Chapter 268: The Power of Ripen, Completing Its Training, Applin!

The blazing sun hung in a sky as blue as washed jade, brilliant sunlight spilling over the emerald grass like a net woven from golden threads.

A gentle breeze brushed across the meadow, carrying the fresh scent unique to green grass; Serperior's three-meter-long body lay coiled leisurely, beside it being Applin and Tropius, who had left their newborn stage after half a month.

Applin's appearance had basically not changed, at most differing only in the shell patterns due to swapping the apple it inhabited.

Tropius had changed greatly; its body, originally only about one meter tall, had grown to around one and a half meters under sufficient nutritional intake, drawing ever closer to the average size of its kin.

After half a month of childcare life, Serperior had finally resonated with the hardship Tapu Tapu Moumou once felt while raising Growlithe.

Newborn Pokémon were always filled with unease, needing their trusted "mother/father" by their side at every moment to feel secure; thanks to this, Serperior had to temporarily return to its room, which it had barely ever lived in, to babysit alone.

After all, Luo Mu had also been busy guiding students recently; night was important sleep time, and Serperior could not let Applin and Tropius, these two newborn Pokémon who still did not know how to control their emotions, disturb Luo Mu.

After babysitting for half a month, Serperior had also learned quite a bit about the personalities of Applin and Tropius.

Applin was somewhat timid; when that flock of Honchen responsible for vigilance flew across the sky, Applin would get scared and shrink back into its apple.

Luo Mu remembered this seemed to be for protecting its fragile main body; Applin used secreted bodily fluids to harden the apple's skin, making Applin's Defense base stat fully eight times that of Blissey.

Over the past half month, it had also roughly figured out the preference tendencies of Applin and Tropius.

It was simply ridiculous.

Footsteps sounded from behind; Serperior, who had been closing its eyes to absorb solar energy while pondering, opened its eyes; without needing to guess, it knew that at this hour the road-building workers had gone to rest, and besides Pokémon, the only one walking around the farm was Luo Mu.

With his current strength, an ordinary apple would have long been pressed into a dent, yet the apple inhabited by Applin showed not even a hint of such an impression.

It was simply that the emotional fluctuations of that Pokémon with tiny eyes, Applin, were too rich; even though its expression was blocked by the apple, Luo Mu could still guess what Applin was thinking.

Tropius's personality was a bit like Growlithe's: full of curiosity, very bold, and extremely lively; recently it had already begun practicing its flying abilities, an aspect Serperior could not teach it, so it could only ask Dragonite to spare time every day to provide instruction.

Weighing the Applin in his palm, Luo Mu smiled and said, "The flesh inside the apple is almost finished again, right? I'll take you to pick an apple you like, and while we're at it, let's test your Ability; Serperior should have already taught you how to trigger it, correct?"

Applin loved sweet things; Combee honey was its favorite, but eating only honey would not do; under the suggestion of the Oranguru butler, they had chosen to mix Combee honey into Tapu Tapu Moumou milk, making honey milk.

This made Serperior cannot help but doubt the authenticity of Luo Mu's claim that Applin's types were Grass and Dragon.

As if sensing that Applin and Tropius were sleeping, Luo Mu consciously slowed his footsteps; noticing Serperior looking up at him, Luo Mu whispered, "I'm here to take Applin to the Berry Orchard to test its ability."

Serperior's gaze fell upon the small bottle of Tapu Tapu Moumou milk mixed with Combee honey that Luo Mu was carrying, then it nodded slightly, signaling Luo Mu to take Applin away.

After taking Applin from Serperior, Luo Mu held the palm-sized apple and walked toward the Berry Orchard; looking at the Applin sleeping soundly on his palm, Luo Mu rubbed the apple skin with his finger, then pressed down hard several times, drawing a conclusion—

Applin's eyes, resembling apple stems, curved slightly; this was its unique way of nodding.

Mm, very hard.

They had just finished lunch, so this counted as their quietest time of day; newborn Pokémon spent a long portion of their day sleeping, and Serperior vaguely remembered seeming to have had such a period itself.

Halfway there, Applin seemed to sense a slight bumping sensation and woke up once; it first panicked for an instant, but upon realizing it was Luo Mu carrying it, it quickly calmed down, poking two eyes out from the apple to curiously survey the surrounding environment, as if wondering where Luo Mu was taking it.

Why did the Tropius beside it have "Dragon" in its name yet possess Grass and Flying types? Serperior found this extremely perplexing.

