In the grass fields of the farm, Aven was training his Pokémon.
He had now established a relatively complete training plan that could accelerate the development of the territory.
But he knew that beyond the strength of the territory itself, individual power was just as important in the Pokémon world.
It was the same in his previous life's Pokémon League: as long as a city had a Gym Leader-level trainer, it could be well protected.
An Elite Four-level trainer served as the backbone of an entire league.
Without trainers of that level, a league would find it hard to survive.
And for a truly powerful league, a Champion-level trainer was absolutely essential—someone who could allow the league to stand firm against any challenge.
"The short-term goal is to raise six Gym Leader-level Pokémon, which is equivalent to Advanced-tier magic beasts in this world," Aven thought to himself.
Among the Pokémon currently in Fruitvale Village, only Froslass and Torterra were considered advanced-tier. Rhydon barely counted as half of one.
The last time Rhydon defeated Torterra was mainly because Torterra had been corrupted by the gray mist.
In that state, Torterra fought purely on instinct and wasn't using its full strength.
When they returned, Rhydon had challenged Torterra to another battle.
The result was a crushing defeat. Beyond the raw strength gap, Rhydon was completely countered by Torterra's type.
However, Rhydon didn't lose heart. On the contrary, it became more motivated to train and began working even harder than before.
Thankfully, Rhydon has the Rock Head ability, which makes it immune to recoil damage from moves that would normally hurt itself.
Although the training didn't directly involve recoil moves, it still helped mitigate a lot of wear and tear—otherwise, Aven might've worried the Pokémon would break itself in training.
Of course, sheer hard work wasn't enough.
A trainer needed to develop a strict training plan, and with a breeder's care and resources, a Pokémon's strength could improve rapidly.
After evolving, Rhydon kept its Rock/Ground typing, but its form changed dramatically.
It now stood on two legs, had free use of both arms, and even a powerful tail—making its fighting style more versatile and dangerous.
"RHYYYY!"
Rhydon was now hoisting a massive boulder over its head on the grassy field.
This was to strengthen its arm power, which, unlike its legs, hadn't been rigorously trained yet.
But arm strength was incredibly important—it could be both a weapon and a shield in battle.
Strong arms also enhanced certain moves.
Take Rock Throw: Rhydon could use it either by controlling rock energy directly or by forming and launching stones from its mouth.
But Rhydon could also physically throw rocks, adding brute strength to the move and greatly increasing its power!
The same goes for Rock Slide. With its arms, Rhydon could turn it into a close-range strike.
One punch could shatter boulders and the earth itself!
A Pokémon's strength wasn't just about raw power or internal energy—how well it mastered its moves and its battle techniques could turn the tide, even allowing a weaker one to defeat a stronger opponent.
"Actually, the fastest way to make Rhydon an advanced-tier Pokémon is to evolve it into Rhyperior," Aven pondered.
However, that evolution required a manmade item called Protector.
It was a item that could unlock Rhydon's hidden potential, allowing it to evolve.
Unfortunately, though Aven was a trained breeder and had collected many evolution items and their crafting methods, he didn't have the knowledge to create this particular one. A bit of a shame.
But from what he knew, the region where Protector was first invented—and where the Protector evolution was discovered—was Sinnoh.
That meant there might be a chance to find the materials or even uncover the crafting method here.
At the very least, the resources should exist, and the method might be something he'd have to figure out on his own. Still, it was hope.
BOOM!
A huge thud echoed as the boulder hit the ground.
Rhydon had dropped it and was now sitting on the ground, panting heavily.
After such intense training, even Rhydon had reached its limit—its arms felt numb.
But its legs still had strength left. Rhydon thought it could still run a couple of laps around the village.
"RHYDOON!"
It psyched itself up again. No rest until all strength was drained—there was no time to waste!
Seeing Rhydon shout to motivate itself, the other Pokémon on the field shivered slightly.
Especially Petilil and Tangela, who were practicing Giga Drain—suddenly they felt like they were slacking off.
"Star Star!"
On the other hand, Starly's eyes sparkled.
No wonder Rhydon had evolved so quickly—seemed like it needed to train harder too!
