In the end, under the full efforts of Metagross, the ancient Armaldo still fell beneath its iron fist.
There was indeed a Pokémon hidden on Jiaya's person—not directly on her body, but concealed in her hand behind her back. She clutched a Pokéball tightly, her finger pressing firmly on the release button. The slightest movement would summon the Pokémon inside.
That Pokémon turned out to be a Forretress—one that had mastered the move Explosion.
She was ruthless, not just toward others but even more so toward herself. Without such ruthlessness, she likely wouldn't have survived this long.
Aoki couldn't help but think she had chosen the wrong path. With her personality, she would have thrived in Team Rocket's cutthroat environment. Yet, despite everything, she had chosen to remain with the League. Perhaps, deep down, she still longed to live in the light.
The Forretress never got the chance to explode. Before she could release it, Slowking and Metagross detected her intent through their psychic powers and immediately seized control of the Pokéball, preventing the Forretress from being summoned.
When Steven saw the Pokémon inside, he nearly shouted in alarm.
With that, Jiaya—the League traitor—was apprehended by Aoki and Steven. She offered little resistance, only expressing confusion over how Aoki had seen through her disguise.
"When you believe your knowledge is vast, you're still just a frog at the bottom of a well," Aoki told her.
The words struck Jiaya hard. Her face twisted in shock and indignation. The knowledge she prided herself on was, in Aoki's eyes, nothing more than the limited perspective of someone who had never seen the wider world.
The Pokémon world was vast, its knowledge complex and ever-expanding. No one could claim mastery of it all—not even Aoki, despite the advantage of his system. He was constantly learning, absorbing information from every source available—whether it was the research stolen from the Lake of Rage facility, the teachings from his mentor Matsuda's breeding house, or even the knowledge hidden beyond Saffron City.
What intrigued him most now, however, was Team Rocket's latest project: the Mew cloning research.
That was the knowledge he truly sought.
Since his rebirth, Aoki's greatest advantage had always been his knowledge—both his foresight and the vast database carried over from his past life.
All of Jiaya's surviving Pokémon were confiscated, though some had perished in battle.
Her Beedrill, which had charged recklessly at the start, and the Heracross that had desperately tried to hold back Gengar—both had fallen.
Upon closer inspection, Aoki realized their deaths weren't solely due to the battle. Their bodies had already been pushed to the brink.
Jiaya had clearly prioritized raising her Armaldo, draining the life from these two Pokémon in the process. Their ability to fight at all had been sheer willpower. The final assault had simply been the last straw.
Steven stared at their lifeless bodies in silence, paying silent tribute to their loyalty—Pokémon who had given everything for their Trainer.
Meanwhile, Aoki tended to the wounded, using Floette's healing abilities alongside his own stock of medicine. Both Steven's Aggron and Aoki's Drapion had sustained heavy injuries and would need time to recover.
Fortunately, Aoki's supplies and Floette's aid ensured no lasting damage. Still, rest was necessary—especially for Aggron, who had taken the worst of it.
Aoki, come look at this! Steven's sudden call interrupted the treatment.
After finishing with Aggron's wounds, Aoki moved to Steven's side—and immediately saw the anomaly.
The reason for Steven's alarm became clear.
The fallen Beedrill and Heracross had been placed together, ready for cremation—a fitting end for warriors.
But before the flames could be lit, Steven noticed something unsettling.
There was no blood on the ground.
Not a single drop.
At first glance, it seemed as though the two Pokémon hadn't bled at all—but that wasn't the case. The blood had been absorbed the instant it touched the floor.
The realization sent a chill down Aoki's spine. Steven, too, looked deeply unsettled.
Then Aoki remembered the ancient markings on the ruins' walls when they first entered—the warnings of a long-forgotten chamber, possibly still housing Pokémon from antiquity.
Perhaps Jiaya's Armaldo was one such survivor. But there were things neither Aoki nor Steven understood—secrets only Jiaya might know.
Yet she remained silent, her expression unreadable.
The blood from Beedrill and Heracross continued to drain, vanishing into the ground as though consumed.
Aoki and Steven exchanged grim looks. The unnatural phenomenon was deeply unnerving.
They would have preferred a tangible enemy—something they could fight.
As if in response, the ruins trembled.
The ground's temperature spiked violently. Aoki and Steven barely avoided being scorched, saved only by Slowking and Metagross's psychic levitation.
Below them, the corpses of Beedrill and Heracross withered rapidly, deflating like punctured balloons.
The heat intensified. The stone floor began to melt, dissolving like ice to reveal what lay beneath.
At last, Aoki saw the source of the heat.