Deep in the forest, Aomori and the somewhat dull-looking Ditto stared into each other's eyes.
It hadn't been convenient at the Team Rocket base, so he was only now beginning to research Ditto's abilities.
"First, Ditto, transform into a sword," Aomori said, pulling out Ryuko for it to mimic.
Ditto watched for a long time, occasionally touching Ryuko, before finally transforming into a sword that looked exactly like Ryuko.
Aomori picked up the sword Ditto had turned into, felt it—the texture was firm, the edge sharp—and stood before a tree, swinging the sword.
With a duang sound, a small piece of bark chipped off the tree, and Ditto immediately reverted to its original form, trembling uncontrollably.
"Hmm, its durability is a bit lacking." Aomori used a Healing Spell on it, and Ditto instantly recovered.
"Come on, change back into the sword."
Ditto slumped its face and transformed into "Ryuko" again.
Here was the key point. Aomori grasped the hilt and used Knight of Owner.
A flash of blue light passed, and the "Ryuko" in his hand seemed different.
Swinging the "Ryuko" with the same force just below the previous mark, the blade easily cut into the trunk. Had he not held back, the large tree would have been sliced in half.
"Ditto, how does it feel?"
The body of the sword trembled slightly, and Aomori understood its meaning: "Only a slight feeling, like a caress."
Just as he thought!
Knight of Owner and Ditto were a match made in heaven. Ditto could transform into various outwardly strong but internally weak weapons, and the enhancement from Knight of Owner could turn its superficial strength into genuine material quality. This meant Aomori could essentially possess an arsenal.
No, not just weapons. Once it was familiar with them, it could transform into general tools as well. It was incredibly versatile and held significant strategic importance.
Suppressing his slight excitement, Aomori began the second test.
"See this Caterpie? Transform into it."
Watching the struggling Caterpie in Aomori's hand, Ditto thought for a moment before transforming into the Caterpie's shape.
"Use String Shot!"
The "Caterpie" looked at him blankly, its mouth twitching desperately, but it couldn't shoot out any silk.
"Can't use it?" Aomori pondered, then had the Caterpie in his hand demonstrate.
The real Caterpie glanced disdainfully at its small companion, opened its mouth, and easily shot out silk.
After observing it a few times, the "Caterpie" was finally able to use String Shot smoothly.
"Hmm, it seems that initially, it's just the outer form. To be able to mimic the moves, it needs a period of study."
A Pokémon's body structure is not as simple as a weapon, and releasing moves is even more difficult, so it was normal for Ditto not to immediately master them.
"For the remaining time in this dungeon, you need to master as many moves as possible. My future depends on you," Aomori said, stroking Ditto's body, using a Healing Spell to both massage it and eliminate its fatigue.
"Ditto!" Ditto was full of ambition.
In the following days, Ditto spent its time transforming into other Pokémon to battle them while mimicking their moves, with Aomori handling the finishing blow to ensure Ditto received the experience.
Unlike Ash, who had Professor Oak helping him raise Pokémon, allowing him to catch as many as he wanted, Aomori was still a lone wolf and naturally wouldn't capture Pokémon indiscriminately just to create trouble for himself.
So, he returned all 30 Safari Balls untouched to Lisa every time. After several such instances, Lisa even began to have the mistaken impression that Aomori was trying to woo her.
He could only use the excuse that he hadn't found a Pokémon to his liking.
When Ditto reached Level 18, it could already defeat some opponents on its own. Aomori assigned Darkrai to continue training with it while he went off to search for the Dratini.
"I remember it was a place called Dragon Valley." Aomori walked in the direction of a canyon, using his Mind's Eye to scout the way. Before long, he found a small pond suspected to be the habitat of the Dratini.
The pond water was clear. Aomori used his Mind's Eye and saw many aquatic Pokémon, but no sign of Dragonair or Dratini.
He prepared to dive in and search, but before that, he had to deal with another nuisance.
"Don't move!" Kaiser, with his head full of white hair, walked out from behind a massive rock. He held a revolver pointed at Aomori. "You've been entering the Safari Zone for days without catching a single Pokémon. I knew you had ulterior motives! I guessed right! You're here specifically for the Dratini, aren't you?"
Aomori didn't deny it: "That's right. I want to find the Dratini, and if it's suitable, I'll capture it."
"There is no Dratini here! It has left!" Kaiser clenched his revolver, signaling to Aomori: "Get out of the Safari Zone immediately, or I won't be polite."
"Don't get agitated. I'm not a devil. Even if there is a Dratini here, I wouldn't force its capture. Matters of lifelong commitment must be consensual, of course."
"Stop talking nonsense! Get away from there!"
"I refuse."
Aomori jumped straight into the water and began to swim down.
"That guy." Kaiser ran to the shore but couldn't see Aomori anymore. He gripped the revolver but ultimately didn't fire. "I'll wait right here for you to come up. You little brat, you'd better not let me catch you."
The pond wasn't very deep. Aomori reached the bottom in a few minutes, electrically zapping away a few Gyarados. He swam around the pond but found no sign of Dragonair or Dratini.
"It's really not here?"
Aomori wouldn't give up. He continued to search for a while until he discovered a deep underwater cave entrance behind a large rock.
The opening was wide enough for two adults to enter, and the passage twisted and turned. Even with his Mind's Eye, he couldn't see the end of it.
"Could this passage connect to the sea?" Aomori guessed that the Dratini previously entered the small pond from the sea through this passage, which would also explain why no one could find it 30 years ago.
The sea was vast. Even Aomori could easily get lost, and he couldn't hold his breath indefinitely. After considering it, he decided to give up.
He only made a note of the location, planning to return for exploration later with the necessary equipment.
"Pwah!" Aomori surfaced, spitting out a mouthful of pond water, startling Kaiser, who was waiting on the shore.
"Are you a person or a ghost?" Aomori had been underwater for over half an hour. Kaiser had been worried that something had happened to him and had even checked the water, but since he hadn't seen Aomori, he had guessed he might have been swallowed by a Gyarados.
"A person, of course." Aomori leaped out of the water, used his Three-Stage Breathing Style to raise his body temperature, and quickly dried his clothes.
"Did you... find the Dratini?"
"No."
"Alas, it truly is gone." Kaiser had actually searched inside before, but he still held a sliver of hope that one day, Dratini would forgive him and return to settle here again.
Ignoring the saddened old man, Aomori ran off to find Ditto and Darkrai and resumed his leveling endeavor.
In the following days, Kaiser did not prevent Aomori from entering the Safari Zone, allowing Aomori to continue training until his Points were exhausted.
————
You can read the ahead chapter on Patr-eon if you're interested: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]