Autumn is the season of harvest, and the branches of the orchard trees were now weighed down by heavy, ripened Berries.
However, compared to previous years—when the harvest only truly began in the late autumn—this year's Berries had matured far earlier than usual.
In the orchards, farmers were busy moving about without pause. They climbed quickly up the tall trees, skillfully picking the ripe Berries hanging from the branches.
But this time, the ones bustling about in the orchard weren't just the farmers—many Pokémon figures could also be seen moving between the trees.
Oddish were the main force in harvesting the Berries. Thanks to their legs, they could climb trees with ease, and the leaves on their heads were as agile and dexterous as hands, making Berry-picking quick and efficient.
(TN: Can't imagine the oddish climbing trees.)
Aside from Oddish, there were also Combee hovering about in the orchard. Working together in perfect coordination, they could easily collect the Berries that grew high on the very top branches, which were normally difficult to reach.
Once picked, the Berries would be loaded onto carts pulled by Pokémon and delivered directly to the Pokémon Breeding House. For the apothecaries, this was also a peak season of activity—after all, autumn was the time to prepare for the harsh winter ahead, when they would need a large stock of potions to defend against the possible beast tides.
On Mike's farm, the Berry harvest was also in full swing. Thanks to the large number of Pokémon helping, the picking process was progressing at an astonishing speed.
"Aven, are these the mutated berries you were talking about?"
Standing before the experimental field, Mike stared in disbelief at the sight before him. He could hardly believe that berry mutations had really occurred—and on such a large scale!
His gaze swept across the field, and he realized that many of the berries growing here were ones he had never even seen before. Even those he did recognize were extremely rare varieties that one would rarely encounter in ordinary orchards.
When he had first heard Aven mention experimenting with a special berry field, he thought it was just a joke. But to his shock, it had actually happened—these berries had really undergone mutation!
"Yes, these are indeed the result of mutation—and this is all thanks to the power of Pokémon. It truly is incredible." A deep sense of satisfaction rose in Aven's heart.
To promote harmony between humans and Pokémon, Aven made it a habit to attribute such miraculous outcomes to Pokémon whenever he had the chance. Slowly but surely, he was changing how people viewed them.
As he had said before, the day humans could no longer live without Pokémon would be the day a truly harmonious coexistence between the two species was achieved.
Mike nodded with deep emotion. "The power of Pokémon really is extraordinary."
"Now," Aven said with a smile, "it's time to harvest these Berries."
"But remember, after harvesting, these berries can't be used immediately. They still need to be bred further to produce more of the same type."
With that, Aven stepped into the experimental field. Although Pokémon could help with the picking, he planned to personally harvest these special mutated Berries.
He walked quickly to a Cheri Berry tree. Its branches were full of round, bright red, cherry-like fruit, giving off the fresh fragrance unique to Berries.
Nestled among them, however, was one distinctly green cherry-shaped fruit, quietly hidden among the leaves—its color making it stand out clearly to Aven's trained eyes.
"As I thought—it's a Tanga Berry!" Aven's face lit up with joy.
A Tanga Berry was a mutated form of the regular Cheri Berry. Until it was fully ripe, it looked almost identical to its original form.
Only during the ripening process would the Tanga Berry begin to change. Once it absorbed enough Bug-type energy, its color would gradually shift to green.
Its effect was similar to that of the Yache Berry, except while Yache Berry absorbed Ice-type energy, the Tanga Berry absorbed Bug-type energy. This made it especially useful for training Bug-type Pokémon.
In particular, if a Vespiquen regularly consumed potions made from Tanga Berries, she could continuously produce more pheromones, allowing her Combee swarm to expand in size and strength.
With enough Tanga Berries cultivated, the Vespiquen's colony would grow larger and stronger, while the queen herself would steadily increase in power—eventually commanding a swarm capable of overwhelming force.
Moreover, just like the Yache Berry, the Tanga Berry could be crossbred with other Berries to produce new mutations.
"For example, if you plant Tanga Berries together with Qualot Berries, the mutation should produce a Ganlon Berry," Aven murmured to himself.
Ganlon Berries worked similarly to Liechi Berries, but while Liechi boosted a Pokémon's Attack, Ganlon increased its Defense—making it an extremely valuable resource.
Aven was already imagining the possibilities: if his Rhydon consumed both Liechi and Ganlon Berries regularly, it could increase both its Attack and Defense at the same time!