With that in mind, Starly looked toward the giant boulder that Rhydon had just tossed, gathered its energy, and launched a Tackle straight at it!
"Rhydon, wait!"
Aven facepalmed, suddenly feeling a bit overwhelmed.
The Pokémon were training so hard, it made him—the trainer—feel like he was slacking.
Was their strength even connected to his efforts anymore?
"Rhy"
As always, Rhydon was obedient.
Even though training was important, it stopped immediately upon hearing Aven and walked over.
"That's it for your physical training today," Aven said with a smile, then added,
"But you can't neglect move training either."
Rhydon's eyes lit up—he remembered his trainer had promised to teach him a new move.
"Tangela, come here too. This next move is relevant to you as well," Aven called.
Hearing that, Tangela cheerfully pulled itself out of the ground and jogged over in its little red shoes.
Petilil, who had been training alongside Tangela, followed with a puzzled look.
Noticing that, Froslass—who had been practicing her ice control—also felt something was up and floated over.
"Meow~"
Even Shinx didn't know what was happening, but since everyone was going, it couldn't be left behind.
Soon, all the Pokémon had gathered around, eyes sparkling, wondering what Aven was going to say.
"Uh… why are you all here?" Aven mentally sighed, then turned to Rhydon and Tangela:
"The move I'm about to teach you is Ancient Power."
"It's a Rock-type move. In theory, it's somewhat similar to Earth Power—both involve manipulating elemental energy for attacks."
He briefly explained how Ancient Power worked.
It could improve a Pokémon's affinity for Rock energy and enhance their control over Rock-type moves.
Importantly, Ancient Power could also temporarily boost all of a Pokémon's stats—attack, defense, special attack, special defense, and speed.
Aven suspected this full-body enhancement might help Tangela evolve.
Even though the stat boost was temporary, frequent use over time might lead to long-term benefits.
Star!
"Rock-type move? Meh…"
Starly wasn't interested.
Aven had been teaching them about types and their interactions, so Starly knew it was weak against Rock-type moves.
And Rhydon was a Rock-type powerhouse that had beaten it up more than once…
"Lil, Lil…"
So, it's a Rock-type move... Petilil nodded in understanding, though still a bit puzzled. "But why is Tangela, also a Grass-type, learning this?"
"Rhydon is learning Ancient Power to deepen its affinity with Rock-type energy and improve its strength," Aven explained.
"As for Tangela, learning Ancient Power is a way to awaken the hidden power within its body—this is the key to its evolution."
"Tan?"
Tangela froze upon hearing Aven's words. Its vines began to shake rapidly, expressing its surprise and doubt.
'I can still evolve?'
Throughout all the generations, it had never seen one of its kind evolve. It always believed it had no evolutionary form.
"Yes, you really can evolve," Aven confirmed again with a gentle nod.
"Once you master Ancient Power, you'll be able to awaken that dormant energy inside you."
Tangela immediately became excited. Evolution—this was something every Pokémon dreamed of!
"Taan Taan Tan~ "
Trusting Aven completely, Tangela's heart was filled with determination.
It must learn Ancient Power, no matter the cost!
"Lil Lil?"
'Evolution...'
Petilil blinked her eyes. If Ancient Power could help Tangela evolve, then what about her?
'Should I give it a try too?'
Aven had previously advised her not to learn Sweet Scent, and yet she ended up mastering Aromatherapy instead.
"These are the potions I've prepared to assist in your training," Aven said, pulling out two bottles.
He didn't notice Petilil's curious gaze drifting toward the potions in his hands. She quietly began sensing the contents.
Kebia Berry and Sitrus Berry... Petilil Doll quickly identified the ingredients.
Additionally, the potion given to Rhydon seemed to contain Persim Berry, while the one for Tangela had Kasib Berry.
Petilil Doll grew thoughtful. Since she and Tangela were both aiming for evolution, shouldn't her potion be more similar to Tangela's?
"Rhy~"
"Tan Tan Tan ~" Under Petilil's envious gaze, Rhydon and Tangela accepted the potions and gulped them down.
(End of Chapter)