Now comes the next step—testing the Apricorn Ball's effectiveness."
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Aven tucked the Apricorn Ball away. While the ball had been built according to the strict guidelines for crafting Poké Balls, unless it could actually capture a Pokémon, it couldn't yet be considered a real success.
With the thought of testing now burning in his mind, the next step was choosing a Pokémon for the experiment.
The safest approach would be to test the Poké Ball on one of the Pokémon in the safari zone—or even one of the Pokémon he had already caught.
But that just felt like it wouldn't fully demonstrate the ball's capabilities. The best choice would be a wild Pokémon leader from the Black Forest's Pokémon tribes.
If he could capture a leader, he might even gain control of the entire tribe—and wild Pokémon would serve as far better test subjects for measuring the Apricorn Ball's true effectiveness.
"In that case…"
Aven began recalling all the tribal leaders within the Black Forest.
Immediately, Drapion and Vespiquen came to mind. But he quickly shook his head.
According to the intelligence gathered from the Nidoking tribe, Drapion was also a pseudo-king-level Pokémon, and its tribe of elite subordinates was no weaker than the Nidokings.
Not to mention, the area Drapion ruled over was covered in toxic fog. It was even more dangerous than the Nidoking tribe's territory. To deal with Drapion, he would need far more preparation.
Under such conditions, testing the Poké Ball would be reckless and extremely costly.
The Vespiquen tribe presented similar problems. Though Vespiquen herself was only an advanced-level beast, her ability to issue three coordinated commands and the unique behavior of her hive meant that if she led the Combee into battle, their collective strength could rival even pseudo-king levels. Even a true king-level Pokémon would have to treat them cautiously.
"…Perhaps Mothim would be a better choice!"
At that moment, Aven suddenly remembered the Mothim he had once encountered in the Black Forest—one that had mastered the move Camouflage.
Even back then, as a breeder, he had been tempted to try and tame it. He had thought to himself, If I ever succeed in making a Poké Ball, I'm definitely going to catch that Mothim.
Now, perhaps, that opportunity had come.
Not only would the Mothim serve as an ideal test subject, but it could also become the first step toward taming the entire Mothim tribe!
With that thought, Aven didn't hesitate any longer. He packed the Poké Ball into his bag and returned to the breeding house to gather his team.
Though the Mothim tribe wasn't particularly powerful, their sheer numbers made them a threat. Even bringing in a group of advanced-tier Pokémon to enter their territory would require extreme caution.
"Maybe I could ask the Nidoking tribe for help…"
"If I offer them Pokémon food in exchange, I'm sure they'd be more than happy to assist."
"And this could serve as a valuable experiment too—establishing a long-term mercenary-style relationship with the Nidoking tribe."
"With their help, I could claim the Black Forest area stretching from the Nidoking Valley to the breeding zone as part of my own territory!"
"If they're willing to patrol it on my behalf, I can provide them with a steady supply of Pokémon food. In that sense… I'd basically be taming the entire Nidoking tribe without ever needing to battle them directly!"
As for this plan, he had already made some preparations beforehand. Now, taking advantage of the opportunity presented by capturing the Mothim, he could go ahead and test it out, making good use of the Nidoking tribe as a resource.
Very soon, Aven returned to the Pokémon Breeding House to conduct a roll call. With the assistance of the Nidoking tribe, there was no need to bring too many Pokémon along this time.
After checking the training status of all his Pokémon, Aven ultimately chose to bring along Petilil, Froslass, Ralts, Rhydon, Luxio, Nidoran♂, and Nidoran♀.
Among them, Petilil, Froslass, and Ralts had practically been by his side every day recently and didn't require much consideration. Rhydon, on the other hand, had participated in the crafting of the Poké Balls, so naturally, it had to come along to test out the results of the experiment.
As for Luxio, it was needed for its ability to sense electromagnetic waves in order to locate the specific Mothim that had learned the move Camouflage.
As for the last two—Nidoran♂ and Nidoran♀—these little fellows had only just joined the team and were still quite clingy toward Aven. Considering that they were heading to the Nidoking Valley first, of course, he had to bring them along as well.
With all his Pokémon in tow, Aven entered the depths of the Black Forest, a look of anticipation surfacing on his face, which in turn seemed to boost the morale and pace of the team. Their travel speed increased significantly, and they arrived at Nidoking Valley in nearly half the usual time.
"Nido, nido~"
Returning to their 'maternal home,' Nidoran♂ and Nidoran♀ were visibly excited.
Upon hearing their calls, the Nidoking leader immediately ran out from within the valley, welcoming Aven inside.
Once he arrived at the valley, Aven went straight to the point and explained the purpose of this visit to the Nidoking leader.
And upon hearing that there would be Pokémon food provided just for helping out, the Nidoking's eyes instantly lit up. Without even a moment of hesitation, he agreed enthusiastically!
"Then I'll be counting on you for this one."
"Ten sacks of Pokémon food—after the mission is complete, just bring your family to the Breeding House to collect it."
Aven gave the Nidoking a firm pat on the shoulder, his small eyes narrowing slightly into a pleased expression. In response, the Nidoking let out a joyous roar.
Very quickly, the Nidoking, carrying the two little Nidorans, set off with half of the tribe.
Usually, the members of the Nidoking tribe residing in Nidoking Valley had little to do besides training, eating, drinking, and sleeping. Now that they had received an interesting mission, most of the Nidorino and Nidorina showed great interest and followed along without any hesitation.
