The next day, Aoki, who showed up at the battle site on time with Gengar, was startled by the crowd.
The battlefield was full of people, whether they were there to watch or to challenge, all gathered around.
But Aoki looked at the time.
It was clearly only seven o'clock in the morning!
What a bunch of crazy people!
Money really isn't a good thing!
But it's so easy to use!
He envied Steven again.
Aoki took a thick stack of 400,000 Pokecoins and stood in the field.
All eyes were focused on the thick wad of money in Aoki's hand.
Most of the challengers had already experienced defeat yesterday, but seeing that today's prize was twice as much, no one wanted to give up.
Even if they lost, wasn't the Pokémon Center right next door?
After treatment, they could queue up again, and more importantly, many new challengers had arrived.
Some strong Trainers had even come from the next city.
As long as they could defeat just one Pokémon, they could win 400,000 Pokecoins. Wasn't this basically free money?
But Aoki wasn't worried. Those who were desperate for 400,000 Pokecoins were usually at an average skill level. If someone was truly strong, like an elite-level Trainer, they wouldn't care about the money.
Of course, there were always exceptions.
If a battle maniac showed up, things would be different.
Sure enough, as the battles continued, a strong Trainer appeared, one who was just shy of elite level. After Gengar defeated five Pokémon, he was finally pushed to his limit when the sixth challenger sent out their final Pokémon.
Gengar lost.
The Trainer took the 400,000 Pokecoins as their reward!
Everyone around was filled with envy and jealousy!
Many had been waiting for Gengar to tire out. They already knew Gengar was incredibly strong, so they didn't expect to win in a direct fight. But maybe, just maybe, they could get lucky.
However, Gengar had been defeated, and the prize was claimed.
Just when the crowd started to lose interest and prepared to leave, Aoki pulled out another stack of Pokecoins from his storage space.
Another 400,000!
He placed it under the referee's seat!
Was 400,000 Pokecoins really that much?
As long as it helped his Pokémon grow stronger and master their abilities quickly, it was well worth it.
This was essentially spending money to buy time, and for Aoki right now, it was completely worth it.
Seeing another 400,000 Pokecoins put on the line, the crowd erupted in excitement again.
But Gengar was exhausted. Even with Aoki's high-quality Pokeblocks, after yesterday and this morning's continuous battles, his body was worn out.
Fortunately, Gengar's mastery over his new form had reached near perfection. His skyrocketing strength and newly changed body had finally settled.
After handing Gengar over to Nurse Joy for treatment and recovery, Aoki sent out Skorupi!
At Level 36, Skorupi wasn't as strong as Gengar, but his control over himself was much better than Gengar's.
Seeing that Aoki had switched Pokémon, the onlookers grew excited again.
A new Pokémon meant a new chance. Maybe this time, they could be the lucky winner.
The battles continued all day!
With the Pokémon Center's high-tech equipment and Nurse Joy's professional care, Gengar recovered quickly and returned to peak condition.
Meanwhile, Skorupi, who fought all afternoon, was eventually defeated in the final match, costing Aoki another 400,000 Pokecoins.
But the results were outstanding. Skorupi leveled up twice, reaching Level 38.
And this was a natural, stable growth with no side effects.
As Skorupi's level increased, his strength followed. His powerful pincers, combined with his ability to analyze weaknesses, fully utilized his Sniper ability.
Battling different types of Pokémon helped Skorupi develop this ability even further.
After losing another 400,000 Pokecoins, Aoki once again put up another 400,000 before nightfall.
However, this time, no one could claim the prize, because the Pokémon Aoki sent out was Slowking!
Many people at the Pokémon Center had never seen a Slowking before, and with him now at Level 42, they were caught off guard and quickly defeated.
A true elite-level Pokémon!
After a full day of battles, Aoki returned to his room, completely satisfied.
Even though he had spent 1.2 million Pokecoins in a single day, he had trained his Pokémon against hundreds of different Trainers. The experience was invaluable.
Aoki still had over 30 million Pokecoins on hand, and he was considering trying this method in other cities. Spending nearly a million Pokecoins per day was completely worth it if it meant his Pokémon could grow quickly without side effects.
With the Pokémon Center's treatment facilities, there were no lingering injuries or fatigue.
Satisfied, he fell asleep in his bed for the last time before heading into the wild. He didn't know when he'd next sleep in such comfort.
And this time, the wilderness would be particularly dangerous.
Threats lurked everywhere.
Not just from wild Pokémon, but also from within Team Rocket itself.
Even with Regis and the others, Aoki wouldn't trust anyone 100%.
The only ones he could trust completely were his Pokémon.
...
After one last comfortable and peaceful night of sleep, the next morning, Aoki boarded Team Rocket's ship.
The vessel was enormous, yet only about thirty participants were on board. Once inside, they were confined to their individual rooms and not allowed to leave.
All the windows were sealed shut.
For this mysterious ancient island, Team Rocket had taken extreme precautions.
The ship moved quickly.
Yet, it wouldn't reach the destination in a single day, which surprised Aoki.
Was it really that far away, or was the ship deliberately taking a roundabout route to prevent anyone from pinpointing the island's location?
Whatever the reason, when Aoki and the others were finally allowed out of their rooms, another full day had passed.
Aoki stepped onto the deck alone, where participants were now emerging one by one.
After one group left, the next batch of people would take their turn coming onto the deck.
As Aoki scanned his surroundings, he saw members of one of Team Rocket's most mysterious divisions.
The Psychic Team!