Hearing Aoki say that, Steven didn't know how to refute.
If it was really because he gave Aoki a Key Stone, allowing him to decipher the secret of Mega Evolution, then it would actually be acceptable.
However, what Mega Evolution represents is too important. A Key Stone and a Mega Stone seem less important compared to this matter. The most important thing is the discovery of Mega Evolution itself.
Compared to the Fairy-type discovered by Aoki more than a year ago, which caused a sensation throughout the entire Pokémon world, the impact of discovering Mega Evolution this time will definitely be greater.
Steven could imagine what kind of impact Mega Evolution would have on the entire Pokémon world after its appearance.
"Since you say so, then I... will accept it. I won't be polite with you, making me seem like an outsider." Steven hesitated slightly, nodded, and accepted Mawile's Mega Stone and Key Stone, returning Aggron's Mega Stone and Key Stone to Aoki.
Aoki had already prepared to give Mawile's Mega Stone to Steven.
These Mega Stones and Key Stones would only be ridiculously valuable when they first appeared, but after a period of time, as they gradually stabilized and more Key Stones and Mega Stones were discovered, their prices would not be as terrifying.
But this initial period is the most crucial.
Aoki obtained a Leafeon and a Meganium from Chocory, as well as a large amount of resources he had accumulated over these twenty-five years.
Unlike Brad, Chocory stayed here in an organized and disciplined manner, so he had his own storage space, in which Aoki found many good things.
Now, perhaps all these things combined are not worth a well-matched Mega Stone and Key Stone, but in a little longer, after giving the Alliance and various major forces a buffer period, his current gains will be more valuable, and by a lot.
Of course, even if the value of Mega Stones and Key Stones drops, it won't drop too much. After all, their function is here, plus they are inherently scarce resources. This dictates that Mega Stones are not something ordinary commoners can use. Sometimes, for people without strength, obtaining this item might mean a death sentence.
Aoki and Steven looked at each other, falling into silence unknowingly.
Aoki was thinking about how to explain Mega Evolution to Steven, while Steven was thinking about how to ask the question without appearing too awkward.
Finally, Steven decided to speak first, "This Mega Evolution..."
"Cough, cough, I actually discovered this Mega Evolution a long time ago, but I've never said it. I wanted to, but I couldn't find a suitable time. You can imagine the impact this thing will have on the entire Pokémon world when it's announced," Aoki said.
Steven nodded solemnly. Of course, he knew what Aoki was thinking, which was why he felt a bit embarrassed to ask.
Of course, there must be some selfishness involved. Even if Steven had discovered Mega Evolution first, he would definitely have some selfishness, mobilizing the power of the Stone family to extensively collect Mega Stones and Key Stones before their value was discovered, striving to gain more before the whole thing was announced.
"So, this Mega Stone and Key Stone are hush money?" Steven asked with a smile.
Aoki also smiled, "Hahaha—just think of it that way. Anyway, we can't get out now.
When we get out, it might be when Mega Evolution is announced, so if you want to use the power of your Stone family, you'd better be quick!"
After Aoki announced Mega Evolution, all families, forces, and even the Alliance would collect Mega Stones at the first opportunity. The Stone family, due to Steven, might be a bit faster, but it wouldn't have a significant impact on the overall situation.
"How does it feel to use Mega Evolution for the first time?" Aoki asked.
At this, Steven's face showed helplessness, "It hurts, it hurts so much! Even though you warned me, it really hurt, especially when two Pokémon Mega Evolved at the same time."
The more bitterness and helplessness Aoki saw on Steven's face at this moment, the better Aoki felt.
It was rare to see such an expression on Steven's face anymore. He saw it exceptionally often today. Once Steven's strength improved a bit more, he would be the Steel-type Champion of the Hoenn region, a remarkable man combining beauty and handsomeness.
However, after experiencing the boost of Mega Evolution, Steven was also somewhat fascinated by this power—something that could turn the tide and reverse a losing situation.
"By the way, why do people from the Cult also have Mega Evolution?" Steven asked.
The fact that Baylin was a member of the Cult had been confirmed. Baylin being able to make Pokémon perform a pseudo-Mega Evolution actually had a huge impact on Steven at first.
"I'll tell you on the way. It's already confirmed that there are not only people who came in with us but also people left behind by the Cult here. The person I fought might not be the strongest among them, so we still need to find Flannery and Wallace quickly. If possible, we should try to get more trustworthy people to join our team to resist the Cult."
After speaking, Aoki wanted to jump onto Salamence and go to their agreed location in this desert. If not, they would quickly go to the next location.
