Chapter 17: Mastering Toxic

"Cherubi, would you be willing to accept my training?"

After some thought, Aven spoke. He felt the need to lend Cherubi a hand to help it successfully evolve.

Hearing his words, Cherubi was stunned for a moment, then nodded excitedly. It had always been envious of Petilil, who got to stay by Aven's side.

The other two Cherubi also showed expressions of envy, while only Starly remained indifferent—'Can you really get stronger just by planting trees every day?'

"Alright, we'll begin training in a little while."

Aven smiled and nodded. He planned to return home for breakfast first and then bring over some growth fertilizer.

Since he would be coming back soon, he let Petilil stay in the berry grove and returned home alone.

Thanks to Uncle Mike's full support, there were now three wooden barrels placed in the backyard of the farm. These barrels were filled with fermenting berries.

What Aven found a bit disappointing was that most of the berries currently grown on the market were Oran Berries, known for their delicious taste and mild fatigue-relieving effects.

If he could get his hands on other types of berries, he could try making other fertilizers—like Fruit-Enriching Fertilizer or High-Efficiency Fertilizer, both of which were excellent.

...

Inner District, Aspiration City.

"Harlan, is the potion really that miraculous?"

In a manor, a noble-dressed young man asked the apothecary in front of him.

"Mm, that's what the books say." Harlan replied with a smile, "And it seems that Baron Ruize was able to wake up this time thanks to the potion."

"I've heard a little about Baron Ruize's coma as well."

"But as for what happened after he woke up, the Baron seems to have issued a gag order. So the potion cured him, huh?"

Sir Enzo nodded, then glanced worriedly toward a room in the distance, lowering his head in a heavy, thoughtful mood.

"Shh, this matter is confidential. I only told you because it's you, Sir Enzo."

Harlan looked slightly guilty. "You must not speak of this to anyone else. Otherwise, if the Baron—"

Seeing this, Sir Enzo quickly covered his mouth and looked around nervously. He gave Harlan a very serious nod, promising he would never speak a word of it.

As if realizing he'd said too much, Harlan used the moment to excuse himself and walked toward the exit. But as he turned, the corners of his mouth curled slightly into a smirk.

"A Petilil..."

Once Harlan left, Sir Enzo began to pace in place. Eventually, as if having made up his mind, he clenched his fists tightly.

...

In the Berry Grove.

Cherubi was buried in a flowerpot, absorbing the fertilizer in the soil.

Under the influence of the growth fertilizer, the withered berries on Cherubi's body became plump and vibrant once again.

Cherubi was absorbing the energy from the fertilizer and converting it into the energy needed for evolution.

Meanwhile, inside the wooden hut, Petilil continued training its Toxic move.

Aven carefully poured the remaining drops of toxic solution from the bottle and gently applied it to the leftmost leaf of Petilil.

A faint purple light shimmered on the leaf. The toxic solution was quickly absorbed, and the leaf turned entirely purple.

"Petilil, how does it feel?" Aven asked, holding a nearly empty bottle of antidote in his hand.

This time, Petilil gave him a firm nod, a confident expression on its face—it had fully learned the toxic solution!

Aven's eyes lit up in delight. "Petilil, you're amazing!"

Normally, it would take a Pokémon more than half a month to learn the move Toxic, but Petilil had learned it in just one week!

"Come on, let's go test out the power of Toxic outside."

He brought Petilil to the farm's waste disposal area. Since it was summer, the air here carried a strong, unpleasant stench.

"So, this is what ancient times were like... If I get the chance, I have to improve public sanitation," Aven thought.

He didn't want to live in a city where garbage was dumped randomly and ended up triggering a plague. After all, many historical diseases were caused by poor hygiene.

Of course, for now, this place—where no one was likely to wander in—was the best spot for Petilil to test out its Toxic move.

"Petilil, use Toxic!"

Upon hearing the command, Petilil nodded. The leftmost leaf on its head glowed with a purple light.

Then its cheeks puffed up, and Poison-type energy gathered in its mouth before being sprayed out as a stream of toxic liquid!

After the move was used, the purple glow on Petilil's leaf noticeably dimmed.

At the same time, the toxic fluid hit the ground with a sizzle, immediately corroding the surface and releasing greenish smoke.

"Very impressive power." Aven examined the site and nodded in satisfaction.

Of course, the true strength of the move Toxic didn't lie in its corrosiveness but in the ability to inflict the badly poisoned condition on the opponent.

Badly poisoned status was an even more severe condition than regular poisoning—it could rapidly sap a beast's strength in battle!

After using the move, Petilil collapsed onto the ground, exhausted—the effort of summoning that much Poison-type energy had drained it.

"You've finally gained initial mastery over Toxic."

"Next, we need to further enhance the strength of your Poison-type energy and increase the toxicity of the move."

Aven observed the Poison-type energy lingering on the ground to gauge the strength of Petilil's Toxic move.

As time passed, the energy began to dissipate and eventually evaporated into the air.

Without a proper medium to hold it, Poison-type energy would quickly disperse. This was true for other elemental moves as well.

"Lil, lil." Petilil kept nodding, still immersed in the joy of learning the move.

"Let's continue training the Toxic move." Aven patted Petilil on the head, then reminded it, "Normally, don't use Toxic recklessly."

If someone—whether a human or a Pokémon—accidentally got hit with the move, it could be dangerous.

Petilil glanced at the pit corroded into the ground, stuck out its tongue, and nodded in understanding.

Back in the berry grove, Cherubi had almost finished absorbing the fertilizer in the flowerpot. The berries on its body were glowing with a crystalline luster.

If those berries were picked and sold right now, they'd fetch a high price—each one was full of rich energy.

"Cherubi, how do you feel?" Aven picked it up and examined it carefully.

Cherubi nodded, and the berries on its body quivered slightly. It felt that once it fully absorbed the energy within, it would be just about ready to evolve.

(End of Chapter)