Soon, the person who was to show Xu Li his new house arrived, knocking at the door and saying formally:
"Hello, I'm Ming Yao from the Investigation Team. Allow me to lead the way."
Xu Li then followed Ming Yao to the new house.
On the way, Ming Yao was no longer as formal as he was at the Galaxy Team headquarters. He skipped along, saying to Xu Li, "Are you the one who caught those three Pokémon so quickly this morning? I heard you caught three Pokémon with just three Poké Balls! That's amazing! Can I ask you how you did it?"
"Especially catching Rowlet! I heard you knocked Rowlet out with one Poké Ball and caught him directly! That's incredible!"
Xu Li smiled slightly, summarizing based on his past gaming experience and initial experience in Hisui: "You need to have enough strength. As long as you're strong enough, there's no Pokémon you can't catch. Of course, strength includes your own understanding of Pokémon, their battle power, your level of synchronization, and your own physique."
"I think as an investigator, the primary requirement for surviving in the wild is to toughen your physique. That way, you can survive well in the wild. A good body can also help when battling hostile Pokémon in the wild, dodging enemy moves, and effectively using items like Sticky Globs to help your Pokémon defeat the enemy. Furthermore, like when I caught Rowlet earlier, I directly used a Poké Ball back-attack to efficiently complete it."
Ming Yao nodded, as if he understood something, his eyes gradually brightening. He said, "Mm-hmm, I understand. As long as my physique is strong enough, I can become an excellent member of the Investigation Team."
Then, Ming Yao continued, "You know, the Professor has a strong obsession with the Pokédex, but our Investigation Team often can't produce any results. The Professor has worried himself bald over it. So, even for the Professor's hair, I have to work hard."
Xu Li's house had arrived. It was located in the southeastern part of Jubilife Village, near the Jubilife Village pasture. It was a two-story house with a small empty plot on the side, where a small tree had been planted.
Overall, from the outside, it looked much larger than the guesthouse Xu Li had stayed in before.
Xu Li bid farewell to Ming Yao and turned to enter the house, still hearing Ming Yao muttering words like "physique," "strong," and "knocked out" on his way back.
Xu Li wondered if Ming Yao had misunderstood something.
Entering the house, Xu Li released all his Pokémon.
Standing next to Oshawott, Xu Li introduced Oshawott to the three little ones and vice versa.
"This is Oshawott. He's our companion now."
"Oshawott, these are Axew, Growlithe, and Paras."
"Axew~"
Axew lay on the living room sofa after being released. The operation in Obsidian Fieldlands had completely drained his energy bar. He lazily greeted Oshawott.
Having lived with Xu Li for five years in the modern era, his personality was highly similar to Xu Li's: very laid-back and chill.
If Xu Li hadn't been trapped in Hisui with a goal he absolutely had to strive for, he would have enjoyed life even more than Axew.
"Waga~?"
Growlithe ran to Oshawott's chest and sniffed, seemingly asking about Oshawott's injuries.
Oshawott patted his chest and shook his Head, indicating he had recovered.
"Paras~ Paras~"
After greeting Oshawott, Paras clung to Xu Li, reminding him that it was time to eat.
Xu Li patted his Head, took out energy cubes, and called out, "Oh, right, everyone, time to eat."
Oshawott, eating energy cubes for the first time, also couldn't stop eating.
After the Pokémon's lunch, Xu Li found Oshawott and looked at Oshawott's system panel.
[Oshawott (Hisui) ♦
Type: Water
Level: Lv15
Ability: Torrent
Moves: Shell Blade, Water Pulse, Razor Shell, Focus Energy, Swift
Affection: 71]
Oshawott was already Level 15, unlike the other two starters, Rowlet and Cyndaquil, who were only Level 7 or 8. It seemed he had battled frequently and accumulated a lot of experience.
He took out an Ability Patch and used it on Oshawott.
[Ability: Torrent → Shell Armor]
The effect of Shell Armor is that it prevents critical hits, but that's not the main point. When Oshawott evolves into Samurott, his Ability will evolve into Sharpness, an absolutely divine Ability.
Hisuian Samurott, as one of the four Sharpness generals, can benefit from Sharpness with both his exclusive move Ceaseless Edge and moves like Sacred Sword, Shell Blade, and Aqua Cutter. His strength is definitely up to par. Although in game battles, Kleavor, also one of Hisui's Sharpness generals, is slightly better than Hisuian Samurott, Hisuian Samurott is much cooler.
Strength is strength, but coolness is for life.
In the living room, Xu Li was making energy cubes.
On the table was a Berry Blender, which resembled a juicer, with a transparent glass Berry input opening at the top, many operation buttons on the front, and an energy cube output at the side.
