Super Tyranitar's Red Sand Purgatory couldn't completely seal off psychic powers!
But with the addition of Slowking and Gardevoir's psychic powers, it was more than enough!
And by the time the opponent reacted, Aoki's Pokémon had already launched an all-out assault!
Although some Pokémon were weaker in terms of basic strength, one shouldn't forget where they were at that moment.
This was Super Tyranitar's territory!
This was the territory belonging to all of Aoki's Pokémon!
Your attack is stronger?
No problem, try to see how much power you can unleash after breaking through Super Tyranitar's Red Sand Shield, combined with Slowking and Gardevoir's Psychic Power Shield?
Your speed is faster?
Sorry, in this red sandstorm purgatory, no Pokémon can fully unleash their speed unless they are on Super Tyranitar's side.
As for defense...
Can you withstand Super Blaziken's punch, wrapped in sacred fire?
If you can withstand it, then come and talk to me about defense.
The battle had just begun, but Bartram felt as if the outcome of the entire battle was already a foregone conclusion.
Only then did he realize how incredibly wrong he had been. The words of Bai Ling and Itsuki were simply the truth. Their so-called conjectures about Aoki's strength were completely the musings of a group of frogs in a well.
A young man who was only a teenager actually possessed such strength. He remembered how, at Aoki's age, he was still smug about having Elite Four-level strength, far surpassing his peers.
No matter how highly he regarded Aoki, he never imagined that Aoki's strength would be so exaggerated.
It was too late to call for others now; Aoki's Pokémon had already sealed off this space.
Breaking through the space blockade of the Spatial-Temporal Continent was not only beneficial to their cult but also an advantage for Psychic-type Pokémon with powerful psychic abilities.
From the moment Bartram appeared before Aoki without immediately calling for his companions, the outcome was already sealed.
His existence, for Aoki, was a breakthrough opportunity for Aoki's Pokémon whose strength had reached a certain level, whether it was Gengar, who had just reached the peak of Champion-level, or Honchkrow and other Pokémon who had been stuck at the quasi-Champion peak for a long time.
This battle, from the very beginning, was destined to bring about another major breakthrough in Aoki's overall strength, and at the same time, it announced that Aoki's Pokémon were beginning to widely enter the Champion-level, launching a collective sprint towards the first hurdle of the Champion-level.
If Aoki's Pokémon could cross into the first hurdle of the Champion-level, not too many, just three or four, then Aoki would truly no longer fear the existence of the cult.
He didn't believe that this cult operation would involve a large number of people with level 90 or higher strength. If there really were people with such powerful strength intervening, then Aoki felt that they might as well just remain hidden until the end of this training.
Facts proved that if people with such strong abilities had truly entered, Aoki and his team probably wouldn't have been able to remain hidden until this moment.
Because the higher the Pokémon's level, the more dangerous the strength gap between each stage becomes.
Theoretically speaking, several Pokémon that have broken through to level 90, as long as they cooperate perfectly, can, to a certain extent, contend with a single Legendary Pokémon. Although, to a large extent, such perfect cooperation is difficult to achieve, and even with perfect cooperation, they can only withstand the impact, with little power to fight back.
But breaking through to level 90 is a qualitative transformation; the peak of the Champion level represents so much more.
At this moment, the number of people in the Alliance with such visible strength is truly few.
To a certain extent, some regional Champions don't even have all six of their main battle Pokémon at the peak of the Champion level.
For example, Adams, who recently stepped down from the position of Champion of the Hoenn region. Although his strongest Latios had broken through to the very top of the Champion level, reaching level 90+, Aoki, who had treated his Latios, knew that Adams did not have all six Pokémon at level 90.
Another example is Aoki's teacher. His strongest Salamence hasn't appeared since it started its sprint to level 90.
However, before his Salamence began its sprint to level 90, Adams, after stepping down as Champion, had more than once wanted Genji to temporarily take over.
It's just that Genji knew his own strength and stubbornly refused, so the position of Champion of the Hoenn region, like the Kanto and Johto regions, was temporarily left vacant.
This shows how rare it is for someone to have all six of their Pokémon break through to level 90. If the cult had truly sent such a person in, and the Alliance had not made any discoveries or taken any action, then the Alliance would truly have no reason to exist.
Moreover, a person with such strength, upon entering this Spatial-Temporal Continent, would very likely trigger the territorial instincts of Dialga and Palkia.
Although these two Legendary Pokémon don't particularly favor this Spatial-Temporal Continent, which once served as a testament to their friendship, no matter what, it is still their private property, and they cannot tolerate others coveting it.
