In the end, Brutus left as well.
Only Aaron, Grandpa Director, and the children from Haven Children's Home remained.
With tears in his eyes, Grandpa Director thanked Aaron.
"Commander Aaron... I truly can't thank you enough!"
"If not for you, we might all be out on the streets by now."
Hearing this, Aaron said to the old man,
"Grandpa Director... please don't call me that. My name is Aaron. Just call me Aaron."
"And don't be so formal. I'm basically Eden's big brother now, so of course I'd help."
"Right, Eden?"
Aaron bent down, stroked Eden's soft hair, and said with a smile.
"Mm-hmm!"
"Aaron is the best!"
A bright smile bloomed across Eden's face. Her little dimples were unbelievably cute as she nodded hard.
"Hahaha..."
"Eden really is a good girl!"
Aaron laughed heartily and pinched Eden's chubby cheeks with a smile.
"All right... I should get going. I've got something to do tomorrow."
"Grandpa Director, I'll leave Eden and the others in your care. This is my phone number. Call me directly if anything happens."
Aaron took out a piece of paper, wrote down his phone number, and handed it to the old director.
"You leaving?"
"Will you still come see Eden?"
When Eden heard that Aaron was leaving, her eyes immediately grew wet. She tugged reluctantly at Aaron's hand and asked in a tiny voice.
"Mm-hmm. I'll come see Eden when I have time."
"Eden has to be good, okay?"
Aaron smiled as he rubbed her little head.
"Mm-hmm! Eden will be very good!"
Eden quickly nodded.
...
That evening, Aaron returned to the hotel where he was staying and lay down on the bed.
Frog Boss and Sceptile were playing games at the computer desk again.
These two came out to play games whenever they had time.
And every single time, Frog Boss won.
Aaron had realized that Greninja's reaction speed was terrifyingly fast.
No wonder he used the Flying Thunder God Technique so smoothly.
This guy's reflexes were downright monstrous. If Minato saw them, he would probably tear up.
Aaron was very glad he had given the Flying Thunder God Technique to Greninja back then.
He just did not know whether every Greninja had reflexes this ridiculous, or whether only his black Greninja was this absurd.
"SKRAH!" (You win every time. I don't want to play anymore!)
"Grenin, greninja..." (Look at you. You've only lost a few thousand rounds, and you're already giving up? How are you supposed to help the Master conquer the world in the future?)
"Skrah..." (Then let me win one round. Let me feel what victory is like.)
"Grenin..." (That kind of thinking will lead you down a very dangerous path.)
...
Aaron listened to the two of them jabbering away.
He could tell without even looking that Greninja was definitely messing with Sceptile again.
Aaron angrily got up from the bed, rolled up his sleeves, and shouted,
"Greninja... I've put up with you for long enough!"
"Today, I'm playing another round against you!"
"I refuse to believe this. I refuse to believe I can't beat you!"
"Grenin, grenin..." (Oh? Trash Aaron has entered the arena. Sceptile, watch and learn.)
Aaron took up his controller and charged into battle.
He launched his offensive against Greninja.
But he arrived fast...
and lost even faster.
Before Greninja's freakish reaction speed, even Aaron, who was the self-proclaimed Arcade King, suffered a crushing defeat.
Round after round.
He lost until he went mad, broke down, and fell into despair.
...
One whole night...
spent gaming.
Early the next morning, Aaron had messy hair and dark circles under his eyes, making him look like a half-dead ghost.
"I swear... I'm never playing games with Greninja again."
Aaron muttered to himself with lifeless eyes.
After breakfast, Aaron also fed his Pokémon Energy Cubes.
Mm...
Greninja got one less.
Then he headed to the Pokémon Battle Gym.
Today, the Fighting Tournament was finally about to begin.
At that moment, the Pokémon Battle Gym was already packed with people. A dense crowd filled the place.
Some were contestants.
Even more were spectators who had come to watch the matches.
The Fighting Tournament was an extremely popular event in Grit City and was hailed as the pride of fighters.
Contestants from all over the country had come to participate.
It was incredibly lively.
Relying on his powerful physique, Aaron forced his way through the crowd.
Then he took out his entry pass and entered the contestants' waiting area.
As soon as Aaron entered the waiting area, he saw all kinds of muscular men.
With his normal build and young face, Aaron looked somewhat out of place here.
A regular guy surrounded by bodybuilders.
Quite a few people around him looked at Aaron with disdain.
"Has the bar for the Fighting Tournament gotten that low? Now any random nobody thinks they can enter?"
"Look at those skinny arms and legs... how strong could his Pokémon possibly be?"
"Heh, kid, are you even old enough to be here? Go home and drink your milk."
"Hahaha... Titan, that's brutal!"
"Hmph. This is a nationally famous Fighting Tournament, not some stage for amateurs. If just anyone can enter, it makes the rest of us fighters look bad."
"Heh... Maybe he really does have some skill. You know, the minimum requirement to compete is being an Elite Trainer. This kid became an Elite Trainer at such a young age?"
"Holy shit... I only just remembered. This kid is actually an Elite Trainer?"
"Hiss..."
"How old is he? Eighteen? Nineteen? An Elite Trainer?"
"Hahaha... Titan, you're finished. Anyone can tell he's probably some genius. You humiliated him, so be careful you don't get slapped in the face."
"Hmph... He's just an Elite Trainer. You think I, Titan, would be afraid of him? I'm a Gym-level Trainer."
...
The people around him discussed Aaron excitedly.
Among them was a muscular man standing two meters tall.
He was Titan, a famous fighter in Grit City.
Titan looked down on slim young men like Aaron.
Especially when he saw Aaron's heavy dark circles. At a glance, he assumed they came from staying up all night fooling around.
He was certain Aaron was some rich kid or well-connected brat who had come here to pad his résumé.
In Titan's mind, only someone with a powerful body covered in muscle could be considered a true fighter.
A kid like Aaron, who looked like he had never trained properly and had probably spent all night partying, was not worthy of stepping into this sacred arena of fighters.
...