https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-213-Barley-Beer-A-New-Tavern-Offering/12537244/
Chapter 212: The Super Berry Platter
Chapter 212: The Super Berry Platter
League Calendar Year 198, August 12th, Autumn.
After eight months of development, life on the ranch had finally settled into a comfortable routine.
With the help of numerous Pokemon, productivity had soared, and Naoki no longer needed to attend to every matter personally as he had in the beginning.
The Piplup siblings kept both the house and the ranch in impeccable order. Aside from taking care of Naoki's daily needs, their favorite place to be was the Pokemon tavern.
In the fields, Diglett tilled the soil, while the watering was still done by Dragonite. Even the harvesting of crops no longer required Naoki's direct involvement.
The psychically-inclined Piplup siblings used their powers to pluck the ripe produce from the ground and bring it to the ranch.
As a result, Naoki's daily tasks had become much lighter. When he wasn't playing with his Pokemon, he could be found relaxing in the garden with a book and a cup of tea.
That afternoon, a new batch of berries had ripened in the orchard.
As they had run out of berries at home, Naoki set out with a basket to pick some more.
Walking through the fragrant orchard, even though he had seen it several times before, the sight of the heavy clusters of berries on the branches still filled Naoki with wonder.
The berry trees grew so quickly that a new harvest was ready in less than a week after the previous one.
"No wonder berries are so cheap in this world..." Naoki thought, remembering the market price of 20 League Coins per berry.
At that price, one could buy a whole heap of fresh Mauville Milk.
Perhaps the wild berry trees in nature worked the same way?
With such an abundance of berries, the wild Pokemon living in the mountains and forests must feed on them.
"Hmm? More golden and silver berries?"
Naoki's attention was suddenly drawn to a Golden Nanab Berry hanging on one of the trees.
And on the neighboring tree, there was a cluster of Silver Sitrus Berries.
This surprised him greatly.
The last time he had come across golden and silver berries, they had been rare and exotic varieties.
It seemed that the odds of finding rare berries were quite high! Much higher than the odds of finding mutated crops in the fields.
Naoki plucked the golden and silver berries and, filled with curiosity, an idea suddenly popped into his mind.
—A berry platter! Over the past few months, he had observed that when he used higher-quality and rarer ingredients in his cooking, the resulting dishes produced enhanced effects.
Previously, the small number of golden berries and the presence of the Silver Feather had distracted him from exploring this further.
But now, he wondered if he could experiment with these rare berries. What if he made a berry platter using these exotic varieties? Would it create a different kind of berry platter?
Full of enthusiasm, Naoki turned and headed back to the kitchen with his basket brimming with berries.
Big Piplup, who was cleaning at that moment, noticed Naoki's actions and couldn't help but look puzzled.
Why was he cooking at this hour?
If Big Piplup recalled correctly, Naoki had already eaten several sandwiches and a big bowl of porridge for breakfast!
Sensing Big Piplup's curious gaze, Naoki looked up and, seeing the confusion on his face, explained, "I suddenly thought of a new dish... Well, it's not exactly new, but an improved version of something I've made before."
Hearing this, Big Piplup nodded in understanding.
Without asking further questions, Big Piplup continued cleaning while sneaking curious glances at the kitchen area.
Naoki, unaware of Big Piplup's curiosity, selected all the golden and silver berries from his basket. After rinsing them with clear water, he carefully cut them into berry chunks of varying sizes and arranged them artfully on a white ceramic plate.
And so, a simple yet exquisite berry platter was created.
The golden and silver berry chunks shimmered on the white plate, exuding an air of rarity and value.
Naoki's eyes lit up as he beheld his creation.
The next second, information about this improved berry platter appeared in his mind.
[Super Berry Platter (A-)
: A delicious dish made with various berries, blending the flavors of different fruits. It is quite popular among some Pokemon.
