add a law to this world."
"One Trainer could carry only six Pokémon."
"He also established a peace treaty between humans and Pokémon."
"Only then did the continent begin to recover."
Aaron stood frozen as the ancient history of this world unfolded before him.
So that was how it happened.
So that was the origin of the six-Pokémon rule.
The little alpaca-like Pokémon looked at him seriously.
"So, human, how did you break this world's law?"
Aaron thought for a moment, then raised his head.
"I'm not completely sure myself."
His answer was half true.
"But I can feel something guiding me from somewhere I can't reach. The power inside me was given by that force too."
He was not lying.
He just was not saying that the "force" was the system.
The little Pokémon frowned, sinking into thought.
"Could it be the power of the Original One?"
It murmured quietly.
"Has the Original One chosen this human?"
A strange light flashed in its eyes as it looked at Aaron again.
"Perhaps this world has chosen you."
Its voice became solemn.
"Human Trainer, climb."
"If you truly have been chosen by this world, then reach the ninth floor. I will wait for you there."
"When you reach it, I will tell you part of this world's truth."
"And I will give you a special reward."
The little alpaca-like Pokémon's voice slowly faded. Its body turned into a beam of light and vanished from the empty space.
Aaron's mouth twitched.
A trace of speechlessness flashed through his eyes.
So Legendary Pokémon liked being cryptic too?
Say half the important part, then disappear.
Do you know how annoying that is?
Aaron cursed silently in his heart.
Just then, several Pokémon suddenly appeared not far away.
"GRAAAH!"
There were seven of them, and they looked exactly like Aaron's own team.
Greninja, Snorlax, Gyarados, Sceptile, Charizard, Infernape, and Beedrill.
The only difference was that these versions were ordinary.
Their Gyarados was only a little over six meters long and had no dragon claws. The rest were the same: normal size, normal appearance, and none of the special traits Aaron's Pokémon possessed.
Their levels, however, were all one stage higher than the corresponding Pokémon on Aaron's side.
For example, Greninja was early Gym-level, while the opposing Greninja was mid Gym-level, with all of its moves at Proficient level.
Aaron's lips curved into a smile.
"Interesting."
His gaze swept over the opposing team.
"So this is how the tower works."
...