When Aoki once again left the island with his Pokémon, both the small island, Aoki's Pokémon, and Aoki himself had undergone tremendous changes.
After half a year, whether summoned or not, it was time to leave.
His departure this time was due to Adams' summons.
Riding the majestic Salamence, the Elite Four's status immediately became apparent. Now, people knew that the appearance of a Salamence didn't necessarily mean it was Drake, the Dragon-type Elite Four, but it could also be their Sandstorm Elite Four, Aoki!
Hoenn League Headquarters, conference room.
This was the first meeting Aoki attended after returning to the Hoenn League. Sitting in the Elite Four's seat, Aoki knew from the resentful looks of Flannery and Roxanne what was going on.
They were silently scolding Aoki, the guy who held most of the work positions but had disappeared for half a year.
In fact, it wasn't just the two of them; nearly half of the people in the entire conference room looked at Aoki with somewhat unfriendly eyes.
It was this scoundrel! He dumped all his work and then disappeared to live a leisurely life on his own.
He had missed many high-level League meetings, which had tortured his subordinates and colleagues quite a bit.
For example, Steven, who was now representing the Investigation Department as the Chief Investigator, sat below Aoki and looked at him with an extremely resentful gaze. One might have thought he was a resentful woman.
There was nothing he could do. Adams and Drake had given him the special tasks left by the Investigation Department, and he had passed them on to Steven, grandiosely calling it 'training' him. This had Steven running around for the past six months, getting quite tanned, making Aoki truly the palest person in the entire conference room!
This included many women sitting there.
Adams also sensed that the atmosphere in the conference room was a bit off, but he didn't stop it. Instead, he seemed to be fanning the flames, letting Aoki endure this fiery gaze for ten minutes.
Of course, while Aoki also felt a bit awkward and embarrassed, he showed no expression on his face.
It was a joke. How could he show weakness at this moment? Once he did, how could he grandiosely hand over work to others in the future?
He consoled himself inwardly...
I'm doing this for their own good. I'm training them, cultivating them. They don't understand it now, but they will thank me later.
Although he didn't know how much he believed these words himself, as he thought about it, he gradually started to believe them.
Everyone looked at the increasingly calm and composed Aoki, showing shocked expressions.
How could there be such a shameless person?!
"Ahem—" Adams couldn't bear it anymore and coughed, announcing the official start of the meeting.
This kid had officially completed his thick-skinned forging. Trying to deal with him with just glares wouldn't work anymore.
"Aoki, it's been more than half a year since you became one of the Elite Four. Although you have quite a reputation in our Hoenn region and even the entire League, you've had too few opportunities to show your skills. So, I hope you can participate in the Elite Four Exhibition Tour!" Adams immediately brought up Aoki.
Although he had tacitly approved Aoki's truancy, he couldn't cover for Aoki on this matter. Starting the meeting by picking on him was also a show for the people in the conference room.
Look, I'm not in league with this kid Aoki. The one in league with him is Drake, but unfortunately, Drake's truancy is even more severe than Aoki's, and he hasn't returned yet.
Hearing Adams' words, Aoki's expression soured. "President, the Elite Four Exhibition Tour isn't necessary, right? That's too time-consuming, and it doesn't really show my strength. I think it would be better to let me make a brief appearance at the Hoenn Grand League?
This Grand League has been very successful, and Roxanne has worked tirelessly. I shouldn't divert attention from the Grand League at this time, right?
How about I just show off a bit at the end of the Grand League? The effect would be the same."
Aoki kept finding ways to explain and analyze the benefits of his appearance at the Grand League from various angles. From every perspective, it was better than an exhibition tour.
This Grand League had a large audience, saving the trouble of running around.
So...
"Good!" Adams readily agreed after Aoki had explained only halfway.
He wore an expression that said, "I'm convinced, you're very good."
"..."
Aoki instantly understood that Adams was digging a pit for him, and fearing he wouldn't jump, he had laid out an even bigger trap on the ground next to the pit, just to make him retreat in the face of difficulty and jump into the pit himself.
Seeing the people present trying to suppress their laughter, Aoki knew that he was the only one who had been kept in the dark, and he had even been smug about his choice.
He almost wanted to slap his handsome face!
But words spoken were like water spilled; there was no way to take them back now.
"This matter is settled. Now, let's discuss the information that the Kanto region just announced yesterday." Adams' expression gradually became serious.
Aoki's expression also returned to normal; this matter was what he was most concerned about after coming out.
Just yesterday, the Kanto League submitted an application to the Pokémon General League regarding the division of the Kanto region, with Mt. Silver as the boundary, into the Kanto region and the Kansai region. Later, they felt that the name Kansai region was not quite suitable, and finally used the name people often had on their lips: the Johto region!
This matter had not yet been announced and was only known to the high-ranking officials of the various regional Leagues.
If it were announced prematurely, the potential impact would be too great, and the General League had only just accepted the application and had not yet made a decision.
The reason Aoki attached so much importance to it was the timing.
According to the original development, while the Kanto region would split, it wouldn't be at this time.
A split at this time would have a significant impact, and various regions would be affected to varying degrees.
"No wonder Lance, who was originally preparing for the Elite Four Exhibition Tour in various regions, also chose to stop at this time.
This is like dividing a huge cake into two. Not only did the number of people eating the cake not decrease, but more and more people came to eat it. Many who smelled the aroma were already getting impatient," said Mr. Stone, who was sitting on Adams' other side.
As an old man with clear political thoughts, he saw things very clearly.
"In my opinion, whether Kanto splits or not, for our Hoenn region, while there will be some shock and impact, the impact won't be significant.
I'm rather looking forward to how the General League plans to deal with the potential sudden chaos of Team Rocket at this time." Aoki also spoke, his stance very clear.
Let them be as arrogant as they want! It doesn't have much to do with the Hoenn region.
The Kanto split is not a good thing for Team Rocket, but Aoki doesn't think Giovanni will just sit by and watch the Kanto League successfully split. This is a disguised form of restriction for Team Rocket.