A faint stench drifted through the air.
But at that moment, Raul's attention was no longer on the smell.
He stared blankly at Fruitvale Village in front of him. The wooden fences outside the village remained intact, and there was even a large patch of green grass.
Fruitvale Village seemed to exist outside of this world—completely out of place amidst the surrounding snowy white landscape.
"Don't worry, that's just the smell from the Gloom. They won't hurt us," Peter quickly explained when he saw the villagers standing still.
"Gloom?" the villagers asked in surprise.
"Yeah, that's right. These Gloom are the evolved forms of the Oddish you all saw before."
At Peter's explanation, some villagers recalled hearing that Aven had raised a group of Oddish, and some had even thought it was just another rich man's hobby.
Now, all of those Oddish had evolved into Gloom?
Following Peter, they soon arrived at the grassy field in front of the village. Many villagers were already there, clearing away snow.
"Alright, it's safe here."
"You'll be staying in Fruitvale Village for the night. Once villagers from other villages arrive, we'll all head to Aspiration City together."
The knights stopped at the edge of the grass and instructed the villagers. Then they led their Rhyhorns onto the field, allowing their mounts to graze on the grass.
The villagers quickly expressed their thanks, their eyes again drawn back to the patch of green.
How could there be such lush grass in the middle of such a harsh winter?
"Let's go, we'll head into the village. It may not be the most comfortable, but you'll need to manage for tonight," Peter called out and led the way.
As they walked, the villagers occasionally noticed red-brown flowers dotting the field. Whenever someone got close, a Gloom would pop its head out of the ground to take a look before retreating again.
Compared to the outside, the soil was much warmer. The Gloom were in a semi-hibernation state and wouldn't emerge unless there was danger.
'It really stinks...' Some villagers swallowed hard, resisting the urge to vomit. They looked at Peter, who remained calm, and his Mightyena, which stayed quiet and lowered its head.
"Gloom are the guardians of Fruitvale Village," Peter suddenly stopped and turned back to the villagers. "If you want to stay here, you'll have to get used to the smell."
"Guardians?"
"Yeah. This winter, it was the Gloom who protected this village," Peter said with a smile.
The villagers were stunned. They had assumed it was the knights who had protected Fruitvale Village. Some had felt jealous because of it—but it seemed that wasn't the case at all.
Their minds couldn't help but flash back to the situation in their own village, and their expressions turned gloomy with a hint of envy.
'If only Stonefall Village had Gloom to protect it too…'
"So, Aven raised all those Oddish to protect the village? I'm really jealous of you all," one villager said sincerely.
Hearing this, pride bloomed on Peter's face.
After learning what had happened to the other villages, they truly felt fortunate that Aven had been born in Fruitvale Village.
Soon, under Peter's lead, the villagers entered Fruitvale Village. The village chief, Mike, was already at the entrance waiting to greet them.
The two village chiefs stood together, both deeply moved by the unexpected circumstances that had brought them together.
In preparation for the arrival of villagers from other areas, Fruitvale Village had already cleared out several sections of farmland and built temporary wooden houses.
At the time, when Aven had asked them to build these houses, everyone had been confused. But now it was clear—Aven had foreseen this situation and prepared ahead of time.
Watching villagers continuously arrive from all directions, Johnson let out a breath of relief.
With Fruitvale Village serving as a midway point, this migration would go much more smoothly. Aven had been a huge help once again.
Additionally, Aspiration City had begun dispatching law enforcement officers to help with the migration, delivering large amounts of resources to Fruitvale Village as well.
These included ingredients Aven needed to prepare potions, as well as food supplies for the villagers during their temporary stay.
Since Fruitvale Village had already contributed so much, it wouldn't be fair to make them provide food too.
At that moment, inside Mike's Farm, Aven was sorting through the incoming supplies, organizing them into categories and distributing them efficiently to the villagers in need.
"Mr. Aven, in addition to these supplies, the lady asked me to give this to you."
After Aven finished checking the inventory, Johnson pulled out a small wooden box from the carriage and handed it to him.
"What's this?" Aven asked with a puzzled look.
Johnson smiled. "A personal gift from the lady."
Nodding, Aven opened the box—and was immediately stunned as faint light glowed from within.
Inside were three gemstones. Two of them were translucent blue, giving off a soft blue glow.
The third looked like a green cat's eye stone, its glimmering light like a living gaze that drew one's attention.
"Water Stones and a Dawn Stone!" Aven immediately recognized the two types of Evolution Stones.
Previously, when Johnson had asked what he wanted, Aven had subtly inquired whether Aspiration City had any special stones.
Naturally, he had been hoping for Evolution Stones—and now the lord had actually gifted him three of them.
Unfortunately, they weren't a Sun Stone or a Leaf Stone.
Still, considering that no Bellossom or Vileplume had ever been discovered in the Black Forest, it was likely that such stones didn't exist nearby.
Evolution Stones were essentially crystallized energy and could only form in energy-rich environments.
Aven guessed the two Water Stones likely came from Lake Valor.
It also seemed Aspiration City hadn't realized that Water Stones could trigger evolution in certain special Pokémon—which made sense, as Aven had never seen any of those species in Aspiration City.
'Maybe this is a good opportunity to start acquiring more Evolution Stones in bulk…' Aven fell deep into thought.
Across from him, Johnson was quietly observing Aven's face.
Seeing the surprise and delight on Aven's expression, he too was thoughtful.
'So this genius apothecary likes gemstones just like the nobles do?'
(End of Chapter)