"Nido, Nido, Nido~"
Nidoran and Nidoran were the most excited after hearing Aven's words.
This time, during their trip into the Black Coast Forest, Aven was going to personally train them, and they would also be taking part in actual battles.
"Alright, for now, everyone return to your Poké Balls."
Aven took out the Poké Balls, intending to recall the rest of the Pokémon present.
Since this time was merely an exploratory mission into the Black Coast Forest, he planned to keep a low profile and avoid attracting the attention of too many wild Pokémon tribes.
Otherwise, if powerful Pokémon like his Rhydon were seen entering the Black Coast Forest, the situation there might become even more chaotic.
"Rhy! Rhy! Rhy!"
Rhydon let out a joyful bellows, its figure transforming into a beam of red light as it was recalled into its Poké Ball.
Due to its massive size and overwhelming aura, Rhydon had often been left out of wild expeditions in the past.
Rhydon's inner thoughts: "Rhy! Rhy! Rhy!" Now that I have a Poké Ball, I finally won't have to be left behind anymore.
"Meowr! Meow! Meowr!"
Luxio was also enveloped in the red light, but not before reminding its Trainer—if there's a battle, absolutely do not forget about me!
One by one, beams of red light shot from the Poké Balls, and Rhydon, Luxio, Nidoran♂, and Nidoran♀ were all recalled.
The only Pokémon Aven still had with him were Petilil, Froslass, and Ralts.
Among them, Petilil could sense life energy and serve as a scout; Froslass could turn invisible and provide protection; and Ralts's teleportation was the ultimate escape tool.
After returning the others to their Poké Balls, Aven placed them into the specially-made pocket inside his jacket, allowing him to draw them out instantly in case of battle.
With the Poké Balls secured, Aven slung his backpack over his shoulders again, cradled Petilil in his arms, and started walking toward the distant Black Coast Forest. Froslass and Ralts floated silently at his sides.
Truth be told, going in light like this gave Aven a sudden sense of déjà vu from his past life—traveling with Pokémon carried at his side in their Poké Balls. This… this was what a real Trainer's adventure should feel like!
The Black Coast Forest had been in great turmoil recently.
Large numbers of Pokémon had begun migrating from the forest's western side toward the east.
These newly arrived beasts quickly clashed with those that had already been living in the eastern part of the forest.
Although the rangers had been working hard to guide some Pokémon into the Safari zone to live, the area was still quite chaotic.
This situation was somewhat reminiscent of the winter beast tide in the past—under limited resources, only the weaker Pokémon tribes would be driven out of the forest.
"Recently, the number of beasts migrating here from Fruitvale Village seems even greater," said one of the rangers patrolling outside the forest with their partners.
With the Trainer system now open to the public, Fruitvale Village had seen more and more ordinary citizens become officially registered apprentice Trainers.
Some of these apprentice Trainers had joined Fruitvale Village's patrol team, while many others had come to the safari zone to serve as patrol members there.
They usually only patrolled within the safari zone to ensure safety; unlike the rangers, they did not enter the forest itself to fight.
"Yeah, looks like their land reclamation over there is going pretty well."
"At this rate, it won't be long before the road from Fruitvale Village to the Black Coast is completely connected."
"The Black Coast, huh? I've never actually seen the ocean before. If I get the chance, I really want to see it."
The other patrol member's face lit up with anticipation. As their strength grew, these people—once just ordinary civilians—had begun to dream bigger.
"That day will come."
"With Lord Aven leading us, we'll conquer the entire Black Forest!"
The rest of the patrol echoed the sentiment. The Black Forest, once terrifying to them, was now something they no longer feared!
"Someone! Quick, over here! Our captain's been poisoned! Who has an antidote?!"
While the patrol members were conducting their rounds outside the forest, a sudden cry for help rang out from within the trees.
A moment later, a Skuntank burst out of the forest, carrying on its back a middle-aged man dressed like a ranger.
Three young rangers surrounded the Skuntank protectively, each accompanied by a Stunky.
"They're rangers who went into the Black Coast to maintain order!"
"Someone's been poisoned! Antidote! We've got antidote here!"
The patrol members quickly rushed over, one of them pulling out an antidote from his pack.
"Thank goodness—you've really saved us. We already used up all our antidotes in the forest," one young ranger said with relief.
After the poisoned man drank it down, the purple blotches on his skin faded somewhat, but the poison still wasn't fully purged.
"It's no use… We'll have to find Lord Aven right away!"
Gritting his teeth, the young ranger patted Skuntank's side, preparing to move on.
But just as they were about to leave, the air in front of them shimmered—and a figure suddenly appeared!
The unexpected sight made the rangers tense up, but when they recognized who it was, their expressions turned to joy. "Lord Aven!"
"Mm, is someone injured?"
Aven gave a brief nod, quickly moving to Skuntank's side to examine the situation.
"Yes, Lord Aven!"
"Our captain was poisoned by something unknown. Even though we gave him an antidote, it hasn't worked at all."
The young ranger's tone was urgent. In this dangerous forest, rangers always carried antidotes with them.
But this time, the antidote only suppressed the symptoms temporarily. In all their time exploring the Black Coast Forest, they had never encountered a toxin that couldn't be neutralized by standard antidotes.
"Do you know how he was poisoned?" Aven asked further.
The ranger's expression darkened, a hint of lingering fear in his eyes. "We're not sure of the exact details."
"Our captain was leading us on patrol when we reached a swamp. As we approached, a cloud of foul-smelling gas suddenly surged toward us."
"To cover our retreat, the captain accidentally inhaled it, and… this happened. If Skuntank hadn't dragged him back…"
Aven frowned. A cloud of foul-smelling gas—this was far too vague to identify exactly what Pokémon was responsible.
But for the poison to be this virulent, it was unlikely that it came from an ordinary Poison-type Pokémon. It seemed that some powerful Poison-type creature had appeared in this part of the forest.
"Petilil, use Aromatherapy."
At his words, Petilil nodded, and a gentle fragrance began to spread from her body.
Infused with life energy, her Aromatherapy was far stronger than normal; there were now very few status conditions she couldn't cure.
As the poisoned ranger breathed in the healing scent, the purple blotches on his skin rapidly faded until they vanished entirely—the poison was completely purged.
"Take good care of your captain from here on."
"And mark the location of that swamp on your map. I'll go investigate."
The rangers nodded in relief, handing Aven a partially completed map.
Their main purpose in entering the Black Coast Forest was to chart its terrain, and the areas near the borders were already mostly mapped.
On the southeastern part of the map, a section was marked with a skull—this was the domain of Drapion.
That place was perpetually shrouded in poisonous mist, and anyone who inhaled it would be poisoned instantly. To the rangers, it was an absolute forbidden zone.
The swamp in question, however, was closer to the inner forest but still a fair distance from Drapion's territory, and should, in theory, be relatively safe.
"Tell the other rangers not to approach it for now. I'll investigate and report back."
After giving his instructions, Aven entered the forest with his Pokémon, heading straight toward the marked swamp.
"Lil, lil~"
Once inside, Petilil immediately began sensing for hidden Pokémons through life energy fluctuations.
"Ralts, ralts~"
Ralts also unleashed its psychic power, detecting faint threads of emotional energy.
It was thanks to this ability that Ralts had earlier sensed the fear and anxiety from the rangers, prompting Aven to teleport straight to them.
"If it's just weak Pokémon, you can ignore them," Aven told his two Pokémon.
Feeling the faint chill radiating from nearby, Aven's mood remained steady. As long as he was careful, with Froslass guarding him from the shadows, he was in little real danger.
(End of Chapter)