◉◉◉◉◉
The sweet, fragrant taste exploded in Kael's mouth, juicy, tangy, and rich, followed by tender flesh that seemed to melt on his tongue.
He swallowed, the pulp sliding down his throat in a warm rush.
Almost immediately, a fierce heat began rising inside him. Sweat broke out across his forehead.
Thump-thump-thump.
His heart pounded like a war drum, sending surges of blood through every part of his body.
For a moment, the intensity made him nervous… but that anxiety quickly faded. Deep down, he could sense this wasn't harmful if anything, it felt like his body was adapting to something powerful.
He finished the Berry quickly, the heat inside him growing stronger. Settling into a seated position, he focused his breathing.
Beep!
The familiar system chime rang in his head. Kael summoned the interface before his eyes.
[+1 Experience Point]
[+2 Experience Points]
[+1 Experience Point]
…
The notifications scrolled past like a streaming chat feed, line after line ticking upward.
A smile tugged at his lips. He closed his eyes and paid closer attention to the changes in his body.
After a while, his heartbeat steadied and the heat gradually subsided. Opening his eyes, he exhaled slowly.
The breath came out hot and heavy, forming a thin white mist in the air.
Kael rose to his feet, stretching.
"…Weird," he muttered. "Feels like something's changed… but I can't put my hoof on it."
He checked his stored electricity no increase. Everything felt exactly the same as before the Berry.
Confused, he opened the system's status screen again. The rapid stream of EXP notifications had stopped. A quick count showed he'd gained 32 points about what he'd earn from a good-quality battle.
"Not bad… but—"
It wasn't that he was ungrateful. The boost was nice, but the intense reaction his body went through had him expecting more. This was, after all, a Berry Hydreigon that had prepared for its own offspring a power powerful enough to be stored beside that purple Dragon-type crystal.
Then he saw it.
---
[Species: Flaaffy]
[Level: 26 (33/100)]
[Moves: Tackle, Growl, Thunder Wave, Hidden Power (Dragon), Thunder Shock, Cotton Spore, Charge, Thunder Punch, Magnet Rise, Take Down, Electro Ball, Dragon Breath]
[Evaluation: A Flaaffy with immense potential]
---
His eyes widened, pupils contracting.
"Knew it!"
The Berry hadn't just boosted his experience it had given him a new move: Dragon Breath.
Joy surged through him. With each level, his moveset grew more versatile. Ever since acquiring the Thunder Stone pendant that solved his energy storage problem, he'd leaned toward high-powered, versatile combos in battle.
Hidden Power (Dragon) had fallen out of use; its rigid, fixed energy pattern made it difficult to combine with other moves. He'd tried building a combo around it before, but the structure left no gaps for weaving in other attacks. Eventually, he gave up.
But Dragon Breath was different. It could fill a major gap in his type coverage and might even help him in his future evolution.
Kael focused. The small reserves of Dragon-type energy within him stirred, flowing from every part of his body toward his mouth.
From the outside, his jaw opened wide. Near the back of his throat, a small blue-violet orb of light began to form.
Vrrrrm!
The air thrummed. The orb burst into a dazzling beam of blue-violet light, lancing straight ahead.
BOOM!
The blast struck the inside wall of the Poké Ball's interior space, making the entire environment tremble.
The energy faded. Kael's mouth tingled with heat, but there was no pain. He blew out a thin stream of mist, almost like a dragon breathing clouds.
A satisfied grin spread across his face. The power wasn't overwhelming yet, but it was a start. With enough practice, the move's speed and strength would grow and maybe, just maybe, it could be fused into one of his signature combos.
Then his eyes shifted toward the second red, pomegranate-like Berry.
Crunch.
The same sweet taste. The same inner heat.
This time, Kael paid closer attention. The fiery energy circulated through him, and his Dragon-type reserves swelled slightly, becoming denser.
Beep-beep-beep. The system chimed again.
He recovered faster this time, quickly pulling up his status.
---
[Species: Flaaffy]
[Level: 26 (52/100)]
[Moves: Tackle, Growl, Thunder Wave, Hidden Power (Dragon), Thunder Shock, Cotton Spore, Charge, Thunder Punch, Magnet Rise, Take Down, Electro Ball, Dragon Breath]
[Evaluation: A Flaaffy with immense potential]
---
Kael sighed, disappointment showing on his face.
Just like in the stories he remembered from his past life, rare treasures tended to have a full effect only once.
The second Berry hadn't granted him a new move, and even the experience gain was reduced.
Shaking his head, determination returned to his eyes.
Maybe he'd been greedy. Learning Dragon Breath was already an unexpected blessing. Chasing more would only lead to shallow gains.
What mattered now was solidifying his foundation and preparing for the evolution to Ampharos.
Depending too much on outside boosts would only make him complacent.
◉◉◉◉◉
~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
◉◉◉◉◉
For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
P-atreon/iamxeno
(Just remove the - hyphen to access Patreon normally)
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!