Evening.
After receiving a breeding lesson on Fire-type Pokemon from the old man, Li Wei returned to his room.
On a cold winter night, Li Wei sat leaning against Arcanine, using it as a pillow.
Arcanine didn't feel a thing, its massive head resting on its paws as it snored loudly.
Li Wei's Arcanine was typically not a homebody.
During the day, it would run wild in the suburbs, returning precisely in the afternoon, and at night, it would eat and then sleep, then sleep and then eat.
Most people in Celestic Town recognized Arcanine.
However, in Jubilife City, Li Wei or Lucario would have to handle it.
After taking a shower, Li Wei used the random Pokemon item lottery ticket he received from a side quest.
Ding, congratulations to the Host for obtaining 3 dragon fruits.
Goodness, are you a Berry machine too?
dragon fruit: A bitter and spicy but highly nutritious Berry. When made into Energy Cubes, Poffins, or other Pokemon food, it can significantly increase a Pokemon's Special Attack ability.
Although it was a Berry, the dragon fruit was a valuable and rare Berry, so it couldn't be said that his luck was bad.
Moreover, dragon fruit was a very spicy Berry, and Lucario and Arcanine particularly enjoyed spicy food.
Although slightly bitter, it could be balanced with other Berries to neutralize the taste.
An idea suddenly popped into Li Wei's mind.
"Hey... can I grow Berries myself?"
dragon fruit was no longer a matter of price; it was extremely difficult to buy on the market; at least, Li Wei had never bought any.
Common Berries on the market were nothing more than Oran, taotao fruit, and Cheri Berry.
If he could grow them, Li Wei would have a continuous supply of dragon fruit.
Wouldn't that be like eating dragon fruit for every meal?
"No rush, I'll ask tomorrow."
...
Early in the morning, Li Wei was woken up by Lucario.
(It's time for training.)
Morning was Li Wei and his Pokemon's training time.
Yesterday, he went to help Xiao Meng Jie, so they didn't train.
He especially needed to formulate a breeding plan for Metang, who was currently the weakest.
Li Wei wasn't particularly interested in being a Champion or a battle legend, but since he had caught Pokemon, he should be responsible for them.
Metang genuinely wanted to become stronger.
The reason Metang agreed to Li Wei's request was that it found Lucario and Arcanine to be very strong.
Studying Metang's various data was also part of Li Wei's training plan.
Metang couldn't train according to the Saitama training method like Li Wei and Lucario.
"Punch Arcanine, with full power."
"Bika?"
"To test your strength."
Metang used a full-power Bullet Punch!
It caused extremely slight damage to Arcanine...
Arcanine, standing, didn't even take half a step back.
"Woof~" (Is that a tickle?)
"Next is Flash Cannon, target Lucario."
"Lucario, use Aura to defend."
Lucario held its arms in front of it, and a shield of azure Aura power formed in front of it.
This was something only a very few Pokemon like Lucario could do.
It was similar to the Pokemon move Protect, but not the same.
Silver light gathered in front of Metang, and a silver light beam as thick as a thigh poured onto the shield.
"Next are speed and stamina, 10 round trips in the yard."
Gengar, who had been cultivating for a night, watched Li Wei and Metang's test with curiosity.
After gaining a basic understanding of Metang's various data, Li Wei had a breeding plan.
Currently, the main focus was on training the advanced move of Confusion, Psychic, and also the Steel-type move Comet Punch.
Metang's stamina was decent; Iron Defense, Light Screen, and Protect all had to be learned.
Lucario would lead the training.
Li Wei's responsibility was to provide them with suitable Pokemon food.
Metang's evolution, Metagross, although its Special Attack ability was far inferior to its Physical Attack, could still be assisted in training with dragon fruit.
As long as there were enough Berries, he could completely raise Metagross as a mixed attacker.
"Alright, let's start training."
...
Three hours later, Li Wei found the old man who was gardening.
"Growing dragon fruit?"
"Yes, do you know how to grow this?"
The old man gave him an annoyed look.
"Who are you looking down on? But the soil in Celestic Town isn't suitable for growing them, and there's a reason why dragon fruit is scarce.
It's difficult to grow, and it requires a specific planting time; it can only be planted from March to May at the earliest, but generally it's planted from June to August."
Li Wei pressed on, "Then where is the soil suitable?"
Identifying Berries was also an important breeding lesson.
The old man listed them for Li Wei.
"Eterna City Forest, and over the mountains north of Celestic Town, you can grow them.
The most important thing is the soil; it needs to be loose and airy, well-drained, slightly moist but not waterlogged.
It also requires 6-8 hours of sunlight daily. In short, it's very difficult to grow, and the roots rot easily if you're not careful."
In front of the old man, Li Wei didn't dare to claim to be any kind of Berry expert.
He had a long way to go on the path of a Breeder.
Only then did the old man realize.
"Saying all this, do you have dragon fruit?"
"I actually do."
Li Wei took out the dragon fruit from his backpack.
The dragon fruit looked a bit like a dragon fruit.
The old man, who had been disdainful, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and let out an "Oh?"
"dragon fruit of such good quality... Keep one, and I'll try to plant it in April or May. You can handle the rest yourself."
"Alright, thank you, Grandpa."
The old man just looked at him indifferently.
"Question time is over, practice."
...
In the evening, Leon came to check on his son again.
Li Wei's parents were completely hands-off with him.
Li Wei answered the phone.
"Son, why did you suddenly come back to Celestic Town?"
"I came back to study with Grandpa. I plan to take the Breeder certification exam."
"Son, don't have such thoughts! Although we do owe your uncle's family some money..."
Li Wei had been helping at home before, but he never went for certification.
"What are you talking about, stop, stop, stop!"
Li Wei quickly stopped his father's delusions.
"I found cooking and breeding quite interesting."
"That's great!"
A Breeding House with a yard, relying solely on Leon and Meiyue, might not be enough for them.
Li Wei had previously shown little interest in Pokemon breeding, so they hadn't thought of forcing Li Wei to take over or help.
Now that Li Wei himself was willing to help, it saved them a sum of money.
And the family could stay together, so Leon was naturally happy.
"Son, you've finally grown up!"
Leon covered his face, looking as if he was weeping with joy.
Li Wei rubbed his forehead helplessly, "You're making it sound like I was unfilial before!"
The flesh on Leon's face jiggled with his smile.
"Study hard, son, Dad is proud of you! I'm going to tell your mom this good news."
...
Day 16 of returning to Celestic Town.
Li Wei's knife skills finally barely received approval from Onion, and he also signed up for the Breeder assessment.
The Breeding House was also undergoing renovations in full swing and would be able to open in less than a month.
Next, Li Wei was going to do something big!