Aven withdrew the Rhydon, and the Poké Ball in his hand lit up once more. This time, the Pokémon released was a Gloom. The instant Gloom appeared, an overpowering stench—so strong it felt almost tangible—burst outward in all directions!
At the same time, a jet of water was already blasting out from Bibarel's mouth. Seeing this, Gloom bent down slightly, bracing itself as it raised the flower atop its head to take the Water Pulse head-on.
Relying on its natural type advantage, Gloom was pushed back by the force of the blow, but it did not sustain much damage. In the next moment, a soft green glow shimmered over Gloom's body—it had immediately activated Mega Drain to recover the stamina it had lost!
Meanwhile, the suffocating, concentrated stench radiating from Gloom spread even more intensely. Bibarel, which had been preparing to launch a follow-up attack, suddenly froze mid-motion.
Although Bibarel was somewhat familiar with the smell of Gloom—after all, Peter owned a Gloom himself, this odor was on an entirely different level. If the usual stench was something Bibarel had gradually grown accustomed to, then the reeking odor before it now was enough to nearly suffocate it outright. Never mind continuing its attack, Bibarel could barely stay standing.
"Gloom, use Leech Seed!"
Seizing the instant Bibarel blanked out, Gloom fired a volley of glowing green seeds.
The moment the seeds touched Bibarel's body, they rapidly sprouted and grew, becoming thick vines that tightly bound Bibarel in place!
Then, faint green lights bloomed across the writhing vines as Gloom unleashed Mega Drain once again, continuously siphoning Bibarel's vitality without pause.
Grass-type moves held a natural advantage over the Water-type Bibarel. In just a moment, Gloom had drained a tremendous amount of Bibarel's energy, leaving the struggling Pokémon gasping harshly for breath as it tried to break free.
"I was completely outplayed…" Peter gritted his teeth.
He never expected that in the mere moment Bibarel hesitated, Gloom would unleash a full combination attack without mercy.
It was obvious none of this happened by accident—this was a tactic His Highness Aven had already planned out thoroughly, catching Peter completely off guard.
No wonder, this Gloom raised by His Highness Aven was on a completely different level. Its stench was far beyond that of Peter's own Gloom. "Too terrifying" wasn't even enough to describe it.
"We did it. A simple but effective use of the Stench Ability." Aven's face showed a satisfied smile.
This Gloom possessed the Hidden Ability, Stench, which granted its smell an even stronger level of repulsiveness, effectively turning the Pokémon into a biological weapon.
And this Gloom with the Stench Ability had evolved from an Oddish with the Run Away Ability. If it eventually evolved into a Bellossom, then Stench would be converted completely into the Ability Healer!
"Gloom, use Razor Leaf!" Aven commanded.
Peter did not immediately recall Bibarel this time. Instead, he had it fire another Water Pulse to counter.
Realistically speaking, Peter's Staraptor had an advantage against Gloom as well. He had originally sent out Staraptor specifically to deal with a Grass-type.
But now Staraptor was heavily injured by Rhydon. Peter knew that even if he sent it out now, the moment it switched in it would likely be struck by an incoming attack.
If Staraptor took one more hit in its current condition, then even with its type advantage, it would still have no chance of defeating the Gloom before him.
So after thinking things through, he decided to continue using Bibarel. Although Bibarel was at a type disadvantage, it still had the advantage of greater mobility.
Grass-type moves restrained Bibarel, true, but as long as they didn't land, the type disadvantage simply couldn't manifest. Meanwhile, Bibarel's Normal-type attacks could still inflict effective damage on Gloom!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The battle continued fiercely.
Seeing that Peter chose not to switch, Aven's eyes glimmered with appreciation.
If Peter had chosen to switch at that exact moment, the battle would have ended much sooner—that had been part of Aven's plan all along.
But since Peter refused to switch, Aven naturally intended to force him into doing so. With that in mind, he directed Gloom to continuously trade blows with Bibarel.
Relying on Mega Drain, Gloom could replenish its stamina repeatedly. In an exchange of mutual damage, its advantage grew more and more apparent.
"Gloom is about at its limit too…" Peter narrowed his eyes.
He immediately took out a Poké Ball and recalled the heavily injured Bibarel, leaving Gloom's current Mega Drain attempt to drain nothing but empty air.
He then pulled out another Poké Ball and sent out his ace—Mightyena.
His plan was very simple: let Mightyena, in perfect condition, endure one attack from Gloom, then use its superior speed and strength to swiftly take Gloom down.
Better yet, if Mightyena was fast enough, it might dodge Gloom's attack entirely upon entry, allowing it to counterattack immediately and seize absolute advantage.
Even if Mightyena took some damage, as long as Gloom was defeated, Peter would gain the edge in numbers.
But he never expected that Aven had been waiting for this exact moment.
The instant Mightyena appeared, Gloom suddenly fired a bright green beam straight from its mouth—striking Mightyena the very moment it materialized!
Upon impact, the green light exploded into thick vines, rapidly binding Mightyena tightly. It was Leech Seed!
Clearly, Aven had been preparing this attack in advance. After launching the Leech Seed from its mouth, Gloom visibly collapsed, its body slackening as it plopped weakly onto the ground.
Meanwhile, Mightyena tore through the vines with brute force, then immediately lunged forward with a Sucker Punch. A flash of eerie light—and its figure appeared directly before Gloom, sending the weakened Pokémon flying backward!
