Aoki glanced at Lance, who was suppressing his anger, knowing that Lorelei and Lance were only outwardly bickering, but in private, they were absolutely trustworthy companions.
His friendship with Lorelei was forged through countless battles.
However, Aoki waved his hand at Lance, "I think it should be someone from the cult, but you probably won't need to act. Lorelei has likely already dealt with them herself."
Hearing Aoki's words, everyone was slightly startled, but since Aoki said so, he must know something they didn't.
They all approached Lorelei and found that she only looked somewhat miserable from the bloodstains on her body, but apart from the blood, all her injuries had healed, and her aura was very stable. It seemed Aoki had already given Lorelei some emergency treatment.
"It's good that you're back. I've mostly treated Lorelei's injuries. It's just that the bloodstains and torn clothes on her are not something I can handle, so..." Aoki said to Agatha, Cynthia, and Diantha.
After all, there's a difference between men and women. Fortunately, treating Lorelei didn't require too much physical contact, otherwise, it would be easy for people to think he had special intentions. Lorelei's clothes were already tattered from traveling through the mountains, and Aoki had been busy treating Lorelei and her Pokémon earlier, so he hadn't noticed this.
At this point, all the boys present turned their heads, and the three women, Diantha, Agatha, and Cynthia, immediately carried Lorelei into their tent.
At this, the four of them, Aoki, Lance, Steven, and Wallace, finally let out a long sigh of relief.
However, Lorelei suffering such severe injuries and running here made everyone, who had been slightly lax and thought the cult was nothing special, tighten a string in their hearts again.
Especially for Cynthia and Diantha, they were also very worried about their companions.
Lorelei's strength was beyond doubt; the fact that she could once beat the proud Lance into submission showed her power.
Although it was because Lorelei specialized in Ice-type Pokémon, which strongly countered Lance, who specialized in Dragon and Flying types, counters are to be expected. Lorelei isn't the only one who can strongly counter Lance's Pokémon, so why is she the only one who can achieve such a degree?
"A month has passed, and the cult's search range is getting wider and denser. Lorelei dealt with a cult member, and judging by her injuries and the time she was unconscious, she shouldn't be far from here. The cult will definitely intensify their search here, so you'll need to pay more attention to things when you go out from now on," Aoki said to Lance, Steven, and the others.
They, of course, had also thought of this, so their expressions were somewhat solemn.
"But there's no need to worry too much. I estimate that their true big shots should still be able to keep their composure. Most of those wandering around now are probably people who consider themselves strong but aren't as powerful as they imagine. Since Lorelei can deal with one, we can't fall behind.
From now on, when you encounter cult members, you can try to battle them more, familiarize yourselves with their fighting styles and methods, and when we return, we can share information with each other. When we encounter them again, we'll strive to take them down!
Those here should be the backbone of the cult. Any loss of personnel would definitely be a huge loss for them!
But remember two points!
First, never engage in a war of attrition with them. They have more people than us, and they all have psychic abilities, so communication will definitely be easier for them. Over time, we will definitely be surrounded and attacked!
Second, after the battle ends, never go straight towards the Aura Valley. Always circle around outside a few times before returning."
Aoki emphasized a few things to them. The first was to exhaust the cult's living forces, and the second was the most fundamental: not to expose the location of the Aura Valley.
They had been on this continent for two months, especially in the latter month, fighting and growing in a high-pressure environment. The gains were greater than three months of stable development in the Pokémon world.
Otherwise, why say that one thrives in adversity and perishes in comfort?
Pressure makes people grow.
And it wasn't just high-pressure combat; there was also Aoki, known as the fastest "Aoki-one-hand" among the Pokémon League's breeders! He could promptly help everyone adjust their Pokéblocks and provide various potions, so there was no need to worry about Pokémon getting injured, and the rate of training improvement skyrocketed again.
Of course, having Aoki act always required some compensation, but fortunately, the compensation Aoki requested was not "expensive."
