Azalea Town, the Kurt Master's House
Ace looked at the slightly worn-down wooden house and found it hard to believe that the famous Kurt Master lived there. He didn't think about it too much, though, and walked up to knock on the door.
"Who is it?"
A strong voice soon came from inside. With the sound of footsteps, the door opened, and Mr. Kurt stepped out, looking at Ace with a bit of confusion. "Who are you?"
"Mr. Kurt, hello," Ace said. "I'm Ace. I've come to ask you about some things regarding Poké Balls."
"Ace? Hmm, that name sounds familiar." Mr. Kurt looked thoughtful, trying to remember where he had heard it.
"I was once recommended by Professor Oak and went to Pryce's place to study for a while." Ace offered the hint, and Mr. Kurt instantly remembered.
"Oh, it's you. Come in." Mr. Kurt stepped aside and let Ace enter the house.
Ace and his Crobat walked inside. Mr. Kurt led him into a living room, brewed a cup of tea, and sat down across from him. "You came all this way just to ask this old man about Poké Balls?" he inquired.
Ace took a sip of tea and nodded. "That's right. But it's not about a normal Poké Ball. It's about one that can capture time."
Hearing Ace's blunt words, Mr. Kurt's calm expression turned sour. He frowned and scrutinized Ace. "Where did you hear about this Poké Ball?"
"From Pryce." Ace sold out Pryce without hesitation. He wasn't going to bear this responsibility alone, and he felt no guilt in passing the buck.
"That guy..." Mr. Kurt's face darkened. "After all these years, he still hasn't let it go?"
"I don't think he ever will," Ace replied honestly. If Pryce could let it go that easily, there wouldn't have been so many problems later on.
"Then why are you asking about this Poké Ball?" Mr. Kurt looked Ace directly in the eyes. "Do you want to control time, too?"
"I don't have that much free time," Ace said calmly. "I came here for three reasons. One is to ask for information about this Poké Ball. Two is to warn you that this secret, while not known to everyone, is still known to a small number of people. As for the third..."
Ace paused and then spoke to Mr. Kurt. "I want you to craft a few Poké Balls for me. I would also like to observe the process up close, if that's alright?"
Mr. Kurt said nothing, simply observing Ace.
Ace met his gaze without fear. He truly had no desire to capture Celebi. With no interest, he had no fear of being scrutinized.
After ten minutes, Mr. Kurt finally spoke. "If you want me to craft Poké Balls, go find some Apricorns yourself."
Ace smiled. The fact that Mr. Kurt was willing to craft Poké Balls for him meant he believed him. As for what would happen after, that would depend on Ace's actions. With that, Ace stood up and walked toward the door.
Watching Ace leave, Mr. Kurt sighed and pulled a scroll from his pocket. This scroll contained the complete process for crafting the Poké Ball that captures time: the GS Ball.
"Greed is a sin..." Mr. Kurt looked at the scroll but ultimately put it back in his pocket. He just couldn't bring himself to destroy it. After some thought, he reassured himself, "It's fine. The capture net requires the feathers of two specific Pokémon. No one can ever gather those materials."
Ace didn't hear Mr. Kurt's words. If he had, he would have laughed in his face. Feathers from Ho-Oh and Lugia were hard to obtain? For a normal person, yes. But for a powerful trainer like Pryce, the hard part was just finding the two legendary Pokémon.
Not to mention, the character Green already had feathers from both Ho-Oh and Lugia. With this scroll, Ace could gather all the materials for a GS Ball in minutes.
Meanwhile, thanks to Crobat's high mobility, Ace quickly found a grove of Apricorn trees. After a brief inspection, he didn't take too many, choosing only three black ones and three white ones before heading back.
As for the wild Pokémon that were originally guarding the trees, they all fled before Ace even arrived. They only returned after he had left. They had originally intended to protect the grove, but after Crobat sliced the ground with an Air Slash, creating a deep cut nearly a meter long, no creature was foolish enough to stand in their way.
It had only taken Ace half an hour to get the Apricorns and return.
Mr. Kurt was clearly surprised to see Ace back with the Apricorns so quickly, but he was a professional. Taking the six Apricorns, Mr. Kurt led Ace to his workshop.
"First, let me explain. The white Apricorns are used to make Fast Balls. The faster a Pokémon is, the easier it is to catch with this ball. The black Apricorns are used to make Heavy Balls. The heavier a Pokémon is, the easier it is to catch with that ball."
Mr. Kurt led Ace to his workshop, took three pre-made Fast Balls from a wooden rack, and handed them to Ace. Ace took them. Mr. Kurt still had a few in stock that he had made from the white Apricorns in his own garden.
He began to process the three black Apricorns. At the same time, the forge started to preheat and burn, and the temperature in the workshop began to rise rapidly. Once the temperature reached the desired level, the processed black Apricorns were thrown into the furnace.
The high heat quickly carbonized the shells, and Mr. Kurt began to control the temperature to ensure they didn't get burned. After about ten minutes of firing, the red-hot, glowing Apricorns were taken out with tongs and put into a prepared well to cool.
Once cooled, a layer of black charcoal fell away, revealing a metallic-looking sphere.
Mr. Kurt quickly separated the parts and assembled them. Ace watched silently, a serious expression on his face. But inside, he felt a bit bewildered.
The reason was that he felt the process was surprisingly simple!
This wasn't Ace bragging. Based on his existing experience and his various studies of Pokémon, he felt that he could completely memorize the entire process of making a Poké Ball just by watching it once. Of course, he would probably mess it up the first time he tried it.
But Ace was confident that with enough time, he could perfectly replicate these Poké Balls!
