Leon was extremely excited today.
After half a month, he had finally retrieved his Rhyhorn from the Pokémon Breeding House. He had already checked it at the farm—his Rhyhorn had indeed learned the Rock Slide move.
In addition to that, the Rhyhorn seemed bulkier than before. According to Aven, he had also trained the Rhyhorn a little during its stay.
Since it was just incidental, Aven didn't charge any additional training fee.
Still, Leon wanted to verify his Rhyhorn's current condition. With anticipation building in his heart, he turned to look at his companions training in the distance.
"Leon, you finally got your Rhyhorn back." Just then, the knight commander, Hunter, walked over.
Gradually, the knights had been reclaiming their Rhyhorns after they'd recovered from their injuries, so the knights who had been scattered across Fruitvale Village were being recalled to resume their cavalry training.
Because his Rhyhorn hadn't been with him, Leon had missed several rounds of the knight regiment's training sessions.
Before his Rhyhorn learned Rock Slide, Leon had kept quiet about it. So, to the other knights, it probably seemed like his Rhyhorn still hadn't fully recovered.
"Yeah, I got it back," Leon nodded to the commander.
Hunter's face showed a trace of satisfaction as he continued, "Then you can't miss today's knight training."
Hearing this, Leon was just as excited. This was the perfect opportunity to test his Rhyhorn's strength!
Following the commander's orders, the knights gathered on their Rhyhorns.
Aven had observed the knights' training before. Compared to the regimented drills of modern armies, these knight trainings were much looser in structure.
Soon, the knights had assembled.
Before official training began, there was a warm-up period—riding laps on their Rhyhorns across an open field. It also doubled as a race.
For the nobles and knights of this world, Rhyhorn racing was a favorite pastime. Of course, it remained a popular sport even in the future.
The knights lined up in a row on the vast plain. At the commander's command, the Rhyhorns began to charge forward.
Though Leon hadn't ridden his Rhyhorn for a while, their synchronicity felt just as strong as ever. He really loved this feeling of racing together with his partner.
Instinctively glancing at the knights beside him, he suddenly froze.
Those who should have been neck and neck with him had already fallen behind by several lengths—and the gap was still widening.
'Did I get faster, or did they get slower?' Leon was confused. Even when his Rhyhorn crossed the finish line with a massive lead, he was still in a daze.
The other knights had the same expression. Leon's Rhyhorn had never been among the top performers before. Why had it suddenly gotten so fast?
The unexpected turn of events drew everyone around him. They all started asking what had happened.
'Could this be the result of Aven's training?' Leon thought uncertainly, recalling Aven's words when he left: "just trained it a little on the side."
"We're still in the middle of training—save your questions for later," Commander Hunter coughed lightly at the crowd of knights. Though he was just as curious, order had to be maintained.
Upon hearing that, the knights dispersed and resumed training. The next phase was combat drills.
"Finally, I can battle alongside my old partner again," said a knight across from Leon, taking a deep breath with a rare serious look on his face.
In past mock battles, his Rhyhorn had always had the upper hand. But after witnessing Leon's Rhyhorn in the speed race, he couldn't help but get serious.
Leon nodded, now filled with confidence after his earlier guess. "Yeah, this time, we'll definitely win!"
Combat training soon began. For Rhyhorns, the most straightforward way to fight was to charge.
The two Rhyhorns readied themselves and then ran at full speed toward each other!
As his Rhyhorn dashed out, Leon's heart was full of tension and anticipation. When the two collided, he instinctively held his breath.
A moment later, after a brief stalemate, one Rhyhorn was sent skidding backward, carving deep gouges into the earth with its hooves before finally coming to a stop.
"Th-That…"
The opposing knight stared, mouth agape, unable to believe what he had just seen.
His Rhyhorn had lost in a head-on collision—and not just lost, but lost completely without suspense?
What on earth had happened to Leon's Rhyhorn in just half a month?
Because of the earlier race, most of the knights had already been paying close attention to Leon. Now, seeing the results of the battle, everyone instantly fell silent.
Barely restraining the urge to rush over and examine the Rhyhorn, the knights completed the rest of the training according to protocol—then eagerly gathered around. Commander Hunter was, of course, at the very front.
Right now, what mattered most was understanding how Leon's Rhyhorn had become so strong in just half a month. That was far more important than regular knight training.
"Uh… You want to know why?" Leon finally snapped out of it. After thinking for a bit, he recalled the only thing he had done: leaving the Rhyhorn at the Pokémon Breeding House for training.
Without much hesitation, he briefly explained how his Rhyhorn had been trained by Aven.
Seeing his companions' doubtful expressions, Leon fell silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Rhyhorn, use Rock Slide!"
As soon as he gave the command, Rhyhorn stomped on the ground. Brown energy gathered in its mouth, gradually condensing into a rock that shot forward at high speed!
The knights around him were stunned at first, but their eyes gradually widened.
Though Rhyhorn's formation of the rock was slow, and the attack power wasn't particularly high, this was clearly the Rock Slide move!
The knights were completely dumbfounded. Then, recalling what Leon had said earlier, their breathing quickened.
"Aven… he actually knows how to teach Rock Slide!?"
(End of Chapter)