The Skuntank stood in the clearing, staring blankly at the battle below.
After observing for so long, it finally understood—these humans seemed to be saving them. The realization filled it with emotion.
It closed its eyes and recalled the past. Though its memories were fragmented, it had managed to piece together what had happened.
Lifting its head, it looked toward the distant forest shrouded in gray mist, fear flashing in its eyes. That was the source of the haze that had robbed them of their sanity!
"You guys should eat something too and recover a bit."
Just as the Skuntank was lost in thought, it suddenly noticed that same human from earlier walking over.
The man opened a cloth bag and poured out many brown, pellet-like things. After glancing at them, the Skuntank figured it must be food.
It hesitated for a moment. The lingering weakness in its body and the growling of its stomach compelled it to cautiously approach.
Lowering its head, it took a bite of the food and began to chew slowly.
Its eyes immediately lit up. Whatever this stuff was, it was unbelievably delicious—so much so that it was almost moved to tears.
Soon, Aven handed out two bags of Pokémon food among the weakened beasts. While it wasn't enough to fill them up, it was at least enough to settle their stomachs.
Kevin fell silent as he watched Aven distributing food to the beasts.
It wasn't unexpected—he had always felt that Aven was this kind of person: someone with an extraordinary love for Pokémon.
"You guys help manage these Pokémon too," Kevin said.
"If we really can't stop the beast tide later, they'll still be valuable in battle."
A few knights nodded and headed toward the area where the weakened beasts were gathered.
"How is it?" Kevin asked as Aven returned.
Aven shook his head gently. "Their life energy is severely depleted, leaving them extremely weak…" He paused, but didn't continue.
At that moment, Petilil had also recovered. As a Grass-type Pokémon, its recovery ability was quite strong.
As for Froslass, after absorbing the gray mist, she seemed even more energetic—dashing about beside Aven without showing any signs of fatigue.
"Then let's continue," Kevin said, glancing at the Mightyenas who had also gotten back up. They didn't have much time left.
Soon, the second wave of redirection began. With the experience from earlier, this time they were able to draw even more beasts away…
Among this surge of rampaging beasts, Aven suddenly spotted a surprising figure.
It was a massive turtle that looked somewhat like an Ankylosaurus, with a tree resembling an oak growing from its shell and three gray rocks protruding from its back.
"Torterra… one of the Sinnoh region's starter evolutions," Aven murmured, eyes flickering.
Torterra, whether in the present or future, was an extremely rare species. He hadn't expected to find one in the Black Forest—let alone one in its final evolved form!
Judging by the grouping, most of the incoming beasts were Grass-types. This Torterra was clearly their leader.
Despite his racing thoughts, Aven knew what needed to be done. As the beasts approached, Petilil immediately activated Aromatherapy.
A gentle fragrance drifted out, entering the bodies of the incoming monsters.
Seeing the dazed Pokémon, Froslass immediately flew out, preparing for another feast.
But just as she neared Torterra—
Torterra suddenly opened its eyes wide, its body once again enveloped by gray mist.
Its gaze locked onto the approaching Froslass, and energy surged across its body. A flurry of leaves exploded outward, blasting Froslass away!
The sudden attack startled everyone. Torterra had moved, launching attacks at the surrounding beasts—it had entered a berserk state!
Clearing out the Pokémon around it, Torterra's blood-red eyes suddenly locked onto Petilil and charged toward her!
Petilil, in the middle of casting Aromatherapy, had no time to dodge!
At the critical moment, a Rhyhorn with a white ribbon tied to its head charged in and slammed into Torterra, knocking it off balance!
Torterra turned its gaze to the Rhyhorn, launching a barrage of frenzied attacks.
As its massive body thundered forward, the ground trembled beneath it. Just as it was about to close the distance, a wall of earth suddenly rose up—
Torterra slammed hard into it.
But that wasn't the end—ripples spread out under Torterra's feet as the ground turned into a swamp, trapping its limbs in the soil!
Then, the earth wall before it crumbled and surged like a wave, burying Torterra completely.
Seeing Rhyhorn manage to restrain Torterra, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief. The situation had been dangerously close!
"I'll handle this Torterra," Kevin said, clearly sensing its overwhelming power. His face was grim.
As he spoke, his Rhydon stepped forward, ready for a direct clash with Torterra.
Based on Aven's recent observations, Kevin's Rhydon was clearly a dominant-tier Pokémon!
But just then, Aven suddenly stepped in front of the Chief Knight and said quietly,
"Sir Kevin, please leave this battle to my Rhyhorn."
"My Rhyhorn needs a powerful opponent like this for its final breakthrough."
Kevin was stunned, then looked toward the Rhyhorn with the white ribbon—
A breakthrough? That Rhyhorn was about to evolve… He hesitated, unsure if Aven's Rhyhorn was up to the task.
"Rhy!" Rhyhorn turned its head and looked gratefully at Aven.
"Rhyhorn, let's fight side by side this time!" Aven said, walking up behind it and removing his white lab coat.
He was no longer acting as a Pokémon Breeder—but as a Pokémon Trainer.
"Rhyhorn, use Rock Slide!"
Approaching Torterra, Rhyhorn gathered energy at its mouth, forming a massive boulder.
Raising its head high, it swung and launched the rock straight at the restrained Torterra!
As it flew, the boulder shattered into countless fragments that rained down like a storm.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Facing the flying debris, Torterra burst free from its restraints and charged forward, triggering an explosion of dust and smoke.
Through the haze, Aven sensed a pulse of Grass-type energy—and then, he saw Torterra emerge from the smoke, its head glowing with green energy.
It was the Wood Hammer attack.
(End of chapter)