At least compared to those arrogant high-level breeders outside, it was definitely not expensive.
However, the frequency of requests from everyone was quite high, especially after their Pokémon's strength increased by a major tier, or after satisfying a specific training direction, various item changes were needed!
So, during this time, almost all of everyone's gains went into Aoki's pocket, but Aoki also put in "labor." You get what you pay for, and the quality of the things Aoki made was absolutely top-notch.
In short, the growth over these two months was a significant improvement for both Aoki and Steven's group.
After all, many of Steven's Pokémon were already stuck at the peak of quasi-champion level, struggling without suitable battles and worthy opponents. But after entering here, the one thing they weren't lacking was powerful opponents.
These quasi-champion peak Pokémon all broke through, which was an absolutely huge increase in strength for Steven and the others.
Although the rate of strength improvement dropped sharply after breaking through to the Champion level, the current improvement was already sufficient. Not every cult member could have a group of Champion-level Pokémon. What they needed to be more careful about when fighting them were their psychic abilities and the cult's unique divine power infusion.
So, it was time to engage with these cult members. Perhaps they could even discover their true purpose for being here from them.
Initially, Aoki thought the cult's purpose was to eliminate their group, but now it seemed that their group was not the opponent's target, at least not the primary target.
So Aoki was very curious about what could be worth such an elaborate effort from the cult.
As long as he could destroy the cult's objective, Aoki would be very happy.
"Don't worry, we've had contact with them before and know what to do. However, from Lorelei's incident, it's clear that our other members are definitely in danger as well. I think we need to increase the scope of our training and marking efforts.
Not everyone has Lorelei's strength, nor does everyone have Lorelei's luck," Lance said in a deep voice.
Lorelei's incident served as a reminder to them that they couldn't simply continue to be complacent just because of a month of safety. A dagger still hung over their heads, but their defenses were not yet strong enough to withstand this sudden attack.
Steven and Wallace also nodded. Both Aoki's and Lance's words made them feel the pressure again.
However, the improvement in Steven and Wallace's strength also made them eager to try, wanting to find a cult member of equal strength to battle.
Although among the seven of them, there would be some sparring battles every once in a while, sparring was still just sparring. And to protect the environment of the valley, some overly powerful moves that could alter the environment to a certain extent could not be used, such as Aoki's Tyranitar's Sandstorm ability.
Steven knew that Aoki's strongest tactic now was the Sandstorm ability, and a large part of his Pokémon's training direction and fighting style were adapted to the Sandstorm battle style.
As the boys were chatting, Agatha poked her head out of a nearby tent.
She called out to Aoki, "Brother Aoki, Sister Lorelei is awake. You'd better come take a look."
Hearing this, the four of them, Aoki, Lance, Steven, and Wallace, immediately stopped their conversation and quickly walked towards the tent.
This tent was originally Agatha's, but it had now been tidied up for Lorelei to lie in.
At this moment, all the bloodstains on Lorelei's body had been wiped clean, and she had changed into a new set of clothes. It seemed they belonged to Cynthia, as Agatha's clothes wouldn't fit Lorelei, but Cynthia's were close enough to Lorelei's size.
Lorelei had opened her eyes, but her face was still a bit pale. Seeing Aoki walk to the tent entrance, Lorelei's eyes lit up. She tried to speak, but it seemed very difficult, her mouth trembling slightly twice before she ultimately couldn't utter a sound.
Aoki immediately gestured with his hand for Lorelei not to force herself.
Then Aoki said to everyone, "Don't all crowd in there. Give her enough space, or she might have trouble breathing."
Hearing this, Agatha, Cynthia, and Diantha immediately backed out. Here, in this situation, Aoki's words were the most effective.
So, the six of them stood a step away from the tent, watching quietly, while Aoki walked in alone.
