Wiki Berry and Mark's Return of Favor

In the Pokemon games, Wiki Berries could not only be used to make Full Restores, but could also be held by Pokemon as items.

When a Pokemon's HP dropped below half, a Wiki Berry would be automatically consumed, restoring a quarter of its HP. This could have miraculous effects in certain Pokemon battles.

Of course, reality was not a game.

Carrying a Wiki Berry around and having it automatically turn into nutrients to restore a Pokemon's HP once its health fell below half—such a thing simply would not happen.

After all, it was a berry, not some high-tech medical kit.

Berries could be eaten during battle, but opponents were not idiots. If they saw you pull out a berry, they would definitely interfere.

Besides, how to carry berries was also a problem.

For one thing, Pokemon basically did not wear clothes. Aside from Kangaskhan, they generally did not have pockets on them.

And even if they temporarily carried a pocket, the berries inside could easily be crushed during intense movement.

Thus, carrying berries into battle was something that basically never happened in real-world competitive matches.

Still, regardless of anything else, the healing effects of Wiki Berries were beyond doubt.

Moreover, since Oran Berries could improve a Pokemon's physique, then as a vastly superior substitute for Oran Berries, Wiki Berries would surely have similar effects—and much stronger ones at that.

Mark examined the berry in his hand and fell into thought.

He did not know the value of Wiki Berries in this world, but it probably was not low. At the very least, they could not possibly be as cheap as Oran Berries.

Seeing Mark stare blankly at the Wiki Berry, the Caterpie Leader repeatedly gestured with its feet, seemingly telling Mark to peel off the berry's skin and feed the flesh to Caterpie.

Mark could not help but laugh. "I know enough to peel a berry. It's just that Wiki Berries are too precious. There were so many Oran Berries before that it did not matter if I took some, and I also used the Tackle Training Method on you, which counted as payment. But this Wiki Berry..."

Mark paused for a moment, then laughed at himself. "Explaining it to you like this makes me seem rather hypocritical. After all, no matter what, I would take this Wiki Berry for Caterpie's growth, and if there were more Wiki Berries, I would even want to pick a few more.

I really am trying to have it both ways.

How about this? Since you gave Wiki Berries to Caterpie and me, I'll repay you with some additional training and exercise..."

"?"

As Mark spoke, the Caterpie Leader instinctively backed away again and again.

It had watched all of Mark's "training" for that Caterpie today.

An ordinary Caterpie might not have understood due to its limited intelligence, but it knew perfectly well what was going on.

Even that freak Caterpie with its exceptionally tough temperament had nearly been unable to endure the "training" and cried.

Was this kind of "training" something a wild Caterpie like it could endure?

The Caterpie Leader knew its limits. It felt that it could not endure it, nor did it want to.

With that thought, the Caterpie Leader shook its head repeatedly like a rattle drum, crying out while gesturing with its feet.

Its meaning was roughly: I already brought you this berry that can heal injuries, so don't repay kindness with hostility.

Seeing through the Caterpie Leader's thoughts, Mark smiled. "You feel uneasy because you saw my Caterpie suffer so many injuries, right?

But it isn't what you imagine. I'm not asking you to undergo this kind of Combat Training, and even if you wanted Combat Training, you don't have the conditions for it.

Caterpie are not very intelligent. They might attack the two of us outsiders without restraint, but they would not attack you, the Caterpie Leader. Even if you wanted to undergo similar Combat Training, it would be difficult to arrange.

The training I mean is training your mind. You know that after evolving, you will become Kakuna, and then evolve into Butterfree, right?"

The Caterpie Leader nodded lightly.

Not only did it know that it could evolve into Butterfree, it could evolve into Butterfree immediately.

Yes, immediately evolve.

As long as it wanted to, it could evolve twice in succession at any time and directly become a Butterfree that could dance gracefully through the air.

Seeing the Caterpie Leader nod, Mark nodded as well. "Since you know about Butterfree, do you know that Butterfree have a move called Telekinesis in their bloodline genes?"

The Caterpie Leader slowly shook its head. It did not know.

Mark said, "More specifically, it is a power that influences and interferes with the outside world through thought.

For example, if I think about lifting you up in my mind, I can truly lift you with Telekinesis.

According to what I learned from the Hia Kingdom Pokemon Common Sense Encyclopedia, although Butterfree are very common, there are not many Butterfree that master Telekinesis.

I suspect that the key to mastering Telekinesis lies in Wisdom and willpower. Your intelligence and Caterpie's both far surpass that of ordinary Caterpie, so after evolving into Butterfree, mastering Telekinesis should not be difficult.

But that would only be initial mastery. Just as Caterpie's String Shot is inferior to yours, while your Tackle is inferior to Caterpie's, the power of the same Telekinesis differs depending on the Pokemon using it.

That is why I started teaching Caterpie mathematics some time ago, to train its mind. And now, I've decided to include you as well."

"Hiss?"

The Caterpie Leader's face was full of confusion. Mark's words had given it some slight understanding of Telekinesis, but it did not understand what "mathematics" was.

Seeing the Caterpie Leader's confusion, Mark thought for a moment, then picked up the Wiki Berry and asked, "How many of these berries are there?"

The Caterpie Leader cried out while gesturing with its feet, yet it could not describe exactly how many berries there were. In the end, it tugged on Mark's clothes, wanting to take him to see for himself.

"This is where the most basic function of mathematics—counting quantities—comes in." As Mark spoke, he took the leftover Oran Berries from his backpack. "These are three Oran Berries. These are seventeen Oran Berries. These are thirty-three Oran Berries... If you learned how to count, you could have directly told me how many Wiki Berries there were just now."

Like Caterpie, after Mark's explanation, the Caterpie Leader revealed a curious and astonished expression.

Clearly, the Caterpie Leader had developed an interest in mathematics.

Mark rubbed the Caterpie Leader's head. "No need to be so surprised. It's just counting, nothing special. With your intelligence and that of my Caterpie, you can absolutely learn more complicated things. I've decided to at least teach you how to solve systems of linear equations in multiple variables, help you understand some geometric problems, and learn spatial coordinates—building three x, y, and z axes in your minds—and then..."

The interested look on the Caterpie Leader's face gradually faded. Though it did not understand Mark's words, it felt an inexplicably heavy pressure.

It was something it was never meant to bear.

Its body trembled slightly, as if warning it to flee as soon as possible—the faster, the better. Then, it heard Mark say, "Come to think of it, your body doesn't have that crisp powder. Is the Ability you awakened Run Away?"

Ability? Run Away?

What were those?

The Caterpie Leader looked bewildered. It was the first time it had heard the words Ability and Run Away.

Seeing its confusion, Mark explained, "The Run Away Ability should be a power related to danger perception. It lets you sense danger.

"If you don't know about it, you probably just never paid attention to that power.

"According to the books, Pokémon have a small chance of awakening a second or third Ability. With your strength, you definitely awakened an Ability. Since it isn't Shield Dust, then it must be Run Away.

"My Caterpie awakened the Shield Dust Ability. The two of you can learn from each other, and you can also exchange techniques with my Caterpie regarding your String Shot."

Not continuing further, Mark looked at the Caterpie Leader and said, "Let's leave it there for now. Take me to see the Wiki Berry trees. If I don't know the quantity, I can't decide how to make use of these berries."

If there were many Wiki Berries, they could naturally eat them as they pleased. But if there were not enough, then their consumption would need some planning...