Chapter 436:
In any case, challengers had been coming in waves these past few days. But then again, not everyone possessed strength akin to an Elite Four member's. So many arrived full of enthusiasm, only to leave disappointed.
Some even came with the intent to debunk the claims, but upon facing Pidgeot, they found they couldn't even pass the second stage and had to slink back in frustration.
Amidst such busyness, time flowed onward like water.
April 24th.
Just like that, over half a month had passed. The Breeding House's recent changes had slowed, and so had the commotion naturally.
After breakfast today, Kaede took a look at his stock of Grepa Berry Wine barrels and let out a deep, heartfelt sigh, his face a picture of bitter helplessness. Now, only ninety barrels of Grepa Berry Wine remained!
Good heavens.
Back when he brought back so much wine from Budo Town, he had thought, *With this much, it should last over a decade, shouldn't it?*
He never imagined it wouldn't even last a year, not even until the next Grepa Berry harvest season.
"It should last until the new wine is ready."
After checking the wine reserves, he moved to the new barrels.
Now, as time passed, the sunlight grew stronger each day, and the daily harvest of Berries increased. Kaede didn't use them all for Energy Cubes. Instead, more Berries were used to brew various Berry wines.
"Pecha Berry Wine... should be about ready, right?"
The most abundant Berries in the orchard were, of course, Oran Berries, followed by Pecha Berries.
But the first batch brewed only amounted to seven or eight barrels.
There was no helping it; the daily yield of ripe Berries from the orchard varied. So even for brewing, their fermentation and maturation times differed.
And each type of Berry wine had a different brewing time. This required recording the start date for each barrel to avoid confusion—a task now handled by the sister Indeedee.
It arranged the barrels in order and attached labels to them.
Opening one barrel of Pecha Berry Wine, the pink-hued liquid inside swayed, releasing an intoxicatingly fragrant aroma as the lid came off.
With one sniff, Kaede knew this initial batch of Pecha Berry Wine was ready.
[S-grade Dish – Pecha Berry Wine]
Brewed using premium Pecha Berries. Possesses the culinary effects of Antidote and Calm Mind.
Culinary Effect 1: Antidote – After consumption, can neutralize most toxins within the body. First consumption increases poison resistance by 10%. Long-term consumption effectively boosts poison resistance.
Culinary Effect 2: Calm Mind – Can restore a confused Pokémon to rationality.
Culinary Effect 3: Sweet heart – Imparts a sweet, joyous mood after drinking.
Culinary Effect 4: Toxin Weakening – Long-term consumption by Poison-type Pokémon will weaken the toxicity within their bodies.
Culinary Effect 5: Malady Dispelling – Has the efficacy of restoring vitality and dispelling malignant ailments.
"Hey, it actually reached S-grade?"
Kaede was surprised. Grepa Berry Wine was an A+ grade dish, but this Pecha Berry Wine had reached S-grade.
Setting that aside, it even had five culinary effects.
That was pretty wild.
Reading through them, one effect made Kaede almost lose his composure.
*Long-term consumption by Poison-type Pokémon will weaken the toxicity within their bodies?*
That would be disastrous. A Poison-type Pokémon without its poison would see its combat power plummet.
Looks like this one wasn't meant for Poison-types.
Then again, it wasn't completely useless.
If he took this Pecha Berry Wine for a stroll in the Reverse World, it could transform into a *toxin-boosting* wine.
But correspondingly, the other effects would also invert.
It would cause illness, weaken poison resistance, sour one's mood, and induce confusion.
That would be terrible.
What really caught Kaede's attention was Culinary Effect 5.
*Malady Dispelling* – could dispel malignant ailments and restore vitality.
In this world, while human constitutions were quite robust, illness wasn't nonexistent.
On the contrary, due to the existence of Trainers, things like fractures and large-scale abrasions were commonplace. As for diseases like colds, they existed too.
This also came down to Trainers.
Some careless Trainers, setting off on their journeys, wouldn't check maps or weather forecasts, relying solely on their feet to brave the world.
But in reality, it meant walking under a bright sun today, only to encounter a rainstorm tomorrow in a different area. Without an umbrella, getting drenched to the bone—who else would catch a cold but you?
There were also all sorts of strange ailments.
Like having one's life energy drained by a Ghost-type Pokémon, and so on...
Speaking of illness, Kaede suddenly remembered his previous trip to the Alola region.
He had even stayed overnight at Mallow's house.
He'd left Mallow a Rotom Phone contact, saying he was a doctor.
He wondered if she believed him.
Shaking his head to dismiss the thought, Kaede focused on another one of the Pecha Berry Wine's effects.
"Sweet heart?" he murmured.
Just a happy mood, right?
He wondered what that would be like.
"Heh, but Serperior will definitely love this Pecha Berry Wine."
Thinking of Serperior, Kaede brightened up. He took a bottle from his storage capsule, used his psychic power to fill it from the barrel, resealed the barrel, and hurriedly made his way to the Berry orchard.
Arriving at the orchard, the diligent Furret were still hard at work picking Berries. By now, most of the Sentret had evolved into Furret, including the shiny one.
Now, it was a sight to behold within the orchard.
The pink Furret darted among the colorful Berries was exceptionally eye catching.
They weren't as afraid of Kaede anymore either. Sometimes they'd even proactively come up to rub against him, knowing that if they did, even if they slacked off sometimes, Kaede would give them tasty treats.
It was now midday. Kaede's eyes swept across the scene and soon found the verdant Serperior under one of the Pecha Berry trees lining the irrigation channels, their pink flowers in full bloom.
Having finished its morning Berry cultivation work, it was now resting with its eyes closed under the largest Pecha Berry tree.
Nearby was Steenee. The delicate fragrance of the Berry blossoms attracted pink Butterfree, accompanied by some ordinary white butterflies. Steenee seemed full of energy, chasing after these butterflies.
Sunlight poured onto the water's surface, making it shimmer.
Leafeon lay on a branch of the Pecha Berry tree, eyes closed.
By April, the sunlight was at its most vigorous, which was also the most comfortable time for Grass-type Pokémon like them.
Beside the irrigation channel, already-fruited pink petals slowly drifted down in the gentle breeze, carpeting the water's surface like a sparkling, pink-tinted rug.
The entire scene was serene and elegant.
But this tranquility was soon broken by Kaede's arrival.
He eagerly approached Serperior while carrying the Pecha Berry wine.