The sea breeze blew steadily, while waves rolled in from beyond the horizon.
When those waves crashed against the jagged rocks, they sent up a spray of pure white foam that scattered like a fine drizzle, only to fall gently back into the sea.
"The sea breeze is picking up. Looks like another storm is on its way."
Standing atop a rocky outcrop, Hill gazed out at the endless expanse of ocean, then slowly let out a breath.
(TN: The spy who killed his captain.)
The knight adjutant beside him gave a slight nod, his eyes filled with remembrance. "It's summer now. Heavy rains and strong winds are to be expected."
As he spoke, he bent down to scoop a handful of sand from the ground, then let it scatter into the sea. The wind caught the yellow grains and carried them off into the distance.
Watching the sand disappear into the distance, the knight adjutant's expression darkened once again. It had already been three full months since the defeat of the Marina City Knight Order.
Back when they—the few tattered survivors—stumbled back to Marina City, it had caused quite a stir. No one had expected that the Marina City Knight Order would be defeated so swiftly, so devastatingly.
They had barely stepped foot into the territory of Aspiration City when they were immediately repelled by the people of Fruitvale Village. The shock of this news rocked the entirety of Marina City.
Even the once-ambitious Lord of Kale, upon hearing that the proud Marina City Knight Order had been repelled by Fruitvale Village, fell into an uncharacteristic silence.
For some time afterward, a heavy gloom seemed to hang over all of Marina City. Faced with the enormous losses sustained by their knight order and the death of the noble Lord Paul, Lord Kale made no move to retaliate. He hadn't even so much as mentioned attacking Aspiration City again.
"Tch. So, this is all it takes to make them give up?"
The knight adjutant couldn't help but let out a scoff as he clenched his teeth. It was as if that one defeat had completely shattered Lord Kale's confidence. Since then, he had never once brought up the idea of an offensive against Aspiration City.
Even the noble coalition army that had originally assembled in preparation to support the Marina City Knight Order had dispersed. Clearly, they too had abandoned the idea of attacking Aspiration City altogether.
That part, he could understand. After all, if even the Marina City Knight Order—which comprised most of the city's fighting strength—had been defeated by Fruitvale Village, then even if they threw the entire coalition army and all their guard knights into the battle, they would at best be able to overrun Fruitvale Village.
But behind Fruitvale Village stood the powerful Aspiration City Knight Order. Once the larger city became involved, Marina City would be guaranteed to fall. And if they lost what little strength they had left, it would spell total ruin.
Even so, the knight adjutant remained unwilling—unwilling to accept failure, unwilling to accept that his comrades had died in vain. Captain Paul had died to protect them. They had to avenge him!
"Yes, storms and winds are normal," Hill murmured, nodding slightly. His eyes remained fixed on the ebb and flow of the tide before him. "But they will sweep across this decaying land, and in their wake, a new order shall rise from the chaos."
"Yes, Captain Hill." The knight adjutant bowed deeply, reverence in his gaze.
Last time, Hill had chosen to stay behind and fight alongside Captain Paul, defending the retreat. Because of that, his status and reputation within the Marina City Knight Order had soared.
Upon returning, thanks to his already considerable strength and newfound prestige, Hill had successfully become the new captain of the Marina City Knight Order. He now carried the hopes and vengeance of all the knights on his shoulders.
"The time has not yet come… but it draws near."
Hill withdrew his gaze from the ocean and turned to walk back toward the knight encampment. His loyal Mightyena trotted close beside him.
Before long, he returned to the knights' camp. Without delay, he made his way toward the rear mountains. That part of the mountain was unusually quiet, shaded by dense forests that made the area feel dark and still.
After walking a short while, a stone hut appeared ahead.
Stopping in front of it, Hill didn't go in immediately. Instead, he dropped to one knee and spoke solemnly, "Lord Norton, your most devout follower seeks an audience."
"Come in," a deep voice soon responded from within the stone hut.
As Hill pushed open the door and stepped inside, he found the figure of Norton—the man who had saved him from the forest near Abyssal Caverns—sitting cross-legged on the floor. Norton was dressed in a sorcerer's garb, black mist swirling faintly around his body as he held a black crystal in his hands.
