"RHYYY!"
Rhydon couldn't help but grin foolishly. Being praised by Aven made it feel that all its efforts over this time had been completely worth it.
"Then, let us proceed with the forging of the next White Apricorn." As soon as he finished speaking, Aven once again took out another White Apricorn and began forging it under intense heat.
This time, the number of White Apricorns he had brought back totaled twenty-seven in all. His plan was to turn every single one of these White Apricorns into Poké Balls; in this way, it should be more than enough to meet his own needs for a long while.
In the future, the White Apricorn trees in Fruitvale Village would continue to bear fruit without pause—especially in the White Apricorn Grove of the Black Coast Forest. Once the Apricorns there had ripened as well, Poké Balls could more or less begin to be gradually promoted and spread more widely.
Dong, dong, dong, dong, dong~
For quite some time afterward, the sound of hammering rang out again and again from within the Pokémon Breeding House.
However, forging was indeed an extremely labor-intensive task. Before long, even the armored face of the Rhydon showed clear traces of fatigue.
In addition, due to its prolonged use of the move Fire Punch, its control over flames had dropped noticeably. After completing the forging of five Poké Balls, it could no longer hold out much longer.
"Rhydon, take a proper rest for now."
Seeing Rhydon's exhausted appearance, Aven immediately took out a healing potion to restore its stamina.
Upon witnessing this, Petilil also came over without delay and used Aromatherapy, dissipating Rhydon's fatigue. Life energy flowed gently through the air, easing the weariness written upon Rhydon's face.
Seeing this, Aven also let out a breath. Because of the prolonged high-temperature forging, his own face was showing signs of exhaustion as well.
"Lil, Lil~"
While Aven and Rhydon were resting, Petilil slowly approached the bowl-shaped furnace.
As a Grass-type Pokémon, it naturally had a strong aversion to flames, yet at this moment Petilil was making a deliberate effort to overcome its instinctive rejection of fire.
Upon coming close to the furnace, Petilil immediately felt a wave of rich Fire-type energy rushing toward it, filling its senses with bursts of searing heat.
"Lil, Lil!"
Taking a deep breath, Petilil then unleashed the move Nature Power.
Because of the dense Fire-type energy surrounding it, the natural energy that Petilil gathered also transformed into Fire-type energy.
Gradually, the flames became denser and more concentrated, until a sudden burst of fire sprang up from Petilil's hands, condensing into a small fireball.
"LIL!"
Petilil was clearly startled, quickly ceasing its use of Nature Power; only then did the flames slowly disperse into the air.
"Petilil, are you trying to train in Fire-type moves?" Aven, too, was taken aback by Petilil's actions.
"Lil, Lil~"
Petilil called out twice, sounding a little aggrieved.
After hearing Aven's question, it hesitated for a moment, then nodded firmly.
Back when it had seen Bidoof successfully evolve, the thought had already crossed its mind—could it perhaps rely on its own abilities to evolve, without depending on a Sun Stone?
If the Sun Stone contained solar energy, then could it not be possible to replace the Sun Stone by mastering solar energy itself?
"Ralts, Ralts, Ralts~"
Hearing Petilil's account, Ralts floated over.
After understanding Petilil's meaning, Ralts froze for a moment, then relayed the message to Aven through telepathy.
"Hm? Evolving by mastering solar energy instead of using a Sun Stone?" Aven, upon hearing this, also froze in surprise.
Pokémon evolution was an exceedingly mysterious phenomenon—even the Pokémon scholars of his previous life had never fully unraveled its secrets. As for Petilil's question, he truly had never looked deeply into it.
However, he did know that under certain circumstances, Pokémon could indeed evolve without relying on the fixed method normally required.
For example, for an Onix to evolve into Steelix, it generally needed to use the item Metal Coat, which would transform its body through the energy contained within.
Yet in special cases, if an Onix experienced extreme underground heat and pressure, its body could likewise undergo transformation, substituting for the role of the Metal Coat and allowing it to ultimately evolve into Steelix.
From this, it could be seen that the conditions for evolution did not necessarily require the evolutionary item itself—rather, it required fulfilling the underlying conditions of evolution. The item merely contained the energy needed for that process.
Therefore, if Petilil could master an energy similar to that contained within a Sun Stone, it might truly be possible for it to complete its evolution without ever touching one.
Moreover, Petilil also possessed life energy, and through its observations of Pokémon evolution, it understood quite clearly the role that life energy played in that process.
After all, evolution itself was essentially a breaking of the shackles of life—a renewal and transformation of existence. A Petilil who mastered both solar energy and life energy might indeed have the potential to shatter those limits.
Aven even faintly felt that if Petilil could evolve by this method, its life level would almost certainly surpass that of an ordinary Petilil.
"Hoo… it really seems worth trying!"
