"Aoki, do you have any evidence?" he asked, changing the subject.
The way he had clapped just now must have been quite impressive. As for the purpose behind it… being impressive was enough. The purpose itself wasn't really important.
Aoki nodded at Adams and then turned his gaze to Beakley.
"Mr. Beakley, periodically, you would exchange the more qualified Pokémon designated for the Three Royal Starters program within the League with less qualified Pokémon from the Hunter's Guild's own stock. You made a significant profit from this scheme and also sold a considerable amount of confidential information, correct? You were also involved in the incident that led to the Wattson's injury this time. I wonder if my assessment is accurate?" Aoki said to Bickley with a smile, though the expression on his face was somewhat chilling.
Beakley's expression remained stoic, but Aoki, watching him closely, detected a flicker of deep-seated fear in the man's eyes.
Aoki didn't know whether this Bickley was a plant from the Hunter's Guild from the very beginning, had been bribed later on, or if they had some hold over him that gradually pulled him onto the Hunter's Guild's side. On the list Aoki had obtained from Yangdou, this Beakley was ranked first. Logically, Yang Dou shouldn't have had access to such confidential content, but he had a high-ranking family member within the Hunter's Guild itself. To ensure Yang Dou's better development and more effective utilization of resources in the Hoenn region, he was given this list, which ultimately fell into Aoki's hands.
The people on this list held positions at almost every level of the League hierarchy. If even a group like the Hunter's Guild could achieve such infiltration, it was no wonder Team Rocket had managed to control nearly half of the Kanto region. He just didn't know if Sakaki was aware of the Hunter's Guild's actions this time; it would be interesting if even Sakaki was in the dark.
Shifting his thoughts back to the present, Aoki focused.
"Investigator Aoki, please present your so-called evidence. Otherwise, even with the support of President Adams, I will appeal to the Alliance's Supreme Conference," Bickley stated, his expression unreadable, his voice full of authority.
The Alliance's Supreme Conference was a meeting attended only by regional League Presidents and Champions, along with some high officials from the founding Kanto region. It represented the highest center of power in the entire Pokemon world. In the Hoenn region, only Adams was qualified to participate. Everyone present visibly reacted at the mention of the Supreme Conference. If Aoki couldn't produce effective and convincing evidence today, even Adams would likely be unable to suppress the matter. Steven and Phoebe both looked at Aoki with a hint of concern.
"Oh? Really? Here, here's a communicator. Report to the Supreme Council now, then," Aoki said with a smile, taking a communicator from his pocket and tossing it onto the table in front of Beakley.
Beakley's expression gradually soured. This move suggested Aoki was confident.
"President," Aoki said, turning to an old man sitting beside Beakley, the president of the Starter Pokemon Association, who managed it jointly with Bickley. "In our Starter Pokemon Association, there are detailed records of the hatching and acquisition of every Pokemon, correct?"
"That's right," the old man nodded, offering nothing more. At a time like this, it was better for him not to intervene. Whether he helped Bickley or not, he would face criticism. As the president, he knew full well that not many people working in the association had completely clean hands.
Aoki received his satisfactory answer. He took a large stack of documents from his storage space and threw them directly in front of Beakley. "This is all the data stored by the association. I believe anyone with a discerning eye can see the problems within. Vice President Beakley, do you have any explanation?"
Beakley's face was now extremely ugly. Originally, these matters were under their sole purview; the records were merely a formality since no one would ever seriously investigate the League's top management. Who could have predicted that this data would end up in Aoki's hands? As he flipped through the information, Beakley's expression grew increasingly grim. Aoki had obtained this data through his system while on the ship. It wasn't highly classified, and the security wasn't tight, so acquiring it hadn't been difficult for him. As for how to explain it to Adams, once Beakley's identity was confirmed, Aoki could explain himself.
Snap—
Bickley angrily slammed the information shut. "Even if my signature is on it, and even if there are some discrepancies in these Pokemon's records, it only proves I was negligent in my duties. I will write a report on this and submit it to President Adams," he said to Aoki.
"No, no, no. It's not as simple as negligence," Aoki shook his head. As he spoke, he took out another document from his storage space. "Here! This is a purchase order obtained from a top-level executive of the Hunter's Guild during a recent operation. To my knowledge, this executive is one of the main leaders of the Hunter's Guild in the Hoenn region and the grandson of one of their six elders. I wonder if the information I obtained from him, combined with the data in your hands, President Beakley, is sufficient to prove your connection to the Hunter's Guild?"
After saying this, Aoki threw both documents onto the conference table and used his psychic powers to slide them over to Adams.
Adams's face was now dark and serious as he examined the information in his hand. Bickley probably hadn't known that the Hunter's Guild had meticulous management habits, much like the League. Every time a precious Pokemon was transferred, data was collected, recorded, and archived. This was the information recorded by the previous person in charge of the Hoenn region before Yang Dou took over; the latter part was recorded by Yang Dou himself, while the earlier part was from his predecessor. Aoki had cross-referenced this information while on the boat. There were no discrepancies.
"Even if—" Beakley immediately began to refute.
Aoki cut him off directly. "Even so, Vice President Beakley is still unwilling to admit it, right? That's fine. Lord Steven, if I recall correctly, in the space created by Celebi, among the Pokemon used by Mitchell, there was a Sceptile, one of the Hoenn starter evolutionary lines, correct? As long as we collect the Sceptile's data and compare it with these two sets of records, we will know if I am right."
Aoki addressed Steven. Steven nodded, took a Pokeball from his pocket, and summoned an aide from outside. The Pokemon Center was right next door. Although this verification process was rather troublesome, everyone present was willing to wait. In truth, there was no need to check now; Bickley's expression said it all. Seeing his face, no one in the room was a fool; they all understood that what Aoki said was almost certainly true.
"Here is the list we obtained from that Hunter's Guild executive. I believe the President will be very interested in it," Aoki said, handing the list he had gotten from Yang Dou to Adams.
Needless to say, Adams's face turned extremely grim as he looked at the densely packed list. It was a stark illustration of just how many people the Hunter's Guild had embedded within the Hoenn League.
Plop—
At that moment, Bickley slid off his chair and onto the floor. He scrambled toward the conference table, shouting at Aoki, "Give me a chance! Give me a chance! I had no choice before, but now I want to be a good person! I want to reform!"
At this moment, Aoki seemed to be channeling a certain theatrical spirit. "Alright," he said calmly. "Tell the President everything. See if he will let you be a good person."