Just when Aoki was interrogating the middle-aged man in the different space, the woman in white who was slowly drinking coffee in a cafe in a corner of the Kanto region suddenly stopped the coffee she had just picked up. Sitting opposite her, a young man wearing a black tuxedo, glasses, and maintaining a very elegant posture also stopped moving the coffee cup in his hand.

The two looked at each other, and with just a single glance they knew that the other person felt the same strange sensation that they did. "It seems that he has been caught," the woman in white spoke slowly, her voice sounding a little sticky, as if she didn't get enough sleep and was feeling somewhat lazy.

The young man in the tuxedo took a slow sip of coffee, smacking his lips slightly as he savored the distinctly bitter taste. "I really don't understand why you like to drink this stuff? It's bitter and not tasty at all," he remarked, even as he drank with a certain quiet gusto. The woman in white did not bother to expose his contradictory behavior. "Your black team is missing one person now; please remember to fill in the gap promptly," she stated flatly before also taking a careful sip from her own cup. The taste, she decided, was indeed better than that served at the other cafes.

"The point is not the taste itself, but the atmosphere. A quiet place like this is always much better than those messy, noisy places you so often like to frequent," she explained, simultaneously answering the implied question of why she preferred coffee. The young man in the tuxedo put down his coffee cup, which was now completely empty. "I will replenish the personnel," he acknowledged, "but this time the loss occurred during a mission under your direction, so remember to report that to your superiors." As he said this, the young man stood up smoothly. "By the way," he added, "since our agent has been caught by the other party, it means some of our operations and information may have been exposed. We should abandon what needs to be abandoned. Now is not the time for us to reveal ourselves fully." After saying that, he strode confidently towards the door.

It was raining heavily outside at this time. The young man walked into the downpour leisurely, yet the rain fell upon him without leaving a single trace. Or rather, it never actually touched him, being blocked by an invisible, thin film of energy just as it was about to make contact with his clothes or skin. As soon as he stepped out of the cafe, the young man flipped his palm and a bottle of wine appeared in it; he didn't seem to care about the brand, instead choosing to drink directly from the bottle. At the same time, he flipped his other palm and a sleek black card materialized in his hand. He tossed it casually behind him without looking back. "Burp, this stuff still tastes better. If you complete this follow-up task, you'll get a promotion," he declared before his whole person vanished into the heavy rain as if he had never been there.

Before the black card could even hit the wet ground, a hand suddenly emerged from the deep shadows cast by a nearby alleyway. A man clad entirely in black walked out from the corner, snatched the card from the air, and said with clear reverence and excitement shining in his eyes, "Yes! Understood, Lord Black Messenger!"

After Aoki finished dealing with the middle-aged man in black, turning over in his mind everything that had just happened, he slowly returned to the tournament field. By this time, the match between Lance and Lorelei had already concluded. Even the match between Koga and his opponent was reaching its final moments. Although Koga was not particularly known for direct, frontal combat, that did not mean he was weak by any measure. However, Koga was notably older than Lance. But if one were to truly talk about age, Flint was definitely the oldest active participant in this entire championship challenge.

Lance had already reappeared beside Steven and the others. Now, several of the girls, led primarily by Phoebe, had brought Cynthia and Caitlin over to loudly denounce Lance's perceived inhumane behavior towards Lorelei during their battle. Although Phoebe was doing most of the talking, there was a distinct and unmistakable look in the eyes of Cynthia and the other two women as they stared at Lance. How should one put it... It was akin to watching a confirmed bachelor? Or more specifically, the kind of person who seemed destined to be single for his entire life? However, their fervent condemnation of Lance was soon interrupted by Aoki's arrival.

Phoebe, who had been talking with great intensity, saw Aoki and her eyes suddenly lit up. "Brother Aoki, why did you take so long? You didn't see how miserable Sister Lorelei was at the end! I have never seen Sister Lorelei with such an expression before. In the end... in the end... in the end, she almost cried. Such big tears were just swirling in her eyes!" When she got to the part about the tears, Phoebe gestured exaggeratedly with her hands to emphasize their size.

Lance wore a bitter smile on his face. He was finally understanding what it felt like to be treated as a public enemy simply for battling a female opponent. It wasn't until the very end, after he had definitively defeated Lorelei and saw her devastated expression, that Lance truly reacted and realized his actions.

It seemed he had been a little too extreme. For a girl, his relentless assault seemed a bit too much. But he had been completely carried away by the thrill of the battle at the beginning, and by the time he realized it, it was too late to pull back. He had originally wanted to apologize to Lorelei during the traditional post-match handshake, but immediately after the battle concluded, Lorelei simply packed up her Pokémon and ran away from the field, leaving him no opportunity.

Now, after arriving here, he was being criticized by Phoebe and three other formidable women. They were making him out to be almost a world-destroying villain. Lance looked directly toward Aoki, his eyes silently pleading for help.

Aoki felt a wave of helplessness. Brother, you brought this upon yourself... Do you think the trouble ends today? Your dark future, full of similar misunderstandings, is already beckoning to you. "Ahem, Phoebe, that's just about enough now," Aoki said after a deliberate cough.

Hearing this, Phoebe glared once more at Lance with a look of lingering anger. She might not listen to others, but Phoebe would always listen to Aoki. Ever since leaving the summit of Mount Pyre, Phoebe only truly listened to two and a half people. Wallace was one, Aoki was another, and as for the half person... Steven was the half person, his influence not quite complete.

"But..." Aoki spoke again, his tone shifting. "Lance, you really did go too far. I was watching, and I couldn't bear to see it either. You'd better go find Lorelei later and apologize properly. We're all from the Kanto region, and our paths are bound to cross again in the future," Aoki said, a faint, almost imperceptible trace of gloating in his voice. Lance nodded grimly. He had already been thinking the same thing. With Lorelei's immense potential, it wouldn't be difficult for her to become one of the Elite Four someday. His main worry now was just... whether she would even accept his apology.

Lance seemed to fully understand the seriousness of the matter now. Steven and Wallace sat on a nearby bench, looking as if they were completely detached from the situation, their expressions neutral. It was far better not to get involved in such delicate matters, lest you bring trouble upon yourself.

Just thinking about Phoebe's verbal fighting power before Aoki had arrived... Steven had gained a deep, newfound understanding of Phoebe's "combat prowess" in that arena. The two men simply fixed their gazes intently on the ongoing battle in the stadium. Wow, Koga is so awesome! That is a powerful move, truly powerful...

Koga won his victory without much surprise. The subsequent competition involving Flint also concluded with little suspense, as expected. In this particular championship challenge, Lance, Koga, and Flint were generally considered to be on a similar tier of strength. In the end, the Trainer known as Heba once again demonstrated his dark horse capabilities and secured a win.

This time, however, Aoki deliberately observed him much more closely. He discovered that Heba's spirit was indeed somewhat abnormal post-battle. To put it simply, after the intense battle concluded, Heba seemed to fall into a slightly depressed, low-energy state. The same thing had happened after his last match, yet he had appeared full of energy and vigor again the following morning.

This pattern strongly indicated that he must have obtained something, some kind of substance or technique, from that cult Aoki was aware of. Aoki decided he would need to find an opportunity to make contact with Heba soon. But for the moment, his immediate focus needed to be on the items he had acquired from the middle-aged man's storage space: the mysterious white card and the book he had not yet opened.