"Fessen, how's the apprentice trainer initiative going?"
He turned once again to Fessen.
The so-called Apprentice Trainer Program was designed to attract more people to register as members of the Pokémon Breeding House. Once registered, they could enter the Safari Zone to capture Pokémon and eventually become apprentice trainers.
Now that the Safari Zone had been completed and were operational, many villagers of Fruitvale Village had already entered and tried it out.
Although becoming a member required a fee of 1 gold coin per year, and each entry into the Safari Zone cost 10 copper coins, it was still far cheaper compared to buying a magical beast, which could cost hundreds of gold coins.
"The results haven't been great,"
Fessen replied with a sigh.
"Compared to training their own, those nobles still prefer to spend money to buy magical beasts. They lack patience, and more importantly, they don't have the heart to truly bond with a Pokémon."
"As for the commoners, they're still hesitant. The one-gold-coin annual membership fee and the potential danger of entering the Safari Zone are both serious concerns for them."
Currently, only the villagers of Fruitvale Village showed no aversion to the Pokémon in the Safari Zone. Most ordinary people still carried a natural fear of magical beasts.
"Hmm… I really didn't consider how commoners might react."
Aven nodded thoughtfully.
"Let's carry out this plan alongside our immigration efforts. Population is key to developing the territory.
Aside from recruiting free commoners, you can also purchase some serfs to increase our population.
While having more apprentice trainers is ideal, we still need people to handle physical labor."
He paused for a moment. Although he was deeply uncomfortable with treating humans as property, that was simply the reality of this era. Serfs and nobles were part of the dominant social structure. As a lord, he had the right of life and death over his serfs—something he couldn't change.
That said, if serfs were brought into his territory, he would never treat them the way most lords did. He even planned to give them a path out of serfdom. Aven intended to cultivate at least one trainer from among the serfs and help them earn their freedom.
That way, other serfs would have hope, which would in turn motivate them to work harder. When people have hope, they find purpose in life.
"Coordinate with Phyllis and Uncle Mike on the purchase and resettlement of serfs,"
Aven said, slowly closing his eyes.
"Yes, Lord Aven."
Fessen quickly accepted the task, visibly relieved.
He had always been worried that Aven was too kind to be an effective lord. He had proposed purchasing serfs before, but Aven had rejected it outright. Now, Aven's growing maturity as a leader reassured his followers.
"At the moment, our territory's finances are quite healthy—we can afford to buy around 100 serfs,"
Phyllis estimated after some mental calculations.
"Good. I'll leave this matter to you,"
Aven said with a nod. He didn't want to get too involved in the details of the serf purchase and would let Phyllis and Fessen handle it.
With Ralts' ability to sense people's thoughts, he now completely trusted Phyllis. He had even given her full control over the territory's finances. Ever since her promotion from temporary to official treasurer, Phyllis had been working even harder and had managed the village's finances with exceptional precision.
Uncle Mike and Aunt Erin had also grown fonder of her by the day. With Phyllis managing the money, Aven could now focus more on overseeing the broader development of the territory.
"Alright, that concludes today's meeting."
"Matthew, stay behind—I need to brief you on your duties as a ranger."
…
Soon, only Matthew remained in the study—alongside Petilil and Ralts, of course.
"Lord Aven, what instructions do you have for me?"
Matthew asked with a slight bow.
Even though he had only been in Fruitvale Village for half a day, he had already gained a strong sense of approval for the place and was eager to contribute to its growth.
"First, here's a training notebook for your Mightyena and Crobat,"
Aven said with a smile, handing over a handwritten journal.
Matthew looked at it in astonishment.
Now that Matthew owned two advanced-level Pokémon, he was second only to Aven in terms of combat strength within the entire village. With Ralts able to ensure him of Matthew's loyalty, Aven didn't mind helping him grow stronger.
If a gym-level trainer could oversee the Safari Zone, the area would remain secure even without Aven's personal presence.
