Following Tyranitar, Slowking's level steadily increased to 77.
This shows that while fortuitous encounters offer a significant advantage in terms of rapid power growth, when considering stability and overall improvement, steady progression is not necessarily much weaker. Its main strength lies in its stability and the assurance that the foundation remains solid.
Aoki's three core Pokémon in the Sandstorm Domain all possess quasi-Champion strength, and in a full-blown attack, one or two might even break through to Champion-level. This is Aoki's strongest trump card and a unique advantage that others currently lack.
While Slowking was training itself, it also had to mentor Gardevoir.
Anyone who has tutored others might have experienced this: being able to use something yourself and being able to teach others to use it are two different levels of understanding. The tutor needs a much deeper grasp of the skill or energy to effectively teach others.
Therefore, while Slowking was teaching Gardevoir, it was also a process of self-reflection, self-consolidation, and self-review.
For both Slowking and Gardevoir, this was a process of mutual progress.
Slowking and Tyranitar's integration within the Sandstorm Domain has become much tighter. Previously, during the battle with Steven, the dual-core integration wasn't sufficient, which is why people like Wallace and Adam noted that it wasn't a complete dual-core system. However, after this period of integration, they have truly achieved a dual-core level.
Even Gengar, which was originally a pseudo-triple core, can now be called a true triple core.
Next are Florges and Honchkrow, whose levels have reached 76.
Honchkrow's level increased significantly, jumping from 71 to 76. This is because it only needed to focus its energy on improving its strength.
However, Florges's biggest improvement wasn't its level, but its aptitude.
Under Aoki's efforts, Florges's aptitude finally reached light blue.
It might seem like only a small step up, but this single step cost Aoki an immeasurable amount of resources and effort.
When Pokémon evolve, using aptitude potions seems to make aptitude improvement very simple and easy, but that's when the Pokémon's form changes and its internal structure undergoes rearrangement.
However, for a Pokémon like Florges, whose form is completely stable, the situation is entirely different.
The slow improvement of aptitude from the energy cubes it had been consuming since its evolution, the subtle changes after Magearna joined the team, and finally, a strong dose of medicine were all needed to achieve this small step of improvement. The financial, material, and Aoki's personal energy expended were immense.
Of course, it wasn't just Florges. Drapion and Weavile, whose levels reached 75, also underwent the same transformation. With Aoki's full assistance, their aptitudes were also raised to light blue.
They now possess higher potential.
Swampert, whose level reached 72, also had its aptitude promoted to light blue. Politoed, the core of the Rain Team, also reached level 72 alongside Swampert.
These two Pokémon, along with Kingdra, frequently train together to refine their Rain Team strategy. This is the best way for them to showcase their strength. Now, with Swampert and Politoed possessing veteran Elite Four strength, they can better demonstrate the Rain Team's capabilities.
Besides them, Blaziken and Aggron also raised their levels to 75, just barely entering the quasi-Champion tier.
As Pokémon that Aoki frequently summoned to cooperate with the Sandstorm Domain for a period, their strength improvement is not surprising. After all, their potential and the resources Aoki invested were no less than other Pokémon, especially since their potential was higher and their resource conversion rate was better and greater.
Aggron, which has been consuming Rare Candies with Tyranitar for a long time, now exhibits an undeniable internal and external sturdiness.
In terms of physical defense alone, Aggron is undoubtedly the strongest among all of Aoki's Pokémon. The metal armor encased within its shell is so hard that even Tyranitar's direct attacks cannot break through it in a short amount of time.
If you factor in Mega Evolution, Aggron becomes a mobile fortress. Even if Tyranitar, Blaziken, and the evolved Slaking attack it relentlessly, they cannot break through, as it exceeds the upper limit of their physical attacks.
Aggron has realized during this period that its greatest advantage is defense. It decided to maximize its defense first before considering offense.
As for Blaziken, who is at the same level, as Lucario's teacher and Slaking's favorite opponent, the reason for Blaziken's strength improvement is actually quite similar to Slowking's.
However, sometimes, the improvement in strength cannot be judged solely by level, especially for a Fighting-type Pokémon like Blaziken.
Technique is equally important!
It needs to spar with Slaking every now and then. As Slaking grows stronger, Blaziken also needs to constantly push itself to improve its techniques.
Besides these Pokémon that were already primary combat members, Aoki's other Pokémon also experienced significant changes in their strength.
Among those that broke through to the Elite Four level are Salamence and Kingdra, both reaching level 63, and Gardevoir, which later surpassed them, reaching level 65.
Even Diancie and Magearna have reached level 65, which shows how significant this period of dormancy has been for Aoki.
In truth, if we're talking about major changes, it's definitely Lucario, Venusaur, and the two Altaria.
Not only have they all completed their final evolutions, but their strength has also increased rapidly, and their basic combat power is not weak. It is believed that they will soon be able to gradually catch up with Aoki's other Pokémon and cooperate to unleash even stronger combat power.
Lucario, whose level has reached 53 and whose aptitude has been promoted to dark blue, and Venusaur, whose level has reached 52 and whose aptitude has been promoted to dark blue due to the awakening of its shiny ability, as well as the two Altaria, whose levels have reached 55 and whose aptitudes have been promoted to blue.
The changes in these four little ones are undoubtedly immense, which is also inextricably linked to Aoki's full efforts in their development.
There are no longer any Pokémon too weak to appear on the battlefield.
Besides these four little ones, there are two other Pokémon that need to be highlighted slightly: Mismagius, whose level has reached 72, and Slaking, whose level has reached 73!
Mismagius, as the biggest contributor to Aoki's current extensive network, has also seen its strength growth gradually catch up.
As for Slaking, despite its level only being 73, when it unleashes its full combat power, it is by no means inferior to a typical quasi-Champion-level Pokémon. Furthermore, the longer it accumulates power, the stronger the combat power it can unleash.
These are the changes in Aoki's strength over the past six months, which are undeniably significant.