Skye briefly informed Aoki about the events that had transpired during his absence, including updates on the gym and the current status of Team Sky.
Although Aoki had only been away for slightly over ten days, numerous changes had taken place.
The Verdanturf Town Gym now employed 30 regular staff members, all recruited through standard procedures, including two professional referees.
Additionally, the gym had gained the ability to begin accepting apprentices, though this decision ultimately rested with Aoki himself, so Skye had refrained from overstepping his authority.
Meanwhile, the artificial lake in Verdanturf Town was halfway completed, with expectations that the first batch of Water-type Pokémon could be introduced within a month. However, this would still require a substantial investment of resources.
Team Sky was also experiencing rapid growth. After establishing their base in the mountains, they had recruited numerous homeless children, orphans, and impoverished individuals from Verdanturf Town, Rustboro City, and even Mauville City.
These recruits were given the opportunity to become Trainers, and upon completing certain tasks, they could advance to full-fledged members.
The strength of official members was determined by a specific assessment, using the same standards as Team Rocket's evaluation process—something Miyamoto was well-versed in.
Currently, Team Sky's hierarchy consisted of Aoki as the leader, followed by four cadres: Skye, Miyamoto, Alec, and the Kaitou. The Kaitou, being the strongest among them, oversaw the Sky Hunters, while Miyamoto and Alec were responsible for personnel training, leading battles, and capturing Pokémon.
Fox and the others whom Aoki had brought from the trial island, along with a few high-potential individuals, had been promoted to team leaders.
Among them, Striker, formerly the third-in-command of the Black Snake Gang, had also risen to the rank of team leader.
In total, there were now twelve team leaders, each commanding twenty official members. Skye himself managed three of these teams.
Of course, there were far more external members than official ones.
Factoring in full members, auxiliary recruits, and the Sky Hunters, Team Sky's total numbers had now surpassed 1,000 individuals.
As the largest underground force in Verdanturf Town, this scale was barely sufficient to match the town's rapid development.
However, their high-tier combat strength remained lacking. Aside from the Kaitou, the rest were only around squadron leader level, with the Kaitou herself having reached the peak of that tier and on the verge of breaking into team leader strength.
While this had been adequate for the old Verdanturf Town, the current state of affairs demanded swifter progress.
After briefly assessing the situation, Aoki instructed Skye to gather Miyamoto and the others for a meeting.
He commended their efforts and rewarded them with several high-quality Pokémon captured from the Neverland, including some taken from other Trainers.
Aoki was no longer short on funds—selling these Pokémon wouldn't significantly benefit him, so it was better to use them to bolster his subordinates' strength.
Once these Pokémon were properly tamed, the group's overall power would see a sharp increase.
Aoki also emphasized that all of Team Sky's current income should be reinvested into the team's expansion. Regardless of rank, every member would receive a share of resources, with the primary goal being rapid strength improvement. There was no need to worry about resource depletion.
Having subdued an entire group of Carbink, Aoki's confidence had soared—he no longer concerned himself with the earnings of his subordinates. Instead, he focused on elevating their combat capabilities.
If Aoki's own strength reached champion or even higher, but his strongest subordinate remained at squadron leader level, he would have to personally handle any threats beyond that tier. That would be tedious, wouldn't it?
What was the purpose of building an organization if not to make life easier?
If subordinates couldn't resolve issues independently, forcing the leader to step in every time, wouldn't that make him more of a caretaker than a commander?
The hierarchy of authority couldn't be reversed.
With powerful Pokémon now at their disposal and Aoki's generous resource allocation, Skye and the others were poised for another rapid growth phase.
The level of investment they received likely matched that of Team Rocket's average field operatives.
Wouldn't anyone want to be Aoki's direct subordinate under these conditions?
In truth, Skye and the others' progress hadn't been slow—it only seemed that way compared to Aoki's meteoric rise.
Now, Aoki wanted them to at least keep pace, even if they couldn't match his speed.
If they fell too far behind now, they'd never catch up later.
Once everything was settled, Skye and the others returned to their duties.
Aoki, meanwhile, retreated to his backyard to organize his Pokémon's training and acclimate the newly acquired Altaria and Carbink.
All surplus Pokémon had been distributed—even Drake's pseudo-Dragon-types, which Aoki disdained, were valuable to Skye and the others.
The only one Aoki kept was the Flygon. Its potential and strength were decent, and even if it wasn't used in battle, it would serve as a reliable flying mount for the time being—especially since his Tropius was still relatively weak.
He released all his Pokémon. Slowking and Honchkrow were already accustomed to the place, while Larvitar and the others immediately began playing.
In contrast, the newly tamed Florette was more cautious, being the newest addition.
Aoki didn't impose any immediate training regimen on them. After fifteen days of intense wilderness survival, they needed relaxation to recover from physical and mental fatigue.
Once their tension eased, the Pokémon would quickly fall asleep—today was essentially a day off for them.
Florette settled on the grass and began planting flowers, though the ones she carried hadn't been refreshed in a while. The lack of flowers in Aoki's backyard made her slightly uncomfortable.
After just fifteen days with Aoki, Florette had risen from level 30 to level 38—not far from Elite tier.
She was quite pleased with this progress.
Aside from the occasional scare, staying with Aoki hadn't been bad at all.
Aoki currently had no Grass-type Pokémon, so Floette could temporarily fill that gap—especially since she knew the move Camouflage.
This ability allowed Pokémon to change their type based on the terrain. Floette, being a Fairy-type, would shift to pure Grass-type when in grassy fields, enhancing her Grass-type moves with STAB.
Additionally, Floette had strong supportive capabilities, and with Aoki's focused training, she could become an excellent support Pokémon.
Though her current aptitude was somewhat lacking, the potential for evolution remained, so Aoki wasn't overly concerned about her long-term growth.
Most importantly, Aoki believed he might need to explore Fairy-types—a trend he saw as crucial for the future.