"Congratulations, Lord Aven."
The villagers, who had been stunned by Vileplume's performance, finally recovered.
They might not have understood the exact effects of the move, but even just watching it made them feel how incredible Grassy Terrain was.
They were convinced Aven must have taught Vileplume this miraculous skill, just like he'd helped the Oddish evolve into Gloom last time.
"It's alright, everyone. You can all head back now," Aven said, smiling warmly.
"And from now on, you won't need to endure Gloom's smell anymore."
"Thank you all for your patience and for accepting the Gloom."
Vileplume looked startled at first but quickly bowed deeply to the villagers behind Aven.
Indeed, over the winter, they had received much warmth and kindness. Now fully integrated into Fruitvale Village, Vileplume was truly grateful to the villagers.
"Ah—no, no," the villagers responded quickly, bowing in return.
"We should be the ones thanking the Gloom for protecting us."
"If it weren't for them, we wouldn't have made it safely through the winter."
"To us, the Gloom are like family now. There's no such thing as 'enduring' them!"
"And going forward… we hope they'll continue to watch over us!"
Their words were completely sincere. That said, having no more stink really was an improvement.
Soon, the villagers began to disperse.
The Gloom who had just learned Sweet Scent remained behind—they still needed more training to better control their body's natural odor.
…
"Aven, is this Pokémon called Vileplume?"
At that moment, Phyllis walked over with her Shinx in her arms, curiously studying Vileplume in front of her.
Her eyes lingered on Vileplume's majestic flower petals, and she felt a special fondness for its appearance—gentle, yet with a trace of dominance.
It was a little like herself.
"Yes, this is Vileplume, the evolved form of Gloom," Aven replied, introducing the Pokémon.
"Gloom evolves into this?"
"Alright, I've made up my mind—I want to capture a Gloom too and evolve it into Vileplume!"
"According to Fruitvale Village's rules, if a Gloom acknowledges you, that counts as capturing it, right?"
Aven looked at her with interest and nodded.
"That rule applies to everyone. But the key is earning the Pokémon's recognition."
"Perfect. Then it's decided!"
Phyllis brushed her violet hair behind her shoulder and turned her eyes toward the Gloom, clearly beginning her search for a partner.
Watching the purple-haired girl weave through the crowd of Gloom, Aven couldn't help but smile faintly.
His gaze shifted toward the open wilderness in the distance, and a feeling of peace settled over him.
Meanwhile, Village Chief Raul was discussing with the villagers from Stonefall Village about where to build their new home.
On the map where Fruitvale Village's location was marked, several circles had been drawn around it—these were all places they had scouted and found suitable for establishing a village.
"First of all, we need to be close enough to Fruitvale Village."
"Just like Aspiration City, Fruitvale Village will become the inner district of the city in the future."
"What we need to do is build our village within this inner district— or at least in the outer district connected to the inner district, so that we can get more development opportunities."
The villagers shared their opinions, excitement showing on their faces. They had originally planned to stay in Fruitvale Village anyway, which would have meant giving up their orchards in Stonefall Village.
But now that Stonefall Village was relocating entirely to the vicinity of Fruitvale Village, not only could they stay, but they could also keep their orchards. It was a stroke of great fortune!
Especially for villagers like Brent, who had already become part of the patrol team. Only after truly raising magical beasts according to the patrol team's standards did they realize how expensive it was!
Every day, they had to buy nutrient-rich Pokémon food for their beasts. On top of that, they had to purchase healing potions to restore their Pokémon's stamina after training. The costs were far from trivial.
Of course, they could choose not to raise their Pokémon and just feed them regular food. But seeing their companions' strength grow so quickly, how could they possibly resist?
Now that they had orchards again, they could grow berry trees while also performing patrol duties and raising Pokémon.
"Actually, I think this spot is pretty good," Raul said thoughtfully, pointing to a flat area a little farther from Fruitvale Village. The soil there was ideal for growing berry trees, but the distance from the village made him hesitate.
"This place is still a bit too far."
"If it's just about growing berries, didn't Lord Aven say we don't need to worry too much about that?"
Another villager chimed in. After all, they had all seen how the abandoned orchard outside the village had suddenly turned green overnight.
"Yeah, that's true," Raul replied. He opened his mouth again but eventually nodded in agreement, sighing as he crossed out several spots that were too far from Fruitvale Village.
That significantly narrowed down the options. To the west of Fruitvale Village was the abandoned orchard, right on the edge of the territory—not suitable for building a village. The east side faced the Black Forest directly, which was the most vulnerable to magical beast attacks.
That left only the north and south as viable directions.
Although the south was relatively safer, it still bordered the Black Forest. This made the north side of Fruitvale Village the most suitable place for establishing a new village.
Moreover, the northern side bordered other territories and was likely to become the focus of development in the southeastern corner of the region.
"This is the spot."
"Stonefall Village will be rebuilt here."
