Torterra lay quietly on the grass.
In the distance, a villager carrying a basket smiled and greeted Torterra.
Seeing this, Torterra nodded back amicably, its nose twitching slightly—it knew the villager had likely brought that delicious Pokémon food again.
It was already used to this kind of behavior from the villagers.
A few days earlier, many villagers had come to this grassy area, hoping to earn the recognition of Torterra's companions.
However, after some time, the number of villagers dwindled. Clearly, many had given up, thinking it was too difficult.
Besides, villagers had found alternative ways to obtain magical beasts.
As winter passed, spring quietly arrived.
With the weather warming, the land turned green once again. During this season, a very common magical beast began to appear among the villagers—Oddish.
In the past, these relatively harmless Pokémon would show up in villagers' orchards, taking root there.
To prevent Oddish from absorbing the orchard's nutrients, villagers usually drove them away.
But this spring, villagers were hoping to find a few Oddish in their orchards.
This time, they were determined to raise them well.
Though Oddish were weak, they were still magical beasts. If villagers could gain Oddish's recognition, they could register as apprentice trainers!
Long ago, Aven had taught the villagers how to raise Oddish.
Those who had adopted Oddish early on were now members of the patrol team.
With a little training, Oddish could become quite capable in battle—something the villagers of Fruitvale Village remembered well.
During the earliest waves of beast attacks, it was the large numbers of Oddish that had helped defend the village.
Even the Mightyenas were defeated by them!
Of course, passing the patrol team's assessment using only Oddish was still very difficult.
However, Oddish could evolve.
All the Gloom outside the village had evolved from Oddish, and after evolving, their strength greatly increased!
With Gloom's power, villagers would have a much better chance of passing the patrol test.
It was a long-term investment.
Enel was one of the few villagers who still persisted in trying to capture magical beasts in the grassland.
While raising an Oddish from a young age was the safest way to become a patrol member, he didn't want to wait that long.
Pete had already become an official patrol member—Enel didn't want to fall too far behind.
He wanted to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with his friend.
After greeting Torterra, Enel checked the Pokémon food in his basket and prepared to enter the field.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Suddenly, the ground began to tremble.
Startled, Enel quickly looked around—and saw a Rhydon running at full speed, a white ribbon fluttering on its head.
"That's Mr. Aven's Rhydon," Enel immediately recognized it.
This Pokémon, always seen training furiously outside the village with a white ribbon tied on its head, was well-known among all the villagers.
Enel gulped. "A Rhydon… I'd love to capture one someday."
He looked the creature up and down—then noticed something behind it.
As he looked more closely, he saw a Tangela following behind, waving its blue vines as it ran with its little legs.
"That Tangela must be one of Mr. Aven's Pokémon too."
"These two Pokémon really train hard… Mr. Aven must be a very dedicated person."
Enel made a mental note, imagining himself training with his own Pokémon—his eyes lit up.
Soon, Rhydon reached Torterra.
"Rhy! Rhy! Rhy!"
After panting slightly, Rhydon suddenly let out a mighty roar and pounded its chest, producing a sound like clashing metal.
Tangela finally caught up, shrank its head back timidly, and quickly backed away, sitting on the ground and gasping for breath.
"Tan… Tan… Tan… ugh…"
Tangela looked utterly hopeless—it seriously regretted its earlier decision.
It only wanted to train in Ancient Power with Rhydon… it never expected to get dragged into running laps like this.
"Rhy! Rhy! Rhy!"
Rhydon roared again at Torterra.
From afar, Enel looked confused—what was Rhydon trying to do?
Most villagers wore the same puzzled expression. Were the two Pokémon going to battle?
Just then, other Pokémon in the meadow began gathering in the distance, watching.
"Could a real Pokémon battle be about to break out?"
A villager nervously asked.
If these beasts went berserk, they would be doomed.
"The patrol team is here!"
Another villager shouted, as several Mightyenas dashed over from afar.
Riding on them were villagers in leather hunter gear—members of Fruitvale Village's patrol team.
Enel scanned the group and saw that leading them was none other than Captain Peter of the patrol team.
Unfortunately, he didn't see his friend—he was probably still in training.
"Don't panic, everyone. Rhydon is just here to train with Torterra."
Peter quickly calmed the crowd upon arrival.
The rest of the patrol team moved swiftly, guiding villagers to safety.
"If you want to watch, you can stay. If not, now's your chance to leave," one team member said.
The villagers were stunned for a moment, then became excited—watching a Pokémon battle?
A face-off between Torterra and Rhydon was way more exciting than a circus show!
"Watch closely—these two are your goals," Peter told his teammates.
"Torrr~"
Torterra stood up reluctantly after hearing Rhydon's challenge.
It was tired of this dinosaur that came to fight every few days.
Back when they fought, Torterra clearly lost—so why hadn't this guy let it go?
Torterra had hoped for a peaceful life basking in the sun. Now, it felt like it was back in the forest days of constant battle.
As soon as Torterra stood up, Rhydon grew excited.
Gathering ground-type energy, it immediately opened with Earth Power as a greeting!
The ground rumbled, and a spike of earth shot toward Torterra's belly!
But as a fellow ground-type, Torterra sensed the energy early and dodged in time.
It countered with glowing green light—Razor Leaf, sending a flurry of sharp leaves toward Rhydon.
Boom!
The earth shook again as Rhydon countered with a wall of earth from Earth Power.
Torterra's numerous large leaves shattered the wall instantly.
In a flash, the first round of battle ended—leaving all the villagers stunned.
"Rhyy!"
Rhydon felt the heat of battle surging through its body.
It gathered rock-type energy and formed a massive boulder in its hands.
Then, with explosive strength, it hurled the Rock Throw like a cannonball toward Torterra!
The villagers' jaws dropped—they'd never seen an attack of this magnitude!
"Terraa!"
Torterra's eyes widened in surprise—just a week ago, Rhydon's Rock Throw wasn't this powerful.
Its strength had skyrocketed in just a few days.
Watching from afar, the exhausted Tangela's eyes were full of envy.
It had been training with Rhydon recently and had watched the dinosaur practice Ancient Power tirelessly.
Thanks to Aven's guidance, Rhydon had picked it up quickly and showed great potential.
Though not fully mastered, its rock-type moves were now much stronger and faster.
As the massive rock flew through the air, Torterra used Wood Hammer to meet it head-on!
Everyone held their breath, eyes fixed on the impending clash.
Boom!
The massive collision echoed across the field.
The rock shattered into countless fragments flying in all directions.
As the dust settled, Torterra's massive figure emerged—completely unscathed.
But at that moment, Rhydon had already closed the distance, rock-type energy gathering around its fist!
This was Rock Slide, compressed into a punch for close combat—another technique taught by Aven.
However, Torterra was ready.
Its body glowed green again—Giga Drain!
Boom!
Rhydon's punch landed squarely on Torterra.
The tremendous force caused Torterra's body to sink, but it held its ground.
"Torr!"
…
(End of chapter)