"The bowl-shaped furnace for making apricorn pokeballs is finally done."
On a small slope, Aven set aside his iron shovel and looked at the pit he had dug in the ground.
To make apricorn pokeballs, the first step is high-temperature forging, which requires extremely high heat. The bowl-shaped furnace Aven had just built was a simple forge capable of producing such high temperatures—enough for forging apricorn pokeballs.
Back in his previous life, when raising Fire-type Pokémon under limited conditions, he often used this kind of makeshift bowl furnace to generate heat for training, especially when out in the wild.
Of course, if he had the resources, Aven would love to build a full-fledged blacksmith shop. But right now, he was just a humble berry farmer with limited means.
The bowl-shaped furnace was very simple to make.
It was basically just a pit dug into the ground or into rock. Air would be blown into it through a nozzle, and then red-hot charcoal would be placed inside. The internal temperature could reach up to around 1150°C!
"star star star ~"
Beside him, the Starly Aven had called over looked on in confusion, not knowing what he was doing digging that hole.
"You'll see soon enough. Just follow my lead when the time comes." Aven patted the proud little Pokémon.
Over the past few days, Starly had been feeling quite conflicted.
The last time Aven had asked it to train by battling Petilil, Starly had happily agreed.
After training hard, it believed its strength had surely caught up to Luxray's.
But reality was harsh. Against Petilil, it had only lasted a few moves before being completely defeated—tied up tightly by Leech Seed, which was a huge blow to its pride.
In the days that followed, it trained even harder, but every time they battled, Petilil defeated it with ease.
Not only Petilil—Starly could clearly sense how much the Oddish were improving too. It created a growing sense of urgency in its heart.
Under these circumstances, Starly finally realized that Aven truly could help them get stronger. But how could it get his help?
Of course, being proud as it was, it couldn't bring itself to ask for help.
That was when Aven approached and asked for a favor. In return, he would help train Starly.
Watching Aven work so diligently, Starly was overwhelmed with complicated feelings.
After a while, Aven came back carrying a bundle of firewood. The next step was to get some glowing charcoal.
"Starly, use a strong gust of wind on this spot."
After placing the glowing charcoal into the pit, Aven gave the command.
Though unsure of what was going on, Starly followed the instruction. For a Flying-type Pokémon, summoning wind was easy.
Soon, the charcoal inside the bowl furnace began to burn even more fiercely. A wave of intense heat started to spread from the furnace, making Starly jump back in surprise.
Feeling the terrifying heat from the pit, its eyes widened—it could tell that if it were thrown into that pit, it would instantly turn to ash.
"It's working."
Aven smiled. Now, all that was left was adjusting the furnace's temperature by controlling the wind strength to meet the forging requirements for Apricorns.
However, the forging process itself was still a big challenge.
Though the heat problem was solved, Aven sighed again.
Looking down at his thin arms and legs, he felt like relying on himself for the forging wasn't very realistic.
Once the forging process starts, it can't be stopped. It requires precision in the striking technique, location, and force. A single mistake, and everything would be ruined.
"The easiest solution would be to take a trip to Meteorite City. They have a wealth of ores and a thriving blacksmithing industry." Aven exhaled.
Of course, it was just a passing thought. He wasn't ready to reveal how Poké Balls were made. In this era, the appearance of Poké Balls would definitely cause a sensation and bring a lot of unnecessary trouble to his quiet farming life.
Still, he could consider taking a short trip to Meteorite City. Maybe he could catch a Pokémon there that was good at blacksmithing.
Time flew, and a month passed in the blink of an eye.
It was now Mid-Autumn, with a little over a month left before winter arrived.
In the berry orchard, the berries were clearly beginning to ripen. In another week, he could begin the first harvest.
Over the next month or so, the Oran Berries alone should yield two to three waves, a huge improvement over the usual single harvest he barely managed in the past.
In the grass fields, the pasture was also growing lush and tall.
Normally, by Mid-Autumn, the grass would start turning yellow, but thanks to Rhyhorn's use of the move Rototiller, the land had been well cultivated, and the grass continued to grow vigorously.
In that field, the group of Oddish were lined up in neat rows, practicing Sleep Powder.
After over a month of cultivation, their discipline had improved tremendously. They could now follow Aven's orders with absolute obedience.
During this time, 20 new Oddish had joined the farm, bringing the total to 50 and forming a full Oddish squad.
Aven assigned the new 20 to a second squad and had the more experienced ones train them, using a "veteran leads rookie" approach.
"It's about time to take them out for some field practice."
Watching the Oddish scatter Sleep Powder in unison under Petilil's lead, Aven nodded in satisfaction.
As the powder drifted into the air, Starly flapped its wings and stirred up a breeze, directing the powder in a specific direction.
Blue sparkles shimmered in the air, carried away by the wind—an incredibly beautiful sight.
"Starly, that was excellent."
Seeing this, Aven gave a big thumbs-up to Starly flying above.
Thanks to the recent need to constantly adjust the wind in the furnace, Starly's control over wind had improved dramatically.
(End of Chapter)