"Vileplume, how are you feeling?"
Even Aven was closely examining Vileplume. From the perspective of a professional breeder, Vileplume's condition was excellent.
Especially noteworthy was the iconic large flower on Vileplume's head, composed of five bright red petals with white circular spots and an orange central axis.
For Vileplume, the larger the flower, the better its development.
Within Vileplume colonies, the size of their flower often determines their status—the leader of the group always has the largest flower.
"Plume~"
Vileplume nodded at Aven, and then a flicker of energy surrounded its body.
Suddenly, a large number of green leaves appeared and floated densely around it.
Under Vileplume's control, the leaves shot into the air—it was using the inherited move Razor Leaf.
Compared to before it evolved, Vileplume's Razor Leaf was now significantly more powerful. Although the move was still technically Razor Leaf, the force it carried rivaled Leaf Storm.
Leaf Storm is also a high-tier Grass-type move. Compared to another advanced move, Petal Blizzard, Leaf Storm is even more powerful.
Unfortunately, Vileplume cannot learn Leaf Storm. If it could, Aven would definitely have trained it as a Grass-type special attacker.
"Lil Lil Lil~"
Petilil looked on enviously at the significantly stronger Vileplume.
The evolution process had clearly elevated Vileplume's life energy, and Petilil couldn't help but hope it would evolve someday too.
"Don't worry, I'll find you a Sun Stone."
Aven knelt down and gently patted Petilil's head with a smile.
Petilil had always thought that with enough training, it could evolve naturally through strength alone.
But no matter how hard it trained, it never evolved. This had left Petilil feeling disappointed for quite some time.
Logically, even Rhyhorn had evolved, so Petilil thought it should be able to as well. That doubt began to affect its confidence.
Thankfully, Aven noticed Petilil's mood in time and explained the role of evolution stones, resolving the issue.
Seeing Gloom, which also needed an evolution stone, evolve into Vileplume, reminded Petilil of its own situation and made it feel a little down again.
"Lil Lil~"
Petilil gave a couple of soft cries and then puffed out its chest, signaling that it was okay—even without evolving, it could still be strong!
"RHY!"
While Aven was comforting Petilil, a sudden roar echoed through the area.
Rhydon approached Vileplume excitedly, issuing a challenge.
For Rhydon, nothing conveyed congratulations better than a fierce battle!
Aven raised an eyebrow at the sight, looking slightly speechless.
Still, Vileplume seemed quite happy about Rhydon's challenge and eagerly accepted.
Aven had told them that battles help them grow stronger—and right now, that was exactly what Vileplume wanted.
"A battle isn't a bad idea. I'm curious to see how strong Vileplume has become."
Both Pokémon agreed, and the duel was soon set up in a clearing on the farm.
Aven stood behind Vileplume. Compared to the battle-hardened Rhydon, Vileplume still lacked combat experience.
"Begin!"
As soon as Aven gave the signal, Rhydon moved.
It used Earth Power with practiced ease. The ground beneath Vileplume cracked open, launching sharp spikes upward.
This was Rhydon's usual opener against Torterra—it now saw Vileplume as a similar opponent.
"Vileplume, dodge and use Razor Leaf!"
Aven shook his head slightly. He had already seen through Rhydon's strategy when the move started.
Vileplume evaded just in time. Then, the grass-type energy it had gathered burst out, unleashing a barrage of razor-sharp leaves!
A stone wall rose in response, but the leaves pinned into it and shattered the wall, revealing Rhydon behind it.
"Rhhyy!"
Rhydon looked thrilled.
It had battled Gloom before and overwhelmed it quickly. But now, post-evolution, Vileplume could stand its ground!
Aven made an assessment:
Vileplume now ranked quite well among intermediate-level magical beasts. Previously, Gloom had barely met that threshold.
Now, after evolving, its strength had improved significantly—enough to perform well in the Pokémon League.
With a roar, Rhydon attacked again.
It formed a large rock between its hands using Rock energy and hurled it forward.
"Vileplume, use Razor Leaf again!"
Vileplume's options were still limited, but Razor Leaf had been honed to a fine edge.
The sharp leaves sliced through the boulder easily, reducing it to fragments. Dust filled the air.
"Vileplume, remember how Petilil dealt with that Raticate?"
Aven narrowed his eyes as the battlefield was clouded with smoke.
Vileplume hesitated, and so did Petilil on the sidelines, deep in thought.
BOOM!
The ground trembled slightly.
Suddenly, Rhydon charged out of the dust cloud with Rock energy gathered in its fists.
It had used the explosion of dust to cover its approach—one of its usual tactics.
But just as it emerged, Rhydon froze.
Green light flared beneath its feet as thick vines burst out and wrapped around it—Leech Seed!
Startled, Rhydon tried to tear the vines apart with brute force.
But then—Zap!
A blob of purple energy shot through the air and struck it, then another, and another.
Though it broke the vines, Rhydon was now surrounded by a faint purple glow—it had been poisoned.
This was Petilil's signature combo: use Leech Seed to bind the foe, then follow up with Toxic.
Vileplume had copied it perfectly and now had the upper hand.
Angrily, Rhydon let out a roar and summoned Rock energy again, using Ancient Power—its newly trained move.
Rocks materialized around it and launched like a meteor shower.
"Petal Blizzard!"
Dodging wasn't an option with such wide coverage.
Vileplume responded with its strongest Grass-type move—hundreds of pink petals swirled around it.
BOOM!
The two attacks collided and stalemated, filling the field with thick smoke.
"Vileplume, start moving!"
Aven suddenly gave a new order. Vileplume hesitated briefly, but obeyed.
Its movement speed was impressive—especially under the sunlight, its body glowed faintly with energy, and it became noticeably faster.
That was the power of its Chlorophyll ability.
Vileplume had two possible abilities: Chlorophyll (standard) and Effect Spore (hidden).
Since hidden abilities are rare, most Pokémon have their standard ones—so Vileplume had Chlorophyll.
Though it wasn't in strong sunlight, the natural light was enough to activate part of Chlorophyll's speed boost.
As Vileplume moved, spikes of earth shot up from the ground beneath its feet—Earth Power, again!
Despite the smoke, Rhydon could still track Vileplume by sensing vibrations through the ground.
Vileplume was startled by the pursuing spikes, but also silently relieved—it would've been defeated already if not for Aven's expert guidance.
"Rhy!"
(End of Chapter)