Chapter Sixty-One: Subjugation

“Hey! Where did you come from, you little primary schooler? Are you trying to attract a mate or something?” Amu couldn’t help shouting at the hornless rhino.

At her words, the hornless rhino immediately panicked, looking around in confusion.

Amu's "animal senses" allowed her not only to read surface thoughts, but even to sense deeper layers of consciousness…

The burly creature that had been glaring at the rhino finally calmed down once it stopped its provocations. With a look that seemed to say, “I won’t stoop to the level of a fool,” she turned and sauntered back to her “throne,” sprawling out upon it.

Only then did Amu realize—the big one was a female Armored Rhino, and this hornless rhino…

“Give it a rest! You’ve already lost your horn!” Amu decisively stopped the hesitating rhino just as it seemed about to start provoking again.

Sure enough, it froze in place and then went cross-eyed, as if trying to look at its missing horn, panic swiftly clouding its features.

Amongst Armored Rhinos, when it comes to mating, it is necessary for both to rub their horns together.

“It’s alright, it’ll grow back!” Amu patted its head to comfort it.

As she spoke, Amu took several vials of medicine from her backpack and began mixing them on the spot…

The horns of Armored Rhinos do regenerate, but if left alone, it might take a year or two before they grow back properly.

“Amu, Amu, is everything alright over there?” Xiaoxia’s anxious voice sounded.

From the beginning, she had no idea what Amu was doing.

“It’s fine, I’m just making medicine for an injured Armored Rhino,” Amu reassured her.

Amu then applied a paste she had concocted to the broken horn, and soaked a bandage in a liquid solution before wrapping it securely around the stump.

“With this, it’ll heal in half a month, and the new horn won’t be brittle!” Amu declared after finishing the bandaging.

The hornless rhino nudged Amu with the stump of its horn in a friendly gesture.

It then glanced at the big one who had gone back to sleep, as if already planning for half a month later…

At that moment, Amu pressed her hand to the rhino’s head, sending her intention clearly across, while saying aloud, “She’s not interested in you. Why not travel with me instead?”

The hornless rhino, which had just shown friendliness toward Amu, immediately turned its head away.

Amu was in no hurry and tried another approach. “Look, your current strategy isn’t going to attract her attention at all… Why not travel with me, broaden your horizons, maybe even evolve? Who knows, that might do the trick! And whenever you’re not traveling with me, I’ll make sure to leave you right here at the ranch.”

The reason there were so many “ribboned”—that is, trainer-owned—Armored Rhinos here was because the ranch offered foster care for them.

Each trainer could carry six Pokémon at a time—these were kept in Poké Balls. Any beyond that number would be sent to the research lab or breeding center, where they roamed free.

At the Armored Rhino Ranch, the presence of so many kin was beneficial for the Pokémon’s growth, so most trainers chose to leave their Rhinos here for fostering.

“If you stay here, everyone knows the same moves you do. But if you travel with me, and return after evolving and learning new skills… wouldn’t that make you stand out even more?” Amu encouraged.

“Speech” was just Amu’s habit; in truth, she was using her “animal senses” to communicate more deeply—after all, most Pokémon couldn’t understand human language directly, but rather sensed the emotions within.

What Amu projected into the hornless rhino’s mind was an imposing image of a Rhyperior, returning to the ranch, marching proudly and basking in the admiration of all.

Sure enough, the rhino’s eyes sparkled immediately…

“Horn! Horn, horn!” The rhino looked gravely at Amu, confirming—Are you really going to train me for battle?

It clearly knew that most of its kind were trained as mounts, but it preferred fighting.

“Of course. Before you evolve, you’ll just be helping with transportation on the side.” With that, Amu pulled out a Poké Ball and tapped it against the Armored Rhino’s head.

The rhino was instantly drawn into the ball, which chimed and flashed to signal a successful capture.

Meanwhile, the big one lying on the grinding stone seemed to realize something, opening her eyes to glance over before deliberately turning her head away.

“Hey? What are you doing? Did you really catch it?” On the other end of the Pokédex video call, Xiaoxia was dumbfounded—why had Amu managed to catch the most aggressive rhino, and with just a few muttered words?

“Yep, now I’ve got six Pokémon as well.” Amu looked at the Poké Ball, then released the newly caught rhino once more.

“Horn! Horn, horn!” The hornless rhino called out to the big one on the rock.

The other barely cracked an eye, gave a dead-fish glance, then rolled over to sleep facing the other way…

“Horn!” The hornless rhino seemed to say: Next time I come back, I’ll teach you how to be a real rhino.

Pokémon have very different ideas about choosing a mate compared to humans, and Amu had no intention of prying further. For all she knew, the hornless rhino might just like that sort of thing.

“Let’s head to the central lake first… By the way, you need a name… How about ‘Hornless’?” Amu asked, attempting to mount from the side, only to be bumped off by the rhino.

…

After a bit of back and forth, Amu finally managed to get on the Armored Rhino by suggesting the name “Aduan”—“Stumpy.”

Though Pokémon often didn’t understand human speech, they were surprisingly particular about names…

Riding the Armored Rhino along the road to the central lake, Amu could feel its speed.

Among all rideable Pokémon, Armored Rhino were known for both speed and stamina, though their acceleration was slow and, most of all, they were difficult to control!

Usually, Armored Rhino trained as mounts were docile and steady, but they still retained the “flaws” of their species—they were easily excitable!

So, when riding an Armored Rhino, one had to be careful about speed.

In the city, it wasn’t a problem, since there were speed limits and traffic, so the rhino wouldn’t run too fast.

But out in the open…

If you let the Armored Rhino gallop for too long at high speed, it would inevitably get carried away, charging at anything in its path—even rocks.

This could easily injure the rider.

This point was especially emphasized in the theoretical portion of the Armored Rhino riding license exam.

But for Amu, this was no trouble. By using her “animal senses” to synchronize her mind with Aduan’s, she could easily calm its excitement.

Along the way, Amu noticed that Xiaoxia had cut the call—but with so many people around her, Amu wasn’t worried about her safety.

As soon as Amu arrived at the lakeside, she saw Xiaoxia, looking a bit disheveled even in her protective gear, finally subdue her chosen Armored Rhino—just in time to see her pick up the Poké Ball!

Seeing Amu arrive on the hornless Armored Rhino, Xiaoxia looked a bit embarrassed.

Clearly, she had rushed to tame a rhino so as not to lose to Amu. If Amu had arrived a bit later, he would have found Xiaoxia waiting coolly by the lake…