Without saying a word, Aoki first checked Lorelei's injuries. All the superficial wounds had healed, and some more severe bruises and contusions were also largely recovered.
As for Lorelei's inability to speak, it was a sequela of the poisoning. Although the toxins had all been cleared, her body was still somewhat numb, coupled with severe mental trauma, which meant her control over various parts of her body had not returned to normal.
It was precisely because of this that Aoki's presence was even more necessary.
With a thought, Aoki used telepathy to communicate with Lorelei's mind.
"You're recovering well, but to regain normal movement, it will probably take a few days. To fully recover, it will take at least half a month," Aoki said, his psychic abilities flickering in his eyes as he communicated with Lorelei through telepathy, effortlessly.
"Thank you—" Lorelei's voice echoed in Aoki's mind.
"You're welcome, it's nothing," Aoki waved his hand, indicating it was fine.
"My Pokémon..."
"They're all stable now, but like you, it'll take some time for them to fully recover. However, their bodies are much stronger than yours, so don't worry, they'll be bouncing around in front of you soon," Aoki smiled. Lorelei's Pokémon were all powerful, reaching Champion-level, so their recovery speed would be much faster.
Hearing Aoki's words, Lorelei was silent for a while, ultimately not knowing what to say.
"Thank you..." In the end, it still came down to these two words.
As a trainer, she knew the extent of her Pokémon's injuries. Even the Slowbro that carried her away was severely injured, managing to reach the valley entrance only through sheer willpower. When she saw the marks Lance left in the forest and came here, she hadn't expected to survive.
After all, Lance wasn't particularly skilled in that area.
However, she was quite lucky that among the people here, there was Aoki, her great savior, who not only saved her but also saved all her Pokémon.
Now, she owed Aoki a favor, a very significant one. Just saying "thank you" wasn't enough to express her gratitude.
This time, Aoki didn't refuse again and calmly accepted her thanks. In fact, he wasn't just accepting thanks, but rather accepting a favor from Lorelei. Neither of them explicitly stated this, but both kept it in mind.
Saving Lorelei was his duty, but saving all her Pokémon was a favor.
To treat Lorelei's severely injured Pokémon, Aoki had truly gone all out. Her Pokémon were all in a truly critical state, and one mishandling could have meant their demise. Aoki managed to save them all, and without damaging their potential for growth.
The resources expended in this were enormous.
So Aoki calmly accepted Lorelei's thanks this time.
"There should be a special spatial item by the bed. I took it from the person I fought. I haven't checked what's inside, but given the opponent's strength, the items shouldn't be too bad.
Although it can't make up for all your losses, it's my token of appreciation. To have saved all my companions, this gratitude is too heavy. I hope you can help me lighten it a little."
After another period of silence, Lorelei spoke to Aoki again. For the usually reserved Lorelei to say so much at once showed how deep her gratitude was.
Moreover, Lorelei was very skillful in her words. She knew that if she directly asked Aoki to take it, he would definitely not accept. But by asking Aoki to help her take it, the feeling was immediately different.
This showed that Lorelei was not someone who lacked social skills; she just usually didn't like to talk much, but she was very familiar with various social norms.
Aoki hesitated for a moment, then nodded and accepted. However, he didn't actively take it. If Lorelei truly wanted to give it to him, she could wait until she fully recovered to give it herself. If Aoki took it, the feeling would be completely different.
"By the way, who exactly did you encounter, that the battle was so fierce? Did you deal with that person?" Aoki changed the subject and asked, though this was clearly his most pressing concern.
"I don't know. I hadn't expected to encounter anyone other than us here, but about a month ago, someone suddenly appeared not far from me. Fortunately, at that time, the other party didn't deliberately probe, and their psychic perception was blocked by Slowbro and Jynx together.
From then on, I knew that there were others here besides us, and from their appearance and reaction, their intentions were not friendly.
So, for a period after that, I trained my Pokémon while also searching for your traces, and at the same time, avoiding their group.
