Watching his fellow knights begin their Rock Slide technique training, Leon fell into deep thought.
"Leon, what are you thinking about?" At that moment, Knight Commander Hunter walked over with a smile.
Since Leon's Rhyhorn had already mastered the Rock Slide move, Leon had been promoted to assistant to the Knight Commander to help train the other knights. Having a Rhyhorn that had already learned Rock Slide as a reference did significantly improve training efficiency.
Of course, to some extent, this was also Hunter's deliberate arrangement. He hadn't expected Aven to hand over the training method for Rock Slide for free. This made Leon, who had paid 15 gold coins to learn the move earlier, seem at a disadvantage. Appointing Leon as his assistant was also a form of compensation.
If it weren't for Leon, they wouldn't have known that Aven had the method to teach Rock Slide and wouldn't have had the chance to obtain it.
Realizing this, Leon waved his hands quickly. "No, it's nothing."
"Alright, the next round of training is about to start. Get ready," said Knight Commander Hunter as he patted Leon's shoulder and walked off.
Watching him leave, Leon sank into thought again.
He was thinking about the 15 gold coins—but not in regret. On the contrary, he felt that the 15 gold coins were totally worth it.
"I feel like the service the Pokémon Breeding House provides is actually focused on the training process, not just the method," Leon muttered to himself.
Over the past few days, he had been using Aven's Rock Slide training method to train his Rhyhorn, but the results had been unimpressive. The other Rhyhorns in the field were the same. Today marked their 15th day of training, yet none had successfully learned the move—though a few seemed to be getting the hang of it.
By contrast, his own Rhyhorn had been trained by Aven for just 15 days and had already become quite proficient with Rock Slide. Its physical condition had also improved drastically. The difference was enormous.
Leon had a hunch he had found the key. "So, the real secret isn't the method—it's Aven himself. Just 15 days of his training was worth 15 gold coins."
"If I want to continue training my Rhyhorn in Rock Slide, I'll still need to go to Aven."
Leon made up his mind to visit the Pokémon Breeding House after today's training session.
…
In the orchard, under Aven's direction, the villagers were preparing to begin the smoke fumigation process.
Though they still didn't fully understand Aven's reasons, it didn't stop them from trusting him completely.
They lit the collected dry wood and leaves, then covered them with soil. The flames were extinguished, producing thick smoke that, carried by the wind, began to drift through the orchard.
'If I had a Fire-type Pokémon, this wouldn't be so troublesome,' Aven sighed inwardly as he watched the smoke.
He had gone to the Black Forest several times looking for Fire-type Pokémon, but they didn't seem well-suited to the forest environment, and he had yet to find one.
"Pokémon are truly the primary productive force in this world. If I get the chance, I need to capture more of them," Aven silently resolved.
Just as he was directing the smoke process, the Migthyena leader suddenly ran over, signaling that someone was looking for him.
"Thanks for your hard work," Aven said, patting the Migthyena's head. For convenience during training, the Migthyena had been living on the farm lately.
Back at the farm, he saw Leon outside, being held up by the Luxray.
When Leon saw Aven, he immediately ran over joyfully. After exchanging greetings, Aven invited him inside.
"You're here to purchase more training services from the Breeding House?" Aven asked with interest.
Leon nodded immediately. After a brief hesitation, he continued, "Mr. Aven, was it you who trained my Rhyhorn? Its physical ability improved so much all of a sudden."
"That was a bonus," Aven nodded, not denying it.
Seeing this, Leon smiled. "Even though you provided the Rock Slide training method, my Rhyhorn is still progressing slowly. So, I'd like to ask you to continue its training!"
"According to the Breeding House's price list, basic training is 1 silver coin per hour. How long would Rock Slide training take?" He held his breath as he asked.
Aven fell silent for a moment, then shook his head. "Sorry, I don't have time to train your Rhyhorn right now."
Leon's expression dimmed. He understood—training a magical beast was indeed energy-consuming. But just as he was about to leave in disappointment, Aven added, "However, I do have some Rock Slide auxiliary potions here."
"Auxiliary potions?!" Leon's eyes lit up.
Aven pulled out the Breeding House's price list again and pointed to the potion section. Listed there was the Rock Slide Auxiliary Potion: 10 gold coins per bottle, or 1 gold coin per bottle with a membership discount.
"While the results may not be as good as my personal training, using it in conjunction with the Rock Slide training method will still yield solid results," Aven explained.
Leon's face lit up with joy. Without hesitation, he said, "I have 7 gold coins left. I'll take 7 bottles of the Rock Slide Auxiliary Potion!"
"Sorry, I only have 5 bottles left. If you want more, you'll have to wait until I gather more ingredients," Aven shrugged. "But 5 bottles should be enough for your Rhyhorn."
Leon nodded. That would still leave him with 2 gold coins, which gave him a strange sense of relief. This worked out well.
Then he paused as a thought struck him. If Aven said that 5 bottles were enough for his Rhyhorn, did that mean his Rhyhorn had used these potions during its training?
He asked, "Mr. Aven, how many bottles did you use when training my Rhyhorn to learn Rock Slide?"
"Should be about six bottles."
"And if I trained it myself, how many bottles would I need?"
Aven smiled and replied, "If you're training it yourself and want the same results, you'd probably need more than twenty bottles."
(End of Chapter)