The entry of 'little guys' like Aoki would not attract their attention.
Otherwise, it's not like the Alliance doesn't have people with such strength; why wouldn't they just send one in to regularly sweep the area? Wouldn't the gains be greater?
Perhaps the Alliance had tried, but they encountered a certain degree of resistance.
As long as no one with such strength from the cult enters, then Aoki and his team will have nothing to fear.
When Super Tyranitar's Red Sand Purgatory completely dissipated, the battle was already settled.
Except for Bartram, who stood like a fool, all of his Pokémon had disappeared into the red desert, and as the red sand vanished, they slowly merged into the underground magma.
Aoki didn't leave any of Bartram's Pokémon behind. Since he already had better ones, why would he keep these 'defective products'?
If anyone else were here, they would surely feel that seven or eight Pokémon were simultaneously undergoing a strength breakthrough, with the biggest and most fierce commotion coming from the Gengar with a perpetually mischievous smile on its face.
At this moment, the energy fluctuations around it were rising and falling, indicating that it was about to complete its breakthrough.
Besides it, there were many other equally powerful Pokémon undergoing breakthroughs. This battle, for Aoki, was a grand harvesting ceremony.
It was not only a harvest of opponents but also a harvest of the 'fruits' sown through diligent labor during this period!
However, Aoki's main attention was not on his Pokémon that were breaking through, but rather on the cult member who was currently standing there with vacant eyes.
That's right, vacant eyes, because at this moment, his psychic power had been completely broken, and he could barely feel any psychic fluctuations from him.
Aoki slowly walked up to Bartram, and a dark figure slowly emerged from behind Bartram.
A black claw gently rested on Bartram's shoulder; this was the reason why his psychic power had completely dissipated.
Aoki didn't directly eliminate him like he did with other cult members because this person had a special purpose for Aoki.
Looking at Darkrai, whose condition and aura were better than two months ago, the results of Fuyong's two months of effort were quite good. From being able to sort energy for only one hour a day at first, he could now persist for two hours without any problems.
Darkrai's level recovery wasn't significant, but both his gaze and his aura were sharper than two months ago, faintly revealing the edge that once dared to confront Giratina head-on.
During this time, Darkrai had also slowly accepted Fuyong's presence. She might be the only human, besides Aoki, who could approach Darkrai.
Pokémon: Darkrai (Dark Blue) — Corroded
Gender: Male
Level: 86
Type: Dark
Ability: Bad Dreams
Held Item: None
Egg Moves: None
Basic Moves: Ominous Wind, Disable, Quick Attack, Hypnosis, Sucker Punch, Nightmare, Double Team, Haze, Dark Void, Nasty Plot, Dream Eater, Dark Pulse
Learnt Moves: Foul Play, Snatch, Grudge, Wonder Room, Knock Off, Snore, Drain Punch, Trick, Covet, Focus Punch, Throat Chop, Shock Wave, Icy Wind
TM Moves: None
Although the level only increased by one, Darkrai's control over its energy at this moment was more than a notch stronger than two months ago.
This could be seen from the fact that Darkrai could directly suppress Bartram's psychic power by simply placing its hand on him.
Compared to Aoki, Bartram's psychic power was not inferior, but Darkrai seemed to have no problem suppressing it at this moment.
This was something the Darkrai of two months ago absolutely could not have done.
If he were to destroy such a psychic, there would certainly be no problem, but to suppress the opponent's powerful psychic power without harming them was not a simple matter.
At least, none of Aoki's Pokémon, except Darkrai, could temporarily achieve this step.
"Mismagius~" Aoki called out softly with a smile.
"Mis—" An ethereal sound appeared, slowly floating out of Aoki's shadow, squinting its eyes, humming to itself, looking very happy and in a good mood.
At this moment, Mismagius also possessed the strength of a quasi-Champion peak, and its powerful Ghost-type energy was second only to Aoki's Gengar, but its strongest asset was its exceptionally gifted dream-creating ability.
Perhaps inheriting the talent of its former life as a Nightmare Pokémon, Mismagius's dream-creating ability at this moment was even stronger than that of Aoki's Darkrai, the true Nightmare Pokémon.
"Mis—" Mismagius gently rubbed Aoki's cheek to show affection, then saw Darkrai, who was also outside, and its eyes immediately lit up, happily floating towards her.
Mismagius itself didn't know why, but for others, the somewhat aloof Darkrai held a special sense of closeness for her.
Darkrai, with its cool demeanor, saw Mismagius, and its originally firm and indifferent eyes suddenly softened.
