Chapter 77: Twin Peaks

However, Hu Yang had no idea whether Six Walnuts were effective or not. But this Velvet Fruit’s effects were undeniably real. It made elves smarter, mainly by enhancing their ability to grasp new moves, their responsiveness in battle, and the agility of their minds. That didn’t mean a Pokémon would instantly become a genius after eating the Velvet Fruit; rather, its effects would gradually manifest as the Pokémon grew, essentially boosting its perception and understanding.

From Hu Yang’s observations, this fruit was exceedingly rare—a treasure that could only be stumbled upon by chance. Its requirements for environment and nutrients were so stringent that, unlike Oran Berries or Pecha Berries, it couldn’t be cultivated artificially in large quantities.

After carefully stowing away the Velvet Fruit, Hu Yang pressed on with his Pokémon. He hadn’t gone far before he discovered another rare berry: the Thousand Aroma Fruit, which could strengthen a Pokémon’s resistance to Water-type moves.

[Thousand Aroma Fruit: When carried or consumed by a Pokémon, it reduces the power of super-effective Water-type attacks.]

Hu Yang had Roserade help him pick them, and packed them all into his backpack. He was delighted—clearly, he’d have to make more trips to remote islands, scavenging where people rarely set foot.

Just as Hu Yang finished packing and turned around, he saw Gengar floating nearby, waiting patiently for him to finish.

Hu Yang: "..."

He’d gotten so wrapped up in picking berries that he nearly forgot the poor Gengar beside him, waiting to be rescued.

Halting his Hyrule old scoundrel behavior, Hu Yang prepared to save the princess—no, to save Gengar.

The berries could wait until he returned.

The group continued their journey. Along the way, Hu Yang encountered a Mankey catching ants on the ground, a Tangela lurking stealthily in the water, and even a Farfetch’d—the legendary Pokémon that came with its own seasoning.

But halfway through, at midday, the gloomy sky finally burst, and heavy rain began to pour.

Traveling in this weather became extremely difficult. Except for some Water-type Pokémon, prolonged exposure to rain would make Pokémon sick—catching colds or fevers.

Pokémon weren’t immune, and as a human, Hu Yang was even less so.

He led everyone to a small cave, sheltering from the rain and settling in for lunch.

Hu Yang didn’t start a fire; they ate sandwiches and boxed fruit juice brought from the White Seel.

Since evolving from Budew, Roserade’s standards for food had lessened. Now it ate whatever Hu Yang prepared—or didn’t eat at all, sustaining itself through photosynthesis for long periods.

Hu Yang didn’t need to prepare special food for the ancient bird, either.

Because it caught its own fish, and even brought one back to help feed the family.

As for Magikarp, the "backup food," its vitality was as tenacious as Feebas—when food was scarce, it could survive just by drinking water and eating mud.

Naturally, it wasn’t picky.

Through observation, Hu Yang found that Magikarp was content as long as it could eat its fill.

Then there was Axew, the big eater, who only cared about quantity.

Travel continued, but training did not stop.

Roserade mainly lacked battle experience, so Hu Yang didn’t push it too hard.

Axew, on the other hand, practiced energy control through Dragon Rage and Double Chop—working toward the requirements to modify Teleport.

Teleport could compensate for Axew’s speed disadvantage, and Dragon Dance could be swapped out for the more aggressive Swords Dance.

With a massive boost to physical attack, Axew could Teleport behind the enemy and unleash a flurry of explosive moves for a one-hit knockout.

"You need to evolve quickly," Hu Yang said, scratching Axew’s chin with anticipation.

He couldn’t wait to witness the surprise attack ability of a Teleporting Haxorus in actual combat.

It would surely shock a lot of people.

Of course, that depended on the opponent’s Pokémon being fragile, not a tank like Tyranitar or Aggron with sky-high defense.

...

The downpour came and went swiftly.

When the rain stopped, the exploration party set off again.

As they went further, the terrain began to rise, and deep in the forest, a pair of tall twin peaks emerged.

Between them was a narrow cleft, as if split from above by a mighty axe. On the left side, a waterfall plunged straight from the summit.

Gengar stopped at the entrance to the cleft.

Hu Yang was about to ask what was wrong, but his gaze fell on the gap.

"Are we supposed to go through that crevice?" he asked.

Gengar nodded helplessly. "Yes."

Hu Yang swallowed hard—the gap was less than a meter wide, and peering inside, he saw the passage stretched on and on, clearly not something to traverse quickly.

Who could say whether it might narrow further inside, trapping him with no way out?

Hu Yang looked up at the waterfall, noting how high and steep the twin peaks were.

At times like these, he wished he had a flying Pokémon capable of carrying people.

"Eh?"

The ancient bird tilted its head, suddenly looked up, and soared into the sky.

Hu Yang: "..."

Apparently, his thoughts had been sensed by the silly bird.

All he had to do was sit and wait—his wishes seemed to come true lately.

Species: Hu Yang, Ability: Ancient Bird.

But this wish-granting wasn’t absolute.

Take the last encounter with Rayquaza. He hadn’t actually wanted Ancient Bird to fight Rayquaza, but Rayquaza’s aggressive attack forced Ancient Bird to retaliate.

This proved the ancient bird had a mind of its own—not just a robot.

Knocking out Rayquaza for a photo op? No problem.

That was Ancient Bird’s logic.

He just wondered what kind of flying Pokémon his silly bird would bring back this time.

Rich in possibilities, Hu Yang’s mind conjured up all the Pokémon capable of carrying people in the Hoenn region: Swellow, Pelipper, Altaria, Metagross, Salamence...

And the legendary beasts: Latias, Latios, Kyogre, and Rayquaza.

Or perhaps he could modify a floating Wailord, turning it into a sky whale, a paradise in the clouds.

Hu Yang expected Ancient Bird would return with a common Fearow.

But three hours passed, and there was still no sign of Ancient Bird.

His heart skipped a beat.

Could it be...?

He carefully recalled whether he’d thought of any strange Pokémon recently...

It didn’t seem like he had a strong desire to ride one.

Probably...

That’s how it was, right?

Uncertain, Hu Yang could only sit and wait, no matter how anxious he felt.