Among all Pokémon, those like Tangela—which can naturally generate vines—are among the most likely to comprehend the move Growth.
So Aven wasn't too surprised that Tangrowth had managed to learn it.
If he had to name the Pokémon on his team most likely to learn Growth, it would definitely be Tangrowth.
Even Petilil would have a much harder time learning the move.
As Tangrowth used Growth, the energy from Grassy Terrain and Sunny Day was continuously absorbed, causing its aura to rise rapidly.
Its lashing vines struck down the falling rocks from the sky with ease.
"Tangrowth, use Vine Whip!"
Aven ordered softly.
Without hesitation, Tangrowth raised both hands.
The vines on its body stretched out rapidly, now strengthened by the Growth boost.
The energy flowing through the vines was overwhelming—so intense that the vines themselves began to change.
The Grass-type power had become more dense and cohesive, the blue vines appearing almost like a single fused entity!
Even Rhydon, standing on the opposite side, was shocked by the sheer pressure.
It quickly gathered Ground-type and Rock-type energy, using a combination of Earth Power and Ancient Power to raise a solid stone wall in front of it!
CRACK! A burst of air sounded as the Vine Whip sliced through the sky and struck the wall with brutal force.
BOOM!
With a deafening explosion, cracks immediately spread across the wall, expanding outward in all directions—
Crack, crack, crack!
Then, with a thunderous crash, the stone wall collapsed completely!
Rhydon stared in shock—its strongest defense had just been shattered.
There was no doubt in its mind: if that terrifying vine strike had landed directly, with its 4× weakness to Grass, it might've been taken out instantly!
Off in the distance, Tangrowth was gasping heavily after the attack, retracting its vines.
It was clear that move had put a huge strain on it as well.
"Was that… Power Whip?"
Aven was stunned too.
The force behind that move was clearly far beyond a regular Vine Whip.
Power Whip was a move with a similar function but multiple times stronger.
It was undoubtedly a Grass-type high-power move, far more powerful than even Vileplume's Petal Blizzard.
With the boosts from Grassy Terrain, Sunny Day, and Growth, its power had jumped several tiers and completely overwhelmed Rhydon's defense.
"Alright, that's enough battling for today."
Aven said, glancing at both the exhausted Tangrowth and the stunned Rhydon.
Hearing this, Tangrowth immediately nodded in agreement.
Rhydon opened its mouth.
Although it still had some strength left, the impact of Tangrowth's Power Whip had been a huge blow.
Did Tangrowth really become this strong right after evolving?
A memory suddenly flashed in its mind—Vileplume's power surge after evolution.
Now, Rhydon couldn't help but feel a bit envious.
I want to evolve again...
Tangela had evolved through learning Ancient Power.
Rhydon had learned Ancient Power as well—
So… could it evolve too?
"Don't worry about it, Rhydon," Aven said, walking over.
"Tangrowth had the advantage of Grassy Terrain and Sunny Day."
"With those three Grass-types supporting moves working together, they can already match a advanced-tier Pokémon. You held your own even under all those disadvantages—your strength is clearly at that level already."
Aven tried to comfort Rhydon, but it didn't seem to help much.
In truth, Aven had been surprised as well by how much stronger Tangrowth had become after learning Growth and Power Whip.
Its overall strength had increased by several levels.
Plus, Rhydon's quadruple weakness to Grass made it especially vulnerable, which gave Tangrowth the opening it needed to fight back.
But this time, Rhydon seemed truly shaken.
Normally, it would jump up with fierce spirit and shout something like, "I'll go run two more laps!"
But not this time.
'I'll need to find a way to help Rhydon overcome its Grass-type weakness' Aven thought.
Rhydon had already reached the limit of its training with Rock and Ground moves.
It was time for it to learn moves of a different type.
"Rhydon, would you like to learn a Fire-type move?"
Rhydon froze for a moment.
It knew Fire beat Grass—but could it really learn Fire-type moves?
"If you want to learn it, follow me,"
Aven said with a faint smile, glancing at the Petilil on his shoulder and walking toward the distance.
Rhydon quickly stood up and followed, brushing off its doubts.
'If Aven says I can learn it, then I can learn it!'
