Chapter 543: The Mutated Grapploct

None of them had expected Edmund to be this terminally online.

Aaron's face twisted in disgust.

"President Edmund... pretty please?"

He almost brought last night's dinner back up just saying it.

"Edmund, you're decades older than us. Why are you still stealing memes from college kids? Have some shame."

Edmund gave him a look of pure contempt.

"You don't know a damn thing. It's called staying current."

He folded his arms with complete confidence.

"You think running a university is easy? A good president can't afford to be out of touch with his students."

Then he noticed Aaron was still staring at him like he had discovered some particularly unpleasant species of Pokémon.

"And what's with that look?"

His hands slowly settled on his belt.

"Keep staring at me like that and this belt's coming off."

Braveon, Dorian, and Ivy immediately turned toward Aaron with matching looks of amusement. Not one of them had any intention of helping him. If anything, they seemed to be hoping he would keep pushing his luck.

Aaron pointed accusingly at all three.

"Wow. Not one of you is going to back me up? Bunch of traitors."

"All right, enough." Edmund chuckled and turned his attention back to the battlefield. "The final exchange is about to start. Pay attention. Everything comes down to Gage's last Pokémon now."

The confidence in his voice only made the others more curious.

...

On the battlefield, Gage and Mason stood opposite each other with their final Poké Balls in hand.

Mason's expression had lost all of its earlier ease.

"You're strong. Strong enough that I respect you."

He tightened his grip on the ball.

"But I still have to win this."

Gage nodded.

"You're strong too. But I can't afford to lose either."

His gaze briefly shifted toward League University's side of the arena before returning to Mason.

"I'm representing a university I'm proud of, and there are people who believed in me long before I ever made it here. So for their sake, I'm giving this everything I've got."

Mason smiled.

"Good. Then no holding back."

Gage smiled back.

"Wouldn't have it any other way."

For a moment, the fierce tension between them gave way to simple mutual respect.

That was one of the things Pokémon battles could do. Two Trainers could enter the field as complete strangers and, by the end of a hard-fought match, understand each other better than words ever could.

Then both raised their Poké Balls.

"Go! My final Pokémon—Arcanine!"

"Come out, my strongest partner—Grapploct!"

They threw at the same time.

Two flashes of light burst across the battlefield.

Mason's final Pokémon emerged first—a massive Hisui Arcanine with a broad frame, dark red fur, and a rocky mane that gave it the imposing presence of a stone lion.

"WOOF!"

It planted its paws firmly on the ground and let out a deep, resonant bark.

Gage's final Pokémon was far stranger.

A red Grapploct appeared opposite Arcanine, but one glance was enough to tell that something was wrong—or rather, very different.

A pair of horns rose from its head.

And instead of the usual eight tentacles...

it had ten.

"Grapplo!"

Aaron's eyebrows rose.

That was definitely not a normal Grapploct.

He immediately called up the System panel.

[Name: Grapploct (Mutated)]

[Gender: Male]

[Nature: Adamant]

[Type: Fighting]

[Ability: Martial Arts Master — An exceptionally rare Ten-Armed Martial Artist mutation found in roughly one out of every million Grapploct. Its innate understanding of martial arts increases the power of Fighting-type moves by 50% and boosts proficiency gain for Fighting-type moves by 50%.]

[Base Stats Total: 510 (Originally 480; base Attack increased by 12 points and base Speed by 18 points.)]

[Level: Gym (Early Stage)]

[Potential: Champion]

[Known Moves: Power-Up Punch (Apotheosis), Superpower (Perfect), Bulk Up (Master), Rock Smash (Master), Brick Break (Master), Octolock (Master), Detect (Master), Taunt (Master), Octazooka (Master), Bind (Master), Reversal (Proficient)...]

[Description: Ten-Armed Martial Artist, the Jujitsu Pokémon. An exceptionally rare Mutated Grapploct and a natural martial arts prodigy. Its additional tentacles allow it to attack simultaneously from multiple angles, making its close-range fighting style extremely difficult to defend against.]

...

Aaron's eyes widened slightly.

This thing was a monster.

Just like his Froslass Queen, it was a Mutated Pokémon with a completely new Ability, enhanced base stats, Champion potential...

and even an Apotheosis-level move.

On top of all that, this particular mutation supposedly appeared in only one out of a million Grapploct.

"That... that Grapploct..."

Ivy stared at it in obvious surprise.

The horns alone would have been strange enough.

But ten tentacles?

That was something else entirely.

"It's probably a mutation," Dorian said, finally breaking his silence as he studied the Pokémon below.

"Hahaha! Exactly!"

Edmund stroked his beard with a proud grin.

"That's Gage's ace—the Ten-Armed Martial Artist. Only about one in a million Grapploct are born with this mutation. Calling it rare would be an understatement."

"So that's what you were hiding." Braveon nodded slowly. "Yeah... one in a million definitely qualifies as rare."

Aaron glanced sideways at Edmund.

"No wonder you've been so confident this whole time. With something like that as his ace, Gage should have the advantage unless Mason has a surprise of his own."

"We're winning this one."

Edmund's grin turned smug again.

"Just watch. That Grapploct is seriously strong."

...

The appearance of the strange Grapploct sent another wave of noise rolling through the stands.

"Holy shit, what kind of Pokémon is that?!"

"Isn't that a Grapploct? Wait... is it Shiny?"

"Shiny? Forget the color—count its arms!"

"Huh?"

"That thing has ten!"

"Holy crap, it really does! And what's with the horns?"

The spectators around them immediately started craning their necks for a better look.

"Any Pokémon nerd around here wanna explain what the hell we're looking at?"

"If I had to guess, it's a Mutated Pokémon. Some kind of mutated Grapploct."

"Mutated Pokémon? Are they actually stronger?"

"Usually, yeah—and ridiculously rare. Sometimes a mutation brings out traits that ordinary members of the species don't have at all."

"Damn..."

One spectator stared down at Gage with open envy.

"That guy really hit the jackpot, didn't he?"