Chapter 485: The Froslass Queen Reborn

Aaron finally emerged from the childhood memory with a strange expression on his face.

Damn... past me really started early.

He had been making marriage promises to little girls before he even knew what marriage was. If the two of them had not both been children at the time, that kind of line would have sounded like the opening argument for a ten-year prison sentence.

Technically, those memories belonged to the Aaron who had lived this life before him, but the distinction no longer felt particularly meaningful. When those memories surfaced, they carried the same warmth and familiarity as his own.

Still, childhood promises were childhood promises.

Aaron pushed the thought aside and looked at his parents. "Come on, what century are we living in? A childhood engagement?"

His mother immediately nodded in agreement.

"And after ignoring our family for fifteen years, I don't see why we owe them anything now," Aaron continued. "Dad helped them when they had nothing. They became rich and disappeared. That tells me enough about their character."

As far as he was concerned, the matter was simple. His father had given them the money that allowed them to start over, and once their business succeeded, they had apparently forgotten the people who helped them get there.

Aaron had no interest in chasing after a family like that merely because two children had once made a pinky promise beneath a sunset.

His mother gave the arm of the sofa an irritated slap. "Exactly! But I still want that fifty thousand back. Fifteen years later and I'm still pissed about it. If nothing else, I deserve the chance to tell that man exactly what I think of him."

Victor looked less certain.

"Let's meet them first," he said after a moment. "Maybe there's something we don't know."

The faint sadness in his voice was enough to keep Aaron's mother from immediately arguing.

Aaron noticed it too.

For his mother, the issue was mostly anger.

For Victor, it was something else entirely. The man who had disappeared had once been his closest friend, practically a brother. Fifteen years of silence had left a wound that pride had prevented Victor from ever confronting directly.

Aaron sighed. "All right. We'll go tomorrow. Everyone can sit down, talk it through, and finally get this mess out in the open."

His mother still looked unhappy, but she did not object.

Aaron understood his father well enough to know that simply ignoring the situation would not make it disappear.

Victor valued loyalty too much.

Whatever had happened between those two families had been sitting in the back of his mind for more than a decade, and if there was any chance of finally putting it to rest, it was worth one meeting.

...

That evening, Lily came home riding Arcanine with Zoroark following alongside them.

The moment she saw Aaron, she practically launched herself at him, hugging him tightly and bombarding him with questions about where he had been and what he had seen.

Dinner brought the whole family together again.

Lily did most of the talking, chattering away without noticing the occasional heaviness in Victor's expression, while their mother kept the atmosphere lively and repeatedly piled food onto Aaron's plate. She had even made his favorite braised pork.

Afterward, the four of them settled into the living room to watch television and talk.

Aaron eventually told them about the Icy Snow Secret Zone.

He did not hide the dangerous parts.

When he mentioned that six members of the expedition had died, the mood changed immediately.

His mother stared at him. "Six?"

Aaron nodded.

For the first time since he came home, even Lily went quiet.

The reality of what he had been doing suddenly became much more tangible. This had not been another tournament or controlled battle. Aaron had entered a place where people genuinely did not come back.

His mother's face tightened. "Then stop acting like you're invincible."

"I don't."

She gave him a look that made it very clear she did not believe him.

"Aaron, I mean it. You're strong, yes. We all know that. That doesn't mean you need to throw yourself into every dangerous situation you find."

Victor did not lecture him, but his expression said much the same thing.

Aaron gave a helpless smile. "I know. I'll be careful."

"That's what people always say right before doing something stupid," Lily muttered.

Aaron looked at her.

She immediately became extremely interested in the television.

The family stayed together until after ten, talking about ordinary things until the tension gradually faded. With the meeting scheduled for the next day, everyone eventually headed to bed early.

Back in his room, Aaron finally had time to deal with something he had been looking forward to all evening.

The Froslass Queen.

He had already used the Demon's Extract Skill Card on her, granting her the power of the Ice Teigu. Now he wanted to see exactly what that transformation had done.

Aaron opened the System panel.

[Name: Froslass Queen (Unique)]

[Gender: Female]

[Nature: Modest]

[Type: Ice/Ghost]

[Ability: Icy Snow Empress — When Froslass Queen enters battle, the weather changes to heavy snow. Her Speed and Special Attack increase by three stages, the power of her Ice-type moves increases by 50%, and the casting speed of her Ice-type moves increases by 50%.]

