Aoki did not hesitate, giving a direct affirmative answer.
This was not because he was speaking without basis, but because in his plan, he could indeed help the two of them return, and upon returning to the Pokemon World, they would also be highly valued by Aoki.
If two people with excellent strength were not valued, Aoki would not go to such great lengths to bring them back.
If Brad had brought back many people today, Aoki would have considered it, but with only Catherine, Aoki felt it was just right.
Aren't there two other members of the Cult, Itsuki and Byakuren, who also possess Divine Stones?
Moreover, so many members of the Cult have entered at once; Aoki doesn't believe they have no way to return. In fact, now that the spatial blockade has disappeared, Aoki can leave this continent with the help of the unknown totems. However, finding the direction of the Pokemon World in the vast, unknown spatial currents is not an easy task.
In short, Aoki has a way to take them back.
Of course, the best scenario is for them to return quietly, without attracting attention.
Catherine and Aoki stared at each other for a while. She saw deep confidence in his eyes, coupled with the intimidating presence of the powerful Darkrai beside him. She knew that she had no choice now; from the moment Aoki appeared before her, she had lost the power to choose.
Brad's reverence for Aoki was something Catherine had not expected.
Brad alone was someone she couldn't handle, let alone Aoki, who appeared even stronger.
If she were to renege, she would likely face a fierce assault from both of them.
Like Brad, Catherine's Pokémon were not fully preserved; she only had a few on her. Although she managed to keep her storage space, she couldn't keep all of her Pokémon.
Before Brad obtained Hydreigon, their strengths were similar, but after Brad acquired Hydreigon and quickly bonded with it, Catherine admitted that she was no longer his match.
The lavish act of casually giving away a Hydreigon, a finished Champion-level pseudo-legendary of immense value, was also why Catherine and Brad came to see Aoki together.
"Hoo—" She exhaled a long breath. Although her meeting with Aoki was not what she had expected, and Aoki was much younger than she had anticipated, Catherine had to admit that the show of force Aoki gave her was sufficient.
And the younger he was, the more potential Aoki showed.
She had already prepared herself before coming, and now there was no other choice, so bowing her head was not a difficult thing for her to accept, especially with prior psychological preparation.
"My Lord!" Catherine lowered her head. In the face of absolute strength, all small actions and intentions were unnecessary, especially in her situation where she had no choice.
Aoki looked at Catherine, who had lowered her head and dared not meet his gaze, and a sense of satisfaction arose in his heart. A subordinate who could assess the situation was sometimes much better than a reckless one.
He was lucky. By taking Catherine in, he now had two subordinates who were not only strong but also skilled at assessing situations.
"Don't resist." Aoki's voice rang out again.
He slowly extended his hand and placed it on Catherine's head. Only by implanting a psychic seed could Aoki trust her. Aoki, who was very suspicious, did not consider this a flaw.
As the slightly warm hand rested on her head, Catherine's body trembled slightly. She vaguely sensed what was about to happen, but having already made up her mind, she had no intention of resisting.
Feeling no resistance, Aoki skillfully implanted a psychic seed into Catherine's mind.
"Hmm—" However, halfway through the implantation, Aoki let out a soft exclamation, as if he had discovered something surprising. But he temporarily put that aside; implanting the psychic seed was his immediate goal.
At this point, he had truly succeeded in subduing this subordinate.
"Brad will explain the psychic seed to you. Now, I need to understand your strength," Aoki said.
"Yes!" Catherine replied.
She didn't know why, but she felt a subtle connection, or perhaps a confirmed master-servant relationship, had formed between herself and Aoki.
Catherine threw out two more Poké Balls, summoning two Pokémon. Aoki scanned the data of both Pokémon the moment they were summoned.
One was an Azumarill, Water/Fairy type, level 82, and the other was an Arbok, level 81. Both Pokémon's levels seemed good, but from their aptitude and the quality of their training, these two Pokémon had probably reached the peak of their potential.
The first hurdle for Champion-level Pokémon probably had little to do with them, but being able to possess their current strength was already a difficult feat. However, the Bellossom still had room for improvement.
In Aoki's view, the Arbok was rather mediocre, without many distinguishing features.
Of course, this was from Aoki's perspective, with his current discerning eye. For some ordinary people, this Arbok might be an existence they could never hope to reach in their lifetime.
However, the Azumarill caught Aoki's attention. An Azumarill with the Huge Power ability could sometimes yield advantages that were not so simple.