To them, patrolling the Black Forest in exchange for delicious Pokémon food was the easiest task imaginable. They even started to think: if only there were missions like this every day!
With the Nidoking tribe moving through the Black Forest, the surrounding wild Pokémon fled in all directions, fearing they might provoke the regional overlords.
Under the leadership of the Nidoking tribe, they soon arrived at the area where the Mothim lived. Once they reached the outer perimeter, Aven had the Nidoking tribe stop and stand guard, while he ventured alone into Mothim territory.
Although the Nidoking tribe was the strongest tribe in this part of the forest, the Mothim, due to their overwhelming numbers, weren't weak by any means. If the Nidoking tribe barged into their territory uninvited, it could provoke the entire group to unite and drive out the intruders—which would be troublesome.
However, if Aven entered the area alone, it wouldn't attract too much attention from the Mothim. They typically didn't enjoy fighting and preferred to quietly perch in the trees, sucking the sap from berries.
"Luxio, I'll be counting on you now."
Hearing Aven's words, Luxio nodded excitedly and began concentrating to sense the surroundings.
Almost immediately, its mind was flooded with electrical signals—but none of them belonged to that special Mothim.
Since they hadn't found the target right away, they had no choice but to keep advancing into the forest, carefully searching for that specific Mothim.
"Lil lil, lil lil~"
While Luxio was busy searching via electromagnetic waves, Petilil also began sensing for life energy.
Countless life signals were radiating from the Pokémon hidden within the forest, all of which were being picked up by Petilil's senses.
And then, while moving forward, Petilil suddenly detected a life force far stronger than that of any other nearby Mothim. Its eyes widened in surprise.
"Lil lil, lil lil!"
Petilil then joyfully alerted Aven.
Whether this Mothim with such a powerful life force was the one they were looking for—only time would tell.
"Huh? Petilil, did you discover something?" Aven asked in surprise, glancing over at Petilil.
He had been so focused on crafting Poké Balls lately that he hadn't even realized Petilil had learned how to sense life energy!
"Meowr~"
Luxio also turned to look at Petilil, feeling a bit disheartened.
Was Petilil now surpassing it even in the area of sensory perception—its greatest strength?
"Well, let's go check it out."
Following the direction Petilil pointed, Aven proceeded forward, gradually stepping into a dense patch of forest.
Upon arriving, he immediately noticed that the number of Burmy had decreased drastically. Even Mothim and Wormadam were nowhere to be seen.
This reminded him of the first time he had encountered the Mothim—it had also been sitting alone in a tree until Luxio spotted it and it flew away.
"Meowr!"
As they drew closer to their target, Luxio's body suddenly shuddered.
At last, it, too, sensed a familiar signal—this one undoubtedly emitted by the Mothim they were looking for!
"Lil lil! Meowr!"
Finally, both Petilil and Luxio pointed simultaneously at a tall tree.
But there was nothing visibly there!
"It used Camouflage!" Aven's eyes sparkled. He immediately called out toward the tree: "Mothim, I've already found you!"
"Come out—I challenge you to a battle! I'm going to capture you with a Poké Ball and make you my partner!"
As his voice echoed through the forest, the figure of the Mothim slowly appeared on the tree. Its two pairs of golden moth-like wings gently unfolded, and with a soft flap, it floated into the air.
"Luxio, this battle is yours!"
"Meow-meowr!"
Excited, Luxio let out a roar of enthusiasm.
Crackling electricity began to surge around its body as it launched an attack toward the revealed Mothim.
The powerful current condensed into a bolt—it was Thunderbolt, a move Luxio had mastered after enhancing the strength of its electric energy. The electrical blast surged with aggressive power!
Seeing this, the Mothim swiftly flapped its wings, and in an instant, a tornado sprang up from the ground!
This was the Flying-type move Gust, but formed into a mini twister—it was clear this Mothim had excellent control over flying-type energy.
Zzzzt—!
Thunderbolt streaked across the sky and struck the tornado directly.
For a brief moment, the tornado seemed to stall, but then it deflected the electric current entirely and continued sweeping toward Luxio!
"This Mothim is strong!"
Watching the oncoming tornado, a look of astonishment appeared on Aven's face.
His gaze carefully examined this Mothim who had mastered Camouflage. He had clearly underestimated its strength!
He then recalled the nature of the move Camouflage—clearly, this Mothim was not just adept at hiding its physical form, but also its true power.
Whooosh—
The twister whipped through the battlefield, causing the surrounding trees to lean dramatically in its direction.
"Meowr!"
Luxio, undaunted, charged forward with sparks crackling across its body.
All four of its limbs surged with electricity. By using electrical stimulation to boost its leg strength, its speed exploded, and it dashed straight toward the tornado.
With a powerful impact, it smashed into the twister, which instantly shuddered before being forcefully broken apart by Luxio!
"Luxio, dodge now!"
At that moment, Aven's voice rang out with a warning.
Without hesitation, Luxio vanished from its spot in a flash, its speed peaking.
Just as it disappeared, a barrage of silver-dusted whirlwinds slammed into the ground it had just occupied!
These cyclones resembled blades, cutting into the earth with relentless force. When they finally dissipated, the battlefield had become a ravaged mess.
"Silver Wind! This Mothim's level is really high!"
Aven narrowed his eyes. Judging from its performance, this Mothim's strength was likely close to the advanced tier.
He began to wonder—could this Mothim possibly be the leader of the group?
(End of Chapter)