Although the third round was slightly more challenging than the first two, Aoki had made significant progress by this point.
His Swampert was still sent out first, and the opponent had clearly studied Aoki's battle data beforehand. Knowing that Aoki was the owner of a Water-type gym and that both Swampert and Politoed were frequently used, they assud he would rely on Water-type Pokémon again. As a result, the opponent prepared two Grass-type Pokémon to counter him.
However, despite their careful planning, they hadn't accounted for one crucial detail—just one week earlier, Aoki had trained his Swampert to Elite level.
Not only that, but Swampert often battled opponents ten levels higher than itself.
Facing two Pokémon whose types countered it but whose levels were far inferior, Swampert faced little pressure.
Aoki's combination moves had also beco more refined, allowing for smoother execution in battle.
Because of this, the third-round match ended swiftly.
After the battle, Aoki didn't return to the rented manor on the outskirts of Jubilife City with Steven and the others.
Instead, he left the group behind and used Slowking's Teleport to travel directly to Lake Valor, continuing his exploration of the mysterious island.
The Pokémon inhabiting the island were extraordinarily powerful, making Aoki's progress painstakingly slow. Sotis, encountering a particularly strong wild Pokémon would result in a battle lasting several hours, leaving little ti for actual exploration.
Other tis, he stumbled upon creatures that weren't Pokémon at all, in which case retreating was the wisest choice.
This ti, Aoki entered the island better prepared. He carried a large backpack filled with spare clothes, dical supplies, and compressed food. Using Slowking's Teleport, he stored these supplies inside the hollow tree they had previously marked as a base.
This ensured that Aoki had access to daily necessities and basic survival resources.
From there, he resud his exploration, radiating outward from the tree in all directions.
One advantage was that the island had no large groups of wild Pokémon—most were solitary, and even the rare packs consisted of no more than three.
Perhaps this was the island's natural limit—no more than three Pokémon could form a group.
Aoki continued his slow, thodical exploration.
He wasn't in a hurry anymore. Unlike the ti-limited challenges of the Battle Frontier, there were no restrictions here, and no one interfered with his progress.
The Pokémon here were formidable, requiring caution with every step.
But the training efficiency was unmatched.
Aoki knew this was his only chance to train here before the Top 128 was finalized. Once the matches resud, he wouldn't have ti to return.
The Sinnoh League had decided to accelerate the tournant schedule.
A week passed. During this ti, Aoki only left the island twice—once for his fourth-round match and again for the fifth. The rest of his ti was spent exploring the mysterious island.
The Pokémon here were truly overwhelming in strength.
Even after all this ti, Aoki had explored less than a quarter of the island's total area.
And this was only possible because Slowking and the others had grown stronger, giving Aoki slightly more confidence. Still, he had yet to uncover what the Unown wanted from him.
On the final day, Aoki had no choice but to leave—the Top 128 of the Sinnoh League had been decided.
Aside from a few unlucky seeded Trainers who faced other seeded opponents in the fifth round, most regional seeds had advanced.
Of course, many non-seeded competitors with eight badges also made it into the Top 128, forming a significant portion of the remaining slots.
After all, even if each region had ten seeded Trainers, that only accounted for fifty competitors. The remaining seventy-eight were selected from a vast pool of challengers—none of them weak.
So had even hidden their true strength.
This was inevitable in such a major event. Underground organizations often infiltrated competitions by disguising their mbers, hoping to defeat seeded Trainers and gain recognition from regional Leagues, thereby planting spies within the system.
This had been a common tactic in past tournants.
But this ti, they underestimated the League's resolve.
With Team Rocket's influence waning, the League was finally tightening its grip. Underground factions that had previously operated unchecked would find their agents exposed and eliminated.
Only major syndicates like Team Galactic, Team Aqua, or Team Magma could afford to invest heavily in concealing their operatives' identities to the sa degree as Aoki.
But for most, the cost outweighed the benefits.
Unlike Team Rocket, which had near-limitless resources, smaller organizations couldn't afford to gamble on a single operative.
Thus, the majority of infiltrators in this year's Sinnoh League were from minor factions, testing their luck.
When Aoki erged from the island, he wore a fresh set of clothes—the official uniform of a League Investigator.
It was still early morning. With Slowking's help, Aoki rushed back to Jubilife City at full speed. The Top 128 matches began today, and since he hadn't returned the previous night, this was his only chance.
By the ti Aoki entered the Hoenn Alliance's private box at the stadium, everyone else had already arrived.
All ten of Hoenn's seeded Trainers had survived the first five rounds, proving that the so-called "random" matchups weren't entirely unbiased.
In addition to the competitors, the League had dispatched two high-ranking officials—one to supervise the matches, another to offer support, and both to serve as a deterrent.
Leading the Hoenn delegation was Aoki's ntor, Professor Matsuda, the strongest Trainer present.
Assisting him was a mid-level executive from the Stone family.
Standing by the window, Matsuda watched the matchups being displayed on the large screen. The mont the door opened, he knew his prized student had returned.
"You're lucky you made it in ti," Matsuda said sternly. "Even important Trainers get disqualified if they're late."
Aoki rubbed his temple. "I got held up on the way. Professor, why are you here? Don't you have experints to run?"
Professor Matsuda's status within the League had risen significantly, and his influence had been instruntal in Aoki's own standing within Hoenn.
Despite now possessing all the knowledge his ntor could offer, Aoki still held deep respect for him.
For the sake of his student, Matsuda had even stepped into the political machinations he once despised.
Aoki was genuinely moved.
Though he was part of Team Rocket, that didn't an he was heartless.
User Comments
0 comments from readers