In a month's time, not only did Steven, Cynthia, and Lance see significant improvements, but Aoki's progress was actually the greatest among them all.
This was not only because he was a High-Level Breeder, allowing him to make more accurate judgments and better adjustments for his Pokémon,
but also because Aoki had the most Pokémon among everyone, and also the most low-level ones. Their improvement speed here was very fast, so in terms of overall strength, the boost was massive.
Not everyone was like Aoki, taking their Pokémon with them every time they went out. If everyone did that, many people in the Pokémon World who ran breeding houses as a business would likely go out of business, losing many customers.
Moreover, most people couldn't take care of all their Pokémon every time they went out like Aoki did.
For a Trainer, every additional Pokémon increased the difficulty by more than just one layer. If they had too many Pokémon with them, let alone traveling for experience, they would likely be so busy taking care of them that they'd be unable to move a step.
There's a reason the League stipulates that each Trainer can only carry a maximum of six Pokémon.
And as it turns out, most breeding houses have their advantages. Pokémon not carried on one's person can live freely in a breeding house, which only benefits them.
Additionally, since they are paid, they must provide a certain return. Breeding houses cultivate Pokémon according to the payment standard, which is much better than a Trainer carrying them around and being unable to care for them properly.
While people of Steven, Lance, and Cynthia's caliber certainly wouldn't leave their Pokémon in a breeding house—even if they weren't their main force, but perhaps their second or third-tier teams—those Pokémon were still very rare and precious, beyond what ordinary breeding houses could handle.
In many breeding houses, if they receive a Pokémon with exceptional aptitude, although they won't do anything particularly bad to it, high-aptitude Pokémon have a high probability of producing high-aptitude offspring. Once those unscrupulous breeding houses set their sights on this... they might casually add some drugs to the Pokémon's food and then have them go at it thirteen times in one night. This causes great damage to their vitality; though they might look fine on the surface after a short rest, by the time the Trainer notices, they can't blame the breeding house.
Meanwhile, those breeding houses earn a substantial income by relying on the high-aptitude Pokémon born from this 'insemination'.
This is a shady business that many breeding houses engage in secretly. Great families like Steven's would obviously never place their Pokémon in those breeding houses, but they wouldn't carry their second and third-tier Pokémon with them during field training either; most are raised in the family's exclusive breeding houses.
People like Wallace and general Gyms also have their own breeding houses, let alone an 'ancient' Gym like the Sootopolis Gym with nearly a hundred years of history.
Even Phoebe's Pokémon are placed together with Adams's Pokémon, with specialized League personnel responsible for their cultivation.
Thus, Aoki was the only one present who carried all his Pokémon with him when going out.
Firstly, because he had the ability and time to cultivate so many Pokémon; secondly, because Aoki didn't have anyone he trusted enough to entrust his Pokémon to. Aoki could never achieve 100% trust in others; even with Steven, Aoki held back a little.
The only difference was the level of trust.
If he were in the Pokémon World, Aoki could place his Pokémon on his newly expanded farm island, but from the moment he entered this space, the connection between the chip and Porygon would be severed. Therefore, Aoki had no choice but to bring all his Pokémon with him.
Facts also proved that the return on this move was quite good. The wild Pokémon resources here were very rich and sufficiently powerful, ranging from those like Gengar, who were only one step away from the first hurdle of the Champion Level, to those like Lucario and Venusaur, who were still some distance from being a Quasi-Champion.
With a large amount of resources and combat, there were almost no shackles on the speed of the Pokémon's strength improvement.
On this day, Aoki, having just finished his day of staying behind yesterday, headed out again with his Pokémon to fight.
Walking beside him was a very sturdy-looking Venusaur. However, this Venusaur's color was lighter compared to others; it was precisely Aoki's Shinny Venusaur.
There was also a blue-and-black Pokémon weaving back and forth through the woods not far away. Its agile and vigorous figure meant it didn't stop its advance due to the complex and ever-changing forest.
