With Venusaur protecting him, Ronan was able to get a good night’s sleep even in the wild.
The campfire from last night had long since gone out.
Golden powder was scattered on the surrounding grass, left behind by Venusaur’s defensive preparations during the night.
He packed away his sleeping bag.
Instead of returning Venusaur to its Poké Ball, he kept it out alongside Chimecho.
In a forest, a Grass-type like Venusaur held a distinct advantage.
With Chimecho’s protection, even if something happened that Venusaur couldn’t react to in time, Chimecho’s Teleport—a god-tier survival skill—could whisk Ronan out of danger.
If things ever got that bad, Ronan would certainly recall his Pokémon and flee immediately.
Ronan hadn’t forgotten that he was merely an intermediate Breeder under the age of seventeen.
He was confident in his breeding skills and could say his Pokémon’s strength was quite impressive.
However, when it came to his own ability as a Trainer, Ronan believed he had a fair amount of self-awareness.
While his talent as a Trainer wasn’t poor—at most, it could be called decent, perhaps a bit better than the average Trainer—it was completely insufficient compared to the likes of Steven, Cynthia, or that certain Flying-type Champion.
There was no helping it; the gap between Ronan’s talent for breeding and his talent for training was simply too large.
This was precisely why he had chosen to become a Breeder.
For now, although Ronan could command Venusaur, his level of direction wasn’t enough to bring out the Pokémon’s full potential.
While he couldn’t offer Venusaur much help in battle, he at least wouldn’t lead it into a dangerous situation.
Thanks to Venusaur’s pseudo-Elite Four level pressure, Ronan’s journey today was much easier.
To Ronan’s disappointment, however, he had yet to see a single Pokémon with Green potential.
He saw many Pokémon along the way, but they were all common species native to Hoenn, and their potential wasn’t particularly outstanding.
Most were either Red or Orange.
This was partly because Ronan was still on the outskirts of the forest, where the strength and potential of Pokémon tended to be lower.
Any Pokémon with decent potential had already passed the age where they could be sold.
He didn’t plan on catching too many redundant Pokémon; having one Mightyena to guard the place was enough.
“Ba-na!” Venusaur told Ronan that there was a small pond ahead.
It sensed the presence of many Pokémon, but none of them seemed particularly strong.
‘A pond?’ Ronan’s interest was piqued.
He was now nearing the inner depths of Petalburg Woods.
Finding a pond at the boundary between the inner and outer sections was notable; water usually meant food was plentiful nearby.
Moreover, the pond’s location wasn’t obvious.
Ordinary Pokémon and Trainers might not be able to find it.
For wild Pokémon, this was an excellent habitat.
Ronan sent Chimecho toward the pond to check on the Pokémon living there.
Then, he released Mightyena and asked if it knew of a pond nearby occupied by Pokémon.
Mightyena shook its head blankly, indicating it hadn’t heard of any pond in this area.
If he were talking about the woods occupied by Beautifly and Dustox, or the caves held by Linoone and Zigzagoon, it might know something.
But it had never heard of a pond.
Ronan had his suspicions when he saw Mightyena shake its head.
If there really was a pond, it would surely be occupied by a powerful Pokémon or a large tribe.
Yet Venusaur said it only sensed a group of weak Pokémon.
This suggested that two tribes might have fought over the pond.
One tribe had likely won the battle and driven the other away, but at a heavy cost, which was why Venusaur didn’t feel any particularly powerful presence.
“Chime!
Chime!” Chimecho’s cries drifted from a short distance away.
Ronan looked over and saw two little things floating behind Chimecho.
One was a Shroomish, the pre-evolution of the common Hoenn battling Pokémon, Breloom.
The other, a Pokémon with black and yellow stripes and a ring of small yellow spikes on its head, truly surprised Ronan.
It was a Sunkern.
While Sunkern wasn’t an incredibly rare Pokémon, it wasn’t native to Hoenn.
Compared to Shroomish, it was a much rarer sight.
What was more, this Sunkern had Green potential, and the green of its aura was so deep that it had a faint cyan glow around the edges.
Besides that, the Shroomish’s potential aura was also Green.
He had just finished complaining about the lack of high-potential Pokémon when Chimecho brought him two surprises.
Shroomish Gender: Female Level: 12 Potential: Green Ability: Effect Spore Moves: Leech Seed, Stun Spore, Poison Powder TMs: None Sunkern Gender: Female Ability: Chlorophyll Level: 14 Moves: Synthesis, Absorb, Growth Egg Moves: Solar Beam, Magical Leaf TMs: None Ronan hadn’t expected that the high-potential Pokémon he had been searching for for two days would be caught so casually by Chimecho.
This was especially true since the Sunkern was a Pokémon with Cyan-level potential.
Although these two Pokémon weren’t rare species, their potential was undeniable.
Generally, a Pokémon with Green potential would sell for between 200,000 and 400,000 Alliance coins, fluctuating based on the species.
A Shroomish with Green potential could fetch 250,000 Alliance coins.
Although Sunkern’s base stats weren’t high and its evolution, Sunflora, wasn’t a powerhouse, it could still sell for 2 to 3 million.
Even a Caterpie with Cyan potential would cause people to scramble for it.
The fact that its potential allowed it to reach the level of the Elite Four was exactly why it was so coveted.
Furthermore, even if he didn’t sell a Pokémon with Cyan potential, it would make an excellent choice for breeding.
Ronan had Chimecho set the two Pokémon down.
He pulled out some food and easily managed to calm the two little fellows.