Looking solemnly at the last remaining area on the map, Raul spoke with determination.
The other villagers exchanged glances and nodded in agreement, excitement glowing on every face.
With the location finalized, Raul didn't hesitate further. He went straight to Fessen, the person in charge of the relocation effort. Next, they would need to measure each villager's farmland to finalize the village's overall boundaries.
Meanwhile, villagers from other villages were also enthusiastically discussing their own relocations. As expected, once the village heads brought up the proposal, the villagers erupted with excitement and signed immediately without hesitation.
When they learned that Stonefall Village had already picked the prime northern spot near Fruitvale Village, they began to panic. They were desperate to finalize their own locations before all the best land was taken.
There were eight villages in total—if they waited too long, only the distant plots would remain.
Although winter had passed, the sky still darkened early.
As the sun set, the afterglow bathed the land in golden light, shining over the grassland outside the village.
At this moment, Aven was walking back toward the village carrying his Petilil, and Phyllis was holding her Gloom in her arms. The sunset stretched their shadows long across the ground, overlapping with each other.
"Gloom, I look forward to working with you," Phyllis said with a smile to the Pokémon in her arms.
"Gloom~" Gloom looked up at her, returning the smile with visible happiness.
"Meow~" The Shinx on Phyllis's shoulder let out a plaintive cry. That warm embrace used to be its special place—now Gloom had taken it! The little feline sighed.
"Who would've thought you'd be so popular with Pokémon," Aven said with some amusement. The capture had gone incredibly smoothly. Could beauty really work on Gloom the same way it did on humans?
"Didn't you once say that as long as you treat Pokémon with sincerity, they'll respond the same way?"
"Gloom must've felt my sincerity, which is why it chose to follow me."
"Of course, I'll keep my promise—one day, I'll evolve Gloom into a Vileplume."
As she spoke, Phyllis lifted Gloom up into the air. The setting sun lit up Gloom's joyful face.
"Yes, you will," Aven replied with a gentle nod and a smile.
As they walked, they gradually entered Fruitvale Village, heading toward home.
But as they neared the village, Aven suddenly stopped in his tracks. A serious problem had just occurred to him: Master Olai and Link were already staying with Fessen and Sutter. But what about Phyllis?
She was a young woman—she couldn't possibly stay with a bunch of rough men. But if she didn't stay there, where could she live?
"What's wrong?" Phyllis asked, noticing that Aven had stopped.
Aven opened his mouth but couldn't figure out what to say. "Um... it's nothing."
He resumed walking toward his home, and Phyllis followed naturally—until they arrived at Uncle Mike's house.
At the doorway, Phyllis paused, suddenly realizing—this was Aven's home?
"Aven, Miss Phyllis, you're back!"
"Your aunt's already finished cooking. Come in and eat!"
Uncle Mike had been waiting at the door and beamed with joy when he saw them, warmly inviting them in. Aunt Eren had already prepared a delicious dinner.
Little Andy ran up excitedly when he saw them, eager to play with Petilil.
When he noticed Phyllis, he greeted her politely, "Sister Phyllis, you're so pretty!"
Children always spoke their minds. Phyllis smiled sweetly and handed him a piece of candy, making Andy's eyes light up with delight.
Soon, the five of them sat around the dining table for dinner.
During the meal, Uncle Mike and Aunt Eren treated Phyllis with unusual warmth, constantly checking in on her comfort. When they learned that she was the eldest daughter of a viscount, their smiles grew even wider.
Uncle Mike even gave Aven a secret thumbs-up under the table. In his mind, a noble's daughter following Aven to Fruitvale Village could only mean one thing!
Aven, meanwhile, kept his head down and focused on eating, completely ignoring his uncle's winks. He had no idea how to explain the situation.
Phyllis, on the other hand, remained composed and poised, chatting naturally with the older couple. It was unclear whether she hadn't noticed anything unusual or was simply used to this kind of attention as a noble's daughter.
Petilil, however, kept glancing around with its leafy head twitching slightly. It sensed something was off—but couldn't quite figure out what.
Eventually, the strange but lively dinner came to an end.
Much to Aven's dismay, Uncle Mike and Aunt Eren had already prepared a room for Phyllis—conveniently right next to his.
Seeing their enthusiastic faces, Aven could only force a neutral expression. He offered a polite "good night" to Phyllis, then carried Petilil into his own room.
"Tomorrow, I need to find a proper place for Phyllis to live."
"And I should really move out too. It's time to start building the Pokémon Breeding Facility."
After closing the door, Aven let out a deep breath, trying to calm his wildly beating heart.
Still, this was all part of his plan. The temporary wooden hut he used as a training base was no longer suitable now that the Breeding Facility project was getting on track.
Watching Aven leave, Phyllis's lips curled slightly into a smile. Then she sweetly bid Uncle Mike and Aunt Eren goodnight and entered her room with her Shinx and Gloom in tow.
(End of chapter)