It wasn't until yesterday, after I saw the marks Lance left, that I was discovered by someone while rushing towards this valley.
I should have been able to escape, but I didn't know if the opponent had figured out my path of retreat. To avoid exposing this location, I had no choice but to turn back and fight him.
However, this person's strength was excessive, and he also possessed powerful psychic abilities. Some of his Pokémon could utilize special evolutions. Based on these points, I suspected the opponent was likely a member of the Divine Cult, which meant I absolutely couldn't leave him alive. That's why... that's why I fought him to this extreme point... until I was completely exhausted. Although I didn't see him take his last breath, all of his Pokémon were severely injured, just like mine, and he himself was frozen into an ice sculpture by me. I estimate he won't survive.
On the way here with Slowbro, I removed all the markers left by Lance and deliberately made several detours. The enemy shouldn't be able to find this place.
Lorelei recounted a lot of information at once, but because the communication was telepathic, this method was much simpler than speaking aloud.
Hearing Lorelei's words, Aoki couldn't help but admire her decisiveness and caution. To be able to rise to this level from a relatively "ordinary" family, Lorelei's capability was undeniable.
If Aoki were in Lorelei's position, he might not have been able to handle this situation any better than she did.
Even while severely injured and near death, she was able to think of every detail—one had to admit Lorelei's excellence.
Her usual cold demeanor wasn't an act; it was simply her nature. Few people could maintain composure in such a situation, and Lorelei's ability to do so was closely related to her consistent, absolute calmness.
Aoki now strongly suspected that Lorelei constantly sought trouble with Lance not because she was genuinely angry at him, but because she needed an excellent opponent to improve her strength, and Lance was the person she had chosen.
The repeated challenges were merely to refine her tactics and train her Pokémon. For better growth, battles were absolutely essential.
Her numerous challenges to Lance only lacked a pretext; since everyone believed that reason, she simply let it become the reality, as it didn't greatly affect Lorelei anyway.
A chilling thought struck Aoki: it was fine to do anything, just never provoke a woman who was both powerful and excessively calm-headed; it was truly terrifying.
As if she had discovered Aoki's thoughts, Lorelei looked at him, her large eyes gleaming brightly.
Noticing Lorelei's gaze, Aoki subtly swallowed, silently mourning Lance for a full minute in his heart.
Poor guy. He was constantly challenged, always searching for his own faults, believing everything was his mistake, yet repeatedly serving as Lorelei's primary battle target.
However, mourning aside, Aoki would absolutely not tell Lance this truth, lest he be unable to handle reality.
But then again, upon closer reflection, Lance truly was a gentle person. Perhaps he hadn't failed to guess this point, but chose to compensate Lorelei in this manner because he genuinely felt he had acted excessively back then.
Thinking this way, the understanding between these two was truly extraordinary. Lance's fury when he saw Lorelei severely injured was palpable to everyone present; even Aoki was seeing Lance this angry for the first time.
"Based on the situation you described, it must have been someone from the Divine Cult," Aoki nodded and said.
Aoki then told Lorelei everything about their recent experiences, the appearance of the Divine Cult, and their objectives.
This was a very long and complex matter, but fortunately, since they were communicating telepathically, they didn't have to go through the trouble of speaking word by word.
After listening to Aoki, Lorelei generally understood their current predicament and couldn't help but fall silent again.
Hearing this news for the first time inevitably created considerable pressure, but this pressure could also serve as motivation for them to move forward.
Just like Lorelei, who, after a brief silence upon hearing Aoki's explanation, accepted the reality of the situation. She was already considering how she should train her Pokémon over the next three months.
When she was alone, because the number of potions and healing sprays she carried was limited, she didn't dare to fully unleash herself even during wilderness training.
Although she had collected many materials and resources, just as others might think, she didn't know the most efficient way to use them. Furthermore, there were many materials she didn't fully understand, let alone how to utilize them, which restricted Lorelei's growth.
