The Pokémon originally accompanying Aoki were Salamence, Gardevoir, Lucario, and Venusaur, but now Togekiss had joined them.
She claimed she wanted to understand Aoki better. Although her Aura sensed that her impression of Aoki wasn't bad, it wasn't particularly good either.
Pokémon are very sensitive, especially a Pokémon like Togekiss, which possesses Aura. She could sense the difference deep within Aoki's heart.
However, seeing Aoki's attitude towards his own Pokémon was what made Togekiss's view of him shift from neutral to barely friendly.
But that wasn't enough. She had entrusted the future of her entire clan to this human, and she had to be responsible. So, staying by Aoki's side was a way to deepen her impression of him and understand him more quickly.
Oh, right, Ursaring, who was responsible for odd jobs, was also with them, but he was ignored by both Aoki and Togekiss.
Along the way, Aoki didn't avoid anything because of Togekiss's presence. He did what he had to do. If wild Pokémon suddenly attacked them, Aoki would have his Pokémon defeat them without hesitation, and he might even enter the wild Pokémon's territory to scavenge the resources they had collected.
When he left the valley where Togekiss and her clan lived, he took everything they had collected over the years, without hesitation, just as he wouldn't stop his plundering now because of Togekiss's presence.
Although Togekiss didn't approve of Aoki's actions, she didn't object either.
Isn't this how wild Pokémon survive?
Survival of the fittest. Pokémon with strength can obtain more resources and claim larger territories.
Although Togekiss had never done anything like Aoki, being able to protect two clans in this kind of environment meant that she wasn't unfamiliar with such situations.
Gentle in nature, unwilling to seek trouble, and not particularly fond of battle, but that didn't mean she wouldn't do such things.
To survive, it's difficult to always act according to one's nature, even if it means the entire clan would starve.
So, she didn't approve of Aoki's actions, but she didn't object either. As she said herself, this was her process of understanding Aoki as a person.
Thus, Togekiss only guided Aoki and didn't interfere too much with his affairs.
Soon, they arrived near the waterfall.
From a distance, one could hear the sound of the rushing water plunging into the lake, and feel that the surrounding humidity and moisture were quite high. Water-type Pokémon would likely feel comfortable in such an environment, and other types of Pokémon wouldn't feel uncomfortable either, as vegetation would grow better in such a moist place.
Aoki led his Pokémon closer to the waterfall, but gradually discovered some anomalies and differences.
Logically, places rich in moisture should also be rich in resources, and wild Pokémon would be much stronger. However, from the moment they could hear the waterfall to approaching it, they didn't encounter many powerful wild Pokémon. The strongest one hadn't even broken through to the Senior Trainer level, and the resources they possessed were pitifully scarce.
Aoki frowned, looked at Togekiss beside him, and asked, "Are there any powerful wild Pokémon? The ecosystem here is clearly much weaker compared to the surroundings."
There were only two possibilities for this situation: either there was an extremely powerful wild Pokémon that occupied the entire waterfall area and drove out all powerful wild Pokémon from around it, having a very high sense of territoriality, so no powerful wild Pokémon dared to approach casually.
Hearing Aoki's words, Togekiss thought for a moment. She was quite familiar with the powerful wild Pokémon around her living area, as knowing oneself and one's enemy was important. Other powerful wild Pokémon also knew of her existence and didn't dare to approach the valley casually.
She slowly shook her head, indicating she didn't know.
Aoki's expression gradually became serious.
Then, the only other possibility for this situation was the presence of a powerful trainer who had cleared out the Pokémon and resources here.
However, based on Aoki's understanding of Steven and his companions, even if wild Pokémon actively attacked them, Steven and the others would at most retaliate against that one Pokémon or clan, and wouldn't clear out all the Pokémon and resource points within the entire waterfall's coverage area.
This indicated that the person living here was not one of Steven, Wallace, or Lisia, and most likely not Cynthia or Diantha either.
Aoki recalled Lucario, Venusaur, and Ursaring. The simple training session had to end now.
However, Salamence and Gardevoir were still strong enough to last for a while even if they encountered a human trainer's Pokémon.
Aoki looked at Togekiss, "There might be a battle soon. Do you want to go back into your Poké Ball for a while?"
Togekiss didn't know that the battle Aoki spoke of might involve human trainers. She thought it would be a battle with wild Pokémon, so there was nothing for her to avoid.
However, after thinking for a moment, Togekiss still enveloped herself in her Aura, making it difficult to discern her strength without careful observation.
