The Steel Smallsword dealt more than enough damage for the first ten mine floors.
As Ron guided Oddish deeper into the mines, he flipped through the Breeding System on his Pokédex, reviewing each Pokémon's stats.
Thanks to the Strawberry harvest and daily foraging, the first batch of Fletchling had already accumulated enough Potential Points to meet Cyllage City's requirements.
He'd send the first batch tonight.
The rest would be ready by Spring 28—right after the final Strawberry harvest.
While planning, Ron kept allocating Oddish's newly earned Potential Points to HP.
"Maybe it really is a genius," he mused, watching Oddish grow bolder with every slash.
He'd trained Froakie in these same Mines before—but its Potential Points had never grown this fast.
Each point only added +1 to a stat… but small gains would eventually compound into something significant.
Closing the Pokédex, Ron scooped up Oddish and dropped into the next mine floor.
---
Meanwhile – Cyllage City Gym…
Laurent sat at his computer, scoring Grant's battle against a new Trainer while sighing heavily.
Tomorrow, a Cyllage-born child would turn ten and come to the lab to claim their starter Pokémon.
But the Breeding Facility remained silent.
He hated assuming the worst—but this was becoming dire.
How could he tell a child, "Sorry, no Pokémon available—go catch one with Grant in the caves"?
Just then, Grant's voice rang out: "Avalugg is unable to battle!"
Laurent hit the scoring button.
"Alright—next up is this kid!"
He glanced up and placed Tyrantrum on the scoreboard.
After an intense match, Grant stretched and handed the challenger a Boulder Badge.
"Not bad at all!" he said, clapping the Trainer's shoulder. "Your bond with your Pokémon—and how you've raised it—is impressive! Is this your second badge?"
The Trainer nodded.
Grant grinned. "Then you're doing great! I'll be watching you in the League. By the way—which Gym did you challenge first?"
"Santalune."
At the name, the Trainer's relaxed expression turned solemn. "Ms. Viola is incredible. Every Pokémon she has is perfectly trained."
Beyond her Bug-types, she also had a Orthworm—not native to Kalos. Since it wasn't Bug-type, challengers could face it after the official Gym battle for a special Bug-type move.
He'd assumed it was just a generous bonus… until he faced that Orthworm.
He'd done his homework: even chosen Fennekin specifically to counter even a Steel-type Orthworm.
Yet the memory still made him wince.
"Viola, huh…"
"Yeah," the Trainer said. "Her Orthworm is terrifying. I heard it's being trained for someone else."
After constant challenges, its level had soared—so Viola removed it from her main team. Now, it only appeared during skill tests.
"For who?" Grant didn't recall Viola taking side jobs.
The Trainer shrugged. "Don't know. Just heard it's for someone from Pelican Town."
"Pelican Town?!" Laurent shot up from his chair.
Lost in worry over the missing Pokémon, he'd caught only that name. He rushed over. "Pelican Town? You met someone from there? Does that place even exist?"
The barrage of questions left the Trainer bewildered.
Grant patted Laurent's shoulder. "Relax. We'll know tomorrow if they deliver."
He'd always felt Pelican Town sounded familiar—so he'd never truly worried about the order.
After the Trainer left, Grant headed to the lounge, already planning a Battle Chateau rematch with Viola.
---
The next day…
Yesterday, Ron had successfully brought Oddish to Floor 25.
Along the way, he'd captured several Geodude knocked out by Froakie, healed them at the Pokémon Center, and prepped them for today's mining shift.
Ron was thrilled with Geodude: they ate rocks (plentiful from mining) and were perfect for ore extraction. With the farm's future demand for minerals, more miners meant better efficiency.
He assigned roles:
– Scout Rattata: avoid strong wild Pokémon
– Original Geodude: carry storage chests
– New Geodude: Mine for ore
The only issue? Only one pickaxe existed. The rest had to smash rocks bare-handed—slowing progress.
Ron fashioned a cloth pouch, packed Rattata's lunch inside, tied it to its back, and patted its head. "Lead them well."
Watching the mining crew depart, Ron strode to the Nursery.
Inside, Fletchling zipped wildly around the room.
Ron plucked one off his head, sat at the computer, and checked their stats on his Pokédex. One by one, he recalled the Cyllage-bound Fletchling into Poké Balls.
Holding five balls, he placed them on the Trade Computer and pressed CONFIRM.
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