After placing the freshly forged White Apricorn Ball into his backpack, Aven's gaze fell upon the right hand of Rhydon.
Through repeated use of the Fire Punch technique during forging, the armor on Rhydon's right hand had now clearly become darker and sturdier.
Tests confirmed that the physical strength of its right arm was now far superior to that of the rest of its body, which further convinced Aven of the benefits of blacksmith training.
If he remembered correcty, apart from the armor formed and its protective plates, the rest of a Rhyperior's body seemed to be a dark black color—quite similar to the deep blackness now appearing on the Rhydon's hand.
This led Aven to speculate: could the Rhydon, through forging under extreme pressure and high temperature, enhance its physique enough to match that of a Rhyperior? Just like how an Onix tempers itself under extreme heat and pressure!
If that could be achieved, then even if it could not evolve into a Rhyperior, its physical qualities might still far surpass others of its kind, truly transforming its iron armor into super iron!
"Heat Crash—that's it. I remember that Rhydon is capable of learning the Heat Crash move!"
Aven narrowed his eyes, recalling in his mind the effects of the Heat Crash—a Fire-type move that unleashes tremendous power through intense heat and crushing force, the power scaling with the user's body weight.
Now that the Rhydon had already mastered the art of forging, if it could also learn this move, then it could temper its body using heat and pressure during training!
"This is indeed a pretty solid training plan," Aven thought with satisfaction.
As a Pokémon breeder, devising training programs suited to each Pokémon's condition was one of his basic skills.
However, at this stage, it was still just a preliminary idea—one that needed to be refined through constant adjustments. Perhaps, he thought, adding in certain medicinal aids during the process might yield even better results.
Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding~
After resting, the Rhydon once again began forging White Apricorn Ball.
In this manner, more than a week passed. All twenty-seven White Apricorn Poké Balls had been forged, twenty-two of them successfully, while five were accidentally damaged during the process.
Even so, the results were enough to fill Aven with joy—twenty-two perfectly forged Poké Balls, more than enough to meet his immediate needs and still leave extras for capturing more Pokémon.
"Rhydon, you've worked hard these past few days."
"Take a good rest now—the next stage of Poké Ball crafting is up to me."
Aven patted its shoulder. What came next was the crafting of special mesh components and other parts, followed by a tempering process.
"Rhy, Rhy, Rhy!"
Rhydon nodded, then plopped heavily onto the ground, exhausted.
In the distance, the Petilil opened her eyes, exhaling softly. She glanced at the sun overhead before walking toward Rhydon.
Petilil, Rhydon, and Cherrim had been training together during this period, and their teamwork had improved rapidly.
Carrying the forged White Apricorn Ball, Aven stepped straight into his workshop.
With his previous Poké Ball-making experience, it would not take him long to finish crafting them.
This time, however, he did not intend to make all of them into ordinary Poké Balls—he planned to set aside a few White Apricorn Ball to experiment with other materials for the mesh structure, including a black mesh made from beast gear armor metal.
Several more days passed.
In the backyard of the Pokémon Breeding House, all of Aven's Pokémon had gathered, including several from Fruitvale Village who had been brought over.
"Today, I've called you all here because I have something very important to announce."
He swept his gaze across the assembled Pokémon before taking out the completed Poké Balls, speaking solemnly: "I think you all already know what these are."
"These are Poké Balls. They can store you inside them. To a trainer, capturing a Pokémon in a Poké Ball carries a special meaning."
Hearing this, the eyes of the Pokémon present lit up. Even though Aven had not explicitly explained, they could all sense the significance—this was a symbol of a deeper bond.
"Lass~"
"Ralts Ralts~"
"Plume~"
As soon as Aven finished speaking, Froslass, Ralts, and several others eagerly crowded around, indicating they wished to be captured.
"All right, one at a time," Aven said with a smile, then turned his gaze to Petilil—the very first Pokémon he had ever truly called his own.
"Lil, lil.."
Seeing Aven looking her way, Petilil's expression changed.
She was actually a little hesitant. She did not want to stay inside a Poké Ball—she only wished to be by Aven's side at all times.
Yet, she also didn't know how to express this. After all, having one's own Poké Ball carried special meaning.
"What's wrong, Petilil?" Aven picked her up gently.
He knew she wasn't refusing to be his Pokémon—there must be some other reason for her hesitation.
After a moment's pause, she reluctantly voiced her thoughts, which surprised the other Pokémon.
"I see… so you don't want to stay in a Poké Ball?"
