On the highest peak of Silver Mountain, the headquarters of the Pokémon Alliance.
An elder, at the very top, sat cross-legged amidst the pristine white snow, a smile gracing his face as he gazed into the distance, towards the inner regions of Silver Mountain.
Suddenly, a figure appeared behind him. It was a middle-aged man in a black military uniform, his face etched with resolve. Following the elder's gaze, he saw a vast expanse of dark clouds faintly visible high above a distant area within Silver Mountain, with flashes of lightning interspersed. Below the dark clouds, what he saw was surprisingly not rain, but flames.
"Is that Moltres fighting someone again?" the middle-aged man in the black military uniform asked.
The white-haired elder's face was wreathed in smiles, his entire face crinkled like a chrysanthemum. "Indeed."
Hearing the elder's reply, the middle-aged man frowned. "Aren't you going to stop him? Although we have an agreement with this Moltres—he watches over the interior of Silver Mountain, and we grant him a certain degree of freedom—whenever someone ventures deep into Silver Mountain and enters his sphere of influence, he always wants to provoke the trainers who enter.
If the opponent is strong, that's fine, but if they're not strong enough... there's a high probability they'll be utterly defeated after coming out!
How many of our trainers has this Moltres attacked? If it weren't for us, his divine position would have..."
"Silence," the white-haired elder suddenly opened his eyes and looked back at the middle-aged man standing behind him.
Upon hearing this, a hint of embarrassment appeared on the middle-aged man's face, realizing he had said too much.
"This is Moltres's own business; we will not interfere too much. Moreover, he still knows his limits and will not take lives. He just has a somewhat volatile temper, but who can say that this volatility isn't his own tribulation? The choices he makes will determine his own future. We have already interfered enough," the elder said unhurriedly.
Even though he was at the summit of Silver Mountain, amidst the white snow, the elder exuded a sense of being at ease with whatever came, and a philosophy of governing by non-action.
If Aoki were here, he would surely feel that this elder was very similar to someone he had heard of before: Laozi!
This elder was currently the chairman of the Pokémon Alliance's General Alliance, which encompasses the six major regions of the Pokémon world. As for his name, no one knew it anymore, and no one could call him by his name. People either addressed him as "Chairman" or referred to him as "Grand Elder."
"Then who is the trainer fighting Moltres this time? To be able to summon such a large patch of dark clouds above Moltres, they must be a very strong trainer, right? But why haven't I heard of anyone remarkable entering Silver Mountain recently? The people below haven't reported any information to me either," a hint of confusion appeared on the middle-aged man's face.
Hearing the middle-aged man's question, the elder's smile reappeared. "He's a very interesting young fellow. Although I can't clearly see exactly what's happening, I find it very amusing, hahahaha—"
With that, the elder burst into laughter.
If anyone else heard the elder speak like this, they would surely think he was suffering from senile dementia—unable to see anything clearly, yet finding it interesting. Was he foolish?
But the middle-aged man did not show any hint of mockery or doubt towards the elder's words.
The middle-aged man had a deep understanding of the elder's abilities. If he said it was interesting, then it must indeed be very interesting.
His focus was on something else.
"An interesting young fellow? How many years has it been since I heard you speak of a trainer like that? Who is it?" the middle-aged man asked with curiosity.
The elder, however, shook his head. "Cannot be said, cannot be said. The time is not yet ripe, haha—"
Since the elder had said so, the middle-aged man did not press further. Immediately, a hint of embarrassment appeared on his face.
The elder did not turn back to look at him, but it was as if he sensed the embarrassment on his face. "You don't need to worry about Second Brother's matter. I told you a long time ago that he was ill-intentioned, fond of crooked schemes and shortcuts. It's a pity you valued his talent and insisted on protecting him, and I had no choice. Fortunately, no major losses have been incurred yet."
The "Second Brother" he referred to was actually the commander of the Alliance Legion's Second Legion, who was the Black Emissary defeated by Aoki.
And this middle-aged man in the black military uniform who suddenly appeared was the General Commander of all the legions under the General Alliance, from the First Legion to the Ninth Legion, all under his jurisdiction.
The fact that the commander of the Second Legion had been infiltrated by the cult, and he, as the General Commander, had not discovered his anomaly, could be said to be a dereliction of duty.
However, the elder, as the chairman of the General Alliance, had no intention of blaming him.
"I will determine the new commander of the Second Legion as soon as possible and stabilize the recent unrest within the Second Legion," the middle-aged man said with determination in his eyes.
The elder waved his hand casually.
Then, after the middle-aged man respectfully nodded, he vanished from his spot.
The white-haired elder still sat in the snow, gazing into the distance, but at this moment, his eyes had turned a grayish-white color, containing endless unknowns, as if he could see countless unknown things.
...
On the other side.
When it started raining, Aoki had Gengar switch the abilities of most of his Pokémon to Swift Swim again.
Aoki had his reasons for using rain instead of Tyranitar's Sandstorm.
First, he didn't want to consider the impact Sandstorm would have on the surrounding environment. He remembered that he was there to find materials, and he didn't want to accidentally destroy them himself.
Moreover, Moltres is a Fire-type Pokémon, and rain would have a good suppressive effect on it, even if it only slowed down its recovery speed, which would still be beneficial.
Furthermore, the combination of rain and the Swift Swim ability would clearly provide a much greater boost to Aoki's many Pokémon than a mere Sandstorm controlled by Tyranitar.
All of this had been considered by Aoki beforehand.
However, while his thoughts were good, there was ultimately a gap in the raw power of the Pokémon.
They were facing a real Moltres, and even in terms of level, it had a significant advantage. Even if Aoki sent out all his Pokémon, they wouldn't gain any advantage.
If it weren't for Kommo-o and the experienced Darkrai holding it back, several of Aoki's Pokémon would have already been knocked out.
The current situation was that Kommo-o, Darkrai, Mega Gengar, and Mega Tyranitar were taking turns blocking Moltres's attacks, while the other Pokémon were distracting it, trying to create some openings.
However, the battle was becoming increasingly unfavorable for Aoki and his Pokémon.
Even with the continuous support and healing from Florges and Magearna, Kommo-o and the others were finding it increasingly difficult to withstand the now serious Moltres.