To match the movement speed of Venusaur and Aoki below, it looked more like it was taking a leisurely stroll, appearing quite relaxed.
If one looked closely, they would find that this Lucario was actually carrying a small backpack made of animal hide. On its wrists and ankles, there were also similar small bun-like things, making it look as though it were wearing some special decorations.
In fact, these were weights Aoki had specially prepared for Lucario. Carrying weights on various parts of the body would not affect its Growth; apart from obstructing its movement to a certain extent, it basically wouldn't leave any hidden ailments.
Whether for humans or Pokémon, carrying weights is actually very meticulous; one cannot just carry them haphazardly.
Doing so carries great hidden dangers or even injuries. A minor case might result in muscle strain, while a more serious case could lead to distorted Growth of muscles and bones in various directions due to unfriendly weighting. The most severe case could result in total paralysis.
Fortunately, Aoki had sufficient control over Lucario's body and knew how much weight it should carry at what stage, and which parts of the body were most suitable for carrying weights.
Lucario had been wearing these weights for a month now. When it first put them on, its entire body was distorted, and its attacks and skills were uncoordinated. But now, a month later, even when stepping on a branch the thickness of a thumb, Lucario could walk as if on level ground.
This was while it was carrying the weights the entire time; since putting them on, it had never experienced the feeling of having the weights removed.
Even so, most pokémon that blocked Aoki's path would be repelled by Lucario's iron fists; few pokémon could withstand a single punch from Lucario.
It wasn't just Lucario. If the number of wild pokémon was large enough, before they could even get close to Aoki, Venusaur would show them 'why the flowers are so red'—two green Vine Whips as thick as thighs would definitely whip them until they didn't know which way was north.
pokémon: Lucario (Deep Blue)
Gender: Male
Level: 70
Type: Fighting + Steel
Ability: Inner Focus
Held Item: None
Egg Moves: Cross Chop, High Jump Kick, Fire Kick, Meteor Mash
Basic Moves: Aura Sphere, Hone Claws, Detect, Quick Attack, Detect, Metal Claw, Counter, Fake Out, Power-Up Punch, Swords Dance, Metal Sound, Bone Rush, Quick Guard, Me First, Work Up, Calm Mind, Heal Pulse, Close Combat, Dragon Pulse, Extreme Speed
Learnt Moves: Thunder Punch, Magnet Rise, Ice Punch, Water Pulse, Iron Tail, Role Play, Low Kick, Dragon Pulse, Drain Punch, Hone Claws, Dual Chop
TM Moves: Protect, Earthquake, Psychic, Shadow Ball, Brick Break
Lucario was able to raise its level to 70 in a short time, which had much to do with its usual hard training and active participation in battles.
The reason Aoki had Lucario carry so many weights was primarily to train its Extreme Speed move.
In the games Aoki used to play, the move Extreme Speed was quite broken. After encountering it a few times in reality, Aoki found that Extreme Speed wasn't as broken as he had imagined.
However, the ceiling of the Extreme Speed move was much higher than Aoki had imagined.
In other words, if Extreme Speed was used poorly, its floor would be very low, but if trained well, the ceiling of this Extreme Speed move would be exceptionally high.
Whether as a finishing move for an attack or as a bridge between several skills, it was very good.
pokémon: Shinny Venusaur (Deep Blue)
Gender: Female
Level: 70
Type: Grass + Poison
Ability: Chlorophyll
Held Item: None
Egg Moves: Charm, Petal Dance, Power Whip, Grassy Terrain
Basic Moves: Petal Dance, Tackle, Growl, Leech Seed, Vine Whip, Poison Powder, Sleep Powder, Take Down, Razor Leaf, Sweet Scent, Growth, Double-Edge, Worry Seed, Synthesis, Petal Blizzard, Solar Beam
Learnt Moves: Frenzy Plant, Grass Pledge, Worry Seed, Snore, Knock Off, Bind, Seed Bomb, Synthesis, Seed Bomb, Bind, Giga Drain, Stomping Tantrum, Block, Outrage
TM Moves: Protect, Toxic, Poison Jab, Earthquake, Sludge Bomb, Energy Ball, Substitute, Grass Knot
Venusaur's Growth rate was not much inferior to Lucario's, because compared to Lucario, the environment here was more favorable for Venusaur.
