"Aoki…" Maxie and Archie exchanged glances.
Of course, they knew who Aoki was.
They had always placed great importance on him and had even issued a high bounty for him.
Without needing to ask, they knew they had misjudged Aoki's strength, leading their cadres to blindly rush in for the reward.
"What is his current strength?" Maxie asked.
"He should be a full-fledged Elite Four member!" a Team Magma cadre hesitated before replying.
"He's already a full-fledged Elite Four member, huh…
Increase the bounty again, and make sure to indicate his strength. Those without the strength or confidence, if they encounter him during a mission, can directly flee," Maxie said again.
Hearing Maxie's words, Archie had no objections.
A full-fledged Elite Four level—even within Team Aqua, not many people had reached this level. He had already entered the ranks of the strong.
"However, with those two useless individuals captured, our detailed arrangements and personnel relationships have surely been exposed to the Alliance. We must be prepared for a full-scale war at any time," Maxie stated.
"My people tell me that the Hoenn Alliance is currently overwhelmed, and they won't have many people here.
Because the Hunter Guild has also made a move, they are unwilling to give up such a large piece of cake as the Hoenn region. The best scenario is for us to drag this out; the Alliance will surely be the one to give in eventually.
As long as we find the items, whether we want to leave or fight will be up to us," Archie said calmly, sitting in his chair.
Although Archie appeared burly, he was astute beneath his rough exterior; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to develop Team Aqua to its current extent.
"As long as we can find the items sooner, the Hunter Guild will serve as our scapegoat then," Maxie also said.
He paused for a moment, then continued, "The teleportation device has been set up. Tell the cadres stationed outside to quickly gather supplies. If they can purchase finished Pokémon, buy them all as well. Given the current situation, the friction with the Alliance won't be small, and we need to maintain our combat strength at all times.
All those who complete missions and earn merits are allowed to exchange for various materials and Pokémon. All exchange prices…
Will be reduced by thirty percent!"
Upon hearing this, all the members showed expressions of joy.
A thirty percent reduction in exchange points consumption!
As long as they could survive this incident and avoid too many losses, everyone had the potential to elevate their strength by a notch after the event concluded.
For the members of Team Magma and Team Aqua, this was a massive gamble: win and soar to prominence, lose and have nothing.
But joining Team Magma and Team Aqua was, for many, already a gamble in itself.
Now, the chance to rise dramatically was right before their eyes, so how could they not be excited?
Archie did not object to Maxie's words.
After such a long period of dormancy, the stored resources should be sufficient to handle this war.
War!
It was both danger and opportunity!
His and Maxie's objective was simple: to find the two Orbs, which would make it possible to make contact with the two legendary Pokémon.
The very purpose of Team Aqua and Team Magma's existence was for this.
So, even if it meant expending the entire organization, they would not hesitate.
At this moment, Archie and Maxie's views and opinions were surprisingly consistent.
...
On the other side.
In the Alliance camp's main conference room.
Steven Stone sat at the head of the table, looking at the two documents in his hand.
One was a casualty report detailing the losses from Team Magma and Team Aqua's counterattack.
The other was information obtained from the captured cadres of both teams, outlining the current distribution of Team Magma and Team Aqua personnel, as well as the strength and number of all their members.
Steven's expression was somewhat solemn.
Team Magma and Team Aqua were truly going all out this time; aside from a few members on standby, they had essentially deployed their entire forces.
The situation was even more serious than he had imagined.
Steven scanned the people seated around the conference table, comparing the strengths of both sides.
Phoebe and two other Elite Four members had been recalled, which significantly impacted the current combat strength of the camp.
Finally, Steven's gaze rested on Aoki, a relieved smile on his face. "Aoki, thanks to you this time, otherwise the losses would have been much more severe. Maxie and Archie's counterattack was truly fierce.
However, while our losses were great, theirs were even greater, and we obtained all the intelligence we wanted to know. This is excellent.
I'm upgrading this mission to an S-rank for you."
Including the previous one, Aoki now had two S-rank mission rewards to claim.
Hearing Steven's words, Aoki's expression remained very serious. "I was still too slow to react this time, otherwise I could have saved more people, and the other two cadres wouldn't have escaped."
The fact that two cadres escaped from Aoki's grasp made him feel somewhat upset.
However, there was nothing he could do; the opponents were willing to sacrifice their Pokémon just to escape.
Moreover, the latter two were not as arrogant as the first two he encountered; once Aoki displayed a bit of his strength, they decisively chose to retreat.
The Alliance suffered heavy losses this time, losing four teams, a total of sixteen people, and seven or eight other teams were severely injured. Pokémon losses were also significant, and it's estimated that they will only be able to serve in logistics for a while.
"You've already done well enough. We also didn't expect their reaction to be so intense. Now that your strength is known, they'll likely either not make a move or, if they do, they'll be very confident. You need to be careful," said Roxanne.
She was also somewhat surprised by the strength Aoki had displayed.
"However, from what was learned from the captured individuals, Team Magma and Team Aqua have likely already set up a teleportation device deep inside. They have people outside gathering supplies for them, probably intending to engage us in a protracted war.
But our reinforcements are not very sufficient.
You should have heard that those scoundrels from the Hunter Guild have also made a move.
With someone leading the way, all the small-time troublemakers in various towns have popped out one by one. Now the Alliance is in a stalemate, and a protracted war is not what we hope to see.
If they find what they're looking for, it would also be a major blow to the Alliance.
So, I've decided to accelerate the exploration progress and aim for a direct confrontation with them.
During this time, I need you all to be more active at the front, striving to ensure the exploration missions proceed.
I will also accordingly increase the rewards for exploration missions later," Steven said.
Everyone listened to Steven's words and had no objections.
The Alliance's strength is formidable, but now too many people and things have suddenly emerged. Suppressing them all is not that simple.
Gyms, Alliance police stations, and even investigators in various cities have all been dispatched.
Aside from the private forces of certain families, almost everything the Alliance could send has been sent.
Steven did not want to requisition the private combat power of those families.
Because after the incident concludes, they would certainly need to give these families sufficient benefits.
Although the Alliance is somewhat on the defensive now, it hasn't reached that extreme level of passivity.
As long as they can weather this incident, the Hoenn region, if not completely clean, will at least experience a period of clear skies.