"It's just a beginner level psychic ability. It's not very useful in everyday life, but in battle, telepathy can provide a slight advantage," Aoki said casually.
To Steven, however, it felt like Aoki was downplaying the situation—like someone saying they had just won five million Pokecoins, calling it a small amount.
Though Steven didn't care much for money, that wasn't the point.
As one of the wealthiest people in the Hoenn region, was he really going to let Aoki make him feel like this?
So Steven simply nodded, pushing aside the last traces of envy in his heart.
"I can only say, Aoki, you're truly talented," Steven remarked lightly.
"It's just luck. Do you remember my Slowpoke? He's already evolved," Aoki replied.
Then, he took out a Pokeball and released Slowking.
"This is..." Steven watched in surprise as the Pokémon appeared. It now walked upright and stood over two meters tall.
Was this really that same Slowpoke?
"Is this Slowking?" Although phrased as a question, the answer was clear.
Aoki nodded. "Yes. Do you remember the King's Rock I asked you to find for me? By chance, when Slowpoke was holding it, a Shellder bit down on its head, and it evolved into Slowking."
"So Slowking really evolves from a Pokémon like Slowpoke. Isn't the King's Rock evolution condition a bit too specific?" Steven asked, though by now, he was almost desensitized to Aoki's constant discoveries.
At this point, anything Aoki did felt normal.
"The focus isn't on Slowking's evolution. I already handed over the details to Professor Oak, but they haven't been made public yet. They need verification first," Aoki explained.
He continued, "When Slowking evolved, its psychic power surge awakened my own ability, elevating me to a beginner-level psychic. But I've tested it since then, and this seems to be my limit."
Steven nodded, rubbing his chin. "A Shiny Slowking is indeed a rare Pokémon. And this one seems to have been raised perfectly, with incredible psychic potential."
Too much!
Steven gave Aoki a look.
Stop showing off! Let me process this!
Aoki had left on a journey and returned as the youngest intermediate Breeder in history. He had also been a two-time leader in the Breeder's Guild.
And now he was saying he was a psychic user? Even if it was only at a beginner level, that was still a significant advantage in battle.
I'm a genius and a billionaire—do I really have to feel this way?
Seeing that Steven didn't want to dwell on the matter, Aoki didn't press the topic.
After all, only Steven knew about his psychic ability.
Even his mentor, Matsuda, was unaware.
Though, maybe revealing a little would be necessary—otherwise, if Matsuda found out from someone else that his own student was a psychic, it could get messy.
Both agreed to drop the topic.
Aoki recalled Slowking and continued toward the mountain peak alongside Skorupi and Steven.
There could be unknown dangers at the summit, but neither of them mentioned it.
Danger was just part of the experience.
A large number of Fire-type Pokémon lived at the top of the mountain. Though still on the mid-slope, many Fire-types had been driven down due to environmental destruction at the peak.
For Skorupi, a Bug- and Poison-type, and Steven's Aron, a Steel-type, facing Fire-types wasn't ideal.
But neither Aoki nor Steven switched Pokémon.
There was no need.
They hadn't reached a point where their Pokémon needed to be invincible.
Being at a disadvantage was part of real training.
From Lairon's Hidden Power (Water), it was clear that Steven had a way to counter Fire-types despite its Steel-typing.
As for Aoki, though Skorupi lacked an obvious counter, if the Fire-types couldn't land a hit, what did it matter?
One-hit knockouts.
That was the correct way for Skorupi to fight!
Walking along the mountain path, dense trees surrounded them.
Despite climbing higher, the expected temperature drop never came—instead, the heat increased.
Perhaps due to the Fire-type Pokémon's unrest, the temperature shift felt unnatural.
Many Grass- and Bug-type Pokémon, which disliked such heat, were migrating down the mountain.
And with the Pokémon at higher levels, their movement forced weaker Pokémon lower as well.
This cascading effect would inevitably disrupt the ecosystem of Mount Chimney.
More importantly, ordinary Trainers at the foot of the mountain might not be able to handle the stronger Pokémon moving downward.
With that in mind, Aoki and Steven quickened their pace.
Defeating these Pokémon would require speed.
Skorupi had been honing its ability to locate enemy weaknesses. Now, each attack had a 30% chance of striking a vital point.
A terrifying probability.
That meant that for every three attacks Skorupi landed, one would inevitably be a critical hit.
And with its Sniper ability, those critical hits would deal massive damage.
Regardless of type matchups, this was an explosive force.
Combined with Skorupi's natural combat instincts, it brought out its full fighting potential.
Steven quickly noticed Skorupi's growth.
Beyond being surprised, he admired Aoki even more.
Aoki's Pokémon training methods were truly impressive.
Through these battles, Steven could tell that while Skorupi had good battle instincts, its base potential wasn't the highest—it should have been weaker than Lairon.
But despite this, its speed in taking down opponents wasn't any slower than Lairon's.
That was terrifying.
Lairon was a dark cyan-tier Pokémon at level 39, a pseudo-elite.
While Steven's understanding of Pokémon rankings wasn't as refined as Aoki's, he could tell the difference.
This Skorupi was special.
If it evolved into Drapion in the future, its combination of raw power, explosive strength, and sheer size would make it an incredible front-line fighter.
With its double pincers, tail, and fangs, it had four different ways to strike.
Few Pokémon could defend against all of them.