"Cherubi, would you be willing to train with me?"
After thinking it over, Aiven spoke up. He felt he needed to give Cherubi a hand so it could evolve smoothly.
At his words, Cherubi froze for a moment, then nodded in delight. It was very envious of the Petilil that got to stay by Aiven's side.
The other two Cherubi looked envious as well. Only Mukkuru seemed unimpressed. Could planting trees every day really make it stronger?
"Good. Then we'll start training in a little while."
Aiven smiled and nodded. He planned to head home for breakfast first, then bring over the Growth Fertilizer.
Since he would be coming back soon, he left Petilil in the Fruit Grove and returned home alone.
Thanks to Uncle Darby's generous support, three wooden barrels now stood in the farm's backyard. Each was filled with berries fermenting inside.
Unfortunately, most of the berries grown by farmers on the current market were Orange Fruit, which tasted excellent and could relieve fatigue to some extent.
If he could get his hands on other kinds of berries, he could try making other fertilizers. Abundant Fruit Fertilizer and Potent Fertilizer were both excellent options.
City of Ambition, Inner District.
"Haren, is Panacea really that miraculous?"
In a manor, a noble-looking boy asked the Apothecary standing before him.
"Yes, that's what the books say." Haren smiled. "And it seems the only reason Baron Reiser woke up this time was the Panacea."
"Mm, I've heard a little about Baron Reiser falling unconscious."
"But His Highness seems to have issued a gag order about what happened after Baron Reiser woke up. So the Panacea was what cured him."
Sir Enzo nodded, then glanced worriedly at a room in the distance. He lowered his head, looking troubled.
"Shh, this is classified. I only mentioned it to you in passing, Sir Enzo."
Haren looked uneasy. "Make sure you don't tell anyone. Otherwise, His Highness might..."
At this, Sir Enzo hurriedly covered his mouth, looked around, and nodded solemnly at Haren to show he would never tell a soul.
As if realizing he had let something slip, Haren used the opportunity to take his leave. He turned and headed for the door, and once his back was to Sir Enzo, the corners of his mouth slowly curved upward.
"Petilil, Petilil."
After Haren left, Sir Enzo paced back and forth. At last, as if he had made up his mind, he clenched his fist slightly.
In the Fruit Grove.
Cherubi's body was buried in a flowerpot as it absorbed the fertilizer in the soil.
Under the Growth Fertilizer's influence, the fruit on Cherubi, which had dried up, was growing plump again.
Cherubi was absorbing the fertilizer's energy and converting it into the energy it needed to evolve.
Meanwhile, inside the wooden hut, Petilil continued training its Deadly Poison Technique.
Aiven poured out the last of the Deadly Poison Potion in the bottle and carefully smeared it over the leaf on Petilil's far left.
A faint purple glow shimmered across the leaf. The Deadly Poison Potion dripped onto it and was quickly absorbed, turning the leaf completely purple.
"Petilil, how do you feel?" Aiven asked, holding the little antidote he had left.
This time, Petilil gave him a firm nod, its face brimming with confidence. It had completely mastered the Deadly Poison Potion!
Aiven's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed happily, "Petilil, you're amazing!"
Under normal circumstances, a Pokémon needed more than half a month to learn the Deadly Poison Technique, but Petilil had learned it in just one week!
"Come on, let's go outside and test the power of your Deadly Poison Technique."
He took Petilil to the farm's garbage dump. Since it was summer, a particularly foul smell hung over the place.
"So this is what the ancient world was like. If I get the chance, I'll have to improve the sanitation." Aiven thought to himself.
He didn't want to live in a city where garbage was dumped anywhere, only for another Black Death to break out. The facts showed that many diseases were caused by poor sanitation.
For now, though, this deserted place where no one came would be perfect for Petilil to use its Deadly Poison Technique. It would keep anyone from wandering into danger.
"Petilil, use Deadly Poison!"
At his command, Petilil nodded. Purple light quickly spread over the leaf on the far left of its head.
Then its cheeks puffed out. Poison Attribute Energy gathered in its mouth and formed a stream of venom, which it spat out!
After using the Deadly Poison Technique, the purple glow on Petilil's leaf dimmed noticeably.
The venom Petilil spat out landed on the ground. With a sharp hiss, it corroded the earth, and wisps of smoke rose into the air.
"That's some impressive power." Aiven walked over to inspect it and nodded with satisfaction.
Of course, the Deadly Poison Technique's greatest strength wasn't its corrosiveness. It was its ability to inflict the Deadly Poisoned State on an enemy.
The Deadly Poisoned State was an abnormal condition even more powerful than the Poisoned State. It could make a Monster lose its ability to fight much faster!
After using the Deadly Poison Technique, Petilil slumped to the ground. Concentrating the poison had consumed a great deal of its stamina, too.
"You've finally learned the Deadly Poison Technique, at least well enough to use it."
"Next, we'll need to further increase the strength of your Poison Attribute Energy and the toxicity of your poison."
Aiven studied the Poison Attribute Energy contained in the venom on the ground, judging the strength of Petilil's Deadly Poison Technique.
As time passed, the Poison Attribute Energy in the venom began to dissipate. Before long, it had evaporated into the air.
Without a medium to carry it, Poison Attribute Energy quickly dissipated. The same was true of techniques using other attributes.
"Petilil, Petilil." Petilil nodded repeatedly, completely immersed in the joy of having learned the Deadly Poison Technique.
"Come on, let's keep training." Aiven patted Petilil on the head, then added, "You shouldn't use the Deadly Poison Technique carelessly." If it accidentally inflicted the Deadly Poisoned State on another person or Pokémon, that could be dangerous.
Petilil glanced at the pit the venom had corroded into the ground and stuck out its tongue, showing that it understood.
When they returned to the Fruit Grove, Cherubi had almost finished absorbing the Growth Fertilizer's energy from the flowerpot. Its fruit gleamed with a crystalline sheen.
If Cherubi's fruit were picked and sold now, it would fetch a very good price. It was brimming with energy.
"Cherubi, how do you feel?" Aiven picked Cherubi up and examined it closely.
Cherubi nodded, and the fruit on its body bobbed. It felt that once it absorbed all the energy inside, it should be ready to evolve.
Before you continue