Steven's Mega Mawile with Huge Power had already made Lance feel somewhat miserable.
It was just that they lived here and probably didn't know about the Fairy type. Once they returned to the Pokemon World, the true potential of this Huge Power Azumarill should be unleashed.
From an overall strength perspective, Catherine was roughly on par with Brad before he obtained Hydreigon, perhaps slightly weaker, but not by much, so she should be able to contend.
But if Hydreigon was added, there would be a noticeable gap.
"Not bad. Since I rewarded Brad with a Hydreigon, I shouldn't be stingy with your joining either. However, Hydreigon is a rare Pokémon, so you'll have to make do a little. I'll give you this Meganium as a gift." Aoki took out a Poké Ball from his pocket.
This Meganium was obtained from Joker, a member of that Cult, along with his Leafeon at the time.
Although this Meganium was not as rare as Hydreigon, this Meganium had broken through the first hurdle of the Champion level. In terms of strength, it was not inferior to Brad's Hydreigon, and might even be stronger.
This Meganium's potential was not weak, but Aoki himself didn't particularly like using other people's Pokémon. Since he obtained this Meganium, it had never had a chance to appear in battle, and its body had become sluggish and almost gained weight.
Giving it to Catherine now would clearly allow it to play a greater role.
With this Meganium, Catherine's strength would undoubtedly not be inferior to Brad's, and it would be easier for Aoki to feel at ease when she did things for him in the future.
Aoki thought so, but Brad and Catherine were shocked when they saw this Meganium. They hadn't expected Aoki to casually pull out such a powerful Pokémon.
First, the rare and precious Hydreigon, and now a Meganium that had broken through the first hurdle of the Champion level.
Although Pokémon like Meganium are not as popular as Venusaur or Sceptile, they are still one of the Johto region's starter Pokémon, and their inherent potential is not weak.
Brad and Catherine didn't know Aoki's specific identity, but someone who could so easily produce two such Pokémon must be extraordinary.
"This Meganium... really... for me?" Catherine was somewhat incredulous.
If she obtained this Meganium, her strength would roughly double. With her discerning eye, she could naturally tell that this Meganium was much better trained than her own Azumarill and Arbok. Only her Bellossom could barely compare, but Bellossom's strength was still far inferior to this Meganium.
"Given that you use Bellossom, you should be able to control a Grass-type Pokémon like Meganium relatively quickly. This is your reward, and I hope you will do well.
As for returning to the Pokemon World, I will make sure you get back," Aoki said with a smile.
She dazedly took the Poké Ball. Even Brad showed a look of envy.
However, he knew that only by possessing greater strength would he have sufficient qualifications to help Aoki.
Aoki looked at Catherine, who had accepted Meganium, and nodded with satisfaction.
With Brad and Catherine, their combined strength should be more than enough to deal with a Cult member.
Now that the Cult members were scattered in various places, it was time to make them less ostentatious.
"Catherine, familiarize yourself with Meganium first and try to establish a basic synergy as soon as possible.
Then, the two of you find a place to hone your skills together. When it's time for you to act, I will make arrangements for you.
However, come with me to a certain place later; you might have a chance to contribute there." After saying this to them, Aoki flashed away, rushing towards an unknown direction.
Catherine and Brad exchanged glances. Although they didn't know what Aoki intended to do, now that they were his subordinates, they only needed to obey orders.
Catherine put away Meganium and, along with Brad, chased after Aoki.
...
Soon after, Aoki, having changed his clothes, once again disguised himself as a member of the Cult.
His goal this time was simple: since the battle with Steven had allowed him to blend in without Steven sensing too much difference,
However, what truly put Aoki at ease was the need to find a Cult member to test himself, to see if he could find any imperfections in his disguise.
Aoki still didn't dare to go directly to the Cult's headquarters on Mount Time-Space now. Any slight mistake could lead to his immediate demise.
Therefore, to be safe, Aoki definitely had to test himself on a Cult member first.
As for bringing Brad and Catherine, it was simply because he had coincidentally seen the mark left by Brad during the day.
However, having them around also meant two good helpers.
From Bartram's memories, Aoki learned many secrets about the Cult, including their current plans on the Time-Space Continent.
In Bartram's memory, the black-faced leader, who was in charge of the Cult's activities this time, had divided the entire Time-Space Continent into twelve regions, numbered one to twelve in order. The Aura Valley, where Aoki and his companions were located, was in Region Three.