As a pokémon with plant-like characteristics, Venusaur could absorb many special and precious energies from the surrounding environment and the soil of the Space-Time Continent.
The reason there were so many precious materials and a large number of rare plants here was partly because not many humans came to harvest them, but an even bigger reason was that on this Space-Time Continent, the invisible energy in both the air and the soil was much richer than in the Pokémon World.
Therefore, Grass-type Pokémon would have a great advantage living here.
After discovering Venusaur's situation, Aoki even suspected for a time that Leafeon's evolution also had a lot to do with the abundance of Grass-type energy here.
That Leafeon and Jolteon were both placed in the valley by Aoki. Although their strength was not weak, Aoki didn't have much intention of capturing them.
However, if they were just to serve as guardian Pokémon, that would be quite good.
Now the entire Aura Valley, in addition to being guarded by the two Pokémon, Togekiss and the Clawitzer leader, also had Leafeon and Jolteon added to the mix.
With three Pokémon that had broken through the first hurdle of the Champion Level, plus a Clawitzer with strength at the peak of the early Champion stage, ordinary people would truly find it difficult to charge into the valley where Aoki and the others were located—especially since one person was responsible for staying behind every day.
Aoki led Venusaur and Lucario forward rapidly. The area they were currently walking through had already been scoured by Steven and the others countless times. Although for the principle of long-term sustainability, even if they defeated powerful wild Pokémon, they would not choose to kill or capture them.
In the short term, those wild Pokémon could accept it, but as time went on, who could stand it?
A small fight every day, a big fight every three days, and a group beatdown every five days—even a body made of iron wouldn't accept these things. So those powerful wild Pokémon all chose to run away and move house!
If Aoki and the others wanted to find Pokémon that weren't weak now, they had to run to a relatively distant place. This had almost become a daily necessity for them during this period.
Today, Aoki prepared to develop a new area.
However, one thing had to be noted: as their contact with the people of the Divine Cult became increasingly frequent, the Divine Cult had already designated this as a key investigation area. People going out could encounter powerful members of the Divine Cult at any time. Aoki and the others had also collected quite a bit of Pokémon and data on many people to some extent.
Although every Divine Cult member dressed similarly, they could still judge who was who based on the Pokémon they carried.
The path was clear. This journey of fighting was just a warm-up for Lucario and Venusaur; the real battle would only begin once they reached their destination.
It was supposed to be another plain but fulfilling day, but the peaceful improvement Aoki was experiencing did not last long, because an uninvited guest successfully arrived here due to the commotion caused by the battle.
During these two months of training, it wasn't as if Aoki hadn't encountered people from the Divine Cult. Although they hadn't come to major blows, there were many minor frictions.
Furthermore, Aoki was certain of one thing: the Divine Cult was looking for him. They had been searching for him since two months ago.
Though he didn't know why they were looking for him, Aoki guessed it must be related to his defeat of Jokley and that Middle-aged Man in Yellow Clothes who specialized in using Electric-type Pokémon.
Whether for revenge or something else, it had made Aoki their primary target.
Aoki, who had sensed the other party's movement, was originally prepared to recall his Pokémon and avoid them. Now was not the time to go to war with the Divine Cult, and Aoki was unwilling to get too entangled with them here. After all, this place was already some distance from Aura Valley, and Steven and the others' support would certainly not be timely. If the other party was moving in a pair, the threat to Aoki would be quite large.
But today, this person arrived much faster than Aoki had imagined.
And when Aoki saw the Pokémon beside the newcomer, he suddenly stopped his steps to leave.
A sturdy Gengar and an agile Weavile. Aoki was very familiar with these two Pokémon.
