Inside the castle, Aven continued his daily routine of training his Pokémon.
As their enemies grew stronger and stronger, his Pokémon naturally dared not allow themselves even a trace of negligence.
Especially after witnessing the majestic might of Empoleon, whose strength had already stepped into the rank of a King-level Pokémon, their goals became even more resolute.
At the same time, Aven continuously refined and adjusted their training plans, making the paths ahead of them increasingly clear and well-defined.
The successful reclamation of the Drapion's territory had brought an enormous boost to all the Poison-type Pokémon under him. At this moment, each of them was silently digesting and absorbing the benefits.
For the leader of the Nidoking tribe in particular—who had already found his own path forward—this victory meant that perhaps, in the not-so-distant future, he could take that final step and enter the King-level himself.
"Lil~"
Nearby, Petilil was performing its daily duty of helping the Pokémon egg absorb life energy.
Life energy gathered and condensed within its tiny palms, radiating a soft, comforting aura as it continuously merged into the egg.
Moments later, the egg, after absorbing the flow of life energy, trembled ever so slightly—it was already beginning to show faint signs of responding to the nourishment.
"Ralts~"
Ralts, too, was seated beside the egg, keeping it company.
Just two days ago, a spark of initial consciousness had finally been born within the egg. This event made Ralts overjoyed.
The transition from nothingness to consciousness was accompanied by the faint stirrings of emotional energy. And for Ralts, who was so closely attuned to emotions, this gave it a new insight into the nature of emotional energy itself.
It closed its eyes, focusing all its psychic power as it probed the subtle fluctuations within the egg, carefully perceiving every delicate change in the budding life inside.
"Life energy… and emotional energy." Ralts pondered silently to itself.
"Chaaaan~sey~"
Beside the egg stood Chansey, who had also been spending much of her time recently helping at the Pokémon Center, healing the injured.
With her natural Healer ability, Chansey's gift for treatment was extraordinary.
By now, she was already capable of skillfully channeling that innate power to aid wounded Pokémon in their recovery. Because of this, Aven was preparing to guide her to learn a far more advanced technique—the move Heal Pulse.
Only by mastering Heal Pulse could Chansey truly be considered a qualified, full-fledged healer Pokémon.
"Lil, lil~"
Petilil, while condensing life energy, also helped by teaching and explaining.
Beside them, Aven himself gave targeted instruction, focusing specifically on how Heal Pulse functioned, so that Chansey could gradually comprehend its essence.
Every time lessons like this took place, Petilil would listen with great concentration. Yet, to its quiet frustration, no matter how many times it secretly attempted the method itself, it had never once succeeded in grasping Heal Pulse.
"Heal Pulse is a Psychic-type move," Aven explained carefully, his tone calm yet firm.
"You must use psychic energy to guide and mobilize life energy. Only when life energy and psychic energy fully merge together can you release the true wave of healing."
Among all healing moves, Heal Pulse was without question one of the most powerful—and also the most difficult to master.
"Chaansey…"
Chansey listened intently, occasionally closing her eyes to meditate, focusing on trying to draw out her psychic energy.
At this point, she had already managed to summon both psychic power and life energy separately. The problem was that she still could not fuse the two into one.
"Don't rush," Aven encouraged gently.
"What you need to seek is that perfect state of unity between heart and spirit."
With Aven's reassurance, Chansey devoted herself even more seriously, carefully controlling both psychic and life energy, forcing them to intertwine and blend.
"Lil~"
Petilil sat silently to the side, watching all of this.
After a moment, it tried to imitate the process itself, attempting to stir psychic and life energy together.
Yet no matter how hard it tried, unlike Chansey, it could not even reach the stage of bringing the two forces close to fusion. A sigh of discouragement escaped its lips.
Indeed, just as Aven had once said, Chansey was a natural-born healer Pokémon. In her hands, any healing move became simpler, more effective, and more potent.
Even though this Chansey had only been born not long ago, her healing talent already shone with astonishing brilliance. It was not hard to imagine that in the near future, she might even surpass Petilil completely.
"Odd~"
At that moment, a Oddish suddenly scampered into the castle courtyard.
"Do we have visitors?" Aven raised his brows.
Leaving instructions for several Pokémon to continue their training, he quickly made his way toward the castle gates.
There, he saw Knight Sutterer, captain of the Pokémon Knight Order, waiting with a face full of anxiety.
"Lord Aven," Sutter immediately bowed respectfully upon seeing him.
"What's the matter?" Aven asked directly.
"The Knights of Aspiration City have come seeking aid. They hope to request your assistance."
