Ryan was just as overwhelmed as everyone else.
He stared up at Aaron and Greninja on the snowy ridge, the last fragments of the shattered ice pillar still glittering as they fell around them.
So this is Aaron's real strength...
And he was only eighteen.
When Ryan had first met him at Highbank and learned that someone so young held the rank of Honorary General, he had not known what to make of it. Part of him had wondered whether Aaron had simply been lucky, or whether connections had played some role in earning him such an extraordinary position.
His opinion had already begun to change after they entered the secret zone.
Charizard had defeated a Gym (Peak Stage) Abomasnow in a single attack, then wiped out the rest of the group and destroyed their combined Blizzard tornado. Whatever else might be said about Aaron, there was no question that he possessed genuine strength.
At eighteen, that alone would have been enough to place him among the most gifted Trainers of his generation.
But what Ryan had just witnessed went far beyond that.
Five of Grant's Pokémon had thrown everything they had at Sandslash's enormous ice pillar and barely slowed it down.
Greninja had destroyed it with one attack.
Ryan looked at the young Trainer standing above them and finally understood.
There had been no exaggeration.
No empty title.
Aaron had earned that rank.
...
The cold wind swept across the grove as snow continued to fall.
Aaron looked down from the ridge.
The excitement of the people below did nothing to soften his expression.
Several bodies still lay in the snow.
Their insulated suits had been torn apart, the blood around them already freezing into dark patches beneath the falling snow.
Aaron's gaze shifted toward the Alolan Sandslash on the opposite rise.
His expression turned cold.
"You killed them."
Sandslash stared back at him.
Aaron's voice remained quiet.
"You're not leaving here alive."
At the same time, its status panel appeared before him.
[Name: Alolan Sandslash]
[Gender: Male]
[Type: Ice/Steel]
[Ability: Slush Rush — Doubles Speed during snow.]
[Base Stats Total: 450]
[Level: Class Champion (Mid Stage)]
[Potential: Class Champion]
[Known Moves: Icicle Crash (Perfect), Iron Head (Perfect), Blizzard (Master), Metal Claw (Master), Swords Dance (Master), Rapid Spin (Master), Swift (Master), Gyro Ball (Master), Fury Cutter (Master), Ice Punch (Master), Iron Defense (Proficient), Metal Burst (Proficient)...]
[Description: Alolan Sandslash, the Mouse Pokémon. The evolved form of Alolan Sandshrew, its body is protected by exceptionally hard ice that forms sharp spikes across its back.]
Aaron's eyes narrowed slightly.
Class Champion (Mid Stage).
That explained a lot.
No wonder Ryan's Pokémon had been taken down so easily. No wonder even Grant's Skarmory had gone down in a single attack.
And Slush Rush made the situation even worse.
Inside a secret zone where snow was already falling constantly, Sandslash effectively had the perfect battlefield for its Ability. Its doubled Speed was the reason even experienced Gym-level Pokémon had struggled to follow its movements.
Dangerous.
Annoying.
But hardly unbeatable.
Aaron had already fought—and killed—more than one Class Champion-level Pokémon.
This one was not going to be the exception.
"You picked the wrong people to attack."
His eyes remained fixed on Sandslash.
"Today, you're going down."
A familiar chime immediately sounded in his head.
"Ding~"
[Hidden Quest Triggered: Kill the Alpha—Alolan Sandslash]
The System's furious voice followed almost immediately.
"Ambushing people, killing them without hesitation, stealing their Frostfruits, and then standing around like you own the mountain? Wow. What a charming personality."
There was a brief pause.
"I ran the numbers. Your luck officially ends today."
[Objective: Kill the Alolan Sandslash.]
[Rewards: Spirit Form Conversion Stone ×1, Lightning Release: Kirin Skill Card ×1]
Aaron blinked.
The System sounded almost more offended than he was.
Apparently, Sandslash had managed to get on both of their bad sides.
...
"SLASH!"
Across the ridge, Sandslash erupted in fury.
It understood enough from Aaron's posture and tone to know exactly what was happening.
This human was threatening it.
After everything that had happened, after Greninja had destroyed the Icicle Crash it had created with all its strength, Aaron was now standing there looking at it as though the outcome of the battle had already been decided.
The humiliation burned.
This was its territory.
It was the strongest Pokémon in this part of the secret zone. The Pokémon around here avoided it, and anything weaker knew better than to challenge it.
Yet Greninja had just shattered its strongest attack in front of everyone.
Now Aaron was openly challenging it.
To Sandslash, there was only one acceptable answer.
The human and the Pokémon beside him had to die.
"SLASH!"
Ice-type energy surged violently through its body.
Its right fist glowed an intense blue.
Then it disappeared.
A streak of ice-blue light tore across the snowy ridge directly toward Aaron.
Grant saw it move.
"Aaron, watch out!"
His voice carried across the battlefield.
"That thing has Slush Rush! Its Speed doubles in the snow!"
What Grant did not know was that Aaron already knew more about the Sandslash than it probably knew about itself.
Level.
Potential.
Ability.
Moves.
There was not much left for Grant to warn him about.
Aaron watched the blue streak close in without taking a single step back.
"Frog Boss."
Greninja glanced toward him.
"I'll leave this one to you."
"Grenin."
Aaron pointed toward the incoming Sandslash.
"Quick Attack."
A small smile appeared on his face.
"Then Sage Art: Rasengan."
Greninja vanished.
Golden light streaked across the ridge.
Still surrounded by the Tailed Beast Cloak, Greninja accelerated into a blur as a white-blue sphere of spiraling energy formed in one palm.
The Rasengan compressed tighter and tighter.
Sandslash reached them at almost the same instant.
Ice-blue energy engulfed its fist.
Ice Punch!
Greninja drove forward.
Sage Art: Rasengan!
BOOM!
The two attacks collided head-on.
The impact ripped through the mountainside.
A massive shockwave rolled outward from the point of collision, blasting loose snow away in great white waves. The frozen ground beneath Greninja and Sandslash cracked apart, a jagged fracture racing through the ridge beneath their feet.
For a moment, neither Pokémon moved.
Then Sandslash's expression changed.
"Slash—!"
Its arm was forced backward.
Blood ran from its fist and dripped onto the snow.
Bright red spots spread across the white surface below.
Sandslash stared at its own hand.
Then at Greninja.
The golden-cloaked Pokémon stood opposite it completely unharmed, the last traces of the Rasengan fading from his palm.
"Grenin."
Shock flashed across Sandslash's face.
Then rage.
This was the same Pokémon whose attack had destroyed its Icicle Crash.
A Pokémon it had dismissed as another insignificant opponent.
And now it had injured Sandslash in a direct clash.
Its claws tightened.
The fury in its expression made the thought clear enough.
You actually hurt me?
To Sandslash, the insult was almost unbearable.
"SLASH!"
Its furious cry echoed through the grove.
...
The expedition erupted.
"He hurt it!"
"That golden frog is insane!"
"The Sandslash is bleeding!"
Several people who had been certain of their deaths only minutes earlier were now openly cheering.
"Aaron's Pokémon is stronger than that thing!"
"We really might get out of here!"
One of the Rivergate members clenched his fist as he looked toward the bodies of the people Sandslash had killed.
"Take it down!"
Another immediately joined him.
"Yeah! Make it pay for what it did!"
"Don't let it get away!"
"Aaron! Finish it!"
The fear that had dominated the expedition was gone.
In its place came anger, relief, and renewed confidence.
The Alolan Sandslash that had seemed almost invincible moments earlier had finally been hurt.
And this time, everyone had seen who made it bleed.
...