Team Sky.
It now enjoys considerable fame in the Hoenn Region.
Anyone who frequents Hoenn's underground or gray areas has heard of Team Sky, an organization that rose to prominence rapidly after the disappearance of Team Magma and Team Aqua.
They absorbed many people from Team Magma and Team Aqua, including some Executive- level members, as well as many members from organizations wiped out by the Alliance.
With its strong capital, Team Sky quickly attracted talent, and for some unknown reason, everyone who joined Team Sky was exceptionally united. Even among all the executives, there were very few conflicts or infighting. It was a relatively united and disciplined force.
Team Sky is best known for its discipline.
All members are strictly categorized into different ranks, and Team Sky has a very strict management system that all members must adhere to, otherwise they will be immediately targeted by an internal special forces unit.
Their presence has not had any negative impact on their city; in fact, Mauville City has become the safest city in the entire Hoenn Region with the lowest crime rate.
That is why Team Sky is seen by most of the league as someone who can be supported.
Members without particularly strong abilities can be kept under the control of the alliance and are very "docile," making them one of the best choices.
So Aoki directly put Team Sky on Adams's desk.
The current underground forces in the Hoenn Region can be seen as lacking major players and filled with smaller ones. Given the current state of the Hoenn League, it is clearly impossible for a powerful underground force to grow smoothly.
Team Sky has long been exposed to the league's scrutiny. It's clearly impossible for them to develop by following the same path as Team Magma and Team Aqua. So, there's only one way to develop them: become a listed player in the Hoenn League!
In other words, underground forces tacitly approved by the Hoenn League can continue to develop, but must be under the supervision of the Hoenn League.
For ordinary underground forces, let alone developing, simply surviving would be a great achievement.
However, the impact on Team Sky is not significant, because they already have strict requirements for their members, and Team Sky's main financial income comes from selling Pokémon, reselling materials, and so on. Some of these materials could even allow Team Sky to become a formal trading company.
It doesn't resemble a dark force at all. Rather than being in a basement, Team Sky is more like a force that operates in the gray area, adhering to its principles, much like the former Hunters Guild.
With the Hunters Guild driven out of the Hoenn Region, a vacuum was created in the Pokémon market, and Team Sky became the first force to seize the market.
After reviewing all of Team Sky's information, Adams was at a loss for words.
It gives the impression of being something... something or a product that someone casually created, whose main purpose is to make money and acquire resources in a gray area.
But it just so happened that it coincided with a major upheaval in the Hoenn Region's underground forces, so by chance it developed into what it is today.
Although there were some things Adams couldn't understand, he couldn't find much of a threat to this force. There was only one thing that made him slightly wary: the identity of the leader in the Team Sky personnel structure submitted by Aoki was unknown.
Adams felt he could be more at ease if he knew the identity of the Team Sky leader, but it wouldn't matter if he didn't.
So he decided to hand over control of the whole matter to Aoki, trusting that he could handle it. If Team Sky did anything out of line, Aoki, as the person in charge, would deal with it. After all, although Team Sky had a lot of people, their top strength was not strong, and Aoki could probably handle them all by himself.
...
The final match of the Hoenn Grand League was held in Slateport City, a seaside city known as the ninth largest city in the Pokémon World!
When Aoki arrived in Slateport City, the top 16 teams in the major leagues had already been decided.
The promotion of Aoki as the final guest of the Grand League was something the league had been promoting for a long time, and the news that the Grand League's Champion would have the opportunity to play against Sandstorm Elite Four Member Aoki further fueled the enthusiasm of all the participants.
Of course, the most enthusiastic were the audience, who never expected to see Sandstorm Elite Four Members fight in a major league.
At the same time, Aoki will also serve as an examiner, with the aim of helping the Helping Hand Alliance select some promising young people who are worth cultivating. Therefore, all the participants in this competition are giving it their all.
Some even fantasize that if they were lucky enough to be noticed by a Sandstorm Elite Four member and taken under their wing, that would be the best thing ever.
For them, working under an Elite Four member was a dream come true.
Aoki's arrival was very high-profile, almost as if he was announcing to the world that he, a Sandstorm Elite Four Member, had participated in the Hoenn Grand League auditions on his own.
To ordinary people, this is just a slightly ostentatious display of arrogance, but to those with ulterior motives, it is a blatant declaration: "I, Aoki, am here. There are no other experts here. If you want trouble, don't try to hide."
This is a perfectly legitimate trap; the only question is whether anyone will fall into it.
...
A small bar in Rustboro City.
The usually bustling bar was now empty, because of the Hoenn Grand League. Even the owner, a Sandstorm Elite Four member and a fan, was not there. Only a bartender with a sorrowful face and two men dressed in black sat in the corner.
If it weren't for the bartender's resentful gaze that frequently drifted over, it would be almost impossible to spot the two of them in the dimly lit bar.
"Tsk tsk, the Sandstorm Elite Four Member is really popular. There were a few people at the bar yesterday, but now there's no one left." A young man in a black tuxedo clicked his tongue in amazement as he held up his wine glass.
The person sitting opposite him, shrouded in a black robe, remained unmoved.
"Well, your target has appeared, and you've set up a trap so openly. Are you confident?" The young man looked at the wine in his glass, his tone both mocking and sarcastic.
"After it's done, I want to see the bishop." An aged voice came from beneath the black robe opposite the young man.
Upon hearing this, the young man narrowed his eyes, and a surge of power suddenly appeared on his body, but this power came quickly and disappeared just as quickly.
A meaningful smile appeared on his face. "You can't just see a bishop whenever you want. I'll apply for one for you. I hope you won't let the bishop down."
Oh, and these two are my way of showing my support for you. Don't let me down.
With that, he tossed two stones that shimmered with a strange light from his hand, then downed the entire drink in his glass in one gulp before waving and leaving the bar.