Lowering his head, Sutter quickly explained the situation. He and Leon were close friends. Upon hearing that Leon had run into trouble, he had immediately hurried here to ask Aven for help.
"Knight Leon… suddenly lost consciousness while on patrol?" Aven froze in surprise.
He was very familiar with Leon. After all, Leon had been the very first customer to sign a contract with the Breeding House.
But what truly shocked him was the fact that Leon had collapsed while patrolling—and that, despite using all kinds of potions, no one had been able to awaken him.
A strange sense of déjà vu washed over Aven. Hadn't Baron Ruize experienced the exact same thing back then? Collapsing suddenly during patrol, only to remain unconscious until Aven himself intervened?
And now Leon had encountered precisely the same fate.
A cold unease gripped Aven's heart. Could it be that the Abyssal Beast Tide was about to return once more?
"Tell the Aspiration City Knights to wait at the Pokémon Center. I will go there immediately," Aven ordered at once.
He rushed back to the castle's rear courtyard and relayed the news to Petilil and Chansey, instructing them to accompany him to heal the injured.
At the same time, he arranged for Luxio and Rhydon to stay behind and guard the Pokémon egg until he returned.
"Ralts~"
Ralts followed as well.
With its Teleport move, their figures vanished in an instant from the castle, reappearing outside Fairhaven Town. Without pausing, Aven strode directly toward the Pokémon Center.
Inside, Hunter—now promoted to Vice-Captain of the Aspiration City Knight Order—paced anxiously back and forth.
Though he had long heard of the Pokémon Center's miraculous reputation and had always wanted to see it for himself, now was no time for curiosity.
Leon was his most trusted subordinate. With a powerful Rhydon by his side, Leon was one of the backbone pillars of their order. Losing him would be an enormous blow to the entire Knight order.
"Sutter, has Lord Aven arrived yet?" Hunter demanded urgently when he spotted Sutter.
"I am here. Where is Leon?"
Before Sutter could even reply, Aven's calm voice rang out from behind.
Though he had set out later than Sutter, thanks to Ralts' Teleport, he had arrived almost at the same time.
Hunter wasted no time leading Aven to the inpatient ward. Inside, apothecaries and nurses were gathered around Leon, attempting every method they knew to wake him.
Even though they had already prepared potions based on Aven's own formula, the result was still the same—Leon lay unconscious, completely unresponsive. The faces of the medical staff grew more solemn by the minute.
"Lord Aven!" they greeted in unison as he entered.
Aven waved a hand lightly and went straight to Leon's bedside.
"Lil, lil~"
Petilil and Chansey hurried up as well.
Closing its eyes, Petilil extended its senses, probing Leon's condition. After a moment, it finally exhaled in relief.
Just as Aven had suspected, there was no trace of gray mist energy within Leon's body. He had not been corrupted or eroded.
Clearly, his coma was caused by some other unknown reason.
"So, it isn't the gray mist… but we can't completely rule it out," Aven murmured.
"After all, when Baron Ruize first collapsed, there had been no trace of gray mist either."
Shaking his head slightly, he turned to Petilil. "Try to treat him first."
Petilil nodded. Gathering pure life energy, it carefully channeled it into Leon's body.
As the life energy flowed into him, Leon's complexion noticeably improved, his pallor easing somewhat. Yet still, he did not wake.
Next, Petilil tried Aromatherapy, but again, Leon remained motionless, trapped in his coma.
Chansey then attempted to use her Healer ability, pouring her strength into him. But in the end, the result was the same. Leon did not stir.
"Even this doesn't work? What kind of injury could it be?" Aven frowned deeply.
With the combined healing powers of both Petilil and Chansey, there were very few conditions they could not treat.
If even they were helpless, then perhaps only Aven's specially formulated potions would have a chance. But before that, he needed to understand the cause.
Turning to the knights of Aspiration City, he asked, "Who can recount the exact circumstances?"
Several knights immediately stepped forward, quickly explaining what had happened. They stressed that they had seen nothing unusual—Leon had simply collapsed out of nowhere.
"Sudden unconsciousness of knights… and Pokémon tracks that vanished without a trace?" Aven muttered with a furrowed brow.
Yet from the reactions of Rhydon and Mightyena, it was clear they had sensed something.
With that in mind, Aven had the two Pokémon summoned and, through Ralts' telepathy, questioned them carefully.
Their answers confirmed it: they had indeed felt a faint surge of some strange energy. But they could not identify it. Even Mightyena, with its keen nose, had not detected any scent whatsoever.
Still, one fact was certain—after Rhydon and Mightyena launched their attacks, that hidden presence had disappeared. Only then had the other knights been able to safely enter the area and retrieve Leon's unconscious body.
(End of Chapter)