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Within his field of vision, there was a group of strange creatures with yellow tentacles and red shells. In front of them was a pile of wooden jars, their appearance somewhat rough.
"Shuckle selling Berry Juice?" Li Xiang leaned in to look at the only exposed wooden jar and saw the slightly turbid liquid stored inside. A sweet aroma wafted out.
Berry Juice made by Shuckle was purely natural with no chemical additives. Although the fact that it was made inside their bodies was worth criticizing, the taste was good. Otherwise, there wouldn't be Pokémon buying it, even if the quantity wasn't large.
As for whether it was clean... that was a matter of opinion. Li Xiang himself didn't dare drink it, but Mewtwo was full of interest, wearing an expression that said it wanted to try it.
He bought one cup, which was wrapped in a lotus leaf and looked like a funnel. The appearance was simple, but if Li Xiang hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would have found it hard to imagine that a group of Shuckle could wrap lotus leaves into cups and use wooden spoons to scoop out the juice.
The Shuckle that served him, seeing that even a human had come to buy Berry Juice, excitedly scooped two spoonfuls from the bottom of the jar, giving him some of the fruit pulp. The fermented pulp had a strange smell.
Lees?
It didn't seem to be. Li Xiang couldn't resist buying a cup for himself, planning to be a brave soul and try it. At worst, he would get diarrhea and provide nutrients for the forest.
That Shuckle, seeing a returning customer, excitedly scooped out more from inside. Pokémon who loved their work were rare and worthy of praise.
Li Xiang carried two cups of Berry Juice and walked outside.
"Here." He handed Mewtwo its portion, then used the lid of his teapot to pour himself a little, giving the rest to Kingdra.
He only took a small taste. There was no imagined alcoholic taste; instead, it was refreshing and quite pleasant. The fruit pulp was sweet and melted in the mouth like syrup.
"Hmm..."
[What is this?] Before Li Xiang could comment on the taste, Mewtwo spoke first.
"What's wrong?" he turned and asked.
[I feel that the energy within my body has increased a bit.] Mewtwo said with a frown.
Li Xiang nodded: "Oh, that's normal. It probably contains Oran Berry. Oran Berry can restore energy."
[Not restored, the total amount.] Mewtwo looked at Li Xiang with extreme seriousness.
'Total amount.'
In that instant, Li Xiang was a bit stunned. The total amount of attribute energy was the most intuitive manifestation of a Pokémon's energy level, followed by the six stats. An increase in the total amount of attribute energy would mean—
Level!
Exp. Candy!
Li Xiang's breathing quickened slightly. He looked around and saw that they were being watched as usual. He decisively pulled Mewtwo and Kingdra into a deserted alley nearby.
Fortunately, no Pokémon followed them.
"How much did it increase?" He looked at Mewtwo, took a deep breath, and asked.
[Very, very little.] Mewtwo thought for a moment, then raised its hand to show a tiny flame, truly just a wisp that would disappear in the wind. [About this much.]
But even so, it was enough to shock Li Xiang. Because this was raising the energy level!
Even his candies couldn't do that. Could Shuckle's Berry Juice raise energy levels?
Li Xiang thought for a moment and recalled an unreliable yet interesting urban legend. Some people said that Shuckle stored Berries in their bodies, fermenting them for a long time to turn them into Berry Juice. But if other special fruits were used and fermented for even longer, it would turn into Rare Candy.
What was Rare Candy? An unofficial translation of Pokémon Candy, also known as Rare Candy or "Mysterious Candy." It could raise a Pokémon's level, which was indeed mysterious enough.
So the urban legend wasn't just an urban legend. It was true?
But why had he never heard online that Shuckle could make Rare Candy?
It couldn't be that no one had discovered it. It wasn't as if Pokémon had just descended upon the city; they had existed for thousands or tens of thousands of years.
After much thought, the most likely possibility was still the unique environment of Mist Island.
The Berries here couldn't be compared to those outside. The soil was richer, and the water was even addictive. The most intuitive evidence was the Dragonite over twenty meters tall.
Outside, anything over five meters was considered a world record, but here there were Dragonite over twenty meters tall.
Multiple factors combined to lead to the production of Rare Candy.
The value was immeasurable!
[What's wrong?] Mewtwo looked at Li Xiang's complex expression, puzzled.
"I've discovered something very remarkable." Li Xiang replied. "You should also easily realize the value of this thing."
[It's just so-so for me. Even if the effect were enhanced a thousand or ten thousand times, it would still be a drop in the ocean.] Mewtwo nodded.
[But it can indeed make Incineroar and the others stronger.]
"Then there's nothing more to say. Let's go buy it. Buy a whole jar for experimentation." Li Xiang turned and walked towards the Shuckle's stall. If possible, he wanted to figure out exactly what Rare Candy was.
Arriving at the stall, Li Xiang requested to buy a whole jar from the Shuckle. Unfortunately, the previous jar was already sold out.
The Shuckle were not unfamiliar with buying by the jar; some large-bodied Pokémon found a small cup insufficient to even fill the gaps between their teeth.
