Chapter 14 - 014: Pokéblock Crafting

Three days later, while attending his elective class "Pokémon Battle Studies," Natsume received a notification from the System. [Ding—Mission "I'm Not a Million-View Streamer" completed!] [Mission Description: Upload a video with over a million views.] [Mission Reward: 1000 BP Points, Random Skill LV31, Random Purple Item1] "Looks like the Minimize Team video has hit a million views," Natsume muttered to himself. "With that in mind, reaching 100,000 subscribers on my live stream shouldn't be too far off, right?" Natsume's live stream subscriber count had been stuck at the 90,000 mark for a while. But with the recent surge from the video, it seemed like the day when Natsume-sensei would make his appearance wasn't far away! On the field, several pairs of students were engaged in amateurish Pokémon battles. Even though Natsume was a Finance major, he still had to take a fair number of Pokémon-related courses. The elective "Pokémon Battle Studies" was worth four credits. It was more or less like a physical education class, where everyone just went through the motions. But Gastly seemed to be really into battling, having already defeated Kazuya's Slowpoke five or six times. Kazuya's cries echoed across the field: "Slowpoke! Wake up, Slowpoke!" Natsume sighed, "It's just Hypnosis, not a knockout. No need to yell so loud." "Ah... is that so?" Kazuya scratched his head. Yuuichi, standing nearby, marveled, "Damn, Natsume, you're already training your Gastly to this level right after catching it?" Natsume gave a weird look, "I swear I haven't trained it at all. Would you believe me?" "You're kidding, right? You're almost as good as the Battle Department students!" In truth, Natsume had been too busy with his live streams to train Gastly properly. Gastly had mastered the new move "Hypnosis" all on its own, further refining its dirty tactics. "Sometimes I feel like I'm just dead weight," Natsume muttered to himself. "Does it even matter if I'm here or not?" Recalling Gastly, Natsume walked to the side of the field and checked the System. [Remaining BP Points: 1570] [Ding—The "Pokémon Care Studies" branch, Pokéblock Crafting Lv3, has been unlocked!] [Pokéblock Crafting Lv3: You can now craft high-quality Pokéblocks, with an in-depth knowledge of Berry types and characteristics. Success rate for crafting Pokéblocks increased by 60%. (Natsume-sensei's secret recipe: affordable and filling!)] [Random Purple Item*1: Fire Gem] [Fire Gem: Contains abundant Fire-type energy, enhancing a Pokémon's sensitivity to flames and boosting the power of Fire-type moves. ] Looking at the rewards from the million-view mission, Natsume's expression was complicated. "This Random Skill isn't bad, considering how expensive Pokéblocks are." "But this Fire Gem... I really want to sell it for cash!" The System didn't say these items couldn't be sold. But as an unknown seller, Natsume wasn't sure if it was worth the risk. After some thought, Natsume sighed. "Whatever, Gastly has already mastered Will-O-Wisp. Might as well let it play with this." Gastly could absorb energy from objects, and this energy-rich gem would be a great supplement for it. With the Fire Gem, Gastly might even improve its mastery of Will-O-Wisp. "...Why do I feel like I'm inching closer to becoming a Trainer?" "Wait, no. I shouldn't jinx it." "Besides, I can't afford to be a Trainer!" It had been a week since the Worldline shift. Natsume had gained a deeper understanding of what it meant to be a Trainer. If there was one thing that stood out about the profession, it was the "Krypton Gold" aspect! How could you raise a pseudo-legendary without spending millions of Pokémon Coins? How could you afford an Elite Four-level Pokémon without dropping tens of millions of Pokémon Coins? To a certain extent, the amount of "Krypton Gold" directly correlated with a Pokémon's strength. Even with the System, Natsume wasn't confident he could afford a team of top-tier Pokémon. Natsume had once asked Red in the chat group about