After selecting the Pokémon eggs, Ronan agreed on a delivery date with Director Mana and subsequently accepted his invitation to lunch.
At the table, the two of them chatted idly about this and that.
Eventually, the conversation turned toward Petalburg Woods and the Pokémon Rangers.
Before becoming the director of the Breeding Center, Uncle Mana had been a member of the Petalburg Woods Rangers and a highly skilled one at that.
However, he had to retire from the front lines after a mission against poachers left his Pokémon severely injured.
Ronan’s father had served in the same ranger squad as Director Mana.
Mana had been the captain, responsible for repelling wild Pokémon emerging from Petalburg Woods, protecting the local populations, and monitoring the overall state of the forest.
Both of their Pokémon teams were heavily injured during that brutal mission.
Ronan’s father had even lost his life while covering his teammates’ retreat, leaving behind only a few of his own gravely wounded Pokémon.
As members of the League, Ronan’s family enjoyed rights that were directly proportional to their duties.
Though they weren’t Gym Leaders, they still bore the responsibility of suppressing wild Pokémon riots and maintaining public order.
Because Ronan’s farm was in a remote location near the wilderness, he was required to prevent wild Pokémon from attacking the city.
He also periodically distributed Pokémon food to avoid riots caused by food shortages.
While Ronan’s family was famous for breeding Grass-type Pokémon, no one in the Hoenn region, where they had been rooted for so long, would assume a Breeder wouldn’t raise Pokémon for their own defense.
Moreover, because of Ronan’s father, the Ranger Union was quite close to him.
They frequently traded items collected from the forest with Ronan.
If something were to happen in Petalburg Woods, the farm nearest to the forest would be the first to suffer.
As the topic shifted to Petalburg Woods, Ronan focused his attention; this was a matter directly affecting his own interests.
“The interior of Petalburg Woods is becoming a bit restless.” Hearing this, Ronan’s expression grew serious.
“The interior?
Has something happened to the Overlord of Petalburg Woods?” The Overlord was an extremely powerful Pokémon.
According to rumors, it had already reached the Champion-level.
In reality, according to Ranger investigations, the Overlord of the woods wasn’t just a typical Champion-level Pokémon, but a powerful creature approaching Master-level.
Petalburg Woods had remained relatively peaceful over the years partly because of the efforts of direct League trainers like Ronan and Gym Leader Norman of Petalburg City, along with the Ranger Union.
Another reason was that the Overlord of Petalburg Woods didn’t harbor much resentment toward humans and belonged to a kind and gentle species.
Unrest among the Pokémon in Petalburg Woods was definitely not good news for Rustboro City.
If the Overlord encountered trouble, other powerful Pokémon would surely clash within the forest’s depths.
The strength of those internal Pokémon was no less than that of the Elite Four, and there were even other Champion-level entities among them.
If these Pokémon were to clash, the ones living on the outskirts would flee to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
If too many migrated at once, the panicked Pokémon could easily form a stampede, crashing into the surrounding cities.
“Don’t worry too much; the situation hasn’t been confirmed yet,” Director Mana explained, seeing Ronan’s tense expression.
“It’s not clear what the issue is yet.
It might just be an advancement in power.
Regardless, there shouldn’t be any major trouble anytime soon.” Ronan finished his meal with a heavy heart and bid Director Mana farewell.
However, he didn’t immediately take the train back to Aoba Town.
Instead, he headed toward the Breeders’ Association in Rustboro City.
The news from Director Mana gave Ronan a sense of urgency.
Fortunately, there was still time to prepare.
If Petalburg Woods truly underwent some upheaval, he needed at least enough time to react.
As a last resort, he could always wake up those ‘sleeping’ Pokémon back home.
Protecting the mountain behind the farm shouldn’t be a problem.
But these weren’t matters for the current Ronan to worry about.
In the short term, the Hoenn League would never allow Petalburg Woods to fall into chaos.
Thinking this, Ronan’s pace lightened slightly.
Besides securing a supply source for his Breeding Center, Ronan had also come to submit a task he had taken from the Breeders’ Association.
When he arrived at the association’s lobby, a pre-arranged receptionist was waiting.
After checking Ronan’s Intermediate Breeder certification, the receptionist bowed slightly and led him into a private reception room.
Inside the room, an appraiser from the Breeders’ Association was already waiting for him.
“Hello, Mr.
Ronan.
I am Appraiser Muye.
I will be evaluating the potions you are submitting today.
Please, set them out.” Appraiser Muye gestured for Ronan to place the potions onto a padded tray.
Ronan nodded, took the potions from his bag, and placed them gently onto the tray.
The pale blue liquid swirled inside special reagent bottles, reflecting specks of silver light under the lamps.
The appraiser looked at the potions with a hint of admiration.
Muye had been dispatched to Rustboro City from the headquarters and had served as an examiner for the Senior Breeder exams.
He had extensive experience in appraisal, and potions were no exception.
The task Ronan had accepted was to concoct an Attribute Potion for Gym-level Pokémon.
It could significantly enhance a Pokémon’s energy perception for two hours and was suitable for Pokémon of all types.
The silver light in the potion came from powder ground from Fluorescent Stones, which could neutralize different types of energy.
It was a very precious material.
However, the dosage and the timing of adding the Fluorescent Stone were the most difficult steps in creating an Attribute Potion.
In Muye’s eyes, these bottles of potion, swirling with beautiful silver light, were hardly inferior to those brewed by some Senior Breeders.
“Please wait a moment.
The test results will be ready soon,” Muye said before turning back to use a specialized instrument for testing.
The results were out quickly.
Looking at the energy indicators on the device, Muye didn’t show the same surprise as before; instead, he wore an expression that said ‘just as I thought.’ The energy indicators and stability values were both very high, already reaching the level of a Senior Breeder.