Chapter 53: Berry
“Come on, Snivy, let me see your power!”
On a sunny afternoon, Lei Wen took Snivy and Dratini to the training ground with wooden stakes, and began to test the moves Snivy had mastered.
“Snivy.”
On the snow, Snivy crossed its arms, its posture quite elegant.
Hearing Lei Wen’s words, it began to demonstrate the moves it had learned so far one by one.
Snivy looked intently at the wooden stake in front of it. Its small body charged towards the stake like a small cannonball, hitting it with a bang.
With a bang, the wooden stake shook.
“Leer and Tackle, huh? They seem to have decent power.” Lei Wen murmured to himself. At least for now, Snivy’s power seemed to be greater than Dratini’s.
After one move, Snivy nimbly leaped back and landed steadily on the snow.
Next, a green Vine Whip extended from its neck and whipped the wooden stake with a sharp whistling sound.
“Vine Whip.” Looking at the clear whip mark left on the wooden stake, the name of this move surfaced in Lei Wen’s mind.
Then, Snivy displayed a move that Lei Wen couldn’t recognize for a moment.
It gathered its strength, and its small body seemed to become even smaller for an instant, and Snivy also appeared somewhat weakened.
That was…
A Normal-type move, Growth?
Growth is a stat-boosting move. After using it, some Pokémon may grow larger, thus increasing their Attack and Special Attack to a certain extent.
But why did Snivy’s Growth move seem to make itself weaker instead?
After a moment of thought, Lei Wen quickly understood the reason.
His Snivy’s ability was Contrary!
Contrary: Stat changes are reversed. When a stat would be raised, it is lowered instead. When a stat would be lowered, it is raised instead.
The effect of the move Growth had been reversed!
“…”
It really is a double-edged sword!
This meant that Snivy could not strengthen itself at all during battles.
However, it could allow its teammate Pokémon to use moves like 【 Screech 】 to help boost its stats, Lei Wen mused.
Next up was Wrap.
Dratini knew this move too, and compared to Vine Whip, Snivy’s proficiency with Wrap was clearly lower.
After Wrap, Snivy began to demonstrate its final move.
It manipulated the Grass-type energy from the earth and silently tied a Grass Knot beneath the wooden stake.
If the wooden stake were a real Pokémon, it would probably be tripped by this Grass Knot.
“Hmm, a very good disruptive move.” Lei Wen nodded with satisfaction.
It was sufficiently stealthy and silent, and could be launched unnoticed by the opponent, making it perfect for ambushes.
“Well done, Snivy!” Lei Wen praised.
“Snivy.”
Snivy acted as if it was nothing, crossing its arms and proudly lifting its head.
Lei Wen glanced at the sky. It was overcast, and despite the sunlight, the temperature was still very cold.
Winter had a certain effect on Pokémon’s condition, especially Grass-type Pokémon like Snivy.
The climate and temperature of this season were not suitable for Grass-type Pokémon to live in. Snivy’s body would become sluggish and weak during this season, and the power of its moves would also be reduced.
In spring, summer, or autumn, Snivy’s movements would become more agile under the bright sunlight, and its moves would become more powerful than in winter.
This was the ecological habit of Pokémon like Snivy.
“Alright, that’s all for today! Let’s head back!” Lei Wen said.
As he led the two Pokémon back to the house, Lei Wen couldn’t help but sigh.
It was really inconvenient not to have Poké Balls in this era!
It was fine with just two Pokémon now, but if he were to catch more Pokémon later, going out would mean being followed by a large procession of Pokémon…
That scene would indeed be too exaggerated.
Thinking this, Lei Wen couldn’t help but think of a special kind of Fruit in the Pokémon World.
Berry.
It was a very magical fruit that grew on trees. It was hollow inside and came in various colors.
As far as Lei Wen knew, in the distant future, even without technology, some Poké Ball artisans could craft various Poké Balls by hand.
His technology tree was still a long way from unlocking Poké Balls.
Rather than waiting for technology to unlock, it would be better to develop them themselves in advance.
He could draw a rough sketch of a Poké Ball and give it to the blacksmiths to ponder together.
Human ingenuity was infinite, and perhaps they could create Poké Balls through this opportunity.
With this thought, Lei Wen drew the appearance of a Berry on the parchment with his feather pen.
When Elif arrived, Lei Wen handed him the drawing and asked:
“Elif, have you ever seen this kind of fruit?”
“This is… a Berry?” The Old Butler was slightly taken aback.
“You’ve seen it?” Lei Wen was a bit surprised.
Elif nodded and recalled, “I saw it at the Royal City before. However, Your Highness, this fruit cannot be eaten. It is hollow inside, with only some pulp and seeds. It is useless to us.”
Similar to a gourd… Hearing this description, Lei Wen couldn’t help but think.
However, he did not explain the purpose of the Berry to Elif and instead nodded, “I understand.”
＊
The next day, Lei Wen intended to take Dratini and Snivy out for more special training as before.
However, plans did not go as expected. Before they could even wake up, they heard the sound of a blizzard raging.
After a night’s sleep, the firewood in the fireplace had been burned to ashes, leaving only a few embers. The temperature in the room had become slightly cooler.
“The blizzard is back, huh?”
Lying in bed surrounded by his Pokémon, Lei Wen listened to the howling wind and snow outside, yet felt an unprecedented sense of peace.
While a blizzard raged outside, a peaceful and serene atmosphere pervaded the inside of the house.
A maid came to replace the firewood, and the fire in the stone fireplace blazed fiercely. In a short while, the room was warm again.
Lei Wen got up and looked out at the world through the small wooden window.
He saw that outside the window, the wind and snow were fierce, and the entire world was a hazy gray. In the distance, wooden houses stood amidst the blizzard, and even the air had fallen silent.
“Wuu?”
“Lili?”
“…”
A few Pokémon were woken by Lei Wen’s movements, and they opened their drowsy eyes and looked over.
Lei Wen lay back down in bed, burrowed into the covers, and said to them with a smile:
“Go back to sleep!”
What could be more comfortable than sleeping in on a cold winter day in a warm bed?
