Chapter 481: Frog Boss Battles the Froslass Queen

Aaron glanced at Greninja beside him with a faint smile. "Frog Boss, you're up. I'll leave this one to you—and go easy on her. She's going to be your teammate soon."

As far as Aaron was concerned, the Froslass Queen was already his Pokémon.

All that remained was winning the battle and making it official, and he had complete confidence in Greninja. Whenever Frog Boss stepped onto the field, he rarely gave Aaron a reason to worry.

"Grenin."

Greninja nodded and calmly walked forward until he stood opposite the Froslass Queen. His usual half-lidded, unimpressed expression never changed as he studied her, but the expedition members were considerably less confident in Aaron's choice.

"Why'd Aaron send the black frog?" one of the soldiers whispered. "Wouldn't Charizard be better? It has the type advantage."

"Seriously. That thing's darker than coal and skinnier than I am. Can it really handle her?"

"How is that supposed to compare with the monster Charizard we saw yesterday?"

"You think Aaron's underestimating her?"

"Maybe, but he probably has a reason. Just watch."

Inside its Poké Ball, Charizard heard every word through the Pokémon Training Space and immediately broke into a cold sweat.

Goddamn idiots. If you want to talk shit, talk shit. Why the hell are you dragging me into it?

Comparing it to Greninja was the last thing Charizard wanted.

If you're trying to get your asses kicked by that freak frog, leave me out of it. I'd like to live a little longer.

Charizard had absolutely no intention of competing with Greninja for the top spot on Aaron's team. Frog Boss being Aaron's first Pokémon was one thing, but seniority was hardly the real reason everyone respected him.

The real problem was his strength.

Greninja was terrifying.

Whenever Charizard saw him, even it knew better than to get clever.

Frog Boss was Boss, and that was the end of the discussion.

...

Aaron had already scanned the Froslass Queen again. Her updated information appeared before him.

[Name: Froslass Queen (Unique)]

[Gender: Female]

[Nature: Modest]

[Type: Ice/Ghost]

[Ability: Ice Queen — When Froslass Queen enters battle, the weather changes to snow. While snow is active, her Speed and Evasion increase by two stages, and the power of her Ice-type moves increases by 50%.]

[Base Stats Total: 510]

[Level: Gym (Peak Stage)]

[Potential: Champion]

[Known Moves: Ominous Wind (Ultimate-tier), Icy Wind (Perfect), Blizzard (Master), Double Team (Master), Ice Shard (Master), Astonish (Master), Draining Kiss (Master), Shadow Ball (Master), Destiny Bond (Master), Will-O-Wisp (Master), Powder Snow (Proficient), Wake-Up Slap (Proficient)...]

[Description: ...]

Just as Aaron had expected, her incomplete Ice Queen Ability had fully developed after absorbing the two top-quality Ice Stones, and the result was absurdly powerful.

The Ability automatically summoned snow upon entering battle, raised both Speed and Evasion by two stages, and increased the power of Ice-type moves by another fifty percent.

Her level had also risen from late-stage Gym to peak-stage Gym.

Aaron smiled to himself.

Those Ice Stones were expensive as hell, but at least they worked.

I'm attacking now.

The Froslass Queen's clear, mature voice sounded directly in his mind, and almost immediately snow began falling inside the castle.

Ice Queen had activated.

"Fros..."

Several razor-edged shards of ice condensed in front of her and shot toward Greninja at tremendous speed.

Ice Shard.

As a priority move, it crossed the battlefield almost instantly, but Aaron barely reacted. "Greninja, dodge it. Then use Quick Attack and close the distance."

"Grenin."

Fast as Ice Shard was, Frog Boss was faster. Greninja slipped between the incoming projectiles in a blur, then gray-white energy flashed around his body as Quick Attack sent him tearing across the frozen floor like a black streak.

The Froslass Queen's icy-blue pupils contracted. Greninja's speed was clearly beyond what she had expected, but she reacted without hesitation. Cold blue energy surged around her body before erupting outward as a broad freezing gale.

Icy Wind.

This was not an ordinary use of the move.

The queen had already trained Icy Wind to the Perfect level, and under the snow created by Ice Queen, the freezing gust spread across a huge section of the battlefield.

A clean hit would lower Greninja's Speed, and with the queen's Ability further strengthening Ice-type moves, trying to force his way straight through the attack would be unnecessarily risky.

Aaron saw another route immediately.

"Greninja, Flying Water Shuriken. Send them past her, then use Flying Raijin."

"Grenin."

Several Water Shuriken spun into existence between Greninja's fingers and shot past the Froslass Queen instead of toward her. They sliced through the air even faster than the advancing Icy Wind, scattering across the space behind her.

The soldiers stared in confusion.

"He missed?"

Grant said nothing. By now, he had seen enough of Aaron's battles to know better than to assume that.

The freezing gale was almost on top of Greninja when his figure suddenly vanished.

There was no leap, no dodge, no blur of movement. One moment he was directly in the path of Icy Wind, and the next there was nothing there.

Several people blinked in disbelief.

"Where the hell did he—"

Greninja silently appeared behind the Froslass Queen, using one of the marked Water Shuriken as an anchor for Flying Raijin.

Her eyes widened.

Too late.

Aaron's voice carried calmly across the frozen hall.

"Greninja—Water Pulse."

"Grenin."

...