"Thank you, Lord Aven,"
Matthew replied in surprise as he accepted the notebook.
At Aven's signal, he opened it—and his eyes immediately lit up.
Inside were notes on move sets both Mightyena and Crobat could learn, as well as detailed suggestions for daily training, dietary preferences, and recommended potions.
Even with just a quick glance, Matthew could immediately tell the value of this notebook.
"This is just some of my own training experience. Study it well.
Then, based on your own methods and habits, develop a system that suits you."
"Every great trainer eventually creates their own unique training style. I hope this notebook helps guide you toward that."
Aven spoke with clear intent. After all, Matthew had raised two powerful Pokémon on his own—he definitely had a personal method that worked.
"Also, on your way out, go find Link and register as a trainer.
Just have him register you as an Elite Trainer—you've more than proven your strength."
Aven sighed a little as he said this. Matthew might very well be the first officially recognized Elite Trainer in the world. If a League Championship existed, he could probably win it.
"Trainer…"
Matthew nodded slowly. It seemed to be a profession on par with being a knight.
"Alright, now on to serious business."
"Matthew, since you were a magical beasts hunter, you must be very familiar with the Black Forest, right?"
"Would you be able to draw a rough map of the forest?"
Having finished discussing training matters, Aven moved on to the real reason he had asked Matthew to stay.
The Black Forest was unimaginably rich in resources—not only wild Pokémon, but also evolution stones, special berries with miraculous properties, and various materials used to craft unique Pokémon gear.
He had already incorporated the forest's outer edge into his territory, but aside from the White Apricorn Tree, he hadn't gained much yet.
His next step was to push deeper into the Black Forest, gradually claiming its wealth to strengthen his domain.
"That's no problem at all."
"When it comes to the Black Forest, there are few who know it better than I do."
Matthew rubbed his nose proudly. After all, he had practically lived in the forest for years—it was like a second home.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
Aven's eyes lit up as he eagerly pulled out a map of Aspiration City that he had prepared.
Much of the map was intentionally left blank in the forest regions, ready for Matthew to fill in with his knowledge.
"You're too kind, Lord Aven."
Matthew took the map, studied it for a moment, then began marking and outlining various areas.
The Black Forest was massive. It completely encircled Aspiration City, and by all accounts, used to cover the land where the city now stood—until humans cleared out a section to build it.
Though vast, the forest could be divided into smaller zones: the Eastern Forest, Southern Forest, and further subdivisions like the Abyssal Caverns and the Black Coast Forest.
To the north of Aspiration City lay the Aspiration Mountain Range, and to the west stretched the Great Wetlands—both areas distinct from the Black Forest.
Matthew surprised Aven by noting that he had visited both regions, even the remote Great Wetlands.
"I only made it through the edge of the wetlands thanks to Crobat,"
Matthew said, recalling the experience.
"That place really is a paradise for magical beasts.
Creatures that are considered rare elsewhere live there in massive swarms."
He described the scenery he'd seen, clearly still in awe. But he also made it clear that the dangers far exceeded anything outside.
Some even claimed that king-level magical beasts lived there—and possibly even divine beings.
"Divine beings…"
Aven murmured.
Aven's eyes flickered slightly. He knew that when people said "divine beings," they were referring to legendary Pokémon.
Because these Pokémon were so overwhelmingly powerful, they became the subject of human worship—deified as gods. Just like how the people of Aspiration City worshipped Azelf.
According to the Trainer level classification from his previous life, the weaker legendary Pokémon were already at the Elite Four level. Most average legendaries were at Champion level, and the strongest among them far exceeded even that.
Aven couldn't help but wonder—which legendary Pokémon could it be? Though he was excited at the thought, he knew it was only a legend. There might not be any legendary Pokémon there at all.
(End of Chapter)
Ok, Now I know the level for trainers below gym level which is Elite (thought it was Ace) and on this Matthew POV I have him refer Pokémon as magical beast instead of Pokémon as he hasn't really stayed long enough to learn the new culture.