A week.
The Alliance and Team Magma and Team Aqua were locked in a stalemate for another week.
However, this week was not just a stalemate.
The Alliance finally extended its exploration route to a place not far from the base of Team Magma and Team Aqua.
During this period, the Alliance had hundreds of skirmishes and battles with them, large and small.
From small skirmishes between small teams to a major battle where even Drake almost fought against Maxie and Archie, almost resulting in a full-scale war.
In the end, Team Magma and Team Aqua chose to retreat because they were unwilling to confront the Alliance head-on.
The Alliance was also somewhat weak in high-end combat power and could not forcefully pursue the battle, otherwise it would be easy to fall into an ambush. So after only a brief contact, the two sides tacitly separated.
But a week has passed, which is a huge drain on both the Alliance and Team Magma and Team Aqua.
So the final battle is definitely getting closer and closer.
Because Team Magma and Team Aqua have not found the Indigo Orb and the Crimson Orb yet, they have already searched all the areas under their control.
If they wanted to continue searching, they would need to look outwards and upwards, but those areas were now within the Alliance's operational range.
So, after discussing for a while, Maxie and Archie decided to launch an attack.
Their ability to calmly stall the Alliance was based on the fact that the Alliance was short-handed and unable to focus its efforts on them. They also ensured that the item was deep within Meteor Falls, allowing for a slow and steady search.
However, after a week, the situation changed.
Small factions operating in various towns in the Hoenn region had been gradually eliminated by the Alliance.
This meant the Alliance's manpower would gradually increase, putting greater pressure on them.
Also, while the item was indeed deep, it wasn't as deep as they had thought.
A clash was inevitable.
...
Alliance camp.
"These past two days, Team Magma and Team Aqua's operational range has gradually expanded, and their counterattacks are becoming increasingly fierce. I estimate that a full-scale battle may break out soon. You all need to prepare," Glacia said, scanning the people below.
Aoki and the others nodded.
They clearly understood the current situation: it was a matter of who would be held off first, either them or Team Magma or Team Ocean.
"Increase patrols during this time. Aoki, Steven, the four of you keep a closer eye on them," Genji instructed the four.
Drake now felt comfortable entrusting Steven, phoebe, and wallace with more challenging tasks.
The battlefield was indeed the best place to hone one's skills.
As for Aoki, Genji trusted him even more than Bonney.
Once, Team Magma and Team Ocean set a trap, with Campfire and Ushio leading two other executives to ambush Aoki, but he managed to escape.
Even Bonney, if caught in such an ambush, might not have survived.
This further proved that Aoki's survival skills were among the best in the League.
The nickname "Runaway Aoki" not only resonated throughout the League, but even Team Magma and Team Ocean acknowledged it.
Aoki's psychic abilities, combined with Slowking and special techniques, allowed him to teleport almost instantly.
"Pink Flash" had also become a nickname for Aoki. (Golden Flash, stop talking—winking)
It was precisely because of this incident that Aoki's reputation within the League officially surpassed that of Steven and his two companions.
Everyone had witnessed Aoki's strength, and no one disagreed.
According to Drake's mission assignment, Aoki once again ventured deeper.
After several days of exploration, the League had already thoroughly explored most of the tunnels here.
Now, they were going deeper to try and figure out what Team Magma and Team Aqua were looking for.
All the wild Pokémon in these tunnels had also been cleared out,
so their travel speed was much faster.
Aoki went directly to the boundary between their activity areas and the other side's.
There were many League sentries stationed here, so they could immediately take precautions if anyone crossed the boundary, giving the League time to react.
Aoki briefly greeted the people at the sentries and then entered the activity areas of Team Magma and Team Aqua.
The sentries showed no surprise.
This wasn't the first or second time Aoki had done this.
"Lord Aoki is truly a young man of great promise, not even eighteen yet, right? I have a cousin who's quite beautiful and has a good personality; I wonder if there's any chance she could marry into such a high-ranking family," one of the sentries on duty said.
The other sentry initially agreed, but then his tone shifted.
"You? Give me a break! Countless young ladies from prestigious families want to marry Lord Aoki. Can your cousin compare to them?"
"In my opinion, Lord Aoki, being born a commoner, shouldn't be in a hurry to find a partner. After this matter is over, he should take over the position of one of the Elite four. The acting Elite four will be Lord Aoki's teacher, and the disciple inheriting the teacher's position—that would be another wonderful story." Another sentry rolled his eyes and said irritably.
From his words and tone, one could hear his admiration for Aoki.
"I reckon it's about the same. A genius like Aoki, along with Steven, phoebe, and Wallace—the existence of these four geniuses is simply the greatest fortune for the Hoenn region. As long as these four grow up, Hoenn will definitely be the most stable region for the next hundred years..."
Their Pokémon warily surveyed their surroundings, while they chatted and joked as usual.
Team Magma and Team Aqua hadn't had any Pokémon invade their territory for some time.
Boom—Boom—
But just when the two thought it was another ordinary day, they heard a series of huge booming sounds.
Then they saw a large group of Pokémon rushing towards them. Their expressions
changed drastically.
The two hadn't expected the worst to happen.
Team Magma and Team Aqua had launched a full-scale attack!
The two... His face was ashen, but he still professionally smashed the alarm on his body.
Instantly, red alarm lights flashed throughout the League's base.
Level One Alert!
All forces mobilized!
After the alarm was triggered, the sentries and guards not far away, as well as some people on missions nearby, rushed over immediately.
But seeing the overwhelming swarm of Pokémon, everyone knew they were doomed.
With their speed and strength, they couldn't possibly pose any obstacle.
However, they weren't the only ones who heard the alarm.
There were also some powerful individuals nearby.
The first to appear was Steven, his face ashen.
Then came Aoki, who had just left, his hand on Slowking's back, his eyes flashing with blue psychic energy, and he teleported in front of everyone.
"Aoki! Quickly use Teleport to take them away!" Steven said immediately upon seeing Aoki.
Aoki glanced at Steven, then at the somewhat bewildered people standing behind him.
He gave a big smile, "Don't be nervous, everyone. We've been waiting for this kind of battle for a long time. Slowking will take you away, but when we come back, be prepared for battle."
"After saying that, Aoki patted Slowking on the back. Slowking immediately understood, teleporting to the group and enveloping them in his psychic powers.
"You're going to stay behind alone?!" Steven shouted, his eyes filled with disbelief.
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(End of Chapter)