Morning arrived.
Lucas pushed open the window, and a cool breeze flowed into the room, carrying the sweet fragrance of ripe Sitrus Berries.
After getting dressed, he headed downstairs.
Ralts was already awake, standing beside the Mareep enclosure and watching the eleven little sheep.
Several of the curious Mareep had already grown tired of staying inside the pen.
They stretched their tiny front legs over the wooden fence, trying to climb out.
Ralts hurried from one side of the enclosure to the other, using Confusion to gently pull back one Mareep that had nearly escaped before rushing over to stop another from squeezing through a gap in the fence.
Lucas smiled.
“Don’t worry about them for now.”
He handed Ralts a bottle of fresh milk.
Rather than grabbing it with its hands, Ralts used Confusion to make the bottle float in front of itself before looking up at Lucas with questioning red eyes.
Lucas pointed toward the orchard outside.
Several Berry trees were heavy with ripe fruit.
“We’re harvesting berries today.”
After breakfast, Lucas gathered everyone in front of the farmhouse.
Standing before him were all of his “employees.”
Pidgeotto.
Five Pidgey.
Bulbasaur.
Ralts.
And the eleven tiny Mareep, who were still too young to help.
Clearing his throat dramatically, Lucas felt like the owner of a real farm holding the morning briefing.
“Today’s mission is harvesting berries.”
He pointed toward the orchard stretching across the hillside.
“The Sitrus Berries and Pecha Berries are ripe.”
“We need to harvest everything today.”
“If we leave them until tomorrow, many of them will fall and rot.”
Pidgeotto cried confidently.
It understood.
“Good.”
Lucas looked at Pidgeotto.
“You and the Pidgey are responsible for harvesting the berries growing on the higher branches.”
Pidgeotto let out another determined cry.
Turning toward Bulbasaur, Lucas continued,
“You’ll handle the lower branches.”
“Use Vine Whip to pick the fruit.”
“If something is out of reach, pull the branch down first.”
Bulbasaur nodded.
The bulb on its back swayed slightly.
Finally, Lucas crouched in front of Ralts.
“You don’t need to pick any berries.”
“Your job is transportation.”
“Use Confusion to collect all the harvested berries.”
“But don’t carry too many at once.”
“Safety comes first.”
Ralts puffed out its tiny chest proudly.
Being entrusted with such an important responsibility clearly made it happy.
“Alright!”
“Let’s get started!”
The quiet orchard immediately became lively.
Pidgeotto flew straight to the highest branches.
With remarkable precision, it pecked the stem of a ripe Sitrus Berry.
The berry detached and fell.
Before it could hit the ground, one of the Pidgey swooped in, caught it neatly in its claws, and carried it toward the clearing.
Just before the berry landed…
A pale blue glow surrounded it.
Ralts’ Confusion gently caught the fruit in midair before carefully lowering it into a basket.
Sitting atop a nearby rock, Ralts maintained a constant field of psychic energy over the entire orchard.
Its red horn glowed softly.
Every berry dropped by the flying Pokémon was intercepted before touching the ground.
Ralts even sorted them automatically.
Sitrus Berries went into the basket on the left.
Pecha Berries went into the basket on the right.
The finest fruit was placed on top.
Slightly damaged berries were stacked underneath.
Meanwhile…
Bulbasaur worked tirelessly among the lower branches.
Its two Vine Whips had grown considerably stronger.
They easily reached branches over two meters high.
Each vine gently wrapped around a berry’s stem before twisting lightly.
The fruit dropped cleanly without damage.
When a branch was too high…
One vine pulled the branch downward while the other harvested the berries.
Its movements were smooth, efficient, and surprisingly elegant.
At first, Lucas tried helping.
Soon…
He realized he wasn’t helping at all.
His two hands simply couldn’t compete with…
Pidgeotto.
Five hardworking Pidgey.
Bulbasaur’s two Vine Whips.
And Ralts’ incredibly efficient Confusion.
Standing in the middle of the orchard, Lucas watched berries rain from the trees before being neatly caught and sorted through psychic power.
For a brief moment…
He felt like the most useless worker on his own farm.
Fortunately…
The feeling lasted less than three seconds.
After all…
He was the one paying everyone’s wages.
