Signs of Evolution

"Let's call it here for today. Training the Deadly Poison Potion takes more than a single day."

Hearing Aiven's words, Petilil reluctantly nodded, still wanting more.

Although training the Deadly Poison Technique was very painful, it could feel the deadly poison energy surging inside it, making it feel stronger.

It actually wanted to keep training, but it knew the deadly poison would consume a great deal of its potential. If toxins eroded its body, that would be trouble.

After they finished training the Deadly Poison Technique, Aiven took Petilil to the Fruit Grove.

After the sun set, Uncle Darby had already cleared the rotten fruit and dead grass from the farm, piling them in a corner of the orchard.

Perhaps the fertilizer worked too well, because the weeds in the orchard had started growing wildly too. The orchard workers were kept very busy.

As for the one or two berries that occasionally went rotten, he carefully collected them, intending to give them to Aiven to make the special potion called "fertilizer."

Chirp, chirp, chirp.

Seeing Aiven and Petilil arrive, Mukkuru flapped over to them.

The Cherubi gathered around. After all this time, they felt they had never been as relaxed as they were now.

The berries on their bodies had steadily absorbed nutrients until each one had grown plump and bright red, just like their spirits.

After carefully checking on the growth of the Pokémon in the orchard, Aiven took Petilil to the place where the fruit was buried.

To keep rotten fruit from polluting the soil and other berries in the grove, all the rotten fruit was brought here and buried.

Under natural conditions, the rotten fruit became natural fertilizer as it composted. It was only ordinary fertilizer, but there was plenty of it.

Petilil climbed onto the mound, then used Absorb Technique to draw the nutrients hidden underground into its body and replenish its strength.

While Petilil practiced Absorb Technique, Aiven examined the mound.

He felt that the farm was growing too limited a variety of berries, and that they could find a way to plant some others. This mound was an ideal spot.

Petilil had already settled into its training on the mound.

Taking advantage of the time, Aiven sat down on a Stone and began thinking about Petilil's next training plan.

At the moment, Petilil knew only Absorb Technique, as well as the Deadly Poison Technique it had just begun learning.

But whether it was Absorb Technique or the Deadly Poison Technique, Petilil could only use them at close range.

For Petilil, which wasn't good at close combat, that was a serious problem. Getting close to an opponent would only put it in greater danger.

It looks like it needs to learn a move that can control its opponent. Aiven thought it over and quickly came up with an idea.

Leech Seed, one of the advanced moves that branched from Absorb Technique, was also a status move. It suited Petilil's current situation well.

Leech Seed could inflict a leeching status on an opponent, allowing the seeds to steadily drain the opponent's stamina while ignoring its defenses.

With further development, Leech Seed could even be used as a means of control.

The sprouted seeds could grow into vines and leaves that wrapped around an opponent, serving much the same purpose as Vine Whip.

Petilil already knew Absorb Technique, so it could move on to learning Leech Seed.

It was also a move Petilil could learn simply by gaining levels. With a little guidance, it should be able to master it fairly easily.

Once it learned Leech Seed, he could have Petilil combine it with Absorb Technique and the Deadly Poison Technique, forming a simple battle strategy.

With enough further development of Leech Seed and the Deadly Poison Technique, they might even cultivate Leech Seeds infused with deadly poison!

Not a bad training plan. It'll be perfect for Petilil as a stepping stone... Aiven thought with satisfaction.

And so, time passed quickly.

Once Petilil finished practicing Absorb Technique, Aiven immediately told it about the Leech Seed training plan and, as before, let it choose freely.

Petilil had no objections to Aiven's plan. It truly trusted him from the bottom of its heart now!

Several more days passed.

Petilil felt that its days were very fulfilling.

In the morning, it trained the Deadly Poison Technique.

After finishing that training, it practiced Absorb Technique and replenished the potential it had used up.

In the afternoon, it trained the Leech Seed move. It was beginning to get a feel for it, but still couldn't form an energy seed.

Finally, evening was the most pleasant time of its day. It curled up in its warm flowerpot, absorbed Growth Fertilizer, and then went to sleep with its Trainer.

At dawn, while it was still dim, Petilil checked that its Trainer was still asleep, stretched, and planned to go back to sleep.

Knock, knock. Knock, knock.

But just then, a series of taps against the window suddenly rang out, making Petilil tense up.

It looked toward the window and saw Mukkuru flying outside, pecking at the glass with its beak in a panic.

In bed, Aiven opened his eyes and looked toward the window.

"Mukkuru, what happened?"

Once he realized what was going on, Aiven hurried over, opened the window, and let Mukkuru fly inside.

Chirp, chirp, chirp.

Mukkuru cried out anxiously, then hurriedly flew toward the orchard. Once it was in the air, it turned back and called out twice.

Something's happened in the Fruit Grove... Aiven's heart sank. He didn't even stop to consider that they were on the second floor. He went to the window, grabbed Mukkuru's claws, and jumped straight down.

Mukkuru beat its wings desperately, barely stopping itself from plummeting out of the sky, while Aiven landed steadily.

Petilil jumped down too, and Aiven caught it securely.

Seeing this, Mukkuru hurried ahead to lead the way. Aiven held Petilil and quickly followed.

Soon, they reached the Fruit Grove. In the distance, they could see three Cherubi playing.

When they saw Aiven running over, the little ones happily came to greet him. They had let go of all their wariness around him.

Chirp, chirp, chirp.

Mukkuru looked at the Cherubi and immediately cried out anxiously.

But the three Cherubi looked confused and gently shook their heads, as if denying something.

Aiven had now reached them too. He looked at the Cherubi, his gaze settling on the shriveled berry on one of them.

"Mukkuru, did you come to tell me because you saw that Cherubi's berry had shriveled?" Aiven walked up to the Cherubi and asked with a smile.

Chirp, chirp, chirp.

Mukkuru nodded repeatedly to confirm that was exactly it.

"Don't worry. This is a good thing for Cherubi."

Aiven smiled and patted Mukkuru on the head. It tilted its head, looking utterly puzzled.

Cherubi stored the nutrients needed for evolution in their berries. When a little berry gradually shriveled, it was a sign that Cherubi was about to evolve.

The situation was quite clear now: this Cherubi was showing signs of evolution, and it would be able to complete its evolution before long.

Hearing Aiven's explanation, all the Pokémon, including Petilil, lit up with excitement. Even the Cherubi in question was no exception.

It had always been able to feel that it was in good condition lately, but it hadn't realized that meant it was about to evolve.

Once they understood, all the Pokémon went over to congratulate the Cherubi. They all had a deep, heartfelt desire to evolve.

I didn't expect it to evolve so soon. It must have absorbed enough Growth Fertilizer... Aiven nodded with satisfaction.

To help the Orange Fruit trees grow better, he had been fertilizing them all along. Some of that fertilizer had also been absorbed by the Cherubi in the grove.

Of course, this had been part of his plan from the beginning.

He had planned it ever since he stopped Uncle Darby and the others from picking the berries on the Cherubi.

Like Petilil, Cherubi had suffered damage to their foundations because people often picked the berries on their bodies—the berries in which they stored the energy needed to evolve.

He hadn't trained the Cherubi during this period because he wanted them to absorb enough energy to evolve, make up for the damage to their foundations, and complete their final evolution.