"So you're saying a pack of Mightyena has appeared in the territory?"
After hearing the patrolling knight's account of their encounter, Aven frowned and fell deep into thought.
According to Sutter, there had never been a Mightyena pack in the Black Forest before, so these Mightyena must have come from Mount Coronet.
But under normal circumstances, the Mightyena would stop migrating once they reached the Black Forest.
The resources deep inside the Black Forest far surpassed those around the outskirts, and human settlements were even more barren by comparison.
With their strength, the Mightyena could easily claim a territory deep within the forest and, once winter passed, return to the resource-rich Mount Coronet.
"Right now, it doesn't matter what caused this anomaly in the Black Forest," Aven said.
"Those Mightyena have already entered the territory of Aspiration City. Everyone living in this region is now in danger!"
"Especially Fruitvale Village," Sutter added anxiously. "It's close to the Black Forest, and along the way, it's the only place with abundant resources.
The Mightyena will definitely find this place. We have to evacuate the whole village and move everyone to Aspiration City!"
Seeing Aven still analyzing the situation calmly, Sutter grew more agitated.
The Mightyena, who had almost cost them their lives, still filled his heart with terror.
"It's useless," Aven said, shaking his head.
"With their sense of smell, the Mightyena can detect human scent from ten miles away.
If they decide to attack us, there's no way we can escape."
In terms of olfactory detection, there were probably no other Pokémon that could surpass Mightyena.
"But we still have to try," Sutter urged. "Maybe they're only interested in the village's berry trees."
Aven remained silent this time.
He had never considered abandoning Fruitvale Village — after all, everything he owned was here.
After a moment, Aven spoke in a calm voice:
"We only need to stop them outside the village."
Sutter was stunned, then shouted in shock, "That's impossible!
It's an entire pack of Mightyena!
Even our knight battalion couldn't hold them off!"
He clenched his fists tightly, thinking of the Rhyhorn and Staraptor that had been left behind to draw the Mightyena away.
Staraptor had a chance of surviving with its flying ability, but the slow-moving Rhyhorn stood little chance of escaping the Mightyena.
"We have to leave! We have to leave!"
Sutter's emotions spiraled into panic. But Aven only shook his head, steadfast in his decision to stay and defend against the Mightyena.
"You really trust those Oddish that much?" Sutter gritted his teeth.
He had observed the Oddish defense methods during his time here: using Sleep Powder to set up a defensive perimeter, putting invaders to sleep before they could even get close.
But against such a large and cunning pack of Mightyena, could the Oddish really hold them back?
"Relying solely on the Oddish might indeed be difficult," Aven admitted.
"But don't worry. I have other methods.
We might not be able to defeat all the Mightyena, but stopping them should be possible."
Aven narrowed his eyes, and Sutter, seeing his determination, swallowed the words he was about to say, though a heavy sense of unease remained in his heart.
...
At the open ground in the center of the village, a large crowd of villagers had gathered.
They murmured among themselves, trying to guess why Aven had called them there.
Life had been so peaceful lately that they had almost forgotten it was early winter and that the threat of wild beasts was still very real.
"Aven, is something wrong?"
As soon as Aven arrived, the villagers quieted down and turned their attention to him.
"Yes, something has happened," Aven said, nodding.
He jumped onto a large stone and explained the situation — how a pack of Mightyena had appeared in their territory.
The villagers gasped in shock when they heard the news.
They knew well that Mightyena had an incredibly sharp sense of smell — even hiding in underground cellars wouldn't keep them safe!
If the Mightyena broke into the village, everyone would be in grave danger.
"What should we do? Should we evacuate to Aspiration City?" some villagers immediately suggested.
However, others quickly argued back, "It's too late to evacuate now! The wilderness is crawling with magical beasts."
For a moment, the villagers fell into heated discussion, until once again they all turned their eyes toward Aven.
At this point, it had become second nature for them to look to him when faced with difficult problems.
"This is the critical moment for Fruitvale Village," Aven said.
"Although we have the Oddish defending the village perimeter, it will be difficult for them to stop the Mightyena alone."
"So, we must prepare ourselves.
If the Mightyena break through, we must fight back ourselves to buy time for the Oddish to regroup."
The villagers swallowed hard, but these farmers were no cowards.
They exchanged looks and nodded resolutely.
The elderly, women, and children would be moved to a secure underground cellar.
Of course, if they lost the battle, the consequences were obvious.
After Aven finished the rallying speech, the villagers quickly returned to their homes to prepare.
They donned their hunting gear, armed themselves with weapons, and within moments had transformed into a militia.
...
Outside the village, Sutter followed Aven and suddenly asked,
"Aven, did you deliberately say all that earlier?"
Aven's footsteps paused.
"I feel that sometimes, people need to experience certain things themselves — only then will they truly cherish what they have."
Sutter was taken aback, then showed a thoughtful expression.
Soon, Aven led a Petilil and the Rhyhorn to the grassland outside the village.
The hidden Oddish poked their heads out from the earth when they saw him, smiles appearing on their faces.
"You've all worked hard," Aven said warmly, comforting the Oddish.
Then he had the Rhyhorn use the move Rototiller.
The previously neat grassy fields were immediately turned into rough, uneven muddy ground.
Sutter, following behind, found it hard even to find a spot to place his foot.
This was exactly what Aven intended — the rough terrain itself would become an obstacle, significantly slowing down the Mightyena's advance.
Thus, the Rhyhorn's new task was to destroy the surrounding ground as much as possible — not just outside the village, but continuing outward in all directions!
(Chapter end)