That had to count for something.
Less than three hours later…
Every ripe berry in the orchard had been harvested.
Lucas counted the day’s harvest.
Four large baskets of Sitrus Berries.
Each basket held roughly three hundred berries.
Three baskets of Pecha Berries.
Altogether…
Nearly fifteen hundred berries formed a colorful hill in front of the farmhouse.
Golden Sitrus Berries and pink Pecha Berries glowed beautifully beneath the afternoon sun.
Ralts finally jumped down from its rock.
Its legs trembled slightly.
Maintaining high-intensity Confusion for hours had exhausted even a Superior-rank Pokémon.
Lucas quickly picked it up and handed it a Pokéblock.
Ralts hugged it happily, nibbling on it with sleepy half-closed eyes.
Pidgeotto landed nearby with its five Pidgey companions.
All six birds were breathing heavily while preening their feathers.
The five Pidgey had performed flawlessly.
Not a single berry had been dropped.
Lucas rewarded each of them with an extra Pokéblock.
Watching the five little birds huddle together while eating reminded him of elementary school children enjoying lunch together.
Nearby…
Bulbasaur carefully sniffed both the Sitrus and Pecha Berries, seemingly inspecting their quality.
Lucas crouched beside it and gently patted its back.
“Great job.”
Bulbasaur happily cried out.
There wasn’t the slightest hint of exhaustion in its voice.
Only satisfaction.
Although the harvesting was complete…
The real work had only just begun.
Lucas stared at the mountain of berries.
What should I do with all of these?
The easiest solution was selling them directly.
Fresh Sitrus and Pecha Berries always sold well.
Fifteen hundred berries would easily earn around 5,000 League Currency.
But compared to everything he had invested…
That amount was insignificant.
He needed something with much higher value.
Pokéblocks.
That had always been his plan.
The greatest expense in making Pokéblocks was buying fresh berries.
Now…
He had his own orchard.
His production costs would be dramatically lower.
The most basic Pokéblocks sold for 100 League Currency per serving in the System Store.
If he produced them himself…
Each serving might cost only twenty or thirty League Currency.
The profit margin would be enormous.
And basic Pokéblocks were only the beginning.
Once his skills improved…
He could create specialized Pokéblocks for different Pokémon types, which sold for much higher prices.
Lucas opened the System Store.
Inside the Equipment section…
The Pokéblock Maker still cost 300,000 League Currency.
He had looked at it countless times before.
Every time…
He decided against buying it.
Three hundred thousand wasn’t a small amount.
But today was different.
The berries had already been harvested.
Fresh berries wouldn’t stay fresh forever.
He had to decide now.
His current savings exceeded 1.3 million League Currency.
Even after purchasing the machine…
He would still have over one million remaining.
He could afford it.
Without further hesitation…
Lucas pressed Purchase.
This time, unlike the analyzer…
The system displayed a delivery prompt.
Pokéblock Maker purchased successfully.
Please select a delivery location.
Lucas chose the empty room beside the living room.
Thirty seconds later…
A soft white light flashed.
When it faded…
A machine slightly smaller than a refrigerator stood quietly in the center of the room.
Its smooth white exterior looked clean and modern.
A transparent window on the front revealed its internal mechanisms.
Three ingredient slots sat on top.
Main Ingredients
Supplementary Ingredients
Seasoning
A control dial on the side allowed users to choose both the Pokéblock type and quality.
Finished products would slide out through a drawer at the bottom.
Alongside the machine…
The system also provided an instruction manual and a thick recipe guide.
Lucas flipped through the recipes.
From ordinary Pokéblocks to advanced custom formulas…
The pages were packed with information.
One thing remained consistent throughout every recipe.
Fresh berries were always the primary ingredient.
Sitrus Berries appeared especially often.
“Alright…”
Lucas rolled up his sleeves.
“Let’s begin.”
Making Pokéblocks turned out to be far more difficult than expected.
Operating the machine itself was incredibly simple.
Place the berries inside.
Select the recipe.
Press Start.
The machine automatically mixed, blended, compressed, solidified, and shaped everything.
The real challenge…
Was perfecting the recipe.
The standard recipe called for:
Three Sitrus Berries.
