Time passed quickly, and by the time dawn arrived, the Grass-type Pokémon that had been stationed outside the valley finally dispersed.
Matthew then led the rangers into Nidoking Valley.
"These trees… they all seem to have withered…"
Upon entering, the rangers immediately noticed something unusual—the trees that should have been lush and vibrant in summer were instead withered and lifeless.
"It's probably because the Oddish absorbed their energy during evolution."
"After all, evolution demands an enormous amount of energy—and that's even more true for a large-scale mass evolution like this."
After a brief observation, they came to this conclusion.
And then, they saw them—masses upon masses of Gloom gathered throughout the valley.
"Glooo! Glooo!"
After an entire night had passed, the Gloom had more or less adapted to their new bodies.
At this moment, they were all curiously watching the forest rangers who had just entered. When they saw that these people did not show any hint of rejection or disgust toward the stench coming from their bodies, they all let out a small sigh of relief.
They were naturally aware of the changes in their bodies. After living together with other Pokémon for such a long time, they had also learned that most Pokémon found it very hard to accept this kind of smell.
"Lord Aven, I've brought the forest rangers you requested," Matthew said respectfully after leading the rangers over, giving a bow as he spoke.
The forest rangers, in turn, were curiously looking around the place. They were, of course, already very familiar with Aven himself, but what truly shocked them was the Nidoking tribe living in Nidoking Valley.
Truth be told, the appearance of Nidoking and Nidoqueen was indeed very striking—handsome, imposing, and brimming with strength. Their powerful presence instantly drew the rangers' attention, making their eyes sparkle.
When they agreed to come here and work as forest rangers, most of them were secretly hoping for the chance to closely interact with Pokémon living in the Safari Zone. By building familiarity and mutual trust, they could one day successfully capture one.
Now, upon seeing the Nidokings and Nidoqueens up close, many of them found it hard to take their eyes off such mighty Pokémon. They couldn't help but fantasize about what it would be like to successfully catch such a powerful partner!
"Mhm, you've worked hard. Go ahead and rest for a while," Aven said as he helped the rangers up, motioning for them to head toward the camp to relax.
At the camp, breakfast had already been prepared, and Aven thought this would be a good chance to let the rangers eat together with him.
The rangers were a little flattered by this treatment and approached the camp rather cautiously.
"Before you came here, I'm sure Matthew already told you about the task ahead, didn't he?" Aven asked.
"This place is called Nidoking Valley. It's the territory of the Nidoking tribe, and your job here will be to plant berry trees."
The rangers all nodded in acknowledgment. They had indeed already been informed of their mission, but now that they heard they would truly be planting berry trees here, they still looked a little uncertain.
They turned around and glanced at the somewhat withered trees in the distance, realizing that all these trees would likely be removed and the entire valley transformed into a berry orchard.
"In a moment, we'll start by clearing out the trees in the valley," Aven explained.
"For this part, the Nidoking tribe will also be helping. Once the valley is completely cleared, you can begin planting the berries."
The rangers listened carefully. Since planting berries was something they were already very familiar with, they nodded in agreement without hesitation.
Although they were still a bit puzzled as to why Lord Aven wanted to plant berries here in particular, when they saw the excited, expectant looks in the eyes of the Nidokings, they felt as though they had a faint understanding.
"Nido! Nido! Nido!"
The Nidoking tribe was indeed extremely excited.
Once Aven gave the go-ahead, the Nidoking leader immediately led its tribesmen into action.
The leader wrapped its strong arms around the trunk of a thick tree and, with only a little effort, uprooted it entirely!
Following Aven's instructions, all the felled trees were gathered and stacked in a clearing.
This clearing was a place Aven had already set aside for the construction of log cabins. These logs, being readily available, were perfect building materials, and the location could serve as a ranger outpost.
With the Nidoking tribe providing protection, the valley would be exceptionally safe, and the rangers would be able to plant berries here much more conveniently.
"Meow~ meow~ meow~"
Aven's own Pokémon also joined in enthusiastically.
Luxio charged straight into a large tree and used Wild Charge, the sheer force snapping the trunk clean in half.
Then, Nidorinos and Nidorinas would haul the fallen trees over to the clearing. Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.
Before long, with the Nidoking tribe's help, a huge portion of the valley had been cleared. There wasn't even a single blade of grass left on the ground.
It was worth noting that the newly evolved Gloom had already returned to the Safari Zone under Vileplume's leadership.
In the eastern section of the Safari Zone, Aven had set aside a zone specifically for the Gloom to live and continue their training.
These Gloom would later be organized into the "Gloom Corps," one of the most important forces for protecting his territory. For that reason, Aven had not hesitated to invest a great deal of resources into them.
The eastern zone had yet to be developed, but with the Gloom stationed there, their stench alone was enough to repel most invading wild Pokémon.
Of course, two hundred of these Gloom actually belonged to Sir Berrin and would eventually be taken to Fruitvale Village, awaiting his arrival for the final handover.
Although Aven was somewhat reluctant to part with them, they rightfully belonged to Sir Berrin and had merely been fostered in the breeding area, so they had to be returned.
However, the contract they had signed included an additional clause: if Sir Berrin failed to take proper care of the Gloom, Aven reserved the right to take them back by force.
