Among all the Pokémon present, the one most surprised by its own condition was Turtwig.
Although it had been staying with Hikaru for many days, this was its first time eating such a peculiar food like Rare Candy.
It clearly felt its body growing, as if many powers were surging forth from within!
However, it did not evolve.
Turtwig was very curious about Rare Candy. Hikaru noticed Turtwig had eaten quite a few Rare Candies, but there were no signs of evolution.
Still, the plants on Turtwig's shell seemed to be growing better than ever!
Hikaru showed a thoughtful expression.
Those herbs growing on Turtwig's back had gradually formed a perfect symbiotic relationship with it. So, once it evolves, it won't literally turn into some kind of "Powerful Shrub," right?
During a break, Hikaru went to the fields again to check on the fruit trees.
In truth, the main focus was examining the leaves.
Before long, with meticulous searching, Hikaru found several "Golden Leaves" and "Silver Leaves" on the Lum Berry trees.
Driven by excitement, Hikaru continued hunting among the fruit trees.
Just then, Lilligant's voice sounded.
It turned out Lilligant had somehow found three Golden Leaves and three Silver Leaves!
"Now that we have enough Golden Leaves and Silver Leaves, we can try making the 'Blunder Policy' and 'Weakness Policy!'"
Hikaru felt a surge of energy throughout his body. All the previous fatigue vanished, and Lilligant happily danced in response.
Lilligant gestured toward the tall oak tree on the nearby hillside.
That was the oak tree Hikaru and Celebi had planted earlier. Those Golden and Silver Leaves had come from that very tree!
"Trees I cultivate have a 10% chance of growing Golden Leaves and Silver Leaves. So even the saplings we planted before can produce them?"
Because this oak tree carried Celebi's power, it indeed brought good fortune.
However, 10% is still too low for Hikaru's liking. He thought of the Relic Berry Forest, or rather, the entire Shinto Forest.
Perhaps, whenever he has free time, he should volunteer in the forest to cultivate more seeds, so that more Golden and Silver Leaves might grow!
Ideally, there would be an entire tree covered in golden and silver leaves!
But that would essentially mean cultivating a new variety of tree. Which tree would serve as the best base stock for nurturing leaves of gold and silver...? Maybe there are tree experts in other regions who could provide insight... Hikaru mulled it over carefully.
Night fell. In the forge, flames blazed intensely as Hikaru began crafting a variety of custom-ordered items. He left the back door open.
Inside the forge, Lilligant used Weather Ball to raise fire. The huge bubble of energy was compressed down to a very small size—a sign of her improved mastery of the Weather Ball technique.
However, for Hikaru...the sunshine and elevated temperature inside the room seemed a bit...over the top.
"Next time, maybe I'll toss Sunny Day into the furnace... Let's try a little indoor sunshine experiment..."
It's a good thing Shinto's climate isn't very hot. If this were somewhere warm like Hoenn, it'd be a real headache.
Doublade wasn't too pleased about this either!
Confronted by those roaring flames, Doublade was still rather uneasy. Its Special Defense is too low, and it has a double weakness to Fire. Whenever it sees Lilligant producing flames, Doublade can't help but think, "She doesn't seem like a Grass-type Pokémon at all!"
None of these tools were difficult to craft. With the advantage of forging expertise and refined forging knowledge, Hikaru quickly produced both the "exploration kit" and the "gardening set," having made similar items before.
Exploration Kit: Shovel, Pickaxe, Hammer.Gardening Set: Watering can, Pruning shears, Small spade, Hoe, Soil loosener.
[Tool: Crushing Hammer]
[Craft Effect: +15% Destruction Speed]
[Tool: Pruning Shears]
[Craft Effect: +15% Pruning Speed, comes with Precision Pruning]
[Tool: Small Cultivator]
[Craft Effect: +15% Soil Loosening Speed, unique effect "Rototiller."]
"Huh, this is pretty useful."
Hikaru looked at the newly forged cultivator head. This cultivator can use Rototiller? Is that the move "Rototiller"?If so, even if the Diglett aren't around, he can speed up plowing using this tool!And Rototiller as a move differs from simple plowing—using Rototiller makes it easier for plants to grow, and it increases Grass-type Pokémon's Attack and Sp. Atk.
After placing these finished tools aside, Hikaru realized that scrap iron and iron ore quantities had dropped sharply, so he'd have to ask Regirock to dig up more minerals for him soon.
During the forging process, Hikaru also unlocked a new craftable item.
[Crafted Item: Metal Coat]
[Effect: A special metallic coating. When held, the power of Steel-type moves is boosted. Certain Pokémon can evolve when it's used on them.]