Aven's smile remained warm. For a breeder, such preferences were nothing unusual.
"If you don't want to stay inside, you naturally don't have to," he assured her.
"And that goes for all of you—when we're not in special circumstances, you can always be by my side. The Poké Balls will only be used when truly necessary."
He then looked back at Petilil and took out a Poké Ball strung into a pendant. "This is the Poké Ball I made for you. I'll carry it with me always."
"Lil, lil~"
Seeing Aven place the pendant around his neck, Petilil froze. Her big, watery eyes began to well up with tears.
"Lil!"
She nodded firmly, then suddenly reached out and tapped the Poké Ball.
In an instant, a beam of red light shot out, wrapping around her and drawing her inside.
The red light on the Poké Ball's button blinked briefly before going out, signifying that Petilil had successfully bonded with it.
"I've successfully captured Petilil…" Aven murmured softly, holding the Poké Ball hanging from his neck.
He immediately pressed the button, and a beam of white light emerged, materializing Petilil before him.
"Lil, lil!"
Back outside, she looked relieved, then happily leapt into Aven's arms.
Her gaze was serious: Just this once—I never want to be apart from you again.
"All right. From now on, we'll never be apart," Aven replied, reading her eyes easily.
"Lass~"
Froslass floated at his side, gazing enviously at the Poké Ball pendant. She was jealous, of course, but also understood—Petilil was his first Pokémon, irreplaceable by any other.
With a quiet sigh, she chose a Poké Ball for herself, floated over, and pressed the button.
In the next moment, she too was drawn into the Poké Ball—her official capture complete.
The other Pokémon followed suit, and soon the courtyard was flashing repeatedly with red light as one after another entered their Poké Balls, leaving the place suddenly empty.
"Bii…"
The Bibarel leader stood silently, watching the scene.
Its dull gaze settled on Aven. Being summoned here was already a sign of recognition.
All along, its position had been somewhat awkward—it had always stayed near Aven, but without formally submitting. Their relationship was more like cooperation.
Now it was time to choose: continue like this, or truly become Aven's Pokémon.
Closing its eyes, countless memories flashed by, ending on the carefree smiles of its companions.
Opening its eyes again, determination shone within them. Slowly, it stepped toward Aven, crouched, and touched the Poké Ball before it.
A beam of red light engulfed it, drawing it inside.
In an instant, the once-crowded courtyard was quiet. Aven stood there, holding Petilil, smiling at the Poké Balls scattered across the ground. A breeze passed, but the Poké Balls did not stir.
"Phew… so now, I've truly captured them all."
He picked them up and released their occupants.
Once freed, the Pokémon were visibly excited. Even though nothing fundamental had changed, they felt their bond with Aven had deepened.
In the days that followed, Aven took rare leisure time to simply nurture his relationships with them.
…
Time passed quickly.
Within two days, many of the Pokémon began to leave the Breeding House.
Mightyena had to lead its pack in patrolling the territory, Torterra needed to return to the Black Forest to guard the defensive line, Vespiquen had to resume managing her Combee hive, and Vileplume and Tangrowth were busy with the autumn harvest in Fruitvale Village.
Even though they couldn't always be with Aven, the presence of their Poké Balls gave them a sense of security—the strong bonds they shared kept them connected.
"Leisure never lasts long," Aven said, stretching as he looked at the energetic Pokémon still remaining.
"Bii Bii Bii~"
The Bibarel leader came to say goodbye as well.
Now that its relationship with Aven was defined, it no longer felt lost. Its duty was clear—protect its tribe and their shared home. The rivers had to be patrolled, and with new land being reclaimed, many Bidoof and Bibarel were working there under its direction.
"Go on, Bibarel—the safety of the territory is in your care." Aven patted its shoulder.
"Bii Bii Bii!"
It nodded firmly, then leapt into the river beside the Breeding House, swimming swiftly toward Bibarel Lake.
Watching it leave, Aven tightened his grip on the Poké Ball before placing it in his backpack—it carried the bonds between him and his Pokémon.
"Then let's go as well—off to the Black Coast Forest to help with the reclamation."
This time, his destination was the part of the Black Coast Forest bordering the Safari Zone. According to Matthew's reports, there had been some unrest there lately.
Because of ongoing reclamation efforts in the southern Black Coast Forest near Fruitvale Village, more and more monsters had been migrating eastward into this adjacent forest.
Aven intended to assess the situation there in advance, chart the area, and then organize the Pokémon territories—establishing a new order.
(End of Chapter)