The System's clear voice rang in Aaron's ears, immediately putting a huge grin on his face.
Three Pokémon Candies.
The previous Quest had only given him one.
As expected, he really did have a talent for showing off.
He had gotten a perfect score on his first try!
The three Pokémon Candies alone were enough to make the Quest worthwhile.
And on top of that, there was a Common Pokémon Skill Sharing Card.
Aaron immediately perked up and checked its effect.
[Name: Common Pokémon Skill Sharing Card]
[Effect: Allows the Host to select one non-special skill possessed by a captured Pokémon. The Host will learn that skill and share its current proficiency level.]
...
The effect was even better than Aaron had expected.
His mind immediately went to the Apotheosis-level skills his Pokémon had mastered.
Especially since the proficiency would be shared as well.
Quick Attack, Belly Drum, Ice Punch, Dragon Dance, Flamethrower, Twineedle, Kaio-ken, Agility...
Those were the Apotheosis-level skills currently available to him.
"Which one should I pick...?"
"If I want raw power, Belly Drum or Kaio-ken would probably be best."
"Flamethrower would be pretty damn cool too. Imagine opening my mouth and breathing golden fire. That alone would scare half my enemies to death."
"For mobility, there's Quick Attack, Dragon Dance, and Agility..."
Aaron fell into thought.
When it came to damage, Battle Core mode and Super Saiyan already gave him more than enough firepower.
What he really lacked was speed and mobility.
"Agility it is, then..."
"If I can use it for instant movement, I can jump in whenever I want and disappear the second things go bad."
Aaron grinned.
"Perfect skill for fighting dirty."
After weighing his options, Aaron finally chose to share Sceptile's Agility.
[Ding-dong~ Congratulations, Host, on learning Agility (Apotheosis).]
The System notification sounded.
At once, Aaron felt something inside him change.
For the first time, he could almost sense the space around him.
Even his body felt lighter.
Aaron glanced down at the small courtyard outside Residence 1.
Then, with a single thought—
Whoosh!
He vanished from the living room.
A heartbeat later, he reappeared in the courtyard below.
"Holy crap!"
Aaron looked around in delighted disbelief.
Then he immediately started testing the ability around the residence.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
He blinked from one spot to another, having so much fun that he could barely make himself stop.
Only after burning through a decent amount of stamina and starting to breathe heavily did he finally call it quits.
"So it does consume stamina..."
Aaron took a moment to catch his breath.
"But with my current endurance, that's barely an issue. I can use it plenty of times before it becomes a problem."
After a few more careful tests, he had a decent grasp of the skill's limitations.
"The maximum range is anywhere within my line of sight."
"If I can't see the destination, I can't teleport there."
Aaron clicked his tongue.
"Yeah... Flying Raijin is still way more broken."
In the next instant, he disappeared again and reappeared directly on top of his bed.
Aaron dropped onto the mattress with a satisfied sigh.
After wearing himself out teleporting around like an idiot, he fell asleep almost immediately.
...
The next morning, Aaron slept until he woke naturally.
After breakfast, he put on a mask and headed outside.
Having an actual day off felt amazing.
He planned to wander around campus for a while before heading over to the Freshman Selection Tournament to see who would claim the remaining three spots.
Aaron bought a milk tea from one of the campus shops and leisurely strolled along, happily admiring all the pretty girls—
Ahem.
The scenery.
As he walked, his eyes suddenly widened.
So big...
So white...
Some of the sights were so pale they practically glowed.
Others were so huge that they were impossible to ignore.
As expected of a top-tier university.
The buildings here really were impressive.
Aaron wandered around for an entire hour and still had not explored the whole campus.
The place was enormous.
It was practically a small city.
The facilities were so extensive that he even stumbled across an aquarium filled with Water-type Pokémon.
Mantine.
Chinchou.
Magikarp.
Starmie.
There was even a Kingdra.
Aaron had to admit, Crown University really did deserve its reputation as one of the best universities in the country.
"That's enough sightseeing for now..."
"Let's go check out the Freshman Selection Tournament."
Aaron glanced at the time and headed toward the Pokémon Battle Arena.
That was where the tournament was being held.
...
The Pokémon Battle Arena was a massive egg-shaped building.
Covering roughly fifty thousand square meters, it was one of the university's signature landmarks.
By the time Aaron arrived, the stands were already packed with students.
Down on the arena floor, several Pokémon battles were taking place simultaneously across different fields.
The tournament used an elimination format, allowing the university to quickly narrow the field down to the three freshmen who would join Aaron and Braveon as representatives.
Still wearing his mask, Aaron found an open seat and sat down.
Everyone around him was too focused on the battles to notice his arrival.
The nearby students were talking excitedly.
"Look at the guy in the black hat on Field 3. He actually has a Dragapult!"
"That's a Ghost/Dragon pseudo-legendary! Those things are insanely rare in Auroria."
"Damn... I'm jealous. If you've got a Pokémon like that, how could you possibly struggle to get girls?"
"Heh... You don't know who he is?"
"Who?"
"That's Dorian. The Ghost Champion's grandson."
"He's spent years traveling and training on his own, so he's seriously strong."
"Damn... so he comes from that kind of family."
"What rank is he on the Hidden Dragon Rankings?"
"He doesn't have one."
"He never challenged the rankings."
"Dorian prefers traveling around and taking on Pokémon challenges. Apparently, he doesn't care much about titles or rankings."
"Huh... makes sense."
"He's already closing in on ten straight wins."
"One of those three spots is definitely his."
"Yeah. That one's basically locked in."
...
Most of the nearby spectators were talking about the young man on Field 3.
Aaron naturally looked over as well.
A black-haired boy wearing a matching black hat stood calmly at the edge of the battlefield, giving commands to an exceptionally rare Pokémon.
Dragapult.
A Ghost/Dragon-type pseudo-legendary.
Even overseas, seeing one in person was uncommon.
Finding one here made it all the more unusual.