Entering the Black Forest

Time passed quickly.

Three days later, Aiven rode Ironclad Rhinoceros away from the farm and headed toward the Black Forest.

Petilil, Cherrim, and Walking Grass were riding on Ironclad Rhinoceros as well.

This Walking Grass was the one that had first joined the farm. Aiven had brought it along this time so it could find more of its own kind.

The Black Forest lay at the foot of Mt. Coronet. If one crossed straight through it, they could reach Meteorite City, a city surrounded by rocks.

Aiven's goal this time was the outermost edge of the Black Forest. He planned to gather materials for making potions, with the ingredients for Flower Dew Potion as his top priority.

As he approached the Black Forest from a distance, he noticed that knights from City of Ambition often patrolled its outskirts. Perhaps it was because winter was approaching.

Aiven found a narrow trail left by the knights' mounts and followed it into the forest.

Once inside, Aiven dismounted Ironclad Rhinoceros and carefully observed the plants growing in the forest.

As a Pokémon Breeder, he was no stranger to exploring the wilderness. But this was a thousand years in the past, and Pokémon were likely far less gentle than those in the modern world. He had to be cautious, too.

Aiven moved carefully through the dense forest. He had changed out of his linen clothes and put on a green outfit resembling camouflage. Holding a hunting knife, he cautiously cleared away the obstacles in front of him.

Ironclad Rhinoceros, Petilil, and Cherrim kept a careful watch nearby. Only Walking Grass had wandered off somewhere, perhaps to look for its companions.

Before long, Aiven found some useful potion ingredients. He carefully gathered them and placed them in the large linen sack on Ironclad Rhinoceros's back.

Perhaps the apothecaries in this world didn't know how to use certain unusual plants. Whatever the reason, the Black Forest was rich in all kinds of potion ingredients, and Aiven regretted not coming here sooner.

However, most of the medicinal plants here were grasses. If there were any berries in the Black Forest, they had either already been picked or were guarded by powerful monsters, making them very difficult to collect.

After gradually walking deeper into the forest, with frequent stops along the way, Aiven had gone about a mile in when the trees suddenly disappeared. In their place was a field of grass reaching half a person's height.

The grassland stretched far and wide. Unless he took a long detour, he had no choice but to cross it to reach the other side.

As Aiven surveyed the area, his ears suddenly twitched. A faint rustling came from the grass ahead.

Ironclad Rhinoceros reacted first. Using its sensitivity to vibrations in the ground, it immediately pinpointed where the noise had come from and let out a low growl in that direction.

At the same time, Petilil sprang into action. A green beam shot out as it used Absorb Technique.

Just as the beam was about to hit the grass, a huge yellow-brown rat suddenly sprang out. It nimbly dodged the attack and charged toward Aiven.

"Raticate." Aiven's gaze sharpened as he recognized the common Pokémon, and he backed toward the trees.

Petilil and Cherrim leaped into Aiven's arms, while Ironclad Rhinoceros turned to face the yellow-brown rat head-on.

Raticate sprang into the air. Its two prominent incisors gleamed with a ghostly light as it lunged at Ironclad Rhinoceros. Its narrow eyes were filled with the greed of a predator eyeing its prey.

Rage Fang. This Raticate must be a very high level. Aiven made his assessment, then murmured, "As expected, Pokémon from a thousand years ago are much fiercer!"

Perhaps because Pokémon in the future would spend a long time living alongside humans, they seemed gentle and didn't usually attack people.

But now, Pokémon were truly vicious. Aiven could tell that this Raticate really saw him as food. Perhaps that was one reason they were called monsters!

Facing Raticate's attack, Ironclad Rhinoceros used Tackle, turning its large body into a formidable weapon!

Boom!

Ironclad Rhinoceros and Raticate collided in midair.

Raticate's incisors sank into Ironclad Rhinoceros, but it was promptly sent flying by the impact.

Raticate spun through the air and landed in the grass. A faint white mark appeared on Ironclad Rhinoceros's body.

With both Rock and Ground attributes, Ironclad Rhinoceros had strong defenses. Raticate hadn't managed to break through them completely.

"Ironclad Rhinoceros, use Tilling!"

At Aiven's command, Ironclad Rhinoceros charged forward.

It stomped heavily with all four legs. Ground energy surged through the earth and spread outward in an invisible wave!

The force of the wave rolled the ground to either side. The grass in front of Ironclad Rhinoceros toppled, revealing Raticate lying beneath it.

Raticate scrambled to its feet. Sensing how strong its opponent was, it immediately tried to flee.

But the muddy ground around it made it hard to keep its balance, and a green beam struck it.

Raticate immediately felt its stamina draining away. Just as it tried to break free, a Leech Seed landed beside it.

A mass of vines sprouted from the seed and bound Raticate completely. Green light flickered as the vines steadily drained its stamina.

Seeing Raticate trapped, Ironclad Rhinoceros didn't wait for it to struggle. It charged in and used Tackle.

Raticate was sent flying once more. Its stamina was completely drained, and it slumped helplessly to the ground, unable to battle.

"Ironclad Rhinoceros, Petilil, you did great," Aiven praised the two Pokémon.

Both Pokémon were delighted. They had practiced this combination on the farm, and now it had finally come in handy. The two little ones were very proud of themselves.

Then Aiven looked at the defeated Raticate and suddenly found himself at a loss.

In his previous life, if he'd encountered a Pokémon that attacked people in the wild, he would have caught it in a Poké Ball and handed it over to the League for training.

But what was he supposed to do with this Raticate in this world?

There was no organization in this world that dealt with vicious Pokémon. But if he let Raticate go, it would surely attack other people. This was the outer edge of the Black Forest, which only made the situation worse.