And to ensure efficiency and individual gains, the twelve Cult members operating outside had to return for a report every seven days to confirm their respective situations.
From Bartram's memories, Aoki also knew that these twelve Cult members who were sent out were not entirely under the command of the black-faced man. Five of them followed the nervous man who had first entered the Time-Space Continent to pursue Aoki and his companions.
However, Region Three, where Aoki and his companions were located—meaning Bartram—and another Cult member in Region Four, both answered to the black-faced man.
As far as Aoki knew, there were indeed some differences in the strength of these Cult members. Bartram was roughly in the middle of the group, while the person Lorelei had dealt with was among the weakest.
And the target Aoki was now heading towards, Bartram's "companion," was among the upper-middle tier of these Cult members.
However, Aoki didn't pay too much attention to it. Although there were differences in strength, the gap was not as significant as imagined.
Coincidentally, Bartram and the person in Region Four both knew each other's whereabouts because they would have "friendly" exchanges every now and then.
The competition and infighting among the Cult members were much more severe than Aoki had imagined, at least more so than the infighting among Team Rocket members.
It was a typical organization driven by self-interest. The reason they could gather together was partly due to shared interests, and partly due to the deterrent power of those in charge.
Bartram didn't know the black-faced man's true strength. He only knew that since he joined the Cult, everyone who had opposed the black-faced man, except for the nervous man, had died without exception.
And the nervous man's psychic power was arguably the strongest in the entire Cult. Aside from the elusive Cult leader, the nervous man's psychic power was the strongest among all Cult members!
The nights on the Time-Space Continent had no moon or stars, but it was unclear how Dialga and Palkia operated to make the entire Time-Space Continent's nights not completely dark, allowing a faint glow to be seen emanating from above.
If one looked closely, they would find that all these glows came from the top of Mount Time-Space, located in the very center of the Time-Space Continent.
However, from such a distance, it was impossible to see what exactly was emitting the light.
The nights on the Time-Space Continent also shared a similar characteristic with the nights in the Pokémon World: wild Pokémon were very active at night. Therefore, while traveling quickly, one needed to remain vigilant at all times to avoid being ambushed by powerful wild Pokémon.
Gradually, the three went from running on foot to flying on Pokémon.
Aoki stood on Salamence's back, letting the cold night wind whip against his cheeks.
Brad and Catherine, meanwhile, rode together on Hydreigon's back.
Looking at the rapidly flying Salamence ahead, Brad's eyes were filled with deep surprise.
He had noticed that the Salamence's level wasn't very high when he first saw it; at that time, the Salamence wasn't as strong as it was now.
What truly surprised him was the Salamence's flying speed. His Hydreigon was flying at full speed, yet there was still a noticeable gap between them and the Salamence.
Moreover, from the Salamence's expression, it didn't seem to be struggling much, appearing quite at ease, as if it wasn't even using its full power yet.
The Salamence's straight-line flying speed was astonishing.
However, he also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. At least Aoki didn't just summon any Pokémon that was Champion-level or had broken through the first barrier of the Champion level.
If Aoki truly possessed such strength, then his and Katherine's existence would clearly become somewhat dispensable to Aoki.
As a chess piece, if it becomes dispensable, there's a high chance it will be discarded by the player.
Aoki couldn't be considered a chess player, but he could step outside the chessboard and see many things that other pieces couldn't.
None of the Pokémon that came to block them could withstand a single attack from Darkrai.
With Furong's daily assistance in refining, Darkrai's use and control of energy became more proficient. Although its level hadn't increased much, its combat ability and reaction time had significantly improved.
This was Darkrai, possessing Champion-level peak combat awareness and already having the strength of the first barrier of Champion. Coupled with this awareness and its gradually recovering energy control, it was not comparable to ordinary Pokémon of the same level.
Furthermore, no matter what, Darkrai was still a legendary Pokémon. Even if it didn't have a divine position, it was still a legendary Pokémon, possessing fundamental advantages that other Pokémon couldn't match.
Aoki and his group were very fast, so even with a regional difference, it was at most one or two hours away for them.
When Aoki slowly descended from mid-air, he had already arrived not far from where the fourth member of the cult usually resided.
Any closer and they would enter the opponent's psychic perception range, and both Aoki and Brad would be discovered by the opponent immediately.
"You two wait for me here. Don't approach casually until you feel the signs of battle," Aoki told Brad and Katherine.
