Item Name: Regice's Never-Melt Ice
Description: This is a special piece of ice that never melts, a by-product created when the legendary Pokémon Regice splits. Its effects are far more potent than ordinary Never-Melt Ice.
Function: When held by a Pokémon, it boosts the power of Ice-type moves by 25%!
Regice's Never-Melt Ice!
Seeing this palm-sized ice crystal, Aoki scanned its data with his system.
The effect was impressive.
Ordinary Never-Melt Ice could only enhance a Pokémon's Ice-type moves by 20%, sometimes even less. But this particular piece increased their power by a full 25%.
Truly worthy of the Ice Titan!
This time, Aoki didn't linger. After Regice handed over the special Never-Melt Ice, it returned to its original form alongside the smaller Regice.
Once Aoki left the cave, he summoned his Flygon and departed the island immediately.
The Pokémon best suited to wield this Never-Melt Ice was currently Weavile.
As the only Ice-type Pokémon on his team, Weavile could fully utilize the ice crystal's power.
Aoki had high expectations for Weavile. In his current team, aside from Floette, Weavile was the only one capable of effectively countering Dragon-types.
Though Weavile might not see frequent battles, Aoki needed a reliable countermeasure against Dragon Pokémon.
He didn't always have to reveal his strength—but he had to be prepared. That was Aoki's principle.
This time, Aoki had only one destination: Verdanturf Town.
His journey had been long, but fortunately, everything was complete.
Aoki needed to return to Verdanturf Town to rest and reorganize his Pokémon.
Then, he would proceed with his next plan. If successful, he would no longer need to worry about the number of Pokémon under his command.
However, one Pokémon was essential for this plan.
Capturing it would be difficult—extremely difficult.
Aoki needed to strategize carefully.
By the time Aoki arrived in Verdanturf Town, it was already noon on the third day.
The flight back to Slateport City from the sea took several additional hours. By the time he reached Slateport, night had fallen, so he rested there before heading to Mauville City and spending another night before finally returning to Verdanturf Town.
Without informing anyone, he went straight to his backyard and released all his Pokémon at once—including the dozen or so Houndoom.
At first, the Houndoom seemed ready to attack, but upon seeing the other Pokémon beside Aoki, they froze in place.
Though they hesitated, Aoki's team showed no restraint.
For over a week, the second-tier Pokémon had been confined to their Poké Balls. To conserve energy, even the first-tier Pokémon had been kept inside for extended periods. Now that they were finally out, they were eager for action—and the Houndoom were perfect targets.
Honchkrow, Drapion, Weavile, and Gengar wasted no time in thoroughly thrashing the Houndoom.
After the beating, the Houndoom were completely subdued.
Flygon, watching from the sidelines, nearly cried with relief.
Finally!
It's not me getting beaten up this time!
At last, another Pokémon had taken its place as the team's punching bag.
Flygon felt its spirit revive.
After traveling with Aoki for so long, it had almost forgotten it was a Dragon-type.
It was practically a disgrace to its kind.
Seizing the opportunity, Flygon even delivered a few kicks of its own, venting some frustration.
For a long time to come, Honchkrow and the others would be teaching the Houndoom how to behave as proper guard dogs.
But as Aoki watched, his expression gradually darkened.
Not because of how his Pokémon treated the Houndoom—but because of their mentality.
Aoki now had a large number of Pokémon, many of which had formed fixed battle tiers. Before, when the second-tier Pokémon weren't being trained, there had been no issues.
But now that the second-tier Pokémon were in development, a problem had arisen.
Aoki could no longer manage all of them effectively. Training the second-tier Pokémon meant facing weaker wild Pokémon or opponents—unsuitable for Honchkrow and the others. Yet, if he focused on the first-tier Pokémon, the second-tier would remain stuck in their Poké Balls.
There were only two solutions:
First: Train both tiers to the same level as quickly as possible, allowing them all to participate in battles.
But right now, the first-tier Pokémon were nearing Quasi-champion level—with Slowking even reaching Quasi-champion status—while the second-tier were barely in their 20s, not even touching the Elite level. Catching up would require immense time and resources.
Aoki couldn't slow the first-tier's growth just to wait for the second-tier.
His first-tier Pokémon were his core strength—he couldn't prioritize the wrong group.
He needed to balance both present and future.
That left the second option: Find someone he could trust 100%, entrust some Pokémon to them for training, and divide the workload. That way, no Pokémon's growth would stagnate, and Aoki's own progress would accelerate.
But the question was—did such a person exist?
Perhaps in the future.
But right now, Aoki couldn't find them immediately.
Still, he already had a rough plan in mind.
Watching the battered Houndoom lying limp on the ground, Aoki sighed and had Slowking drag them away to be tied up. Once they understood their role, they'd learn obedience.
Just look at Flygon—wasn't it well-behaved now?
Not long after Aoki returned, he felt a weight on his shoulders—two small Swablu had perched there.
Their cotton-like wings brushed softly against his cheeks as they nuzzled him affectionately.
During Aoki's absence, they had truly learned the meaning of suffering.
After tasting the Pokéblocks he made, nothing else could satisfy them.
As the two Swablu fawned over him, their parent, Altaria, appeared and gave Aoki a helpless look.
These two had been thoroughly spoiled—and there was nothing Altaria could do about it.