Chapter 212: The Beekeeping Plan

A group of Stunky gathered around the two Skuntank, giving off the impression of a close-knit family on the move.

Seeing this, Shinx stepped to the front of the group to scout for a path suitable for exiting the forest—after all, the White Apricorn tree was quite large. If they came across any paths too narrow to pass through, they'd have no choice but to let Rhydon clear the way.

After stopping and starting several times, they finally made it out of the Black Forest and headed toward Fruitvale Village.

Meanwhile, in Fruitvale Village, new settlements like Stonefall Village and Eastgate Village had already begun taking shape.

The western and southern areas of Fruitvale Village had been designated by Aven for grasslands and berry groves, with the new villages grouped on the other two sides.

After successfully uniting nine villages in the southeast corner, Fruitvale Village had grown significantly and was now large enough to be considered a small town.

In the fields of the new villages, berry farmers were diligently working.

Thanks to Rhydon's Rototiller move, the soil had been revitalized and was now highly suitable for berry cultivation.

Each village in the southeastern cluster was named after a type of berry, and each specialized in growing a specific kind of berry—together, they covered every berry found on the market.

To the south of Fruitvale Village lay Aven's personal farmland, managed with the help of Uncle Mike.

At that moment, Uncle Mike was examining the seedlings that had previously been brought back. After inspecting them for a while, he still couldn't identify which kind of berry tree they belonged to.

So, he decided not to touch them for now and waited for his nephew's return.

That afternoon, during his routine inspection of the southern orchard, Mike suddenly felt a tremor in the ground—it was clear something was rapidly approaching.

His expression turned serious, and the Luxray by his side let out a low growl, staring intently to the south.

Though attacks from Pokémon had become rare, he remained vigilant.

He had once advised Aven to fence off this personal grove and turn it into a full orchard, but Aven had declined.

As they watched, a blue figure appeared first, sprinting toward Fruitvale Village.

"Shinx," Mike sighed in relief.

The Luxray beside him had already recognized it—this was Aven's Shinx.

"Meow!"

Shinx spotted Uncle Mike from afar and screeched to a halt.

It had just been excited about getting home but suddenly remembered there were still humans in the village it feared.

Realizing this, it turned and ran back to Aven's side, meowing anxiously.

"Shinx, you're already a mature Shinx now," Aven reassured it. "Believe in your strength. There's no human who can easily hurt you anymore."

He jumped off Mightyena's back, placed the Petilil he was carrying on his shoulder, and picked Shinx up.

"Lil Lil!"

Petilil nodded fervently, encouraging Shinx to be brave.

"Meow..."

Shinx shrank its neck, closed its eyes and ears tightly, and finally sighed in relief.

At the same time, it sensed a familiar electric signal approaching—it was Uncle Mike.

"Uncle Mike, I'm back," Aven greeted him.

Mike glanced at Aven, then at the two Skuntank carrying the White Apricorn tree, and nodded. "Good to have you back."

Then he walked over to the tree and studied it closely, realizing he'd never seen such a tree before.

"Uncle Mike, this is a White Apricorn tree," Aven explained. "I plan to plant it in your farm for now."

He intended to carefully nurture this tree and the seedlings. Once their numbers increased, he would transplant them into the main orchard.

Although he had found a grove of mature White Apricorn trees in the Black Forest, it was the territory of a Vespiquen—the only wild tree he could bring back was this one.

He planned to use the White Apricorns to make Poké Balls. Each one was extremely precious.

Thinking of that grove again, he resolved to return once the White Apricorns ripened, even if it meant facing the Vespiquen herself, who was an advanced-level magical beast with many Combee under her command.

He needed to keep training his Pokémon until they reached the same advanced-tier level to have a chance.

"White Apricorn?" Mike repeated, clearly unfamiliar with the name.

"It's a type of berry tree only Pokémon can consume. Aside from being edible, it can also be… hmm, used in medicine," Aven added, emphasizing its rarity. Mike's expression turned serious.

