At this moment, watching the Team Rocket trio rushing toward them in panic, with that gigantic Claydol pursuing them like a calamity incarnate, Ash, Brock, May, and Max all turned pale at the same time.
Only Aiden curved his lips into a faint smile.
Did they really think he had come back here just to meet Ash again?
Of course not.
His true target had always been this enormous and terrifying Claydol.
He remembered that in the original storyline, Ash and his group had almost no way to resist this monstrous giant.
At the very least, this thing was definitely at the Elite Four level.
Speaking of giant Pokémon, the Kanto region seemed to have more of them. In Hoenn, aside from this Claydol and the earlier Swalot, there weren't many.
But quite a few giant Pokémon had actually been "created" by the Team Rocket trio.
If you thought about it that way, Jessie, James, and Meowth actually had some talent in Pokémon genetic research.
For example, the giant Tentacruel had been one of their accidental "masterpieces."
As for naturally grown or sealed giants, there were Dragonite at the Lighthouse, as well as the ancient Alakazam, Gengar, and Jigglypuff.
If all those Pokémon were captured, they would truly become unique existences in the world.
For Aiden, becoming Champion was practically within easy reach.
So why not set a bigger goal?
Capture all the Pokémon and Legendary Pokémon he liked, along with those rare individuals.
To achieve that goal, he would inevitably have to travel across every region.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
Following Ash's command, Pikachu unleashed a massive surge of electricity. But Claydol was a Ground-type Pokémon—how could Thunderbolt possibly deal any damage?
In his panic, Ash had overlooked that crucial detail.
But Ash's attack only made the giant Claydol focus even more intensely on him.
Its gaze grew filled with resentment as it directly launched a psychic shockwave toward Ash and the others.
Seeing Pikachu's attack fail, Ash panicked.
At that moment, Aiden stepped forward, glanced at Cynthia beside him—who looked calm and unconcerned—and calmly took out Regirock's Poké Ball.
"I'm counting on you, Regirock."
With a flash of red light from a Heavy Ball, a fully manifested Rock Titan—nearly fifty meters tall—appeared on the battlefield.
Seeing their savior, the Team Rocket trio instantly breathed a sigh of relief and rushed behind Aiden.
"This kid really is strong!"
"We're saved, meowth!"
"Hey, twerp, your battle power and Pikachu's are pretty weak, huh? And you still want to become a Pokémon Master?"
Hearing Jessie's mockery, Ash was instantly furious.
"Hey! I was trying to save you just now!"
"And it didn't work. Electric-type moves don't affect Ground-types at all. You don't even know basic type matchups?"
"You—!"
…
Ignoring the comedic chaos behind him, Aiden fixed his gaze on Claydol.
"Ding! The giant Claydol's attributes are as follows:"
Pokémon: Giant Claydol (Special)
Level: 75
Ability: Levitate
Type: Psychic / Ground
Potential: Gold
Mega Evolution: Not unlocked
Moves: Hyper Beam, Teleport, Psychic, Power Trick, Self-Destruct…
Affinity: 0
Background: A special individual sealed by humans a thousand years ago, harboring hatred toward humanity
Hobby: Revenge
"A Level 75 giant Claydol… strong, but still far inferior to even a standard sub-Legendary. Regirock, use Ice Punch!"
Legendary Pokémon and ordinary Pokémon—even rare individuals—were still separated by an enormous gap.
When Claydol's psychic attack struck Regirock, it barely dealt any damage. Just by relying on its defensive power alone, Regirock easily blocked the attack.
Following Aiden's command, dense Ice-type energy instantly enveloped Regirock's right arm.
Then the massive titan swung its fist toward Claydol.
With a piercing sound through the air, Claydol sensed the threat posed by Regirock and immediately countered with Earth Power.
Ice-type moves restrained Claydol, but Ground-type moves also restrained Regirock's Rock typing.
In the next moment, the enormous punch smashed Claydol and sent it flying far away.
Its gigantic body crashed into the ground, nearly splitting the earth apart.
Countless trees collapsed under the impact of Claydol's rolling body.
At the same time, Regirock suddenly sank into the cracks created by Claydol's attack.
Its weight was simply too great. Without the Levitate ability, and with the ground already shattered, it was inevitable.
"Regirock, shrink your body and use Hyper Beam!"
After hearing Aiden's command, Regirock immediately reduced its size, then unleashed a Hyper Beam that slammed directly into Claydol's head.
After taking two consecutive powerful blows—both from a Legendary Pokémon—even such a special Claydol could no longer hold on.
Seeing this, Aiden immediately threw a Luxury Ball toward it.
The ball traced a graceful arc through the air, and Claydol's massive body transformed into red light and was absorbed into it.
Claydol tried to struggle and break free.
But the moment it entered Aiden's system space, a massive azure dragon suddenly extended its head toward it.
In an instant, a suffocating pressure enveloped its mind.
As a Psychic-type Pokémon, Claydol's perception of danger was extremely sharp.
If it continued resisting, it might never see the light of day again.
At that moment, no matter how strong its hatred toward humanity was, it completely vanished.
Because that divine dragon before it truly possessed the power to erase it from existence.
Not to mention, Claydol could also sense terrifying Legendary pressure coming from two other directions.
Fine.
What was there left to resist?
Better to surrender directly.
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, on successfully capturing Claydol. Claydol's current affinity has increased to 100 points!"
"Ding!
Claydol's hobby has been updated. Current hobby: Being considerate!"
…
Read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon -> patreon.com/SorenSwiftTL