[Base Stats Total: 510]

[Level: Gym (Peak Stage)]

[Potential: Champion]

[Known Moves: Ominous Wind (Apotheosis), Icy Wind (Perfect), others omitted...]

[Special Skill: Demon's Extract]

[Skill 1: Ice Bloodline (Passive) — Increases the power of Ice-type moves by 100% and increases the casting speed of all Ice-type moves by 50%.]

[Skill 2: Ice Arrow — Power: 120. Category: Special. Condenses Ice-type energy into an arrow that deals massive damage to the target.]

[Skill 3: Ice Shield — Instantly forms a shield of ice capable of blocking incoming damage.]

[Skill 4: Ice Meteorfall — Maximum Power: 500. Category: Special. Condenses a massive meteor of ice in the sky and sends it crashing down upon the target. The more Ice-type energy invested, the greater the attack's power.]

[Skill 5: Mahapadma — Category: Status. Unleashes extreme freezing power to freeze space and time within a limited area for up to one second. Within the frozen space-time, only the user can move.]

[Note: The stronger the opponent, the shorter Mahapadma's effective freeze duration. The technique consumes an enormous amount of energy and can only be used once per day.]

[Note: The user may independently develop additional applications of Demon's Extract. Its potential is effectively limitless.]

[Description: Froslass Queen, a unique individual of the Snow Land Pokémon. An exceptionally rare queen born among Froslass. After assimilating the power of the Ice Demon's blood, she has become a true ruler of ice and gained the ability to interfere with space-time itself.]

Aaron stared at the panel for several seconds.

Then a grin spread across his face.

She was strong.

Really fucking strong.

Just as he had expected, the original Ice Queen Ability had evolved after assimilating Demon's Extract. It was now Icy Snow Empress, and nearly every part of it had become more dangerous.

The automatic snow remained, but her Speed and Special Attack now rose by three stages the moment battle began. Her Ice-type attacks gained another fifty-percent power boost, and even their casting speed increased by fifty percent.

Then there was Ice Bloodline.

That passive added another hundred percent to the power of her Ice-type attacks and another fifty percent to their casting speed. Combined with Icy Snow Empress, her Ice techniques came out twice as fast as before.

Not literally priority moves in the game-mechanic sense, but in an actual battle?

They might as well have been.

By Aaron's rough additive calculation, the Ability and Ice Bloodline together gave her Ice-type attacks a one-hundred-and-fifty-percent power increase. Add the usual same-type bonus on top of that, and the total boost reached roughly two hundred percent.

And that was before considering her increased Special Attack.

Aaron almost felt sorry for whoever had to stand in front of her.

Almost.

The rest of Demon's Extract was just as ridiculous. Ice Arrow gave her a powerful ranged attack, Ice Shield provided instant defense, and Ice Meteorfall could reach a maximum power of 500 if she poured enough energy into it.

But none of those were what truly caught Aaron's attention.

His gaze settled on one name.

Mahapadma.

For one second, Froslass Queen could freeze space and time within a certain area.

One second did not sound like much.

To ordinary people, maybe it was not.

To Pokémon fighting at this level, one second was an eternity.

Aaron immediately began running through his team in his head. Against a technique like that, almost every one of his Pokémon would be completely helpless if they were caught inside its range.

Almost.

Frog Boss was the obvious exception.

Greninja's absurd reflexes combined with Flying Raijin gave him at least a chance of escaping before the freeze fully enclosed him.

Zeraora might eventually manage something similar once his speed reached a high enough level, but right now Aaron would not bet on it.

Everyone else?

If Mahapadma caught them, the fight could effectively be over.

And Froslass Queen did not even need to finish the opponent herself during that frozen second. She could simply reposition, prepare Ice Meteorfall, and let time resume with a maximum-power attack already descending on their head.

Aaron imagined the result.

Even if the target survived, they probably would not be in any condition to keep fighting.

He stared at the System panel for another moment before smiling.

Two top-quality Ice Stones, one Demon's Extract Skill Card, and a little bargain-shop medical fraud.

Not a bad investment at all.

...