Aoki saw her appearance and knew she didn't want to return to her Poké Ball, so he didn't say anything more. He took out his Poké Balls and summoned Slowking and Drapion.
They had enough mobility and the ability to sense danger.
Then, Aoki stepped onto Drapion's back and walked towards the rocky waterfall. Slowking's psychic powers were fully activated, constantly monitoring for any powerful Pokémon approaching.
They cautiously arrived at the bottom of the waterfall, not discovering much along the way.
However, by the lake at the bottom of the waterfall, Aoki finally found something.
He dismounted from Drapion's back, enveloped his feet in psychic energy, so as not to leave any marks on the muddy, damp soil by the lake.
He walked to a place with clear signs of human activity. There were human footprints on the wet mud, and these footprints were pure human footprints.
What were pure human footprints? They were footprints left by bare feet walking on the mud, without shoes.
On the ground beside the footprints, there were some red bloodstains. It was impossible to tell when they were left because the air here, being right in front of the waterfall, was too humid, making the bloodstains appear to have been left not long ago.
Aoki frowned, knelt down, touched the bloodstains mixed with mud with his finger, and sniffed them.
"It's not human blood!"
Not human blood!
Then, the only things that could appear here were the bloodstains of wild animals or wild Pokémon.
But there were human footprints here, and they looked very clear, indicating that these were not traces left by wild Pokémon battles.
Aoki's mind conjured an image: a barefoot human, bringing wild animals or even wild Pokémon, dragging them to the lakeside, slaughtering them, and then washing them clean with the flowing water from the lake.
"Slowking—"
Just as Aoki was still pondering, Slowking's voice rang out again. He pointed at the nearby waterfall, his eyes filled with intense blue psychic waves, and his expression serious.
Aoki knew without a doubt that the person living here had returned!
A person who had lived here for twenty-five years, what kind of strength did they possess now?
Everyone who could enter here was a prodigy from various regions.
Even if Aoki used his own strength as a benchmark, if he were to live here for twenty-five years, he couldn't quite determine how far he could grow. He would definitely surpass his teacher, Drake, but whether he could surpass powerhouses like Giovanni was truly hard to say.
However, this was based on Aoki himself, but not everyone was Aoki, possessing the ability of a Senior Breeder, able to use local materials and easily create large quantities of Pokéblocks.
For people like Steven and his companions, if they lived here for a long time, their Pokémon's strength would increase, but the speed and extent of the increase wouldn't be very fast. Moreover, their Pokémon's potential might even decrease due to improper or even incorrect training.
After all, not everyone could be like Aoki, who had a thorough understanding of Pokémon data and physical changes, and had his own plans and strategies for how to train Pokémon next.
After reaching a certain stage in their Pokémon training, many people seek out high-level breeders to understand their Pokémon's condition, which then allows them to formulate future training methods and have those experienced breeders create custom energy blocks perfectly suited for their Pokémon.
However, if you live here and don't know enough about Pokémon, there's nothing you can do.
Moreover, and more importantly, a Pokémon's growth requires energy intake of different qualities and battles against opponents of similar strength.
In the Space-Time Continent, wild Pokémon are generally high-level but not exceptionally so. Pokémon like Togekiss are rare. Without ample battles, a Pokémon's strength won't increase quickly. Many Pokémon may level up but lack corresponding battle techniques and abilities, preventing them from reaching their full potential.
However, all of this was just Aoki's speculation. To truly know the opponent's strength, he just needed to go out and meet them.
As Aoki emerged from the cave behind the waterfall, he saw a person dressed in furs and barefoot, standing not far from the lake. The person was holding a small leather pouch, which appeared to be a water bottle, and was accompanied by a muscular Feraligatr.
The Feraligatr was holding an injured Pidgeotto, which looked like it might be their food for the day.
The other person seemed to have noticed Aoki's presence, which was why they had remained outside and not entered the cave behind the waterfall.
The person had a smile on their face, but their long hair and beard almost covered half of it, making it impossible to see their full features. Aoki could only tell it was a man in his thirties or forties.
Based on the person's age, Aoki deduced that they were likely from an earlier group that had entered this place, only to be forgotten here.
However, the smile on his face gave Aoki an unsettling feeling.
Imagine a single man surviving in the wilderness without human contact for twenty-five years. If not for the presence of Pokémon with whom he could talk and communicate, he would likely have suffered a mental breakdown.
Living in such an environment for twenty-five years is not an easy feat.
Aoki and the wild-looking person stood there, staring at each other for nearly a minute.