The strike had come too swiftly. Already severely injured, Gloom stood no chance of resisting. It was launched high through the air and fell unmoving—it had completely lost its ability to battle.
"Is… is this the first Pokémon His Highness Aven has lost?" The spectators wore expressions of visible disbelief.
In their minds, His Highness Aven should have dominated from start to finish. Yet somehow, he had fallen into disadvantage first!
"Hah… finally took down the Gloom." Peter let out a long breath.
But before he could show even the slightest smile of relief, Mightyena's body suddenly flickered purple, blotches of violet spreading across its fur.
He knew exactly what this meant, Mightyena had fallen into a poisoned state. And it wasn't just regular poison, it was badly poisoned!
"How… how is this possible? When did it happen?" Peter's face was full of disbelief.
He immediately thought of the Leech Seed attack—Gloom's only move that had made contact.
The truth became clear. That Leech Seed had not been ordinary. It had been infused with deadly toxins. No wonder Gloom had looked so weakened after firing it, its energy had been poured into implanting poison into the seeds.
"Gloom, you did wonderfully. Come back and rest." Aven said warmly as he recalled it.
Just as Peter suspected, that Leech Seed was part of a combination technique—one that contained poison. Only with such a disguise could he lure the opponent into letting their guard down.
Gloom had fallen, yes—but Mightyena, Peter's ace, was now slowly weakening from toxic poison. In truth, Aven was the one who had gained overwhelming advantage.
"My third Pokémon is this one." Aven announced.
A green flash filled the air as his third Pokémon appeared—Yanma.
Its Bug-type moves held a strong type advantage over the Dark-type Mightyena.
Additionally, this Yanma possessed Speed Boost, granting it tremendous speed that would only grow faster and faster as the battle continued.
With Mightyena already poisoned, Aven's strategy was simple: drag out the battle. Let the poison state devour its stamina.
The battle quickly resumed.
Mightyena rushed forward at incredible speed, using Sucker Punch in an attempt to end the fight immediately.
But Yanma was airborne, and with Quick Attack in its arsenal, it completely ignored Sucker Punch's priority advantage, easily dodging the attack.
Then Yanma unleashed Silver Wind, a swirling gale mixed with shining powder that forced Mightyena's movements into complete chaos.
Gradually, Mightyena suffered more and more from its poisoned status, fighting in a hateful, powerless frenzy. No matter how it lunged or pounced, it couldn't touch the Yanma flying high above.
"This won't work… at this rate, Mightyena will be completely drained by poisoning!" Peter clenched his teeth.
He recalled Mightyena and sent out Staraptor, hoping to take a final gamble. But the moment Staraptor appeared, it was bombarded by repeated Air Slash attacks.
With Yanma's Speed Boost having fully activated by now, its speed was far beyond Staraptor's reach. The severely injured Staraptor couldn't even chase it down before being struck out of the sky by yet another Air Slash.
"It's no use… this battle is lost." Peter exhaled helplessly.
Judging purely from the combat strength of the three Pokémon, he had actually held the advantage—Mightyena was just a step away from becoming an advanced-level Pokémon.
But under His Highness Aven's strategy, he was utterly outclassed. Even though he managed to defeat Aven's Gloom first, all three of his Pokémon fell to Yanma in the end. This wasn't just a loss, it was a complete tactical crush.
"Sir Peter lost… and in such a suffocating way." The spectators muttered, still stunned.
As Mightyena collapsed, the battle finally ended. At that moment, the crowd replayed the entire fight in their minds—and it felt like a completely different world had been shown to them.
They suddenly realized something staggering: with something as simple as those miraculous berries, one could extend strategy into infinite directions. The battle had become breathtaking—not like anything they had ever seen before.
Once they recovered from their shock, the spectators began discussing rapidly among themselves, voices full of excitement. This battle was unbelievable, like a door to a new world had swung open before their eyes.
"Unfortunately… battles like this can only happen when someone has mastered His Highness Aven's sealing techniques." someone said with regret.
They envied everything they had just witnessed, but believed they would never be able to achieve the same. Aven's sealing arts were simply too difficult to learn.
But just as they finished sighing—
Aven suddenly smiled in the arena and said, "Sealing techniques? Actually, no. This is simply a function of the Poké Ball."
Standing in the center of the arena after the battle, he raised the Poké Ball in his hand and began explaining its effects. It was nothing more than a tool—something anyone could use.
Instantly, silence fell over the entire field. The audience stared at him with stunned expressions, eyes full of disbelief, wondering if they had truly heard him correctly.
What did he just say?
His Highness Aven said this item was called a Poké Ball and anyone could use it? That as long as they possessed it, they could essentially "use sealing techniques"?
Then… could future battles like the one between His Highness Aven and Captain Peter become something they themselves could take part in?
The thought alone made their hearts tremble with excitement.
"That's right," Aven continued, "anyone can use a Poké Ball."
"And obtaining one is very simple. As long as you become an official Trainer, you have the chance to receive one!"
The crowd's breathing instantly grew loud and erratic. People stood up one after another, their eyes blazing with uncontrollable excitement.
Now that the secret of the Poké Ball was revealed, the audience had gone completely mad. In their hearts they were all shouting:
"I must become an official Trainer!!!"
(End of Chapter)