Even if Serperior called Skarmory Skarmory Sanmao over and had it demonstrate its harmlessness and lack of hostile intent, Applin's innate fear of Bird-type Pokémon still remained.

As long as there was honey milk, plus the fact that Luo Mu usually came often to take care of Applin and the others, even when leaving Serperior, the timid Applin would not be afraid.

"Chew chew~"

Applin possessed three Abilities: "Ripen," "Gluttony," and the Hidden Ability "Bulletproof."

After Luo Mu's tests, Applin had shown no traces of revealing the "Gluttony" or "Bulletproof" Abilities, meaning its Ability was very likely the "Ripen" Ability that Luo Mu wanted most.

Currently, he had not yet heard of the existence of two items capable of changing Abilities: the Ability Capsule and the Ability Patch; in a certain sense, a Pokémon's Ability was currently innate and unchangeable.

The effect of the Ripen Ability in the game was to ripen Berries, doubling their effects.

Did this mean Applin possessed the power to accelerate Berry ripening, or even enhance their effects or nutritional value?

Luo Mu felt this was well worth trying.

Arriving at the Berry Orchard, besides the first batch of Berry trees, the newly planted Berry trees had also borne unripe fruits, which looked to be some time away from maturity, making them just right for experimenting with Applin's ability.

However, before that, Luo Mu first took Applin to the small apple orchard he had specially purchased and transplanted beside the Berry trees, letting it pick an apple it liked to move into.

There were not many apple trees, only a dozen or so; considering that Berry trees would domineeringly steal nutrients from ordinary apple trees, Luo Mu had specially left a distance between the apple orchard and the Berry orchard.

As soon as they arrived at the apple orchard, Applin excitedly jumped off Luo Mu's palm; no one knew how it managed it, but in a flash it controlled its apple shell to climb up the apple tree and carefully began selecting a satisfactory apple.

Luo Mu casually picked an apple, wiped it with the corner of his clothes, and took a bite; it was crisp to the bite, and sweet juice burst forth in his mouth along with his chewing motions.

These were high-quality apple trees he had specially selected and transplanted; the price of a single tree was even higher than the Berry trees he had bought.

However, seeing the happy expression on the Applin above, Luo Mu felt the money he spent was very worth it.

After comparing for a long time, Applin finally selected an absolutely superb apple that was large in size, rich in flesh, and full of juice; shaking its body, it burrowed inside and completed its move.

Luo Mu carried the noticeably heavier Applin back to the Berry Orchard, just happening to bump into Politoed, who had come for the routine watering of the Berry Orchard.

"Nyoroo~"

Politoed stopped its motion of gathering rain clouds, its gaze falling upon the Applin in Luo Mu's arms; it tilted its head, watching them curiously.

Luo Mu pointed at a Berry tree bearing unripe, greenish fruits: "We are here to test the power of Applin's Ability, just like your Drizzle."

"Nyoroo~"

Politoed showed an expression of sudden realization, clapped its hands, and stepped aside, as if wanting to let Luo Mu and the others attend to their business first.

"Then I shall accept your kind offer without hesitation."

Luo Mu smiled, fetched a ladder used for picking fruits from beneath a Berry tree, leaned it steadily against the trunk of a Pamtre Berry tree, and climbed up with Applin.

Applin also knew what it needed to do; targeting a Pamtre Berry that still retained some greenish rawness, and following the method Serperior had taught it to actively trigger its Ability under suitable conditions, it exerted all its strength against that single Pamtre Berry!

"Chew chew! Chew chew! Chew chew—"

Perhaps the tightly eye-closed, straining Applin was unaware, but from the perspectives of Luo Mu and Politoed, light spots resembling fireflies seemed to emerge from Applin's body, turning into streams of light that flowed into that single Pamtre Berry.

Immediately after, a miraculous thing happened.

That Pamtre Berry underwent changes visible to the naked eye; from the stage of an unripe fruit, it rapidly entered the maturity period, growing into a plump Pamtre Berry emitting a faint fruity fragrance!

Both Luo Mu and Politoed slightly opened their mouths in shock at this miraculous scene, their faces showing astonishment.

Applin truly possessed the power to accelerate Berry ripening!

Then, what would the effect be after ripening?

Before exploring this question, Luo Mu first spread his arms to catch the Applin, which was too weak to stand firmly on the tree branch while gnawing, and which, due to its shifted center of gravity, was being pulled by gravity toward the ground.

After all, he was no superhuman; Luo Mu could only hold the Applin in his arms tight, calculating their current height and thinking that today he would at least suffer a fracture.

