Chapter 475 - Renda Makes a Move

Youhun stared blankly at the scene before him.

His Ariados had been instantly taken down by Honchkrow's sudden attack.

But… Aoki never gave a command?

How had his Pokémon synchronized so perfectly?

And why were Aoki's eyes glowing red?

It was then that Youhun realized—even if Aoki was furious, his eyes wouldn't be this red.

It was like…

As if…

Psychic Powers?!

Youhun had never battled against a Psychic before, but he had heard the rumors.

It was said that those with Psychic Powers didn't need to speak their commands aloud. Instead, they used telepathy, sending orders directly into their Pokémon's minds.

Was Aoki using his core psychic abilities?

Youhun suddenly wanted to strangle whoever had fed him false intel.

Was he even here to fight Aoki… or to sabotage himself?

This was a complete disaster.

But while he was frozen in shock, Aoki did not stop.

His telepathic orders continued.

With Ariados defeated, Honchkrow's Overconfidence had already triggered, further boosting its strength.

"Honchkrow, use Brave Bird on Yanmega again! Sneasel, hit it with Ice Beam!"

Hearing the command, Sneasel crossed his hands, releasing a piercing white beam at the Yanmega in midair.

Although Yanmega reacted in time, its wings were still partially hit by the chilling attack.

Frost began forming on its wings, disrupting its aerial balance.

Right after Sneasel's attack, Honchkrow dove again, Brave Bird fully charged.

"Yanmega, dodge!" Youhun snapped back to reality.

But as he saw Honchkrow closing in at breakneck speed, his heart clenched.

Something was about to go very wrong.

He barely had time to issue a command.

The moment the words left his mouth—

BOOM!

Honchkrow smashed into Yanmega headfirst.

Due to its superior endurance, Yanmega didn't faint immediately, but it spiraled downward from the impact.

Sneasel, already anticipating this, moved swiftly.

As soon as Yanmega fell within range, she activated Ice Claw—a combination of Metal Claw and Ice Punch.

CRASH!

Like Ariados before it, Yanmega was sent hurtling into a tree and fainted on the spot.

Youhun's expression twisted.

Panic surged through him as he reached for another Pokéball.

But no matter how fast his reflexes were, they couldn't match Sneasel's.

Under Aoki's telepathic command, he darted forward, delivering a powerful kick that sent Youhun sprawling to the ground.

Honchkrow descended beside him, eyes sharp and unforgiving.

Youhun trembled.

Aoki finally withdrew his Psychic Powers. Telepathy didn't consume too much energy, making it easy for him to maintain.

He walked over slowly, reaching into his coat.

And pulled out a special communicator.

Shadow's exclusive communicator.

Seeing Aoki approach, Youhun forced an ugly smile, wanting to speak—

But Aoki didn't even glance at him.

He simply stomped on his head, pressing him firmly into the dirt.

Then he made the call.

After a while, the other end picked up.

Aoki remained silent, letting the other person speak first.

"Aoki?"

"Master Shadow." Aoki responded coolly.

There was a brief pause, then Shadow chuckled.

Aoki's strength had already reached the elite level, so the overwhelming pressure Shadow once exerted on him wasn't as crushing as before.

And Aoki was confident—he would surpass Shadow one day.

But for now, Shadow was still far stronger. Out of respect for that strength, Aoki kept his emotions in check.

Now wasn't the time to challenge a high-ranking League powerhouse.

Not even with Sakagi's backing.

"Hahaha, still mad? So, did you meet the idiot I sent? How did it go? Did you win?" Shadow laughed.

Hearing this, Aoki immediately understood.

Shadow knew about this situation from the start.

"Yeah. What's the deal with this fool?"

Shadow burst into laughter again.

"Fool? Hahaha! Well said. He's a fool, indeed."

Aoki frowned, remaining silent.

Then Shadow spoke again—but this time, not to him.

"Dark, what do you think? Why did you send a fool there?"

Dark?

Aoki's eyes narrowed.

Shadow wasn't alone?

A cold, unfamiliar voice responded. There was no emotion in the tone, not even when repeating Shadow's mocking words.

"Perhaps he really is a fool."

Dark?!

So Dark was standing beside Shadow?

Aoki had heard rumors that Shadow and An—the leaders of the Shadow Unit—were not on good terms.

And now, it didn't seem like just a rumor.

Shadow laughed for a while longer before finally speaking to Aoki again.

"Alright, I'm sure you still have questions."

"This time, I sent someone to deliver supplies to you. Originally, I was going to pick a member from the Shadow Unit, but Dark came to me in secret, claiming that the team had been infiltrated."

Aoki's expression darkened.

"We've had cases of spies infiltrating before. We don't know if it's an outside force or an internal traitor."

"So, I decided to use this as a test. Instead of sending a high-ranking Shadow member, I sent someone… obvious. And guess what? We uncovered something."

"The person I sent—Youhun—is one of our suspected traitors. He's loyal to the Shadow Unit on the surface, but he's been secretly taking bribes. This time, he wasn't just here to deliver supplies—he was ordered to kill you."

Aoki's eyes flashed.

"You probably already know who was behind it."

A single name escaped Aoki's lips.

"Renda."

Shadow paused, then sighed.

"Even you figured it out? It seems our Shadow Unit's deputy leader has truly failed this time."

"He's yours to deal with. The supplies are on him, but I encrypted them. He won't be able to open them."

So it really was him.

Renda—the Team Rocket executive responsible for the incident on Trial Island.

Aoki clenched his fist.

But some deeper, more complicated matters remained unclear. And Shadow had no intention of explaining further.

After all, this was still a disgrace to the Shadow Unit.

"Alright, that's enough. Dark and I are busy dealing with internal matters. Unless something critical happens, handle things on your own. If you managed to defeat Youhun, you should be close to securing your elite status."

"If you establish yourself in Hoenn, things should go smoothly from here."

With that, Shadow hung up.

Aoki glanced down at Youhun, who was still pinned under his boot.

His eyes were blank.

Because he finally understood—

Shadow and Dark had known about his betrayal all along.