Chapter 24: Elite Four Will, Psychic Master

Xiang Guangtai put the prepared package into the box, while Charizard was holding several cards, seeming to be checking the information of the goods.

Xiang Guangtai took a berry for Charizard, but the latter waved its claws and let out a dull roar.

"Ao" Charizard waved its claws, looking like they were not familiar, but it didn't actually mean that.

"Yo~" Dujianqiao floated to Xiang Guangtai's side in time to translate.

Charizard was saying that it couldn't eat food delivered by others during working hours. If it got a stomachache, it would delay the delivery, and might even cause the package to be delayed or lost. And before it set off, it had already eaten its working meal, and there was emergency Pokémon food in the box.

Charizard roared low while taking out something that looked like a bun from the box.

Rage Candy Bar, a specialty of Mahogany Town, and also a representative snack of the Johto region. The Charizard flying from Blackthorn City also brought it. If it encountered abnormal conditions on the road and appeared in an abnormal state, it would take a bite.

"Hmm... very reasonable, indeed shouldn't eat other people's food casually." Xiang Guangtai was also stunned for a moment, realizing that Pokémon with formal jobs are different from wild Pokémon. 【2

"Hmm, that makes sense. It's true that one shouldn't just eat other people's food." Guang Tai was momentarily stunned, realizing that Pokémon with formal jobs are still different from wild Pokémon.

Their food safety awareness is truly maxed out.

I'm just a client; I overstepped.

"Awoo~"

Soon, the Charizard flapped its wings. Without much further interaction, it faithfully fulfilled its job as a courier, took the package, and flew off, gradually disappearing into the high sky as a black dot.

Accompanied by a gust of wind that stirred up blades of grass, something seemed to fall from the sky and landed on Guang Tai's head.

It was a very conspicuous white leaf.

"Huh?" Guang Tai took the white leaf off his head.

【Rare Material: White Herb.】

【Description: A white herb leaf that retains a pleasant aroma. Herbs are plants occasionally found in grasslands, forests, and other places. Sometimes they are blown out of the grass by Flying-type Pokémon or carried away to distant places on their bodies.】

【When the Pokémon holding it has its stats lowered, it can return to its previous state exactly once.】

【Gained Knowledge: 1】

【Leaf-Picking Traveler: Occasionally obtain herb leaves from grasslands or leaves blown by the wind, 5% chance.】

Herbs can indeed be obtained from the natural environment, but exactly where they grow is not fixed, so whether one can find a complete herb plant is purely a matter of luck. However, flower shops in various regions often grow herbs, and one can even frequently see things like Gracidea flowers.

The Pokémon associated with herbs is Tangela. It is said that herbs can frequently be found among Tangela's vines, and the function of the vines is similar to that of herbs, although it looks like these two things are completely unrelated!

Beep-beep—

The computer made a sound.

A new wild client has refreshed again; the spawn rate is truly high.

Thinking this, Guang Tai returned to the house.

He opened the computer to check the other party's email, only to find the content read—

【I foresee that you have "Light Clay." To be honest, I've heard that using this clay can strengthen Psychic-type moves, but this clay has a sparse distribution only in the underground of Sinnoh and cannot be found in the Kanto and Johto regions. If you have any...】

Foresee?

Is it a Psychic?

"The ID is 【Xatu】?"

This ID was quite unfamiliar; one couldn't tell anything from it, but all who come are guests. Since the other party foresaw the Light Clay and even asked if he was selling it—

Of course he would sell it!

Although he had initially planned to fire the Light Clay into pottery, he hadn't found the time yet. Now, someone actually wanted to buy it directly.

Beep-beep—

The computer received another email.

【I foresee that you are preparing to fire the Light Clay into a unique piece of pottery. I am also very interested in this pottery. Please be sure to fire it well; I will pay double the price.】

"Eh?"

Guang Tai was taken aback.

This person is quite impressive. Don't Psychics usually have to be close to read thoughts or perform foresight?

To prevent the other party from sending any more emails, Guang Tai quickly added them as a friend and began to communicate.

"You should know the function of Light Clay, right? When a Pokémon holding it uses Light Screen or Reflect, the effect lasts longer than usual."

"The price of Light Clay is 50,000. If you want me to fire it into pottery, the price itself will increase, to about 100,000. After doubling, that's 200,000. Are you sure you still want to buy the pottery I fire at double the price?"

Guang Tai had originally wanted to quote 20,000, but thinking that this item was a scarce commodity here, 20,000 was really too low.

【Xatu】: "No problem. Money is not important to us Psychics. Also, I am a magician who travels the world and am somewhat famous in the magic world. You don't need to worry about my funding."

"And, regarding your previous question, why Psychics can read thoughts from so far away—haha, I didn't read your thoughts. I just foresaw the future and knew you would say those things at that time. I also borrowed the power of a Pokémon, and my partner is Xatu."

"My Xatu uses Future Sight to find special items, and everything it finds possesses incredible power!"

Eh? Future Sight?

In Pokémon battles, Future Sight is a delayed-damage move, but in non-combat situations, the move Future Sight can indeed achieve "foreseeing the future."

Precisely foreseeing the near future and then taking corresponding actions—this is the essence of this move. And a Pokémon like Xatu can not only peek into a person's future but also view their past.

"You seem very interested in psychic powers." 【Xatu】 sent a message, along with a confused emoji, followed by a string of strange messages:

"If you want to know if you possess psychic powers, or if you are interested in psychic training and want to pursue greater power, I can offer you some advice."

