Inside the wooden cabin at Berlitz Farm.

  Petilil nestled into a flower pot upon returning, comfortably burying itself in the soil.

  After a day of training with Absorb, it remained physically energetic, but mentally, it felt drained and in need of a good rest.

  “Today’s training went well.”

  “However, Absorb alone has limited combat effectiveness. While it serves as a recovery technique, it doesn’t inflict significant damage on opponents.”

  At the wooden table, Samuel held a quill, sketching out Petilil’s next training regimen on parchment.

  Petilil’s base stats leaned heavily toward Special Attack, which would be the primary focus of its upcoming training.

  Each Pokémon species had different base stats, which Pokémon Schors cssified into six attributes: HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed.

  Training Pokémon was about unlocking their full potential, and by nurturing them in line with their natural strengths, the process could yield much greater results.

  “Special Attack focus, combined with draining moves…” Samuel pondered. Draining moves referred to techniques that absorbed the opponent’s HP to restore the user’s own.

  Absorb was the most basic of these moves, but with further development, it could evolve into Mega Drain and then Giga Drain.

  Beyond that, other moves such as Drain Punch, Draining Kiss, Strength Sap, and Leech Seed were also variations of HP-draining techniques.

  “The effectiveness of Absorb, Mega Drain, and Giga Drain depends on the Pokémon’s Special Attack stat.”

  “Petilil is still too weak right now to maximize their potential.”

  “Looks like it’ll need to learn some status moves as well—something like Sleep Powder, Stun Spore, Leech Seed, or Toxic.”

  After some thought, Samuel settled on a strategy. Inflicting status conditions was a crucial tactic in battle—it was the key to overcoming stronger opponents.

  Even Elite-level Pokémon would lose a significant portion of their combat power if afflicted with a status condition.

  And if the status was Toxic, then given enough time, even a Pokémon at Champion-tier could be in serious danger.

  Toxic… Samuel narrowed his eyes, recalling the immense significance of this move in Pokémon studies.

  Centuries ago, in his era, a certain ninja had developed a special poison that almost any Pokémon could use.

  With this move, the ninja rose to fame as a Poison-type Master, elevating the power of Poison Pokémon across the board.

  Over the next several centuries, Toxic became embedded in Pokémon genetics, evolving into an innate ability for many species.

  This was a man-made move, one that had left a profound impact on ter studies of Pokémon techniques.

  However, due to its dangerous nature, the formu for Toxic had been tightly controlled by the Pokémon League, with access restricted to League personnel.

  As a League Special Investigator, Samuel had been involved in covert missions—infiltration, intelligence gathering, even assassinations. Naturally, he had acquired knowledge of the Toxic formu.

  “But right now, this is a thousand years in the past.”

  “Though this world differs from my own, Toxic should not exist here yet.”

  “That means no one will have any countermeasures against it—it’ll be a completely unexpected weapon, especially since Toxic never misses.”

  Weighing his options carefully, Samuel finalized Petilil’s next move. However, gathering the necessary ingredients for the Toxic formu would be a challenge.

  “Petilil?”

  Nearby, Petilil had overheard Samuel’s mention of Toxic.

  After outlining the pn, Samuel left the final decision up to Petilil. The sense of respect and trust warmed the little Pokémon’s heart.

  Though it had heard that training with Toxic would be painful, Petilil didn’t hesitate—it nodded firmly.

  It had to grow stronger. It wanted to protect its Trainer. The pain of training was just another trial on the path to freedom!

  “Alright, then our next step is collecting the ingredients for the Toxic formu.” Samuel nodded in satisfaction and began recalling the required components.

  Oran Berries, Pecha Berries, Lum Berries, and Sac Berries… plus venom from a Poison-type Pokémon, along with a few other auxiliary materials.

  This was the full formu for Toxic. Over time, the League had refined it so that different toxins could substitute for one of the required Poison-type berries.

  However, substitutions weakened the effect. Even though all variants were technically Toxic, the potency and results varied depending on the poison’s strength and composition.

  For now, Samuel had Oran Berries, but he still needed the other three, or an alternative venom from a Poison Pokémon.

  As for the auxiliary materials, they weren’t particurly rare—most apothecaries kept them in stock, but they weren’t cheap.

  ...

  Inside the study at Berlitz Farm.

  Mr. Berlitz reclined in his chair, idly stroking the sleek fur of the Luxray beside him.

  Samuel… where did he learn his alchemy?

  The thought had lingered in Berlitz’s mind.

  He had personally examined the recent batches of healing potions. Even those made with ordinary Oran Berries were comparable to the restorative properties of Petilil’s leaves.

  But that doesn’t matter. As long as Samuel continued to be useful…

  Picking up the green potion on his desk, Berlitz swirled the liquid before taking a sip.

  Beside the potion, an unopened letter y on the table.

  It bore the signature: Lana Berlitz.

  “It’s time to start making my moves.” Setting the potion down, Berlitz rose to his feet with a sigh.

  “The family trials are about to begin.”

  ...

  The following morning.

  Samuel arrived at Berlitz Farm with Petilil in tow.

  “Samuel, I’ve reviewed your healing potions. The quality is quite impressive.”

  Mr. Berlitz didn’t hold back on his praise. In his hand, he carried a pouch that jingled softly with every movement.

  That was the sound of gold.

  Samuel swallowed discreetly. Deep down, he had to admit—he was a bit greedy when it came to money.

  But who could bme him? Raising Pokémon was incredibly expensive.

  A League sary alone couldn’t sustain the cost of training and supplies.

  That was why, whenever he was on assignment, he always took the opportunity to “borrow” from criminal organizations.

  It was an unspoken rule—a little “bonus” on the side.

  And right now, just when he had been worrying about funding for the Toxic formu’s ingredients…

  Mr. Berlitz’s payment had arrived at the perfect time.

  -----

  If you want to support me and read advance chapters, head over to my Patreón by clicking this [Madbot] or the one in signature.