Pokemon: Rising From The Dark

Unique effects of Friend Ball were also most suitable for Aoki's purposes, as it could directly establish a certain level of favorability with Kommo-o. Although, strictly speaking, relationship between Kommo-o and Aoki was only one of cooperation, that did not prevent him from employing some clever tricks to strengthen their bond. He opened Friend Ball and released dragon-type Pokemon. Kommo-o appeared from Pokeball and looked at Aoki with a strange look in its eyes, a subtle shift in its perception occurring almost instantly. It did not know why, but it suddenly felt that this person looked more pleasing to the eye than before, and previous feeling of being fooled or tricked disappeared in an instant. It was just five battles; Kommo-o had never been afraid of fighting. If it could truly find opponents of equal strength, it would seek out battles without Aoki even having to tell it to do so. However, if battles involved bullying weaker Pokemon, then that would be very boring and unfulfilling. Pokemon like Kommo-o only truly enjoyed fighting against other Pokemon of similar power and capability.

After placing now-empty Friend Ball securely in his pocket, Aoki did not force Kommo-o to remain inside a Pokeball all the time. As a powerful and independent Pokemon, it could stay wherever it wanted, enjoying its freedom. After efficiently packing up everything at campsite, Aoki prepared to depart. He only left three of his combat Pokemon outside their Pokeballs: his Tyranitar, his Aggron, and his Blaziken. All of his other Pokemon were returned to their balls. That was more than enough for safe travel. His Tyranitar had already reached Champion level, and both his Aggron and Blaziken had reached peak of quasi-Champion level; all three were capable of Mega Evolution and would have no problems fighting or providing protection. Furthermore, strength of Aoki's own psychic powers was not something that ordinary Pokemon could easily deal with or overcome.

Sitting comfortably on a portable sofa chair he had brought out, a blue and black puppy-like Pokemon, his Riolu, was lying contentedly across Aoki's legs. His green-haired Kirlia was sitting on back of same sofa, her feet dangling playfully in the air, swaying with a particular ease and carefree attitude. Two little Pokemon, Riolu and Kirlia, greatly preferred to stick close to Aoki whenever possible. His Tyranitar led the way confidently in front of group, while his Aggron and Blaziken walked protectively on either side of moving sofa chair. As for Kommo-o, it did not immediately follow Aoki's group. Instead, it found a comfortable spot and lay down to sleep by itself. According to dragon, traveling at such a slow and leisurely pace was far too boring, and it would rather sleep a little longer and rest. Anyway, Aoki's target was central volcano; he would arrive at foot of volcano in about a week, and they could simply meet up there at that time. Aoki did not force the issue; after all, if Kommo-o wanted to leave this area now, it could only do so through him. He was confident dragon would show up, trusting it to keep its word.

Within a radius of twenty kilometers, all wild Pokemon who saw Aoki and his Pokemon finally leaving secretly breathed a massive, collective sigh of profound relief. This veritable plague god was finally gone. If he had not left now, many Pokemon stationed in this area would probably have been forced to consider moving their territories entirely. For more than a month, no one truly knew exactly what Pokemon in this vast forest had experienced at hands of Aoki and his team. It would likely become the most "unforgettable" memory of their entire lives, a period of intense training and challenging battles.

After departing from his previous campsite, first thing on Aoki's agenda was to go to area known as Lazy Man's Forest. During past month, Aoki had dealt with a particular Vigoroth many times, always with help of his Tyranitar. He had told Vigoroth numerous stories about his experiences in outside world, as well as sharing some of his theories and guesses about Pokemon like them. At first, no matter what Aoki said or promised, Vigoroth was completely unwilling to follow Aoki away from its home. It was much harder to convince than Kommo-o, primarily because it had a large and dependent clan to take care of and protect. Main reason it had suppressed its evolution for such a long time was to become stronger for its tribe, but staying here in this forest would not help it become stronger at all in long run. Therefore, first several conversations all ended with Vigoroth firmly refusing Aoki's offers and proposals.