Hearing this, Steven also nodded in agreement.
However, just as they were about to leave, a voice pierced the sky and appeared in their sight.
Steven's expression immediately hardened, and he assumed an attacking stance.
Aoki waved his hand at him, signaling him not to be nervous, "An old friend has arrived. I didn't expect to meet him here."
The figure that pierced the sky, looking imposing, slowly landed in front of them. The Pokémon carrying him in flight was highly distinctive: Dragonite!
And the person who arrived was Lance, who had rushed over—the Dragon-type Elite Four of the Kanto region, Lance the Dragon Master!
"Lance." Aoki and Steven called out simultaneously. After confirming the identity of the newcomer, Steven relaxed.
Lance looked around at the surroundings with a surprised expression, "What happened? Such a big commotion, the temperature of the entire desert has risen by several degrees because of you two." Lance was full of wonder, especially seeing the desert area that was still glowing red from Tyranitar's Sand Stream.
Aoki and Steven exchanged glances, smiling at each other, "Let's go, we'll talk on the way!"
Then, the two successfully dragged the suddenly appearing Lance onto their 'pirate ship' by force.
As for Lance, both Aoki and Steven trusted him greatly, and Lance's strength was also very high. His joining them would be a huge boost for their plan to fight against the Cult!
Pokémon: Dragonite (Dark Blue)
Gender: Male
Level: 84
Type: Dragon/Flying
Ability: Inner Focus
Held Item: Dragon Fang
Egg Moves: Dragon Breath, Dragon Rush, Water Pulse, Dragon Pulse
Basic Moves: Wing Attack, Hurricane, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Roost, Bind, Thunder Wave, Twister, Dragon Rage, Slam, Agility, Dragon Tail, Aqua Tail, Dragon Rush, Safeguard, Dragon Dance, Outrage, Hyper Beam, Hurricane
Learnt Moves: Draco Meteor, Icy Wind, Aqua Tail, Fire Punch, Tailwind, Iron Tail, Thunder Punch, Outrage, Ice Punch
TM Moves: Protect, Dragon Claw, Ice Beam, Hyper Beam, Safeguard, Thunder, Earthquake, Flamethrower, Steel Wing, Stone Edge, Surf
Lance's Dragonite's strength was already quite impressive. As a pseudo-legendary Pokémon, if it could break through the first hurdle to Champion-level, its strength would increase significantly.
Of course, even at its current level, its strength is considerable, at least stronger than all of Steven's Pokémon when they are not using Mega Evolution. But if Mawile Mega Evolves, with the Huge Power ability and the Fairy-type's advantage over Dragon-types, it might be able to pin Dragonite down and rub it into the ground.
However, it is also because Lance's ace Pokémon, Dragonite, is a Pokémon without Mega Evolution that Steven has greater growth potential relative to Lance.
But from the current combat power, Lance's strength is still stronger.
All three rode on their respective Pokémon.
Aoki's Salamence, Lance's Dragonite, and Steven's special Aerodactyl.
If Steven didn't know what was going on with his Aerodactyl before, after coming into contact with Mega Evolution, he suddenly had some ideas.
Did his Aerodactyl undergo an irreversible Mega Evolution?
If that were truly the case, Steven believed his Aerodactyl might become a Pokémon with higher growth potential than a pseudo-legendary Pokémon.
However, with Lance here now, Steven couldn't just casually ask Aoki. After all, he had promised Aoki that he would not tell anyone about Mega Evolution until Aoki himself revealed it.
This was an event that would cause a huge impact on the entire Pokémon world. Steven thought that Aoki should be planning a relatively peaceful way, one that wouldn't cause too much disturbance, to inform the Alliance and the entire Pokémon world. When he was with Aoki, Steven, who was originally very proud of his intellect, didn't bother to use his brain.
Since there was such a trustworthy person who could solve all problems, why bother thinking for himself?
Three majestic Pokémon, carrying three of the most talented individuals in the entire Pokémon world, flew grandly towards the depths of the desert.
During the flight, Aoki used telepathy to explain to Lance what they had encountered before and also shared some of Aoki's conjectures about the Cult.
Of course, Aoki selectively skipped over the matter of Mega Evolution, as it didn't significantly affect the explanation of the overall situation.
In short, he made Lance understand the seriousness of the entire matter.
Indeed, after listening to Aoki's account, Lance's expression was very striking, not just surprise but more so solemnity.
Seeing Lance's expression, Aoki and Steven knew that Lance would also take this matter seriously.
If the four from the Hoenn region, plus the two from the Kanto region, could gather the strength of six people, they would barely have a chance to protect themselves when facing the Cult.