They gave him a discounted price. Li Xiang thanked them, sealed it in a bag, and put it into his backpack.
After that, he continued shopping with Mewtwo. They bought flour, Chansey Eggs, a large jar of Honey, and many other ingredients.
The gems at Donphan's stall were a bit expensive, so Li Xiang only bought a portion, planning to make the rest himself later. Along the way, he also picked up a frying pan and matches from the ranger outpost.
These two items were crucial for cooking food. The ranger in charge of the kitchen looked at him with a strange expression.
"Are you really planning to settle down on Mirage Island? Such a dangerous place."
"If you don't work hard when you're young, you won't get another chance when you're old. I'm going to give it my all." Li Xiang smiled.
After preparing everything he could, they returned to Mirage Island, the dense, living forest.
The top priority was still testing the Berry Juice sold by the Shuckle. Worried about special cases, Li Xiang had bought three jars.
"Please help me test them."
[No problem.] Mewtwo waved its hand, and a little bit of Berry Juice flew out from each of the three jars, entering its mouth in sequence. It savored them.
[Hmm... the tastes are different, but none show any energy-increasing reaction.]
"None?" Li Xiang was dumbfounded. "Are you sure?"
[Of course. I can perceive even the smallest change.] Mewtwo nodded.
'If that was the case... could it be that the previous jar was just a coincidence, and this stuff normally didn't appear?'
Li Xiang lowered his head in thought, looked at the three jars, and then scooped inside with a spoon. Seeing the fermented fruit at the bottom, his eyes lit up slightly.
"Try this?" He handed a piece of fruit over.
Mewtwo opened its mouth and ate it, tilting its head as it chewed.
[No, still nothing.]
It tried the fruit from all three jars, still no reaction.
"No way, still nothing? Could it really be a matter of chance, with only that one jar reacting?" Li Xiang was greatly disappointed, but still unwilling to give up. He looked inside the jars, scooping and digging.
As if remembering something, he took an iron spoon and scraped two hard scoops from the bottom of the wooden jar. Suddenly, the jam-like, syrupy liquid that had settled at the bottom appeared before him.
"Is it this!" He nervously held it up to Mewtwo.
Mewtwo ate it, and its eyes glowed slightly blue. [Yes! It's this! It increased! About the size of a grain of sand!]
A grain of sand... Li Xiang twitched the corner of his mouth. Mewtwo had just eaten a whole large spoonful. Yet he couldn't help feeling happy inside. He hadn't expected the true form of Rare Candy to be the sediment left after fermenting Berry Juice—jam.
Although the amount of increase was extremely small, accumulated over time, it would surely become considerable.
What was the biggest weakness of Incineroar and the others right now?
Level!
With this jam, similar to Rare Candy, why worry about not becoming strong!
'Mist Island, oh Mist Island. The mountains are good, the water is good, everything is good.'
"A blessed paradise." Li Xiang looked at this vast world and felt that his decision to come to this place with Mo Ye was absolutely wonderful.
After figuring out what caused the energy increase, Li Xiang decisively took Mewtwo back down to the human world to find those Shuckle and ask if they sold just the jam alone.
The Shuckle were completely confused and didn't really understand what he was talking about. So Li Xiang used a spoon to scoop two scoops from their wooden jar, showing them the syrupy liquid at the bottom.
The Shuckle suddenly understood, but then, under Li Xiang's expectant gaze, they shook their heads.
They weren't Mewtwo; they couldn't detect such a minute energy increase at all. Even if it did increase, they would only attribute it to their own efforts.
Why keep the jam? They would either sell it directly or drink it themselves!
Li Xiang had no choice but to explain that he wanted this jam and asked if they could sell it to him exclusively. He offered the Shuckle a price they couldn't refuse.
Honestly, even Li Xiang himself felt the sting of that price, because he was demanding a large quantity, a very large quantity!
The Shuckle said they couldn't make such a large transaction on their own and had to inform their clan leader, who would make the decision. Li Xiang would have to go to their colony.
"Take a trip?"
[Let's go.]
Mewtwo didn't hesitate. It was particularly curious about these new things and very much wanted to learn about the living environment of wild Pokémon in groups.
Shuckle moved slowly, so they usually came to the market by Tauros cart or Wailmer boat.
The transportation costs were extremely high because their goods were heavy. Occasionally, when they encountered bullying by ill-behaved Pokémon, they had to hand over some of their hard-earned products.
Although they could eventually retrieve them through the Museum of Knowledge, being robbed on the way was still very unpleasant.
This time, with Mewtwo's psychic power, they saved a huge amount of money. The Shuckle were especially happy and said they would definitely convince their clan leader to facilitate the deal.
Li Xiang was also very happy. He had initially thought of giving them a kickback based on how much he bought.
But after careful consideration, he decided not to bring this nasty human behavior to them. There was nothing wrong with keeping innocent beings innocent.
They left the giant island where the City of Wisdom was located and arrived at another island full of fruit trees, heavy with a bountiful harvest.
This was the gathering place of the Shuckle.