"Besides, Petilil can learn to summon sunny weather with the move Sunny Day, which makes mastering solar energy even more achievable."
"And with its Chlorophyll ability, it gains increased speed under sunny weather."
"Chlorophyll itself is a kind of application of solar energy—it will be of great help in learning to master it."
"On top of that, with its command of normal energy, it even has the potential to control Fire-type energy, which in turn can greatly assist in learning Sunny Day."
Closing his eyes in thought, Aven reviewed all the information about Petilil in his mind, and he became fully convinced that this evolutionary method was indeed possible.
Of course, even if Petilil failed to evolve in the end, mastering solar energy would still be an enormous benefit for a Grass-type Pokémon like it.
"Lil, Lil!"
Upon receiving Aven's affirmative answer, Petilil became visibly excited.
It had long yearned for evolution, and now, at last, it had found a possible path forward—one that could finally dispel its uncertainty.
"In the time ahead, I will help you learn the move Sunny Day."
"Although I don't know the exact training method for Sunny Day, I know that you can do it!"
Aven spoke with deep sincerity, and upon hearing this, Petilil's expression grew firm, showing its determination to train diligently.
"Lil, Lil!"
After saying this, Petilil turned its gaze toward the bowl-shaped furnace and walked slowly toward it.
Although it was born with an aversion to fire, in order to better sense Fire-type energy, it was willing to endure the furnace's scorching heat.
"Rhy, RHY!"
Seeing this, Rhydon let out a joyful roar and came over to stand beside Petilil, declaring that it, too, would work hard alongside it.
"Petilil and Rhydon," Aven thought to himself, "from now on, while forging, I'll focus on cultivating both of your Fire-type strengths."
Fire and forging had always been the perfect match—training in this way would be most fitting indeed.
Dong, dong, dong, dong~
In the following period of time, the sound of hammering continued to ring out steadily from the smithy.
Aven stood at a distance, with Cherrim perched upon his shoulder, its body radiating a soft milky-white light.
Overhead, two suns hung in the sky, pouring down waves of heat. The Fire-type energy in the area steadily grew stronger and stronger.
Fortunately, it was already autumn—otherwise Aven might truly have been unable to endure the waves of heat surging through the field.
Dong, dong, dong, dong~
At the forge, Rhydon was drenched in sweat.
With the sunny weather boosting it, the flames on Rhydon's fists became even more searing.
Meanwhile, Petilil was also focusing on the thick Fire-type energy around it, using Nature Power to transform normal energy into Fire-type form.
A fireball slowly took shape in Petilil's hands, floating in midair as it gradually grew denser. Flickers of flame rose faintly from it, as though on the verge of some change.
In a Fire-type environment, the Nature Power move manifested as Lava Plume, capable of spewing blazing flames that could burn everything nearby.
Yet because Petilil's control over Fire-type energy was still weak—and because this was not a volcanic environment—it was unable to fully unleash the move.
Even so, it was enough for training purposes. By using Fire-type Nature Power, Petilil could continually sense Fire-type energy and strengthen its mastery over it.
When the Nature Power training ended, Petilil lifted its head to look at the sun overhead, closed its eyes, and began to sense.
At the same time, its Chlorophyll ability activated, attuning itself to the energy radiating from the sun above. Almost instantly, waves of familiar energy fluctuations came to it.
Within that energy was a rich blend of Grass-type and Fire-type power, as well as various other special energies—combined, they formed the unique force known as solar energy.
It also attempted to enter the state of complete unity with nature that it had long been training for, as this would help it sense solar energy more clearly.
"Chee, Chee, Cheer~"
Watching Petilil and Rhydon train so earnestly, Cherrim also began its own training.
For Cherrim, its greatest strength was undoubtedly its Flower Gift ability, which could boost both the attack and special defense of allies.
Through Flower Gift, it could further strengthen Rhydon's power, increasing its forging efficiency.
At the same time, Flower Gift was itself a way of using solar energy—meaning it could also help Petilil sense solar energy more effectively.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle~
At that moment, Rhydon finished forging a White Apricorn and quickly quenched it in water.
With a burst of white steam, another White Apricorn Ball was completed. After this round of forging, Rhydon's skill had clearly improved once more.
"Thank you for your hard work, Rhydon."
Aven picked up the newly forged White Apricorn Ball and examined it—it was another flawless success.
"RHYYY~"
Extinguishing the flames on one fist, Rhydon let out a delighted roar.
Then, flames suddenly burst forth on its other fist as well, and it struck a powerful pose to show that it was in top condition.
With its increasing mastery over Fire Punch, Rhydon was no longer content to use it with only one hand—training of the left-hand Fire Punch had now begun.
"Keep it up, Rhydon."
"When you've mastered Fire Punch with your left hand as well, I'll teach you other Fire-type moves."
(End of Chapter)