Chapter 287 - 287: The Divine Mural, Returning to Hoenn!

After receiving the worship of Shamouti Island's people, Aiden finally saw Lugia return two days later.

Under the watchful eyes of every resident on the island, Aiden took out a Master Ball and threw it toward Lugia.

The ball traced a smooth arc through the air before striking Lugia's enormous head.

The next moment, Lugia transformed into a beam of red light and was drawn inside.

A crisp chime rang out.

Ding! Congratulations to the host for capturing Lugia!

The entire scene was recorded by the people of Shamouti Island.

Within the shrine, they carved a mural depicting Aiden commanding Lugia, the three Legendary Birds, and Slowking.

Perhaps, many years from now, Aiden himself would become a legend—

A figure remembered by later generations as a god.

...

After capturing Lugia, Aiden's journey through the Orange Archipelago temporarily came to an end.

Once he had bid farewell to the people of Shamouti Island, he rode Lugia back to the Kanto region.

Several months of traveling together had brought Aiden and Lorelei even closer.

"Lorelei, I'm planning to return to the Hoenn League next."

"Steven sent word that the League recently discovered another region called Paldea."

"He also said the Champion of the Galar region seems to be coming to Hoenn."

Upon hearing this, Lorelei leaned against Aiden's chest, clearly reluctant to part with him.

"Since you're leaving…"

"Then tonight, you belong completely to me."

As soon as she finished speaking, Lorelei covered Aiden with passionate kisses.

...

For the time being, matters in the Indigo League had come to an end.

Aiden had completely destroyed Team Rocket and captured Mewtwo, Deoxys, Articuno, Moltres, Zapdos, and Lugia.

The number of Pokémon under his command had increased dramatically once again.

In particular, the two red-potential Shiny Gyarados continued growing stronger every day.

With Lugia carrying him, Aiden traveled at astonishing speed.

After arriving at Ever Grande City, headquarters of the Hoenn League, he headed directly inside.

The Trainers guarding the entrance immediately straightened their already rigid postures when they saw him.

They greeted him in unison.

"Champion Aiden!"

Aiden smiled and nodded in acknowledgment.

When he reached the highest floor and approached the Champion's Room, he heard Steven complaining before he had even stepped inside.

"That Aiden hasn't appeared in ages."

"I heard from the Indigo League that after Team Rocket was destroyed, he disappeared with Lorelei and dumped all the work on us."

"How enviable."

Steven began counting on his fingers.

"Let's see... Lorelei, Cynthia, Joy... and I heard May is apparently his girlfriend too."

"That bastard is unbelievably lucky."

Wallace immediately chimed in.

Lorelei and Cynthia were goddesses in the eyes of countless people, yet both of them belonged to Aiden.

It was enough to make anyone jealous.

At that moment, Aiden suddenly appeared beside them and spoke in a leisurely tone.

"Tsk, tsk."

"I accepted Lance's invitation to help destroy Team Rocket."

"Now that almost all of their remaining forces have been wiped out, I finally rushed back."

"And the first thing I hear upon returning is the two of you gossiping behind my back."

"How heartbreaking."

The moment Aiden's voice sounded inside the room reserved for Champions, Steven and Wallace's expressions changed simultaneously.

But in the next second, both of them immediately changed their tune.

"Ahem. Did I just hear Aiden's voice?"

"Could it be that he's been gone for so long that I miss him enough to hear things?"

"Oh, come now. Champion Aiden has plenty of admirable qualities."

"His strength alone is completely unrivaled."

"I heard the Champion of Galar is coming to challenge Hoenn's Champion."

"I'm really looking forward to seeing that guy get crushed."

Seeing them reverse course so shamelessly, Aiden snorted and slapped both of them hard on the back.

At this point, there was no longer any way for them to pretend they had not noticed him.

Aiden spoke in a chillingly calm voice.

"I could have sworn I heard someone speaking badly about me."

"Coincidentally, I've captured several new Pokémon recently."

"Come on."

"Let's go outside and spar."

"The two of you can fight me together."

Cold sweat immediately appeared on Steven and Wallace's foreheads.

Ever since losing to Aiden the last time, neither of them had possessed the slightest desire to battle him again.

They had learned their lesson.

They couldn't defeat him.

He also had an obsessive habit of capturing Legendary Pokémon.

So why would they volunteer to be humiliated?

By now, the Indigo League, Hoenn League, and Sinnoh League all knew Aiden's true strength.

Because of that, almost no one from those Leagues was willing to provoke him anymore.

Only the Galar region, Alola region, and the newly discovered Paldea region remained unaware of just how powerful Aiden truly was.

That was precisely why the Champion of Galar had apparently lost his mind and decided to come challenge him.

At least, that was how Steven and Wallace saw it.

They did not know who Galar's Champion was, nor did they understand the extent of his strength.

Even so, they were certain of one thing.

He would not be Aiden's opponent.

...

In the end, Steven and Wallace were still forcibly dragged by Aiden to the main battlefield at Hoenn League headquarters.

Before the Hoenn Elite Four and countless Trainers, the three prepared for a two-against-one battle.

The surrounding crowd immediately erupted in discussion.

"Champion Aiden went to the Indigo League several months ago to help destroy Team Rocket."

"I heard the largest criminal organization in Kanto has completely disappeared. Champion Aiden uprooted them entirely!"

"I heard about that too. Without Champion Aiden, the Indigo League would have suffered terribly."

"Apparently, several Elite Four members were undercover agents."

"Exactly! I wonder how much stronger Champion Aiden has become after all these months."

"He's actually fighting Steven and Wallace at the same time!"

As the three entered the battlefield, Steven and Wallace looked at Aiden with helpless expressions.

They had only whispered a few things behind his back.

Did he really have to turn against them so quickly?

Worse still, he intended to humiliate both of them again in front of this many people.

In the past, Aiden had at least shown some respect to his seniors.

He would lose a match first to preserve their dignity before bringing out his Legendary Pokémon and crushing them.

But now that he had grown even stronger, it seemed he had completely stopped caring about such social niceties.

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