If they were even luckier and could meet Cynthia or Diantha, it would be even better. Four future Champions from the six major regions of the entire Pokémon Alliance gathered together, plus Wallace, who would later replace Steven as Champion—that would be a total of five Champions!
This could be said to be a very powerful force.
Aoki might be suspicious of others, but he had a high degree of trust in people like Lance, Cynthia, and Diantha, who were destined to become representatives of their respective regions in the future.
"So, Baylin is really a member of the Cult, and her strength is really as strong as you say?!" Lance, who had been stern, had his eyes gleam with excitement and eagerness when Baylin successfully suppressed Steven.
"..." Aoki and Steven looked speechless.
Brother, we know you like to battle, but can you please rein it in a bit? Is this the main point right now?
As if understanding Aoki and Steven's gazes, Lance also realized he had lost his composure. However, when facing powerful trainers, he was inherently like this, otherwise, he wouldn't have lost control during his battle with Lorelei, causing her to hold a grudge to this day.
In Lance's eyes, a trainer only had distinctions in strength, not gender.
While thinking this way isn't problematic, if it's an ally, it's best to be a bit restrained. If it's an enemy, of course, you should fight to the death.
"Cough, cough, according to what you said, this time we not only have to face all the wild Pokémon on this continent but also constantly guard against the invasion of people from the Cult, who are far more terrifying than these Pokémon, and even many people who were originally misled by the Cult and have lived here for twenty-five years with unknown strength?" Lance had understood everything Aoki told him.
With Lance's antics, the pressure in Aoki's heart was suddenly relieved quite a bit.
However, his goal was very clear now: first, gather manpower, and then, when he had the strength to protect himself, consider how to counterattack.
But there was one thing Aoki did not tell Steven and Lance, because even he himself was not entirely sure about it.
It seemed that after the spatial rift appeared, the spatial blockade on this continent had weakened a bit. Although this weakening was not very severe, to the point that Aoki might not even have been able to perceive it if his spatial talent wasn't relatively high, even now, he still felt somewhat uncertain whether this change was merely due to the inherent spatial fluctuations of this continent or due to the influence of the spatial rift.
...
While Aoki gave up on that line of research, in an unknown area on the other side of this continent, several people were gathered together.
"The agreed time has arrived. The spatial blockade here has weakened a bit, but the extent of this weakening is almost negligible. Did something happen on Baylin's side?" One of the people, wearing a mask that only covered his eye sockets, said after closing his eyes and sensing for a moment.
Another middle-aged man, wearing a very flamboyant yellow short outfit, sat on a nearby rock and said indifferently, "With that arrogant fellow Chocory there, I don't think there will be too many problems. Perhaps the initial estimation of the spatial blockade's weakening was a bit off."
Besides, we are very far from them. Even if the spatial blockade is weakened, it will take some time to reach us. We should just do our own thing.
Taking a step back, even if something happens on their side, don't we still have this place? Aren't you here as a backup plan?"
As he spoke, the person in yellow showed a playful expression, as if he didn't think highly of the masked person.
However, the masked person seemed not to notice the yellow-clothed man's expression and took out a huge instrument from his storage space. If Aoki were here, he would definitely recognize this instrument; it was identical to the one he had destroyed not long ago.
The task of these two people was actually the same as that of Bai Ling and Chokley, but compared to Bai Ling and the others, these two seemed to have better luck and did not encounter a spoiler like Aoki.
A huge spatial rift appeared brightly in mid-air, and the surrounding Pokémon instinctively feared this rift, not daring to approach it.
It seemed there were no Alliance trainers nearby, so they were not disturbed.
As the spatial rift opened, black currents of electricity drilled into this continent from the rift, disappearing after a flash, as if they had vanished due to a lack of energy. However, psychics with spatial talent, or Pokémon with spatial talent, could feel the spatial blockade across the entire continent weakening.
Some powerful Pokémon could even use short-distance teleportation to a certain extent.
All of this was due to the energy entering from that spatial rift.
...
Aoki, of course, would not know what was happening in unknown places.
However, as a psychic with excellent spatial talent, he clearly felt the spatial blockade gradually weakening.
Although the weakening was slow, he was now certain that the weakening of the spatial blockade was definitely related to the Cult, and very likely related to that spatial rift.
But Bai Ling's spatial rift had already been destroyed, and he hadn't detected any strong spatial fluctuations within a certain range.
Then there was only one possibility: in another very distant place, beyond his perception, someone else was also opening a spatial rift, and no one was able to stop them!
