Tyranitar's Sand Stream ability intensified once more. He remained on the ground, his hands pressed against it, not getting up immediately.
Mega Blaziken charged forward again, its target directly locked onto Mega Gardevoir.
"Free her!"
This was Aoki's intention.
Flashing golden flames once again enveloped Blaziken, as it dashed towards Gardevoir with lightning speed.
The man, however, glanced at the Muk by his feet. Muk immediately understood, realizing he needed to seize the opportunity to utilize Gardevoir's last use. A mass of toxic poison reappeared in his hand.
But just as Muk was about to act, the ground shook. The man's expression changed instantly. Muk stopped its action, and the colorful, strangely scented Muk turned and enveloped the man.
Stone Edge shot up into the sky. Protected by Muk, the man wasn't hit directly, but he was still covered in dust and grime.
Before he could even issue a command, Blaziken's Flare Blitz directly impacted Gardevoir.
Gardevoir was sent flying again. As she flew backward, Gengar emerged from her shadow, holding two giant Shadow Balls.
It pressed them straight down onto Gardevoir.
Boom!!! Boom!!!
Two explosions later, Gardevoir lay motionless in a deep crater, having lost her ability to battle.
At this point, the man finally recovered from Tyranitar's Stone Edge and noticed Gardevoir lying in the pit.
"Useless!"
He spat out a single word.
Having lost both Delibird and Gardevoir, his team was now incomplete.
Even if Marowak was currently suppressing Aggron, and Jynx had control over Drapion, these no longer posed a threat to Aoki. Florges's Wish landed on Aggron immediately.
The psychic energy around Blaziken fluctuated, and it reverted from its Mega Evolved state.
Aoki canceled the Mega Evolution with Blaziken. Although not much time had passed and they could have continued, Aoki was unwilling to prolong the engagement.
He took out another Key Stone.
"Mega Evolve! Gengar!!"
Mega Gengar! Aoki's strongest Pokémon at the moment, a Level 72 Gengar, could barely possess the strength of a pseudo-champion after Mega Evolving.
However, besides the fallen Mega Gardevoir, none of the opponent's Pokémon reached this level.
Aoki took his first steps, walking directly towards the man with Tyranitar and Florges.
As Tyranitar approached, the center of the Sand Stream ability also gradually drew closer.
Boom!! Boom!! Boom!!!
Pillars of rock, infused with scorching magma, continuously erupted from the ground, all targeting the man. To protect him, Alolan Muk was already covered in wounds.
Marowak and Jynx also abandoned their opponents and returned to rescue him as per his command.
However, Exeggutor was blocked by Blaziken and Aggron, and with Florges's Moonblast, it was quickly knocked to the ground.
Mega Gengar also erupted completely, launching a fierce assault on the defensive Jynx. The opponent could only parry but had no ability to counterattack.
Sweat beaded on the man's forehead. Only now did he realize how significant Mega Gardevoir's presence had been in influencing and constraining Aoki's tactical arrangements.
Mega Tyranitar's Stone Edge seemed to be used faster and more frequently. Muk was about to give out.
"Don't go too far! Since you know I'm from the Divine Cult, and you know about the Aether Foundation, you should know not to go too far!!"
Aoki, however, remained expressionless and silent, simply approaching slowly with Tyranitar. Each of his footsteps grew louder, like punches landing on the man's heart.
The tension on his face grew more and more pronounced.
He never expected things to turn out this way. According to his tactics and surprise methods, he was confident he could hold off even an ordinary Elite Four member for a long time. He originally thought it would be easy to hold off Aoki, Steven, Phoebe, and Wallace.
But he had still underestimated Aoki and their strength. Forget four people; even Aoki alone was more than he could handle.
Stone Edge continued, but Muk was about to give out. This pure defense was rapidly draining its stamina.
Alolan Muk's eyes sparkled with thought and cunning. It suddenly moved away from the man's feet, then obediently lay on the ground, seemingly wanting to show its submission to Aoki.
The man, however, never expected that Muk, which he usually valued the most—the one he fed all his precious venom to, treating it vastly better than Gardevoir—would betray him at this moment!
With an expression of disbelief, the man was directly struck by Tyranitar's full-power Stone Edge.
As a human, no matter how strong, how could he withstand Mega Tyranitar's Stone Edge!
The man in the silver-grey coat, with an expression of disbelief, wide eyes, instantly lost his life. Until his death, he couldn't understand why Muk had betrayed him.
Aoki was also a little surprised, but more than that, he felt a sense of relief.
He was too similar, too similar to his past self. However, this person was even more thorough and excessive than he was, completely extinguishing even the last shred of humanity.
Defeating him felt like making a decisive break with his past self.
Aoki stood still for a moment, quietly observing the lifeless man, then walked over to him and took the storage items and Poké Balls from his body.
He collected all the Pokémon except Muk, including the unconscious Gardevoir.
Only Muk remained.
Aoki didn't think much of Pokémon that were addicted to attacking their own companions and could abandon their trainers at any time.
The other Pokémon might still have some value, but this Muk had none.
Muk also looked at Aoki, its eyes filled with confusion. It believed that both its potential and strength were no weaker than other Pokémon.
Humans can choose Pokémon, so why can't Pokémon choose humans?
A good bird chooses a tree to rest on, isn't that right?
Aoki ignored Muk, put away his injured Pokémon, and stopped at the exit of the alternate dimension.
"It's not wrong for you to want to choose a trainer. What's wrong is your method. Stay here with him, and I hope this alternate dimension doesn't disappear." With that, Aoki walked out of the alternate dimension.
An alternate dimension doesn't disappear? That's only if the person who created it constantly maintains it.
The man who created this alternate dimension was dead. Without his maintenance, it was only a matter of time before this space collapsed.
As Aoki exited the alternate dimension, he witnessed a truly tragic scene: the Alliance forces and the Hunter's Guild forces were engaged in a real war.
Because the Hunter's Guild had a slight advantage, the battle was exceptionally brutal.
The air was already thick with the smell of blood.