He didn't reveal his purpose but simply ordered his Pokémon to prepare.
"You're acting like this too. It seems you've forgotten the existence of someone as insignificant as me."
Aoki's smile was cold.
"I'll give you another hint: Saffron City, the Hunter's Guild, and Rose. What comes to mind?"
Upon hearing his words, Yang Dou's expression shifted as if recalling something long buried.
"You… you're the one from back then—" Yang Dou's pupils contracted sharply, his face paling in a way reminiscent of Rose's reaction earlier.
But while Rose had been purely surprised, Yang Dou's expression carried a trace of fear.
He finally remembered which Slowpoke Aoki was referring to.
Once, in the Hunter's Guild, when Yang Dou had still been pursuing Rose, Aoki had been the boy she brought in to register as a hunter.
Back then, Yang Dou had just become the head of a regional guild—the lucrative Saffron City Hunter's Guild. He had been full of ambition, his actions ostentatious and overbearing.
After arriving in Hoenn and facing setbacks, he had tempered his arrogance somewhat.
Only after breaking through to Champion level had he regained his former confidence.
But he never could have imagined that the weak, pitiful boy who had once escaped his grasp would now stand before him, seeking vengeance.
Aoki hadn't expected Yang Dou to be here. He had assumed the man would be negotiating with Team Magma at Mount Chimney.
But upon reflection, if the Hunter's Guild had entered this mysterious space alongside Team Magma, there must be someone acting as liaison—and that person was likely Yang Dou.
Team Aqua was also present.
Did that mean that among the Hunter's Guild's forces here, aside from Yang Dou and the guild leader, there was another Champion-level trainer responsible for communicating with Team Aqua?
Aoki's eyes narrowed slightly as he extracted information from Yang Dou's reaction.
"That's right. I was that kid back then." Aoki's voice carried self-mockery, but his words were a direct taunt aimed at Yang Dou.
The fear in Yang Dou's eyes hadn't fully faded, but madness and jealousy had already overtaken his mind.
"Feraligatr, tear him apart!" he roared.
At his command, the Feraligatr bared its fangs and lunged toward Aoki, eyes filled with murderous intent.
But before it could strike, Slowking's Psychic and Florges' Grass Knot ensnared it instantly.
Then Drapion pounced, its claws slamming the Feraligatr into the ground, pinning it effortlessly. Its pincers crackled with deadly electricity.
Yang Dou moved simultaneously with his Feraligatr.
He hadn't truly expected his Pokémon to defeat Aoki—only to buy him time.
A dagger flashed in his hand as he thrust it toward Aoki's chest.
As a former Pokémon hunter, he still retained some combat skills.
"We did it!" Yang Dou's face twisted with manic glee as he saw Aoki's Pokémon distracted by his Feraligatr.
Even if he died, he would drag Aoki down with him.
But his dagger stopped a centimeter from Aoki's chest. No matter how hard he pushed, it refused to pierce forward.
Psychic.
Aoki had been watching him the entire time, anticipating his movements.
He had been ready the moment Yang Dou drew his blade.
CRACK.
Aoki twisted Yang Dou's wrist at an unnatural angle, snapping the bones with a sickening crunch.
Yang Dou screamed as pain erupted through his arm, sweat beading on his forehead.
But his voice cut off abruptly as Aoki's other hand closed around his throat, lifting him effortlessly into the air.
Aoki, now standing at nearly six feet tall, was no longer the small, helpless boy from before.
His grip was iron.
Yang Dou's face turned red, then purple, his legs kicking uselessly in the air.
Aoki stared into his eyes, cold and unfeeling.
The dagger slipped from Yang Dou's broken fingers, clattering to the ground.
Aoki caught it mid-fall, flipping the blade expertly between his fingers.
He lowered Yang Dou just enough to meet his gaze.
The dagger's edge traced a slow, deliberate path from Yang Dou's throat to his cheek, finally resting against his eyelid.
A thin red line appeared where the blade grazed skin, blood welling up in its wake.
If left untreated, the wound would scar.
But neither of them cared about that now.
"You didn't expect the weakling from back then to come for you, did you?" Aoki's voice was icy. "You didn't expect me to grow this strong."
The dagger pressed harder, drawing another bead of blood.
Yang Dou's face was pale, his lips colorless. Sweat dripped from his brow—whether from pain or terror was unclear.
The blade at his eye made his breath hitch.
"Fine. I'm not here to dwell on the past." Aoki adjusted his grip slightly, allowing Yang Dou just enough air to speak.
"You'll answer my questions. If you're honest, your death will be quick. If you lie or hesitate, I'll take your senses one by one."
Yang Dou's body trembled.
Since death was inevitable, he just wanted it over with.
He nodded weakly, lips quivering.
Few could face death calmly.
Dying wasn't the hard part—it was the waiting.
Aoki loosened his grip slightly.
"What is the Hunter's Guild's real objective here?"
Yang Dou coughed, gasping. "A Pokémon… a Legendary Pokémon."
"Which one?"
"I—cough—I don't know."
Aoki's dagger pressed harder, slicing the corner of Yang Dou's eye. Blood trickled down his face.
"I swear! Mitchell handled the mission! I just liaised with Team Magma!" Yang Dou's words spilled out in a panicked rush. "The Elder Council approved it! They offered Team Magma enough to secure their cooperation!"
He spoke fast, terrified of losing an eye before he died.