Xu Li put Cheri Berries and Oran Berries into the Berry input opening on top of the Berry Blender, turned the speed knob on the front, and began to make energy cubes.
The flavor, color, and various properties of the energy cubes depended on the berries mixed and the speed of the Berry Blender.
For example, the Oran Berries and Cheri Berries Xu Li was currently using would produce a sky-blue energy cube that could quickly restore stamina and spirit.
Moreover, the higher the speed, the better the quality of the energy cube. After several practices, Xu Li had gained some experience in making energy cubes, and with the boost of his keen eyesight, he could control the speed more steadily.
The speed Xu Li was currently using had reached 1200 revolutions, which was his first attempt at a speed above one thousand.
Under Xu Li's careful gaze, the Berry Blender chimed, and the energy cubes were ready.
Several energy cubes dropped from the side output and were caught by the plate Xu Li had placed there.
Xu Li picked up the blue, crystal-clear energy cube, almost free of impurities, and the system displayed its information.
[energy cube (Sky Blue)]
[An energy cube made with Cheri Berries and Oran Berries. Besides filling the stomach, it can restore a Pokémon's stamina and energy.]
"NICE!" Xu Li punched the air. After reaching a thousand revolutions, the energy cubes produced were gradually up to standard. This was the first time he had made an energy cube with system information.
It could restore stamina and energy, and the ingredients were cheap and easy to obtain. The Spheal tribe had given him quite a few, so perhaps it could become a staple food for Xu Li's Pokémon.
After putting the blue energy cubes into his bag, Xu Li added Leppa Berries and Chesto Berries and continued to make energy cubes.
[energy cube (Yellow-Green)]
[An energy cube made with Leppa Berries and Chesto Berries. Besides filling the stomach, it can accelerate the recovery of a Pokémon's injuries and increase its resistance to burns.]
Xu Li discovered that energy cubes made with different recipes had different special effects, so he continued to make different energy cubes, experimenting with various combinations.
[energy cube (Indigo)]
[An energy cube made with Persim Berries, Chesto Berries, and Oran Berries, which can give a Pokémon an extremely strong feeling of fullness.]
[energy cube (Rose Red)]
[An energy cube made with Razz Berries and Cheri Berries. Besides filling the stomach, it reduces a Pokémon's wariness, making it sluggish and easy to catch.]
There were also failures among them. Xu Li, distracted, made a gray energy cube, with unmixed pulp visible within its translucent gelatinous texture.
[energy cube (Gray)]
[A failed energy cube, made with Oran Berries, Mango Berries, and Leppa Berries. It can fill the stomach.]
But in the end, Xu Li found the recipe for the energy cube properties he wanted.
[energy cube (Orange-Yellow)]
[An energy cube made with Leppa Berries and Pineapple Berries. Besides filling the stomach, it can promote a Pokémon's energy growth and increase its stamina.]
Being able to accelerate the growth of his Pokémon was the energy cube Xu Li needed most right now.
The ingredients were hard to find. Leppa Berries were fine, but Pineapple Berries were very rare in Hisui, and Xu Li could only buy them at a high price from the Ginkgo Guild.
Looking at the remaining Pineapple Berries, Xu Li decided to make them all into orange energy cubes.
---
Logistics were complete; next up was training.
In the open space beside the house, Xu Li and his Pokémon gathered.
"Growlithe, your current advantage lies in powerful collision-type moves. We need to maintain this advantage, but also overcome its weaknesses. First, Growlithe, you need to improve the accuracy of Crazy Volt and Double-Edge. Of course, we also need to adapt to the recoil after a missed move and improve body control."
"Oshawott, I will currently focus on training your flexibility and cutting-type moves, honing your compatibility with your scalchop in preparation for future evolution."
"Paras, what you currently need most is the speed and accuracy of move release. So, we will focus on training this next. Hmm, don't worry about food. I've gained some experience in making energy cubes and will specially formulate energy cubes to increase your powder reserves."
"Axew, hmm~ you'll just train your body with me."
Thus, their training plan began.
So, for the next month, the villagers of Jubilife Village would see a young man followed by a small dinosaur-like Pokémon every morning, running around the entire Jubilife Village again and again. Sometimes, they would even see Ming Yao running with them.
Axew's short legs churned incredibly fast when running.
Xu Li returned to his home in Jubilife Village after his last lap. The training ground on the side, after more than a month of gradual modifications, was completely different from when he arrived. The ground was pitted, all marks left by practicing moves.
"Phew~ Today's full marathon is complete, two hours and twenty-three minutes. Next is strength training."
"Axew~"
After a short rest, Xu Li casually picked up the dumbbells he made and performed various exercises: dumbbell curls, lateral raises, rows, while also observing Growlithe and the others training on the field.