"Yes!" The two respectfully responded.
Aoki pulled up his hood, took a deep breath, and walked straight inside.
From this moment on, he was no longer Aoki, the Sandstorm Elite Four of the League, but Bartram, a relatively high-ranking member of the cult!
As expected, when Aoki stepped into the opponent's psychic perception range without much concealment, the opponent's psychic power responded immediately!
Aoki could feel the opponent's psychic fluctuations sweeping over him, but he didn't feel anything unusual.
Without using psychic powers to conceal himself, Aoki walked in boldly, with Gengar and Weavile accompanying him.
These were Bartram's signature Pokémon.
Without much obstruction, Aoki arrived in front of Number Four, who looked eager for a fight because of Aoki's arrival.
Although it was nighttime, for psychics, staying up all night wouldn't cause them any trouble. Even staying up for three or four nights was fine, as long as they didn't overuse their psychic powers.
As far as Aoki knew, the cult's extremely powerful psychic man had almost given up the habit of sleeping, which was a symbol of strong psychic abilities.
Bartram had been here a few times before, always at night, because during the day they had missions to carry out, and only at night was their free time.
"Bartram, are you here to get beaten again?" Number Four didn't give Aoki, his "companion," any face. As Number Four, whose hard strength was superior to Bartram's, he wouldn't treat him with courtesy just because they were both cult members.
This was pretty much how these cult members usually interacted, because fundamentally, they were competitors. And Number Four, with his certain strength advantage, naturally had a self-satisfied sense of superiority.
This was also why Number Four was willing to hang out with Bartram.
It's like handsome people often have a few less attractive friends; with a little cunning, one can see that he's just trying to highlight his own "handsomeness."
And the reason Bartram was willing to associate with Number Four was simply because he wanted to find a suitable sparring partner, as not everyone could serve as a training partner.
This shows that Bartram's ambition was quite good.
The other party didn't notice any difference in the Bartram standing before him, nor was he surprised by Aoki's sudden appearance.
"Come on!" Aoki replied concisely.
As cult members, even when meeting fellow members of the organization, they would not remove their black cloaks and the psychic film over their faces, as this was their last layer of protection.
Every cult member has their own identity in the Pokémon League, or rather, in the Pokémon world. Except for a small number of people, they all prefer to live normal lives, so they won't remove the psychic film from their faces until they can reveal their true appearance.
People of the same rank would not know each other's identities, and although their superiors knew their true identities, they merely knew and did not mind them wearing masks.
This, in turn, gave Aoki more opportunities to impersonate a cult member.
This interaction with Number Four was an attempt by Aoki to see if any abnormalities would be detected.
As it turned out, the other party didn't notice anything at all. In fact, the moment he saw Aoki, he immediately assumed he was Bartram.
No matter what he thought, he would never imagine that the Bartram in front of him was actually someone else in disguise. In their perception, the League members on the Temporal Continent were like little mice good at hide-and-seek, while they were a group of cats waiting for an opportunity, and as soon as they discovered the existence of League members, they would be mercilessly captured.
A mouse actually put on a cat's skin and became a cat? And then came back to trouble the cats?
This was impossible in Number Four's eyes, so if the Bartram appearing here wasn't Bartram, then who could it be?
So, Aoki's test was actually unnecessary. Just as Steven didn't believe any of them could impersonate a cult member, people in the cult also wouldn't believe that any League member could impersonate them, and they hadn't even considered that possibility.
In Number Four's mind, his thoughts were actually the same as Bartram's before he met Aoki: a group of League youngsters in their teens, even if they had outstanding potential and strong power, how strong could they really be?
When they were young, which one of them wasn't a prodigy?
Genius?
They were too!
It's just that they had already fully realized their talents, otherwise, could just anyone casually possess Champion-level strength?
So, without any derogatory meaning, all cult members, including Number Four and Bartram, looked down upon the League youngsters currently on this continent.
Although they might become very strong in the future, and their talents were excellent, it wasn't the future yet, was it?
Bartram was Bartram!
After battling Number Four for some time, Aoki found that he had no suspicion about his identity, even though there were quite a few differences between his current self and Bartram, and between his Gengar and Weavile and Bartram's Gengar and Weavile.
That's why Aoki really liked a book he had read on Earth, and a famous quote from a detective named Holmes: Eliminate all impossibilities, and whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth!
Eliminating all impossibilities, Aoki impersonating Bartram was the truth!
