Naming himself Desert Chief's Champion came with a little complication, but it was not something that money could not fix.
Aizen had to submit a sum of five million PokéDollars to Rhazak to be allowed permission to leave Phenac City with Rui, and he would only get back his money after the end of the Pokémon Colosseum.
He did not really care about the money, but he did not plan on breaking his commitment either.
The only reason why he left with Rui atop his Braviary in the morning was to send her somewhere safe, and also to transfer his Pokémon over which he planned on using in the tournament.
It was an eleven-hour-long journey that his Braviary braved through, and when they finally reached Nuvema Town, it was evening there.
Aurea was surprised to see him return so soon, but she was even more surprised when she saw the girl he had brought over.
He took her to the side and explained everything, and she was more than understanding of Rui's situation.
"Keep her with you, and help her learn. I want her to get her Trainer's Licence by the end of next year."
"A-Class?"
"Of course." He smiled, and she stole a kiss from his lips and promised to teach the girl personally.
The security at the Juniper Estate was higher than ever, and there were several familiar faces there from the Order, whom Aizen trusted.
He had dinner with everyone, introduced Rui to Lily and her kids, and also helped her leave her recovering Flygon under the care of Nurse Joy of Nuvema Town.
Once Aurea and he had helped her settle in her new room, he went to the Lab and contacted the Blanc Laboratory and Oak Laboratory, calling over the Pokémon he needed for the Pokémon Colosseum.
Aizen could not use the Pokémon he was famous for using at the Indigo Conference as they would instantly expose his identity, so he chose to go with those he had not used much at the Conference.
He called over his Scizor, Kleavor, Machamp, Crobat, Snorlax, and Rhyperior. He also borrowed Sabrina's Swampert, whom he was familiar with, and his grandmother's Florges and Dragonite. Counting his Braviary, he had a roster of ten Pokémon, and he was confident he could pull off the win with them.
But his grandmother insisted that he take Anira's Eeveelutions as well, so his roster jumped up to eighteen. Since there was no monitoring in Orre, he could technically keep as many Pokémon with him as he wanted, so there were no issues there either.
Once the roster was set, he left the Totodile Egg in Aurea's care before leaving at midnight.
It was early in the morning when he returned to Phenac City, and after having breakfast at a restaurant, he went to his suite in the Oasis Hotel, where he jumped into his bed to get some sleep.
In the evening, he was woken up by a knock on the door, which his Mega Gengar informed him about, and a hotel attendant handed him a file sent by the Desert Chief.
It contained the information about the Pokémon Colosseum, the rules, regulations, and battle formats. Each of the Oasis Chiefs had chosen two Champions. The battles were singles with three Blind Knock-Out rounds in each match, where the first to win two rounds would take the victory.
The Water Chief had won the Pokémon Colosseum last time, and this year, the Sky Chief and the Thunder Chief seemed very confident as well. The Mayor's Champions were favourites though, and there was even a guest participating, which Rhazak clearly mentioned as "Cipher" in the file.
A total of twelve Champions, two groups, where each Champion would face everyone else in the group once.
Only one Trainer would qualify from their group, and they would face the other Group Winner in the final.
What was outrageous was that the entire tournament was going to take place in the span of three days. On Day One, all fifteen matches of Group A would take place. On Day Two, Group B matches would be cleared, and on Day Three, in the morning, the Final with five Pokémon, five Blind Knock-Out rounds, would take place.
Mega Pokémon were allowed in the Final Match, but only two.
Rhazak even promised him the other two Eggs that belonged to Chikorita and Charmander. All he had to do was to make sure Cipher Champions did not win at the Colosseum.
"Gengar..."
A smile formed on his lips when his Mega Gengar emerged from the shadows and formed its hands and legs with the ghostly energies.
"Yes, Shadow. We will have some fun," he nodded and then stood up to take a walk around the city and gather intel.
He already knew by now that Oasis and Cipher were at war with each other, and that it was over Phenac City. Neither side, however, was going all out, and so they were having their battles in the form of sabotaging each other, and now this Pokémon Colosseum.
The night market was buzzing, and people were out enjoying themselves on the streets with appetising aromas, laughing, and having fun.
It was not exactly a lawless place as most believed. The rules of Oasis were extremely strict, and since death penalties were common, people dared not break them.
Aizen kept his mental link with his Mega Gengar, who sneaked around the places, but they did not find any trace of Shadow Pokémon.
After a late dinner, the Orayen Prince returned to his suite just before midnight, when the curfew was put in effect.
He then stayed up all night as he scanned the surroundings with his Aura Sight, and witnessed the execution of some men at the Mayor's Mansion.
The guards of the city were on high alert as they kept a tight check on every nook and street, and a lot of Dark-type Pokémon were with them, who were there to counter any Shadow Pokémon.
At 5 a.m. local time, an attendant came to inform him that he had been summoned at the gate.
Aizen had already packed everything, so he calmly followed the attendant downstairs.
After checking out and requesting another suite for later, the topmost, he left the hotel and walked towards the gate at a leisurely pace.
When he arrived, the other nine Champions of Phenac City were already there, and the Desert King was also present.
"Do you need a ride?" Rhazak asked him, and he shook his head and summoned his Braviary out.
The others summoned their Pokémon as well, and the caravan journeyed into the harsh desert.
Orre Colosseum, which had existed for thousands of years, was present in the middle of the desert, about two hours away from Phenac City.
It was an ancient structure with a stony road leading up to it. Tall stone pillars, and the Colosseum itself seemed to be resting in the palm of the hand of a giant piercing the ground.
The place had a strange, melancholic yet majestic feel to it, and under the harsh sun, which was already starting to bother people, the sand quickly turned hot.
Aizen glanced at the group of people in white cloaks with black highlights, two of whom were standing with their Pokémon out, and he knew in an instant that they were from Cipher. All of them were wearing devices behind their ears that prevented Psychic attacks and mind reading.
He recalled his Braviary, allowing it to get some rest, and the Desert Chief then signalled to him to follow him to one of the stands under a stony shade.
Soon, the Psychic Pokémon were out, wards were erected, and except for the Group A Champions, others, including the judges, took their seats under shades.
There was no ceremony or anything. The competition started right away as soon as the referee took his position and invited two random Trainers for the first match.
Since it was a Blind Knock-Out, both Trainers chose their Pokéball and threw it up as soon as the referee finished the count.
It was a battle between a Vikavolt and a Torterra, and despite the advantage, the Bug had to give its all to get the job done.
In the next round, it turned out to be a battle between Hippowdon and Swampert, and once again, with the type advantage, Wes, the Champion of the Mayor, won the round and the match.
The next round was between the Group A Champion of Cipher and the Champion of the Thunder Chief, and it was a massacre as the Shadow Feraligatr and the Shadow Druddigon nearly killed Steelix, and killed Conkeldurr.
Aizen sighed in his heart when he saw that these Pokémon were beyond saving as they had lost their minds, and since killing was not forbidden, it was a bloodbath.
The Trainer who had lost his Conkeldurr was broken and bawling next to the lifeless body of his Pokémon, but the arena was soon cleared for the next match.
"Kill their Pokémon if you get a chance," Rhazak coldly said, and Aizen just nodded his head and glanced at the Cipher Champion he would be facing tomorrow.
The rest of the way continued and the final match was between Wes and the Cipher Champion. Both the Trainers had perfect record, and the winner of the match was going to play in the final.
Everyone from the Phenac City was hoping for Wes' victory, but unfortunately, he failed as luck did not favour him in the last round. He was unwilling to get his Feraligatr killed at the hands of his opponent's Shadow Ampharos.