When night ca, Aoki ended his training with his two Pokémon.
Both Torchic and Aron had successfully improved by one level. Torchic had reached level 15, which was only one step away from evolution. After evolving, Combusken would gain the Fighting-type attribute.
There was not a single Fighting-type specialist in Aoki's team.
anwhile, Aron had reached level 20, making it the first Pokémon in Aoki's second-tier roster to hit that milestone.
However, Aron's evolution was still far off, as it needed to reach level 32 to evolve into Lairon.
The level requirents for Aron's evolution were nearly as steep as those of pseudo-legendary Pokémon.
For example, tang evolved into tagross at level 45, while Lairon evolved into Aggron at level 42.
Only after reaching the elite level would they complete their final evolution.
However, Aoki didn't have strict level expectations for his second-tier Pokémon. His main focus remained on his first-tier team.
After a month of training, his first-tier Pokémon were about to experience another rapid growth spurt in both level and strength.
Once all of them reached the pseudo-Champion tier, Aoki would consider shifting his attention to his second-tier Pokémon.
After all, progress slowed significantly once a Pokémon reached that level unless special opportunities arose.
There was one more thing that Aoki had been keeping in mind but hadn't acted on yet.
He needed to find a truly reliable and trustworthy Breeder—soone he could confidently entrust with his Pokémon.
Truthfully, the reason Aoki hadn't sought such a person yet was that he doubted they even existed in this world.
Aoki was a pessimist. He instinctively viewed everything through the lens of worst-case scenarios, making it difficult for him to trust anyone completely.
Not even Steven could earn Aoki's 100% trust.
After all, there was still a gap in status between them.
Controlling soone through artificial ans wouldn't foster genuine trust.
His Pokémon were the foundation of his existence in this world—his most cherished bonds—and he couldn't afford to gamble with them.
Perhaps... the only person Aoki could truly rely on was himself.
If only I could create a clone.
The thought gave him pause as he cooked.
"A clone..." A bold idea ford in his mind. He didn't necessarily need an actual clone—just a tool or device he could fully control.
Even a Pokémon might work, as long as he could monitor it in real ti.
Aoki tucked away this half-ford plan for later. If feasible, it could finally put his mind at ease.
For now, he pushed the thought aside and focused on making dinner.
The wild Pokémon in this area weren't particularly strong, and with his first-tier team around, he didn't have to worry about sudden attacks.
Besides, Flygon's Dragon-type presence alone was enough to deter most wild Pokémon.
The next day.
Aoki didn't continue training his Pokémon.
Instead, he rode Flygon toward teor Falls.
As he drew closer, his excitent beca harder to suppress.
He had avoided thinking about this for a long ti. In his past life, this Pokémon had been the reason he was eventually hunted down—and the reason countless jealous rivals betrayed him.
Though it had helped Aoki reach Elite strength, it also made him a target.
Worse, their relationship had been strained from the start. By the ti Aoki captured it, the Pokémon had already lost trust in humans.
Forced submission and Aoki's ruthless philosophy in his past life had ensured it never truly obeyed.
But now, if Aoki could capture it while it was still young, before its heart closed completely...
He couldn't wait to reclaim it. Despite the trouble it had caused, it was an exceptionally rare and powerful Pokémon.
teor Falls, located between Routes 114 and 115 in Hoenn, was a famous landmark.
Its na ca from the massive teorite that had struck the area, carving out a deep crater and forming a waterfall within it.
The teorite's heat had also created a sprawling network of caves beneath the falls—a twisting, maze-like labyrinth.
Over ti, explorers had mapped parts of the tunnels, but many passages remained uncharted.
In his past life, Aoki had gotten lost in those tunnels and stumbled upon the Pokémon by sheer luck.
At the ti, he'd thought it was protagonist-level fortune—only to realize later that he'd used up a lifeti's worth of good karma.
Most Trainers couldn't navigate the deepest tunnels, but Pokémon thrived there.
So areas housed incredibly powerful wild Pokémon, which was why the caves remained largely unexplored.
As Aoki neared teor Falls, he recalled Flygon and descended using his Psychic abilities, which were now nearing interdiate level.
Finally, I can make a proper entrance.
Trainers in the area had noticed Flygon imdiately, their expressions ranging from awe to envy.
But when they saw Aoki floating down with Psychic powers, they quickly averted their gazes.
A Psychic!
Aoki wore standard League Trainer attire, his face obscured by a subtle Psychic distortion—a new technique he'd learned.
By manipulating light around his face, he created a hazy effect, making it impossible for others to see him clearly.
This trick, called "Mind Veil" in Sabrina's Psychic manual, didn't require much energy but demanded precise control.
Before, Aoki had focused on raw power over finesse.
Now, after a month of refinent, his control had improved enough to use such techniques effortlessly.
Unless soone touched him with Psychic energy or had vastly stronger abilities—like Sabrina—the disguise would hold.
Not that it mattered much. Very few people knew about Aoki's Psychic talents.
Steven knew, and Matsuda had learned of it only because Aoki told him.
Matsuda had gone into seclusion soon after, both proud and terrified that his apprentice might surpass him.
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