Chapter 524: If You Gain Weight, Even Flying Raijin Won’t Be Able to Teleport You

After dinner, Aaron and Braveon returned to the Elite Trainer Residences.

It was only seven in the evening, still fairly early, so Aaron let all his Pokémon out and fed them Energy Cubes.

"Zera, Zera..."

Zeraora was especially clingy.

Even while eating its Energy Cubes, it kept nuzzling its head against Aaron's chin.

It really was a giant cat at heart—clingy as ever.

"Zera... eat more and grow up quickly, okay?"

Aaron smiled as he stroked Zeraora's fur.

"Zera, Zera..."

Zeraora nodded seriously, as if saying,

When I grow up, I'll be able to protect Daddy.

Aaron looked at the obedient little Zeraora with quiet satisfaction.

All that doting had not gone to waste.

"Zeraora... let's play together."

Corviknight flew over and called to it.

"Zera, Zera..."

Zeraora perked up at once and ran off to play with Corviknight.

Aaron could only smile.

Zeraora had grown quite a bit, but it was still a child at heart.

"Nin, nin..."

Frog Boss took two bottles of Coke from the fridge, handed one to Aaron, then opened the other and started drinking it himself.

Aaron took the Coke and gave Greninja a sidelong look.

Ever since Frog Boss had secretly tried one of his Cokes, he had been hooked on the stuff.

"Greninja... careful with that. Keep drinking Coke like this and you're going to get fat."

"If you get too heavy, even Flying Raijin won't be able to teleport you anymore. Then you'll really be screwed."

Aaron grinned.

"Grenin..."

Greninja slowly turned its head and gave him a long, unimpressed stare.

Yeah, right.

Cheapskate.

He just doesn't want me drinking his Coke.

Aaron immediately understood what that look meant.

"What?"

"Don't look at me like that. I'm saying this for your health."

Greninja kept staring.

Aaron's mouth twitched.

"Oh, come on. You seriously think this is about the Coke?"

The stare did not change.

"I can spare one bottle of Coke, all right? I'm not that cheap."

Greninja took another slow sip without breaking eye contact.

Aaron: "..."

Fine.

There was no point arguing with a frog that had already made up its mind.

Aaron returned to the living room and, without saying a word, removed more than half the Cokes from the fridge.

Then he carried them upstairs with a perfectly straight face and stocked them in the fridge in his bedroom.

After that, he happily took a shower, watched some TV, and finally went to sleep.

...

The night passed without incident.

It was the final day of trainer camp.

In this world, university trainer camp ended not with a final exhibition, but with an assessment.

Pass the instructor's final assessment, and they passed trainer camp.

Pokémon Battle Studies, Classes 1 and 2, were gathered on the sports field.

Most of the students looked awful.

They all had dark circles under their eyes, clearly having slept badly the night before.

Knowing they had to face a Class Champion-level Pokémon had drained what little motivation they had left.

No one looked ready for a fight.

But there were exceptions.

Aaron and Braveon were chatting and laughing as though the final assessment meant nothing to them.

The jealous boys around them started muttering bitterly.

"Look at Aaron and Braveon... so carefree. Meanwhile, we spent the whole night studying tactics."

"Even if we didn't come up with anything useful, at least we worked hard, right?"

"Yeah... Those two don't seem worried about the assessment at all."

"Why would they care? Do you really think the school would let the first- and second-ranked Trainers on the Hidden Dragon Rankings get kicked out?"

"Exactly. Champion Edmund probably bent over backward to get them into Crown University. You really think he'd let them get expelled over this?"

"For them, this trainer camp assessment is just for show. Even if they lose, they won't have to leave."

"That makes sense... Then let's not count on them. We'll do it ourselves."

...

A few of the more resentful guys simply could not stand Aaron and Braveon, so they kept muttering behind their backs.

But Aaron and Braveon's hearing was far too sharp.

The comments only amused them.

Aaron gave Braveon a teasing look.

"Looks like we're not exactly popular..."

"Guess being this amazing really does make people jealous."

Braveon smiled faintly, completely unconcerned.

"My master always says being strong can be a lonely road. No point worrying about other people's gossip."

Aaron laughed.

"Now I'm curious... has your master been single his whole life?"

"Yes... he never married."

Braveon rolled his eyes.

"That really is lonely..."

"Can I ask what level your master is as a Trainer?"

"Champion-level?"

"Or Master-level?"

Aaron pressed the question.

It was something he had always wanted to know.

"I don't know. But even Champion Drake treats my master with deference when they meet."

Braveon shook his head, though there was obvious pride in his voice.

"Damn..."

Aaron stared at him, genuinely impressed.

"So you've got that kind of backing... Your master might actually be a Master-level Trainer."

He grinned.

"Better look out for me from now on, Braveon."

"Get lost." Braveon shot him a teasing look. "I heard the Protector of Hualis thinks pretty highly of you."

In Hualis, at least on the surface, the strongest person was still the Protector of Hualis.

No one knew the true depths of his strength.

He even commanded Cresselia.

That alone made him a formidable Legendary Pokémon Trainer, and even Braveon's master was no match for him.

With the Protector of Hualis in his corner, Aaron's connections were hard to beat.

Braveon gave him a look of pure disdain.

Aaron really loved acting harmless while hiding what he could actually do.

"Hehe... It's really not what you think."

"He just treats me a tiny bit better than everyone else, that's all."

Aaron chuckled, putting on an embarrassed look.

...

If you enjoyed the story and want to support my work, you can check out my p-@-treon!

p-@-treon/Hyperbeam (More chapters here!)

You can also follow as a free member to read a few chapters ahead.