Neither Aoki nor Darkrai chose to tell Mismagius about her past, not wanting her to bear pressure she shouldn't have to, striving to give her a relatively perfect life.
From the current perspective, they both did well. Mismagius rarely participated in complex battles, except for dream creation and training.
For Mismagius, every day was a happy one.
"Mismagius, your task has arrived. Read all of this person's memories," Aoki said to Mismagius.
Upon hearing this, Mismagius's small nose wrinkled slightly.
Seeing this, Aoki's smile deepened, and he nodded, saying, "I know, I know. If you do well, I'll give you an extra meal tonight!"
Upon hearing the word "extra meal," Mismagius's eyes sparkled with light, and it nodded its small head, floating directly in front of Bartram.
Purple light emanated from its red eyes, and as the strange light glowed in its eyes, purple light also appeared in the vacant eyes of Bartram.
All of Bartram's memories in his mind were being extracted by Mismagius, one scene after another, and projected into the dream world she created.
Darkrai, standing behind Bartram, watched this scene with complex eyes. This was so similar to how he and his sister used to cooperate, the only difference being that his sister had now become a Mismagius.
Everything was because he failed to protect his sister, allowing her to endure pain she shouldn't have.
But very quickly, Darkrai's eyes became firm again. No matter what happened in the past, from now on, he had more things to protect, and he would need to possess even greater strength!
Aoki was unaware of Darkrai's thoughts, because Aoki, through Mismagius's intermediary role, was already "browsing" all the memories of the cult member standing before him.
No, it should be said, all of Bartram's memories, including what he had always wanted to know about the cult's true goal, and many other pieces of information about the other cult members!
The information he was obtaining this time could be said to be crucial!
Don't think that Mismagius simply blinked and could get all of Bartram's memories, making it seem easy.
In fact, this was a very complex matter. Not only did the opponent need to be completely without resistance, but more importantly, it required Mismagius's ability to completely exchange and blur the lines between dreams and reality.
Even Darkrai, who was a Nightmare Pokémon and had already broken through the first hurdle of the Champion level, could not do this.
Only Mismagius, who inherited the former, exceptionally powerful dream-creating ability, could do this.
In the entire Pokémon world, there were definitely no more than three Pokémon capable of reaching this level!
It might seem like Mismagius was just displaying the opponent's memories and Aoki was "browsing" them from the side, but to have this browsing ability, Aoki himself also needed to have psychic power to receive so much information. At the same time, the opponent's mind also needed to have a certain level of strength to re-experience what he had gone through at such a rapid speed.
Therefore, to achieve what Aoki and Mismagius were doing at this moment, it required very high demands on both themselves and the opponent.
There were some things Aoki could choose to ignore after seeing them, but he couldn't choose not to see them.
A large amount of information poured into Aoki's mind like a flood. In fact, for Bartram, this process was like reliving his experiences, while Aoki, as an observer, recorded all the important and useful information for himself.
An hour later, as Aoki's Pokémon individually broke through, completing one qualitative leap after another, Aoki finally stopped "browsing" Bartram's memories.
The reason he didn't focus on the Pokémon was because Aoki had absolute confidence in them, absolute confidence in his own Pokémon.
He knew they were only missing an opportunity, just one step away from a breakthrough in strength, and after this breakthrough, another broad road lay ahead.
Aoki exhaled a long breath, suppressing the complex information in his mind. He had pretty much learned everything he wanted to know, but some things were truly better left unknown.
The more you know, the greater the pressure.
However, now was not the time to feel pressure. Aoki looked at the somewhat tired Mismagius, took out a few delicious and energy-replenishing Energy Blocks from his pocket, and put them into Mismagius's mouth. He smiled and patted her head, saying, "Mismagius, you've worked hard. I'll definitely give you an extra meal tonight. You should rest well for now."
Mismagius ate the delicious food, squinted her eyes, nodded happily, and then returned to Aoki's shadow to rest.
After Mismagius left, Aoki nodded lightly at Darkrai. Darkrai instantly understood, and the Dark-type energy on his body surged. Bartram, who was already under his control, had no time to react and was instantly enveloped by black flames, turning into ashes in the blink of an eye.
For Darkrai, destroying a psychic was much simpler than controlling one.
At this point, everything about Bartram was destroyed, and Aoki also obtained what he wanted: the breakthrough in his Pokémon's strength, and... what the Divine Cult was pursuing.
Aoki briefly communicated with his recently strengthened Pokémon for a while, then recalled them one by one.
Having just completed their breakthroughs, they still needed some time to slowly digest this improvement.
He recalled all of them, leaving only Gengar, Weavile, and Darkrai.