…
They soon arrived at a clearing, where a large bowl-shaped pit was faintly visible on the ground.
This was the bowl furnace Aven had once made while experimenting with crafting Apricorn Poké Balls.
But due to the winter beast tide and other events, he hadn't continued his attempts, nor had he found a Pokémon that could replace forging machinery—so the project had been shelved.
"Rhy?" Rhydon tilted its head, unsure what Aven was planning.
"This is a furnace. It can produce high heat."
"Next, I want you to learn Fire Punch, and this furnace will help with the training."
Aven briefly explained the Fire Punch training method.
Rhydon's eyes immediately lit up with excitement.
Fire Punch is a Fire-type move that coats the fist in flame to strike an opponent, with a chance to cause a burn.
Its usage was somewhat similar to Rhydon's custom version of Rock Slide.
The hardest part was getting Rhydon to sense and control Fire-type energy.
But with Cherrim's Sunny Day and the furnace generating high heat and abundant Fire energy, it shouldn't be too difficult.
"Rhydon, I'll leave the furnace construction to you."
Last time, Aven had made the furnace entirely by hand.
With Rhydon now helping, things would go much faster.
…
While Rhydon was rebuilding the furnace, Aven headed to the berry grove and called over Starly and Shinx.
After this period of training, Starly had grown noticeably stronger.
By Aven's judgment, it had already met the evolution conditions—but for some unknown reason, it still hadn't evolved.
Whoosh…
A breeze rustled the trees as Starly perched atop a nearby rock.
It recognized the bowl furnace—it had traded labor for training techniques here before.
"Shinx, use Thunder Shock on this pile of dry grass."
"Meow!"
Shinx nodded obediently.
A burst of electricity shot out, striking the hay.
Sssss…! Smoke rose, and the dry grass caught fire quickly.
While Fire-types are more convenient for lighting fires, Electric-types could serve as makeshift flint in some situations.
Once the fire was burning, Aven added dry branches to build it up, then tossed in logs to create charcoal.
"Starly, I'll need your help again this time."
Starly agreed happily—after all, helping meant it would receive another move-learning opportunity as payment.
As soon as Aven added the red-hot charcoal into the bowl furnace, Starly began flapping its wings, creating gusts of wind that fanned the flames higher and higher.
"Cherrim, use Sunny Day!"
Cherrim cheerfully nodded.
Fire-type energy surged from its body, forming a blazing fireball in the sky.
The air was now thick with Fire-type energy—under these conditions, any Fire move would get a major boost.
Rhydon sat beside the furnace, feeling the rising heat and trying to sense Fire energy.
Meanwhile, Aven thought: Might as well prepare to restart apricornball crafting.
He took out a scorched white apricorn from his backpack—one he'd used in past experiments.
It was no longer usable for crafting Poké Balls, but still good for testing furnace temperatures.
He had three remaining white apricorns.
Previously, he'd avoided experimenting with them because he needed to plant them.
But now that he had transplanted white apricorn trees into the grove—and had acquired several saplings—he could proceed with forging.
Still, actual crafting would have to wait until fully ripe apricorns were available.
Whoosh, whoosh!
Starly kept fanning the furnace, and under Aven's direction, carefully maintained the right temperature.
The test apricorn glowed bright red.
Carefully, Aven removed it with tongs and tapped it with a small hammer.
Clang! Sparks flew as the superheated apricorn resisted the blows—it was extremely hard.
Aven recalled the forging techniques from his past life, closely observing the surface changes and trying to judge if a capsule-like structure had formed inside.
But after a few more hammer strikes, his arm grew sore, and he had to stop—signaling another failed attempt.
"Still not working," Aven sighed.
He had been doing daily strength training, but it still wasn't enough to swing a hammer properly.
Moreover, forging wasn't just about brute force—it required proper technique, and he was still swinging blindly.
'Looks like I'll need to recruit a blacksmith—human or Pokémon.'
he thought to himself.
His current position wasn't what it used to be.
Setting up a blacksmith shop in his territory wouldn't be difficult anymore.
'I'll speak to Fessen about it later' Aven decided.
Even if the blacksmith wasn't used for crafting Apricorn Balls, the territory still needed tools and metal goods for daily life.
(End of Chapter)