After Kale swore his oath of loyalty, the strength of Fairhaven Town once again skyrocketed.
The King-level Empoleon was truly far too powerful. Its combat power was overwhelming—so overwhelming that even the mighty Rhydon was unable to withstand for long before collapsing in defeat.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Inside the blacksmith workshop of the castle at that very moment, Rhydon had thrown itself into furious smithing practice.
One could not tell whether in its heart it had already come to treat the chunks of iron before it as if they were Empoleon itself, but with every strike of its iron fists it smashed down ferociously, sparks scattering in all directions.
"Empo~ Leon?"
Empoleon scratched its head, somewhat unsure, and asked whether it had perhaps struck too heavily in that last battle.
"Lil~ lil~"
Petilil hurriedly chirped to reassure Empoleon not to mind.
Rhydon was a Pokémon that would never truly fall. Even if defeated, it would always rise to its feet again, becoming stronger each time it experienced failure!
"Empo~"
Hearing this, Empoleon let out a small breath of relief, its gaze then sweeping across its surrounding.
As a warrior and a powerful battler by nature, it, too, longed deeply for battle.
Especially after learning of the frightening strength of Froslass, there was within its chest an irrepressible desire to battle with her.
But… the other was after all a female. Empoleon found it difficult to speak such a request aloud, and so could only turn its eyes hopefully toward its own master.
At a wooden table not far away, Aven and Kale were bent together over a map, studying the distribution of the Pokémon tribes within the Black Forest.
Now that they possessed the formidable strength of Empoleon, the pace of their expansion could be advanced at great speed. Particularly regarding the Black Coast Forest—it was already within their ability to bring that whole territory under their control.
"As long as we seize the Drapion territory, we can directly push our defensive line forward all the way to the Coastal Mountain Range."
"At that point, the ground assault route of the Marina City knight order will be completely blocked. And as for the sea route—right now it is winter. Even water-type Pokémon will find it extremely difficult to traverse the frozen seas."
Kale's voice trembled with excitement. What he desired most at this moment was to halt the invasion of the Marina City knight order. Once spring arrived, he would then march to reclaim Marina City itself.
In his heart he prayed silently, I hope the people of Marina City can safely survive this winter.
Although he longed to raise an army immediately and wage war upon Marina City, the reality was that the deep snows of winter were about to descend. When the mountains were sealed beneath ice, it would not be the time to begin a campaign.
"Rest assured—the people of Marina City will surely endure this winter."
"The population is the lifeblood of a territory's development. I'm certain Hill knows this as well as anyone."
"Moreover, they still need to pacify the internal strife within the city, to settle and stabilize the hearts of the populace. They would never rashly harm their own civilians."
"All we need to do now is defend for this short period. When the heavy snows close the mountain passes, it will become extremely difficult for them to launch any war."
"Of course, should they dare to attack us first, that would be all the better—we could seize the chance to annihilate the knight order of Marina City and liberate the city in one stroke."
Aven patted Kale on the shoulder. In his heart, he already regarded Marina City as his own territory, and so he naturally wished to claim it as soon as possible, thereby setting off another round of great development.
"In that case, the plan for this round of expansion is set."
"Come—we will summon the reclamation teams. The Drapion tribe is indeed quite strong. If possible, we should strive to subjugate them."
As he spoke, Aven rose to his feet. He intended first to bring in the Nidoking tribe—they, too, were poison-types, and the Drapion territory could be considered their home field.
"Subjugate them? The Drapion tribe can also be subjugated?" Kale's expression froze in astonishment.
Drapion were regarded as the very embodiment of savage magical beasts. Their vicious appearance often caused people to call them demons incarnate.
Never had he imagined Aven would dare to think of taming such terrifying monsters!
Yet when Kale remembered that Aven possessed that mysterious item capable of sealing Pokémon—even a King-level Empoleon—he fell silent again. If such a thing could bind Empoleon, then perhaps Drapion too was not impossible…
"Of course they can be subjugated."
"Though Drapion appear ferocious, in essence they are still Pokémon. And Pokémon can all be tamed."
"Come, let me take you somewhere. Perhaps only you will be able to subdue the Pokémon there."
Aven set out, walking toward the Safari Zone. At his words, Kale was momentarily stunned, unable to guess Aven's meaning.
Only I can tame them? What kind of Pokémon could that be? Could it be because of Empoleon, my King-level partner?
Full of questions, he followed behind Aven. Soon they arrived at the Safari Zone, and then continued further along the Fair River, heading north.
