At that moment, Brutus and Lilith walked over to Aaron.
Brutus looked at him, a hint of admiration in his gaze as he said,
"Young man… thank you for stepping in this time. You saved our lives."
Lilith studied Aaron, curiosity in her eyes.
"Young man… how did you manage to capture Darkrai?"
Hearing this, Aaron jumped down from Gyarados's head. He gave the two Champions a respectful bow before speaking.
"Mr. Brutus, any citizen of Hualis would have done the same. There's no need to thank me."
Then Aaron's lips twitched slightly as he turned to the striking Lilith.
"Miss Lilith, I'm not a 'young student.' My name is Aaron, and I'm already an adult."
Of course, Aaron recognized Brutus and Lilith. They were among the Ten Great Champions of Hualis. In Hualis, there was probably no one who didn't know them.
"Pfft…"
Lilith couldn't help laughing when she heard that. Despite her pale face, she flashed Aaron a bright smile and rolled her eyes.
Brutus's admiration only deepened. He reached out and slapped Aaron on the shoulder.
"Good kid… I like you!"
"If anyone gives you trouble, tell them you're with me."
"And if that doesn't work, call me. I'll deal with them myself."
A faint flush spread across Brutus's pale face as he spoke cheerfully. Even with only one arm, his strength was still astonishing.
A sharp, burning pain shot through Aaron's shoulder.
Is this guy hitting me on purpose?
Aaron's mouth twitched as the thought crossed his mind.
Lilith laughed from the side.
"You?"
"Aaron has Darkrai. If someone he can't beat shows up, do you really think you could handle them?"
"Uh…"
Brutus froze, his face reddening slightly.
That actually made sense. If even the Nightmare Pokémon Darkrai couldn't defeat the opponent, then him showing up would only make things worse.
Looks like he'd bragged a little too much.
"By the way, Aaron," Lilith continued, clearly curious. "Where's your Darkrai? Why haven't we seen it?"
"Miss Lilith, Darkrai has already left."
Aaron gave her a faint smile.
"Left?"
"Where did it go?"
Both Lilith and Brutus looked surprised.
"Uh… actually, Darkrai isn't really my Pokémon yet. He usually only appears when I'm in serious danger. Once I'm safe again, he leaves."
Aaron had already prepared this explanation.
Maintaining some mystery would also give him a powerful backer.
He was basically letting everyone know one thing:
Aaron had a Legendary Pokémon backing him.
So don't get any bad ideas.
Otherwise, that Legendary wouldn't take it lightly.
He was simply borrowing that power as a deterrent.
Let's see who dares target me or my Pokémon after this.
Anyone who tries will regret it.
"I see…"
Brutus nodded in sudden understanding.
That made sense.
If Aaron had truly captured Darkrai, that would be even harder to believe.
An eighteen-year-old with a Legendary Pokémon?
No one would buy that.
Lilith reached the same conclusion. They both assumed Aaron must have helped Darkrai by chance sometime in the past, earning its friendship.
That was why Darkrai had come to help him.
"You've got incredible luck, kid," Brutus said with a laugh, giving Aaron a light punch to the chest.
"To have a Legendary Pokémon willingly protect you like that."
The hit nearly made Aaron cough up blood.
Why is this guy just like those training camp instructors?
Why does he keep hitting people?
Aaron grumbled inwardly, though he kept smiling on the outside.
"Just luck, just luck…"
"When Darkrai was… uh… taking a bathroom break, it forgot to bring tissues. I just happened to give it a pack."
Brutus: "…"
Lilith: "…"
Legendary Pokémon need bathroom breaks?
Both of them twitched slightly.
You could've come up with a better excuse than that.
"Brutus! Lilith!"
At that moment, Deputy Commander Xander arrived with several officers and saluted them.
Then he turned to Aaron.
"And you must be Aaron, correct?"
"This time, we truly owe you our thanks."
With a solemn expression, Xander bowed deeply.
If Aaron hadn't appeared in time, everyone here might have died.
Not just the Four Defense Corps.
Even the one million examinees inside could have been slaughtered.
The scale of that disaster would have been unimaginable.
Just thinking about it made Xander shudder.
"Uh… hello. There's really no need to be so formal," Aaron said.
"As a trainer from Hualis, stepping in was simply the right thing to do."
But inwardly he sighed.
Why are they all thanking me one after another?
This is exhausting.
"Excellent, excellent," Xander said with a rare smile.
"Aaron, your contribution in this battle is extraordinary. I will report it to the League. Rest assured—you will be greatly rewarded."
Aaron's eyes lit up, though he quickly tried to appear modest.
"Oh, I couldn't possibly accept that…"
"I was only doing what I should…"
The more Xander looked at him, the more satisfied he felt.
Then he thought about his own disappointing son.
Clearly, he hadn't disciplined that boy enough.
Just look at Aaron.
Both of them were high school seniors, yet Aaron already had a Legendary Pokémon.
Champion-Class opponents fell before him with ease.
After this battle, Aaron's name would surely spread throughout Hualis. He would become one of the region's most talked-about young trainers.
Only eighteen years old—and already connected to a Legendary Pokémon.
What did that represent?
It meant possessing a force capable of rivaling an entire region.
That level of deterrence surpassed even the most powerful weapons.
This was the power of a Legendary Pokémon.
One devastating move could erase an entire city.
Legendary Pokémon were the ultimate trump cards of any region.
Only regions protected by Legendary Pokémon could truly stand among the strongest.
...