Upon seeing the man who had once rescued him, Hill bowed his head deeply, his eyes flashing with fervent, almost fanatical admiration. He was like a truly devoted zealot.
As Hill entered the room, Norton opened his eyes. "Hill, how goes the task I entrusted to you?"
"Lord Norton, I have now completely taken control of the Marina City Knight Order," Hill replied excitedly. "Even if a civil war broke out in Marina City right now, I am confident that the knights would all stand firmly by my side!"
Norton nodded in approval. "Good. Kale has already lost the will to invade Aspiration City. He is of no further use to me."
"When the time is right, I will assist you in taking control of Marina City. After that, with your cooperation, I shall invade Aspiration City and capture the lake guardian, Azelf!"
He had waited far too long for this moment. His plans to capture Azelf had been delayed again and again, and he could no longer bear the endless waiting.
"Thank you, Lord Norton! I am fully prepared and await your command!" Hill said, his voice quivering with anticipation.
…
Inside the Pokémon Breeding House, a white Apricorn lay quietly on the table.
Next to it were a number of different components: a switch button, a metallic ring, and two hemispherical nets.
"At last, all the components are finally complete…"
Aven exhaled deeply. Although he possessed the knowledge of how to craft an Apricorn Ball, gathering all the necessary parts had proven to be a serious challenge.
Among them, the most difficult piece to produce was the special mesh structure. He had considered using beast gear metals to forge it, but ultimately decided against it.
The main issue was that he couldn't yet guarantee the success rate of the Apricorn Ball. It was far safer to use metals he was most familiar with to construct the mesh. After all, crafting such a delicate structure with beast gear metals was extremely difficult, and even if he succeeded, he wasn't sure what effect it would have.
And so, after three full days of careful preparation, all the necessary parts were finally ready. Now came the most crucial part: assembly.
He scanned the components spread across the table before picking up the Apricorn and a small knife.
The first step was to split open the Apricorn.
This was the most technically demanding stage. If the internal capsule structure of the Apricorn was damaged in any way, the entire crafting process would be a failure.
Studying the lines etched across the White Apricorn, Aven carefully secured it in place. Then, with his other hand, he gripped the knife and made a clean cut, swiftly slicing the Apricorn into two equal halves.
He let out another sigh of relief. The most dangerous part was over. The rest was relatively simple—just assembling the net structure, the ball's switch, and other components into the Apricorn. After that, the final stage was heat-forging the entire thing.
"Lil lil~ Lil lil~!"
Petilil watched with shining eyes as Aven continued assembling the pieces.
"Ralts, take me to Rhydon," Aven said without missing a beat once the assembly was complete.
"Ralts~"
Ralts nodded and gently touched Aven's shoulder.
In the next moment, Aven, Ralts, and Petilil vanished from the room, reappearing instantly in the blacksmith's workshop.
Clang, clang, clang…
Inside the workshop, Rhydon was still hard at work with its forging training.
A large iron block before it constantly shifted shape under its expert strikes. It had originally been a rectangular slab, but under Rhydon's hammering, it was gradually forming into a spherical shape—becoming rounder and rounder.
Even when Aven entered, Rhydon didn't pause. Only after it completed the full forging cycle did it stop and exhale a burst of hot breath.
"Well done, Rhydon," Aven praised. "You can take a break now. The Apricorn Ball is almost complete!"
Hearing those words, Rhydon's eyes lit up and it quickly set its hammer down and came closer.
After asking Rhydon to heat the bowl-shaped furnace again, Aven began the final tempering stage—using high heat to stabilize the inner structure of the Apricorn Ball.
When the process was finally finished, what lay on the forge was a completely white ball. A black ring circled its midsection, and on the ring was a round activation button.
"We did it… The very first Poké Ball in this world!"
Aven struggled to suppress the excitement in his heart as he picked up the Apricorn Ball from the forge. His hand trembled slightly from joy.
He knew very well that this invention represented something revolutionary—a milestone that would mark the end of the magical equipment era and the dawn of the Poké Ball age in the Pokémon world!
"Lil lil~! RHY! Ralts~!"
Even the Pokémon in the room burst into cheers. Though they didn't yet understand the full significance of the Apricorn Ball's creation, they knew Aven's long-running experiment had finally succeeded.
(End of Chapter)