At the podium, the balding host glanced down at his tablet and started reading,
"Contestant No. 286, 221…3…"
"Huh!?"
He paused mid-sentence, staring at the number. Four digits.
"…Sorry, looks like there's a small issue with the system. Let me double-check."
He hurried over to the scoring staff.
"What's with this score!? 2,213 points!? Is the system bugging out!?"
The staff member shook his head.
"No mistake. It's really 2,213."
He gestured at the table stacked with Poké Balls.
"I didn't believe it either. Then I saw those."
The host blinked, then let out a breath.
"…Did he just clear the whole forest or what?"
He wiped his forehead and quickly returned to the stage.
"The final contestant is in. Contestant No. 286… total score…"
"2,213!!"
The crowd erupted.
"2,213 points!? No way!"
"This has to be rigged!"
"That makes no sense… This is the biggest Bug-type event in Sealine. No way they'd risk their reputation over 500,000."
"Then what—someone actually pulled that off!?"
"Who even is No. 286!?"
"No clue… looks young."
"Over 2,000 points? That's insane."
...
Some suspected foul play, but most trusted the organizers.
If they were going to rig it, there'd be no reason to push it past 2,000. Just edging out second place would've been way more believable.
So in the end, most people accepted it—
They'd just witnessed a monster.
Meanwhile, the runner-up Bug Catcher stood there, stunned.
Someone had scored far beyond him. Five times his total.
The gap was so absurd it even made him question it for a second.
...
Contestant No. 286 was, of course, Aaron.
By the time the result was announced, he was already back with Simon and the others.
Yuri rushed over.
"Aaron… No. 286—that's you, right!?"
"That's insane… 2,213 points! Hahaha!"
He just smiled and nodded.
"Yeah. That's me."
"Damn… that's my bro!"
Yuri grinned, clearly hyped.
Victor stared at him.
"…You didn't cheat or something, right? That's just ridiculous."
The others looked just as shocked.
He twitched slightly.
…They're not wrong.
I really did cheat.
From the stage, the host's voice cut back in.
"Everyone, the final rankings are in!"
"Third place, Contestant No. 16—347 points!"
"Second place, Contestant No. 250—400 points!"
"First place, Contestant No. 286—2,213 points!!"
"Let's hear it for our winners!"
Applause swept across the venue.
Amid the cheers, Aaron and the other two contestants stepped onto the stage and lined up side by side.
The host handed over the prize money with a wide grin.
Along with it, Aaron received a small box—the mysterious bonus reward for first place.
Once off the stage, he opened it.
Inside was a smooth, glass-like stone, streaked with swirling black and yellow patterns.
He froze for a split second.
A Mega Stone.
And not just any—
Beedrill's Mega Evolution Stone.
…Nice.
He hadn't expected to get something like this so easily.
So that "mystery reward" was actually a Mega Stone.
Now he just needed a Key Stone to make it work.
Luckily, Mega Evolution hadn't been discovered in this world yet.
Otherwise, there was no way something like this would be handed out so casually in a standard competition.
…Yeah, this was a huge win.
"Ding~ Congratulations! Quest completed: King of Bug Catching!!"
"Ding~ Rewards obtained: Flash Step (Skill Card) ×1, Random Zanpakuto Ability ×1, Pokémon Candy (Elite) ×4…"
The system notification rang out.
He immediately opened his inventory to check the rewards.
First up—the skill card.
[Name: Flash Step]
[Type: Special]
[Power: None]
[Description: Usable only by Pokémon. Grants the ability to perform Flash Step, allowing movement at extremely high speeds, making it nearly impossible for opponents to track.]
...