Chapter 124: Forging My Own Poké Ball
Following behind, Will froze when he heard their conversation.
Apricorns?!
Will now knew what was in those two big boxes. It was the raw material for Poké Balls needed by the Johto League. But... if they had to be handmade from Apricorns, then the standard red-and-white Poké Ball from the anime obviously hadn't been mass-produced yet. Perhaps this was why most Trainers in this era only carried one Poké Ball. They were probably rare and expensive, or perhaps rationed by the League.
Will followed Myra into the blacksmith's home. His house was clearly different from a normal home; it looked more like a workshop, filled with all the tools of the trade.
"Put them here," Gunther said, pointing to a random spot. He then stared at the Grovyle, sizing him up for a moment.
"What? What are you looking at my lizard for? He's a little skinny, but he's got strength. Besides, I'll have him fattened up in a few days," Myra said, displeased with Gunther's stare.
I really would rather not get fat, if I can help it, Will thought, sighing silently. A fat Grovyle? The image was too horrifying to look at.
"This is a Grovyle, a Pokémon from the Hoenn region. It's not easy to find one here in Johto," Gunther said. He was a knowledgeable man and had recognized Will's species at a glance.
"Is that so? Oh my, Lizard, you came all the way from that far away? All that trekking... no wonder you're so skinny," Myra said, giving him another look, but that was all. To the people of Azalea Town, a Pokémon from another region was no different from a local one. After all, both were rare. The most common Pokémon in Azalea were Slowpoke and the Bug-types from the surrounding forest.
"As it happens, I'm pretty backed up on work these next few days and could use a hand. You stay and help me. I'll teach you the technique for hand-crafting Poké Balls," Gunther offered.
"The hell you will! Our Lizard can't do your rough work! Come on, let's go home." Before Will could even speak, Myra was already trying to pull him away.
"Auntie Myra, I want a Poké Ball," Will shook his head. He didn't want to leave. He needed two Poké Balls, one for him and one for Sprigatito, to avoid a lot of trouble on the road.
"What? You really want to stay here? This isn't work for decent folk," Gunther said, exasperated. He and Myra shared a grandfather; she was his cousin, and she never minced words with him. But precisely because they were family, Myra had grown up watching their grandfather hand-crafting Poké Balls. She knew how hard the work was, and she didn't want the "skinny" Will to suffer here.
"Fine. Since you've made your decision, then stay. Come back early, okay? I'll take the kitten with me for now," Myra said, seeing his resolve. She nodded and turned to leave.
"Slooow~" Just then, a Slowpoke lazily crawled out from inside the house. Like all the other Pokémon in Azalea Town, this one was also very fat. As it crawled, its belly dragged on the floor.
"You're here because you want something from me, aren't you?" Gunther asked, waiting until Myra had left.
"Yes. I want that," Will nodded, pointing at the chest.
"You want the Apricorns?"
Will shook his head.
"You want a Poké Ball?"
Will nodded.
"I'm swamped right now. I don't have time to make one just for you. If you want one, you'll have to study with me and forge one for yourself," Gunther said, opening a chest and pulling out a White Apricorn.
"Deal!" Will agreed without hesitation. He got to learn a new skill and craft his own Poké Ball. This was a winning proposition. He walked over to the chest and saw seven different colors of Apricorns inside. Seeing them, his memory of this town became clearer. Azalea Town... this place was special. It was home to the shrine related to Celebi, located in the Ilex Forest.
"Pick a color you like and bring it here," Gunther urged.
"Green is fine," Will said, grabbing one that matched his own color.
As Will came to the workbench, Gunther began. "If you want to make a Poké Ball from an Apricorn, first you must understand it..."
As he spoke about the history of crafting Poké Balls, his hands never stopped moving. It was clear he had mastered this art. And from his explanation, Will learned some very interesting things.
Gunther's ancestors had come from the old Dragonite Capital. Although they weren't members of the Dragonite Clan, their ancestors had served its lords and ladies for generations. Until the Dragonite Era Year 300-something—about five or six hundred years ago—when the Dragonite Kingdom fell. The various noble families that had lived there scattered across Johto. Gunther's ancestors, instead of following the crowd, led their clan across the region. When they came to this forest, which was full of Apricorns, they discovered their special properties and decided to build a village. This was the origin of Azalea Village.
