The night passed without incident.
In the morning, just as usual, Aaron received the system notification indicating that Froakie had gained proficiency experience for its skills.
The reason was simple—last night, Aaron had once again dragged Froakie into the small grove and used the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu, having the clones train its skills.
Because he had obtained a Pokémon Candy yesterday, Froakie leveled up once more, reaching Beginner (Mid Stage).
With the level increase, another shadow clone was added, bringing the total to six. As a result, the speed of skill training increased again.
Aaron checked Froakie's status panel. Although none of its skill levels had increased yet, as long as it kept training daily with Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu, upgrading was only a matter of time.
Moreover, Froakie had been continuously consuming Energy Cubes, and its overall strength was steadily rising. It was already on the verge of breaking through to Beginner (Late Stage).
It was worth noting that even Grace's Dratini had only reached Beginner (Late Stage).
In just two days, Aaron was nearly catching up to progress others had taken years to achieve.
After finishing breakfast, Aaron headed out.
As for his sister—
she probably didn't want to see him. Every day, she finished breakfast and left for school while Aaron was still asleep.
Aaron arrived at the classroom with Yuri. When their classmates saw him, many of them showed looks of admiration.
Yuri lifted his chin slightly and straightened his back, looking very much like someone basking in reflected glory.
Aaron glanced at him helplessly.
Soon after, Aaron left the classroom, because today was the day they would enter the Elite Training Zone.
...
After wandering around for a while, Aaron finally arrived at the entrance of the Elite Training Zone.
The entrance was located within a specially constructed retro-style building on campus.
This area was guarded daily by powerful trainers and was considered a restricted zone within the academy. No students were allowed to approach it under normal circumstances.
By the time Aaron arrived, most of the others were already there, including the old principal and several academy leaders.
Aaron quietly blended into the group, not daring to make a sound.
These were all big shots—definitely not people to mess with.
Once the final person arrived, the old principal gave a slight nod to two teachers.
Aaron watched as the two teachers simultaneously took out key-shaped objects and inserted them into what looked like a recessed doorway.
"Click, click, click…"
A mechanical sound rang out as a circular gate opened in the wall, revealing a swirling, cloud-like portal.
This was the entrance to the Training Zone.
This world contained countless Training Zones. Simply put, Training Zones were innumerable small worlds.
They were categorized by danger level, from lowest to highest: Small Zones, Medium Zones, Large Zones, Giant Zones, and the highest tier—Forbidden Zones.
In Small Zones, the strongest Pokémon generally did not exceed Intermediate level, and the Pokémon inside were relatively gentle, rarely attacking humans proactively.
In Medium Zones, the strongest Pokémon did not exceed Advanced level. However, from Medium Zones onward, Pokémon tended to be far more aggressive and often attacked humans.
In Large Zones, the strongest Pokémon did not exceed Elite and Champion-Class level.
In Giant Zones, the strongest Pokémon did not exceed Champion level.
As for Forbidden Zones, legends spoke of Master-level Pokémon with the power to destroy the heavens and earth.
Hualis alone possessed four Forbidden Zones.
Each one was heavily guarded.
Entire regions spanning thousands of kilometers were designated as high-risk areas.
From this alone, one could imagine how dangerous the Forbidden Zones truly were.
As for whether there existed regions even higher than Forbidden Zones, Aaron had no idea. The authorities had never made such information public.
...
At this moment, the old principal stepped forward and swept his gaze across the crowd. When his eyes passed over Aaron, they paused briefly before he spoke.
"Students… the Elite Training Zone has now been opened."
"You may enter shortly, but remember the following rules. First: do not attack fellow students at will inside the zone…"
"Second: although most dangers inside have been eliminated, unexpected situations may still occur. If you encounter life-threatening danger, press the emergency alarm on your student watch…"
"Dedicated teachers will rush to your location as quickly as possible…"
"Third: this Training Zone session will last six hours. When time is up, your student watches will issue a warning, and you must return to the Training Zone entrance immediately."
"Is that clear?"
The old principal's tone was serious and solemn.
"Clear!!!"
The thirty students answered in unison.
"Good. Go in."
One by one, the thirty students stepped into the Training Zone entrance.
The old principal smiled faintly and said to the other academy leaders,
"Let's go… to the monitoring room."
"Let's see what kind of surprises these little ones can bring us."
With that, he took the lead toward the nearby monitoring room, which had surveillance coverage over the entire Elite Training Zone.
The other academy leaders followed closely behind.
...
The moment Aaron stepped into the Training Zone, he felt a sudden sensation of weightlessness.
By the time he regained his senses, he was already standing in the middle of a forest.
The sky was a deep blue, dotted with drifting white clouds. A few adorable Pidgeys flew freely overhead.
Dense foliage swayed gently in the breeze, producing a soft rustling sound.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting clear shadows across the ground.
The air carried a faint floral fragrance that instantly refreshed the mind.
"So comfortable…"
Aaron took a deep breath and sighed softly.
He soon noticed that the other students had already begun moving deeper into the forest.
Some traveled in groups of two or three, while others went alone.
Choosing a direction at random, Aaron also began walking forward.
The Training Zone journey had officially begun.
What kind of Pokémon would he encounter?
Aaron's heart brimmed with anticipation…