The knight regiment departed from Fruitvale Village at a hurried pace.
Sitting atop his Rhyhorn, Aven could clearly sense the shift in atmosphere throughout the group after receiving news from the Starly.
"Mr. Aven, we need to speed up. The situation at the frontlines is very urgent," said Knight Commander Hunter as he rode up beside him.
Aven frowned slightly, but before he could respond, Knight Sutter beside him asked anxiously, "Hasn't the beast tide only just begun?"
"Yes, but for some unknown reason, a large number of magical beasts from Mount Coronet have entered the Black Forest."
"Some of them include Mamoswine, which normally wouldn't appear in the Black Forest. The frontline knights were caught completely off guard."
Hunter briefly explained the situation. Aven and Sutter both looked grim and naturally had no objections to speeding up.
After increasing their pace, the knight regiment finally reached the defensive line half a day later.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Even before they fully approached, they could already hear the thunderous sounds of battle.
Clearly, magical beasts were attacking the defense line at this very moment, and a fierce battle had erupted between them and the defenders.
"We'll head to the front immediately!"
Hunter's face changed slightly at the sight, then turned to Aven. "Mr. Aven, you don't need to come."
"We go together."
"I'm very curious about the Abyssal Beasts as well."
"There will surely be casualties on the frontline. I can serve as a field doctor."
Aven shook his head and ignored the knight's attempts to dissuade him. He rode his Rhyhorn straight toward the frontlines.
"Make sure you protect Mr. Aven well," Hunter instructed the nearby knights, feeling a surge of warmth.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The battle on the field raged on.
As Aven reached the frontlines, his eyes were immediately drawn to a Skuntank, its fur dull and body shrouded in a gray mist, engaged in combat with a Rhyhorn.
"So, this is an Abyssal Beast?" Aven frowned. From the Skuntank's movements, he could see its madness and bloodthirst.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on that.
The Rhyhorn it fought already bore numerous injuries, many of which were clearly old wounds—not all from the current fight.
Wounded but still fighting, the Rhyhorn was gradually being overwhelmed.
When the Skuntank lunged forward with a Bite attack, Rhyhorn roared in pain and flung it off with a desperate heave.
Yet in the very next moment, the Skuntank charged again.
Just as it was about to launch another frenzied assault, several vines suddenly shot up from the ground and wrapped tightly around it!
The knight riding Rhyhorn had been watching with bated breath, grief in his eyes.
He had already seen several of his comrades' Rhyhorn fall under the frenzied onslaught of these beasts, and he feared his own would suffer the same fate.
Seeing his partner roar in pain and the Skuntank charging again, his heart nearly stopped.
Then came the sudden appearance of the vines.
He blinked, then broke into joyous surprise.
Looking into the distance, he saw a Tangela standing at the front of the defensive line, countless vines extending from its body.
"That's a Tangela?" the knight murmured in disbelief. He followed the vines back with his gaze and saw a white-coated figure behind it.
Aven stood at the frontline in a white lab coat, holding a Petilil in his arms, a Cherrim on his shoulder. Beside him were his Mightyena and Rhyhorn. Compared to the surrounding knights, he stood out starkly.
"Tangela, use Giga Drain!"
At Aven's command, Tangela's vines began glowing green.
The green energy wrapped around the Skuntank, continuously draining its strength.
When Tangela finally released it, the Skuntank collapsed weakly to the ground—but the gray mist still hadn't dispersed.
"You have to kill it for the mist to disappear," a nearby knight quickly reminded Aven.
Aven hesitated, then suddenly saw an arrow streak out and pierce the Skuntank's head.
With the arrow striking true, the Skuntank was killed instantly, and the gray mist around it slowly began to dissipate into the air.
Watching this, Aven fell silent, then let out a slow sigh.
Even though he knew the Skuntank had to be killed, he still hesitated when it came to taking the life of a Pokémon himself.
"My Lord, that's a real beast… not a Pokémon anymore," Sutter said quietly.
Aven froze for a moment, chewing over Sutter's words. He hadn't called it an Abyssal Beast, but simply referred to beasts and Pokémon.
"Yes... this is what a true beast is," Aven whispered after a moment of thought. He looked up at the frenzied, bloodthirsty beasts in the distance.
There are good and bad Pokémon. The good ones are Pokémon, the evil ones are beasts. The same applies to humans—there will always be good and evil.
"Rhyhorn, use Rock Slide!"
With his mindset shifted, Aven gave the command again.
With a low roar, Rhyhorn summoned rocks that floated in the air.
Then, in an explosive burst, the rocks shattered and rained down on the distant beasts!
The howling of air followed, and the clustered Abyssal Beasts were battered by the barrage. Many were instantly knocked down!
Meanwhile, Mightyena charged forward. Letting out a long howl, its attack power surged. With a burst of speed from Pursuit, it vanished into a streak of shadow.
Kevin, the lead knight, had just noticed the newly arrived Rhyhorn.
Seeing the way it launched those explosive rocks, his eyes narrowed in astonishment.
Rock Slide was a move his Rhydon also knew, but Rhyhorn's version was different—it was faster, more powerful, and could attack on a wider scale.
He had a hunch—this wasn't a standard Rock Slide. It might not even be Rock Slide!
If his Rhydon could master such a move, its power would skyrocket. Dealing with the beast tide would be so much easier.
As he was lost in thought, Rhyhorn launched another move. Stomping heavily on the ground, it released a shockwave—this was the move Stomp!
"It even knows Stomp? That Rhyhorn is way too overpowered!"
Kevin's eyes swept the field and landed on the white-coated figure at the frontline. Recognition dawned on his face.
Once, he might've believed this Rhyhorn had gotten lucky and learned the move by accident.
But after that incident, he knew—there was someone who had truly mastered the method of learning Rock Slide.
That genius apothecary!
(End of Chapter)