Chapter 217: Samples Acquired
As time passed, the two Heavy Balls were quickly completed. With one set of materials left, Ace spoke up. "Mr. Kurt, could I try making the last one?"
Hearing Ace's request, Kurt wiped the sweat from his brow and smiled, stepping back from his workbench. "Go ahead. But if you fail, don't ask me to make another one."
"No problem." Ace rolled up his sleeves and approached the workbench.
He looked at the raw materials in front of him and picked up the round shell made from a Black Apricorn. After inspecting it carefully, Ace was surprised to find that while the shell's strength couldn't compare to metal, it was extremely tough and much lighter than a standard Poké Ball.
Recalling Kurt's previous assembly steps, Ace took a deep breath, picked up the prepared materials from the table, and quickly pieced them together. The capture net, the electronic switch, the metal seams... One by one, the parts were installed onto the shell, and soon a complete Heavy Ball lay in his hand.
"..." Kurt watched Ace complete the assembly and was momentarily stunned. While the forging of the Poké Ball was the most crucial part, the subsequent assembly was also quite troublesome and prone to error. A single deviation in the assembly would render the entire Poké Ball useless. Even if it looked fine on the outside, a Poké Ball that couldn't catch a Pokémon was just junk.
"So that's how it works. It's really interesting. But is the special characteristic of the ball an inherent property of the Apricorn itself, or is it a result of the craftsmanship? Hmm, this is a great direction for an experiment..." Ace tossed the Poké Ball in his hand. If all went as planned, once he was done in the Johto region, he would definitely modify the Poké Balls he had.
For no other reason than this: a good Poké Ball is a crucial factor in winning a battle. Take a simple example: in a life-or-death battle, two trainers send out their Pokémon at the same time. One uses a skill after landing, while the other has already prepared a skill inside the Poké Ball and unleashes it the moment it comes out. Who has the greater chance of winning?
Achieving this is simple in theory, but not everyone can pull it off. The most important issue is that the Poké Ball's material can't handle it! The most likely outcome is that the Pokémon will gather its energy inside the ball and cause it to explode, destroying the Poké Ball completely. And even if the Poké Ball did manage to contain the energy, the spreading energy of various types would make it difficult for the trainer to hold onto. For example, an Electric-type Pokémon's energy would be electricity, and the trainer would likely be zapped the moment they grabbed it.
That would be a best-case scenario, as it could be solved with a pair of insulated gloves. For high heat or extreme cold, even with something to insulate it, performing this kind of maneuver would be very difficult. This was especially true for Ace's Lapras, who had awakened an Ice-type bloodline. If Ace dared to try this move, he would lose the hand holding the ball. No, an ordinary Poké Ball wouldn't even have the strength to withstand Lapras's low temperatures.
So, if Ace could truly modify all his Poké Balls, he would be able to seize the absolute advantage in future battles! However, reaching that point would require a great deal of time and research. The experimental samples were also very important!
Ace looked at the Poké Ball in his hand and suddenly felt that six Poké Balls weren't enough. "Mr. Kurt, I have an impolite request." Ace smiled at the master craftsman, his grin almost overflowing.
Kurt couldn't help but shiver, getting a bad feeling.
Three days later, Ace was kicked out.
That's right, Mr. Kurt had literally chased him out with a broom. "You little brat! Don't let me see you again!" Mr. Kurt fumed at Ace. "If it weren't for Professor Oak's sake, I'd beat you senseless today!"
"You stubborn old man," Ace said with a smile. "But thank you. I have enough experimental samples now. When I manage to modify them, I'll send you a sample to take a look."
"Bye, Big Brother!" It was Kurt's granddaughter, Maizie, who waved goodbye to Ace. Next to her was a Teddiursa.
During his three-day stay, Kurt had crafted twenty of each type of Poké Ball for Ace. Yes, twenty of each type! The extremely high-intensity work nearly made Kurt vomit blood, but he never said he would stop.
Since Mr. Kurt showed his sincerity, Ace wouldn't be stingy either. He took Maizie, who would be going home soon, to the mountain and captured the Teddiursa she had been wanting, giving it to her as a gift.
Kurt didn't say anything about it, but he did slow down his Poké Ball production, giving Ace more time to observe the craftsmanship. The atmosphere during the three days was very good and harmonious, but once Kurt completed Ace's request, he immediately grabbed a broom and chased Ace out.
The reason was simple: during these three days, Ace had also helped Kurt, assisting in the creation of many Poké Balls. Kurt saw this and respected Ace even more. But Mr. Kurt also knew very well that Ace was a trainer and couldn't stay here making Poké Balls like he did. So, instead of a sentimental farewell, he decided to cut things short and chase Ace out.
Through his three days of practice, Ace had accumulated a lot of valuable experience, providing him with ample inspiration for his future Poké Ball modifications.
Crobat took off with Ace, flying into the distance. After watching Ace leave, Kurt let out a snort and turned back with his broom in hand. Maizie followed her grandfather, tugging on his sleeve. "Grandpa, when I grow up, I want to be a trainer too."
"Hmm, whatever you want to do, your grandpa will support you." Kurt was very fond of his granddaughter. He patted Maizie's head, then sighed. "It's a shame. If your useless dad had half of Ace's talent, I'd be laughing in my sleep."
"Dad is very smart!" Maizie retorted. She still idolized her father.
Kurt snorted. His unfilial son not only failed to inherit his craft but also went into the mass production of Poké Balls, which nearly caused him to disown his son. Although Kurt had to admit that while mass-produced Poké Balls were definitely not as high-quality as his own, they were cheap and plentiful, enough to satisfy the needs of many trainers.
"Sigh, I wonder if my skills will be buried with me in the coffin." Kurt shook his head. As a craftsman, he was starting to feel powerless in the face of the wave of modernization.
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