After all the Pokémon had finished breakfast, Aoki arranged their morning training tasks.
A day's plan starts in the morning, and it's not just a saying—morning training often yields the best results. After all his time training Pokémon, Aoki had come to this conclusion.
Since they were by the lake, it was a rare chance for Slowpoke to focus on something other than psychic training.
As a Water/Psychic-type Pokémon, Slowpoke's Water-type abilities were slightly weaker than its Psychic abilities, but they still needed to be developed. At the very least, water shouldn't be a weakness for a Water-type Pokémon.
Slowpoke entered the lake to work on channeling its Water-type energy.
For Murkrow, Aoki had arranged a physical training session. The weight Murkrow usually carried was 20 pounds—enough to maintain a constant state of resistance training without being overwhelming.
However, for dedicated physical training sessions, Aoki would increase the weight to enhance the results.
Today's task for Murkrow was to perform a simple turnaround flight over the lake while carrying 40 pounds. Each turnaround covered a distance of 1,000 meters, and the goal was to complete 20 laps.
For Miltank, Aoki had prepared a weighted vest for endurance training on the pebble-covered shore of the lake.
The pebbles were smooth and uneven, forcing Miltank to work on her balance and body control while also building endurance.
Since Miltank had grown up alone with limited access to proper nutrition, she was noticeably smaller than others of her species.
For example, the Miltank owned by Whitney was over a full size larger than her.
Miltank didn't particularly enjoy battling, but lately, she had become obsessed with training. She poured herself into every session, and the results were beginning to show.
Gastly had kept watch throughout the night, so Aoki didn't assign him any heavy training tasks. Instead, he was allowed to enter the shadows and rest after completing a short session.
The training Aoki assigned to Gastly allowed him to recover while still improving his skills.
His task was to practice linking Sleep and Sleep Talk, while also attempting to gain control over which moves were used during Sleep Talk.
Seeing his Pokémon working hard at their training, Aoki nodded in satisfaction and took out the Psychic Training Manual from his ring. Based on his latest understanding, he resumed his meditation training.
Originally, it had taken half an hour to enter a meditative state, but after multiple attempts and new insights from the manual, Aoki could now achieve it in just ten minutes.
Of course, the effects of his meditation weren't ideal. The system continuously monitored Aoki's condition, and each session followed the calculations provided by the system.
According to its estimates, it would take at least 31 years for Aoki to develop even basic psychic abilities.
However, meditation still had its benefits. After each session, his mind felt completely refreshed—more energized than after a full night's sleep.
Two hours later, after finishing training, Aoki led his Pokémon into the forest. Their destination was Ecruteak City, north of Goldenrod City.
According to the map, they needed to pass through two large forests to reach Ecruteak City. The journey would take around three days—significantly slower than traveling by car.
But Aoki didn't mind. This was a perfect opportunity to train his Pokémon and strengthen them along the way.
After leaving the trial island, leveling up had slowed down considerably, so this was a valuable chance to gain experience.
The forest was filled with Bug- and Poison-type Pokémon, which meant Murkrow's Flying-type moves and Slowpoke's Psychic-type attacks would be particularly effective.
Although Gastly was a Ghost-type, his secondary Poison typing gave him an advantage over the many Grass-type Pokémon in the area.
In short, Aoki's Pokémon had the perfect typing to thrive in this environment, making it an ideal place to train.
As the early morning sun filtered through the dense trees, the sleeping Pokémon of the forest began to stir.
Golden rays of light shimmered through the leaves, illuminating small Pokémon waking up in the undergrowth and on tree branches.
A Butterfree fluttered about, gathering morning nectar.
A Ledyba clung to a tree, drinking sap.
A Rattata scurried through a pile of fallen leaves, searching for seeds.
Nearby, a group of Spinarak worked together, weaving intricate webs in preparation for unsuspecting prey.
It was a peaceful scene.
However, these Pokémon were at the bottom of the food chain in the forest.
As soon as more aggressive Pokémon appeared—like Beedrill, Fearow, or Ekans—the tranquility shattered, replaced by high-speed chases and battles for survival.
Unless provoked, Aoki usually didn't send Murkrow or Slowpoke to engage in unnecessary fights, as it would slow their progress through the forest.
However, if aggressive wild Pokémon attacked first, Aoki showed no mercy.
Of course, if he encountered a Pokémon with excellent potential or valuable battle traits, Aoki would have Murkrow and Slowpoke take the initiative, though he wouldn't necessarily eliminate them.
That said, high-potential Pokémon were incredibly rare in the wild, making such encounters few and far between.
As they traveled, Aoki occasionally found rare medicinal herbs or unusual items hidden in the forest.
However, these were often guarded by strong Pokémon.
Fortunately, Aoki had the system to scan and assess each situation.
If the Pokémon guarding an item was within their ability to defeat, Aoki wouldn't hesitate to fight for it. But if the risk outweighed the reward, he would retreat rationally.
While Aoki and his Pokémon were strong compared to the average forest Pokémon, they weren't invincible.
There were still powerful and territorial Pokémon lurking in the deeper parts of the woods.
For instance, a level 35 Ursaring was currently tracking them.
Ursaring were Normal-types, known for their brute strength and short tempers.
After Aoki had unknowingly stepped into its territory, it had been chasing them relentlessly for nearly five miles. The group had been forced to dodge multiple Hyper Beam attacks as they fled.
Fortunately, Ursaring wasn't very agile, and Aoki managed to shake it off by using the dense forest terrain to his advantage.
However, the encounter wasn't entirely without gain.
While escaping, Murkrow—clever as always—had swiped some Beedrill honey from a hive within Ursaring's territory.
It was likely this stolen honey that had enraged the food-loving Ursaring, causing it to give chase so persistently.