Although it was already mid-winter, the grass outside Fruitvale Village remained green.
As the morning sun had just risen, the diligent Rhyhorns were already out training with their companions.
Ten Rhyhorns thundered across the grasslands, churning the ground and loosening the soil. A faint green light shimmered across the earth.
Leading them was none other than Aven's own Rhyhorn. Among the remaining nine, eight had once belonged to nobles and now belonged to the farm. The last one was being temporarily housed in the breeding house on behalf of Leon.
The green grass in winter was thanks to the Rototiller move. After extended training, even without completely overturning the soil, the Rhyhorns could now tap into the move's effects.
Aven had also tested whether any of them had inherited the Rototiller move through natural breeding.
As it turned out, these battlefield Rhyhorns were different from those bred to pull carts—sometimes, overly pure bloodlines could actually result in losing certain advantageous traits.
However, in terms of Rock Slide training, these Rhyhorns displayed excellent talent, reminding Aven of the Rhydon that had learned Rock Slide on its own.
After the Rhyhorns had passed by, the Glooms cheered happily, their bodies glowing green as they absorbed energy from the revitalized soil.
Nearby, villagers in thick winter coats were watering the fields with ladles.
This season, most villagers had little to do. Grateful for the Glooms who protected the village, they sincerely wished to help them—and of course, help themselves in the process.
Besides watering, some villagers crouched beside the Glooms, carefully scraping the saliva from the Pokémon's mouths into small wooden bottles using sticks.
Despite the strong odor, the village's Pokémon Breeding House purchased the Glooms' saliva in bulk, and the villagers were still highly motivated.
Peter watched the Glooms absorb energy in the field, feeling conflicted.
It all started with news he had heard the day before—Aven had decided it was time for the Glooms to begin their second phase of training in preparation for future threats.
The Glooms adopted earlier—including Peter's—could also participate in this next phase.
But before the training began, each trainer needed to choose a specific training path for their Gloom.
It was only today that Peter learned Glooms possessed both Grass and Poison types. Depending on the chosen path, their fighting style would differ.
The Grass-type path focused on absorption and recovery—moves like Absorb.
The Poison-type, however, Peter had only seen once before—when Petilil fought against the Rhydon. Despite the opponent's strength, the poison ultimately brought it down with devastating effect.
If he sought stability, Peter felt the Grass-type route would be best—and most villagers had made that choice.
But Peter was someone who liked adventure. If his Gloom could master powerful toxins, it would offer great advantages in battle and exploration.
'Still... I should probably ask Aven for his opinion,' Peter thought as he headed toward Mike Farm, Gloom walking faithfully by his side.
"Hey Gloom, between Vileplume and Bellossom, which form do you prefer?"
Just as Peter entered the farm, he heard Aven's voice, making his heart skip a beat.
On the grass, Aven held two sheets of paper with rough sketches of the two evolutionary paths of Gloom.
Peter had already heard Aven explain the two evolutions—Vileplume was Grass/Poison, while Bellossom was pure Grass.
It was easy to see from the types: Vileplume aligned with the Poison training path, and Bellossom with the Grass path.
Peter stopped in the distance, curious to see what the Gloom leader would choose.
"Are you asking which form is stronger in battle?"
"In terms of raw combat power, Vileplume has the upper hand in base stats, type advantages, and move diversity."
"But Bellossom excels in healing and recovery. They each have their own specialties."
After listening, the Gloom leader nodded lightly—and then, without hesitation, chose Vileplume. It had chosen the Poison-type path.
As the leader of the group, it believed that only strength could truly protect the others.
Though Bellossom appeared more beautiful, that was not the kind of choice a leader should make.
"Alright, then we'll proceed with the Poison training route," Aven said with a smile.
In truth, the Gloom leader had talent in both paths—it could've succeeded either way.
From a distance, Peter silently watched, deep in thought.
When Aven finally looked over and stood up, Peter took a deep breath and walked over.
"Peter, is there something you wanted?" Aven asked with a smile.
Peter hesitated for a moment, then suddenly smiled and shook his head. "I was going to ask for your advice... but now, I don't think I need to."
Aven's face lit up with approval—Peter clearly had the makings of a fine trainer.
A total of 200 Glooms were organized by Aven into two teams.
Most—about 150—chose the Grass-type path, which matched their naturally gentle temperament.
Aven then divided them into four smaller squads.
The Grass-type Glooms were split into three teams stationed at the east, north, and west ends of the village.
Due to the danger of toxins, the Poison-type Glooms were assigned to the south—by far the safest area.
The Grass-type training was relatively simple: absorb the vitality of the soil.
To support their training, Aven spared no expense with fertilizers.
(End of Chapter)
(TN: Good luck finding 150 sun stones)