Chapter 101: Trainers' Favorite Goods

The next morning, Guang Tai woke early; though he had worked hard yesterday, his body seemed stronger, and his spirits were excellent.

Perhaps these knowledge had changed his body—those with Spirit Power and Psychic Power always have bodies and minds unlike ordinary people.

July 5th, cloudy weather. Guang Tai gave his Bulbasaur water as usual and received a message from Goh—he expected to arrive in the afternoon.

Later, while preparing breakfast, Guang Tai suddenly thought of something. He poured all the ingredients—Rolling Beans, Crystal Honey, Smoky Tuber, and Charm Ball—into a pot, boiled them, poured the mixture into molds, placed an Ice Stone on top, and let the cold Ice-type energy gradually cool the paste, then plated and sliced it.

‘Obtained “Forest Jellied Cake”!’

‘Description: A secret specialty of Bydo, capable of curing all abnormal statuses of a Pokémon.’

‘Additional task completed! Reward craft unlocked!’

‘Cooking Food Craft (C+): You can prepare different hot dishes; through your cooking, the food gains unique effects that benefit and enhance Pokémon.’

‘Unique Bonus: Endurance LV1—Slightly increases endurance after consumption, reducing fatigue.’

‘So all I needed was to make one unique snack to unlock hot food craft. Though Forest Jellied Cake is boiled, it’s actually eaten cold.’

Guang Tai looked at the finished Forest Jellied Cake, took a bite himself, and felt his energy rise noticeably!

The effect should be even better if given to Pokémon!

Then, Guang Tai opened his Poké Device and searched for the recipe for Power Cubes.

He had fully mastered the Charm Ball food craft; now he had Cooking Food too. C+ craft was already quite impressive, and since Power Cubes were already famous throughout the Pokémon world, he might as well try learning them.

Perhaps Power Cube craft is B-rank.

Power Cubes from Hoenn are the most famous in the region, thanks to its fertile soil, which grows unique berries impossible to cultivate elsewhere. Standard Power Cubes are made by mixing 2–4 berries in a Berry Mixer, or via a Poké Cube Set or Fruit Processor—but Guang Tai had no Berry Mixer, so he could only attempt manual production.

Power Cubes provide essential nutrition; the berry’s smoothness affects the cube’s fineness, which enhances a Pokémon’s gloss, and the cubes also boost five stats: Cool, Beauty, Cute, Tough, and Smart—this is the fifth category of Pokémon stats beyond Species Value, Effort Value, Individual Value, and Physical Stats.

There were many videos online about Coordinator Trainers; Guang Tai quickly found one on Power Cube making, with high likes. The uploader’s appearance—blue coat, elegant posture, hair like a silk scarf, small mustache, square face—was unmistakable.

‘That’s Adam, Milotic’s teacher!’

Adam was the former Gym Leader of Liuli City and Hoenn’s second most famous Champion, Milotic’s mentor. While Goh went off to dig for stones and Milotic temporarily replaced the Champion, Adam resumed his role as Liuli City’s Gym Leader; he specialized in Water-type and was a renowned Coordinator Trainer.

Guang Tai followed Adam.

Adam’s video explained in great detail:

‘The flavor and color of Poké Cubes depend on the types and quantities of berries mixed; the number of cubes produced equals the number of berries used. For manual production, grind the berries into powder, add MooMoo Milk and powdered sugar.’

‘If you have the means, use a Fruit Processor and Poké Cube Machine—during their operation, berries are densely compressed and mixed, increasing the chance of producing High-Quality Poké Cubes, which grant greater stat boosts to Pokémon when consumed.’

‘You can also make High-Quality Poké Cubes manually, but the higher the quality, the more rare berries you need—try if you can. Different cube colors correspond to different flavors.’

As Adam demonstrated manually in the video, Guang Tai watched closely.

‘So that’s how it works—the manual method is similar to making chocolate bars; if you can make chocolate, you can make manual Power Cubes, and the process is much like Poké Candies.’

‘But manual cubes are far inferior to those made by Fruit Processors. Standard-quality Power Cubes are fine for home use and cost little—common berry cubes like Orangeberry Cubes are very cheap.’

Guang Tai watched the video and began making them.

But watching the video didn’t let him directly copy the technique—perhaps because the video was “edited” and incomplete?

Grinding and boiling were straightforward, but cooling required frequent use of the Ice Stone. Guang Tai thought this stone was incredibly useful—having it meant he didn’t even need a fridge. The Ice Stone Ruo Luo sold him worked exceptionally well; it might have been chipped from Natural Frozen Stone or Eternal Ice.

‘Sorry, I shouldn’t have called you a merchant—this Ice Stone is amazing!’

Since the Muzi Berry had just been harvested, Guang Tai naturally added Muzi Berries from the Shendu Forest to this batch of Power Cubes!

‘Obtained: Muzi Berry Power Cube (High-Quality Cube)!’

‘Description: A Power Cube infused with Muzi Berry and various berry powders, offering multiple flavors but dominated by bitterness.’

‘Effect: Boosts Tough and Smart stats, enhances Pokémon gloss and growth rate, restores some HP, rich in nutrients and energy, beneficial to Pokémon growth.’

‘Tip: Eating too much causes bloating.’

‘Additional task completed! Reward craft unlocked!’

‘High-Quality Power Cube Craft (B+): Craft for producing high-grade Power Cubes; you fully understand berry mixing ratios, and your cubes yield advanced effects.’

Yellow-green cubes are usually sour, but adding Muzi Berry makes them bitter.

