Unexpected Hondew Berries

Hah.

Near dusk, a piercing bird cry rang out.

"What was that?" Qian Kaile jolted awake.

"Hide."

As he spoke, Shu Tong moved away from the tree and found a thick trunk to hide behind.

Qian Kaile hurried after him. Makuhita was too broad, so he could only recall it into its Poké Ball first.

"Pe—" Qian Kaile had barely opened his mouth when Shu Tong stopped him.

Pelipper dove at high speed, slamming into the tree trunk with Quick Attack. The entire tree immediately shook violently.

"Chirp chirp chirp!"

One Caterpie after another crawled out, as though they had been caught in an Earthquake.

They had fallen right into Pelipper's trap. Pelipper immediately began a merciless slaughter, and Caterpie after Caterpie fell to the ground.

Many Pokémon poked their heads out from the surrounding trees, but upon seeing the savage Pelipper, they quickly withdrew.

"Chirp!"

Seeing such a powerful Pokémon, Weedle was unexpectedly stirred by the urge to fight anyone it disagreed with and nearly charged out.

This little guy was getting a little blindly overconfident.

Shu Tong quickly recalled it into its Poké Ball.

A light breeze passed through, and the entire forest became terrifyingly quiet.

Shu Tong's heart trembled slightly. The Pokémon world was far crueler than he had imagined.

Pelipper let out the cry of a victor and slipped into the tree hollow. Before leaving, it plucked a feather from its body and stuck it into the hollow. With that feather there, ordinary Pokémon would not dare approach.

It had to be said that Pelipper's owner, Sheng Cai, had some brains.

Only after Pelipper had completely vanished from sight did Shu Tong step out from behind the tree.

"Didn't that Pelipper look like Sheng Cai's Pelipper?" Qian Kaile asked.

"Be confident. Drop the 'looked like,'" Shu Tong said.

"Then that Pelipper..." Qian Kaile seemed to have guessed something, but he did not dare confirm it.

"Do you even need to ask?" Shu Tong said as he released Weedle.

"Weedle, go into that tree hollow and bring everything out," Shu Tong ordered.

Weedle wrapped itself in String Shot and entered the hollow. Before long, it brought out ten emerald-green, papaya-like fruits, along with some ordinary fruit.

"These are Hondew Berries. Eating them increases resistance to Poison-type energy," Shu Tong said.

"There's something this good? These only grow in Mystery Realms," Qian Kaile said.

Shu Tong nodded. "Let your Makuhita eat all of them."

"That wouldn't be right, would it?" Qian Kaile laughed.

"It would be rude not to return the favor. If you don't want them, I'll still ask you for a year's worth of Pokémon food," Shu Tong said.

Hondew Berries suppress Poison-type energy. If Weedle eats them, they'll have the opposite effect. Otherwise, I could have let you have them all.

"Damn it, Makuhita, eat every last one!" Qian Kaile ordered.

Makuhita made short work of them, swallowing all ten Hondew Berries in one go without even spitting out the cores.

Shu Tong and Qian Kaile both stared in stunned silence.

Makuhita looked at them as if they were idiots. Didn't you tell me to eat them all?

"Stop spacing out. Let's go. We need to get away from this place."

Shu Tong said as he ran toward the edge of the forest.

"This is thrilling. I never thought stealing would be this exciting," Qian Kaile said excitedly.

"How could you call it stealing?" Shu Tong said.

"We just happened to pick them up," Qian Kaile said knowingly.

After returning to the county town, Shu Tong accepted Qian Kaile's invitation and went to his family's training ground.

The training ground had a steel-frame structure and glass curtain walls, with every kind of equipment imaginable. Shu Tong was dazzled by the sight.

"Too bad the equipment is dead. It still can't compare to the Pokémon training at the club," Shu Tong said with a shrug.

"Fine. I think Makuhita needs to digest those ten Hondew Berries quickly. We're pulling an all-nighter training tonight. Hurry up and tie me up," Qian Kaile said.

"Prepare some high-grade antidote first. I can have Weedle use Poison Sting. If the Poison Sting is a little weaker and we combine it with training, the results should be better," Shu Tong said.

"My family doesn't lack that stuff." As he spoke, Qian Kaile opened the medicine cabinet, which was filled with top-grade potions of every kind.

"Heh. Damn rich bastard," Shu Tong said.

"Come on, then," Qian Kaile said.

Under Shu Tong's command, Weedle tied up both Makuhita and Qian Kaile. One human and one Pokémon writhed frantically on the floor, building up greater strength each time to break free from the String Shot.

Listening to Makuhita and Qian Kaile's bizarre moans, Shu Tong's scalp went numb.

Left with no choice, he sat in the lounge and calculated silently. Three more days. Just three more days.

Only three days remained until the Abandoned Mystery Realm at the Wastewater Treatment Plant collapsed. What secret was hidden within it?

Zhu Zhixiang had not yet returned from Jinling. Did it have anything to do with his Grimer?

It involved the deaths of his father's Grimer and Qian Kaile's Makuhita, yet he was the only one who knew this secret.

Shu Tong was anxious beyond measure, but he could not say anything. He wanted to do something, yet had no idea where to begin.

He took out his phone, and just as Shu Tong had expected, the news appeared right on schedule.

A small Resource Mystery Realm had emerged in Cloud Mountain. It contained more than ten Hondew Berry trees. Two Professional Trainers from the Apricot City Pokémon Club, Sheng Cai and Gong Ping, had defeated the Seviper guarding the Mystery Realm. The Trainers Association would reward them.

The more than ten Hondew Berry trees would also bring Apricot City a steady source of fiscal revenue.

There was also an interview with Sheng Cai and Gong Ping afterward.

This result had also been within Shu Tong's expectations. The only thing he could not understand was whether those two really had known in advance that a Mystery Realm would emerge in Cloud Mountain.

If that was true, then would the Mystery Realm invasion north of Creek Town in a month and a half also be discovered in advance?

That would make it even harder for him to obtain the Beedrillite.

I have to strengthen my ties with Yin Shu, Yuan Tian, Qian Kaile, and the others. Right now, in the profession of being a Trainer, they seem to be the only people I can rely on.

One person's strength was ultimately limited. Those who succeeded were often best at borrowing strength from others.

Smack! Smack!

"Ahahaha! That felt great!" Qian Kaile roared.

Makuhita and Qian Kaile had broken free of the String Shot one after the other and were now embracing in celebration.

Shu Tong smiled. If I hadn't had Weedle cut its energy output by nearly half, how could you possibly have broken free?

Makuhita and Qian Kaile each drank two bottles of Moomoo Milk and lay down to rest for a while.

"Come on, let's continue."

Qian Kaile and Makuhita looked as though they had been injected with adrenaline.

Weedle did not indulge them either, continuing to use String Shot to satisfy their demands.

"Ah! I'm going to unleash my primordial power!"

Qian Kaile alternated between shouting wildly, gritting his teeth, and kicking off the wall for leverage.

Watching Makuhita struggle on, Shu Tong said to Weedle, "We need to work hard too. Tomorrow, we'll have special training at the club and prepare for evolution."

"Chirp!"