In the Pokémon world, Metal Coat isn't the same as a high-grade metal film in the conventional sense; it's more like the shed iron plating from Steel-type Pokémon. In the games, the item icon is basically just a metal container. Inside is the real film—a metallic, viscous material resembling a facial mask.
Such an odd substance originates from Steel-type Pokémon. All Hikaru did was a simple smelting of Steel-type Pokémon materials to produce it.
It was made using bits of steel shed by a Steelix during mining, along with fragments of Forretress's shell.
[By repeating certain tasks, you have gained knowledge.]
[Forge Expert: +20% forging efficiency, and your strength has increased.]
Once the crafting session was complete, Hikaru and his Pokémon took a short break. They returned to the house to begin some sewing work.
At this moment, Doublade also floated in, swaying lightly, as though it sensed something.
"Yoo-woo~!"
Are we sewing something today too? Coming straight from the forge—what a busy life!
"That's how work is—busy every day, but fulfilling. However, I've been thinking: after autumn, we might close shop for a while."
"Yoo-woo?"
Doublade was quite surprised. Wasn't Hikaru's dream to revitalize the workshop and dominate the Johto region's market?
Why close now?
"There've been too many invitations. Besides, it'll be a temporary closure. Also, once autumn and winter set in here, the mountains get snowed in. Even a Charizard might not get through."
Such is this ancient land of Shinto. In autumn and winter, snowstorms rage.
During autumn, the temperature drops, and it starts to snow lightly. Although the original owner of this place never lived here long, the villagers, the old man in the mountains, and Wangluo all said so.
Come winter, there's simply no way to ship packages out. Which means business must shut down. Therefore, we have to earn as much money as possible during summer.
"Yoo-poo."
Doublade sank into thought.
Travel? It rarely considered that. Its previous "journeys" were forced by that strange traveling merchant. Now it's leaving on its own, just as this new home was finally looking promising...
A wave of sorrow abruptly welled up in Doublade's heart!
"You're overthinking it. We're only leaving temporarily. We'll be back next spring or summer."
Seeing Doublade's reaction, Hikaru couldn't help but think of one particular item.
Hoopa's golden rings can traverse space. If we had that, we could come back to the workshop anytime, even if we traveled to another region or opened a branch shop.
But that kind of item is a power inherent to the Pokémon itself—and crossing space is just too over-the-top. What materials would be required to forge something like that...?
Hikaru shook off this line of thought, pushing some sturdy fabric forward. "Here, do some cutting."
Certificates are generally on paper, but in ancient times, cloth certificates were used. Paper certificates can degrade easily in tough environments. Cloth ones, though, are much more durable. The embroidery-based approach also fits the concept of 'crafting an item.'
With Doublade's Double Hit cutting technique, the fabric was quickly sliced neatly. Meanwhile, Hikaru began sewing both the front and back of the certificates, weaving the Golden Leaves into them.
To be honest, in the real world, it would be impossible for an item to "boost your strength after you miss an attack," or to "act like a certificate yet enhance your abilities."
But thanks to marvelous crafting techniques and special knowledge, Hikaru could create this unique item—something nobody else knew about.
Using tough cloth, materials from Pokémon with the Vital Spirit Ability, Golden Leaves, mysterious incantations, and most crucially spiritual energy and mental power:
Originally, the "vitality" material was Delibird's feathers. But now that Hisuian Lilligant also has Vital Spirit, her pollen and petals can be used as well.
Hikaru and Doublade tinkered in the room for three hours, nearly until midnight, and finally completed these two unique items!
They bore strange writing, stamped with an inexplicable red seal, radiating spiritual energy much like a Cleanse Tag—as if bridging communication with the outside world for "judgment."
[Crafting complete!]
[Crafted Item: Blunder Policy!]
[Description: An item made from Pokémon materials and Golden Leaves, woven with special incantations and a mysterious certificate process.]
[Effect: If a move misses due to accuracy, Speed is greatly increased!]
[Crafted Item: Weakness Policy!]
[Description: An item made from Pokémon materials and Golden Leaves, woven with special incantations and a mysterious certificate process.]
[Effect: If hit by a super-effective move, Attack and Sp. Atk are greatly increased!]
[Knowledge +2]
[Growth Insight: Through training, Pokémon can effectively heighten their awareness of the outside world, aiding accuracy, critical-hit ratio, and reaction speed!]
[Weakness Resistance: Through targeted training, they can better overcome unfavorable type matchups, boosting endurance and stamina!]
(End of Chapter)
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