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With Serena's crystal sponsorship, Ash successfully carved a crystal sculpture of Pikachu. This time, the level of detail even surpassed that of Misty's and Serena's!
On one hand, it was because Ash's familiarity with Pikachu was unparalleled; no person or Pokémon could compare to how well Ash knew Pikachu in his heart.
On the other hand, it was also because this was Ash's third finished product, so his proficiency was naturally higher.
Finally, sculpting Pokémon is much simpler than sculpting humans. For these reasons, the level of detail on the Pikachu sculpture was superior to those of Misty and Serena.
After it was finished, Pikachu held his sculpture, playing with it as if he couldn't bear to put it down. Not only did the crystal sculpture feel better to the touch, but Ash's control over the details, aided by his Aura, was also matchless.
Furthermore, this was Ash's specific carving of his Pikachu, whereas the ones outside were generic versions made based on ordinary Pikachu. Great Teacher Pikachu had many differences in detail compared to other Pikachu.
This was the sculpture that truly belonged to him!
In the blink of an eye, a day passed, and it was the next morning. Isao, sporting two dark circles under his eyes, returned the Crystal Onix to Ash. Last night, Ash's group had rested at the Pokémon Center on the island, while Isao hadn't slept at all, spending the entire night observing and studying the Crystal Onix.
After all, he only had one night, and he was determined to fully record every essence of the Crystal Onix in that single night. Otherwise, once Ash left, he figured he might never see the Crystal Onix again.
Oh, wait, maybe he could see it on TV in the future, but whether it would still be a Crystal Onix or a Steelix by then was anyone's guess.
Thus, Isao spent the whole night, and despite the dark circles under his eyes, he finally managed to deeply imprint every aspect of the Crystal Onix into his heart.
Early the next morning, Ash went to Isao's shop to retrieve the Crystal Onix and witnessed Isao's new sculpting skills.
After observing the Crystal Onix, Isao's skills had indeed received an epic upgrade. The most important part was that all of his sculptures now seemed to possess life, becoming incredibly lifelike.
Isao had finally reached his father's level of sculpting. From now on, Pinkan Island would have another glass artisan with superb skills.
"Goodbye Isao, Masami! If we have time, we'll come back to visit!" Sitting on Lapras's back, Ash's group waved goodbye to the pair on the shore.
Staying on Pinkan Island for a day had not only gained them the Crystal Onix but also provided Misty and Serena with their own sculptures, plus it solved Serena's money problems. It could be said to be killing three birds with one stone.
This stop was quite worth it. The next place the trio was headed to was the Fruit Seven Islands, a magical place where seven islands were connected. Since the seven islands were almost joined together with no real gaps, they were called the Fruit Seven Islands.
On the Fruit Seven Islands, there were many Berries, covering almost every type. Even very precious Berries that could increase a Pokémon's stats were available. However, since the yield wasn't very high, they could only be purchased in limited quantities by visiting the islands in person.
The path to Shamouti Island happened to pass by the Fruit Seven Islands. Additionally, Ash wanted to use the Berries from there to create a Pokémon version of a Glowing Dish. Combining Berries that already had some beneficial effects with his cooking skills would surely produce a magical chemical reaction, allowing his and the girls' Pokémon to increase their growth speed even further.
Currently, Charizard and Gardevoir were both close to reaching the Elite Four Level. Surprisingly, after obtaining the crystal Pikachu sculpture carved by Ash, Pikachu actually broke through the Gym Leader Level threshold and reached the Elite Four Level!
This was something Ash hadn't expected at all.
Pikachu didn't break through during battle or training, but simply because of a crystal sculpture. This way of breaking through to the Elite Four Level was unheard of. At the time, Ash hadn't even noticed.
But after returning to Rest at night, Ash suddenly felt that Pikachu's aura was a bit off. Upon closer inspection, he found that Pikachu had actually become an Elite!
Even Pikachu himself hadn't noticed. When asked what happened, Pikachu indicated that the only surge in power occurred after Ash finished his crystal sculpture. If there was a breakthrough, it must have happened then.