Aoki's face showed a strange smile. He lightly shook his hand, and a large black robe appeared in his hand, enveloping him completely. It was the same large cloak, the same wide hood, and... the same psychic energy covering his face. At first glance, he looked exactly like the previous Bartram.
Then, Gengar, who had just completed his strength breakthrough and was standing beside Aoki, also showed a mischievous smile on his face. He felt his aura slowly diminish, becoming similar to Bartram's Gengar just now.
Weavile on the other side instantly understood. For him, mere imitation was no challenge at all.
Finally, Aoki looked at Darkrai. At this moment, the only difference between him and Bartram was their psychic abilities. Both the frequency and the "flavor" of their psychic energy were somewhat different. But it didn't matter, just now, Darkrai had helped Aoki to clearly feel the differences between his and Bartram's psychic abilities.
It was impossible to be exactly the same, but if it was just about being similar, with Darkrai's help, it was achievable.
After all, while Darkrai's Dark-type energy countered psychic abilities, it could also modify and wear them down, provided Aoki didn't resist.
With the same attire, similar psychic fluctuations, and the same Pokémon, after a series of operations, Aoki became the "real" Bartram. As long as there wasn't in-depth contact, it would be almost impossible to detect Aoki's true identity.
And from Bartram's memories, Aoki also saw the confidence that allowed him to do this.
No two people in the Divine Cult could become true friends. While cooperating with each other, they were also full of infighting, so none of these people truly understood Bartram. Let alone good friends, there were many hidden enemies or rivals, but this allowed Aoki to carry out his plan even more effectively.
That's right, what Aoki wanted to do was to replace someone and infiltrate the Divine Cult!
Didn't the Divine Cult like to use undercover agents?
Well, Aoki also liked to play the anti-undercover game.
Let's see who is the true King of Infernal Affairs!
Only by truly getting close and deeply involved could he better understand the essence of the Divine Cult. As for whether he could interfere with their goals and action plans, that would depend on Aoki's execution.
In fact, without them knowing, he had already destroyed half of the Divine Cult's plan, hadn't he?
Otherwise, the Divine Cult wouldn't go to such great lengths to find Aoki and bring that Leafeon back!
After controlling his psychic abilities to be similar to Bartram's, Darkrai once again hid in Aoki's shadow. Then, Aoki flicked his cloak, and with Gengar and Weavile, disappeared from the spot.
Aoki's psychic abilities were already on par with Bartram's. The reason he couldn't use Teleport before was simply because his control over his psychic abilities was insufficient. But after two months of using his psychic abilities to cover the entire Aura Valley, his psychic abilities had long since met the standard.
After teleporting away from the original location, Aoki did not directly go to the central mountain where the Divine Cult members gathered. Instead, he flashed to a spot not far from Steven, who was currently training and battling outside.
Aoki, hidden under his cloak, smiled slightly. Now, he would test how well he was disguised.
Steven, who was commanding Mawile in a battle against a powerful Pokémon, suddenly felt a jolt in his heart. He threw a Poké Ball, and his Shiny Metagross appeared beside him.
Steven frowned, scanning his surroundings. Although he didn't sense any dangerous aura, he felt a gaze secretly watching him.
As the time spent training in the wild increased, and as the number of battles gradually grew, not only the Pokémon improved, but the trainers did as well. Steven's sixth sense at this moment was as sensitive as a wild beast that often lived in the wild.
Aoki looked at Steven's reaction and nodded unconsciously. Although he wasn't a psychic, Steven's vigilance was enough for him to survive the threat of the Divine Cult and gain sufficient growth.
Since he wanted to test how well he was disguised, Aoki naturally wouldn't choose to avoid him.
Instead, he could use this time to test Steven's strength and his progress.
Aoki used Teleport again, appearing in front of Steven with a smirking Gengar and a Weavile already immersed in role-playing.
Seeing someone suddenly appear in front of him, Steven was slightly startled, but then his eyes slowly narrowed. They had already gathered a lot of information about the person who had just appeared before him.
This "Divine Cult member," a feeling suddenly rose in Steven's heart. This time and opportunity, perhaps it was a good chance to deal with a Divine Cult member!
Aoki saw the fighting spirit in Steven's eyes, which perfectly aligned with Aoki's plan.
"Tell me Aoki's location, and I'll spare you!" Aoki said indifferently, mimicking Bartram's manner of speaking and tone.
Upon hearing this, Steven frowned. Although this person gave him a strange feeling, the Divine Cult's arrogant tone of voice really annoyed him.