One Pecha Berry.
One serving of sweet supplementary ingredients.
The result was a basic Pokéblock suitable for almost every Pokémon.
But Lucas wasn’t interested in making generic products.
He wanted Flying-type Pokéblocks.
After all…
His orchard already housed one Pidgeotto and five Pidgey.
There would probably be more in the future.
Unfortunately…
The Flying-type recipe required Feather Berries.
He didn’t have any.
So he purchased them from the System Store.
Then…
He began experimenting.
Three chopped Sitrus Berries.
One Pecha Berry.
Feather Berries.
The machine hummed quietly.
Soon…
The first batch emerged.
The shape looked perfect.
The color wasn’t bad either.
Lucas called Pidgeotto over.
Pidgeotto took one bite.
Chewed twice.
Paused.
Then…
Very politely…
It placed the remaining half back onto the ground.
It never said it disliked the Pokéblock.
But that careful gesture spoke louder than words.
Lucas immediately made notes.
“Recipe unsuccessful.”
“Need further adjustments.”
Five minutes later…
The next batch finished.
This version was slightly smaller.
The color was darker.
Its sweetness had been replaced by a fresh herbal aroma.
This time…
Pidgeotto finished the entire piece.
Then…
It looked up and chirped.
The response was noticeably better.
Still…
Lucas could tell it wasn’t perfect.
“Barely acceptable.”
Experiment after experiment followed.
Every failure was carefully recorded.
Lucas adjusted ingredients according to Pidgeotto’s reactions.
Pidgeotto served as the official taste tester.
If it liked a recipe…
It finished everything immediately.
If it disliked it…
It left leftovers.
If it truly hated it…
It wouldn’t even take a bite.
Finally…
On the tenth attempt…
Success.
Pidgeotto devoured the Pokéblock in one bite.
Then immediately looked at Lucas expectantly…
Asking for another.
Lucas happily circled the winning recipe with a large five-pointed star.
Recipe:
– Three Sitrus Berries
– Half a Pecha Berry
– One and a half portions of Feather Berries
– A small pinch of salt
Perfect.
Now…
Mass production could begin.
With the recipe finalized…
Everything became repetitive.
Prepare ingredients.
Load the machine.
Start production.
Collect finished Pokéblocks.
Repeat.
Soon…
Everyone joined in.
Ralts used Confusion to slice berries floating in midair.
Dozens were cut into perfectly uniform pieces simultaneously.
Bulbasaur used Vine Whip to carry basket after basket of berries into the room.
Pidgeotto and the five Pidgey couldn’t contribute much anymore.
Instead…
They perched on the windowsill.
Watching.
Waiting.
Every completed batch still required Pidgeotto’s approval.
Its role had officially become:
Chief Quality Inspector.
By evening…
Lucas’s hands were so sore he could barely grip a knife.
Looking at the neatly stacked Pokéblocks beside the machine…
Then at the remaining berries…
He decided to stop for the day.
The finished Pokéblocks covered the dining table and shelves.
Lucas counted them carefully.
More than three hundred servings.
At the System Store’s selling price of 100 League Currency each…
That represented over 31,000 League Currency worth of Pokéblocks.
Lucas stood there quietly for a long time.
Thirty thousand sounded impressive.
But after considering today’s expenses…
The reality was different.
The berries came from his own orchard.
However…
Labor still had value.
Pokémon food still cost money.
Most importantly…
The Pokéblock machine alone had cost 300,000 League Currency.
At today’s production rate…
He would need roughly ten full working days just to recover the machine’s purchase price.
Still…
Something fundamental had changed.
He was no longer someone who merely bought Pokéblocks from the System Store.
He could produce them himself.
He had gone from being a consumer…
To becoming a creator.
Although today’s Pokéblocks were only the most basic quality…
And identical to those sold in the System Store…
He had successfully developed a reliable recipe.
He had mastered the production process.
That alone made today a success.
Unfortunately…
The System Store refused to buy products made by users.
Not a single Pokéblock could be sold back.
If Lucas wanted to make money…
He would have to sell them himself.
He could consign them to a shop in town…
Set up a stall outside the Pokémon Center…
Sell directly to Trainers…
Or…
If necessary…
Take them to the black market.