Aoki also quietly watched Darkrai, wondering if he intended to go back on his word now that he was free. If so, Aoki wouldn't mind beating him into submission.
After all, in Darkrai's current state, he probably wouldn't last more than three seconds against Mega Gengar.
"What's wrong?" Aoki asked with a half-smile.
Darkrai stared at Aoki for a moment, then suddenly relaxed his entire body, nodding and saying, "You are much more excellent than I imagined. Perhaps... perhaps you really can help me recover."
The first sentence was directed at Aoki, while the latter sounded more like self-consolation.
Arrogant as he was, he had never been subdued by anyone before, nor had he become a human's Pokémon, or had a special trainer.
"Come on," Darkrai said, spreading his arms to indicate he wouldn't resist.
Aoki nodded, pleased that Darkrai was keeping his word.
With a flip of his hand, a Luxury Ball appeared in his palm.
However, after a moment's thought, Aoki put the Luxury Ball away and solemnly took out the Master Ball he had obtained from Adams from his pocket!
While Darkrai could be caught with a Luxury Ball now, Aoki wasn't sure if a Luxury Ball could still restrain him once his power recovered. In fact, when he fully recovered, other Poké Balls might not be able to restrain him either. Fortunately, he had a Master Ball, which was said to be able to catch any Pokémon.
It wasn't a waste of the Master Ball.
Although it wasn't to say that Darkrai would necessarily become disobedient or even betray him in the future, sometimes prevention was better than cure.
He tossed the Master Ball from his hand, gently tapping it against Darkrai's body. The Master Ball opened, emitting a red light that drew Darkrai inside, looking no different from an ordinary Poké Ball.
Click—
It fell to the ground, shaking slightly, and with a "thump," the capture was complete!
The Master Ball successfully subdued Darkrai!
A smile appeared on Aoki's face. His psychic power moved, and the Master Ball returned to his hand. Through the glass surface, he could see Darkrai, greatly shrunken inside.
He opened the Master Ball and released him.
Darkrai reappeared in the cave, scanning his surroundings with a hint of curiosity. This simple back and forth had successfully established a connection between him and Aoki.
"Darkrai, how do you feel?" Aoki asked.
Darkrai nodded, "I feel... a little better than I imagined."
After speaking, he slowly floated to Aoki's side. Mismagius, seeing Darkrai officially join their team, seemed overjoyed, circling around Darkrai.
Seeing Mismagius so happy, Darkrai was somewhat moved.
It seemed she was very happy following this trainer.
"My name is Aoki. From now on, let's get along well and improve together," Aoki said, extending his hand towards Darkrai.
Darkrai paused at the sight of Aoki's hand, then, with a sense of relief, shook hands with Aoki.
At the same time, Aoki used this contact with Darkrai to have the system perform a comprehensive scan of him.
However, when he saw the scan results, Aoki couldn't help but frown.
"Is something wrong?" Darkrai asked with a hint of curiosity.
Aoki slowly shook his head, "No, your body is much more severely corroded than I imagined."
Upon hearing this, Darkrai fell silent. No one understood his body better than he did; even without Aoki saying it, he knew his own condition.
Even with all his confidence, he wasn't entirely sure he could fully recover his body, let alone a human helping him.
"Forget it. He did save me. Even if he can't help me recover, what's the harm in being his Pokémon for a lifetime? Someone who isn't afraid of Giratina is quite courageous."
Just as Darkrai was comforting himself, he felt a slight weight on his shoulder.
He snapped out of it to find the human patting his shoulder with a confident expression.
"Don't worry. Although it's a bit tricky, it's not entirely impossible. It just might take a little longer."
"Here are some Energy Cubes that can help restore a depleted body. While they can't heal your corroded body, they can at least help you recover your stamina. Leave the rest to me."
"After all... I am your trainer," Aoki said with a smile.
Mismagius and Slowking on the side also chimed in, as if Aoki's words were truth and would definitely come true.
Darkrai instinctively took the Energy Cubes from Aoki's hand, silently repeating in his mind, "Don't worry... leave it to you? Is this what a trainer is?"
Aoki noticed that Darkrai's state was a bit off, thinking he was just not reacting well because he had just been freed.
He continued, "You should go back to your Poké Ball and rest for a bit. We'll handle the rest."
After speaking, he took the Master Ball and recalled the dazed Darkrai.
The smile on his face did not disappear.
Subduing Darkrai was the biggest gain this time, but it wasn't the only one.
The dark spring water here, the black crystals visible everywhere on the walls, the four black special chains clutched in Mega Gengar's hand, and even the pervasive Ghost-type energy filling the area, all belonged to Aoki's gains this time.
Embodying the spirit of hard-working people who take every opportunity, Aoki threw out a few more Poké Balls, summoning his Pokémon to organize the items here.
Especially Drapion, whose most important task was to excavate all the black crystals from the walls.
As for the spring, Aoki estimated he couldn't take it with him.
However, he would take as much as he could; he wouldn't complain about having too much.
Meanwhile, Gengar was still absorbing energy from the black chains. He was like a bottomless pit now; even if he couldn't digest it all at once, storing it in his body was an option.
He had already reached the Champion rank, and at this level, every increase in rank was extremely difficult. It was rare to have so much energy available.
The spring water and black crystals here could all become materials in Aoki's hands, making them the best ingredients for crafting Energy Cubes for Gengar and Mismagius.
In an instant, the entire cave became a whirlwind of activity.
"Ya-don—"
However, just as the Pokémon were harvesting, Slowking called out to Aoki, pointing to several strange plants growing by the black pool, at the edge where the pool met the ground.
Aoki hadn't noticed them before because they were hidden by Darkrai, but Slowking saw them while collecting the spring water.
They were tiny, slender plants, only the size of a pinky finger.
Aoki squatted down, looking at these few red plants that had no energy fluctuations and looked very much like ordinary grass.
"This is probably the most effective thing against Ghost-type attributes... I have some clues about Darkrai's injuries."