Initially, his ancestors intended to use the Apricorns to research a tool that could seal the dangerous beasts. After all, at that time, war was raging across the land, and ordinary humans had no way to fight back against the power of the beasts. But by a twist of fate, they accidentally invented the Poké Ball, which was a rather useless item at the time.
His ancestors didn't give up. Generation after generation, they researched and modified it, gradually inventing the Nest Ball, Fast Ball, Level Ball, Speed Ball, and countless other Poké Balls with special functions. To this day, they still hadn't managed to invent a ball that sealed a Pokémon's power, but now, such a thing was no longer needed. The various Poké Balls they had once considered failures were now seen as rare treasures by the Pokémon League.
The League had recruited many artisans from Azalea Town to work at the Indigo Plateau, but most could only make regular Poké Balls. The more difficult special balls could only be crafted by Gunther. This was why the League often sent him special orders.
"If I were to leave, the League would forget about this place for good. In the future, this town would just slowly disappear. Maybe one day, most of the people in Johto wouldn't even know it ever existed," Gunther sighed. He couldn't say such things to the other townsfolk. He could only vent to a Pokémon like Will.
Will was silent. He didn't know how to tell him. In the future, the Poké Ball manufacturing industry would be monopolized by Silph Co. and the Devon Corporation. Artisans like Gunther would gradually be forgotten. And... the mass-production technology that Silph Co. would use would be developed with the help of Gunther's own descendants.
But his efforts were not in vain. In the future, Azalea Town would still have some fame. It was likely because of Gunther's hard work that the League would take notice of the town and establish the Bug-type Gym here.
As Will and Gunther were busy at the workbench, the Slowpoke waddled over and hugged Gunther's leg.
"Sloow~"
"Hm?" Gunther looked down and saw that the Slowpoke's skin was a bit flaky. "Grovyle, grab that iron bucket by the door, go to the well, and fetch a pail of water. Slowpoke's skin is a bit dry."
"Sure."
"Wait. Just carry the Slowpoke directly to the well and toss him in. He'll come out on his own when he's had enough," Gunther suddenly changed his mind, lifting the ball-shaped Slowpoke and tossing it into Will's arms.
Will caught it, not braced for the weight, and was almost knocked to the ground. "This thing is heavy!" This Slowpoke had to weigh at least 50 kilograms, more than he did. It was only 1.2 meters long, the standard size, but this fat. This wasn't a Slowpoke; it was a Slow-pig.
He carried the Slow-pig out of the village. But the scene that greeted him at the well made his face instantly darken.
There were two men in black uniforms—clearly up to no good—each with a Pinsir, cutting the tails off the Slowpoke!
"Sloow~"
"Sloow~"
Most of the Slowpoke lying on the ground didn't even seem to notice the danger. A few had noticed, but with their sluggish speed, they couldn't possibly escape the Pinsirs' grasp. One of them, its tail already cut off, was still just lying there, dazed.
"Are you looking to die?"
Will put the Slow-pig down. [Quick Attack].
He shot forward, appearing by the well in an instant, and slammed his tail into one of the Pinsirs.
SMACK!
"Pinsir!" The Pinsir cried out in pain and was sent flying. The other Pinsir's eyes widened, and it instinctively used Bug Bite on Will.
"You're doing bad deeds with this little skill?"
[Slam].
Will didn't even bother to dodge. He grabbed the Pinsir's two large horns and used an over-the-shoulder throw. After just two exchanges, he knew these two Pinsir weren't high-level, only around Lv. 20. And Will, after his battle with the Ariados this afternoon, was already Lv. 17. If he could beat the higher-level, type-advantaged Ariados, what were two mere Pinsirs?
BOOM!
The massive crash echoed by the well. Many of the residents of Azalea Town noticed the commotion and came running over to see what had happened.
~~~
Get early access to 30+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
~~~
Every 5 new reviews = 1 extra chapters
Every 150 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter