Standing atop Venusaur's broad head, Aoki found the ride far steadier than riding his Drapion. The sheer size and presence of these two Venusaur made them much more imposing than his trusted Drapion. He couldn't help but consider the possibility of using Venusaur as a new land mount for future travels.
Under Venusaur's guidance, they soon arrived at the peculiar location the massive Grass-type Pokémon had mentioned—a small, unassuming hill with a single lonely cave entrance carved into its side. The cave's mouth yawned open, pitch black and foreboding, its depths unknown.
Aoki hopped down from Venusaur's head and approached the cave entrance cautiously.
"Ven! Ven!" The female Venusaur called out, her voice echoing slightly.
Aoki understood her meaning—this cave was the only notable feature within their territory. Though neither Venusaur had ever ventured inside due to the cramped space preventing their massive frames from entering, they knew it held something unusual. Bulbasaur and Ivysaur could technically enter, but the Venusaur pair forbade it, fearing potential dangers lurking in the unexplored depths. Over time, the cave became an afterthought, left undisturbed in their daily lives.
Kneeling, Aoki examined the narrow entrance—more of a burrow than a proper cave. "The vegetation here is far denser than the surrounding area," he mused, running his fingers through the unusually lush grass. This abundance likely explained why the Venusaur had claimed this territory—ample food sources were critical for such large herbivorous Pokémon.
"Wait here," Aoki instructed the two Venusaur, who nodded and settled onto the ground comfortably. This was their home, after all; they had no objections.
Before entering, Aoki had Slowking establish a Psychic-type anchor point outside using its Telepathy abilities. Torch in hand, he ducked into the cave's mouth, Slowking following closely behind. The space proved incredibly cramped—even at his full height, Aoki had to hunch slightly to avoid scraping his head against the rough ceiling. Slowking fared worse, forced to shuffle forward in an awkward crouch.
"Ah dong—" Slowking's soft call echoed in the tight space.
"The energy concentration is increasing?" Aoki interpreted Slowking's observation correctly. The rising ambient energy confirmed they were heading toward something significant—this cave was indeed the special place Venusaur had mentioned.
As they progressed, the tunnel gradually widened. Soon Aoki could stand upright, and Slowking no longer needed to contort itself painfully. After several minutes of careful advancement, a faint glow appeared ahead—their destination.
The tunnel opened into a massive cavern illuminated by bioluminescent flora coating every surface. Fluorescent mosses and strange glowing plants bathed the underground chamber in an eerie greenish light, eliminating the need for Aoki's torch. At the cavern's center lay a small pond, its waters shimmering with intense viridescent radiance from the luminescent algae carpeting its bottom.
The sight was equal parts beautiful and unsettling.
Suddenly, the six Unown symbols tattooed on Aoki's wrist flared to life, their usual dormant state disrupted by the cavern's unique energies.
Aoki watched the pulsating markings intently. Unown were extraordinarily sensitive to spatial anomalies—their violent reaction indicated this was no ordinary location. Concentrating, he attempted to interpret their chaotic, disjointed messages.
As always, the Unown's communication proved frustratingly abstract—jumbled phrases about "exclusive spaces," "dimensional instabilities," and "energy convergence points." Piecing together their meaning, Aoki hypothesized this cavern was once the domain of some powerful entity, and the glowing pond represented a rare intersection with an extradimensional energy source.
"Regardless of its origins, this water contains tremendous energy," Aoki concluded aloud. Removing a test tube from his pack, he collected a sample for analysis. His portable scanner confirmed the liquid was saturated with pure, untyped Pokémon energy—highly beneficial for most species.
Satisfied it was safe, Aoki formulated a plan. He selected a Pokéball from his belt and enlarged it.
"Pupitar, come out." With a flash of red light, his Pupitar materialized on the cavern floor.
"Pupii—?" The usually energetic Pupitar remained uncharacteristically subdued, its voice quiet. Recent training had tempered its boisterous nature, forcing discipline and patience.
Aoki's idea was simple: have Pupitar absorb the pond's energy to accelerate its glacial growth cycle. Pseudo-legendary Pokémon like Pupitar were notoriously difficult to raise—their extended juvenile phases meant trainers often spent years nurturing them before they reached full power. Most pseudo-legendaries remained weaker than common Pokémon until final evolution, requiring staggering resource investments with painfully slow returns.
Many trainers who acquired pseudo-legendaries did so only after establishing themselves with more conventional teams. Even trainers like Lance had begun with starter Pokémon before adding Dragonite to his roster later. Only rare exceptions like Steven could afford to raise pseudo-legendaries as primary partners.
If this energy pond could compress years of natural growth into months or weeks, it would revolutionize Pupitar's development timeline.