Chapter 44: Obtaining Ball Fruit, the Hidden Grasswhisper

On the other side, after gathering enough wood, Guang Tai turned his gaze into the forest’s depths and ventured inward with Shuang Jianshao for a brief exploration.

“If I arrange the Symbol Stone Tablets to spell out Silvally’s name, would plants grow faster? The Symbol Stone Tablets establish a connection with Pokémon, and in forests where Silvally once appeared, trees always grew exceptionally lush.”

“Let’s try going back—first see if we can make herbs and crops grow rapidly. And since it makes trees flourish, that means the soil’s fertility will also recover quickly.”

Plucking wool from Legendary and Mythical Pokémon?

Small plucking doesn’t count as plucking.

While exploring the forest, Guang Tai spotted several Pokémon, such as common Spinarak, Pidgey, and Caterpie.

Paras with mushrooms on its back, Jumpluff hanging from trees, and Jynx perched on treetops emitting sounds like a wooden xylophone.

Along the path stood motionless Sunflora, groups of three or five Shroomish, Togepi standing on its tail, and a dozing Murkrow.

On the ground, a Togepi poked its head out of a burrow, while a Badishu stood by the roadside staring at him.

“H-hello, I’m just passing through.”

Guang Tai greeted Badishu, who puffed out his cheeks and emitted a low “gurgle,” fixing Guang Tai with deadfish eyes as his head turned slowly, like a machine.

Advancing deeper into the woods, there might be other terrains ahead; if pushed far enough, the trees could guide him into the Divine Capital Forest of the Northwest, an ancient forest brimming with danger.

“I remember the villagers saying he once ventured deep inside with a Pupitar to chop wood, only to be attacked by Scyther—but we’re not on the same path, so I’m unlikely to run into trouble.”

Guang Tai recalled the villagers’ warnings, but his main reason for exploring inward was to look for Hard Stone.

And indeed, perseverance rewarded him—he soon discovered Pink Hard Stone, nearly identical in properties to rock salt!

Impurities in salt veins give rock salt a pink or beet-red hue, but under the cover of trees and rocks, it’s hard to spot.

【Rare Material: Hard Stone.】

【Description: A translucent mineral. Loved by Grass- and Rock-type Pokémon, it attracts them to wherever it’s placed.】

【Obtained Craft: Attract Ball Craft】

【Obtained Knowledge: 1】

【Quick Mining: Mining Efficiency +10%】

“If Hard Stone counts as rock salt, then it must be a crystallized form of surface salt.”

Guang Tai began mining, quickly filling a sack, while Shuang Jianshao packed a small bag too. The forest breathed with wind, and as mining deepened, traces of nearby Pokémon grew scarce.

“By the way, all the Pokémon I saw earlier weren’t strong—and I didn’t see a Bellsprout at all.”

Bellsprout is everywhere—a fundamental, essential Pokémon in the ecosystem, found nearly everywhere. Yet Guang Tai hadn’t seen a single one along the way.

And unfortunately, he also saw no fruit-bearing trees. This area likely isn’t within the range where fruit grows, or perhaps the fruit has already been eaten by Pokémon.

Fruit trees can grow even on hard soil, though slowly and with fewer fruits.

Crack!

Guang Tai heard a strange sound.

Could this be Silvally’s territory? No—there were no signs of chopping. Silvally is said to fell trees to sharpen its scythes.

And soon, Guang Tai discovered something incredible!

It’s a Ball Fruit!

A Ball Fruit tree stood nearby, bearing dark fruits, surrounded by a small patch of grass that rose like a miniature platform. The terrain here was odd—the trees around the Ball Fruit tree all stood at a clear distance from it.

The presence of a Ball Fruit tree meant the soil here was extremely fertile.

A round, Ball Fruit–like Pokémon rolled over!

“Shin-Crowned Thunderbolt!”

Guang Tai hadn’t expected to see this Pokémon so soon. But after watching carefully from behind the trees for a long while, he saw no other Thunderbolts or the largest Shin-Crowned Wobbuffet. This Shin-Crowned Thunderbolt let out a giggle, then blasted a cloud of electric seeds from holes on its head, rolled a few times, and used the move “Rollout!”

The Rollout struck the Ball Fruit tree, knocking down dark fruits that landed on the seeds. Then the Shin-Crowned Thunderbolt giggled and rolled away.

Just… rolled into it once?

It felt kind of mischievous.

“No—this might be a method of seeding. It’s said Shin-Crowned Thunderbolt’s composition is very similar to Ball Fruit, and it rolls around giggling, spraying seeds from holes on its head.”

“Perhaps sometimes these seeds fuse with the Ball Fruit and eventually become an egg.”

“Pokémon eggs always appear suddenly, with no warning—no one has ever witnessed the exact moment an egg forms.”

“But some Pokémon develop without an egg stage. For example, Exeggutor—if its face falls off its body, it becomes its pre-evolved form, ‘Egg.’”