"Hah… even after coming to this era, I still haven't changed," Aven sighed softly.
In his previous life, he had run a Pokémon daycare. Whenever fostered Pokémon had to be returned to their owners, it was common for him to part ways with Pokémon he had grown attached to.
"RHY!"
Just as Aven was feeling a little sentimental, a sudden roar echoed from the distance.
Moments later, the towering figure of Rhydon appeared, raising both arms above its head and letting out an excited bellow.
When the roar reached the Nidoking leader's ears, its body trembled slightly, and it stiffly turned its head to look at the rapidly approaching Rhydon.
Nidoking leader: Oh no! Why is this guy here?!
"Rhydon's here. Looks like we can start plowing the fields," Aven said with a smile.
Turning to the Nidoking leader, he added, "Rhydon is here to help with the farming work—it knows the move Rototiller."
The Nidoking leader froze for a moment, then gave a silent nod. If it was here to help, then that was fine.
"Rhyyy!"
Soon, Rhydon arrived at Aven's side and gave a few somewhat pitiful growls.
Earlier, when Aven had set out with his Grass-type Pokémon, Rhydon had been hard at work in the smithy, diligently practicing forging metal. By the time it realized Aven was gone, he had already left.
"Hahaha, I just didn't want to interrupt your training," Aven said with an awkward chuckle.
This time, he hadn't expected to be away for so long, which was why he hadn't brought Rhydon along. Now, he quickly offered an apology.
"Rhyy~"
Seeing that Aven had apologized, Rhydon grudgingly accepted it.
Then, it turned its head toward the Nidoking leader, who was trying to quietly slip away, and its eyes lit up.
Rhydon: "RHY, RHY, RHY!" I challenge you to a battle—how about we wager a bag of Pokémon food?
The Nidoking leader, who had been trying to leave, froze in place, then quickly turned around and clenched its fists.
Nidoking leader: "NIDO!, NIDO!, NIDO!"Come on then! I, the Nidoking leader, specialize in teaching lessons to anyone who dares challenge me!
Seeing that a fight was about to break out, Aven smiled, shook his head, and stepped back to give them room. He knew Rhydon had always regarded the Nidoking leader as its rival, training with that goal in mind. This was the kind of battle he would always support unconditionally.
The other Pokémon, who had been busy working, noticed the upcoming fight and quickly formed a circle around the two, eager to watch.
"RHY!"
Rhydon was ecstatic. It clenched its fists tightly, and a moment later, flames began to ignite around them.
After this period of intense forging practice, it felt that its strength had grown tremendously, and now was the perfect time to put that power to the test.
With a roar, Rhydon charged forward. No tricks, no flourishes—just a straight, explosive punch: Fire Punch!
"Nido!"
The Nidoking leader's eyes narrowed slightly.
It quickly gathered Poison-type energy into its fists and countered with Poison Jab!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The two Pokémon clashed fiercely, fist against fist, fire against poison, the collision producing sharp sizzling sounds in the air.
After another heavy exchange, Rhydon was sent flying backward, its feet gouging deep grooves into the ground before it managed to steady itself.
In contrast, the Nidoking leader had only been forced to take a single step back—but that single step was enough to cause a stir among the Nidoking tribe.
After so many battles between these two, the tribe was well aware of their history.
In their last fight, their leader had been able to swat Rhydon away with ease. But now… it had actually been pushed back a step!
That one step alone was enough to prove that Rhydon had indeed been improving lately—and the rate of its progress was nothing to scoff at!
"Huh? Is it because of a strength discipline?"
Aven suddenly let out a startled "Huh?" and turned his gaze toward the fists of the Rhydon.
During the earlier battle, he had naturally been able to discern the gap in strength between Rhydon and the Nidoking leader.
Although Rhydon was already considered among the stronger ones within his advanced-level Pokemon, it was still quite some distance away from reaching the quasi-king level.
Under normal circumstances, Rhydon's raw strength should have been far inferior to that of the Nidoking leader.
Yet, just now, the burst of power it had displayed was in no way weaker than the Nidoking leader's. The only explanation for this could be the use of a strength discipline technique.
It seemed that, through constant blacksmithing practice, Rhydon had found certain ways to channel its strength more effectively, and now it had integrated those methods into its combat style!
"RHYYY!"
After that brief clash, Rhydon became even more exhilarated.
Letting out a deep roar, it charged forward once again, raising its massive fist and swinging it toward the Nidoking leader.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The following exchanges only served to confirm Aven's earlier speculation.
At this moment, Rhydon's fighting style truly resembled that of forging iron—it was treating the Nidoking leader as if it were a hunk of steel to be hammered.
However, the current Rhydon was still incapable of "forging" a chunk of steel as hard as the Nidoking leader. After several rounds of fierce clashes, it was once again sent flying with great force!
Taking advantage of the momentum, the Nidoking leader pressed the attack, giving Rhydon no time to recover. A few more exchanges later, Rhydon was knocked flat onto the ground!
"Battle over. The winner is the Nidoking leader!"
Looking at the fallen Rhydon, Aven waved his hand and announced the result of the match.
"Nido! NIDOO!"
The Nidoking leader, upon hearing this, was visibly thrilled—after all, there had been a prize at stake in this battle!
(End of Chapter)