This left Ash feeling very bewildered. Whose Pokémon suddenly breaks through just by being given a gift? And this was the bottleneck from Gym Leader to Elite Four Level, which Pikachu had been stuck on for quite a while!
And then he just broke through so inexplicably? That's just too ridiculous!
Another funny thing was that once Gardevoir found out Ash had carved a crystal sculpture for Pikachu, she cried and made a scene, demanding that Ash carve one for her too. But by then, they had already left crystal Island, and it wasn't realistic to go back into the cave to find crystals.
Consequently, Gardevoir turned her predatory gaze toward her new companion, the Crystal Onix.
The crystal material on the Crystal Onix was even superior in quality to the crystals in the mine. After all, the texture, hardness, and quality of the crystals on its body would become better and more transparent as its strength grew.
So—if they just used the crystals from the Crystal Onix's body, wouldn't the problem of having no crystals be solved?
Ash immediately refused! How could they target a companion for materials? Even if it wouldn't physically harm the Crystal Onix, the psychological impact would be huge!
When Gardevoir suggested this, the Crystal Onix looked at her as if she were a demon. Listen to that, is that how a human talks? Oh, right, she wasn't human to begin with.
In the end, Ash couldn't stand Gardevoir's resentful eyes and promised that on the return trip, they would go back to the cave to collect more crystals to make a dedicated sculpture for her.
With Ash's promise, Gardevoir finally stopped dwelling on the matter.
A week later, Ash's group finally arrived at the Fruit Seven Islands. Although there were other Berries on the Fruit Seven Islands, the most abundant was the Sitrus Berry. This Berry was found all over the seven islands.
The effect of a Sitrus Berry is that when a Pokémon's hp falls below half, it is automatically consumed, restoring one-fourth of the Pokémon's maximum hp. It's a quite excellent item.
However, the effect also varies depending on the Pokémon. The stronger the Pokémon, the less hp the Sitrus Berry restores, but for average-level Pokémon, the effect isn't affected.
Only for Pokémon at the Elite level and above does the effect of a Sitrus Berry weaken. At that point, special techniques are needed to combine several Sitrus Berries into a fruit suitable for Elite Four Level Pokémon and above.
Furthermore, using Sitrus Berries to make Pokémon food or Pokéblocks can also quickly restore a Pokémon's hp. Cooking them with special methods can even increase a Pokémon's maximum hp. It's a basic but indispensable Berry.
The price of a single Sitrus Berry is as high as five hundred. Five hundred dollars is enough for a family of three to eat for two or three days, yet that's the price of just one Berry.
A Sitrus Berry is a one-time-use item. Once it's used in battle, it's gone. In other words, five hundred dollars can only be used for one battle or one hp recovery. What an extravagant way to use money!
No wonder people say, if you don't have money, don't play with Pokémon.
Upon reaching the Fruit Seven Islands, the first thing the three saw was a landscape full of Sitrus trees. The trees were covered with dense clusters of Sitrus Berries. The golden fruits shimmered in the sunlight, looking very sweet and delicious.
"Is this the Sitrus Berry?"
"It's my first time seeing so many Sitrus Berries!"
"These things are just left out here in the open? Aren't they afraid of them being stolen!"
The three had three different thoughts. Serena was seeing Sitrus Berries for the first time; after all, she had just started her journey. Sitrus Berries weren't some common street fruit but Berries used by Pokémon. Of course, humans could eat them too.
However, Sitrus Berries are equivalent to pomelos among humans. Even though the former tastes much better than the latter, who would eat a five-hundred-dollar Sitrus Berry as a regular fruit?
Therefore, most people who recognize Sitrus Berries are Pokémon Trainers. Ordinary people rarely see them.
Misty was amazed by the sheer quantity of Sitrus Berries here. The hillsides covered in Sitrus Berries gave off a very shocking feeling. So many Sitrus Berries must represent a massive fortune!
