As the saying goes, an army marches on its stomach.
If Jiang Ming wanted Pokémon to thrive and reproduce in this world, he couldn’t afford to overlook Berries, which were so closely tied to their lives.
Perhaps it was a matter of adapting to an unfamiliar environment.
Whatever the reason, judging from Dratini and the Sunkern he’d created, Pokémon could eat the food available in this world without any problems, but their growth was clearly being held back.
For the time being, the Pokémon Jiang Ming had created didn’t have any need to fight.
However, given the state of the world, combat-oriented genetic organisms were clearly the direction the industry was heading.
Sooner or later, he would have to enter that arena himself.
Moreover, the Caterpie genetic template he’d obtained in the lottery presented Zhengming Company with an excellent opportunity to break into the combat-oriented genetic-organism market.
Bug-type Pokémon were widely regarded as among the weakest in terms of overall combat ability.
Apart from a few exceptional species with tremendous fighting power, most Bug-types weren’t particularly impressive in direct confrontations.
They generally relied on unconventional tactics to gain the upper hand.
Take Caterpie, the Pokémon Jiang Ming had just obtained a template for.
Its final evolution, Butterfree, relied on a variety of status moves and its somewhat mediocre Psychic abilities to fight.
Otherwise, if it had to engage an opponent in a straightforward contest of strength, its frail little body would be knocked out in no time.
Jiang Ming then spent another few thousand Reputation Points on lottery draws.
The results were still rather underwhelming.
Apart from some ordinary Berries and Energy Cubes, the only items that caught his eye were several special Berries capable of improving individual Pokémon stats, a Moon Stone, and a Berry Blender.
“A Berry Blender?”
Jiang Ming immediately took it out of his System inventory.
The machine stood about twenty centimeters tall.
In the middle was a circular processing chamber, with a small red arrow along its edge.
Four red, diamond-shaped buttons were arranged around the outside.
It looked like something that needed to be placed on a table to operate properly.
Jiang Ming had some memories of this device.
Back when he’d played Pokémon games, he’d researched Berry blending in some depth to learn how to make high-quality Energy Cubes.
The Berry Blender also came with an instruction manual that clearly explained how to use it.
Now that he had the machine, Jiang Ming couldn’t resist giving it a try.
“Let’s see…” He picked up the manual and skimmed through it.
“Before making Energy Cubes, I need to cut the Berries into small pieces.”
He took several Oran Berries—the type he had the most of in his inventory—and went into the kitchen to chop them up.
“How many Berries am I supposed to add?”
After returning to the Berry Blender, Jiang Ming checked the manual again.
But where was he supposed to get a recipe?
“Forget it. I’ll just throw everything in!”
Jiang Ming decided that brute force was still the best approach for him.
He dumped all the chopped Berries into the processing chamber, switched on the machine according to the instructions, and focused intently on the rotating chamber and the red arrow above it.
Whenever the arrow lined up with the tip of one of the diamond-shaped buttons, he had to press that button.
The chamber rotated faster and faster.
Eventually, even Jiang Ming’s physically enhanced body, strengthened by his awakening, struggled to keep up.
He missed the timing and pressed the wrong buttons several times in a row.
After more than ten minutes, the chamber finally began to slow down.
Then it stopped.
Ding!
Several translucent, crystal-clear Energy Cubes popped out of the outlet beneath the processing chamber.
“Those look pretty good!”
Jiang Ming’s eyes lit up.
Although this was his first attempt at making Energy Cubes, their appearance suggested that he’d done a decent job.
Unfortunately, Dratini had only just finished overeating and was still lying in its nest, groaning softly with a painfully full belly.
Otherwise, Jiang Ming would have called it over to try one.
Looking at the tempting Energy Cubes on the plate, Jiang Ming couldn’t help swallowing.
Almost three hours had passed since lunch, and he hadn’t eaten very much to begin with.
He was starting to feel a little hungry.
“Maybe… I should try one myself?”
Having made up his mind, Jiang Ming immediately picked up an Energy Cube, popped it into his mouth, and bit down.
A sweet-and-sour flavor burst across his taste buds.
“Mmm! Not bad at all!”
Jiang Ming savored the delicious taste.
But as soon as he swallowed the Energy Cube, it began to take effect.
A warm current spread slowly outward from his abdomen, gradually flowing into every part of his body.
“This feeling…”
Jiang Ming’s eyes widened.
As mentioned earlier, Jiang Ming himself had no natural ability to absorb spiritual energy.
The only reason he’d become an Awakened was that his older brother, Jiang Zheng, had obtained an Awakening Potion from another source and used it to forcefully awaken him.
Whether a person could absorb spiritual energy was almost entirely a matter of chance.
As a result, many relatives of powerful ability users spent their entire lives as ordinary people. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Take Jiang Ming’s older brother, for example.
Jiang Zheng had become a Tier Six Evolver before the age of thirty, a talent that placed him among the very best of humanity.
Yet his parents and siblings had remained ordinary people.
Where there was demand, a market would inevitably emerge.
Under these circumstances, potions capable of awakening ordinary people had been developed.
The principle behind them was actually quite simple.
Through specialized methods, the enormous quantities of spiritual energy contained in rare natural treasures were concentrated and their properties made gentler, allowing ordinary people to absorb them.
Once an ordinary person drank an Awakening Potion, the massive amount of spiritual energy stored inside would be released.
It would gently wash through their body again and again until they crossed a certain threshold and became Awakened.
However, people who became Awakened through this external assistance still lacked the ability to absorb spiritual energy independently.
If they wanted to advance any further, they had to rely on external sources of spiritual energy—and that energy had to be easy for their bodies to absorb.
Awakening Potions were one such source.
Unfortunately, even the raw materials alone were extremely expensive.
The price of the finished product was naturally even higher.
As a result, most people who could afford an Awakening Potion were content to use it to become Tier One Awakened and gave up on pursuing higher levels.
Jiang Ming had been one of them.
Yet today, after eating an Energy Cube, he’d experienced the same sensation he’d felt when he first drank an Awakening Potion: spiritual energy filling his entire body.
There was just one difference.
An Awakening Potion could sustain that feeling for nearly half an hour, whereas the spiritual energy supplied by an Energy Cube lasted only about a minute.
But with the System at his disposal, was Jiang Ming ever going to run short of Energy Cubes?
“No way…”
Jiang Ming stared at the Energy Cubes on the plate in disbelief.
He immediately picked up another one and ate it.
Spiritual energy surged through his body once more, proving that the first experience hadn’t been a hallucination.
“Holy crap! I’m going to strike it rich!!!”
Unable to contain his excitement any longer, Jiang Ming burst into loud cheers.
The sudden commotion startled Dratini, which had been trying to digest its enormous meal.
It hurried over, still carrying its bulging belly.
The moment he saw Dratini, Jiang Ming quickly forced himself to calm down.
“Dratini?”
Looking concerned, Dratini gently rubbed its little head against his cheek.
“It’s okay, Dratini. I was just so happy that I couldn’t help myself,” Jiang Ming explained, stroking its head.