Inside the castle of Aspiration City.
Since the beginning of early winter, the Lady, Mira, had been closely monitoring the situation in the Black Forest.
Just a few days ago, an injured Staraptor returned to Aspiration City, bringing back news from the frontlines.
For some unknown reason, the number of wild beasts migrating from Mount Coronet to the Black Forest this year had increased dramatically. As a result, a large number of beasts from the Black Forest had entered the territory of Aspiration City.
There was even a pack of Mightyenas from Mount Coronet that had crossed into human lands, causing the disappearance of two knights.
At the end of the report was a request for reinforcements — if Aspiration City didn't dispatch more knights to clear out the invading beast around the Black Forest, the surrounding villages would be in serious danger.
"What do you think, Kevin?" Mira asked, her expression grim as she sought the opinion of her chief knight.
After reading the message brought back from the frontlines, Kevin's face also turned serious. Due to the incident with the Abyssal Caverns, Aspiration City was already facing a significant threat. Now, with the monster invasion, the situation had grown even worse.
Originally, they had planned to wait until the winter snow arrived before preparing to drive the beast away. However, the snow had yet to come.
Once the snow fell, it would block most of the roads, the beast would become less active, and some would find places to hibernate for the winter. After winter passed, the beast from Mount Coronet would usually return to the Black Forest, along with those that had ventured into human lands. This cycle had been stable for years.
If they dispatched knights now to forcibly drive out the magical beast that had invaded their territory, they would inevitably clash with beast that had nowhere else to go.
However, the current problem couldn't be ignored. A cold glint flashed in Kevin's eyes. "Your Highness, I think we need to start preemptively hunting some beast."
"When the mists from the Abyssal Cave spread into the Black Forest, it will trigger a repeat of the beast tide from five years ago. All the beast will lose control and turn into mindless beasts bent on destruction!"
"In that situation, preemptive hunting now will lessen the pressure we face later!"
Hearing her chief knight's words, Mira's gaze flickered slightly. She then looked out at the dim sky outside the window, a complicated expression in her eyes.
Meanwhile, back in the village, things had remained calm and peaceful.
The Gloom's stench-defense effect was astonishing. Unless a creature like a Skuntank appeared, most wild Pokémon didn't dare approach the village at all.
As a result, apart from the routine patrols, Aven spent most of his time training his Pokémon.
The training for, Rhyhorn, and Cherubi remained unchanged — as long as they stuck to their daily schedule, everything went smoothly.
Thus, Aven devoted a lot of time to training the Mightyenas. After spending so much time together, these Pokémon had become very docile.
After a few days of nurturing them in his orchard, Aven relocated the Mightyenas to an abandoned orchard outside the village. It was separated from the main orchards by some distance, providing a more isolated area.
He had considered designating an area inside the village for them, which would have sped up the villagers' acceptance of the Mightyenas since they were obedient and friendly to Aven.
However, the villagers remained very cautious, fearing that if the Mightyenas lost control, the village would face a catastrophic disaster.
Aven understood their concerns. Even though he trusted the Mightyenas, he had always acknowledged that the Pokémon of this era were still called "beast" for a reason — they were much wilder and more untamed than the Pokémon of the future.
Besides, Aven also planned to train the Mightyenas. Managing so many large Pokémon within the village could indeed be problematic if they got rowdy.
Therefore, housing them in an abandoned orchard outside the village made centralized training and management easier.
Moreover, the Mightyenas had been struggling inside the village because of the Glooms' stench.
Their sense of smell was simply too sensitive — the smell produced by the Glooms was like a biochemical weapon to them.
Even though Aven had arranged for the Mightyenas to stay far from the Glooms' area, they still looked listless and miserable.
Now that they were settled outside the village, they could finally escape the constant "stink bomb" environment.
Awooo! Awooo! Awooo!
In the abandoned orchard, the leader of the Mightyenas was busy with its daily exercises.
It still hadn't gotten over its previous defeat by the Rhyhorn. For the proud leader, it was an unbearable shame.
It had been observing the Rhyhorn's training routine for days, noticing that the Rhyhorn constantly ran laps around the farm — just like what the Mightyena was doing now.
Meanwhile, in another part of the orchard, the other Mightyenas and Poochyenas were lounging together, enjoying a rare moment of relaxation.
Compared to their days of wandering through the cold wilderness, often going hungry, their current life felt luxurious.
Now, even if someone wanted to chase them away, they wouldn't want to leave.
Back in the village, Peter was pulling a cart full of ripe Oran berries toward the abandoned orchard outside.
The berries were meant as food for the Mightyenas.
Peter had volunteered for this job — mainly because he wanted to get close to the Mightyenas and win their favor.
If he could earn their trust, he intended to capture a Mightyena or Poochyena of his own. Aven had promised him that as long as both sides agreed willingly, it would be allowed.
As Peter pushed the cart through the village entrance, a wave of foul odor rushed at him. But he didn't mind at all, smiling and greeting the Glooms by the roadside.
A Gloom followed closely at his side but eventually rejoined its companions, since Peter wasn't bringing it along.
Because the Mightyenas were so sensitive to the Glooms' smell, Peter headed alone toward the abandoned orchard, pushing the cart by himself.
"Awooo! Awooo! Awooo!"
Seeing Peter approach, the Mightyenas started howling excitedly.
Over time, Peter had built a good relationship with them, delivering food regularly. The Mightyenas were very friendly toward him — after all, he was the one bringing them meals.