Entering the Black Forest

Time passed quickly.

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

Riding on the Ironclad Rhinoceros were also a Petilil, a Cherrim, and a Walking Grass.

This Walking Grass was the one that had joined the farm at the beginning. This time, Aiven brought it along with the intention of helping it find more companions.

The Black Forest was located at the foot of Mount Coronet. If one were to cross through the Black Forest, 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 collect some materials for concocting potions here, with the materials for concocting Flower Dew Potion being the most important objective.

As they approached the Black Forest from afar, it was unclear if it was due to the approaching winter, but knights from the City of Ambition would often patrol the outskirts of the Black Forest.

Aiven found a small path made by the knights' mounts and proceeded into the forest.

After entering the forest, Aiven dismounted the Ironclad Rhinoceros and carefully observed the plants growing within.

As a Spirit breeder, he was no stranger to exploring the wilderness. However, this was a thousand years ago, and Spirits were likely not as docile as in the real world. He had to be cautious.

Aiven moved cautiously through the dense forest. He had changed out of his linen clothes and was now wearing a greenish outfit similar to camouflage. In his hand, he held a hunting knife, carefully clearing away obstacles in front of him.

Beside him, the Ironclad Rhinoceros, Petilil, and Cherrim were on high alert. Only the Walking Grass had wandered off somewhere, possibly to find its companions.

Soon, Aiven found some useful potion materials and carefully collected them, placing them into the large linen bag on the Ironclad Rhinoceros's back.

Perhaps it was because the apothecaries of this world did not know how to use some special plants, but the variety of potion materials in this Black Forest was incredibly abundant, making Aiven regret not coming here sooner.

However, the most common materials here were these herbaceous ones. If there were any Berries in the Black Forest, they had either already been picked or were guarded by powerful Magical Beasts, making them very difficult to collect.

Gradually, Aiven, walking and stopping, had ventured about a mile into the forest. The large trees in front of him suddenly disappeared, replaced by a patch of grass about half a person's height.

This grassland was vast. Unless he took a very long detour, he would have to pass through it to reach the other side.

Just as Aiven was observing his surroundings, his ears suddenly twitched. He heard a faint rustling sound coming from the grassland ahead.

The Ironclad Rhinoceros reacted the fastest. Relying on its sensitivity to the ground, it immediately locked onto the direction of the sound and let out a low growl.

At the same time, the Petilil moved. A green beam shot out, using Absorb Technique.

Just as the green beam was about to hit the grassland, a huge yellowish-brown rat suddenly leaped out from the grass, swiftly dodging the Absorb Technique and charging towards Aiven.

"Rattata!" Aiven's gaze sharpened. He recognized this very common Spirit and simultaneously retreated into the woods.

The Petilil and Cherrim jumped into Aiven's arms, while the Ironclad Rhinoceros faced the yellowish-brown rat head-on.

The Rattata leaped into the air, its large front teeth glowing with a faint light as it lunged towards the Ironclad Rhinoceros. Its narrow eyes showed a greedy look, as if facing food.

"Rage Fang. It seems this Rattata is very high level," Aiven judged in his heart, muttering, "As expected, Spirits from a thousand years ago are much fiercer!"

Perhaps it was due to living alongside humans for a long time in the future, but the Spirits of that era seemed very docile and usually wouldn't attack humans.

But now, Spirits were truly ferocious. Aiven could tell that this Rattata genuinely saw him as food, which might be one of the reasons they were called Magical Beasts!

Facing the Rattata's attack, the Ironclad Rhinoceros directly used Tackle, using its size to deliver a considerable attack!

BOOM!

In mid-air, the Ironclad Rhinoceros and the Rattata collided.

The Rattata's fangs bit fiercely into the Ironclad Rhinoceros, and then it was sent flying by the Ironclad Rhinoceros's charge.

After a somersault in the air, the Rattata landed in the grassland, while a faint white mark appeared on the Ironclad Rhinoceros's body.

With its dual Rock and Ground typing, the Ironclad Rhinoceros's defense was still strong, and the Rattata couldn't completely break through its defenses.

"Ironclad Rhinoceros, use Dig!"

Upon hearing Aiven's command, the Ironclad Rhinoceros charged forward.

Its four feet stomped heavily on the ground, and Ground-type energy surged, transforming into an invisible wave that spread outwards!

Under the impact of the wave, the entire ground churned outwards. The grassland in front of it immediately tilted to the sides, revealing the Rattata lying within.

The Rattata quickly got up. Sensing the opponent's strength, it chose to flee immediately.

However, the muddy ground around it made it difficult to maintain balance, and it was directly hit by a green beam.

Instantly, the Rattata felt its stamina rapidly draining. Just as it tried to break free, a Leech Seed landed beside it.

A large number of vines grew out from the Leech Seed, completely binding the Rattata. Green light flickered, continuously draining its stamina.

Seeing that the Rattata was restrained, the Ironclad Rhinoceros didn't wait for it to struggle and charged forward, using Tackle.

The Rattata was sent flying far away again. At the same time, all its stamina was drained, and it collapsed on the ground weakly, completely unable to battle.

"Ironclad Rhinoceros, Petilil, you did very well," Aiven praised the two Spirits.

Both Spirits were very happy. They had practiced this combination in the farm, and it had finally been put to use, giving the two little ones a great sense of accomplishment.

Then, he looked at the unconscious Rattata in front of him and suddenly felt troubled.

If this were his past life, encountering a Spirit attacking humans in the wild, he would definitely have caught it with a Poké Ball and handed it over to the league for training.

But in this world, how should he deal with this Rattata?

There were no organizations dedicated to handling such ferocious Spirits in this world. But if he let the Rattata go, it would surely attack other humans again. This was the outskirts of the Black Forest, and the situation was even worse.