With the combined efforts of Aoki and Slowking, along with Floette's assistance, they gradually gained the upper hand.
The gemstone on Slowking's head grew brighter and brighter, and the psychic energy radiating from its body became increasingly intense.
One by one... the Houndooms below began to weaken, losing their ability to fight.
By the time the Houndooms realized what was happening, they were already heavily injured. They found that no matter how they attacked Slowking, they couldn't deal significant damage, while the energy they were normally immune to now struck them with full force. Each attack from their opponent landed with brutal efficiency.
Adding to their struggle was the strange space that enveloped them, slowing their movements and attacks to a sluggish pace.
Meanwhile, Slowking was fully energized, teleporting effortlessly within the confines of Trick Room, bombarding the Houndooms below with relentless psychic assaults.
Like an unstoppable pink bomber!
When the Houndoom leader finally reacted and attempted to retreat, he found only two or three of his pack remained standing.
In the brief moment he hesitated, the rest of the Houndooms collapsed, leaving him as the sole survivor.
This was outright bullying!
It was supposed to be that Dark-type Pokémon were immune to Psychic attacks, yet here was this ruthless opponent thrashing them without restraint. Now, he was the only one left.
It wouldn't be long before the Houndoom leader succumbed as well.
If someone tried to tell him now that Dark-types had nothing to fear from Psychic Pokémon, he'd tear them apart on the spot!
The worst part? Houndoom couldn't fly! Couldn't fly! Couldn't fly!
They were grounded, helpless as Slowking hovered above them with psychic levitation. The Houndoom could only retaliate with ranged attacks, but none dealt decisive damage. Meanwhile, Slowking healed itself with Heal Pulse, growing stronger with each passing moment.
As another barrage of Shadow Balls rained down, the Houndoom leader's expression twisted in despair.
Here we go again!
This time, no pack members were left to share the damage.
With a final whimper, the Houndoom leader collapsed alongside his fallen kin.
The moment the leader fell, the red gem on Slowking's crown blazed with intense light.
"Yah dong!!" Slowking threw its head back and roared, its kingly aura erupting in full force as its psychic energy surged to its peak.
Then, the Trick Room faded away, and Slowking gently descended from the sky.
Aoki withdrew his Telepathy, immediately feeling drained. Maintaining full support for Slowking had been exhausting, especially with the sheer intensity of its psychic power. The backlash had taken a toll on him.
After taking a moment to recover, Aoki exhaled deeply, finally regaining his bearings. Slowking stood motionless, eyes closed, the psychic energy around it now calm. Only the faint pulsing of the red gem on its crown remained.
Choosing not to disturb Slowking just yet, Aoki retrieved the low-quality Poké Balls he had obtained upon entering the Safari Zone. One by one, he threw them at the defeated Houndooms, targeting those with higher potential and levels—especially the pack leader.
However, the capture rate of these low-quality balls was abysmal. Aoki wasted nearly thirty before successfully capturing all eighteen Houndooms.
With standard Poké Balls, the success rate would have been much higher.
Still, he succeeded in the end, leaving him with two spare balls.
Even if these Houndooms weren't useful for battle, they'd make excellent guard Pokémon.
Who wouldn't panic at the sight of over a dozen vicious Dark-types?
In the future, Aoki could dramatically order: Release the Houndooms!
Now that was intimidation.
But this was just a bonus. After storing all the Houndooms, Aoki turned his attention back to Slowking, still meditating. His system scanned its updated data.
Five minutes later, the glow from Slowking's crown faded, and it finally opened its eyes.
In an instant, Slowking reverted to its usual lazy expression, as if the earlier battle frenzy had never happened.
Aoki immediately noted the changes.
First: Slowking's potential had officially risen to Light Blue, firmly placing it in the blue-tier potential range. No longer borderline, its capabilities could now be further unlocked.
More importantly, with Light Blue potential, Slowking's chances of reaching Champion-level strength in the future had significantly increased.
Second: Slowking's level had reached 50, officially crossing the threshold into the Pseudo-champion tier.
Now, Aoki finally had his first Pseudo-championPokémon.
With one Pseudo-champion and five Elite-tier Pokémon, Aoki couldn't yet claim to be a full Pseudo-champion Trainer, but he was certainly stepping into that realm.
Reaching this level of strength meant Aoki could now hold his own in League discussions.
While Elite-level Trainers were respected, they were still seen as rising talents. Only upon reaching Pseudo-champion status did the League truly acknowledge one as a peer.
Just like Steven—during the Hoenn League conference, he had the right to observe and even voice his opinions. At that time, Steven had been a Pseudo-champion Trainer.
The older League members no longer dismissed him as just another rookie.
Thus, Slowking's breakthrough was monumental for Aoki.
As the first of his Pokémon to reach Pseudo-champion status and ascend to Light Blue potential, Aoki was more than satisfied with its progress.
After confirming Slowking's condition and receiving assurance that it was fine, Aoki relaxed.
Hesitating briefly, he carefully removed the Mew's fluff from Slowking's gem—once stained with Mew's blood, now darkened to a deep crimson. The strange psychic resonance was gone.
The energy from Mew's DNA... had fully merged with Slowking.