After leaving Verdanturf Town, Aoki summoned a brand new Pokémon—a Flygon.
That's right, it was the Flygon from Drake, the only Pokémon in his possession that Aoki held in high regard.
This Flygon, with its dual Ground and Dragon typing, shared attributes with Garchomp. However, while Garchomp was known as the "earth dragon" for its ferocity, Flygon was rely referred to as the "desert dragonfly."
The primary reason for this distinction was their typing: Flygon's main attribute was Ground, with Dragon as its secondary type, whereas Garchomp's primary typing was Dragon, making it a true pure-blooded dragon.
This was also why Flygon had initially caught Aoki's attention.
From its inherited moves, it was clear that this Flygon's Dragon-type potential wasn't particularly strong. Additionally, its previous Trainer, Drake, had no real talent for raising Pokémon. As a result, while this Flygon was relatively high-leveled, it couldn't fully utilize its own strength.
Had Aoki raised it from the beginning, this Flygon would have been capable of holding its own against low-tier elite-level Pokémon by level 49.
For now, however, Aoki primarily used it as a flying mount.
Of course, he still intended to train it to so degree. If it adapted to his thods and showed significant improvent, Aoki wouldn't mind truly accepting it as one of his own.
After all, Dragon-type Pokémon were rare.
The future Dragon Champion, Lance, didn't even possess such a Pokémon—though that might simply be because he had high standards and looked down on weaker Dragon-types.
After being brought back from the desert and fully healed, Flygon had been captured.
At first, it had been prideful as a Dragon-type, unwilling to serve as Aoki's mount.
Though it had once been Drake's flying Pokémon, Drake mostly rode his Charizard, leaving Flygon to show off only occasionally when trying to intimidate others.
But now that it had been caught by Aoki, it had no choice.
A small scuffle every day, a major battle every three days, and a full-on brawl every seven days—within just one week, it had been broken in.
But Aoki didn't stop there.
It took another two weeks for Flygon to beco completely obedient. Now, even a stern glance from Aoki was enough to make it flinch.
After all, for over a month, Aoki's other Pokémon hadn't had any real battles to participate in.
This left them restless, itching for a fight.
And since Flygon was the only available target, they took out their frustrations on it.
Without a Trainer's guidance, Flygon couldn't fight at its full potential. It had grown too reliant on commands, making it weaker than wild Pokémon in terms of independent combat.
So, Weavile, Honchkrow, Slowking, Drapion, and Gengar took turns beating it down, nearly traumatizing the poor Flygon.
Each day, a different Pokémon would spar with it. Every three days, two would gang up on it. And every seven days, the entire team—including the usually gentle Floette—would join in.
By then, Flygon had completely submitted.
Now, Aoki sat comfortably on Flygon's back as it flew smoothly through the air.
Thanks to Flygon's imposing presence as a Dragon-type, most wild Pokémon didn't dare approach.
After holding back for over a month, Flygon finally unleashed its pent-up frustration on any wild Pokémon foolish enough to provoke it.
If it couldn't fight back against Aoki's team, it could at least take its anger out on these wild creatures.
Aoki didn't stop it. After all, suppressing emotions for too long wasn't healthy.
(Not that he acknowledged he was the one who caused Flygon's suffering in the first place.)
There was at least one benefit—Flygon's diet had improved drastically compared to before.
Of course it had. Aoki fed it the sa high-quality blend that Cynthia gave her Garchomp, tailored for Ground- and Dragon-types, with only slight adjustnts in the formula ratios.
One could say Flygon lived in a mix of pain and pleasure—the main reason it had surrendered to Aoki after just one week.
But the beatings from the other Pokémon lasted three weeks.
The following two weeks were spent with Aoki drilling his own battle strategies into Flygon. How much it absorbed depended entirely on its own aptitude.
Though Flygon was slimr than Tropius, their skeletal structures were similar enough that riding Flygon was still comfortable.
Now, soaring toward the rising sun, Aoki set off toward his destination.
He had two main objectives this ti.
First, he hoped to find a certain Pokémon from his past life—one that had been significant to him. Capturing it now, while it was still young and untested by hardship, would be far better than forcibly subduing it later, as he had done in his previous life.
Based on its growth cycle, it should have only recently hatched. If Aoki could raise it from the start, their bond would be stronger than the strained relationship of his past.
Second, Aoki intended to locate a specific ga Stone—the only one he had obtained in his previous life. Though he had never been able to use it before his death, he now had the resources and the right Pokémon to make it viable.
Currently, Aoki possessed one ga Stone and a Key Stone, both found by Steven. If the Pokémon he sought this ti matched one of his existing team mbers, he would focus intensely on raising it to unlock ga Evolution.
He was eager to see just how much of a power boost ga Evolution could provide.
Aside from these two goals, Aoki also planned to follow Cynthia's example and seek out powerful Trainers to challenge.
He would use them as whetstones to sharpen his skills while simultaneously building his reputation in Hoenn.
If he could find Trainers who would later beco Elite Four mbers or Gym Leaders, even better.
Once they rose to fa, people would say, "Did you know? Even the future Champion was once defeated by Aoki..."
If Aoki wanted to compete for the title of Hoenn's Champion, he needed to establish this kind of prestige.
As for the actual Championship… that could be left to Steven. He wouldn't hold the position forever, and by the ti he stepped down, Aoki might be ready to claim it.
But these were just plans for now.
Following his intended route, the first major city Aoki would visit was Rustboro City.
Though he would pass through Petalburg along the way, the Gym there didn't interest him—its leader wasn't particularly strong.
Rustboro, on the other hand, was one of Hoenn's largest cities, and its Gym Leader was notably skilled.
He just wasn't sure if the current Leader was the one he rembered.
Coincidentally, Steven was still in Rustboro at this ti.
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