Finally, the person couldn't hold back and spoke first.
His voice was a bit hoarse, but his words were perfectly understandable: "Are you... from this batch of entrants?"
Aoki frowned but nodded. "Have you seen any humans who didn't enter from the outside?"
The other person didn't say much upon hearing Aoki's words, just let out two "hehe" laughs. But the meaning contained within his laughter made Aoki's heart involuntarily clench.
The two fell silent again.
Aoki didn't know what to say.
Express sympathy? The other person probably didn't need his sympathy; what he needed was the Space Stone on Aoki's person that could take him back, and the large amount of supplies in Aoki's storage space.
And the other person didn't know what to say for a moment either. It had been a long time since he had communicated with another human, and he didn't know how to phrase certain things.
During this time, Aoki didn't remain idle. He scanned the data of the other person's Feraligatr to see what kind of strength someone who had lived here for twenty-five years possessed.
Pokémon: Feraligatr (Light Blue)
Gender: Male
Level: 86
Type: Water
Ability: Torrent
Held Item: None
Egg Moves: Crunch, Ancient Power, Ice Punch, Metal Claw
Base Moves: Quick Attack, Scratch, Leer, Water Gun, Rage, Bite, Scary Face, Ice Fang, Thrash, Crunch, Aqua Tail, Superpower, Hydro Cannon
Technical Machine (TM) Moves: Protect, Dragon Claw, Toxic, Ice Beam, Earthquake, Double Team, Aerial Ace, Scald, Shadow Claw
Seeing the data of the other person's Feraligatr, Aoki was somewhat surprised, but mostly disappointed.
After living here for twenty-five years, he had only raised one Pokémon like this?
Aside from its decent level and acceptable physical condition, it had almost no distinguishing features.
A prodigy from a region, in twenty-five years, had only trained one Pokémon to level 86, barely crossing the first hurdle of the Champion rank.
This greatly disappointed Aoki, who had initially held high expectations for him.
Moreover, with the other person's attire, he didn't seem to have any storage space. Besides two Pokémon balls, there was nothing else on him.
This person only had three Pokémon in total!
However, it seemed that the strength of these three Pokémon should not be weak.
"You... should have a lot of spare Poké Balls, right?" The person spoke again, this time much more fluently, and with a hint of excitement in his voice.
Aoki knew he only had three Poké Balls, and they were all the most common ones.
Could these be the only three Poké Balls he had left?
Aoki couldn't help but feel a little fortunate. At least he always carried hundreds or thousands of Poké Balls whenever he went out, just in case. After all, they didn't take up much space in his storage.
"You should also have a lot of daily necessities, right?" The other person spoke again, but this sentence seemed so pointless.
Aoki's frown hadn't eased since the beginning. He asked, "What exactly do you want to say?"
Upon hearing this, the other person again revealed an unsettling smile, along with his somewhat yellowed teeth.
"It's simple. I know you're the prodigy sent in by the Alliance this time, and you've probably guessed my identity.
Everything is as you predicted, but there are many things, many details you don't understand. But it doesn't matter, I believe you'll know everything in the future."
The other person spoke more and more fluently, continuing, "Now you need to hand over everything on you. Remember, everything, including your clothes, and the Space Stone you've hidden deep within them!
I don't want to kill you, so it's best if you obediently do as I say. That way, it will be greatly beneficial and convenient for both you and me."
Suddenly, Aoki's eyebrows relaxed, and a slightly mocking smile appeared on his face. A glowing stone appeared in his hand, and he dangled it in front of the person, saying, "Are you talking about a stone like this?"
Seeing the stone in Aoki's hand, the person's eyes lit up.
As something he once possessed but later lost, something that had echoed in his mind for these twenty-five years, he recognized it at first glance. This was the Space Stone he had longed for day and night.
"Leave this stone, leave your storage space, and I'll allow you to leave with your Pokémon! If you have enough strength, you can certainly go and snatch another Space Stone. Maybe then we can even return to the Pokémon world together.
My name is Brad, and I'm from the Unova region. If you can return to the Pokémon world alive, you can come find me. I can give you sufficient protection.
Of course, the premise is that you give me everything I need." Brad's face showed a smug expression.
As someone who was once chosen by the high-ranking officials of the Unova Alliance to participate in the journey to the Space-Time Continent, even though he failed to return, in his perception, he had always been the pride of the Unova region, a prodigy of his era with unparalleled potential.
