In the air, Charizard used Dragon Claw to confront the flock of Spearow.
After a period of training, Charizard's flying and close-combat abilities had improved considerably. Although he still looked a bit strained, he managed to defeat the Fearow and the Spearow it led without any trouble.
"Now it's time to test the effects of the pokéblock."
When Charizard landed, Ethan took out a pokéblock and handed it to him.
"Charrzz!"
Charizard didn't hesitate for a second and swallowed it in one bite. Immediately, a soft green glow appeared over his body.
The pokéblock began to take effect, restoring energy and healing wounds.
"If one piece isn't enough, you'll eat more."
Ethan took large amounts of pokéblocks crafted by Shuckle and placed them into Charizard's mouth.
After ingesting several, the green light around him intensified even further.
The wounds caused by Fearow and the Spearow began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"So these pokéblocks really can heal wounds quickly!" Ethan narrowed his eyes, surprised.
The existence of the pokéblock-making machine was already public knowledge, and pokéblocks were not something mysterious. The Pokémon Research Guild had even conducted studies on them.
The conclusion they had reached was that pokéblocks were more effective than nutritious juices due to the additional purification performed by the machine, and the stable cube-shaped structure that maximized the retention of Berry energy.
He had never heard of pokéblocks produced by a machine having additional effects.
"It might be due to the quality, or some kind of special energy contained in Shuckle's bodily fluids... or maybe some unknown effect of Grass-type energy on Berries." Ethan thought about the times Shuckle had turned normal fruit into nutritious juice.
Ethan shook his head, stopping himself from overthinking. As long as he confirmed that Shuckle could craft pokéblocks capable of rapidly restoring energy and healing wounds, that was enough.
"Maybe when I return, I should gather more juice recipes. I wonder if the pokéblocks made from those recipes might have different effects."
Ethan made a quiet decision and looked again at the Berry forest before him, narrowing his eyes.
...
Half a month later, the forest that had once been full of Berries now looked much more barren.
During that time, Ethan had followed the nutritious juice recipes and gathered all the corresponding Berries, turning them into practical pokéblocks and storing them in his space backpack.
He decided not to touch the remaining Berries yet; he wanted to return with more juice recipes before harvesting them.
Boom, boom, boom!
At that moment, loud booms echoed from deep within the jungle.
After a long while, Charizard returned flying, his body full of wounds. Evidently, the earlier sounds had been caused by the battle.
As soon as Charizard returned, Ethan gave him a pokéblock to restore his energy and injuries.
After eating it, Charizard patted his stomach happily and began doing exercise poses, showing he was full of energy again.
"Just as I thought... These pokéblocks, besides restoring energy and healing wounds, also slightly strengthen a Pokémon's body. Even though the increase is small, combined with daily training and battles, consuming large quantities can result in quite a noticeable improvement."
Ethan circled around Charizard, nodding in satisfaction.
"Riolu, do you feel anything?"
Ethan looked at the Riolu who had also eaten several pokéblocks.
"Riou..."
Riolu shook his head, somewhat disappointed.
His physical constitution had always been weak, and Ethan hoped to strengthen him with the pokéblocks. But for now, it didn't seem to work very well on him.
"Don't worry. Even without a strong physique, you can still become a powerful Pokémon." Ethan patted his head to encourage him.
"Riou!"
Riolu took a deep breath and nodded firmly.
Then, he curled up in Ethan's arms and closed his eyes to train his mental energy.
Ethan smiled, returned him to his Poké Ball, and looked toward the Berry forest.
"Charizard, let's go. Today, we're going to face that Ursaring."
Hearing this, Charizard nodded excitedly and lowered his body so Ethan could climb on.
With a single flap, Charizard rose into the sky, followed closely by Meltan and Vibrava.
"GROOOAR!"
As they approached the center of the secret area, a roar echoed.
An Ursaring with a deep scar across its face walked out of the forest, an orb of orange light gathering in its mouth... and fired Hyper Beam!
"Flamethrower!"
Charizard responded immediately, spitting a column of fire to intercept the attack. Both attacks collided in the air and exploded violently.
Fuuu...
The shockwave spread in all directions, but Vibrava flapped his wings, generating air currents that formed a tornado around him and effortlessly protected Ethan.
At this point, as the defensive core of the team, Vibrava could protect Ethan easily. With ultrasound, air sensitivity, and vibration detection, he could anticipate any danger.
"Go, Charizard."
Ethan smiled and jumped off Charizard's back. Vibrava's Levitate ability held him up gently.
"CHAARRZZ!"
Charizard dove downward.
He used his full control of temperature, concentrating extreme heat into his claws, and attacked Ursaring.
With his strengthened body, the Dragon Claw combined with Fire Claw completely overwhelmed Ursaring.
Although this Pokémon was famous for its brute strength, it fell before Charizard's claws, letting out a groan before collapsing.
"Perfect. Now we have a Pokémon to guard the orchard. Now we can leave this place without worry."
Ethan smiled in satisfaction, took out an empty Poké Ball, and successfully captured the owner of the area.
(End of chapter)