For the entire morning, Murkrow trained its wing strength, practicing wind-based skills and gaining a deeper understanding of how to use Flying-type moves.
It only took brief rests when its wings were too exhausted to flap anymore, meticulously executing the training plan that Aoki had laid out.
Meanwhile, Aoki spent the whole morning crafting Berry Blocks.
This particular batch was significantly more complex to make than the previous Yellow Berry Blocks.
Due to his rudimentary tools, he only managed to produce a little over a hundred Berry Blocks over the course of the morning.
Looking at the stacks of containers filled with the newly made Berry Blocks, Aoki let out a long breath and patted his legs, which were numb from sitting for so long.
He stood up from the ground.
“Murkrow, that’s enough for now.
Take a break.
It’s time to prepare today’s lunch,” Aoki said.
“Gah!
Gah!
Gah!” With a few final flaps of its wings, several small whirlwinds materialized in the distance, sweeping the last remnants of Zubat guano out of the cave.
Satisfied, Murkrow stopped and flew over to land on Aoki’s shoulder.
Aoki felt his shoulder sink.
With his legs still numb, he nearly lost his footing and stumbled.
Looking at the slightly sheepish Murkrow, Aoki reached out to stroke its now-smooth feathers and smiled.
“It’s fine.
But looking at you now, your size has fully recovered.
I’m afraid I won’t be able to carry you much longer,” he said half-jokingly.
Humans in the Pokémon world possessed far better physical conditioning than those on the Earth of Aoki’s first life.
Even with his currently thin and weak frame, supporting Murkrow’s weight was not a problem.
A portion of the human population in this world, even if not quite as formidable as Pokémon, possessed incredibly strong bodies that could rival ordinary Pokémon.
Some humans who specialized in martial arts could even go toe-to-toe with them.
In Aoki’s memory, the clearest example was Bruno, the future Fighting-type Elite Four member of the Kanto region.
He had trained his body to such an extreme that he could match a Fighting-type Pokémon like Machoke.
There were also humans with special abilities, such as Sabrina, the Gym Leader of Saffron City in the Kanto region.
Possessing overwhelming psychic talent, her telekinetic power surpassed that of most Psychic-type Pokémon.
At the same time, Sabrina was also one of Team Rocket’s three highest executives.
Aoki had seen Sabrina once in his past life, and he still clearly remembered her peerless, arrogant demeanor.
Thus, while Murkrow was training, Aoki would also exercise his own body.
He didn’t aim to reach Bruno’s heights, but at the very least, he refused to become a drag on his Pokémon.
At lunchtime, the advantage of living near the lake became apparent.
In this undeveloped body of water, plump fish could be seen everywhere.
After a few failed attempts, Murkrow gradually picked up the knack for fishing.
Soon, to the delight of the newly minted master fisher, it caught enough fish for lunch.
Having returned to the Team Rocket base once before, Aoki finally had some seasonings on hand for grilling.
After simply roasting a few fish, the trainer and his Pokémon happily enjoyed their meal.
After a brief rest, Aoki said, “Alright, midday break is about over.
This afternoon is for combat.
Murkrow, are you ready?” “Gah!
Gah!” Murkrow spread its wings wide and nodded excitedly.
Although it could feel itself getting stronger from the morning’s practice, combat was still its absolute favorite activity.
“You really are a battle maniac,” Aoki said with a laugh, patting its head as he looked at the pumped-up Murkrow.
There was no shortage of wild Pokémon in the forest; they could be found everywhere.
By paying close attention to various signs in the woods, one could easily find them.
Some aggressive Pokémon would even leap out to pick a fight on their own initiative.
Because Aoki had the microchip, he could scan his opponents’ data at any time.
If they encountered a foe they couldn’t beat, they would flee immediately, only engaging when they found a suitable target.
As long as they didn’t rashly trespass into the territory of an overly powerful Pokémon, Aoki and Murkrow would be perfectly safe.
Soon, the sun began to set again, and Aoki dragged his exhausted body back to the cave with Murkrow.
While Murkrow battled, Aoki had also been quietly training his own body.
Having recently received proper nutrition and intentional training, Aoki’s previously skeletal frame was finally putting on some meat, and the lean lines of his muscles were slowly starting to show.
Looking at the fully solidified Berry Blocks in the container, Aoki picked one up and examined it closely in his palm.
The black-and-white Berry Block had solidified into a refined, jelly-like texture, its smooth surface free of any impurities.
Using a small knife, he gently sliced off a small piece and placed it in his mouth.
An intense, slightly bitter and astringent flavor exploded in his mouth.
Even though Aoki had been prepared for it, the sensation on his taste buds still made him frown.
The bitter herbal taste and the astringency of the berries blended together.
Without the expertise of a highly skilled Breeder, it would be impossible to identify all the ingredients, let alone decipher the complex preparation process.
Though it didn’t taste great to him, this was exactly what Pokémon loved.
Having eaten just a tiny bit of the Berry Block, Aoki felt a wave of relief wash over his fatigued muscles.
And this was merely the effect of a human consuming it; Berry Blocks formulated specifically for Pokémon were even more potent for them.
He fed the rest of the piece in his hand to Murkrow.
Under the bird’s expectant gaze, Aoki carefully placed the rest of the crafted Berry Blocks into the storage space of his Team Rocket belt.
Seeing Murkrow left with nothing but the lingering taste of the half-piece, Aoki laughed and scolded gently, “You glutton, what’s the rush?
They’re all yours.
But before you get to those, you still have to eat Yellow Berry Blocks for another two days.” It had been five days since Murkrow started eating the Yellow Berry Blocks, and their effects were beginning to wane.
However, there were still two days left in the regimen.
No matter how much progress could still be made, it was best to wait until the course was fully finished.
Mixing different Berry Blocks without a proper pairing recipe would likely cause both to lose their efficacy.
Thus, Murkrow would just have to endure for two more days.
“Gah!
Gah!” Murkrow hastily shook its head and then nodded, as if trying to hide its craving for the newly made Berry Blocks while agreeing with Aoki’s words.
Sitting down, Aoki stroked Murkrow’s increasingly sleek feathers and began massaging it using the techniques he had learned in his past life.
After a hard day of training and battling, a proper evening massage would help the Pokémon recover much faster.
“Goo…
goo…” Murkrow let out soft, comfortable coos.
Its stiff muscles relaxed beautifully under Aoki’s hands, and it closed its eyes to enjoy the sensation.
After about half an hour, Murkrow was completely relaxed, its muscles entirely loose.
Next, Aoki prepared dinner.
Tonight’s meal was a large pot of delicious fish soup.
Every drop of the milky broth and every bite of the plump fish went straight into their bellies.
After a quick cleanup of the campsite, the exhausted pair leaned against the cave wall and drifted off to sleep.
The night forest was exceptionally noisy, but the quiet Zubat cave seemed entirely detached from the outside world.
Since it had been inhabited by Zubats for so long, other wild Pokémon kept their distance, making it incredibly safe.
Eventually, the only sound left inside the cave was the steady rhythm of peaceful breathing.