One Sitrus Berry costs five hundred dollars, and a single tree has dozens of them. Calculating it that way, the Sitrus Berries on one tree are worth over ten thousand. Moreover, the Sitrus Berries here were plump and large; if sold, the price would likely be even higher. Based on that, the selling price for one tree should be at least twenty thousand dollars or more.
There were probably over a thousand Sitrus trees on this island alone. The people growing these trees must be getting rich!
When Ash saw this, his first instinct was to question the security system. Should he call it simple folk customs or a complete lack of defense? This place didn't have any security system at all. If someone came up here to steal from the trees, how would they be alerted?
These weren't ordinary pomelo or apple trees, but Berries with magical power. For such precious things to be so undefended, they were perhaps a bit too overconfident.
With their different questions, Ash's group approached a Berry tree. The Sitrus Berries hanging on it were plump and round, looking very delicious.
"Who are you people? What are you trying to do!" Before Ash could make a move, a sharp shout came from the distance. Everyone looked toward the sound and saw a young woman who looked to be around twenty years old.
The girl was wearing pink overalls and was likely a staff member here. The reason she shouted at Ash was probably because she thought they were thieves coming to steal Sitrus Berries.
Ash's group quickly raised their hands, indicating they hadn't done anything.
Seeing this, the anger and solemnity on the girl's face faded slightly. After a proper discussion, Ash learned the girl's name was Nana, and Nana learned that Ash and his friends weren't thieves but had come to buy Berries.
However, generally speaking, those coming to buy Berries would take a boat to the front of the island. They were currently on the last of the Fruit Seven Islands, so it was normal to be mistaken for fruit thieves.
If it weren't for the fact that Ash and the others looked honest and even a bit familiar, Nana probably wouldn't have believed their story at all.
"—Wait a minute, you said your name is Ash? Are you the Ash I'm thinking of?" Nana looked at Ash's familiar yet strange face for a long time, then suddenly clapped her hands and shouted.
"Uh—if you mean the Champion of the Indigo Plateau Conference, then that's me," Ash said with a wry smile, pointing to himself.
Since they had been drifting at sea for the past few days or staying on deserted islands, Ash hadn't had Mewtwo continue masking their faces. Now, Ash was using his real appearance.
He thought that since half a month had passed, the influence of the Indigo Plateau Conference would have mostly faded. He didn't expect to be recognized in a place like this.
"It really is you! My younger brother loves watching your matches. He even vowed to become a Trainer as strong as you. It's not just my brother; many of the younger generation on the Fruit Seven Islands see you as an idol~" After confirming Ash's identity, Nana completely dismissed her suspicions.
If it was Ash, then he definitely couldn't be a fruit thief. After all, there was simply no need!
With his current fame and status, he could easily get a ton of Berries. Why would he bother traveling all the way from the Kanto region to here just to steal Berries?
"Ahaha~ So I'm that popular!" Ash scratched his head, a proud smile on his face. Toward the kind of fans who would swarm him, demanding photos and autographs without regard for his feelings, Ash was actually not very fond of them. He always felt those people didn't like him for who he was but just wanted to sell those things—
But for people like Nana's brother and the Trainers of the Fruit Seven Islands who wanted to use him as a goal for their own journeys, that feeling of being a benchmark was what made Ash proud. He was still a somewhat vain teenager, after all, only fifteen years old. It was just that his many achievements made people forget his current age.
"Alright Ash, don't get too ahead of yourself. Don't forget our main business on this island!" Misty lightly tapped Ash's head as a reminder.
"Oh right, we came to the Fruit Seven Islands to buy Berries. Miss Nana, there should be other Berries here besides Sitrus Berries, right?" Misty's reminder snapped Ash out of his self-absorbed state.
"Yes, but those Berries are grown in the center of the Fruit Seven Islands, and there aren't many of them. Also—the prices are quite expensive."
"Don't worry, money isn't an issue. Lead the way!" Ash waved his hand grandly, acting every bit the wealthy traveler!
Nana nodded and was about to lead Ash and the others to the central island when a staff member in blue overalls ran over panting, gasping out, "Not—not good! The Sitrus Berries are about to be all eaten up!"
Ash and the others: !!!