"The Mightyenas are charging in!"
"Everyone, get ready! We absolutely can't let them break through the village gate!"
Village Chief Mike tightened his grip on his iron shovel as he shouted to the villagers behind him.
"Don't worry! It's just a few Mightyenas—we can hold them off!"
Uncle Texi yelled confidently. Watching the Mightyenas collapse one after another under the effects of the Sleep Powder, the villagers began to feel a surge of hope.
…
"Looks like about half of the Mightyenas will make it through. Most of the Poochyenas are already down," Knight Sutter judged silently.
Still, the potency of the Sleep Powder from the Oddish was impressive. The Poochyenas hadn't even made it past the powder's range before falling asleep.
With Mr. Aven's level as an apothecary, he probably ranks among the best in all of Lizhicheng… Sutter thought, starting to believe they might really be able to stop the Mightyenas.
"They're here! Luxray, take the front!"
"Rhyhorn, block those Mightyenas!"
Very soon, the Mightyenas crossed the pitted terrain and stepped onto the grassy area, their speed increasing dramatically.
The villagers knew the moment to determine the village's fate had arrived. The few tamed Pokémon within the village, forming the second line of defense, were also ready to confront the Mightyenas.
"Now's the time—Absorb!"
Just as everyone braced for the incoming clash, Aven's calm voice suddenly rang out.
In the next instant, the 200 Oddish on the field all began to glow with green light. The brilliant glow merged into one massive wave. At the same time, green energy began to rise from the grass. The moment the Mightyenas stepped on the glowing grass, they were instantly engulfed.
Howl! Howl! Enveloped in green light, the Mightyenas struggled violently.
But the Oddish had synchronized their Absorb attacks into one, forming what seemed like a sea of energy that rendered the Mightyenas completely immobile.
Under the force of the Absorb move, the Mightyenas' stamina quickly drained and was absorbed into the swirling green light.
"This is… the power of magical beasts!"
"So strong… unbelievably strong!"
The villagers were dumbfounded, their vision overwhelmed by green light.
Even Sutter, a knight with extensive experience fighting magical beasts, stood slack-jawed. He had seen Absorb used by Grass-type beasts before, but never like this—two hundred Oddish using it in perfect unison. It was astonishing.
He subconsciously compared the scene to his knight regiment and realized they might not even be able to take on this group of Oddish.
"Oddish, that was amazing."
"And of course, Rhyhorn, Petilil, and Gloom—well done too."
Aven grinned as he looked at the scene before him.
This move wasn't just the Absorb attack from the Oddish—it also involved the power of Rhyhorn's Rototiller and the fertilizer they used. It could be said this was Fruitvale Village's strongest attack yet!
Thud. Thud.
Suddenly, the sound of two bodies collapsing echoed across the field.
Everyone turned their eyes to see two Mightyenas fall limply to the ground, completely drained of energy.
Then came a third, a fourth, and more—one after another, the Mightyenas collapsed, while the green light continued to shine.
"We won… The Mightyenas are down."
The villagers stood stunned for a full ten seconds before erupting in joyous cheers.
Sutter let out a sigh. "We really won… It's unbelievable."
While everyone was still immersed in the joy of victory, a sudden burst of white light shone from the Oddish on the field.
More and more white light appeared, immediately drawing everyone's attention.
"E… evolution…?" Sutter blurted out in disbelief.
They all knew that when a magical beast reached a certain level of power, it could evolve.
But that usually only applied to the strongest ones—even in their knight regiment, evolved beasts were few and far between.
Yet now, all two hundred Oddish on the field were evolving simultaneously. The sight was breathtaking.
Bathed in white light, their forms began to change. As the light faded, two hundred Gloom appeared before them.
The leaf on Oddish's head had turned into reddish-brown spotted flowers. They now had arms and more developed legs.
"We did it. They triggered an evolution ceremony through the Absorb move," Aven said with a smile.
Among Grass-type Pokémon, evolution ceremonies like this weren't a secret in the Pokémon world.
The most famous example was the ritual in Venusaur's Miracle Garden. Under its guidance, Bulbasaurs could instantly gain enough energy to evolve.
According to research by Pokémon scholars, Venusaur had the ability to control nature and draw power directly from the forest.
Aven's Oddish had already accumulated a significant amount of evolutionary energy during this period of combat.
Now, using Absorb in unison triggered a ritual-like effect, allowing the entire group to evolve at once!
The Gloom leader watched the scene quietly, a joyful expression on its face.
Finally, its companions had grown up. It felt like watching its own children come of age.
Its gaze swept across the newly evolved Gloom, then paused as it landed on Aven in the distance, its heart filled with gratitude and contentment.
But when its eyes drifted to the villagers behind Aven, the Gloom leader hesitated and grew worried.
It remembered the rejection it had faced from the villagers.
Now that all of its companions had evolved into Gloom… would the villagers still accept them?
With that worry in mind, it lowered its head.
But then, it suddenly heard a wave of cheering.
A young human suddenly dashed out of the crowd and ran up to one of the newly evolved Gloom.
"Oddish—you were amazing!"
"No wait, I should call you Gloom now. Thank you for protecting us!"
It was Peter. He ran to his Gloom and, without hesitation, hugged it tightly with a bright smile on his face.
He… doesn't mind our smell… The Gloom leader stared at Peter in a daze.
And that wasn't all—several other young people also ran forward to their own Gloom, each of their faces full of emotion.
Then the Gloom leader looked back at the villagers, and saw gratitude and joy in their eyes.
It really stinks… but… maybe it's not unbearable… Knight Sutter sniffed, instantly assaulted by a foul stench.
Normally, he would have walked away without hesitation. But this time, he found himself wanting to stay.
It was a strange feeling. After thinking it over for a while, he muttered to himself:
"Maybe… I just don't want to disappoint these Gloom."
(End of Chapter)