After resting for the entire afternoon, Aoki ventured out at night, accompanied by the mutated Carbink that had been following him closely. They made their way into the dwelling place of the Carbink tribe.
Though this particular Carbink had not participated in any battles during this period, it had remained faithfully by Aoki's side. The initial intention had been to monitor its mutations in real-time, but unfortunately, the system had entered hibernation when the Sinnoh League Tournament began.
Now that the system had been restored, it was possible to resume observation of the Carbink's changes.
The original blue diamond on its forehead now bore a faint pinkish hue. At first glance, the difference was barely noticeable, but upon closer inspection, thin red veins could be seen threading through the gemstone.
The Carbink was still undergoing mutation, but the process was exceedingly slow.
With the system's successful upgrade, Aoki assigned it a long-term task: to analyze the cause of the Carbink's mutation. Even if the root cause couldn't be determined, the system was to find a way to accelerate the mutation process effectively.
Aoki had no intention of waiting five or six years for the Carbink to complete its transformation naturally. That would simply take too long.
The Carbink, now accustomed to its role, trotted alongside Aoki, its body emitting soft fluorescent spots as it navigated the tunnel. Although it hadn't contributed much to the construction of this place, it was still familiar with the layout—after all, this was the Carbink's traditional method of building.
Upon entering the Carbink's territory, Aoki was greeted by the Carbink Minister.
The Carbink tribe hadn't changed much since his last visit. The Carbink Minister remained the same as before, though the walls of the cavern were now adorned with countless diamonds and minerals. These were shed naturally by the Carbink and embedded into the walls as decorations.
Unlike the past, when they had to painstakingly absorb energy from soil and rocks, they now enjoyed a steady supply of Pokéblocks provided by Aoki. Their lives had become far more comfortable.
As a result, the number of shed diamonds and mineral deposits had increased significantly.
Without hesitation, Aoki collected all the diamonds and minerals stored in their chamber. His relationship with the Carbink was mutually beneficial.
Besides, these materials held little practical value for the Carbink—they were essentially just accumulated waste, and discarding them would have been a shame.
The size of the Carbink tribe remained unchanged. Over such a long period, their numbers had neither increased nor decreased.
It was clear that without a Diancie among them, the Carbink could never expand into a true kingdom.
With the gathered diamonds and minerals in hand, Aoki promptly sold them to the Stone family's mineral exchange in Fallarbor Town, receiving a substantial sum of Pokécoins in return.
As an honorary member of the family, the store's owner was familiar with Aoki and had no intention of underpaying him, offering a fair price.
Aoki immediately allocated most of the funds—along with the accumulated earnings from the Verdanturf Town Gym—to Sky, instructing him to distribute the money and purchase as many Fairy-type Pokémon as possible from various regions.
Aoki was preparing for a major gamble.
It was inevitable that the Sky Hunters' aggressive purchasing would drive up market prices for these Pokémon in the short term.
However, compared to the exponential price surge that would follow the official discovery of the Fairy-type, this was negligible.
With all these arrangements settled, Aoki resumed his rigorous training regimen with his Pokémon.
He personally oversaw the training of the younger Pokémon, such as Aron and Larvitar, while the more experienced members of his team were supervised by Slowking and Honchkrow. These two commanded immense respect among Aoki's Pokémon.
Slowking was currently Aoki's most powerful Pokémon, while Honchkrow was his first Pokemon, granting it both seniority and strength.
Additionally, the Pokémon already trusted these two leaders, so Aoki could focus on other matters without worry.
It was worth noting that Altaria and Mismagius had also joined the training sessions, striving to improve their abilities.
At the same time, as the Pokémon grew stronger, their dietary needs evolved, requiring adjustments to their Pokéblock allocations. Newly added Pokémon also needed their own customized nutrition plans.
Aoki was beginning to appreciate the convenience of leading an organization.
Any task—no matter how tedious—could be delegated to subordinates, who would carry it out diligently. All Aoki had to do was concentrate on strengthening his own team.
Aron and Larvitar were both heavy-bodied Pokémon, requiring massive amounts of minerals for their development. Naturally, their training was the most demanding.
Their regimen primarily focused on physical conditioning and energy control.
Every day, Aron and Larvitar had to shape piles of rocks into intricate sculptures. Larvitar also had to incorporate Ground-type energy into its work, while Aron needed to extract metal from stone, demanding precise manipulation of Steel-type energy.
Combusken, having evolved, no longer suffered from the physical fragility of its pre-evolved form. Running five hundred laps around the backyard was its daily warm-up, with Fire-type energy control being its primary focus.
The key was mastering flame temperature and explosive force—compressing Fire-type energy and building heat intensity. Each day, Combusken had to melt the sculptures crafted by Aron and Larvitar, a task that proved increasingly difficult.
If any sculptures remained unmelted, Combusken had to destroy them using its own strength. As Aoki's only Fire- and Fighting-type Pokémon, expectations for it were exceptionally high.
Then there was Bagon. After consuming talent-restoring Pokéblocks for an extended period, its potential had finally been fully restored.
As a Dragon-type Pokémon with exceptionally pure bloodline traits, its physical prowess was undeniable. It spent its days running behind Combusken, building endurance.
Aoki didn't pressure Bagon to learn energy manipulation yet. For now, it needed to hone its body, fully unlocking its innate physical talents.
Bagon had endured a harsh past, but Aoki showed no leniency in training.
Initially, Bagon had collapsed mid-training from sheer exhaustion.
Fortunately, Aoki was a Breeder—he ensured no lasting damage was done.
He considered reducing Bagon's workload, but the little Dragon-type proved stubborn, pushing itself beyond limits. Hidden within its small frame was an indomitable will.
Lastly, there was the newly captured Horsea. As Aoki's first freely caught Water-type, it spent its days swimming laps in the backyard lake. Only after completing five hundred circuits would it move on to energy training.
At first, Horsea had been resistant to the regimen.
But watching its teammates train so diligently, it gradually adapted. Besides, as a Pokémon with traces of Dragon heritage, Horsea's physical capabilities surpassed most Water-types. Within days, it had adjusted to Aoki's expectations.
As for the rest of Aoki's Pokémon, their training routines were already well-established. Progress might be incremental, but consistency would yield results.
Unless Aoki devised specialized training methods or move combinations, their daily routine followed a strict cycle: physical conditioning, energy refinement, and finally, move practice.
Aoki believed wholeheartedly in the power of perseverance.