Aoki didn't tell Lance and Steven about this, but the pressure in his heart increased by a few points.
Who would benefit most from the weakening of the spatial blockade?!
It must be the Cult, who had been planning for a long time and possessed a large number of powerful psychics!
Without the Alliance knowing, the Cult members could wait until the spatial blockade weakened to a certain extent, then forcibly break through space and enter, while the Alliance would be unable to detect them.
After they came in, no matter what they did—scavenging resources, taking away a group of people they had cultivated here for twenty-five or even fifty years, or annihilating all the entrants like Aoki—it would only benefit them and cause no harm.
The most serious consequence could be the complete annihilation of Aoki and his group, which would be a huge loss for the Alliance, delaying the entire Alliance's progress by at least thirty years.
And these thirty years would be the time for the Cult to develop extensively.
If the Cult's controller operated with more precision, when the Alliance was in a state of transition and lacked talent, they could infiltrate some people into the Alliance. After accumulating for a period, they might be able to directly change the owner of the entire Alliance without shedding a drop of blood!
Although Aoki was thinking a bit far ahead, if he were in the position of the Cult's true controller, he would definitely proceed as he had just thought. At that time, let alone the entire Alliance, perhaps the entire Pokémon world would be within easy reach!
With the pressure in his heart increasing, Aoki hoped to move faster, find Flannery and Wallace, and if he could meet Cynthia and Diantha, they might still have a fighting chance. Otherwise, he would quickly find a hidden place to hide and hope that the training period here would end soon.
He patted the scales on Salamence's neck.
Salamence could clearly feel its trainer's anxiety, and for a moment, it no longer chose a flight method that conserved stamina, flapping its wings even faster.
Anyway, Aoki had plenty of Energy Cubes and precious materials. As long as he flew fast enough, it wouldn't be a problem even if Aoki kept feeding him Energy Cubes.
Previously, Aoki's mindset wasn't so urgent, so for safety, he would choose low-altitude flight, searching for Flannery while training his Pokémon. But now, every bit the spatial blockade weakened, the greater the pressure on Aoki.
Sometimes he even envied Steven and Lance, who couldn't feel the weakening of the spatial blockade and didn't have to bear such great pressure.
Without Aoki's pessimistic mindset, they wouldn't consider things from the worst possible angle, and the pressure wouldn't be so great.
Being a pessimist is sometimes an advantage, but sometimes it can also be a disadvantage, making one indecisive and timid due to fear of the worst outcome.
Although Aoki was a pessimist, he knew this fact and also knew that it would largely affect his judgment of a matter. Therefore, Aoki always forced himself to make quick decisions, so he wouldn't fall into the dead end of a pessimist's thinking, which was also a blessing.
Seeing Aoki's grim expression as he patted Salamence's neck, silently speeding up their flight, Steven and Lance exchanged glances. Although they didn't understand what had happened, something that could make Aoki's face so grim was probably not a simple matter.
Neither of them asked questions, signaling their respective Pokémon to also speed up and catch up with Aoki.
If there was any benefit to Aoki from the spatial blockade, it was probably that Aoki could now vaguely sense the psychic imprints he had left on Flannery, Wallace, and others. Not just those two, Aoki had also left one on Cynthia and Diantha respectively.
Although the sensation was very weak, only a vague impression, it still provided Aoki with a certain direction.
Whether it was Flannery, Wallace, Cynthia, or Diantha, finding just one of them now would add a layer of security for himself.
Most of the people who entered this time probably didn't even know what kind of crisis awaited them.
Perhaps many were still battling those powerful wild Pokémon.
This flight was very fast, almost reaching its limit.
Aoki no longer cared if their blatant flight would attract attention.
Even if they did attract attention, there were three of them now, and they feared no one. What he was worried about were the Cult members who might enter here.
As for the wild Pokémon encountered along the way, weren't there Lance's Dragonite and Steven's Aerodactyl?
Two excellent fighters.
If the wild Pokémon were of average strength, Salamence could probably one-shot them with a single move.
...
In this race against time, Aoki's three-person team slowly expanded into a five-person team.
Cynthia, who was with him on Salamence's back, and Wallace, who was riding Dragonite with Lance.
Being able to find the two so quickly was also due to luck. Among Aoki's vague perceptions of psychic imprints, one location was the clearest. Upon approaching, he discovered that two people were gathered together, which was why Aoki's perception of the psychic imprint was the most obvious.
It was because Cynthia and Wallace had gathered together by chance that Aoki and his group were able to find them so quickly.