"Dream on! Mawile, Mega Evolve!" Steven snorted coldly, raising his right hand, a Key Stone emitting a strange light.
Unbeknownst to when it started, Steven had already fashioned his Key Stone into a simple ring using a special vine, wearing it on his right index finger.
Seeing Steven's flamboyant way of Mega Evolving, Aoki under the black robe was somewhat speechless. So, Steven had liked this kind of action since then?!
Mega Evolution energy emanated in large quantities from the Key Stone on Steven's hand, then enveloped Mawile.
Mega Mawile appeared before Aoki!
After two months of interaction, Steven and Mawile's synergy was even more perfect. Mega Evolution was already a very familiar process for them, without any stagnation, everything looked fluid and natural.
Aoki's face, hidden by psychic energy, showed a slight smile, but his hand movements did not stop. He took out a Divine Cult's God Stone from his pocket.
He had obtained this from Bartram's spatial equipment. Since he was going to impersonate a Divine Cult member, their divine power infusion naturally had to be imitated well.
He placed this God Stone on Gengar's head, simultaneously shouting, "Since you're seeking death, I'll grant it to you! Gengar, Divine Power Infusion!"
However, this God Stone was blocked by a thin film of psychic energy when it was still less than a centimeter away from Gengar's body. In Aoki's other hand, hidden under the black robe, appeared the Key Stone that matched Gengar's Mega Stone.
The Mega Evolution energy enveloped Gengar, looking exactly like the Divine Cult's divine power infusion!
Aoki subtly flipped his palm, putting the God Stone into his black robe, and then into the storage space beneath the robe.
It has to be said, Gengar was also quite an actor. He had personally witnessed how Bartram's Gengar Mega Evolved with the help of the God Stone, so...
When the Mega Evolution energy dissipated, Mega Gengar appeared, panting heavily as if he had "suffered greatly" to barely complete the Mega Evolution.
Even Aoki almost believed it, let alone Steven, who hadn't had much contact with them. Of course, he wouldn't have the slightest doubt.
However, Weavile, who was beside Aoki, also glanced sideways. He didn't know that his third brother had such a skill. It seemed that the next Oscar winner might not necessarily be Aoki; his biggest competitor could very well be Gengar, who had just completed his Mega Evolution.
Fortunately, Weavile only glanced sideways and didn't show too much. Moreover, Steven and his Pokémon's attention were all drawn to Mega Gengar, so no one noticed Weavile's action.
Since today was about "killing" Steven, Aoki couldn't appear too friendly. Before, he hadn't fully completed his identity transformation, so he forgot about the killing intent, but it wasn't too late now.
Feeling the change in the opposing Divine Cult member's aura and the subtle killing intent on him, Steven not only had no doubts but even felt that this was normal.
The reason he felt a bit strange before was because Steven hadn't sensed killing intent from Aoki. He had thought it was an illusion, but now he felt killing intent from the Divine Cult member opposite him.
Steven also gradually became excited. After working so hard for so long, he could finally test the results of his efforts during this period.
Sometimes, simply training doesn't allow one to clearly feel growth, especially when constantly interacting with Pokémon. It becomes even harder to perceive growth.
And battling Aoki and his team didn't really show much progress either, because those they couldn't beat still couldn't be beaten, and those they could beat still could. Using a progressing companion as a reference template certainly wouldn't make one feel their own progress.
It's like driving a car; if you use stationary objects beside you as a reference, you can clearly feel your own progress.
This suddenly appearing Divine Cult member was the perfect reference Steven wanted.
From a type perspective, Steven felt he definitely had the advantage. Shiny Metagross somewhat countered that Mega Gengar, and both Metagross and Mega Mawile were Pokémon skilled in defense, making it difficult for the opponent's Weavile to achieve its full effect.
Moreover, through regular practice battles with Aoki, Steven also knew some characteristics of Mega Gengar, but Steven was sure that the Divine Cult members certainly didn't know the characteristics of Mega Mawile. He could catch them by surprise and easily gain the upper hand.
Steven did not summon any more Pokémon. Since the opponent only used two Pokémon, as the Alliance's prodigy, he naturally didn't want to use more Pokémon to bully the fewer.
After all, not everyone has the same mindset as Aoki: as long as you can win, it doesn't matter how many Pokémon you use. The victor takes all; even if the loser has a high reputation, no one will remember them for long.
This is also a common problem for many Alliance trainers: being conceited is not always a good thing!
"Mawile, Swords Dance!
Metagross, Psychic!"
Steven directly commanded his Pokémon to attack. Although he wouldn't summon any more Pokémon, it didn't mean Steven had no intention of launching an offensive!