Dish Effect: Move Catalyst (Large)
: After consumption, a Pokemon's move will randomly evolve, increasing the chance of learning a rare move.
Evaluation: A basic and easy-to-make dish, perfect for home or travel.]
"As expected, it worked!" Naoki exclaimed, his eyes wide with excitement.
Naoki mused over the last part: "It increases the chance of learning a rare move... Does that mean the move pool expands, including more powerful moves?"
"Unfortunately, the outcome is still unpredictable." This left Naoki feeling quite disappointed. This dish didn't even have a guaranteed minimum effect; it was very unforgiving to those who lacked luck.
Just then, his Piplup sister happily ran in from outside.
As soon as she saw Naoki in the kitchen, her eyes lit up. "Pii?"
Seeing his sister running towards him, Naoki smiled and explained, "It's a berry platter."
As he spoke, he noticed his Piplup brother also looking their way from a distance.
"Pii?" The sister tilted her head to look at the golden berries in the white ceramic plate.
They look so pretty! Can I try some?
Piplup sister looked at him expectantly.
But this left Naoki in a bit of a dilemma.
He thought for a moment before carefully explaining, "This is a little different from regular food. After a Pokemon eats this, there's a fifty-fifty chance they'll learn a new move, but there's also an equal chance they'll forget a move they already know."
"Pii?" The sister was perplexed.
"Scared?" Naoki teased.
The sister quickly shook her head. "Pii!" Of course not!
She looked down at the berry platter, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"Pii!" She wanted to give it a try!
Naoki wasn't surprised by his sister's choice. Though she was a girl, she had a lively and adventurous personality and loved exploring new things.
However, her brother immediately gave her a disapproving look.
"Pii... " (You don't know that many moves yet. What if you eat this and forget them all...?)
The sister angrily put her hands on her hips. "Pii! " (You're the dummy!)
Naoki: "?"
Why were they suddenly arguing?
He gestured for them to stop and said with a smile, "You won't forget the move forever. It's just temporary forgetfulness. As long as you work hard and practice, you'll be able to relearn the move quickly."
"A Butterfree ate this and learned the Electric-type move Electric Net. A Lizardon ate it and learned Dragon Tail, and a Rayquaza learned Extreme Speed."
"But then, it wanted to learn more moves, so it ate more berry platters. Not only did it fail to learn new moves, but it also forgot Dragon Tail, which it had worked so hard to master. It was so upset it almost cried." Naoki vividly recounted Rayquaza's embarrassing history.
This was all new information to the Piplup siblings.
Their attention immediately shifted, and from Naoki's description, along with their understanding of Rayquaza, they could almost picture what the Rayquaza must have looked like at the time.
"Pii?" The sister couldn't help but ask what happened next.
Naoki smiled slightly. "After that, Rayquaza worked tirelessly, day and night. After a week of effort, it finally remembered Dragon Tail, but it never dared to eat the berry platter again for fear of forgetting its other moves."
"Now, do you still want to try it?" Naoki asked.
The sister thought about it seriously, and then her eyes sparkled with determination.
"Pii!"
It sounded like an exciting experience, and she wanted to try it too! Seeing his sister's expression, the brother knew he couldn't stop her.
However, since Naoki had said that it wouldn't harm the Pokemon, he didn't need to worry too much.
The brother sighed helplessly.
But at the same time, he was curious.
Would his sister learn a new move, or would she forget one she already knew?
"Just don't cry if you forget a move, okay?" Naoki said with a smile.
"Pii!"
The sister immediately protested.
She was a reliable and caring Piplup now, no longer a child who would cry over small things!
"Very well, let's give it a try then!" Naoki nodded.
Earlier, he had specifically recorded the siblings' move sets.
The brother currently knew the following moves: Helping Hand, Friendly, Assist, Telekinesis, and Meditate.
The sister knew the following moves: Helping Hand, Friendly, Telekinesis, Assist, and Fling.
