As time passed, the dazzling green light on the grassy field slowly faded.
However, a faint sweet fragrance still lingered in the air, completely wiping away the foul smell from before.
Gradually, the villagers began to notice the unusual phenomenon and gathered on the grassy field outside the village.
"It's the Gloom… but what's with this scent?"
"Oh my, what a pleasant smell. Is this gentle fragrance coming from the Gloom?"
"That's the move Sweet Scent! Have all these Gloom learned Sweet Scent?"
The villagers murmured among themselves as they gradually understood what had happened. They couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
"This is great! Even though we've long grown used to Gloom's stench, a sweet aroma really does lift the mood more!"
Phyllis, who had been casually strolling through the village, also joined the crowd. Her gaze quickly found Aven standing in front of everyone.
Her eyes then shifted to the Vileplume standing beside him, and her brows furrowed slightly—clearly, she didn't recognize the Pokémon.
When she first learned that Fruitvale Village had a large number of Gloom, she was already quite surprised. Now there is an evolved form of Gloom!
It was no wonder the knights referred to Aven as the "Oddish Lord." Phyllis now found that title perfectly reasonable.
Oddish, Gloom, and now Vileplume—these Pokémon truly formed the cornerstone of Fruitvale Village's strength. It was no exaggeration to call this place the Village of Oddish.
"Looks like I'll need to increase efforts to buy more Oddish from all across Aspiration City's territory," Phyllis thought.
"With an army composed of a large number of Oddish, they could completely replace the role of knights."
She quickly made up her mind. Cultivating Oddish was clearly much easier than training a team of knights—at least for Aven.
As for herself, the Daly family already had numerous trade routes. She could fully rely on those family assets to enhance her position within the territory.
By getting involved in the purchasing of Oddish, she could also further solidify her control over Fruitvale Village's finances.
….
"Vile~ Plume~"
By now, the green light in the field had completely dissipated.
Vileplume stopped dancing and let out a loud cry.
At the same time, all the Gloom in the area also stopped what they were doing, raised their hands, and let out a synchronized shout.
Aven watched this scene silently. His eyes scanned the field and noticed that the reddish-brown flowers on the Gloom's heads had grown even larger.
The special ritual performed by Vileplume not only allowed the Gloom to learn Sweet Scent but also harnessed the grass energy gathered during the ceremony to boost their strength.
"This is nature's blessing," Aven murmured with emotion, gazing out at the endless grassland.
"This is the scent of spring."
"Vile~ Plume~"
After completing the ritual, Vileplume narrowed its eyes and felt the grass energy still lingering around its body.
The sensation was incredibly mystical—as if it had completely merged with nature and become one with everything around it.
Gradually, green light began to flash again around its body.
Countless faint green sparks rose from the grass and floated like fireflies around Vileplume.
"Plume!"
Vileplume's eyes suddenly opened wide, and an invisible wave of energy radiated in all directions!
In that instant, a light green aura spread from Vileplume's body. A dome-shaped field of green energy formed, casting a soft glow over the surrounding area.
"That's... Grassy Terrain!" Aven's eyes widened in surprise, though a part of him had already suspected it.
Vileplume's special ritual required drawing in grass energy from the surroundings.
Previously, Aven had triggered a mass evolution of Oddish into Gloom using a special ritual that absorbed vitality from Mightyena.
In his memory, the Mysterious Garden Festival held by Venusaur also required a Venusaur who could control grass energy.
Now, Vileplume had managed to perform a similar special ritual precisely because it had suddenly gained the ability to manipulate natural energy.
Through the ritual, it had successfully learned the move Grassy Terrain!
Grassy Terrain is a powerful move that creates a field saturated with Grass-type energy. While the field is active, all Pokémon on it gradually recover HP, and the power of Grass-type moves is enhanced.
This is a field-wide buff with both healing and power-enhancing effects, offering a massive boost to any Grass-type team!
Imagine Vileplume casting Grassy Terrain during a battle with a Gloom squad—their fighting power would skyrocket.
Even non-Grass-type Pokémon could benefit from the healing effects, making it a powerful supportive tool in any battle.
But beyond its combat potential, the effects of Grassy Terrain on farming were likely even more impressive—probably superior to Rototiller!
Combined with Rototiller, Grassy Terrain could instantly cause grass to sprout from the earth, covering the entire field in greenery in a blink!
In the field, Vileplume and the Gloom were fully immersed in the rejuvenating energy of Grassy Terrain.
They could feel their entire bodies filled with vibrant Grass-type energy—it was an immensely comfortable sensation.
Seeing this, Petilil leapt from Aven's arms and quickly ran toward the area covered by the terrain effect.
But just as it entered the glowing green field, the energy suddenly dispersed into tiny sparkles and faded away.
Petilil: "…"
At that moment, Vileplume noticed the approaching Petilil. It froze for a second before happily waving in greeting.
Then it looked around—if Petilil was back, Aven must have returned too.
"Vileplume! Long time no see—you did great," Aven said as he walked over from the distance.
Hearing this, Vileplume smiled joyfully. Green light shimmered around its body as it proudly showed off its newly learned move.
"I saw it," Aven said with admiration.
"That move is called Grassy Terrain, and it's an extremely rare technique."
In truth, Grassy Terrain is one of the most difficult moves for Pokémon to learn.
It's a support-based terrain move that boosts Grass-type energy and heals allies—a move that requires strict conditions to master.
He'd heard that it was possible to teach Grassy Terrain using a rare item called Terrain Extender, combined with specific terrain and unique training methods. But even then, the success rate was low.
When he first began farming, Aven had already dreamed of using Grassy Terrain as a divine tool for agriculture.
But without a way to teach it, all he could do was envy it from afar.
Now, however, Vileplume had miraculously learned the move, and Aven couldn't be more excited.
He silently reflected on the process that led Vileplume to master the move—its talent, the help of grass energy, and the ritual all played critical roles.
The conditions for learning Grassy Terrain were indeed extremely demanding.
"Plume~"
Vileplume beamed with joy. Its eyes sparkled with gratitude and happiness as it looked at Aven. Without him, it wouldn't be where it was today.
(End of chapter)
(TN: Mysterious Garden Festival really did happen in Pokemon, I thought it was something made up by the Author. If you guys are curious about it, search Bulbasaur's Mysterious Garden.)