Eight members of the League, divided into two squads, had been ambushed by Team Magma and Team Aqua. Aoki defeated all their Pokemon with overwhelming force. The League members watching from behind were completely stunned by what they saw. Was this the strength of a League genius? With such a genius present, the League was guaranteed to remain stable for another hundred years!!!
Under Madame Florges's treatment, the group gradually regained their basic mobility. Most of their external injuries had healed, but the remaining hidden injuries that were difficult to treat would have to be handed over to Miss Joey and her team when they returned to camp. The three people who had originally been unconscious had now all woken up. Looking at Aoki standing tall in front of them, and hearing the news from their companions about his rescue, they immediately felt reassured. However, a bitter feeling followed. Although they had survived the sneak attack, their Pokemon had suffered heavy losses. In less severe cases, only one or two Pokemon might have fainted, while in more serious situations, four or five Pokemon lost their lives while protecting their Trainers. This was a huge blow to these Trainers, as they had lost almost all of their combat strength. It was some comfort, however, to know that Aoki had avenged them.
They had earned quite a few points over the past few days, enough to train a few more Pokemon. With the League's compensation measures, as long as they invested some time, they should be able to recover their lost strength. It would just take a significant amount of time. This time was invaluable for young people like Aoki who were on the rise, but for them, time was not as critical. The pain of losing their companions was the true burden.
"Have you all recovered quite a bit?" Aoki asked, looking at them.
"Yes!" Immediately, the eight League members stood up from the ground, saluted, and looked at Aoki with deep respect.
Seeing that they all seemed to be in pretty good spirits, Aoki nodded. "Still have the energy? Tie them all up and take them away!" Aoki shouted.
Upon hearing this, the eight members' expressions turned solemn. "Yes!" After saying that, they took their Pokemon, which had regained some mobility, and tied up all eight of the team leaders from Team Magma and Team Aqua, whose faces were ashen, along with six other team members. They took the empty Poke Balls from the captured teams' waists and collected all the Pokemon lying on the ground. Most had simply lost their ability to fight and fallen into a coma, but some had actually lost their lives. Faced with this situation, none of the League members said anything. This was war, and death and injury were inevitable. So many of their own Pokemon had been killed by Team Magma and Team Aqua. What did it matter if Aoki had defeated a few of their Pokemon during the battle? They were the League's standing force and had witnessed the deaths of Pokemon more than once or twice. They didn't take it personally.
"Are you able to move?" Aoki asked, watching them finish tying up the eight people from the other side. The two captains at the Elite Four level, based on the strength rankings of Team Magma and Team Aqua, possessing this level of power would at least qualify them as executives. Though they might be low-ranking officials, they definitely knew a lot of secrets. Taking them back would allow the League to obtain much crucial information.
"No problem, Lord Aoki," one of the captains stepped forward and said. Although his Pokemon was also seriously injured, it had recovered its basic combat strength thanks to Lady Florges's full treatment. A human, unless they possessed special abilities or belonged to a special profession like a martial artist, generally had little ability to resist a Pokemon.
"Then you're in charge of taking them back." After saying that, Aoki prepared to leave with his Pokemon.
"Lord Aoki, aren't you coming back with us?" another captain asked. Capturing two cadres was a tremendous achievement, yet Aoki wasn't choosing to go back now?
Aoki waved his hand. "I estimate there are still some Team Magma and Team Aqua assault squads operating. I'm quite familiar with the environment here; I'll see if I can run into them again." After saying that, he seemed to remember something, took out two bottles of potion from his pocket, and tossed them to the group. "These are my special potions. If anyone can't hold on any longer, give these to your Pokemon. They should be able to make it back to camp without any problems. You can leave now." Then he disappeared into the tunnel with his Pokemon.
The two captains and six team members saluted Aoki as he walked away until he disappeared completely.
...
Team Magma and Team Aqua had really gone all out this time, aiming to launch surprise attacks on various teams in the League. The goal was simple: to prevent the League from advancing too far, to buy themselves more time to find what they needed as soon as possible. This time, Team Magma and Team Aqua each sent two officers, along with a group of subordinates, as the spearhead. There were also some captains who were almost superstar level, and they too brought some of their subordinates to carry out harassment. In the eyes of Maxie and Archie, this configuration was absolutely foolproof. Regardless of how many League teams it could eliminate, it could at least make the League hesitant to advance further into the interior.
However, when the mission ended and the personnel returned, Maxie and Archie both looked extremely grim. Leaving aside the fact that nearly half of the personnel were lost—they considered that loss to be within acceptable limits, as the League probably wasn't doing too well either and must have lost quite a few people as well—the team of two cadres never returned. The loss of one elite officer from each of Team Magma and Team Aqua was a significant blow. Not only that, the two remaining officers who returned alive had also lost all their team members, resulting in a devastating loss for their Pokemon.
"What's going on?" Maxie asked, frowning.
"Chief, our mission went smoothly at first. None of the teams sent by the Alliance were a match for us. But then, someone suddenly jumped out of the tunnel. He was incredibly strong, and it took a lot of effort for us to escape," the Team Magma officer, covered in dust and somewhat trembling with fear, explained.
"Who?" Archie's expression was as if he wanted to devour someone. How difficult was it for their Team Aqua to train a cadre?! Some people originally didn't have the talent and potential to reach the level of a superstar, but they were forced to rise to that level, and the resources spent on this were countless. Team Magma and Team Aqua, two underground forces, had been dormant for many years, not causing trouble, but developing in secret. All the resources they had earned, apart from some basic expenses, were used to improve the strength of their subordinates. That was how they had barely managed to produce so many cadres and members. Every cadre was a valuable asset. They hadn't gained any benefits yet, the battle with the League hadn't even truly begun, and they had already lost two. Two other people appeared to have returned alive, but they had suffered considerable losses.
"Ao...ki…" the Team Aqua officer said, forcing himself to speak. Losing to someone so much younger than himself, and being completely outmatched, was deeply humiliating.