Chapter 193: “What was that potion you just made?”

In the open field outside Fruitvale Village, a Rhydon with a white ribbon tied around its head was sprinting swiftly.

Trailing behind it was a group of Rhyhorns, among which one stood out—a Rhyhorn with a bow tied around its head.

"Rhy, Rhy~" The Rhyhorns ran energetically, their gazes filled with admiration as they looked at the Rhydon leading the charge.

This particular Rhyhorn belonged to Phyllis. Since keeping it around was inconvenient, she had entrusted her Rhyhorn to Rhydon's care.

"Rhydon!" Rhydon let out a mighty roar as it led the charge. Wherever it ran, the ground was swiftly Rototillered up.

This time, Rhydon's movements were clearly pre-planned—it ran back and forth in a north-south direction, systematically cultivating the land.

Before long, neat rows of tilled soil appeared across the open field, dotted with a soft green glow full of vitality.

"This is truly a miraculous power!"

"To think that with Rhydon's help, this barren land could be instantly turned into farmland suitable for cultivation."

Village Chief Raul looked at the Rhydon galloping across the field, his eyes filled with amazement. It was simply unbelievable.

"Village Chief Raul, what do you think of this area?"

Standing beside him, Aven also had a smile on his face. The move Rototiller truly had immense value in this ancient world.

Upon hearing this, Chief Raul nodded immediately. "Thank you, Lord Aven, for bestowing us with this land."

"A brand new Stonefall Village can now be rebuilt right here."

As he finished speaking, Chief Raul attempted to kneel in gratitude, but Aven quickly helped him up.

"This is what I, as the lord, should do."

"Once this land has been fully cultivated, you can begin planting berries."

"I've already instructed Treasurer Phyllis regarding the berry sapling. You can purchase them from her."

After giving the instructions, Aven left the field and walked southward from Fruitvale Village, where the land had already been fully cultivated by Rhydon.

On this cultivated field, several Gloom were now cleaning and preparing the area.

This section of land had been purposely reserved by Aven for planting berry trees—he planned to establish his very own berry orchard here.

Moreover, the southern edge of Fruitvale Village was very close to the Black Forest. Aven had initially entered the Black Forest from here, bringing the Oddish back with him.

If one were to traverse the Black Forest, they would eventually reach the Black Coast. Therefore, this area was part of Aven's future development plans.

The berry orchard had ample space to grow in this direction, and could potentially connect with the Black Forest to form a natural ranger defense line!

"It looks like it's time to explore the Black Forest again."

"Spring has arrived, and many of the ingredients needed for potion-making are beginning to grow."

"And then there's that White Appricorn Tree… I hope it's still there, and that there are more of them deeper in the forest."

Aven gazed toward the distant horizon, planning to explore the Black Forest in the next few days.

"Plume~"

As soon as she saw Aven, VIleplume ran up to him cheerfully.

"Thanks for your hard work, VIleplume."

Aven patted the flower on VIleplume's head, then entered the fields to inspect the situation.

The weather had fully transitioned to spring. The warm breeze was rising rapidly in temperature, and the time for berry planting had arrived.

With his plan to explore the Black Forest in mind, Aven decided to reserve this land for the White Appricorn Trees in preparation for future Pokéball production.

At the entrance to his uncle's Farm, a wooden kiosk had been specially set up, with numerous berry saplings displayed inside.

Now that the planting season had arrived, more and more villagers came by to purchase berry saplings.

In the past, they had to travel all the way to Aspiration City to buy saplings.

Now, they could buy them directly in Fruitvale Village—and for less than half the usual price.

Phyllis sat at the table, carefully overseeing the patrol members who were distributing the saplings and recording each transaction in the ledger.

This was her first source of revenue as treasurer, and she had to make sure everything was perfect.

While keeping the accounts, she occasionally glanced toward the farm, where saplings were still being transported out.

In fact, before arriving at Fruitvale Village, she had already privately negotiated with merchants in Aspiration City who specialized in berry saplings.

From now on, Fruitvale Village would handle large-scale purchases of saplings and then resell them to the villagers.

Because Fruitvale Village was buying such a large quantity at once—and because it was for a nobleman like Aven—she had managed to drive the prices down significantly.

