After inspecting Azure Town, Aven headed to the Black Coast Forest. Following extensive development, the once-dense mountains and forests had been planted with berry trees, and a smooth road leading to Fruitvale Village had long since been opened.
It was summer now, the season when many berries ripened. During this time, the berry purchasing grounds outside Fruitvale Village were bustling with activity, and carts transporting berries lined up in long queues.
As various territories established Pokémon Breeding Houses, demand for fertilizers and potions surged sharply. All the land around Fruitvale Village had been reclaimed into orchards, covering an area even larger than present-day Fairhaven Town.
Even so, the berries within the territory were still not sufficient. In addition to continuing to expand berry production, many other territories had begun planting berries as well. Even the Black Forest itself had gradually begun berry cultivation.
After so long of land reclamation, the entire Black Forest had essentially become Aspiration City's backyard. The Pokémon Breeding District had reached agreements with the Pokémon tribes within the forest.
Now, the entire Pokémon League was promoting harmonious coexistence between humans and Pokémon. For the Pokémon tribes within the Black Forest, this was also an opportunity—one that allowed their tries to live more stable lives. This peace was something both sides desired.
History had already proven that this was the best way for humans and Pokémon to coexist harmoniously. One could believe that the future era—where humans and Pokémon understood each other and fought side by side—would eventually arrive.
If large numbers of berries could be planted within the Black Forest, they would become excellent food sources for the Pokémon there. In turn, the Pokémon could help protect the berry trees, and surplus berries could be supplied for fertilizer and potion production.
Vast quantities of berries were continuously collected and transported to the factories within the Pokémon Domain for processing. To produce enough berries, these factories had already been expanded several times, with large numbers of workers into them.
Now, as more territories joined the Pokémon League, Pokémon factories were bound to bloom throughout Aspiration City. The presence of Pokémon liberated vast amounts of labor, and this labor would all be into factories.
In this way, commoners could earn substantial wages through their own efforts, then use those wages for consumption—greatly stimulating the territory's economic development, which would in turn be reinvested into Pokémon. Everything was moving steadily in a positive direction.
At his uncle's farm, although Uncle Mike and Aunt Eren no longer lived there, the farm was still under dedicated management. Whether it was the farm's special status or the berry trees planted there and the Pokémon living within, everything was of utmost importance and required strict protection.
As soon as Aven entered Fruitvale Village, three Combee immediately surrounded him. After so much time reproducing, the Combee colony of Fruitvale Village had grown extremely large.
In fact, the colony had already undergone several divisions, with some Combee successfully evolving into Vespiquen and beginning to reproduce in other locations, causing the number of Combee to increase even further.
These Combee constantly flew through the orchards, collecting nectar while also helping pollinate the trees, greatly increasing fruit set rates and improving berry quality.
After entering his uncle's farm, Vespiquen also came forward to greet him. Among all his Pokémon, Vespiquen had always had a relatively low sense of presence, yet its contribution to the development of the Pokémon Domain was enormous.
At present, the berry quality of the Pokémon Domain was the best in all of Aspiration City, allowing for the production of large quantities of high-quality potions. Meanwhile, the Sweet Honey brewed by Vespiquen was also of tremendous value.
"Everything has finally gotten on track. This feeling is really nice," Aven said, looking at the berries hanging from the trees, a sense of harvest-filled satisfaction welling up in his heart.
It wasn't just the bountiful berry harvest—under his governance, the entire territory had likewise ushered in a season of abundance. The Pokémon League was the most plentiful fruit of all.
…
Within the experimental fields of his uncle's farm.
At this moment, a large number of berries had already ripened, heavy clusters of berries hanging densely from the branches in a dazzling variety of colors.
Aven stood before the berry trees, carefully examining the fruits that had grown on them. With so many different kinds of berries, it would be easy for an ordinary person to feel overwhelmed and unable to tell them apart.
However, for Aven—a professional Pokémon Breeder—this was nothing difficult. His gaze swept across the orchard, and he was quickly able to identify berries that were different from the rest.
This was naturally the land he had previously reclaimed specifically for berry mutation experiments. Now, after more than two years of continuous mutation trials, many different types of berries had successfully emerged.
"This is… a Liechi Berry." His eyes suddenly locked onto a single berry hanging from a tree, and his whole body stiffened in shock.
The Liechi Berry was an extremely rare type of berry, possessing a powerful effect that could enhance a Pokémon's Attack. It could be used to formulate many exceptionally powerful medicines.
After Aven had successfully obtained Hondew Berries and Yache Berries through berry mutation, he had begun attempting to use those two as a base to further mutate and produce Liechi Berries.
He never expected it to truly succeed. And now, a Liechi Berry had appeared right before his eyes—this could absolutely be considered an enormous surprise!
"Garde~ voir~"
Gardevoir keenly sensed the joy appearing on Aven's face.
It carefully moved closer and looked up at the berry on the tree that stood out so distinctly from the rest.
"Lilli~ Lilli~"
Lilligant also came over. Having mastered natural and grass energy, it could clearly sense the power contained within the berry and couldn't help but wonder what effect this mysterious fruit might have.
"Lass~"
Froslass, on the other hand, didn't seem particularly interested. Still, it wondered idly what the berry might taste like if it were frozen.
"Sorry, you three. The main effect of a Liechi Berry is to increase a Pokémon's Attack, so it doesn't really have any effect on the three of you," Aven said apologetically as he looked at them.
Hearing that it was an Attack-boosting berry, the three Pokémon exchanged glances and quietly nodded. It seemed that Rhyperior would once again be the one to benefit the most—truly enviable.
"Vespiquen, this berry is very important to me," Aven said seriously.
"Before it fully ripens, I'll need you to carefully protect it."
"Bzzz—"
Vespiquen beat its wings, signaling that everything could be left to it.
As long as it lived here, nothing would be able to threaten this berry!
"Mm, with you guarding it, I can rest assured," Aven said, gently patting Vespiquen on the head.
During this period, Vespiquen's strength had also increased significantly through training. By relying on the power of its colony, it could easily contend with opponents at the King level.
After all, the number of Combee within the colony was now truly enormous. Every single Combee could contribute to Vespiquen's strength, and when combined with Vespiquen's own near-Champion-level combat power, such a feat was not difficult at all.
"Hm? And that one… is that a Ganlon Berry?" As he continued inspecting the orchard, Aven discovered yet another rare berry!
The Ganlon Berry was just as precious as the Liechi Berry. Its effect was to enhance a Pokémon's Defense, strengthening its physical resilience.
"To think I'd obtain both a Liechi Berry and a Ganlon Berry at the same time. In that case, these two berries can be used for further mutation."
"If Liechi Berries and Ganlon Berries can successfully mutate into an Kee Berry, then Kee Berries could be used to formulate super fertilizer, further assisting the training of Grass-type Pokémon!"
Aven took a deep breath. This inspection of the orchard had truly brought him tremendous surprises, further strengthening the foundation of his territory and helping Pokémon training advance even more.
In addition to the precious Liechi and Ganlon Berries, Aven also discovered many other berries, including several extremely rare ones such as Yache Berries and Kelpsy Berries.
After successfully mutating these berries earlier, he had been reluctant to use them to produce medicine, instead allowing them to continue being planted and mutated. Now, the time for harvest had finally arrived.
(End of Chapter)