At the apothecary liaison point, once the two left, Hawke and Link immediately began to argue.
The shop owner blamed Link for ruining his business, while Link laughed and accused him of being short-sighted and only caring about money.
"Alright, hand me those eight healing potions. I need to show them to my teacher," Link said, dropping his usual playful tone and speaking with unusual seriousness.
The shop owner immediately sensed something was wrong and asked in confusion, "Is there a problem with those potions?"
Link fell silent for a moment before explaining, "I was only able to detect Oran Berries in these potions. Nothing else."
After processing that, the shop owner's voice suddenly jumped in surprise: "He made a healing potion with only Oran Berries? That's impossible!"
Link nodded in agreement—this was exactly why he needed to bring them to his teacher.
"Oh right, and those spoiled berries too. Set a few aside for me. I want to see how he plans to make potions with those." Link added just before leaving.
The shop owner nodded, but his focus had shifted. He kept muttering to himself, "Tenfold profit... tenfold profit..."
…
Outside the city of Aspiration—
Mike and Aven were sitting in the returning wagon. Every now and then, Mike would glance back at the pile of spoiled berries in the back.
The shop owner had quite the stockpile of rotten berries, but he still couldn't understand why Aven wanted them.
"These spoiled berries are great. They make flowers more fragrant, grass greener, and trees bear more fruit," Aven said with a smile. Uncle Mike remained confused.
'I'm making fertilizer,' Aven added silently to himself, humming a tune as he relaxed in a very good mood.
Now that he had fertilizer, he could begin planning the first stage of the Pokémon training regimen in the orchard.
Back at the farm, Aven immediately got to work. He had Uncle Mike bring out two large sealed wooden barrels and placed them in the yard.
Watching Aven's strange activity, Mike scratched his head but eventually gave up trying to understand. Instead, he rushed inside to share the joy of their earnings with his wife.
Four gold coins—four whole gold coins! It gave them the sudden illusion that making money was easy.
But then, remembering that most of their Oran Berries had been used up, they sighed again. The pressing matter now was figuring out how to grow more.
Determined, Mike grabbed his tools and eagerly headed out to the orchard to think of ways to increase berry yields.
Little Andy saw his father heading out and insisted on tagging along, wanting to play with the Starlys in the forest.
Back in the garden, Aven was glad no one was bothering him and began executing his fertilizer-making plan.
He started by filling the barrels with water, testing their seal, and giving them a rinse. Then he moved them into direct sunlight.
Next, he brought over the spoiled berries from the wagon and tossed them into the barrels.
After stirring the berries with a stick and crushing them thoroughly, he added a measured amount of clean water and sealed the lids.
His actions were practiced and efficient. Aven let out a breath and left the barrels under the sun to ferment.
As the berries rotted and fermented, microorganisms would break them down and slowly release various nutrients. Eventually, this process would yield a nutrient solution.
Once further refined, this solution could be used to create specialized fertilizer.
Different types of berries produced fertilizers with different effects. By combining berries in certain ratios, even more potent fertilizers could be made.
For example, a specific mix of Apicot or Lum berries with any two other berries could create "Super Fertilizer."
Oran Berries, rich in vitality and helpful in restoring a Pokémon's stamina, would result in what Aven called "Growth Fertilizer."
"I wonder what Venusaur is doing right now..."
"And Gardevoir and the others... They must be worried sick after I vanished."
"Or maybe, in that world, I've already died. That would make them really sad."
Looking at the barrels before him, Aven sighed deeply, lost in memories of the time he spent with his Pokémon.
Venusaur was his starter. They had learned how to make fertilizer together during their travels—such carefree days.
…
After finishing up, Aven headed to the orchard.
In the distance, he saw little Andy running around happily, chasing a panicked Starly.
'This familiar feeling... it's nice.'
Watching Andy and the Starly play in the forest, Aven smiled—it reminded him of how he used to live with his Pokémon.
A world where humans and Pokémon coexist in harmony... That world would surely come someday. At the very least, this farm was already like that.
After watching for a while, Aven continued into the orchard, where he saw a Cherubi and a Petilil sunbathing.
The Petilil stretched in the sunlight, then slowly made its way toward the ordinary orchard.
At the border between the two orchards, Petilil paused and stared up at the distant sky without moving.
Soon, the Starly flapped back and perched on the wooden fence, calmly glancing at Petilil before preening its feathers.
Only when a cloud blocked the sun did Petilil finally lower its gaze and silently return to the woods.
Aven watched it all unfold and fell into deep thought.
In the days that followed, Aven came to the orchard every day—clearing weeds, removing spoiled fruit, and observing the Pokémon.
Every time he came to the orchard, he would see Petilil standing at the border between the two orchards, basking in the sunlight, gazing longingly at the sky.
'It's lonely…' Aven silently concluded.
To him, Petilil seemed like a bird trapped in a cage, yearning for the sky.
"A Petilil that longs for freedom, huh?"
"To still hold onto that mindset in this orchard... Honestly, I'm a little moved."
"But I wonder—would it be willing to become my Pokémon, to accept my training?"
Aven thought to himself. Now that he had prepared everything needed for raising a Pokémon, the next step was to officially capture one.
(End of Chapter)