Taking a deep breath, Aven stepped forward, eyes locked on the distant Muk.
Even with both Froslass and Petilil at the advanced-level, without a sound strategy, defeating Muk here in its home ground would be no easy feat.
Froslass floated ahead, her expression serious.
Petilil and Ralts stayed at Aven's sides, scanning the surroundings with wary eyes.
Petilil laid down Grassy Terrain to prepare the battlefield, while Ralts perched on Aven's shoulder, ready to teleport him away at the first sign of danger.
"MUK!"
Muk made the first move again, its instincts telling it that Froslass was the greatest threat. It prepared another Sludge Bomb—
"Froslass, Ice Shard!"
"Lass!"
Froslass thrust her hands forward, instantly forming a volley of ice chunks and hurling them toward Muk.
Ice Shard wasn't a particularly powerful move, but it formed almost instantly and had priority.
The ice chunks streaked through the air, slamming into Muk's body and disrupting the Sludge Bomb gathering in its mouth.
Muk growled in frustration, gathering poisonous sludge once more. Several globs, glowing with venomous energy, shot forth.
"Dodge, then Icy Wind!"
Froslass's figure flickered ghostlike through the air, avoiding every projectile.
She floated above the swamp and unleashed a burst of frigid energy she had already prepared—
The Icy Wind swept across the marsh, instantly frosting over large sections of the sludge. White frost spread rapidly even into the distance.
Though weaker than Blizzard, Icy Wind's freezing effect was faster, able to immobilize a target in an instant.
"That's it—freeze the entire swamp!" Aven commanded.
Icy Wind consumed little energy, allowing for a sustained assault. Soon, the battlefield was filled with relentless, freezing gales…
Crack, crack, crack!
The swampy ground was continuously freezing under the relentless blast of Icy Wind, and even the surface of Muk's sludge-coated body was now frosted with a thin layer of white crystals.
"MUKKkk—!"
Muk's movements were stiff and sluggish, the frost sapping its speed and making every reaction slower and heavier. Uneasy, it let out a guttural bellow, raising one massive, sludge-dripping arm and slamming it down into the poisonous swamp beneath it.
At once, a surge of poison-type energy erupted from its body, stirring the mire underfoot into motion. The stagnant sludge churned and rose, and with a deep, rolling surge, Muk unleashed another Sludge Wave, sending a roiling tide of purple filth sweeping outward.
Crack—crack—crack!
The frozen swamp cracked apart before the violent swell of sludge.
"Froslass, focus all of your energy—use Frost Breath!" Aven suddenly called out.
"Lass!"
Froslass responded instantly. Under its control, the chilling wind condensed into a single, focused stream, twisting itself into a whirling tornado of frost that blasted forward in a horizontal spiral.
Crack—crack—crack!
Even before Frost Breath struck, glittering ice crystals were already blooming across the surface of the Sludge Wave. In the next instant, the icy tornado bored into it like a massive drill.
Crack—crack!
Chunks of ice formed at the point of impact, then shattered violently. A gaping, frozen cavity tore open in the Sludge Wave, and the Ice Breath pierced straight through, slamming hard into the unprepared Muk.
A burst of fearsome ice-type energy exploded on contact, detonating across Muk's body and blasting it backward. It tumbled out of the swampy sludge entirely.
Splashhh!
Without Muk's control, the surging Sludge Wave collapsed mid-rise, raining down in heavy, foul clumps.
"Now! Blizzard!" Aven's fist clenched tight.
The view shifted to Froslass, who gathered an immense swell of ice-type energy between her hands. A howling Blizzard roared forth, sweeping toward Muk. Everything in its path froze over—swamp, air, and ground alike—and the biting wind closed in on Muk in an instant, engulfing its body completely.
Crack—crack—crack!
Muk had already been coated in frost, but now, under the full brunt of Blizzard, its entire mass began freezing solid.
Whoo—whoo—whoo—!
The cold wind howled across the field, and when the Blizzard finally died away, all that remained was a landscape of pure white. The swamp lay frozen solid, and in the distance, Muk remained locked in place mid-dodge, encased in ice.
"We did it—the Blizzard's freeze effect kicked in!"
Aven exhaled slowly.
First, he had used Icy Wind as a supportive opener, slowing Muk's movements. Then, Frost Breath had been concentrated to shatter the sludge barrier, its guaranteed critical hit striking hard at Muk's body. Finally, Blizzard had sealed the victory, freezing Muk completely—a flawless execution of Froslass's freezing tactics.
"Froslass, you did wonderfully." Aven praised as the ghostly Pokémon drifted back down in front of him.
"Lass—Lass—Lass…"
Froslass froze for a moment, then her whole form seemed to go limp, hands covering her face in an expression of pure bliss. Compliments from Aven always seemed to hit her directly in the heart—just like that, she was "critically hit" and rendered unable to battle.
"Lil!"
"Ralts!"
Petilil and Ralts, watching from the side, both let out a breath of relief now that the battle was over.
"Petilil—use Giga Drain!"
Aven's gaze shifted to the frozen Muk in the distance. He already held a Poké Ball in hand, enlarging it with a press of the button.
This Muk possessed the strength of an advanced-level Pokémon, and its abilities were impressive. The thought of capturing it had already taken root in Aven's mind.
"Lil!"
Petilil nodded, grass energy shooting from its body to envelop the frozen Muk.
Though trapped in ice and unable to break free for the moment, Muk still retained much of its stamina—and a Poké Ball could only guarantee a capture when the target was fully incapacitated.
