Jiang Ming then headed to a plot of land in the backyard of the company that had been specially set aside for cultivation.
Several Oran Berry and Pecha Berry trees from his first batch of cultivated plants were growing there.
Back then, he’d been eager to discover whether Berries grown in this world would differ from those in the Pokémon world.
To satisfy his curiosity, he’d used a considerable amount of nutrient solution to force all six trees to maturity.
They had borne fruit in just over ten days.
After conducting several tests, Jiang Ming discovered that the Berry trees were highly compatible with this world.
They could even absorb the spiritual energy permeating their surroundings to nourish themselves.
He had no idea what the long-term consequences of this development might be.
Nevertheless, as long as the artificially matured Berries still retained their usual effects, he was already more than satisfied.
Later, he’d even given an Oran Berry to each person who had rented a Sunkern, allowing them to sample the fruit for themselves.
It was essentially a bit of free advertising.
The orchard had been established in a hurry, so its area was limited.
Six trees had practically filled the entire plot.
Fortunately, Xue Wenhui had already begun making arrangements to address the problem.
Jiang Ming expected to hear some news within the next few days, meaning he wouldn’t have to keep worrying about the lack of space for his Berry trees.
Upon arriving at the orchard, Jiang Ming immediately spotted two trees that were noticeably taller, sturdier, and more luxuriant than the others.
These were the original Oran Berry and Pecha Berry trees he’d created directly using the genetic templates provided by the System.
The remaining four trees had been cultivated using existing genetic codes.
Yet the difference between them and the first two trees was striking.
All six trees had received the same treatment during their seedling stage.
Nevertheless, as they developed, the gap between them had become increasingly obvious.
Jiang Ming didn’t understand why, but he had a few suspicions.
Most likely, it was a matter of adapting to the local environment.
Perhaps the genetic templates supplied by the System contained something beyond the genes of the corresponding Pokémon—something unknown to Jiang Ming that helped them adapt to this world more effectively.
For now, however, these were merely hypotheses.
To obtain a definitive answer, he’d have to wait until he had more space available and then cultivate several Pokémon for a proper controlled experiment.
A few days later, after finishing his work in the laboratory, Lin Chengfeng was brought by Jiang Ming to the outside of the incubation room.
“Here. This is the first Pokémon I’ve prepared for you.”
Jiang Ming pointed toward the Pokémon Egg inside the incubator.
“A Pokémon!”
Ever since witnessing Sunkern’s strength a few days earlier, he’d been eagerly anticipating the companion Jiang Ming had promised him.
He hadn’t quite reached the point of losing sleep over it, but he’d certainly spent every day thinking about it.
“Brother Ming, what kind of Pokémon is it? Is it cool? Is it strong?”
Jiang Ming merely smiled mysteriously and told him he’d find out once the egg hatched.
Time passed slowly as the two chatted.
A little over an hour later, Lin Chengfeng noticed that the Pokémon Egg seemed to have moved.
“Brother Ming, look! The egg moved!”
He spoke with barely contained excitement.
Jiang Ming hurriedly turned to look as well.
By then, the egg was rocking even more violently.
A few minutes later, a gentle white light enveloped it.
When the light faded, a large insect Pokémon with a yellowish-brown body and pointed spikes on its head and tail occupied the spot where the egg had been.
Weedle!
Seeing Lin Chengfeng standing there in a daze, Jiang Ming promptly shoved a box into his hands and gave him a push.
“What are you standing around for? Get over there!”
Only after feeling the push from behind did Lin Chengfeng finally snap out of it and walk toward Weedle.
“Wii~”
As the first living creature Weedle had ever seen, Lin Chengfeng had already made a favorable first impression on it.
“Xiao Feng, don’t just stand there!”
Hearing Jiang Ming’s voice from behind, Lin Chengfeng remembered his instructions.
He immediately opened the box in his hands, revealing a generous pile of Oran Berry leaves inside.
“Weedle!”
Weedle’s eyes lit up instantly.
Having only just been born, it was naturally a little hungry.
Munch, munch, munch…
After devouring the leaves with great enthusiasm, Weedle settled down to digest its meal.
When it looked up at Lin Chengfeng again, its expression was noticeably more approving.
Seeing how relaxed and trusting Weedle seemed, Lin Chengfeng finally gathered the courage to reach out and gently stroke its body.
“Weedle~”
Rather than resisting, Weedle looked positively content.
That gave Lin Chengfeng even more confidence.
He carefully picked Weedle up in his arms.
That was all the confirmation they needed: the two had accepted each other as partners.
After spending some time getting acquainted, the newly hatched Weedle finally succumbed to exhaustion and fell fast asleep.
Lin Chengfeng hurriedly returned it to the incubation platform.
“So, Xiao Feng? Do you like your new partner?”
Jiang Ming walked in through the doorway.
“…”
Lin Chengfeng remained silent for a moment before finally asking, “Brother Ming, does Weedle have the potential to transform into a butterfly, just like Caterpie?”
As the only other full-time member of the laboratory, apart from Jiang Ming himself, Lin Chengfeng naturally knew about Caterpie.
That was why he’d asked.
After all, looking at Weedle, it didn’t exactly seem like the powerful Pokémon Jiang Ming had promised.
Instead of answering directly, Jiang Ming pulled out a carefully prepared handbook and handed it to him.
“This contains all the information about Weedle. Read through it first. If you still have questions afterward, come and ask me.”
With that, Jiang Ming turned and left the incubation room.
The moment Jiang Ming disappeared from sight, Lin Chengfeng eagerly opened the handbook and began reading it word by word.
After several more unlucky attempts at the System lottery failed to produce another genetic template, Jiang Ming had ultimately decided to use Weedle as Lin Chengfeng’s starter Pokémon.
Fortunately, Weedle was a Bug-type Pokémon with an extremely short development cycle, making it a good match for Lin Chengfeng’s urgent need to become stronger.
Moreover, its final evolution, Beedrill, possessed considerable combat ability and could even undergo Mega Evolution.
Its future was certainly promising.
“Weedle: Bug- and Poison-type. Its Ability is Run Away. Its base stats are… Its learnable moves include…”
“Metapod: Weedle’s evolved form…”
“Beedrill: Weedle’s final evolutionary form…”
To ensure Lin Chengfeng could understand everything, Jiang Ming had thoughtfully added separate explanations for every technical term he might find confusing.
The result was a handbook that ran to more than twenty pages.
By the time Lin Chengfeng finally put it down, his head was practically buzzing.
“Holy crap! How is Brother Ming’s brain even wired?”
Lin Chengfeng couldn’t help blurting out a curse.
“How did he come up with all this stuff? It’s incredible!”
He then looked at Weedle, which was sleeping soundly, and murmured in a daze:
“From now on, we’re partners who’ll live and die together…”