Naoki quietly recalled these moves in his mind, then watched as his sister enjoyed the Super Berry Platter.
Zhi Shu's eyes were instantly drawn to the changes occurring on his sister's body.
"Did you learn a new move?" he asked.
Aiguanshi carefully sensed the aura and nodded excitedly, "Pii!"
What incredible luck! To learn a new move on her first try! Zhi Shu quickly asked, "Which move is it?"
"Pii..." As for what move it was, even Aiguanshi wasn't quite sure.
She looked a bit perplexed, but after a moment of hesitation, she began to demonstrate.
A faint pink ripple appeared around Aiguanshi, and an illusory new moon slowly materialized behind her.
Zhi Shu felt the air around them shift as if an enigmatic power had been released from Aiguanshi's body.
Although the power had been discharged, it didn't dissipate but lingered in the air.
As this power was released, Aiguanshi's body began to weaken, resembling a Pokemon that had lost its battle capabilities.
Zhi Shu was taken aback by this sight.
What kind of move was this? The moon, the user losing their battle capabilities...
Suddenly, an incredible name popped into his head.
Moonblast!
The signature move of the mythical Pokemon, Cresselia—Moonblast!
A move that, when used, restores the HP of the next Pokemon in the party and cures all status conditions, but at the cost of the user's own battle capabilities.
Zhi Shu was stunned.
Could Aiguanshi's luck be this incredible?
Had she really learned a legendary move?
The mystical energy that had lingered in the air seemed to be unable to find a target, and it eventually returned to Aiguanshi's body.
Aiguanshi, who had been weakened almost to the point of losing her battle capabilities, immediately regained her vitality.
Seeing this, her brother, Aiguang, who had been worried, quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
He and his sister turned to Zhi Shu, awaiting an explanation.
"If I'm not mistaken, this move should be Moonblast," Zhi Shu said.
"Pii?" Moonblast?
Aiguanshi looked puzzled, as she had never heard of this move before...
"I must say, your luck is truly enviable," Zhi Shu explained in detail. "Moonblast, when used, heals the target Pokemon of all wounds and abnormal conditions, but it consumes all your energy and stamina, rendering you unable to battle."
"This move is exclusive to the mythical Pokemon Cresselia; it's a move that only it can use."
Cresselia...
Aiguanshi didn't understand, but her brother, who knew about legendary Pokemon, did.
His eyes lit up as he realized the significance of this move.
She had learned a move unique to a mythical Pokemon! This was truly exciting!
Aiguanshi beamed with pride as she turned to her brother, "Pii?" (Am I amazing?)
Brother: "Pii..."
Aiguanshi turned back to Zhi Shu, eager to try again.
She wanted to give it another go! Zhi Shu hesitated, thinking it over before speaking, "To be honest, I don't recommend it. Moonblast is a very rare move, and if you forget it later, it's unlikely that you'll be able to relearn it through recollection like other moves."
"I was thinking that since you don't know many moves yet, it wouldn't hurt to forget a few if you learned a powerful one. But now, that's no longer the case."
"Pii..."
As expected, upon hearing this, Aiguanshi's face fell, and she looked hesitant.
She pondered for a moment before ultimately deciding against eating more of the fruit platter.
Zhi Shu didn't push her.
He stroked his chin, gazing at the remaining fruit platter, and couldn't help but think: If only Little Cub were here.
Little Cub only knew basic physical moves like Scratch, Fury Swipes, and Astonish.
Unlike special moves, these physical moves could be quickly relearned through muscle memory even if forgotten.
Coupled with its Super Luck Ability, it might have been able to learn some extremely rare and powerful moves through this Super Berry Platter.
However, it was a shame that Little Cub had passed away too soon.
Zhi Shu fell into deep thought. "Hmm... If there are Pokemon in the future who want to try the fruit platter, perhaps I can give them a Lucky Pudding beforehand to boost their luck a bit and increase the chances of learning new moves."
(End of Chapter)
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