Aoki's face lit up with a smile as he watched Adams and the others leave.
The death of the Dark Emissary was one thing, but more importantly, Aoki had heard that Lorelei had actually become one of the Kanto Elite Four, and the process was quite exciting and convoluted.
Ever since Lance mercilessly defeated Lorelei in the Elite Four challenge last time, as a woman, and a proud one at that, her inner strength was incredibly resilient.
Lance's Elite Four exhibition tour ran into trouble in its very first match, because his opponent was Lorelei.
It's unclear if Lorelei was stimulated, leading her to work harder and significantly increase her strength, which nearly caused Lance, who had intended to apologize and go easy on her, to suffer an unexpected defeat.
So, from that moment on, during the six months Aoki was missing, Lorelei challenged Lance eighteen times consecutively!
The astonishing eighteen consecutive battles thoroughly exposed Lance's fighting methods and tactics. Furthermore, Ice-type Pokémon naturally have a strong advantage against Dragon-type and Flying-type Pokémon, and Lance's most common Pokémon are Dragon-type and Flying-type, placing him at a significant elemental disadvantage.
Even if he was stronger than Lorelei in raw power, the battles were not easy.
And after Aoki's reminder, Lance truly understood that he had been too aggressive during the Elite Four challenge. So, in their subsequent battles, he would concede whenever possible, resulting in almost every match being a narrow victory.
Finally, the Kanto League couldn't stand it anymore.
Since Pryce was merely holding the title of Elite Four without actively participating, it was better to directly hand over the position to Lorelei.
Moreover, both were Ice-type Pokémon trainers, which could be considered a form of legacy.
Pryce didn't say much about this matter; he had long since stopped caring about the Elite Four position. He had been disappointed by the League time and time again, so now he didn't pay much attention to their affairs. Unless he could become Champion and completely change the atmosphere of the entire Kanto region, being an Elite Four was not worth it.
So, in the end, Lorelei became the fourth Elite Four of the Kanto region, and Lance successfully moved up to the third Elite Four.
Just as Aoki had predicted, the two officially became "close" colleagues.
I believe Lance's life during this period must have been quite "comfortable"...
Meanwhile, in a dimly lit room in the Kanto region,イツキ, who was training his Pokémon, welcomed a very special guest.
The person appeared out of nowhere without attracting any attention, and upon entering the room, said nothing, simply found a chair, sat down, and pulled out a black card with a strange devil pattern printed on it, as well as a brand new human skin mask from their pocket.
Itsuki had clearly seen this person before. With a cold expression, he sat opposite them and, looking at the items on the table, asked, "Why me?"
"Because you're the most suitable, aren't you?" The person said indifferently, crossing their legs.
A brief silence fell between them, as if both were waiting for the other to speak first.
Finally, Itsuki couldn't hold back and asked, "What do I need to do?"
A smile appeared on the person's face. "Do what a Dark Emissary should do. I'm sure you won't disappoint me, and I won't disappoint you!
After the Kanto split, there will definitely be a place for you among the Johto Elite Four!
Take care of yourself..."
With that, the person's figure slowly vanished from the seat, as if they had never appeared.
Itsuki looked at the few items left on the table, and finally picked up the special black card with the devil pattern, which represented the identity of a Dark Emissary of the cult.
As for the human skin mask, it was just an ordinary mask; Itsuki could choose whether or not to use it, it was up to him.
A long silence... A new Dark Emissary...
A few days later, Aoki, finally recovered, left the hospital room and returned to a normal life, no longer having to live the comfortable life of having everything handed to him.
He didn't miss it much.
After being discharged, Aoki briefly greeted Adams and then left the League headquarters directly.
There had been many matters within the League during this time, but Aoki had completely delegated them and didn't need to worry.
And when he left, for a moment he couldn't think of what he should do.
It wasn't until he was sitting on Salamence's back that he suddenly felt that by throwing all the responsibilities to others, he himself seemed quite bored.
So Aoki turned around, and like Steven, took on several complex missions before leaving again.
For a while, Aoki would seek out relatively difficult missions for himself, earning mission points while also training his newly grown Pokémon.
For a time, Aoki frequently appeared before the residents and ordinary trainers of the Hoenn region.
As the most popular Sandstorm Elite Four, Aoki attracted a large number of fans with his excellent strength and increasingly handsome appearance.
The widely publicized online pictures and videos of an entire island surrounded by red sand became Aoki's representative masterpiece.
At the same time, many analysts, after extensive consideration and even on-site investigations, found that there was a high probability that this island was destroyed by the formidable power of Aoki's Pokémon.
Of course, no one blamed him for this, as there were no casualties, and Aoki only unleashed his full power after everyone had evacuated.
Moreover, it could also be inferred that the opponent's strength must have been considerable for Aoki to need to go to such lengths.
Some observant individuals even captured footage of Adams carrying a comatose Aoki away after the battle.
Coupled with Aoki reappearing before the public for a mission just a few days later, he received even more praise.
Many female fans even called online for Aoki to rest more and not push himself so hard.
Actually, they didn't know that Aoki was thoroughly enjoying himself at this time.
And as news of him continuously apprehending powerful criminals emerged, it caused many with thieving intentions to lose their nerve, and the crime rate throughout the entire Hoenn region saw a decline.
Many families and forces that were originally engaged in illicit businesses were also affected.
And at Adams's instruction, Aoki secretly contacted Rosemary, the current head of the Sky Team, and after reiterating the Sky Team's code of conduct, he didn't dwell on it further.
With Rosemary's capabilities, she should understand Aoki's meaning.
Meanwhile, Izumi, along with the remnants of the Aqua Team within the Sky Team, left the Sky Team and went into the ocean. Their former Aqua Team base once again became their secret base.
However, they no longer call themselves the Aqua Team; they should now be referred to as the Sky Team Ocean Division!
To be honest, having to monitor one's own forces felt really strange.
But ultimately, the primary mission of the Sky Team was to help Aoki gather resources; world domination was not within the scope of his plans.
An organization that has only been established for a few years should not casually challenge the League's bottom line. If they stay in their lane, the League won't come looking for trouble.