Although the people of the Divine Cult all dressed similarly—a wide black robe, a hood covering the head, plus the blurred faces that Psychics are adept at—everyone was almost the same except for some differences in physique.
Of course, as Psychics, their own Psychic powers were slightly different, which was also the best way to distinguish them.
But upon seeing this person, Aoki's eyes narrowed slightly. A bold idea that he previously lacked the opportunity to implement resurfaced in his mind.
Seeing that Aoki wasn't afraid of him and didn't flee immediately, the newcomer was somewhat surprised.
He had encountered more than a few League members; aside from some who would try to fight him at first, every subsequent encounter usually resulted in them fleeing immediately.
Therefore, after discovering Aoki's movements, he had rushed over at maximum speed. He had expected another chase, but he didn't expect this person to not flee immediately, instead looking at him thoughtfully.
This made the newcomer somewhat excited, yet as he noticed Aoki's gaze, for some reason, a creepy feeling rose in his heart, as if he were being stared at by a venomous snake.
When he snapped out of it, he realized Aoki had returned to normal. Only then did he notice Aoki's appearance—the face they had been searching for for two months under the command of the Black-faced Leader.
Aoki!
Discovering that the person looking at him with a strange expression was actually the Aoki their leader had been desperately searching for, Batram felt a surge of wild joy. He thought about the praise he would receive and the substantial rewards he could get if he captured Aoki.
Not everyone could be as lucky as Paji, who received special attention from the Black-faced Man because he owned a Jolteon and was nurtured with a massive amount of resources. This made most people very envious; a Jolteon that originally only had Quasi-Elite Four Level strength had already been pushing for the Quasi-Champion Level in just two short months.
Although it was forcibly built up by consuming a massive amount of resources, being able to gain a Champion Level Jolteon out of thin air was definitely like a pie falling from the sky.
But as long as he captured this Aoki, who had almost single-handedly blocked the Divine Cult's plans, Batram believed the rewards he would receive would definitely be more than Paji's. At that time... Thinking of this, Batram suppressed his intention to call his companions; he was unwilling to let anyone else share in the enviable rewards.
He wanted to capture this young League kid named Aoki all by himself!
Once this thought arose in Batram's mind, he could no longer suppress it. As for Aoki dealing with Jokley and that idiot who specialized in Electric-type Pokémon, in Batram's view, it was entirely because they had underestimated the enemy too much.
The guy with the thunder was killed by a sneak attack before the battle even began.
As for the other one, Jokley, although Bailing's words claimed she had almost dealt with a man named Steven, Aoki had dealt with Jokley before she could finish Steven.
In Batram's view, Bailing was just shifting the blame. It was hard to say how Jokley really died, and whether she almost dealt with Steven or Steven almost dealt with her was truly uncertain.
Among the people they had encountered recently, few were weak enough to be dealt with quickly. Thus, Batram was certain that Bailing had made up those words to shift the blame; it was highly likely that Aoki and that Steven had teamed up to deal with Jokley. But saying that outright would definitely make Bailing lose face, so she forcibly 'justified' herself!
The reason he thought this way was that if he were in Bailing's position, he would definitely say the same thing.
So in his view, Aoki's strength was not weak, but definitely not that strong!
Furthermore, whether it was Jokley or that guy skilled with thunder, although they had lived a long time, their lives were too comfortable, causing them to lose a Trainer's fighting heart long ago.
Being killed directly by a sneak attack under those circumstances, the word 'useless' could definitely be thrown right at their heads.
If it weren't for the fact that these people were chosen by that legendary Bishop, Batram would have been the first to jump out and despise them. At least those people who had lived an extra twenty-five years weren't worth his consideration; as for the two who had lived an extra fifty years, Batram indicated he would still respect the elderly and love the young.
He wasn't the only one who thought this way, which was why they were so active in searching for Aoki—to do exactly what Batram was thinking: capture Aoki alone and enjoy the harvest by himself.
Today, Batram's luck was good. He had originally thought he would just do a symbolic patrol, and the opponent would turn and run just like the people he usually encountered.