"Uncle Mike, Vileplume also brought back a lot of Oddish this time," Aven continued. "There's no way your farm can house them all, so they can temporarily stay in this Rototillered field."

As he finished speaking, Vileplume appeared in the distance, followed by a dense crowd of Oddish.

"So many Oddish!" Uncle Mike took a deep breath and nodded solemnly.

After spending time with them, he no longer saw them as mere weeds in the orchard but as treasures of Fruitvale Village.

He already foresaw their growth boosting the village's strength tremendously.

In other territories, knights were the primary defense force. But for Fruitvale Village, it would be the Oddish—their own protectors!

As Uncle Mike excitedly welcomed the Oddish, Aven smiled and turned to his Pokémon. "Skuntank, I'll be relying on you a bit more."

The two Skuntank called out happily. Their small eyes scanned the surroundings with curiosity—so this was human territory?

Following Aven, they carried the White Apricorn tree into the village, which had become quite prosperous.

The villagers and patrol guards warmly greeted Aven, their eyes frequently drawn to the massive Skuntank.

Soon, the White Apricorn tree was transplanted into Uncle Mike's farm.

With Rhydon's Rototiller, Vileplume's Grassy Terrain, and growth fertilizers, everything went smoothly, and the tree was successfully planted.

Afterward, Aven also planted the White Apricorn seedlings and finally breathed a sigh of relief—now he could begin testing Poké Ball crafting.

He'd had plans for this for a long time, but the threats of beast tides had forced him to focus on defense.

Later, once things stabilized, he held off again to preserve the lone tree as a seed source.

Now that it was safely planted, once it bore fruit, he could start producing Poké Balls.

Before that, though, he needed to capture a Pokémon that could assist in crafting Poké Balls—something to replace the machines he'd relied on in his past life.

Bzz bzz bzz~ As the White Apricorn tree settled in, Combee happily took flight from Vileplume's head.

Back in the hive, their kind had always lived near White Apricorn trees, and it felt naturally drawn to them.

"Combee, from now on you can live in this orchard," Aven said with a smile.

Hearing this, Combee looked around at the grass and trees in the orchard—then suddenly shook its head.

Bzz bzz bzz~ It flew straight back to Vileplume's head and hid inside the large flower.

It seemed to be saying, I'll stay with Vileplume. I'm not going anywhere else.

Vileplume beamed with satisfaction and extended a hand for Combee to perch on.

"That works too," Aven nodded. "Besides, the village has plenty of Gloom that secrete lots of nectar."

For Combee to grow quickly, Sweet Honey was the perfect nourishment.

And honey made from the nectar of Vileplume and Gloom was among the best—its nutritional value was extraordinary.

Seeing Aven approve, Combee buzzed happily in circles around Vileplume, all three faces smiling.

"Vileplume, protect Combee well," Aven said seriously. "If anyone tries to hurt it, you can attack them directly."

He entrusted Combee's safety to Vileplume.

After all, Combee had immense economic value—it was sure to attract the greed of profiteers.

Humans had long tried to tame Combee colonies to harvest Sweet Honey, but wild Combee were exceedingly rare.

And Vespiquen could only be tamed if raised from birth; otherwise, they were impossible to domesticate.

As queens of their species, Vespiquen carried genetic pheromones that made them unyielding—even unto death.

Those same pheromones were found in Combee, used by Vespiquen to control and communicate with the hive.

This made a Combee free from such control incredibly rare—and incredibly valuable.

"Plume!"

 Vileplume struck a confident pose, assuring Aven it had things covered.

After transplanting the White Apricorn tree, Aven visited the mutated berry test field.

Thanks to Grassy Terrain and growth fertilizer, the berries were growing rapidly.

Normally, berry trees took a full year to mature. These ones would only take half that time.

However, to make the trees bear fruit quickly, he would still need to apply a special fertilizer that promotes fruiting—even out of season.

(End of Chapter)