And Aoki, standing before him, though his ability to enter here also represented his potential, Brad had, after all, lived for over twenty years longer. The growth he had gained in those two decades was beyond what ordinary Alliance members could imagine.
Furthermore, he was once an Alliance member and knew about the Alliance members' lack of wilderness survival and combat skills.
However, it was rather unfortunate that he encountered Aoki, a person who completely disregarded his words.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk—I was curious before why the Alliance didn't prepare more Space Stones to ensure everyone who came in could return. Now I finally understand. In fact, entering here was originally a screening, a test to verify whether the entrants were truly qualified to become the Alliance's real administrators.
And people like you! People eliminated by the times, are actually not very suitable to return to the Pokémon world. Your existence merely serves as a warning to those who come in again: never become a failure like you and live here for twenty-five years, because once you've failed for so long, you completely lose your sense of self!" Aoki's words were full of contempt.
Since he was a failure, he should have obediently sought help as a failure, instead of acting like a veteran, thinking he was superior just because he lived a few years longer. This blind ignorance might be the real reason for his failure!
Upon hearing Aoki's words, Brad's expression changed, his bearded face seemingly wrinkling completely.
Aoki didn't know what had happened to him, nor did he know the true secrets of this continent, but Aoki's words perfectly hit his most vulnerable and painful spot, the one he least wanted to expose!
"You asked for this!" Brad growled, his eyes sharpening like a beast that had locked onto its prey.
"Dida!!" Feraligatr roared, casually dropping the Pidgeotto it was holding. All four limbs dropped to the ground, kicking up a large amount of dirt as it charged towards Aoki.
"Yadon!!" Slowking saw Feraligatr's movements, and psychic energy fluctuations suddenly appeared in its eyes. A large amount of psychic energy surged around its body, spreading outwards from its center.
Several Psychic energy balls instantly condensed and formed, attacking the charging Feraligatr.
Drapion, standing beside Aoki, also charged towards Feraligatr. Although it was significantly weaker than Feraligatr in terms of raw power, in a battle, even knowing it was outmatched, Drapion would not show the slightest fear!
Feraligatr opened its mouth wide. Seeing the black energy balls thrown by Slowking, it spat out three water jets, accurately hitting all the Psychic energy balls. Its charge with its hands and feet showed no signs of stopping.
Boom—
Drapion and Feraligatr collided head-on. After only a standoff of less than three seconds, Drapion was thrown aside.
Although Aoki's Drapion was also a Pokémon skilled in using strength, the level gap between it and Feraligatr was too significant. The sheer difference in raw power was too great to be compensated by innate talent alone. Being able to hold on for three seconds was already a surprising situation, both in Aoki's eyes and Brad's.
Feraligatr flipping Drapion wasn't unacceptable for Drapion. Before it charged, Aoki had already warned it that the opponent was very strong, at least much stronger than it and Slowking combined, and that it should be prepared to be overwhelmed at any moment.
However, during the three seconds that Feraligatr and Drapion were locked in a stalemate, Slowking had prepared a very nice welcoming gift for Feraligatr!
An energy ball condensed from Slowking's psychic output, compressed to about the size of a palm, but containing a massive amount of psychic energy.
Feraligatr looked at the energy ball thrown by Slowking, and a ferocious grin suddenly appeared on its face.
Buzz—
A "buzzing" sound suddenly appeared from the sky above, like the sound of an insect rapidly flapping its wings in flight.
Looking up, it was a Pokémon rapidly flying and charging towards Aoki. Its red compound eyes gave a chilling, goosebump-inducing feeling.
A Yanmega!
Brad's face also showed a smile, and his words contained a hint of mocking admiration, "I admit your strength is not weak. Even among those who entered in our batch, you are an outstanding existence. But unfortunately, no matter how much of a genius you are, you ultimately cannot overcome the gap brought by twenty-five years of time!"
At the same time, Feraligatr's claws rose from the ground, enveloped in a dense ghostly energy that covered its entire claws, as it swung them at Slowking's psychic energy ball.
Boom!!!
A huge explosion rang out, and Feraligatr was directly blasted back. However, aside from a little more dust on its body, it was not injured. The Shadow Claw's ghostly energy successfully nullified Slowking's psychic power.
Seeing that there was no obstruction around Aoki, Feraligatr quickly moved forward again, while the Yanmega in the air also got closer and closer, looking aggressive.
Brad looked at the unmoving Aoki, his beard wrinkling again, and a ferocious smile appearing on his face.
Alliance members truly have a significant flaw in their practical combat abilities!