Chapter 195: Baron Ruize Ambition

When Pete arrived at the Pokémon Breeding House, he found it already crowded with people.

As his gaze swept the area, he noticed that most of those gathered were members of the patrol team.

When they saw him arrive, the patrol members nodded in greeting, but their expressions were grim.

Clearly, they all realized that these might be their future competitors in the upcoming Knight Selection.

"Pete, are you here to buy Growth Fertilizer too?"

Lynn, spotting his friend, waved him over.

"Yeah, you too?" Pete nodded.

At that moment, his eyes naturally fell on the trumpet-shaped Pokémon standing next to Lynn.

It was a Pokémon called Weepinbell. It resembled a giant bell, yellow in color, with a large gaping mouth.

Weepinbell, like Gloom, was a Grass/Poison-type Pokémon. Although it looked somewhat fierce, Pete had found it to be rather gentle in actual interaction.

Lynn was also the first person in the village to capture a Weepinbell, which had earned him a direct pass into the patrol team.

Capturing a Pokémon that no one else had could get you special approval for direct entry into the patrol team. After this news got out, many villagers started trying to capture different kinds of Pokémon.

Because the patrol team had already developed training methods for Gloom, most people ended up capturing Glooms.

However, quite a few also succeeded in capturing Weepinbells. After some time experimenting, they found that Weepinbell's training wasn't too different from Gloom's.

In fact, in terms of combat power, Weepinbell seemed to have a natural advantage over Gloom.

Lynn's Weepinbell was much stronger than his Gloom. Since he had captured it earlier than anyone else, he became a strong contender for the knight qualification.

Thinking of all this, Pete felt a growing sense of urgency.

When it came to capturing Pokémon, he was undoubtedly ahead of most of his peers—he had no intention of falling behind in the race for knight qualification!

"I've already picked up a number ticket," Lynn said.

"You should go get one too. If you want to use the services of the Breeding House, you have to queue."

Pete was startled by the reminder and quickly squeezed into the Breeding House to grab a number. He discovered that the line was already very long.

"Hey, you're not even an apprentice trainer yet—what are you doing here?"

Just then, Pete heard voices arguing at the front of the line.

It turned out that a villager who had not yet registered as an apprentice trainer was trying to buy Growth Fertilizer, only to be told he wasn't allowed.

"I—I want to buy Growth Fertilizer so I can capture a Pokémon of my own," the villager said, face flushed with frustration.

"I've tried all kinds of Pokémon food, but I've never been able to capture that Gloom. So I wanted to try using Growth Fertilizer."

He looked genuinely unwilling to give up—he truly wanted a Pokémon of his own.

"Well, it's not that you can't buy it," Link said with some sympathy.

"It's just that, without apprentice trainer status, the price is ten times higher."

Having lived in Fruitvale Village for so long, Link understood deeply how important it was to own a Pokémon.

Apprentice trainers received many benefits at the Breeding House. Even joining the patrol team required becoming an apprentice trainer first—and patrol members earned high salaries.

So now, capturing a Pokémon, becoming apprentice trainer, and then joining the patrol team had become the life goal of most young villagers.

"Ten times the price!" the villager grit his teeth.

Pete sighed at the sight.

Even though the patrol team's income was good, it was still tough to cover daily training expenses.

A single bottle of Growth Fertilizer for one gold coin was manageable, but ten times that? He'd be forced to give up.

"Fine—ten times it is!"

To everyone's surprise, the villager gritted his teeth and paid!

"As long as I can earn the recognition of a Pokémon, I'll easily make back those ten coins."

Hearing that, everyone fell silent.

They had to admit—he had a point.

"All right then, I wish you success," Link said, giving the villager a deep look and recording his identity.

Name: Bedson. Origin: Eastgate Village.

After registering him, Link took the ten coins and handed him a bottle of Growth Fertilizer.

With a visible sigh of relief, Bedson tucked the bottle into his coat and hurriedly left the Breeding House.

Pete watched the surprisingly wealthy villager leave, clicking his tongue, then stepped forward to collect his own ticket.

"All right, everyone wait here. I'm going to the back to get the fertilizer," Link said, addressing the apprentice trainers inside the house before heading into the back yard.