Growlithe precisely slammed into a stone thrown low in the air by Oshawott using Double-Edge, making a loud bang. The stone instantly shattered, and these fragmented pieces were quickly cut in mid-air by Oshawott's swift movements, creating smooth cuts.
Paras focused its gaze, anticipating the falling stone pieces, and spat out a small, concentrated ball of Stun Spore towards the stone's landing spot. But even that small ball of powder blew the almost-landing stone half a meter away.
Through Xu Li and Paras's research, Paras could now condense its normally wide-range, dispersed powder moves into a small, concentrated ball of powder, making the move's flight speed faster, which was very suitable for one-on-one battles and sneak attacks.
Over this past month, under various training regimes, Growlithe was often left dizzy from being hit by stones, and Oshawott often had bumps all over its head from small rocks, but the progress, it must be said, was significant.
Growlithe's body also gradually grew stronger, and its level reached 29.
According to Xu Li's knowledge from Sinnoh, Growlithe's optimal evolution level was 38 or higher. Hisuian Growlithe should be similar.
The consequence of premature evolution was exhausting life force. Granny Kikuko once told Xu Li an example: someone used a Fire Stone to evolve a Vulpix into a Ninetales right after it was born. As a result, that Ninetales was extremely weak and died within half a year.
Because of such incidents, to prevent similar tragedies from happening again, the Alliance conducted public education. Even a young Xu Li at the time was taught not to allow Pokémon that evolve with an evolution stone to evolve prematurely.
Originally, the plan was to train for about 15 days, but experiencing such rapid progress, Growlithe and Oshawott were unwilling to stop. So, they trained for over a month in total, and their levels increased significantly. The three little ones each gained an average of 4 levels.
Axew, due to specialized physical training and the support of energy cubes specially formulated by Xu Li, broke through to level 33, not far from evolution.
Even Xu Li himself had made significant progress in physical fitness, and with the system's enhancement, his physical condition was no longer like that of a normal person, beginning to approach what people imagined Hisuian people to be like.
As noon approached, Xu Li had just put down his exercise equipment when he heard a knock at the door.
Opening the door, it was Xiaobai, the owner of the Jubilife Village General Store. Yesterday, Xu Li had pre-ordered many supplies from Xiaobai, and now they were being delivered.
"Young Master Xu Li, your pre-ordered berries and various items have arrived. This took quite a bit of effort, so please check if anything is missing."
Xu Li checked the supplies one by one.
"Okay, various Potions, Stealth Spray, Smoke Bombs, Sound Bombs, and Sticky Balls, no problem, that's all of them."
"Alright, thank you for your purchase. I'll be going now."
Xu Li bid farewell to Xiaobai and, together with his Pokémon, carried boxes of supplies back into the house. These supplies basically covered everything needed for wilderness survival; whether they were ultimately used or not, having them was better than not.
Professor Laventon also gave Xu Li several boxes of Hisuian-style Poké Balls. These were somewhat different from modern Poké Balls; using Hisuian Poké Balls required twisting open the chain lock at the Poké Ball's opening, which was more troublesome compared to modern Poké Balls.
Xu Li also gave Professor Laventon a modern Poké Ball, saying it was developed in his hometown, to see if the Galaxy Team could replicate it.
Xu Li intended to use the Hisuian Poké Balls to catch Pokémon for Professor Laventon's Pokédex research, while his own Pokémon would still use modern Poké Balls.
All the supplies were moved into the house. Paras's nose twitched, Lock-On to a box, and it jumped directly onto it.
"Paras~ Paras~ (Can I eat this?)"
Xu Li found it a bit amusing; this glutton really couldn't forget about food.
"Eat, but don't eat too much. It's almost mealtime."
"Paras~"
Hearing the permission, Paras raised its large claw and cut an opening in the box. Several orange-red, strawberry-like fruits fell out.
These were Razz Berries, which could make Pokémon that ate them sluggish.
Paras picked up a Razz Berry and began to eat it, one in its mouth and another already in its hand. It had tasted this type of berry before, and it gave it a unique feeling, but it hadn't had it again since.
Now that it had the chance, it definitely had to try it to its heart's content.
Eating one after another, perhaps it ate too much, Paras felt its vision blur, its mind became muddled, and its emotions gradually lost control.
Paras felt a bit dizzy, as if it had entered another world. It saw Xu Li, cried, and ran forward, clinging tightly to Xu Li, rubbing against him with all its might.
Although Xu Li would give him many tough training regimens, he also allowed Paras to taste many delicacies it might never have eaten in its life, no longer having to fight its own kind for tree sap. It liked Xu Li the most.