But he never expected that this person would not only not run, but was also the Aoki he had been 'thinking about day and night'!
An extremely intense greed emerged in Batram's eyes, as if Aoki had become a beloved prize in his sight.
It seemed like he had thought a lot, but it was actually only a matter of seconds.
Aoki stood in place, looking playfully at this Divine Cult member who had been dazed for two or three seconds. Although he didn't know the specifics of his conjecture, Aoki estimated it was highly likely he had some special ideas about him.
Aoki also knew the Divine Cult people were looking for him; he just didn't know what their purpose was.
Bailing and Ichi had definitely already conveyed his appearance to everyone in the Divine Cult, so Aoki not covering his face was his own intention.
As for this person, after seeing Aoki, he didn't initiate an attack, didn't flee, and didn't even call his companions, which made it a bit difficult for Aoki to fathom.
Clearly, the opponent did not understand Aoki's strength.
However!
Aoki already knew his strength to a certain extent!
This was thanks to the plan started a month ago by Aoki, Steven, Cynthia, and the others to increase contact with the Divine Cult, while simultaneously understanding and analyzing the opponent's strength, and then finding a suitable opportunity to deal with them all at once!
And this Divine Cult member, accompanied by a Gengar and a Weavile, was on the list of personnel Steven and the others had contacted.
He specialized in Ghost-type and Dark-type Pokémon, with strength just reaching the Champion Level. If the special abilities of the Divine Cult were included, he would be slightly stronger than an average Champion Level Trainer.
If Steven and the others encountered him, their certainty of winning and retreating unscathed wasn't very high, but Aoki believed his own chances were better. Not only because he had a certain advantage in his own strength, but more importantly, he might understand the few Pokémon the opponent used even better than the opponent himself!
Aoki glanced at the Tyranitar beside him and the eager Blaziken, smiling slightly again. With such reliable partners, no matter what kind of opponent he faced, he would have the strength for a battle.
The hard work of Tyranitar, Blaziken, and his other Pokémon during this time was something he had seen with his own eyes.
While Tyranitar and the others were gratified by the rapid increase in strength of Salamence's group, they felt even more pressure, which also served as motivation!
So the hard work and Growth of Tyranitar and the others during this period were visible to the naked eye.
Naturally, it wasn't just them; the hard work of all of Aoki's Pokémon had received its due reward. Pokémon like Honchkrow, Weavile, and Drapion had all seen their strength improve, and were almost just one step away from breaking through to the Champion Level.
Aoki felt that today might be the most suitable time for them to break through!
One Poké Ball after another was thrown, and familiar Pokémon were summoned one by one.
Seeing the Pokémon Aoki summoned, Batram across from him became increasingly surprised because... the types of Pokémon Aoki summoned this time were too similar to his!
Not just Gengar and Weavile, but also that Drapion and Honchkrow; they seemed as if they were carved from the same mold.
Although Aoki's Pokémon still had some differences from the opponent's—for instance, Aoki's Gengar looked more energetic than the opponent's, not looking like a Ghost-type Pokémon at all; and Aoki's Drapion and Honchkrow were both larger than the opponent's Pokémon, especially the Drapion, which was more than twice as large.
Honchkrow only looked slightly larger; if one didn't compare carefully, it was hard to see the size difference at a glance.
On the other hand, Weavile looked about the same as the opponent's, except the red feathers on Aoki's Weavile's head and tail looked more vibrant.
From the comparison between the two sides, the gap in Pokémon nurturing could be seen!
The opponent was surprised by the Pokémon Aoki summoned, but Aoki and his Pokémon were eager to try. Nothing was more heartening than fighting against the same kind of Pokémon and then achieving victory.
However, Batram was only slightly surprised, because he saw that among these Pokémon of Aoki's that were similar to his, except for Gengar, which seemed slightly stronger than his own, the rest had not broken through to the Champion Level.
Although the strength of a Quasi-Champion peak Pokémon was extraordinary, compared to a Champion Level Pokémon, presumably even a fool would know who had the greater advantage.
