The Tangela was a little confused.
What were these humans talking about? They wanted to turn its vines into food? How terrifying! What should it do?
While the Tangela was still stunned, Aven had already walked up to it.
The Tangela instinctively shrank back, a look of fear on its face.
"Tangela, you heard our conversation just now," Aven said directly. "How about we make a deal? Don't worry, it won't be unfair to you."
Since he planned to regularly collect a certain amount of vines if the Tangelas agreed to stay, Aven felt it was necessary to explain everything clearly in advance.
"The deal is simple," he continued.
"This farm will be your new home, and I'll also provide the nutrients you need to grow."
"In return, you'll need to grow and provide some vines for me."
Hearing Aven's words, the Tangela's vines swayed slightly, as if it were deep in thought.
Just by sensing the land, the Tangela could feel the vibrant energy flowing through the soil. It was far more fertile than anywhere it had ever lived before.
Being able to stay here would be a dream come true—especially now that it was homeless.
After a brief moment of thought, the Tangela extended its vines into the ground. Immediately, it felt waves of energy flooding into its body, causing its vines to grow rapidly.
In an instant, the Tangela looked like a massive ball of vines, with thousands of tendrils spreading outward.
"Tangela, does that mean you agree?" Aven said with a smile as he looked at the giant vine ball in front of him.
"Tan~geela!" Tangela softly cried out and extended a vine toward Aven.
Seeing this, the Rhyhorn immediately stepped in front of Aven protectively, but Aven just shook his head gently.
Then, Aven reached out and took hold of the blue vine in front of him. Taking a small knife from his waist, he carefully cut off a portion of the vine.
Since these vines were grown using Tangela's stored energy and weren't an actual part of its body, cutting them caused no pain or harm to the Tangela.
Aven then proceeded to trim the surrounding vines, much like giving the Tangela a haircut, and soon a large pile of blue vines had accumulated on the ground.
"All right, this should be enough," Aven said with a smile.
The Tangela breathed a sigh of relief. Producing this amount of vines every day was far less than what it used to grow during battles; it was perfectly manageable.
The Tangela then inserted its vines back into the ground, happily absorbing the nutrients from the rich soil, and began to sway its vines contentedly.
Meanwhile, other Tangelas slowly began to wake up. After hearing an explanation from their companion, they all quickly accepted the terms of the deal without resistance.
Soon, Aven had collected a large number of blue vines.
Leaving Rhyhorn to watch over the Tangelas, Aven and Uncle Mike pushed a cart full of vines back toward the farm.
"Aven, are you sure these can be turned into beast food?" Uncle Mike asked worriedly as they walked.
Aven just smiled without saying much. When it came to his cooking skills, he was extremely confident.
…
Since the last time the villagers had called for the Mightyenas' help, the relationship between the villagers and the Mightyenas had greatly improved.
Now, young villagers could often be seen in the abandoned orchard.
Their goal was clear: to tame and bond with a Mightyena.
Aven had previously said that any villager could adopt a Mightyena if they gained the Pokémon's trust.
Who wouldn't want to have such a majestic monster?
At the time, the villagers had still been wary, but now that the misunderstanding was cleared, they eagerly set to work trying to win over the Mightyenas.
Peter had been particularly excited these past few days. After a long period of effort, he had finally earned the trust of a Mightyena!
Back when Peter had gone to call for help, it was the Mightyena leader who had led the pack to the village.
But one particular Mightyena had turned back and carried Peter on its back—a gesture that had moved Peter deeply.
Since then, he had resolved to tame that very Mightyena.
And now, his hard work had paid off!
All he needed to do was complete the formal registration with Aven, and the Mightyena would officially be his!
Suppressing his excitement, Peter hurried toward the farm to find Aven.
…
"Peter, congratulations on earning a Mightyena's trust," Aven said, smiling as he patted Peter's shoulder with genuine approval in his eyes.
Ever since Peter had single-handedly defeated a Rattata with his Oddish, Aven had noticed his talent for battle.
Now that Peter had succeeded again, Aven was even more certain—Peter was a born Trainer.
"Does this mean you'll let me officially adopt Mightyena?" Peter asked eagerly.
"I said before: as long as you earn the Mightyena's trust, you can adopt it," Aven nodded. "But we still need to complete some necessary paperwork."
Peter immediately nodded in excitement and followed Aven into the house.
There, Aven handed him a small book.
Trainer's Handbook.
Peter stared at the cover in confusion.
He had never heard of such a thing as a "Trainer" before.
Opening the handbook, he saw that the very first sentence read:
"A Trainer is someone who captures, trains, and cares for Pokémon, living and growing together with them."
Pokémon—another term he had never heard before.
But based on the description, he guessed Pokémon must mean the magical beast, and Trainers must be beast tamers.
It was just a change in terminology.
Flipping through it quickly, Peter saw that the handbook mostly explained what it meant to be a Trainer, as well as a Trainer's responsibilities and duties.
…
"Peter, do you want to become a formal Pokémon Trainer?" Aven's face turned unusually serious and solemn, as if this were a sacred ritual.
Affected by Aven's solemn mood, Peter took a deep breath, then nodded with great sincerity.
"I do!"
Even though he didn't fully understand why Aven was changing the words—calling magical beast "Pokémon" and beast tamers "Trainers"—
he trusted Aven.
And with that, the first Trainer in this world was born.
In his heart, Aven whispered to himself, It feels like I'm pushing the wheels of history forward...
(End of Chapter)