But the situation was different now—she had met Aoki!
As long as she gave the items to Aoki, he could produce a large number of useful tools and materials. Even if her Pokémon were injured, she wouldn't have to worry anymore; she could fight and grow to her heart's content.
Materials that were previously just decorations could be turned into the most suitable items, potions, and other resources in Aoki's hands.
Of course, Aoki couldn't be expected to work for free, and she would certainly need to pay him a certain compensation. Even so, this was definitely much better than simply holding onto the materials without using them.
What was their purpose for coming here?
Wasn't it to increase their strength and become stronger?
The goal of collecting large amounts of materials was also the hope of exchanging them for items that could boost their power. But now that the materials could be directly crafted into precious, highly targeted items, why wait until they returned to the Pokémon world, taking the long way around?
An Advanced Breeder, who was already highly valued in the Pokémon world, had become an existence akin to a priceless treasure on this temporal continent.
As long as Aoki was present, what if they had to fight a war of attrition against the Divine Cult members?
The opposition certainly wouldn't be able to outlast them!
Aoki didn't bother with Lorelei's thoughts, telling her to rest well and spend the next few days planning how to train her Pokémon to increase their strength. Once she and her Pokémon recovered, they could put the plans into action.
After leaving the tent, Aoki shared the news he received from Lorelei with everyone, which allowed them all to breathe a sigh of relief.
After a month, the camp finally gained another member, and their collective strength would only grow stronger.
They believed Lorelei's arrival was just the beginning, and more people should arrive here sequentially.
What they needed to do now was steadily increase their own strength. The Divine Cult's power lay in their numerical advantage, their psychic abilities, their divine power infusion, and the most troublesome point: the lack of understanding about them.
As the saying goes, "Know yourself and know your enemy." Without knowing the opponent's specific strength, acting rashly could easily lead them into a trap.
Aoki and the others' advantage, however, was their almost limitless growth ceiling. The potential growth of everyone here would likely exceed the imagination of the Divine Cult members.
It was now impossible for the Divine Cult members to increase their strength further in a short period; their capabilities had already reached their limit.
This was largely due to their inherent potential being inferior to Aoki and the others. Years of growth had already fully realized all their talents. Furthermore, as members of the Divine Cult, they undoubtedly relied too heavily on divine power infusion, which led to a decline in their Pokémon's potential.
Trying to increase their strength now was impossible unless they raised new Pokémon from scratch or acquired some extraordinary treasure.
This was Aoki's advantage. Moreover, the more they interacted with the Divine Cult members, the more they would learn about them. Once they had accumulated enough power and struck decisively, they would surely catch the Divine Cult off guard. At that point, the outcome would truly be uncertain.
What was originally a massive crisis for Aoki and his allies, turned into a narrow path to survival they discovered within the danger. Given their potential and mindset, they would surely use this foothold to frantically improve their strength until they could directly confront the entire situation.
The subsequent period fell into a superficial calm once more, but internally, the process of frantically accumulating power was underway.
And Aoki and the others finally welcomed the second arriving League member!
This time, they didn't arrive severely injured like Lorelei. Although they looked a bit dishevelled, it was likely due to the overly harsh survival and training environment outside.
However, Aoki was quite familiar with this person: Drasna, the Dragon-type Pokémon Trainer from the Kalos region, and the future true Dragon-type Elite Four member!
Drasna herself was a relatively gentle person. Although she specialized in Dragon-type Pokémon, she wasn't as passionate about fighting as Lance. If she could increase her strength without fighting, she would probably give up the career of battling.
The one who greeted her this time was Lorelei, whose injuries had not yet fully healed, as everyone else had gone out during the day.
Lorelei was not at all surprised by Drasna's arrival. After all, after Lorelei arrived in such a state, Cynthia and Diantha had intensified the marking efforts and expanded their usual range of activity, so it was perfectly normal for Drasna to reach this place by following the markers.