Their destination was the former site of Stonefall Village. Yet now, it had been transformed into a place where Pokémon who had already stood trial were confined.
"Lord Aven!" The knights on guard hurriedly saluted upon seeing him.
"You have worked hard. Continue your patrols. I will go inside to take a look at the Pokémon."
Aven nodded to the guards, then led Kale inside. Hardly had they stepped into the village before a chorus of roars echoed toward them.
"This… this is a prison for Pokémon?" Kale's eyes flickered.
"Yes, that's correct," Aven replied with a nod.
As they pressed further in, the roars grew gradually fainter.
At last, in the very center of the village, there stood a farm, which had now been repurposed as the main confinement area.
Bzzzzt - crackle!
The instant they approached, the air filled with the sharp sound of electricity arcing.
"This is… Luxray?"
When Kale laid eyes upon the Pokémon before him, he froze in shock.
The next instant his pupils dilated, trembling as he stammered, "This Luxray… is it…"
"That's right—these are the Luxray squad of the Marina City knight order!"
"Besides them, there are also several other Pokémon belonging to the knight order, all imprisoned here."
"I originally attempted to tame these Pokémon myself, but every attempt failed. They would never abandon their former masters."
Aven sighed deeply. In truth, he had no choice but to keep them alive and care for them like this.
But now, with Kale present, perhaps there was a chance. Just like with the Bibarel leader before—this Luxray too had once been Paul's Pokémon.
Aside from Luxray, Paul had also possessed a powerful Pelipper of advanced-level strength, which was still fighting with the knight order of Marina City.
"Paul's Luxray… it's alive? It's really alive! This is wonderful—too wonderful!"
At the thought of his dear friend, Kale's eyes brimmed with moisture. Never had he expected that aside from Bibarel, Luxray too had survived!
His heart full of gratitude, Kale turned to Aven. Under normal circumstances, prisoners would almost certainly have been executed. Yet Aven had allowed them to live.
"Meowr! Meowr!"
When Luxray saw Aven, the electricity flickering across its body quickly calmed.
After all this time, it had come to acknowledge that Aven truly treated them with care.
Were it not for the vow it had made to its former master, perhaps Luxray might long since have chosen to yield.
But of course, that was only idle thought. In reality, all it could do was refuse to show hostility toward Aven and restrain itself from attack.
At times, when Luxio came to train, Luxray would even lend a paw, helping it. Luxio's mastery of Thunderbolt had been gained thanks to Luxray's guidance.
"Luxray, look who I have brought for you," Aven said with a faint smile.
Kale, watching Luxray's attitude, fell silent for a moment before stepping forward. "Luxray… it's been a long time."
The instant Luxray saw him, it froze, then suddenly grew wild with excitement, bounding forward to rush straight into Kale's arms.
"To think we could still meet again…" Kale embraced Luxray tightly, his heart surging with emotion.
Aven, watching the reunion before him, smiled faintly. He quietly withdrew, taking Luxio and the others with him, leaving the place to Kale and Luxray alone.
After some time, Aven saw Kale emerge from the farm.
"Thank you, Lord Aven, for your care of Luxray." Kale bowed deeply in gratitude.
Then he added earnestly, "Lord Aven, I have spoken clearly with Luxray. From this day forward, please allow me to be the one to care for it. This is the only thing I can do for Paul—to properly take care of his partner."
At this, Aven naturally had no objection. "That would be best of all. To be honest, I have often felt troubled by their existence. I could not kill them, yet I could not release them either."
"If you can tame these Pokémon, it will not only solve my dilemma, but their strength will also become a great aid to us."
Having said this, Aven once again entered the farm.
When he laid eyes upon Luxray again, he could not help but feel—it seemed to have aged.
All this time, Luxray had endured, refusing to bend, simply to wait for the day Paul would come to take it home. But now, upon hearing that Paul had already perished, the blow was nearly unbearable.
"Luxray, you still have much you can do in the days to come," Aven murmured, sighing as he drew out a key to unlock the shackles upon its body.
Regaining freedom once more, Luxray silently walked to Kale's side. Its head lowered slightly, yet in its eyes burned unwavering determination.
Yes… it must avenge its master, Paul. Hill, was it? It swore to turn him to cinders with its own lightning!
"Thank you, Lord Aven, for granting this." Kale bowed once more, then stroked Luxray's head, promising gently, "Luxray, from now on, I will be the one to care for you."
(End of Chapter)