“What an extraordinary sight—this might be how Shin-Crowned Thunderbolt reproduces: by fusing Ball Fruit and seeds to develop like Exeggutor and Egg. Then, one day, the Ball Fruit suddenly becomes a Pokémon.”

After the Shin-Crowned Thunderbolt rolled away, Guang Tai approached the Ball Fruit tree and gathered all the fallen fruits and electric seeds.

【Rare Material: Black Ball Fruit.】

【Description: A black Ball Fruit with an indescribable fragrance. Used as a raw material for Poké Balls; some Pokémon love its flesh and eat the inside, leaving only the hard shell.】

【Obtained Craft: 1】

【Ball Fruit Processing (B+): In the past, Poké Ball artisans hollowed out Ball Fruit, baked them, and inserted special nets to capture Pokémon. These Ball Fruit Poké Balls often had unique properties.】

【Missing: Net Weaving Craft】

【Can Craft: Shin-Crowned Poké Ball (requires Jade, Broken Iron, Tawny Ball Fruit).】

【Rare Material: Thunderbolt Seed (from Shin-Crowned Thunderbolt).】

【Description: Seeds dispersed by Shin-Crowned Thunderbolt. They seem to parasitize Ball Fruit; when gathered in large numbers, they generate electricity—natural batteries.】

【Obtained Knowledge: 1】

【Seed Mutation: Your planted herbs/crops/fruit seeds have a 5% chance of mutating.】

“So they’re not electric seeds—they’re rare Pokémon materials. Shin-Crowned Pokémon are scarce, so their seeds are rare. But when sprayed, they do look just like electric seeds, crackling with current.”

Most mature Ball Fruit had been knocked down by the Shin-Crowned Thunderbolt. The unripe ones couldn’t be picked, and it’s said picking too many causes the tree to wither.

On the ground lay many long-rotted Ball Fruit. It seemed Shin-Crowned Thunderbolt’s seeding process wasn’t very successful.

“Even though the Divine Capital’s climate resembles Shin-Crowned’s, this isn’t Shin-Crowned—so Shin-Crowned-form Pokémon can’t thrive here in large numbers. That’s probably why Thunderbolts are so rare—they search for Ball Fruit to increase their kind, endlessly seeding.”

“And because Shin-Crowned Thunderbolt randomly discharges electricity, all nearby Pokémon have fled. The Ball Fruit tree attracts this careless electric ball. When excited, it releases all its stored current at once from the holes on its head, shocking anyone and anything nearby. In ancient villages, people would seal its head holes and drive it out.”

Guang Tai remembered the Pokédex entry he’d read while playing games—the part about Shin-Crowned Thunderbolt being driven out of villages made him smile.

“It rolled off toward the northwest, centered on the tree—that’s probably where Lilligant live.”

Guang Tai had gathered enough today. Satisfied, he and Shuang Jianshao left, memorizing the route. Shuang Jianshao even marked nearby trees.

But Guang Tai mentioned: “What if the trees regenerate strongly, or some Grass-type Pokémon passes by and restores the marks?”

Shuang Jianshao thought briefly, glanced around, spotted some stones, and both blades whirred into motion—cutting and carving with clear division of labor!

They hacked the stones into a crude, rough sculpture.

“Hey!”

How’s that? The craftsmanship is terrible—but it’s uniquely terrible, so we won’t lose the way!

As the man and the blades departed, the surrounding shrubs rustled.

A Pokémon resembling a small turtle poked its head out of the shrubbery—on its head grew a special young shoot. Seeing that Shin-Crowned Thunderbolt and Guang Tai had left, it sighed as if relieved.

“Nn…”

Grasswhisper carefully observed its surroundings. Once certain no intruders remained, it quietly crawled out of the bushes. On its back, a soil-carapace carried several strange plants, the large patches of red especially eye-catching.

They were Strong Herb and Personality Mint!

It moved to the back of the black Ball Fruit tree, quickly dug a small pit, then lay down in it, uprighting the leaves on its head, and used the move “Photosynthesis.”

Its carapace and the surrounding soil seemed to merge, drawing nourishment from the fertile earth to sustain all its plants as it rested peacefully.

But this land was frequently visited by Thunderbolts. Grasswhisper wondered uncomfortably—should it find a new home?

The forest has been so chaotic lately—Scyther, bears, black ghosts, rolling electric balls, and strange stone-digging giants.

“Shi!”

A strange, ethereal laugh echoed beside Grasswhisper. It instantly widened its eyes, lifting its head to look around—and a grass-green Pokémon appeared out of nowhere, startling it!

A Pokémon it had never seen before. Grasswhisper was nervous!

Was this Pokémon also after its plants?!

“Shi!” The grass-green Pokémon approached Grasswhisper, whispered softly, then pointed toward the direction Guang Tai had left. Grasswhisper understood its meaning, hesitated, looked that way, then shook its head.

If it moved to human territory, its plants would be ripped off!

The grass-green Pokémon shook its head, indicating it had seen countless plants in that human’s land—their vitality was incredibly rich!

(End of Chapter)