Pokemon: The Breeder's Farming Journey to Modernizing an Ancient World

Shinx felt that this was truly the most carefree period it had ever experienced.

Every morning, it woke up in the wooden cabin nestled within the berry grove, alongside its newly made companions. Upon waking, it could dig out the stored Pokémon food from the cabin and share it with Starly and the others. After breakfast, they would all gather on the grassy field of the farm to play and train together.

Big Brother Rhydon was always the most enthusiastic about training, while Big Sister Petilil was the kindest to Shinx—the feeling of being enveloped in that soothing life energy was just too comfortable.

Of course, the one who treated it best was still its Trainer. Shinx truly felt grateful that it had chosen to stay back then.

That's why it felt it had to do something to be worthy of its Trainer's kindness—just like all the others.

It had to grow stronger. That was the only thing it could do.

Zzzap! Zzzap!

Electric sparks crackled around Shinx's body in the field.

Then, in a sudden burst of motion, its figure shot forward, a flash of white trailing behind as it used Tackle.

Even as it ran, the electricity continued to flicker across its fur—but after a few steps, the light fizzled out.

Noticing this, Shinx skidded to a stop and frustratedly smacked its forehead with a paw.

What it had been trying to do was channel electricity into its Tackle while running, turning the move into an electric-type attack.

This move was called Spark—a technique where the body is enveloped in electricity and launched at the opponent. It was considerably stronger than a simple Tackle.

(TN: I though it was volt tackle too, but raws says its spark.)

Shinx had already mastered generating electricity and using Tackle separately. But fusing the two? That was still out of reach.

"Meowww~ "

Shinx let out a dejected cry.

"Star~!"

At that moment, Starly's figure swooped in, landing on a nearby tree branch.

Maybe because they both grew up without parents and had to rely on themselves to survive, Starly had always looked after Shinx with great care.

Seeing Shinx upset after yet another failed attempt, Starly immediately flew over to comfort it.

"Meow meow~"

 Shinx perked up and began asking Starly how it could improve its Tackle technique.

It knew that Starly had once relied on Tackle to train itself until it mastered Take Down, so maybe there was something to learn from that process.

"Star~"

Starly gently patted Shinx's head with its wing, then took flight to demonstrate the moves.

As a white light burst behind it, Starly shot forward and slammed into a large boulder nearby, cracks spiderwebbing across the surface upon impact.

Seeing this, Shinx was awestruck. Starly's Tackle was so much stronger!

"Star~"

After demonstrating Tackle, Starly then performed Take Down.

The two moves looked similar, but the way Take Down channeled normal-type energy was entirely different, creating a much more powerful result.

Boom!

Starly slammed into another boulder. This time, the rock shattered completely—far more destructive than the last move.

"Meow meow~"

Shinx looked on in admiration, trying to replay every detail of Starly's Take Down in its mind.

Then, electricity once again sparked across Shinx's body, completely enveloping it as it focused on the motion of Tackle.

In the next second, Shinx dashed forward. Already naturally gifted with speed, its movement now resembled a flash of lightning streaking across the field.

It reappeared before a rock and, without hesitation, slammed right into it.

Zzzap zzzap zzzap!

Electricity surged out from Shinx as it collided with the rock.

Under the dual impact of Tackle and the electric charge, cracks formed instantly across the surface—until finally, the rock crumbled.

Staring at the shattered remains, Shinx was momentarily stunned—then lit up with excitement.

'It had finally done it! It had successfully used Spark!'

"Star~"

Up in the air, Starly blinked in surprise before smiling in approval.

Shinx really was so much like it—not just in upbringing, but in the exceptional talent it displayed.

"Meow meow~"

 Shinx let the sparks fade from its body and turned to Starly, happily crying out.

Then it dashed off toward the farm—it couldn't wait to share the good news with Aven!

Whooosh~

The wind howled past its ears as it ran at full speed.

But just as it was about to reach the farm, Shinx suddenly came to a screeching halt.

Ahead, Sutter and Fessen were walking shoulder-to-shoulder into the farm. The sight of humans made Shinx tremble from head to paw.

Its gaze locked onto Aven's room, its whole body shaking as it tried to take a step forward.

It wanted nothing more than to tell its beloved Trainer that it had mastered Spark.

But the fear—that deep, uncontrollable fear of humans—rooted it in place. Its legs wouldn't move.

"Meow meow..."

 Shinx whimpered quietly, then turned and ran back toward the berry grove.

"Star…"

Starly, still in the air, let out a long sigh.

Maybe it was just like how Starly feared leaving the safety of Fruitvale Village—Shinx, too, was afraid of humans.

With that thought, Starly quickly flew toward Aven's window, tapping it repeatedly with its beak.

Inside, Aven had been busy preparing training plans for his Pokémon. Hearing the tapping, he immediately looked up.

"Starly? What are you doing here? Did something happen?" Aven asked as he opened the window.

"Star~"

Starly nodded, then stepped aside, pointing its wing toward the grove.

Aven followed its gesture—and caught sight of Shinx's figure disappearing into the trees. His face fell into a thoughtful expression.

Meanwhile, Shinx was feeling absolutely miserable. It had been so close to seeing its Trainer, and it had chickened out.

Are humans really that scary? it wondered to itself, falling into silence.

After all this time together—whether it was little Andy, Uncle Mike, or Aunt Erin—Shinx could sense that they didn't mean it any harm.

But still, whenever it saw them, that deep fear would well up inside, making it want nothing more than to run away.

"Meow..." Shinx let out a long sigh.

'Would it never be able to overcome that fear?'

If so, it would never be able to leave the farm and explore the world outside.

It thought about the wonderful world Petilil had once described, and its heart became even more conflicted.

Maybe staying here isn't so bad, it told itself. At least I have so many friends here. That's good enough… right?

"Shinx, what are you thinking about?"

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out in its ears, making Shinx jolt.

It turned around—and saw Aven standing in the distance, smiling gently at it.

Instantly, Shinx's eyes filled with tears. It bolted forward and leapt into his arms.

"There, there. It's okay now," Aven said softly, holding Shinx and comforting the trembling little creature.

"Meow meow~"

After a while, Shinx shyly jumped out of Aven's arms.

Electric sparks began to crackle across its body—it wanted to show its Trainer the Spark technique it had just learned.

"That's… Spark!"

Aven's eyes lit up as he recognized the move.

"Meow! "

Shinx nodded excitedly, then launched itself forward, its body wreathed in electricity.

In the blink of an eye, it vanished—and then reappeared by a rock, slamming into it and shattering it to pieces.

So fast…

Aven's pupils contracted slightly as he observed.

He had already known Shinx was fast—it had honed its speed surviving in the Black Forest. That was one of its unique talents.

But now, enveloped in electricity while using Spark, Shinx's speed had been amplified even more.

At this point, aside from Starly, who could harness the power of wind, no other Pokémon could match Shinx's speed.

And with that speed, the power of Spark had increased significantly—the two strengths complemented each other perfectly.

After successfully performing the move, Shinx quickly returned and looked at Aven with anticipation.

Still just a child, Aven thought with a smile as he picked up the little Shinx, whose face was beaming with joy.

That smile made Aven's heart ache just a little. It was clear now: Shinx had tried to come to him earlier to share the news about learning Spark, but had been scared off when it saw Sutter and Fessen at the door.

Aven sighed softly, then said seriously,

(End of Chapter)