his monthly expenses for his Pokémon. [Natsume-sensei: Red, how much does it cost to maintain your team per month?] [The Battler: ...Snorlax is the most expensive, around 2000,000 Pokémon Coins per month.] [Blue Oak: 2000,000 Pokémon Coins isn't too bad.] [Yellow: What?! (Σ(°△°|||)_) My monthly allowance is only 2,000 Pokémon Coins!] [Blue Oak: Well, you only have Raticate and Butterfree. They're cheap to raise.] [Yellow: (○` 3′○)] [Natsume-sensei: 2000,000 Pokémon Coins for a whole team?] [The Battler: No, that's just for one Snorlax.] Natsume immediately closed the chat group. Are you kidding me? That's insane! Being in the same group as you rich folks is stressing me out! Putting down his phone, Red curiously asked Blue Oak, "Why did he ask that all of a sudden?" Blue Oak: "Probably trying to calculate how much it would cost to raise a Gengar." Red: "How much did Agatha spend on her Gengar?" Blue Oak: "Just 50 million Pokémon Coins. Not much." Red: "True." After class, Natsume returned to his apartment. Aside from feeding Gastly the Fire Gem, he also planned to test out his new skill. [Pokéblock Crafting Lv3: You can now craft high-quality Pokéblocks, with an in-depth knowledge of Berry types and characteristics. Success rate for crafting Pokéblocks increased by 60%.] Pokéblocks provided essential nutrients for Pokémon, and some Trainers would choose specific Pokéblocks to enhance certain stats. For example, Petaya Berry Blocks could boost a Pokémon's Special Attack, while Oran Berry Blocks could increase speed. Pokéblocks significantly improved the nutritional efficiency of Berries, making them quite expensive. As everyone knew, Pokéblocks were categorized into four quality levels: low, medium, high, and perfect. "High-quality Pokéblocks should sell for at least 10,000 Pokémon Coins, right?" Natsume muttered. "Maybe I should buy some Berries, turn them into Pokéblocks, and sell them for profit?" Before he could finish the thought, Natsume slapped himself. "Get a grip!" he scolded himself. "The profit margin is so small, it's not even worth the effort!" "Ugh!" "Am I really the type to rely on my looks for money?!" In the end, to improve Gastly's diet, Natsume decided to buy a machine. A home-use Berry mixer was available online for 10,000 Pokémon Coins. After placing the order, Natsume was left with only 5,000 Pokémon Coins. "Ouch!" Natsume winced at the expense. That evening, a Machamp from the local delivery service carried the bulky Berry mixer up to the sixth floor, startling the landlord. The delivery guy said, "Sign here, please." Natsume twitched his lips, pointing at the waist-high machine. "Are you sure this is the home-use version?!" "It's the budget model," the delivery guy chuckled awkwardly. "You get what you pay for!" The more integrated the machine, the more expensive it was. That was an undeniable truth. For 10,000 Pokémon Coins, this old-fashioned Berry blender was the best Natsume could afford. The deafening noise made the landlord think Natsume was renovating. Half an hour later... Natsume stared at the crystal-clear Pokéblock, swallowing hard. [Pokéblock Crafting Lv3 determination—68! Crafting successful!] [Oran Berry Block (High-quality): A basic Pokéblock that restores a Pokémon's HP. (Taste the rainbow!)] The flavor of Oran Berries was complex—sweet, sour, bitter, and astringent, all depending on luck—but their restorative effects were undeniable. Gastly extended its long, crimson tongue, deftly scooping up the Pokéblock and immediately closing its eyes in delight. "Gastly!" Gastly: (′▽`〃) The look of pure bliss on Gastly's face made Natsume curious. "Is it really that good?" He bit into a Pokéblock, and the sweet-and-sour taste exploded on his tongue. Natsume's mind flashed with images of golden wheat fields, a girl with long hair and a straw hat, shyly turning around... Only to reveal Gastly's terrifying face. "Ahhh!" "Gastly!" Gastly happily flew circles around Natsume. "Alright, alright, stop pestering me. I'll make you another one!" Gastly: (?`▽′?)?