But later on, Vigoroth's attitude gradually began to show subtle changes and shifts. Main reason for this change was also because of Aoki's Tyranitar! That was right, his Tyranitar. During this month, Tyranitar had fought with Vigoroth no less than a hundred separate times. From very beginning, it could only defeat Vigoroth with great difficulty and under Aoki's precise command, to being able to quickly deal with it under Aoki's direction, until finally, even without any commands from Aoki, Tyranitar was able to defeat Vigoroth relying solely on its own strength and battle instincts. This was because, by that time, Tyranitar had successfully broken through to Champion level. Without level gap, even though Vigoroth's control over its own strength far exceeded that of Tyranitar, absolute power and stats of Champion level could more than make up for this technical gap. Having witnessed entire process of Tyranitar's rapid growth and power increase, it was impossible for Vigoroth not to experience significant changes in its heart and mindset. It had put in so much effort and time to reach its current level, but other Pokemon had surpassed it in just one short month. Is this kind of strength and growth that I have been pursuing all this time? Vigoroth wondered. It began to waver seriously. Slowly, scale in its heart began to tilt decisively in Aoki's favor.

Finally, after Aoki helped Slaking, who was at quasi-Champion level and second only to Vigoroth in entire Lazy Man tribe, to be promoted to full Champion level right in front of Vigoroth, Vigoroth finally made up its mind completely. Another Champion-level Pokemon had appeared within its tribe. Although it was not a Vigoroth with unlimited energy like itself, Slaking's new power at least guaranteed safety and security of entire tribe going forward. Aoki had effectively relieved its last bit of pressing worry. So on this day, as Aoki prepared to leave area for good, he intended to finally subdue Vigoroth and fulfill promise he had made to it weeks ago. Vigoroth would follow Aoki and leave its home, and then, with Aoki's help and resources, it would attempt to evolve into a Slaking that still retained a certain degree of mobility and activity. It might not be able to maintain as much energy as it did when it was a Vigoroth, but at very least, it would not be like other Slaking, who were lazy all day long and completely unwilling to move at all. Aoki could not give a one hundred percent guarantee on this particular point, of course. All he could honestly say was that he would do his absolute best to help it achieve its goal. At very least, its strength would not be weaker than it was now; it would only grow. However, this process could not be completed inside this unique space. They would need to leave this area, look for some specific information, or even visit an expert like Norman in Petalburg City to have a real clue and a proper grasp on how to achieve this unusual evolution.

When they arrived at Lazy Man Forest, many Vigoroth and Slaking were already very familiar with Aoki and his Pokemon by now. With no one intending to stop him, he went straight to deepest part of territory and saw Vigoroth leader, who was still in process of explaining various things and giving final instructions to Slaking that was taking over. Noticing Aoki's arrival, Vigoroth's expression became somewhat complicated and emotionally charged. Expressions of other Vigoroth and Slaking surrounding them were also somewhat complicated and solemn. Their leader and strongest protector was leaving them in pursuit of greater strength and personal growth. But what their leader had already given for this tribe was more than enough; he had dedicated his life to their safety and prosperity. All of tribesmen expressed their support for his final choice and wished him well. Slaking that was taking over had actually been trained by this Vigoroth and could be considered its personal apprentice. It just could not resist biological temptation of evolution and had eventually evolved into a Slaking. It would now take over position of leader for future, and with that, Vigoroth could feel more at ease about departing. After successfully taming Vigoroth, Aoki still used a Friend Ball for capture, finding this type of Pokeball incredibly useful for capturing wild Pokemon that were already quite powerful and required an established bond. Aoki had not yet fully considered how to best handle Vigoroth's unique situation; he may have to wait until he gets out of this area and collects enough research and information before he can start to properly interfere with its growth and planned evolution. For next period of time, his immediate task would be to have Vigoroth teach its impressive battling skills to other Pokemon in Aoki's team, whether it was Blaziken who had always been so eager to learn new techniques, or huge and powerful Tyranitar and Aggron. These skills of Vigoroth would definitely bring huge improvements and new capabilities to all of his Pokemon. These benefits could not be seen from just a level perspective; they were a matter of technique and experience.