But not everyone would have such insight and ideas. After all, preconceived notions are the hardest to correct, which is why a person's first impression of another is so important.
To be honest, if Aoki were in Number Four's shoes, he wouldn't be able to detect any anomalies either, because preconceived notions almost entirely dominated his current thinking.
As Aoki's heart tightened, he also gradually increased the intensity of his battle with Number Four.
Because they initially thought it was just a spar, when Aoki only used Gengar and Weavile, Number Four also only used a Crobat and a Nidoking.
That's right, Number Four was a trainer who was quite skilled at using Poison-type Pokémon. However, his understanding of Poison-type Pokémon was very different from Koga's, whom Aoki knew to be very proficient in using Poison-type Pokémon.
In Koga's mind, what he pursued was the ultimate poison, preferably one that would cause the opponent to lose their life directly with just one poisoning. This was a very extreme idea, but if it could truly be achieved, then Koga might genuinely become the king of assassination in the Pokémon world.
The Number Four in front of him, however, only liked to use various annoying tactics of Poison-type Pokémon. Compared to Koga's Pokémon, his Pokémon's poison wasn't very strong, but his battles were fundamentally different from Koga's. Koga pursued a one-hit kill, while Number Four pursued torment, slowly wearing down his opponent to death.
Aoki's battle with Number Four did not fall into a disadvantage.
Number Four, on the other hand, was somewhat surprised by Aoki's strength. "Bartram, when did your strength improve so much?"
The tactics were still the same, but with two different Pokémon and a different trainer using them, the overall improvement seemed quite significant.
Aoki's Weavile was already very good at Ice-type Pokémon, which greatly countered Number Four's Crobat, but the most important was Gengar.
At this time, Gengar had already broken through the first barrier of the Champion level. Although Gengar didn't show it, it was still much stronger than Bartram's Gengar.
However, Aoki knew that Number Four's strongest Pokémon were not the Crobat and Nidoking in front of him. After all, as a member of the cult, even if they didn't use Psychic-type Pokémon, they would have one or two Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution.
It's just that even with their status, Mega Stones were not supplied infinitely. Each month, they had their own quota. Besides receiving certain rewards for completing missions, most of the time, Mega Stones were a limited resource for them, not to mention that several of them had subordinates in the Pokémon world who sometimes needed to be rewarded with items.
So, using Mega Stones during sparring was almost impossible.
After battling for a while, Aoki and Number Four didn't fight to the death.
Soon after, the two sat by the campfire, seeming less formal than expected, mainly because of an "accidental" misstep, which led to Number Four winning a round.
Not fighting to the death and losing that one move meant losing, so Number Four was naturally in a good mood, contentedly preparing to have Aoki stay for breakfast.
"Bartram, what do you think is the secret hidden within the barrier on Temporal Mountain, that the adults are making us search day and night for that person named Aoki and retrieve that so-called Leafeon from him?" Number Four asked as he chatted with Aoki.
In Aoki's memory, this shouldn't have been the first time the two had discussed this topic, but the result was always the same: no conclusions whatsoever.
Slowly stretching, Aoki, though staying up all night wouldn't affect him, still felt a little unaccustomed to it.
"Who cares what it is? It probably has nothing to do with us anyway. Just do our own jobs obediently," Aoki said lazily, seemingly having fully immersed himself in Bartram's role.
"Tsk—" Number Four scoffed lightly and continued, "It's just a bit frustrating that we work ourselves to death, and most of the benefits are taken by others. Look at the subordinates of the other leader; every single one of them is putting in effort but not working, looking like they're just coasting, but in the end, they probably won't get any fewer benefits than us."
At this point, Number Four was somewhat indignant.
Both he and Bartram were subordinates of the Black-faced Man and had to put in effort, but that group of people clearly didn't look like they would give their full effort.
"What can we do? It's because their boss and our boss are so at odds," Aoki said indifferently. "However, I did think of a way to earn more benefits. It just depends if you're interested in getting involved."
Hearing Aoki's words, Number Four's eyes, hidden beneath the psychic film, lit up. He wanted to hear what Aoki's so-called method was.
"Oh? Tell me."
"Since you dislike them so much, why don't we go and take them out? Wouldn't that be much more satisfying than us putting in all this effort while they get the same benefits? Plus, one less person means one less person to share the spoils!"
Although separated by the psychic film, one could vaguely sense a hint of fervent interest and temptation in the astonished eyes beneath.