‘Huh?’ Just then, Bulbasaur trotted over—it had been watching by the flowerpot for a long time. Guang Tai handed it the Muzi Berry Cube: ‘Try some?’

Bulbasaur tilted its head, recalling past Charm Balls and mushrooms, its eyes sparkling.

Another tasty one!

In the wild, one must be cautious about what to eat—but now that it was captured, Bulbasaur had no such worries. It bit into the Power Cube with a loud crunch, chewing carefully. Its cautious nature favored bitterness and disliked astringency; Bulbasaur loved this flavor, happily chewing away!

Strange sounds came from its back and head. Guang Tai noticed the Strong Herbs and tender leaves on its head suddenly unfurled, becoming more beautiful and glossy.

‘Boosted gloss—but why on its head and herbs? Is it because it’s a plant-type?’

Guang Tai chuckled, observing Bulbasaur’s leaves and back plants. After devouring several Power Cubes, Bulbasaur felt too full to eat more—its cheeks puffed out, its belly swelled, and it let out a huge sigh!

‘Naa~ (burp)’

‘Oh no, you can’t eat too much of this!’

Bulbasaur’s eyes were half-closed as it lay sprawled on the kitchen floor.

Double-Edge drifted into the kitchen, furious that Guang Tai had sliced berries without it—after all, it was the knife!

Then it saw Bulbasaur, round and sprawled on the ground.

Who let a grass pig into the kitchen?

Double-Edge wrapped its ribbon around Bulbasaur and lifted it high.

‘Yowoo~’

Child, when you’re full, the whole kitchen sings your name.

‘Ah, Double-Edge, could you absorb Bulbasaur’s excess nutrients? It seems overfed!’

Guang Tai remembered—Double-Edge’s original ability was absorbing the life essence of nearby creatures, so it could also aid digestion!

This sword has so many functions! Digestive Sword?

‘Yowoo~’

Double-Edge blinked its eyes, suddenly struck by an idea. It muttered softly—though as a knight’s blade it wasn’t meant for this, adding a fat-reduction service to the workshop might attract many customers.

So I have so many uses!

Double-Edge pondered, its eyes rolling, carrying Bulbasaur out—while Bulbasaur kept burping all the way.

‘Learned two food preparation techniques—my customer base has expanded again. Breeders can now buy food items from me, but limited by raw materials.’

The Muzi Berries from my orchard clearly weren’t enough, so I must cultivate Muzi Berries and other berries in the Ruins Grove—fruits grown by my own hands are better quality. But before that, buying common berries from other regions to supplement materials is feasible.

But Guang Tai remembered: to sell Power Cubes, he needed some kind of Breeder or Trainer license. He searched online and confirmed it—yes, certification was required. He didn’t have one.

‘Looks like I need to study more and get a Breeder’s License.’

Making them at home was fine, but selling them required certification—to prevent illegal vendors from selling low-quality or counterfeit Power Cubes.

Since the Muzi Berries were harvested, Guang Tai packaged several and delivered them to the village.

‘These truly are the miraculous Muzi Berries. I never thought you’d find them—among berries, these are rare. Now the apothecary can brew more medicines.’

The apothecary elder was deeply grateful for the Muzi Berries. Though the village had internet access, the villagers had no Poké Devices; when researchers came to explore ruins, they traded with them. Otherwise, they lived in traditional isolation.

The elder brewed a new medicine, crushing the Muzi Berries. Guang Tai watched as the elder mixed the proportions, adding Muzi Berries and Vitality Reeds. Information slowly formed in his mind:

‘You actively learned a craft!’

‘Obtained: Potent Traditional Medicine Craft (B)!’

‘Medicines you brew gain an extra 50% effect; you can create unique Potent Traditional Medicines using different berries and herbs.’

‘Can craft: Elixir of All, Vitality Fragments, Vitality Blocks, Potent Medicine.’

The Vitality series was unlocked, along with the Elixir of All. Guang Tai smiled slightly. After finishing the medicine, the elder handed him one portion.

‘This is my thanks—a secret medicine from Shendu. Consuming it strengthens the body and cures illness. Once, a plague struck the fruit trees here, costing me many stored berries.’

Fruit tree plague? Guang Tai hadn’t expected to hear such a thing in the Pokémon world—but now he recalled: in the games, the Kalos berry orchards had mentioned something similar.

Guang Tai took the medicine—crushed Muzi Berries mixed with dried herbs, formed into pill-like pellets.

‘Artifact: Shendu Secret Medicine’

‘Description: A secret medicine passed down from ancient Shendu; strengthens the body and cures illness. When fed to a Pokémon, all its physical stats increase slightly, allowing it to surpass its limits!’

‘Can be crafted using Potent Traditional Medicine Craft.’

Physical stats! This was the second time he’d seen something that enhanced physical stats—and all of them! That meant Speed, Power, Technique, Endurance, and Jumping would all grow, though it didn’t boost elemental energy.

Its core ingredient was the same as Poké Candies: Muzi Berry. He’d need to dedicate a separate orchard to Muzi Berries.

In Johto, physical stat boosters were “Ball Juice” and Master Pot’s secret medicine—but Ball Juice only temporarily enhanced stats with a time limit and couldn’t exceed a Pokémon’s maximum physical cap.

After bidding farewell to the apothecary elder, Guang Tai returned to his workshop. The sky echoed with the roars of Charizard groups—vast numbers of Charizards gathered in the distant horizon, like a dragon legion!

And… a giant hot air balloon?!

(End of Chapter)