The battle with Pryce came to an end. Being able to take down Weavile and poison Beartic was already a great success, and it also allowed Pryce to acknowledge the results of Tetsuya's year of training.
Drapion's entire body glowed with a brilliant crimson sheen. Its fangs, pincers, and the hooked claw at the end of its tail were all incomparably sharp. With every swing, drops of poison dripped from them, corroding the ground wherever they landed.
After evolving, its type became Poison/Dark, giving it excellent resistances, with only Ground-type moves posing a real threat.
Its methods of attack also became exceptionally diverse, allowing it to strike from every direction without blind spots. Once an opponent was caught by either its pincers or the hook on its tail, escaping became extremely difficult. Even Pryce's Weavile had been incapacitated because of this, making Tetsuya even more confident in Drapion.
Given enough time, it would undoubtedly shine with great intensity.
That very day, Tetsuya took his injured Pokémon to the Pokémon Center for healing.
"What are your plans now?" Pryce asked.
"I'll head back to Ecruteak City first. After the New Year, I'll travel around and see the Pokémon found in different regions."
Tetsuya replied. In truth, he had already made many plans.
The first place he intended to visit was Stone Town in Kanto, where he would seek out the Imite Family, who specialized in Ditto's Transform. Perhaps they could help improve Ditto's capacities.
More importantly, their "face-transformation art" was practically an indispensable skill for living a double life…
Pryce nodded and said, "That sounds good. Once I've finished raising this Pokémon I'm working on, I'll notify you. When that happens, be sure to return to Mahogany Town immediately."
"Mm, I will."
---◓---
The next day, Tetsuya left Mahogany Town and took a train back to Ecruteak City.
Living in a city was inconvenient in many ways. He even had to go to the plaza just to send out his Pokémon. This kind of place was never somewhere Tetsuya enjoyed living. His return was merely a formality. His main purpose was to check on Slowbro's growth.
He spent the final two days of the year, one at Ecruteak Gym and one at home. He was already a "fifteen-year-old boy in the prime of youth".
After the New Year, Tetsuya bid farewell to Madeleine and Matsuba before heading to Eggseter. The plan to raise Spinarak variant could no longer be delayed. Now that Drapion had the "capacity" to breed offspring, with its powerful physique and potent toxicity, the chances of producing [Badly Poisonous Spinarak] variant were quite high.
More than a year had passed since his last visit to Shellby's Pokémon Daycare. Its scale had expanded yet again, and business had clearly been thriving over the past few years. During the holiday season, the place looked completely refreshed.
When Tetsuya arrived, Mr. Shellby was outside preparing Pokéfood. At this time of year, everyone was busy celebrating the holidays, so naturally no one was visiting the daycare. As a result, Mr. Shellby was enjoying a rare moment of leisure.
"Mr. Shellby, how have you been?" Tetsuya greeted.
Mr. Shellby put down what he was doing and looked up. Seeing Tetsuya, he said, "Eh? Tetsuya! It's been well over a year since I last saw you, hasn't it? You've certainly been keeping yourself busy, hahaha! Come on in and have a seat."
"There's no need. I just came to see how the third-gen Ariados line you've been raising are doing," Tetsuya said.
"Oh? Mhm, there are seven in total now. Come with me and I'll show you," Mr. Shellby said as he led Tetsuya into the Pokémon Daycare.
"They're all female, right?" Tetsuya asked.
"Of course! I didn't raise any males. Most of them are still in the Spinarak stage. As a 'professional Breeder', I naturally understand Ariados' habits. After a male and female Ariados breed, the female Ariados will eat the male. That's a loss I simply can't afford, ahem!" Mr. Shellby said.
Tetsuya nodded and walked over to the area where the Ariados were kept. There were seven Ariados in total. It had to be said that Mr. Shellby's competence at raising Pokémon was exceptional. At the very least, at a glance, every Ariados had excellent coloration, physique, and overall condition.
However, Tetsuya's selection criteria were far more demanding than that. After all, Ariados had been his Starter Pokémon in his previous life. His understanding of Ariados was extraordinarily deep.
An Ariados' toxicity was determined primarily by the black markings on its body, while its offensive power depended mainly on the horn on its head.
These seven Ariados had all inherited traits through three generations and had already inherited Scolipede's Egg move Megahorn, so the horns on their heads were exceptionally hard and sturdy.
Among them, one Ariados had noticeably more black markings than the other six, and those markings were jet-black with a glossy sheen, making them stand out even more in dark, damp surroundings.
"Mr. Shellby, I'd like to borrow this Pokémon Daycare for the time being. I'm going to use it to breed Ariados. I'll pay whatever rental fee is required. While I'm renting it, no one is allowed to enter," Tetsuya said.
"Just use it. Those plans were yours to begin with. Letting you use my daycare is nothing at all. Don't worry, we won't go in and disturb you." After speaking, Mr. Shellby handed Tetsuya the key that had originally locked the building.
Tetsuya accepted the key. He knew Mr. Shellby's character well. With Houndoom standing guard and his own psychic powers, there was no need to worry about anyone approaching. Besides, although his "method" was somewhat ruthless, the true nature behind it was not something Mr. Shellby could understand.
Afterward, Mr. Shellby also arranged a room for Tetsuya inside the Pokémon Daycare.
That very night, Tetsuya planned to strike while the iron was hot and let Drapion exercise a little…
Drapion had just evolved and was in the prime of its life. Seven times would certainly not be a problem!
'…'
---◓---
That night, Tetsuya also placed Drapion inside the Ariados breeding area. He added an aphrodisiac potion to the food of all eight Pokémon before dimming the lights slightly.
The aphrodisiac quickly took effect. Thanks to Tetsuya's long-term training, Drapion's physical condition proved exceptionally vigorous. It bred seven times in succession, and it was not until dawn that it finally ended!
Every Ariados had collapsed limply on the ground before Tetsuya recalled Drapion into its Poké Ball.
It was as if it had all been nothing more than a springtime dream.
Not until the following day had the seven Ariados fully recovered. Their bodies were still weak, and after eating, they simply lay down to rest.
As for Drapion, it was only a little unsteady that morning. That was merely the lingering effect of the aphrodisiac, and it soon resumed its training. Since the space at Mr. Shellby's Pokémon Daycare was limited, only simple training could be done there, which Tetsuya treated as a way to keep Drapion active.
During his stay here, he intended to breed the [Badly Poisonous Spinarak] variant as quickly as possible.
With Drapion's first successful fertilization, the chances of successful breeding had already become very high. Tetsuya had now begun preparing the solution.
It was the same process as when he had raised his Drapion. He first prepared high-grade containers, then began mixing the poison: Weezing's poison, Drapion's poison, and poison sacs purchased from the Black Market from various Poison-type Pokémon such as Arbok and Ariados. All of them were poured together into the mix, then sealed for fermentation.
All seven Ariados had successfully become pregnant, and their movements grew increasingly sluggish. Every day, Tetsuya allowed the Ariados to move around the area near the Pokémon Daycare for exercise, while gradually increasing their nutrition.
Tetsuya truly cared for them as though they were expectant human mothers…