But now, it seemed the village had managed to grow its own saplings, rendering all her planning useless.

"And these prices… they're absurdly low. What exactly is Aven planning?"

Phyllis frowned. She had no idea where Aven had sourced these saplings, but selling them at such low prices was a clear loss!

She had even brought the issue up with Aven, hoping to raise the prices. She suggested they at least sell at cost.

But Aven had refused to discuss it and simply told her to carry on as instructed.

This reminded her of Aven's past initiatives.

For example, when he shared 30% of potion profits with the villagers, or when he bought up tons of unripe berries before winter.

And now, there was the new plan to form an economic potion cooperative. Phyllis could clearly tell that Aven intended to share his profits with the villagers.

She didn't understand Aven's reasoning. For a lord, giving up too much personal profit would only wreck the territory's finances!

If Aven weren't a apothecary master who could craft high-profit potions and Pokémon food, the finances of this territory would have already collapsed.

Even now, the Fruitvale Village's finances were just barely holding together.

And with Aven now the lord of the southeastern border region, he'd soon have to deal with castle construction, territory development, and the formation of a knight order—all of which would require funding.

Phyllis sighed. Being Aven's treasurer was going to be exhausting. Once he returned, she needed to have a serious conversation with him.

Meanwhile, Master Olai was feeling rather depressed.

In Aven's temporary potion lab, he was in the middle of making a growth potion.

Across from him sat a Petilil, also brewing a potion.

Master Olai stared directly at the Petilil. A few berries in front of the Pokémon were wrapped in a green glow.

The berries suddenly split open under the glow, the peels falling away naturally, the juice flowing smoothly. It was all so seamless.

Petilil hadn't even made any visible movement, yet the berries had already been processed. Then, it began the familiar process of brewing a healing potion.

Watching all this, Master Olai was dumbfounded.

Why did it feel like this Petilil was better at potion-making than he was?

Before long, several bottles of healing potion were produced and placed in the sunlight to ferment.

Once done, the Petilil clapped its tiny hands happily, then began brewing another potion.

This time, it selected Mangost Berries and Wiki Berries.

Master Olai quickly realized that this potion was something he'd never seen before and watched with wide eyes.

Petilil's processing technique was completely foreign to him—he couldn't understand it at all. All he could do was memorize the steps as best he could.

Before long, Petilil had produced a bottle of brown-gray potion and, to Olai's astonishment, drank it in one gulp.

After drinking it, Petilil nervously glanced toward the door. Finding it still closed, it let out a sigh of relief.

Then it turned back—only to freeze.

It had forgotten that there was still a human man in the room.

Petilil and Master Olai stared at each other, wide-eyed and awkward.

"H-Hello, Petilil."

"What was that potion you just made?"

Master Olai forced a smile and asked in what he hoped was a gentle tone.

Petilil quickly shook its head and pointed to the healing potions, as if saying, "That's what I drank!"

"I'm not talking about the healing potion—I mean the brown-gray one." Master Olai took a deep breath and pressed further.

At that, Petilil grew alert. It hopped off the table, opened the door, and bolted.

Left alone in the room, Master Olai was at a loss.

He looked at the healing potion he was making and suddenly found it uninspiring.

Forget it. Once Aven returns, he must have a proper conversation with him about potion-making.

The idea that a Petilil might be more skilled than him was hard to swallow. He needed to learn more potion formulas.

Meanwhile, Link had been spending all his time at the Pokémon Breeding House.

Not long after arriving, Aven had appointed him to manage the entire facility.

At first, he had no idea what the place was even for. It was only later that he realized it was where magical beasts were raised.

Wild beasts were magical beasts. Once tamed, they became Pokémon.

Link fully supported Aven's terminology, and he immediately changed how he referred to them.

He had always loved Pokémon, and potion-making was a key part of the Breeding House's operations.

The facility included a reception area in the front and a large breeding zone in the back, complete with a potion lab—where Master Olai often stayed.

(End of Chapter)

Breeding House – the one at the village, literally a house.

Breeding Center – the one at the Aspiration City run by Mr. Hawke.

Breeding Facility – the one that's about to be built in Aven Territory.