Under the emerald glow, Muk began thrashing violently inside the ice, causing tremors to ripple across the frozen shell. But Giga Drain pierced through the ice directly, its life-draining tendrils latching onto Muk's essence itself.
This was a deep-level attack on its life force. As the energy-drain continued, the ice's tremors weakened, then ceased entirely.
At last, Petilil withdrew the attack, sensing that Muk's life energy was now faint and unstable.
Crack—crack!
Under Froslass's control, the ice shattered apart. Muk slumped to the ground in a shapeless heap of sludge, unconscious.
"Alright—now for this! Go, Poké Ball!"
Aven hurled the Poké Ball, the whistle of its throw ending with a sharp impact against Muk's body. Scarlet light surged forth, enveloping Muk and drawing it inside.
The ball fell to the ground, its red light blinking rapidly as it shook violently—Muk was still resisting. But with so little stamina left, it couldn't fight for long.
The trembling stopped, and with a final click, the button's red light went out.
"We did it—I caught Muk!"
Aven drew in a deep breath. Even though this was his second time capturing a Pokémon with a Poké Ball, the moment still stirred something in him.
To a traveler from the future like himself, using a Poké Ball to capture a Pokémon carried a unique and profound meaning—a reminder that he was, without question, a true Pokémon Trainer.
"Ralts~"
Ralts floated the ball toward him using telekinesis.
"Thanks, Ralts."
Aven took the ball and carefully stored it in his bag. Muk was still unconscious; he planned to handle the next steps of its training back at base.
His eyes then shifted toward the swamp. Though Muk was gone, he could still sense a faint pulse of energy within the sludge.
"Nidoran♂, Nidoran♀—come on out."
Two more Poké Balls opened, releasing the small, horned Pokémon.
"Nido~"
The pair looked around warily, still keyed up from the recent battle. But when they noticed their "second sister" Froslass floating nearby, they relaxed—the fight was clearly over.
That relief was quickly followed by a sigh. They could handle weaker foes, sure—but against stronger opponents, they were still powerless.
"Nidoran, Nidoran, train hard from here on out. You'll grow strong soon enough." Aven smiled encouragingly. "For now, see if you can sense anything hidden in this swamp."
Perking up, the pair closed their eyes and concentrated. Immediately, they picked up faint surges of poison-type energy pulsing deep in the mire.
"Nido!"
Nidoran♀'s eyes snapped open. A moment later, Nidoran♂ followed, the two sharing a glance before exchanging excited calls.
"You found something?"
They nodded, then dashed across the frozen swamp with ease, stopping at a particular spot. Both cried out together—whatever it was, it was right beneath them.
"Under here, huh?"
Aven frowned slightly; he didn't have an obvious way to retrieve it.
"Ralts~"
Ralts floated over, volunteering to try. With Aven's permission, it linked minds with the two Nidoran, gathering the details.
Blue light flared in Ralts's eyes as it reached down with telekinetic power, stirring the swamp beneath the broken ice.
After a while, Ralts opened its eyes—and a massive, black, viscous mass rose from the muck, easily half a person in size.
"This is… Black Sludge?"
Aven's eyes widened. Black Sludge was a top-tier poison-type resource, perfect for raising poison-type Pokémon. Simply holding it could let them recover stamina over time.
He had suspected that something valuable was hidden here—after all, Muk had been born and grown to an advanced-level Pokémon in this swamp. But he hadn't expected such a massive piece of Black Sludge; even in his previous life, this was rare.
Ralts lowered it to the ground, eyes narrowing happily at Aven's clear excitement.
"Well done, Ralts."
Careful not to touch the toxic mass directly, Aven examined it closely.
"Wait… what's this?"
At the base of the sludge, he spotted a faintly glowing crystal.
"Nido!"
The two Nidoran moved closer. Even they could feel the crystal's poisonous energy—stronger than the sludge itself.
"Could all this sludge have formed because of this crystal?"
He noticed that where the crystal touched the ground, the earth was already corroded, seeping with purple liquid.
"It's even more precious than the Black Sludge… and Muk probably never tried to eat it because even it couldn't handle the toxicity."
It was too valuable to leave behind. But wood boxes corroded instantly at its touch. In the end, Aven could only rely on Ralts's telekinesis to carry both the crystal and the Black Sludge back safely.
"Let's go—we're heading back."
He returned his Pokémon, then set off with Petilil, Froslass, and Ralts toward the forest's edge.
After much effort, they reached the Safari Zone—only to face a new problem: where to store the crystal and sludge. Both emitted such intense poison energy that they could corrode almost anything, turning the area around them toxic over time.
Muk, too, needed a suitable habitat. Its very body was living toxic sludge—anywhere it stayed would grow fouler and more poisonous over time.
"In that case… we'll need a specialized poison zone."
In his past life, Muk was usually kept in garbage dumps, where the refuse served as its favorite food.
The image of the slums flashed in Aven's mind—mountains of reeking trash, poorly buried and festering. In this ancient era, garbage disposal was crude; in Aspiration City, for example, all trash was simply carted to the slums for burial.
But that method caused endless problems: disease, plague, contamination. Muk could solve this. A well-managed dump could actually be a necessity for a city.
Fruitvale Village's civic development needed to accelerate—and waste management was the perfect place to start. Aven resolved to find a site for a proper landfill.
With such a facility, the village's sanitation would improve drastically, and Muk could live there happily. Over time, it could even become the ideal training ground for poison-type Pokémon—especially with Muk, the toxic crystal, and the Black Sludge all enriching the area's poison energy.
It would also benefit the village's many poison-type trainers—most of whom raised Gloom—providing them with a dedicated training site.
(End of Chapter)