"A simple training method. Night is a time when psychic powers can be enhanced. Stare at a certain tree in front of you, then focus all your attention on it. This can train your concentration, and you can also focus on battle during combat! Even if you can't awaken psychic powers, you can gradually strengthen your own spirit!"

"Although I have other training methods, those are secrets. Letting people know my training methods is equivalent to letting them know the secret of my strength!"

Hmm, the feeling of dealing with a Psychic was very novel at first, but now it's a bit uncomfortable.

No matter what he says or does, it will be seen by Future Sight!

"Could you please stop foreseeing my future?" Guang Tai replied helplessly: "As a craftsman, I don't want my handiwork to be seen by others either."

【Xatu】: "Apologies, I forgot about that. Then please go ahead and fire it for me. After the firing is finished, you can send me a message at any time; I am always here."

After sending this message, he stopped talking, and Guang Tai immediately got up and found the bag of sealed Light Clay.

This stuff is indeed rare in the Johto region; most Light Clay comes from Sinnoh.

For firing, can the forge be used simply?

Without a professional kiln for firing ceramics, he would use the most primitive and simple method. With the bonuses of craftsmanship and knowledge, Guang Tai was full of confidence.

Thus, the door to the forge was opened, the cleaned furnace was reactivated, and the sealed outer wall was slowly pushed open by Guang Tai.

There is no anvil; he will need to purchase one later. More forging tools and firing tools also need to be purchased. Should he just place an order online later and have it delivered by the Ecruteak City courier?

Perhaps there are spare anvils and forging tools in the village.

In simple pottery firing, there is a method called Shichirin firing. Simply put, it is charcoal furnace firing, and this charcoal furnace is actually about the same size as a small coal stove.

In some more primitive places, the requirements for pottery firing are not high, so there is no need for a kiln. Fuel is piled directly on the ground to fire the pottery, although the quality won't be very good.

However, Guang Tai has a furnace here.

Raw material processing, clay body molding, glazing... Guang Tai quickly completed these three steps, using a unique pottery-making technique. The glazing step was relatively troublesome.

Glaze refers to grinding certain natural ores or plants into powder and mixing them with clay to make a slurry. It is applied to the vessel body and forms a thin layer of glass on the surface of the object after firing.

So, the earliest glaze was wood ash. Guang Tai took the time to make glaze slurry; fortunately, he had a large stock of ores.

Once everything was ready, the next part was the calcination. The time for firing pottery varies depending on many factors, but it is usually between a few hours and a few days. Different types of clay require different firing times and temperatures, and some special clays may require longer to reach the ideal degree of sintering.

And for Light Clay, it was fired and finished in a few hours.

During this process, Doublade ran in to watch for a while, but left immediately after feeling the heat!

Steel-types are weak to Fire!

"You can't do this job, or it would turn into a forging competition."

Guang Tai quipped.

Soon, Guang Tai used tools to take out the fired pottery.

【Craft: Light Pottery (Pot).】

【Description: Pottery processed and fired from rare Light Clay, using unique firing techniques.】

【Retained Effect: When a Pokémon holding it uses Light Screen or Reflect, the effect lasts longer than usual. Ground-type and Rock-type Pokémon will love this fired pottery very much; Light Clay will slightly enhance their elemental energy.】

【Unique Effect: When Psychic-type Pokémon stay with the Light Pottery for a long time, it will strengthen the power of Psychic-type moves.】

"Huh, although I know that Poison-type Pokémon like Poison Barb and Fire-types like Charcoal, does Light Clay have an effect on Psychic, Rock, and Ground types at the same time?"

"Indeed, come to think of it, it's clearly Ground-type clay, yet it can enhance Psychic-type status moves. Pokémon items and materials are truly magical. There is an ancient Pokémon called Baltoy, and it and its evolution Claydol are said to have been turned from ancient clay doll artifacts. The Golett family in the Unova region also has similar legends."

"Claydol is Ground+Psychic, Golurk is Ground+Ghost, so, is Light Clay the raw material for making these clay doll Pokémon?"

Guang Tai just let his thoughts wander for a moment, then quickly returned to the computer to tell the other party the result of the firing and hoped the other party would place an order. However, the other party indicated that there was no need for such trouble.

【Xatu】: "I am currently doing training in Mahogany Town. Since I can see you through Future Sight, it means my psychic powers can also be transmitted to you through the computer."

"I will have Xatu use 'Teleport' to pick up the goods. Your craft will definitely accomplish something in my hands!"

Accomplish something? What does that mean?

"Accomplish something means I will challenge other powerful Pokémon Trainers. Apologies, this is the last time I will foresee your future. Let me end with a self-introduction."

"My name is Will, a former magician who traveled the world, and also one of the current Elite Four of the Johto League. Nice to meet you!"

Accompanied by the sound of a payment being made, Guang Tai opened his Pokégear and found that 200,000 had been credited to his account!

Whoosh—

A strange psychic fluctuation appeared. Guang Tai turned around and found that the freshly fired Light Pottery began to "shatter," and then disappeared in an instant!

"Can it Teleport to pick up goods from so far away? This psychic power is simply..."

Guang Tai was very surprised; this was just like the Abra of the old man in the mountains!

Eh, come to think of it, shouldn't the impressive one be the Abra?!

"Psychic-type Pokémon are truly convenient! By the way, next time if I need to fire pottery, should I fire an ocarina?"

(End of Chapter)