As countless small bubbles converged, a giant bubble formed at that moment to act as a cushion, catching Luo Mu and bouncing him onto the grassy ground not far away; apart from a sore buttock, he miraculously remained unharmed.

"Chew chew."

Luo Mu glanced at the Applin in his arms, which was making a weak sound; at least it was fine, otherwise the Milotic would surely be heartbroken.

Then, Luo Mu turned his head to look at the Politoed watching him with worry, realizing it had used Bubble Beam to create a large bubble to save him, and he broke into a smile, saying, "Thank you, Politoed."

"Nyuru~"

Seeing that Luo Mu was in good condition, Politoed shook its head; this was simply its duty. Immediately after, Politoed cast a worried glance toward the Applin.

How is it doing?

"The Applin is fine, though it seems a bit weak right now."

Holding the Applin, Luo Mu fell into thought.

It seemed the Applin was still very weak, so merely ripening a single Pamtre Berry had exhausted its strength, plunging it into a weakened state; it appeared the plan to strengthen all the berries in the orchard would have to wait for the Applin to grow.

Luo Mu stood up, entrusted the Applin to Politoed, climbed the ladder again, and picked the Pamtre Berry ripened by the Applin; for comparison, he specifically picked another fully ripe Pamtre Berry from a different tree that had not been ripened by the Applin.

Pamtre Berries contain a faint yet gentle healing energy; when consumed by Pokémon or humans, they produce a noticeable sensation of physical recovery.

Luo Mu first broke the unripened Pamtre Berry into three pieces, handing the largest to Politoed, keeping the medium-sized one for himself, and feeding the smallest to the Applin.

This was not favoritism on his part; the Applin's appetite was simply small, and it could not have eaten a large piece anyway.

As the Pamtre Berry entered his stomach, aside from its pear-like texture and flavor, a warm current rose from his lower abdomen, automatically circulating through his limbs and bones, greatly alleviating the pain in Luo Mu's buttocks.

Subsequently, Luo Mu followed the same method to divide the Pamtre Berry ripened by the Applin and swallowed it.

This time, the warm current was much larger, and the sensation of physical recovery along with the elimination of pain was far stronger than with the previous Pamtre Berry.

Even the taste was better than that of the previous Pamtre Berry.

To use an analogy, it was like the difference between ordinary delicious fruit and premium fruit that had been carefully planted, cultivated, selected, and finally placed on the dining table.

Luo Mu and the delighted Politoed exchanged a glance; they had truly struck gold this time!

The ripening characteristic could indeed be applied to berries; Luo Mu seemed to see a brand-new path to wealth unfolding before him!

After consuming the Pamtre Berry, the Applin's weakness diminished considerably; facing the gazes of Luo Mu and Politoed, who looked at it as if it were a treasure, it tilted its head, hidden inside its apple-like body, and emitted a confused sound.

"Chew chew?"

After Luo Mu returned to the small villa with the Applin, Politoed promptly puffed up its throat and let out a piercing cry toward the sky.

"Nyuru——!!!"

Dark clouds gathered, and rain began to flow.

The heavy rain soaked the soil of the berry orchard thoroughly, while Politoed stared blankly at the sky, constantly reviewing whether there was anything imperfect about this rainfall.

Recalling the words Luo Mu left before departing, Politoed's eyes filled with determination; in a short while, it would soon be fighting as Marshtomp's doubles partner.

It must work even harder!

It was decided: after finishing its work, it would seek out Dragonite and Hakamo-o for special training!

Back inside the small villa, Luo Mu was blocked from the kitchen by Shuang Nai Xian; holding the dazed Applin, Luo Mu's expression was equally blank.

"You're saying you completed your training?"

"Mafu!"

Shuang Nai Xian nodded gently, pushed against Luo Mu's calves to forcibly make him sit at the dining table and wait, insisting that he just watch its performance.

A moment later, Shuang Nai Xian happily presented a cake, beautifully decorated and brimming with aesthetic appeal, placing it before Luo Mu.

The cake Shuang Nai Xian brought out was wrapped in a chocolate shell, reminding Luo Mu of the cake he had shared with Korrina in the Kalos region; it seemed this was its deliberate attempt to mimic that taste.

But as Shuang Nai Xian cut the cake, a look of surprise appeared on Luo Mu's face: "This is truly... a bold innovation."

Beneath the chocolate shell lay cream with a milky aroma and snowy salt flavor, unique to Shuang Nai Xian.

(End of Chapter)