However, Lorelei was naturally reserved, and encountering someone as gentle and enthusiastic as Drasna made her feel slightly unaccustomed.
But since her injuries hadn't fully recovered, and sitting idle was just sitting idle, Lorelei gradually started chatting with Drasna.
Their conversation lasted until nightfall when Aoki and the others returned.
Lorelei gradually informed Drasna of their current situation, the attitude they needed to maintain toward the Divine Cult, and Aoki's plans.
Only then did Drasna understand the true nature of what they were currently facing, and she immediately felt her pressure double.
With Drasna's arrival, the number of people in Aoki's valley grew, and the feeling of slowly accumulating power brought a thrilling sense of anticipation.
Being able to visibly perceive growth—that was the true enjoyment of development.
Especially since Aoki possessed the chip, he could see the gains his Pokémon achieved through battles or training more accurately and in greater detail.
This was a pleasure others couldn't experience, but even if Steven and the others couldn't feel the joy of these incremental improvements, given enough time, they would eventually sense it and see the growth of themselves and their Pokémon.
The third person to arrive after Drasna was somewhat unexpected.
It was Karen, the Dark-type Elite Four member from the Johto region!
Aoki and Steven had previously met Karen and told her that if she encountered any trouble in the future, she could come to this area to find him.
That's why the third arrival was Karen. However, Aoki hadn't told Karen the valley's exact location; she simply encountered Phoebe and Wallace fighting in the wilderness and was eventually brought back by the two of them.
Karen's condition wasn't good either. Although not as severe as Lorelei's, several of her Pokémon had lost the ability to battle. She only thought of the place Aoki mentioned because she was truly out of options.
Multiple Pokémon losing the ability to battle and suffering severe injuries, with the remaining Pokémon also not in ideal condition—this was a classic case of over-battling.
Karen remembered Aoki's status as an Advanced Breeder, so she came here.
Regarding Karen's identity, Phoebe and Wallace were initially very hesitant about whether to bring her back to the valley. After all, the known individuals who had defected to the Divine Cult included two Elite Four members from the Johto region, one of whom was Will, the Psychic-type Elite Four member, whom they had known personally but whose betrayal they still hadn't anticipated.
Phoebe was even captured due to her trust in Will; if not for Aoki, even if she had survived, she would have lost seven or eight tenths of her strength.
However, seeing Karen in such a miserable state, Phoebe and Wallace ultimately couldn't bear it.
Moreover, the most important factor was that Aoki had mentioned this location to her. Out of trust in Aoki, Phoebe and Wallace brought Karen back.
However, when Aoki told Karen about the general area, he didn't know things would escalate to this extent. Still, it wasn't a major problem; if Karen truly belonged to the Divine Cult, arriving directly at the League's temporary base would mean she likely wouldn't be leaving.
As it turned out, Karen was truly just an ordinary Elite Four member; she was genuinely the only person in the Johto region who had been forced into this situation against her will.
During the exhibition match, she failed to defeat Will's Psychic-type Pokémon, despite the massive type advantage of her Dark-type Pokémon, which was telling.
Nevertheless, after Karen arrived at the valley, Aoki responsibly checked whether she possessed psychic abilities.
The Divine Cult's ability to conceal psychic powers was quite strong; it was impossible to identify them just by looking at the surface. One could only sense it after a certain degree of physical contact.
Only after Aoki checked whether Karen possessed psychic abilities and whether her Pokémon had undergone divine power infusion was he completely certain that she was not a member of the Divine Cult.
With that confirmation, everyone breathed a gentle sigh of relief.
The continuous arrival of members significantly boosted their confidence.
Time flew by rapidly; another month passed in the blink of an eye!
The horn for Aoki and his allies' counterattack began to sound at this very moment!
The sound of the counterattack horn was already ringing out clearly!
Did you hear it?!