Pokemon: Rising From The Dark Chapter 268 - 521 - Psychic Powers

"Lance?" Aoki heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the person approaching.

For Lance, a direct mber of the League with deep-rooted connections, Aoki felt quite at ease.

"Aoki, Steven." Lance nodded and walked up alongside his Charizard.

When he arrived at the location where Aoki and Steven were last positioned, he noticed two shirtless Team Magma grunts tied up at the entrance.

As a high-ranking investigator for the League, Lance had arranged for additional investigators from the Hoenn region to provide backup before making his way inside.

He was sure Aoki and Steven were facing an opponent of at least Elite strength, and given their current abilities, it would likely be a tough battle for them.

At first, he was prepared to intervene right away. However, curiosity got the better of him—he wanted to see how Aoki and Steven would handle the situation, so he held back.

Then, he witnessed sothing surprising—there was a clear fluctuation of Psychic powers between Aoki and Steven.

Psychic powers?

Steven's League registration was very thorough—he wasn't a Psychic, which ant the source had to be Aoki.

A mid level breeder who also possessed Psychic abilities? That was rare, even within the League.

Originally, he had intended to step in if Aoki and Steven couldn't hold their ground, with his Charizard ready to assist at a mont's notice.

But what followed shocked him even more.

With perfect coordination, Aoki and Steven managed to defeat the Elite-level Carupt—in a battlefield that gave fire-types a significant advantage.

In this kind of environnt, filled with heat and fire energy, a Fire-type Pokémon was almost unbeatable.

Yet, they triumphed using just a Slowking that had only recently reached Elite status, and two tang, both at a major disadvantage against Fire-types.

Although the Carupt's final state was unstable, it was still an Elite-level Pokémon.

As an Elite-ranked Trainer himself, Lance understood firsthand how strong such Pokémon could be.

This battle completely changed his impression of Aoki and Steven.

As soone frequently praised as a genius by the League, Lance always maintained a calm and friendly deanor, but deep down, he was fiercely proud.

And being a Dragon-type master from the esteed Dragon Clan, that pride was ingrained in his very being.

Yet, Aoki and Steven's performance had earned his respect.

These two Trainers had potential on par with his own—with ti, they would undoubtedly beco the League's future pillars.

Lance almost regretted that they weren't at his level yet; otherwise, he would have loved to battle them.

"How did you get here so fast?" Aoki asked.

Between him and Steven, Aoki was more familiar with Lance, as they had t and spoken before.

Hearing the question, Lance smiled wryly and rubbed his temples.

"It's because you two are so important. The higher-ups in the League found out what you were up to and called an ergency eting. You, on the other hand, ignored their ssages and decided to start a battle with Team Magma."

That was bold.

Ignoring direct ssages from League executives? That was so serious guts.

Aoki smiled awkwardly—he hadn't thought much about it at the ti. Did he really forget to reply?

He pulled out his Pokégear and realized that due to the high temperature, it had shut down automatically for protection.

anwhile, Steven looked completely unconcerned. League executives in Hoenn?

His family practically ran half the region.

What was there to worry about? Ignoring ssages from his relatives wasn't a big deal—who knew if they were just calling him back to deal with paperwork?

Such was the influence of the Stone family in Hoenn.

Lance had so understanding of this, so he simply continued,

"Anyway, I knew your opponent was at most Elite-ranked, so I ca alone. I've been in Hoenn for so long, and every encounter was with small-ti grunts. Finally, I thought I'd get a real fight—but I didn't expect..."

I didn't expect you two to take care of it yourselves.

Aoki was well aware of Lance's ridiculous speed—after all, he was the future Dragon-type Champion.

"Want to handle these guys?" Lance gestured toward the three defeated Team Magma mbers. "Soone from the Search Division will be here soon."

Aoki and Steven exchanged glances. They were still unsure about the cause of the Pokémon's rampage, but now that League investigators were involved, they had to follow protocol.

Eventually, Aoki said, "Alright. But Lance, I need to tell you sothing. You probably noticed during the battle—at the end, Carupt went berserk. On our way up the mountain, we encountered another rampaging Pokémon. It seems connected to Team Magma, but we don't know for sure. If they really have control over sothing like this..."

Aoki didn't need to finish—Lance understood imdiately.

If Team Magma had truly mastered this rage-inducing technique, it would drastically increase their threat level.

"I see. And… Aoki, earlier…?" Lance hesitated before asking.

Aoki knew exactly what he was referring to—his Psychic powers.

"As you saw, I'm a beginner-level Psychic. My abilities aren't particularly strong—I could only coordinate with Slowking and my two tang to achieve that level of communication. Whether I can improve further is uncertain, but for now, I am a Psychic."

Aoki openly admitted it.

He had already decided to reveal this long before he told Steven.

Otherwise, what was the point of being a Psychic if he never used his abilities?

And besides—wasn't this proof of his potential as a Trainer?

If anything, it would only make the League value him more.

Wasn't that exactly what he wanted?

A small risk for a much greater reward.

This was sothing worth announcing.

Lance nodded, taking in the information.

He understood what it was like to be… different.

After all, wasn't he special in his own way, too?

Aoki was a Psychic, but Lance?

There weren't many others with his particular talents, either.

As he mulled it over, Lance fell into deep thought.