But even that Gengar, which seemed the strongest, was not something he was worried about; after all... he had the special ability of the Divine Cult.
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, neither Bailing nor Ichi had told the Divine Cult members that Aoki actually possessed an even more superior special evolution ability.
This was probably the real reason why the Divine Cult remained a disorganized mess to this day. Everyone had their own little schemes; except for a few, most people always put their own interests first. After all, being recruited into the Divine Cult was precisely because they were naturally greedy, which was a side effect the Divine Cult had to endure while using them.
In normal times, this side effect was covered up, and not many people paid attention to it.
But it just so happened that the person appearing before them now was someone who also understood those underground forces and knew the thoughts of those self-centered people.
Aoki! He had once stepped into the role of such a mindset as well!
"Gengar, show them the Divine Power Infusion of our Divine Cult!" Batram took out a special stone from his pocket and pressed it directly onto Gengar's head.
Instantly, special energy enveloped Gengar, and Gengar directly completed Mega Evolution, becoming Mega Gengar!
Although the Divine Stone the opponent used was clearly of a higher quality than the Divine Stones Aoki had seen before, there was still a certain gap compared to a true Mega Evolution, most notably in the strength boost!
And the most important point: every Divine Power Infusion from the Divine Cult's Divine Stone was actually a devastation to the Pokémon's body. If used too many times, let alone wanting the strength to break through again, even maintaining it would be quite difficult.
Seeing that Mega Gengar across from him gasping for breath, as if a single Mega Evolution had caused it some kind of pain, the smile on Aoki's face grew wider.
Turning to the Gengar beside him, he said, "Dealing with such a fake shouldn't be much pressure for you!
Defeating a Mega Evolution form Mega Gengar and then completing a breakthrough you've waited so long for—I think... nothing could be a more suitable celebration for you than this, right?"
"Jie jie—" Gengar gave Aoki a mischievous smile. Although it didn't say much, Aoki could see the fighting spirit eager to try in its eyes.
That's right! Aoki didn't plan to let Gengar use Mega Evolution!
Mega Evolution would indeed give a Pokémon a good boost, but to defeat a 'weakling' who couldn't even break through the first hurdle of the Champion Level despite having a pseudo-Mega Evolution boost, it seemed like a true Mega Evolution wasn't necessary!
Although Gengar really wanted to demonstrate to the opponent what a true Mega Evolution was, why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut?
However, just because Gengar wasn't using Mega Evolution didn't mean Aoki wouldn't use it for other Pokémon. After all, Weavile and the others were currently at a disadvantage in terms of level, and Aoki wouldn't be so foolish as to let a Quasi-Champion peak Pokémon challenge a Champion Level Pokémon.
Isn't mutual help between companions expected? Otherwise, why allow a Trainer to capture so many Pokémon?
The power of companions is also a part of one's own power!
"Tyranitar, Blaziken! The time to show off your skills has come! Mega Evolution!" The excitement in Aoki's heart also grew more intense, and along with this mood, the Psychic power on his body became increasingly turbulent.
True Mega Evolution energy enveloped both Tyranitar and Blaziken. In the blink of an eye... Mega Tyranitar and Mega Blaziken arrived!
Seeing that Aoki's Tyranitar and Blaziken had also undergone a special evolution, Batram's eyes widened, and he failed to issue an attack command for a moment.
Anyone would be quite shocked to see that their trump card was something the opponent also possessed, and it even looked stronger.
Although Aoki couldn't see the opponent's expression, he could tell from the movements of the opponent's Pokémon and the stagnation of the opponent's Psychic power that the surprise in his heart must not be small.
Noticing this situation, Aoki became even more certain in his heart that Ichi and Bailing hadn't told anyone about his ability to use Mega Evolution. What 'good partners' they were!
Knowing this now was clearly too late; even if the opponent wanted to call his companions at this time, it would be too late.
"Tyranitar, Crimson Sand Purgatory! Seal off the entire space!"