There, two wooden barrels were set up.

"Arf~ Arf~"

A Poochyena wagged its tail in greeting when it saw Link.

"Hungry, huh?" Link smiled, entering the storage room to fetch Pokémon food.

He poured the food into a wooden bowl and stroked Poochyena's soft fur before grabbing an empty bottle to fill with fertilizer.

When he opened the barrel lid, a special fragrance wafted out—it was hard to believe this was a chemical agent.

Just as he had guessed, once his teacher learned about the unique properties of Growth Fertilizer, he became very interested and kept pestering Aven for the formula—but hadn't succeeded yet.

Once he'd finished bottling the fertilizer, Link returned to the Breeding House. Patrol team members holding numbers immediately stepped up to purchase.

Each time, Link carefully explained how to use the fertilizer before watching the members hurry off to start training.

As the small wooden coin box filled up, Link exhaled sharply—suddenly feeling that making money was surprisingly easy.

…

Aspiration City, Northeastern Territory

This was the main battlefield of the Abyssal War.

After a war between humans and beasts, the land was left in complete ruin.

Due to the corruption of the Gray Mist and destruction by beasts, it was no longer suitable for human habitation.

The defensive line had been converted into a fortress to house displaced villagers. Crude wooden huts lined the rear of the fortifications.

"So this was once the front line?"

"Thankfully, Aven discovered a way to dispel the Gray Mist. Otherwise, it's hard to imagine how long this line could've held," said Knight Berrin, standing atop the wall with an Oddish in his arms, gazing out over the devastated landscape.

"Indeed. That's why he was awarded first merit in the battle," Baron Ruize said, his gaze deep.

Berrin glanced at his tall father, hesitating for a moment before speaking.

"Father… you've truly decided to give up your position as captain of the knights?"

A conflicted look crossed his face. Even though his father had already submitted his resignation to the prince, it still left him uneasy.

"After this war, Kevin's prestige within the knight order has reached great heights," Ruize said solemnly.

"I've watched Her Highness grow since she was a child. It's clear she wants her chief knight to take over. Sooner or later, I'd have to step down."

There was a heaviness to his tone, but also a sense of relief.

When he had become captain of Aspiration City's knights, he had also been the chief knight of the previous city lord.

Now, with a new lord in power, it was time for him to step aside—just like the captain before him had.

"And what about afterward?"

"Are you really going to take over this territory?"

Berrin looked out over the battlefield and then back to the villagers in the fortress, sighing softly.

Though his father was a baron, he had no fief of his own as a knight.

Only by leaving the knight order could he exchange his military merits for a noble title and land.

Now, his father had decided to claim this area as his fief.

The region around Aspiration City was surrounded by the vast Black Forest—most nobles avoided such lands.

"How does this territory compare to the one in the southeastern corner?" Ruize asked, smiling at his son.

At that, Berrin immediately thought of Fruitvale Village and fell silent.

Under Aven's leadership, the southeastern corner had become a formidable domain, guarded by countless magical beasts—so much so that even Aspiration City's knight order would struggle to take it.

"So, in the end, it's the lord who determines the strength of a territory," Ruize said.

"Do you think I'll be any worse than Aven, the earl of the southeastern frontier?"

A knowing smile appeared on Ruize's face.

While this land was poor and damaged, he had long established his roots here with the knight order.

He had been the first to discover the Abyssal Caverns and the appearance of the Gray Mist. This war had earned him considerable merit.

Now, with his years of defending Aspiration City's northeast and his accumulated war record, the princess would surely approve his request.

Earl of the Northeastern Border of Aspiration City—that was his ambition!

With all the resources and reputation he'd built, there was no land he could not conquer!

If a commoner like Aven could hold the vast southeast, surely, he—once the captain of the knights—could do even better!

"Of course, Father is in no way inferior to that commoner," Berrin said flatteringly.

Ruize nodded in satisfaction, then shook his head slightly.

"Well, to be fair, Aven's management of his domain does offer much to learn."

"You said you learned a lot in Fruitvale Village, didn't you?"

"When I receive my fief in the northeast, I'll assign you a village to govern. You can apply what you've learned."

(End of chapter)