"How can I completely dispel the gray mist?"
Aven frowned as he looked at the Rattata before him that had once again been corrupted by the gray mist.
Once a Pokémon's soul was tainted by the mist, there was no way to cleanse it—it could only be freed through death.
He had previously considered the possibility of a Pokémon purging the mist using its own mental strength, but all attempts had ended in failure.
It was no use—Pokémon corrupted by the mist were already on the brink, their vitality and mental strength nearly depleted.
To have them clear the mist on their own, he would need to rapidly restore both their mental and physical states in a very short amount of time.
But that was too short a window, and recovery through potions took too long. Mental restoration potions, in particular, were extremely difficult to concoct and required rare materials.
"Haven't we captured any Pokémon with strong enough mental strength yet?" Aven frowned deeper.
From what he had seen so far, none of the corrupted Pokémon had particularly strong minds—there wasn't a single Psychic-type among them.
That made him suspect that strong mental resilience might help resist the mist's corruption—just like how Beast Gear seemed to protect a Pokémon's soul.
Another experiment ended in failure. Aven let out a sigh and, holding the equally disappointed Petilil, walked out of the courtyard.
Most of the test subjects had already died, so he needed to find more Abyssal Beast for further testing.
He still went to the defensive line every day, not just to find new research subjects, but also to help heal the soldiers, who had accumulated more and more injuries over time.
"Master Aven."
Seeing him, the knights all greeted him respectfully.
Thanks to his superb healing abilities, Aven had built up a solid reputation among the knights during this period.
He nodded back and made his way toward the knights' encampment.
"Mr. Aven, wait a moment."
"We just captured a beast we've never seen before and were about to deliver it to you."
Just then, a knight jogged over with this report.
A beast they had never seen? Aven's eyes lit up as he followed the knight to the city gate. The soldiers cleaning up the battlefield were returning one by one.
In an iron cage, he saw the Pokémon the knight had mentioned.
Its body was wrapped in a yellow cone-shaped cloak that concealed its small black form. Its face had two tiny pea-sized green eyes and a wide grin.
"That's… Snorunt!"
Aven paused, his eyes gradually widening.
"Our battle had already ended. This one just wandered onto the field while we were cleaning up," the knight explained.
Indeed, this Pokémon had only a pair of egg-shaped hands and feet—it was very slow and couldn't compare to other beasts like Swinub.
"Sir Kevin said to capture any unfamiliar beast alive."
Aven nodded gratefully. He had indeed given Kevin such instructions in hopes of finding a breakthrough among the different beasts.
And Snorunt was one of his key targets!
However, Snorunt was extremely rare, so he hadn't held out much hope. He never imagined one would actually appear!
"This one is very important. Good work." Aven expressed his thanks to the knight and hurriedly brought Snorunt back to the temporary lab.
He hadn't expected his wishful thinking to be answered so quickly. Now, some ideas that had lingered in his mind for a long time could finally be tested.
Back in the lab, he placed the cage containing Snorunt on the table and quickly retrieved his medical kit.
Opening it, he removed the existing potions and opened a hidden compartment beneath, revealing two Water Stones and one Dawn Stone.
He picked up the Dawn Stone, and his heart immediately started to race.
Snorunt was an Ice-type Pokémon with multiple evolution paths.
Normally, it would evolve into Glalie, also an Ice-type.
However, if the Snorunt was female and came into contact with an Dawn Stone, it could evolve into Froslass—an Ice/Ghost dual-type Pokémon!
Froslass was one of the few types Aven had theorized could offer a breakthrough!
After discovering that the gray mist contained ghost-type energy, Aven began wondering: if a Pokémon had a ghost-type attribute, could it resist the mist's corruption?
But without any Ghost-type Pokémon on hand, he had been unable to verify this theory.
Now, he had a chance to test another idea: what if a corrupted Pokémon gained a Ghost-type attribute—what would happen then?
"Let's hope this Snorunt is female."
"And also, that it can still evolve despite being tainted by the mist."
Aven silently prayed as he placed the Dawn Stone next to the cage.
Before proceeding with the experiment, he knew he had to make some preparations.
If the evolved Froslass remained mindless, it might become dangerous.
With that in mind, he summoned his Mightyena and Rhyhorn from the frontlines. Surrounded by six of his own Pokémon, he ensured the area was secure.
Once everything was ready, Aven nodded at the Petilil by his side.
It immediately used Aromatherapy, releasing a soft, fragrant mist that slowly calmed the struggling Snorunt.
After so many trials, Aromatherapy could now reliably restore a corrupted beast's rationality.
Under the effect of the move, Snorunt's eyes gradually regained clarity.
It looked around in confusion, unsure where it was or why a human was standing in front of it.
As it began to process its surroundings, a sudden, intense pain shot through its mind, causing its entire body to tremble.
"Snorunt… hang in there… stay with us…"
In its daze, Snorunt heard a faint voice, as if it were right by its ear—or impossibly far away.
Then, it felt a soothing, icy-cool energy begin to flow into its body…
The green, gem-like Dawn Stone radiated energy that surged into Snorunt's form, and in an instant, a dazzling white light burst forth!
Within that radiant glow, a trace of gray mist stood out starkly.
That gray mist… it was coming from Snorunt's very soul.
Aven instinctively held his breath, feeling his heartbeat slow for half a beat.
(End of Chapter)