The two Pokémon quickly quieted down as they were drawn in by the food and began to eat ravenously.
Ronan was curious how these two high-potential Pokémon had appeared on the outskirts of Petalburg Woods.
Especially Sunkern—it was impossible for a blue-potential infant Pokémon to appear on the edge of the woods.
Furthermore, it had inherited Solar Beam, a powerful move, meaning its parents must have been formidable.
He didn’t want to get caught in an ambush by two powerful Pokémon in the forest.
Once Sunkern and Shroomish were lying on the grass with their bellies full and round, Ronan began to ask about their origins.
It turned out that Shroomish and Sunkern weren’t actually from the outskirts.
Their groups lived deep within Petalburg Woods and were led by a powerful Breloom.
Due to a food shortage in their territory, they had been planning to migrate to a valley in the western part of the forest.
During their journey, they were attacked while passing through the territory of a migrating Yanmega swarm.
In the chaos of the battle, the two were frightened and fled blindly until they eventually ended up in the forest area outside Aoba Town.
Yanmega and Breloom!
Hearing their story, Ronan’s eyes lit up.
Since both Shroomish and Sunkern belonged to that migrating group, it proved that the overall quality of those Pokémon was guaranteed.
At the same time, their strength certainly wouldn’t be weak; any group capable of surviving in the depths of Petalburg Woods was definitely not to be trifled with.
Furthermore, since the Yanmega swarm dared to attack the Breloom group, it meant the two populations were likely evenly matched in strength.
If he could find those two groups, Ronan’s objective would be fulfilled.
If he could secure those two populations, his day care would be able to open its doors very soon.
He could even use Yanmega as one of the day care’s signature Pokémon.
That way, he wouldn’t have to worry about marketing or his customer base.
However, Ronan faced a very practical problem: he only had Venusaur and Chimecho with him.
Venusaur was at the early Pseudo-Elite level, while Chimecho was at the mid Gym-leader level.
Relying on just two Pokémon, he wasn’t confident he could take down two powerful populations.
He couldn’t go back and get more Pokémon either, as that would waste too much time.
‘What should I do?’ Ronan felt a bit of a headache coming on.
“Chime!” Chimecho’s cry interrupted his thoughts.
He then remembered he had sent Chimecho ahead to scout the pool and the Pokémon within it.
As for the Breloom and Yanmega swarms, those weren’t matters he should be considering yet.
“Hoppip?” Ronan was surprised.
Why was there a Hoppip population here?
Hoppip weren’t particularly strong Pokémon—in fact, they were quite weak.
Why would they be in this place?
By the quiet pool, a group of small pink creatures floated in the air, communicating with soft chirps and squeaks.
When Ronan arrived at the pool under Chimecho’s guidance, he saw clusters of pink floating in mid-air.
The tiny creatures tumbled through the sky, and although they didn’t look very bright, they were adorably charming.
Ronan scanned them and found that the strength of this Hoppip group was indeed not high, and their potential wasn’t very good either.
However, Hoppip were Pokémon with a three-stage evolution.
If he captured this group, he was confident he could improve their potential over time.
That way, the day care would have a steady supply of Pokémon.
Ronan released Venusaur.
The massive Pokémon’s appearance immediately caused a panic among the Hoppip.
They drifted everywhere in a frenzy, but under the control of Chimecho’s Confusion, they couldn’t escape the area.
Ronan was already fairly certain that this group of Hoppip had drifted in from somewhere else.
By a stroke of luck, they had entered this pool area and decided to settle down.
In fact, Ronan’s guess was correct.
Hoppip were not native to the Petalburg Woods outside Aoba Town.
Petalburg Woods was the largest forest in the Hoenn region, stretching across the entire Hoenn continent and bordering the uncolonized wilderness areas of the League.
There were many powerful Pokémon deep within the forest; even Elite-level trainers had to explore with extreme caution.
This group of Hoppip had migrated here from elsewhere, carried by the wind.
The group wasn’t large, but their potential was decent.
Most had yellow potential halos, with only a few orange or red ones.
There was even one Hoppip with green potential.
Realizing they couldn’t escape the area around the pool, the green-potential Hoppip let out a cry.
Hearing its call, the other Hoppip gathered behind it and blew out a large cloud of Sleep Powder and Poison Powder.
The leading Hoppip also whipped up a light breeze, blowing the powders forward in an attempt to obscure Ronan’s vision.
Venusaur didn’t even need to move.
Chimecho simply used Fairy Wind to easily blow the Sleep Powder and Poison Powder right back at them.
Before the Hoppip could react, they were hit square in the face by their own moves.
Although Hoppip are immune to powder-based skills, the mischievous Chimecho had added a Hypnosis into the mix, making it look as though they had been paralyzed by their own attack.