In that case, the Rhydon's strength would undergo a qualitative leap, possibly reaching pseudo-King level or even becoming a true King-level Pokémon in short order.
"What's more," Aven thought, his eyes suddenly brightening, "Liechi and Ganlon Berries can also mutate further…"
In his mind, the image of another legendary Berry appeared—the Kee Berry.
Compared to Liechi and Ganlon, the Kee Berry was far more powerful. Not only could it enhance the effects of both, it could also directly absorb physical damage—making it a legendary resource for physically-oriented Pokémon.
On top of that, the Kee Berry was a top-tier potion ingredient. It could be combined with other Berries into medicines, and if juiced together with a Maranga Berry, it could produce a rare drink beneficial to all Pokémon!
(TN: This was it supposed to produce Potassium Iodide Soup, but I can't find it and my eyeballs are about to fall off.)
The Kee Berry could even be used to make a special kind of fertilizer—one that combined growth acceleration, fruit enlargement, ripening, and rare-effect enhancement into a single product. It could greatly boost the strength of Grass-type Pokémon.
"Tanga and Yache… without a doubt, these two are the greatest rewards from this round of Berry mutations," Aven said with satisfaction.
"But the mutation and cultivation process can't stop here. Someday, I'll have every type of Berry there is."
Looking at the fruits before him, Aven felt a wave of emotion. These were Berries that, in the original timeline, would only appear far in the future after countless cycles of mutation. And yet here they were, making their debut early on the stage of history.
Over the next stretch of time, Aven personally picked all the ripe mutated Berries from the orchard.
Once harvested, he carefully extracted and preserved their seeds. When the time was right, he would germinate them and replant, continuing the cycle.
Qualot, Hondew, Pomeg, Grepa, Kelpsy, Tamato, and Tanga—the number of successful mutations this time was astounding. By next year, they would yield a plentiful crop of entirely new Berries.
When the mutated Berries were all gathered, they moved on to harvesting the regular Berries. With Pokémon helping, everything proceeded in perfect order.
While the other Pokémon, under Uncle Mike's command, continued picking, Aven left the experimental field and headed toward the White Apricorn grove.
The trees there were heavy with fruit, some of the faster-growing Apricorns already fully ripe. Aven picked each one carefully and stored them in his large linen backpack.
By the time he finished, he had over a dozen White Apricorns—enough for what he had in mind.
"That should be plenty to bring to Rhydon for Poké Ball crafting," he said with anticipation.
On the farm's grassland, the Pokémon were already gathered, ready to follow Aven back to the Pokémon Breeding House.
Vileplume, Tangrowth, and Vespiquen looked reluctant to part with him. This time, they would be staying behind in Fruitvale Village—especially Vespiquen, who had built her Combee hive there and could no longer easily leave.
"Don't worry, I'll be back soon. I'm leaving the village in your care for the time being," Aven reassured them.
He would be bringing Petilil, Froslass, Ralts, Luxio, Mothim, and Cherrim back to the Breeding House, while the rest stayed behind to guard the village.
Before leaving, Aven called over Sutter and Peter. Though the harvest had begun, they couldn't afford to let their guard down.
Recently, the Gilded Fang Merchant Guild had sent assassins to sabotage Fruitvale Village, but under the watch of the Pokémon, they hadn't even been able to get close.
"Don't worry, Lord Aven. We'll protect the village," Sutter assured him. "And as for developing the Black Coast Forest, you can rest easy too. My comrades are stationed there—they were border patrol knights before, so this sort of work is their specialty."
Sutter's mood had been excellent lately, especially as more of his old comrades had come to take up posts in the territory.
And this time, it wasn't only disabled or retired knights who came—there were also many reserve and fully ranked knights.
Clearly, Fruitvale Village's rapid development had won their full recognition. The village's knight corps had already grown to a scale that rivaled ordinary knight orders.
With the second knight selection about to begin, and a steady supply of potions from the newly matured Berries, the strength of the trainee trainers would surely rise.
Once these new knights joined the order, its size would grow even further—perhaps even surpassing most knight orders altogether.
"Good. I'm leaving Fruitvale Village in your hands," Aven said. "Keep a close eye on the Black Coast Forest. If anything happens, report to me immediately."
With that, he set off with his Pokémon toward the Breeding House.
(End of Chapter)
TN: I translated this half asleep so if you guys found any errors, I'm sorry and please leave a comment. Peace out