The addition of Cynthia and Wallace instantly greatly increased the team's strength. If they were to encounter a combination like Chokley and Bai Ling again at this moment, Aoki was confident he could directly overwhelm them with the sheer number of Pokémon!
There was no time to talk much with the two; he just pulled them along and flew directly towards another target.
On the way, Aoki finally had time to tell them the whole story.
The expressions of the two were just like Steven's when he first heard about it, especially Cynthia, who was exactly like Steven, looking like she wanted to fight Bai Ling.
If Aoki hadn't repeatedly emphasized that there would be plenty of battles later, Aoki estimated that Cynthia would have wanted to turn back and launch a surprise attack.
Fortunately, at that time, she was sitting on Salamence's back and couldn't leave for a while, which barely stopped her.
However, even after finding Cynthia and Wallace, Phoebe was still missing, so they had to continue searching.
But at this moment, in a place unknown to Aoki, the spatial rift formed on the other side, without any external interference, was causing even more severe damage to the spatial blockade of the entire continent.
At that very instant, Aoki's heart suddenly sank.
Because he could now roughly sense the locations of the remaining two psychic imprints, which meant that the spatial blockade had been almost half destroyed, and the Pokémon inside could perform non-long-distance teleportation.
"The time for the Cult's arrival is getting closer, we need to speed up again!" Aoki said, his expression unusually grave at this moment.
If he didn't have spatial talent, he really wouldn't want to bear such pressure.
But if he didn't bear this pressure, then it was very likely that everyone present would perish without knowing it.
Since the locations were known, things suddenly became much easier.
They flew towards the nearest location first.
After three hours of full-speed flight, they finally found the leisurely training young lady who would become a big star in the future: Diantha!
Diantha's Gardevoir and Goodra were both very strong, so this training wasn't very stressful for her.
But when she saw Aoki leading a formidable group of five, looking menacing, she was decisively "persuaded" by them and joined their large search party.
Like Cynthia and Wallace, Diantha's main Pokémon didn't include any skilled fliers, so she could only ride Steven's Aerodactyl with him.
When everyone saw Steven's Aerodactyl, they wondered how Steven managed to sit comfortably on its back.
This Aerodactyl had mutated to a certain extent; the sharp, protruding rocks visible all over its back would make anyone feel a slight clenching sensation.
So, Cynthia and Wallace, who arrived first, decisively chose Aoki's Salamence and Lance's Dragonite. Of course, in terms of spaciousness and comfort, Aoki's Salamence was the best among the three Pokémon.
Diantha would rather die than ride Steven's Aerodactyl with him. It was fine that Steven had his special equipment, but the thought alone made Diantha shiver.
Everyone understood her difficulty, and finally, with no other choice, everyone looked at Lance.
They knew that among them, the one with the most flying Pokémon was definitely Lance, who shamelessly called himself the Dragon-type Elite Four!
Being stared at, Lance had no choice but to summon his old partner, his Charizard, without thinking about conserving stamina or anything.
Finally, Diantha sat safely on Charizard's back.
For a moment, everyone felt some pity for Steven again.
Actually, Steven only realized after seeing Lance's Charizard that he could also ride on his Charizard.
But then he thought about "abandoning" Aerodactyl, which might make Aerodactyl sad, so he could only obediently continue to sit on Aerodactyl's back. Fortunately, he had equipment, so he wasn't afraid.
Thus, the group slowly grew from two to six.
If the Cult hadn't interfered, Aoki felt that this group of people could definitely turn this continent upside down, sweeping away all precious materials.
The number of flying Pokémon also increased from the original three to four.
In fact, with the current number and aura of Aoki's Pokémon, ordinary wild Pokémon really wouldn't foolishly rush in to die.
Among these Pokémon, there were even Champion-level Dragon-type Pokémon. With their aura freely unleashed, any wild Pokémon brave enough to come forward would make Aoki Can't help it praise them as "heroes"! Then he would defeat them without hesitation or delay.
Originally, they thought that as long as they found the last one, Phoebe, they could just hide. At that point, united as one, if the Cult members dared to come, they might even suffer heavy losses.
But ideals are beautiful, and reality is cruel.
As Aoki and his group flew towards Flannery, in Aoki's perception, the psychic imprint belonging to Flannery disappeared!
It vanished into thin air!
Such a situation occurring here could only mean one thing.
Phoebe encountered a psychic from the Cult and was defeated by them. Only when the opponent got close to Phoebe would they be able to sense the psychic imprint Aoki had left!
Then, the imprint belonging to Aoki on Phoebe was erased!
This was a signal: Phoebe was in danger!