Four-star Mission

Aoki continued to walk deep into the forest with the Pokémon.

The main purpose this time was to train the Pokémon, earn money, and select some suitable Pokémon to strengthen his subordinates.

Through a previous phone call with Kaitou, Aoki learned that Kaitou had brought everyone into the Orange Forest to complete a mission for the hunting group.

According to Kaitou's estimate, if this mission were successfully completed, the hunting group would advance to a one-star hunting group, allowing them to take on more lucrative missions.

As for these subordinates, Kaitou told Aoki that their cooperation and basic combat abilities were solid and that they followed orders well, but they still lacked high-end combat power.

Only Alec, Miyamoto, and Skye were barely capable of handling tougher battles. If they wanted to take on more difficult missions in the future, they needed to improve their strength.

The newer subordinates also needed to grow stronger.

However, after a team mission like this, their growth rate would increase significantly.

Some wild Pokémon that weren't related to the mission had been captured and could also be turned into additional combat power.

This was essentially a military training trip that also provided an opportunity to make money under the leadership of a capable figure.

Aoki felt that recruiting Kaitou into the hunting group had been the right decision.

Then there was Aoki's exclusive communicator for Shadow.

Ever since Sakagi had assigned Aoki directly to Shadow, their contact had become frequent.

Just now, Shadow sent a message to inform Aoki that Team Rocket would begin dispatching material rewards after his victory in the final trial. Shadow also mentioned that half of the rewards had already been exchanged for the catalysts Aoki needed for the three Pokémon.

As for the remaining half, Aoki could decide whether to exchange them for useful items, money, or simply keep the materials.

But since Aoki was currently in the wild, retrieving them immediately wasn't possible. He could only collect them in Viridian Town or return to Verdanturf Town. After all, Pokémon catalysts couldn't be transported via teleportation.

Aoki's main focus now was on strengthening his Pokémon, and retrieving the materials could wait until he left the forest.

Even if his newly hatched Larvitar required resources, Aoki could manage in the short term. However, once Larvitar reached the growth stage, that would change.

After all, there was still an Aron to train, another Pokémon with a high appetite.

After a morning of walking and battling, Aoki and his Pokémon took a break under a tree.

He retrieved pre-prepared canned meat from his storage space and ate it directly.

Although the taste wasn't great, cooking every meal in the wild would be too much trouble.

With more Pokémon to feed, it was more practical to rely on large, affordable canned meat. It provided necessary nutrition while saving time.

If the Pokémon were still hungry, they could supplement their diet with Pokeblocks.

Despite their small size, Pokeblocks contained immense energy.

They also included ground energy crystals, making them highly effective.

Additionally, avoiding open flames in the forest made it harder for others to track Aoki's movements.

After finishing lunch, Aoki recalled Honchkrow and Slowking, then continued deeper into the forest with Skorupi and Sneasel.

Their destination was still a long way off.

While traveling in the afternoon, Kaitou, who was on a hunting mission in the distance, sent another message to Aoki.

Since the formation of the hunting group, their numbers had grown, providing more strategic flexibility.

Kaitou had assigned a member of the aerial unit to remain at the Hunter's Guild to refresh the available team or solo missions regularly.

Whenever a high-reward task appeared, they would contact her to decide whether to accept it.

With the hunting group established, authorized members could accept missions on behalf of the group, provided they met the required hunter ranking.

This was common practice among hunting groups. The Hunter's Guild was always crowded, but high-ranked hunters were much rarer for this reason.

Why take unnecessary trips when subordinates could handle mission logistics?

Just now, the member at the Hunter's Guild found a promising solo mission and contacted Kaitou to ask if they should take it.

It was a four-star mission requiring a hunter to capture a Scolipede with a green aptitude. Higher aptitude meant greater rewards, with no upper limit.

Although Scolipede was first discovered in the Unova region, it was not exclusive to that area. It could also be found in the deep mountains of Hoenn and other regions.

Many Pokémon existed across multiple regions. While their first recorded location determined their regional classification, that didn't mean they couldn't be found elsewhere.

For example, Slowpoke was first registered in the Kanto region, while Slowking's registration was in Johto. That didn't mean Slowking couldn't be found in Kanto—it certainly could.

Most of the Pokémon world was connected, so Pokémon naturally migrated between regions.

Once they found this mission, Kaitou had it accepted immediately.

At the same time, she informed Aoki. Whether she or Aoki encountered Scolipede first, it wouldn't matter.

As long as the captured Pokémon met the requirements before the mission deadline, they would receive the reward.

Aoki wasn't surprised by this update. Since he was already heading deep into the mountains, there was a chance he would encounter a Scolipede and earn a substantial reward.

It served multiple purposes.

After sending a brief "Understood" to Kaitou, Aoki continued his journey.

Whether he encountered Scolipede depended on luck, but with more Kaitou members out searching, their chances were higher than Aoki's alone.

As Aoki ventured deeper, he encountered some unexpected individuals.

By now, he had been traveling in the forest for most of the day. The Pokémon in this area were strong, meaning any humans present would also likely be formidable.

Curious, Aoki led his Pokémon closer to investigate.

He spotted three individuals in dark blue uniforms resting under a tree.

With Haunter's help, Aoki quietly approached within ten meters of them.

Any closer, and he risked being detected.

However, with his near-basic-level psychic abilities, he could still clearly hear their conversation.